1326 The Zoologist — August, 1868. 



And again, in the 'Field' of February 18, 1864, he says: — "As 

 regards the distinctive species of the whitebait, I believe I had the 

 honour of shaking my friend 'The Chronicler's' mind first upon this 

 point. Yarrell makes a strong case of it, and although I would not 

 be bold enough to question so high an authority, I should, I must 

 confess, like to see a mature female whitebait in spawn. Indeed, 

 I would gladly give a sovereign for one. I have the whitebait as sold 

 in the London market, and I have a fish so much resembling the 

 whitebait that to the eye no difference can be detected ; and 1 have 

 this fish of all sizes, from whitebait size, i, e., one and a half or two 

 inches long, to three and four inches long, and so on to five and six 

 inches long, aud so up to a full-grown herring, aud the chain appears 

 to me (at any rate to the eye) so complete that I confess I cannot 

 detect the difference." 



In the 'Field' of May 11, 1864, "The Chronicler" stated that the 

 Fish and Oyster Breeding Company had secured several marine ponds 

 at Southend, one of which, he said, " will be set aside for whitebait, 

 and it is to be hoped that this will have the effect of solving the oft- 

 mooted problem, of what fish is the whitebait the fry ? Surely, after 

 a year's confinement, the rival claims of the herring and the shad to 

 the parentage of this piscatorial morsel will be decided upon." I am 

 not aware, however, that anything was actually done in the matter; 

 but, had the experiment been tried, it would most probably have 

 resulted in failure. If the fish had been shut off" from the sea they 

 would have been starved, from the absence of their natural food ; and 

 had the communication been kept open other fish would have gained 

 access to the pond, and the accuracy of the experiment would have 

 been destroyed. 



During the past year, as stated last week, Dr. A. Giinther has been 

 engaged in the distinctions between the different species of Clupea, 

 and the result of his investigations has been published in the seventh 

 volume of the ' Catalogue of Fishes' in the British Museum. Dr. 

 Giinther finds that in every detail of structure the herring and the 

 so-called whitebait correspond; they have the same number of 

 vertebrae, the same number of scales along the lateral line, the same 

 arrangement of teeth on the vomer, and the same position of the fins 

 and number of the fin-rays — conjoined characters which are found in 

 no other fish. Dr. Giinther writes: — "As regards the 'whitebait,' 

 this is a purely nominal species introduced into Science by Yarrell 

 and Valenciennes, in deference to the opinion of fishermen and gour- 



