many other fishes. Undoubtedly some places are more suitable 
for them than others, but we can only state that the fish reaching 
the largest size are those that, as their growth in early years shows, 
have lived in water of intermediate temperature (about 40° F-.). 
The problem of the artificial hatching and rearing of this fish 
is not apt to arise for many years, if at all. The eggs have already 
been hatched in Scotland under artificial conditions and no diffi- 
culty is to be expected in that direction, but our investigations 
show that in nature where the conditions are suitable, as in the 
gulf of St. Lawrence, a large proportion at least of the eggs hatch 
and the fry that escape are weil distributed in the water suitable 
for their further development and growth. It would be most 
difficult to distribute in so successful a manner the fry that are 
hatched artificially, so that it is not likely that anything would be 
gained by this method. As the death rate of the fry must be very 
high judging from our observations in the gulf of St. Lawrence, it 
would be of great advantage to rear them up to the time when they 
seek the bottom. However their delicate nature and peculiar 
habits make it improbable that this could be carried out success- 
fully unless much better rearing methods are devised than those 
at present in use, and therefore artificial propagation of this fish 
must from our present knowledge be considered inadvisable. 
If the plaice becomes sufficiently valuable, it may prove worth 
while to undertake to transplant it from overpopulated areas to 
those where it is rare or from which it has been fished out. This 
has already been done with some success in Europe in the case of 
certain other kinds of flatfishes, and there would be every prospect 
of its succeeding with our fish. The results of such transplantation 
should be evident in the immediate vicinity of the places stocked 
in this way, because the plaice moves about very little. 
HABITS, FOOD, ETC. 
Our fish keeps to the deep water probably to avoid the strong 
light of day, which so definitely affects the movements of the fry, 
and it does not migrate to any extent, but remains pretty much 
in the same place from season to season and year to year. Perhaps 
in the course of years it may shift a few miles, for we have found 
old fish that showed such growth for their early years as made it 
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