side. Rays appear in the upper (dorsal) and lower (anal) fins as 
well as in the tail and paired pectoral fins, which give it a very 
different appearance (see figure 7). It is unlike the adult fish in 
having an eye on each side of the head and in swimming upright 
in the water instead of lying upon one side, but when it reaches a 
length of about one inch a part of the head twists in growing and 
carries the left eye across the top to the right side beside the right 
eye (see figure 8). This is the metamorphosis or change from the 
condition of the larva to that of the adult. At about this time it 
stops swimming freely in the water, goes to the bottom, and keeps 
the right side, which has the eyes, uppermost and the blind left side 
against the bottom. At this stage the colouring matter becomes 
more abundant and develops only on the right side, the left side 
remaining colourless. A young individual that has only recently 
changed from the larval condition is shown in figure 9. Figure 10 
Fic. 10.—A section of the water between Cape Breton island and the Magdalen islands, 
showing the distribution of the adult plaice on the bottom and their life history. 
Arrows indicate the direction of movement or of development. 
illustrates the life history of the plaice, as we have described it. 
In the southern part of the gulf of St. Lawrence spawning takes 
place during May and June and the young fry hatch from the eggs 
in from two to three weeks after the latter have been shed. Their 
growth is very slow, amounting to only a quarter of an inch a 
month, so that by the end of August they are about an inch long 
and before winter nearly or quite two inches in length. The growth 
for the first year is greater in the warmer waters at the south, where 
a length of more than three inches may be reached before winter 
sets in. 
16 
