484 
and the salmon, which had formerly been under examination, 
and the results, with drawings of both forms, are nearly com- 
pleted, and will be communicated to one of the Societies during 
the winter. The first pelagic ova, viz. those of the haddock, 
made their appearance during the very cold weather in the be- 
ginning of February, and the examination of these, together 
with those of the cod and common flounder—both of which were 
unusually late—enabled Mr. E.. E. Prince and the Secretary to 
extend considerably the observations of last year. Moreover, 
for the first time, the ova of the ling (AZlva vulgaris) were 
examined, and the development followed to a fairly advanced 
stage. These were procured by a long-line fisherman of Cellar- 
dyke (who with others was supplied with suitable earthenware 
jars? and encouraged by a visit to the Laboratory), fertilised 
about 100 miles off the Island of May, and safely brought, after 
a considerable land journey, to St. Andrews. The fertilised 
ova of the plaice and lemon-dab were similarly brought by Capt. 
Burn, late of the Hussars, from the Moray Frith; for the Labora- 
tory had then no boat suited for procuring a supply nearer home. 
No fish, however, has been more useful to the workers this 
season than the gurnard (77ig/a guznardus), the spawning period 
of which seems to have been somewhat later than usual. The 
first ova were procured about the middle of May, and the em- 
bryos of the last hatching (middle of August) still swarm in the 
vessels. Further observations were also made on the ova and 
young of the lunpsucker, Montagu’s sucker, shanny, stickle- 
back, sand-eel, Co/tus, &c. Amongst others the ripe ovum of 
Ammodytes tobianus has been examined. It is colourless, trans- 
lucent, and has a beautifully reticulated capsule. Mr. Prince is 
of opinion that, as suggested in the ‘‘ Report of H.M. Trawling 
Commission,” it most nearly resembles a pelagic egg. More- 
over, the information neces-ary for filling up the gaps between 
the very early stages of the young food-fishes near the surface 
and their appearance off the shore as shoals of young forms more 
or less easily recognisable specifically has been considerably in- 
creased. Much of this knowledge has been obtained by the aid 
of a huge tow-net of coarse gauze—upwards of twenty feet in 
length—attached to a triangle of wood, ten feet each way, sunk 
by a heavy weight and kept steadily at the required depth in 
fathoms by a galvanised iron float, such as is used for the ends 
of herring-nets. Since the completion of the net, however, the 
services of the Fishery Board tender Garland have only once 
been available, and the yawl has been at our disposal 
only a few weeks. In these brief opportunities, however, 
the young of various fishes have been obtained at stages 
hitherto unknown, and some rare invertebrates and a new 
Medusa have been captured. Enough, in short, has been seen 
to indicate the value of this apparatus, and of certain modi- 
fications of the ordinary beam-trawl for work on the bottom. 
The hatching and rearing of the embryos of the common food- 
fishes have been attended with much greater success than last 
year or the previous one, and a large series of microscopic pre- 
parations (chiefly sections with the Caldwell and rocking micro- 
tomes) has been made by Mr. E. E. Prince, embracing the 
entire development of the food-fishes from the early ovum to a 
late larval stage. The study of these preparations is now being 
proceeded with ; but in traversing a field so extensive as the 
embryology of these important Teleosteans a great expenditure 
of time and labour is required. It is hoped, however, that the 
results will be completed during the winter (zie for other obser- 
vations the Annals of Natural History for April, May, June, 
and August 1886; NaTure, June 1886, &c.). Since the be- 
ginning of June, Dr. Scharff has been occupied with the inves- 
tigation of the intra-ovarian egg of a number of Teleostean 
fishes. Among the ovaries examined were those of Trigla 
gurnardus, Gadus virens and G. luscus, Gadus merlangus, 
Anarrhichas lupus, Conzer vulearis, Blennius pholis, Lophius 
piscatorius, and Sxlmo salar The researches were made on 
fresh ovaries and on spirit specimens. Most of those reserved 
for section-cutting were previously treated either with picro- 
sulphuric or weak chromic acid. Special attention was paid to 
the structural changes in the growing nucleus. The origin of 
the follicular layer surrounding the egg, as well as the origin 
and development of the yolk, will be dealt with ina paper to 
be published shortly. Considerable advancement has been made 
in the study of the development of the common mussel by Mr. 
John Wilson. Some of the very early larvee are described in 
5 en ; P . 
Containing about a gallon. ‘[hese were partially filled with pure sea- 
matee containing the fertilised ova, and simply tied over with porous chezse- 
cloth. 
NATURE 
[Sepz. 16, 1886 
the report of last year, along with an account of the artificial 
methods employed. This year embryos were developed for 
forty days in vessels suitable for microscopic manipulation. 
Normal growth continued during the first fourteen days. At 
the end of this period the largest embryos had shell-valves 
‘128 mm. in length. They are transparent and almost semi- 
circular, the dorsal (hinge-) line being nearly straight. The 
powerful velum could be wholly withdrawn within the valves. 
The alimentary system was conspicuously developed. In the 
beginning of June great numbers of young mussels were found 
swimming actively on the very surface of the sea close to the shore, 
and measuring ‘134 mm. They differed from the most advanced 
of those artificially reared only in their being more robust, the 
stage reached being the same in both. At various periods some- 
what later in the season many older, though still microscopic, 
mussels were captured with the tow-net in St. Andrews Bay 
from the shore seaward for 4 miles. Besides the careful study 
of their development, Mr. Wilson has also been engaged with 
the histology of the mussel (especially that of the generative 
organs) at various stages, up to the adult condition. The Com- 
mittee beg to recommend a renewal of the grant (100/.) for the 
ensuing year. 
Report of the Committee, cons'sting of Prof. McKendrick, 
Prof. Struthers, Prof. Young, Prof. McIntosh, Prof. Alleyne 
Nicholson, Prof. Cossar Ewart, and Mr. ohn Murray (Secre- 
tary), appointed for the Purpose of Prometing the Establishment 
of « Marine Biological Station at Granton, Scotland.—The Com- 
mittee report that the sum of 75/., placed at their disposal, has 
been used to aid in defraying the expenses of carrying on the 
work of the Scottish Marine Station at Granton. Two reports 
on the work of the institution during the past year are given 
below ; they have been sent in to the Secretary by Mr. J. T. 
Cunningham, the Superintendent, who has charge of the zoo- 
logical investigations; and Dr. Hugh Robert Mill, who is 
responsible for the physical work :— 
The biological work of the Station falls into three prin- 
cipal divisions: (1) Embryology and morphology ; (2) faun- 
ology; (3) the accommodation of students and investiga- 
tors. (1) Efforts to elucidate some facts bearing on the 
reproduction and development of Myxine formed the prin- 
cipal part of the work under this head during the autumn and 
winter. In the summer the aquarium had been arranged, and a 
large tank was specially devoted to the purpose of keeping 
specimens of the animal in confinement. After careful attention 
to the matter, it was found that the creatures refused entirely to 
feed while in captivity ; they lived several months, but no signs 
of reproductive activity appeared, with one exception noted’ 
below. It was then determined to continue the examination of — 
large numbers of specimens every month in the year in order to 
find if the ova were shed at any limited season. As almost no- 
thing accurate was known on the whole subject, the first problem 
was to obtain ripe males and females. In November the testis 
in its immature condition was recognised, and it was subse- 
quently found that with few exceptions all very immature speci- | 
mens were hermaphrodite, containing immature testicular tissue 
at the posterior end of the generative organ. Microscopic 
examination of the largest ova obtained showed that the well- 
known polar threads belonged to the vitelline membrane, and 
were developed in tubular depressions of the follicular epi-— 
thelium. In December, January, February, and March, females 
were obtained which had just discharged their ova, the collapsed 
capsules, still quite large, being present in the ovary. At the 
end of January two females were obtained in which the polar 
threads were so far developed as to form projections at 
the ends of the inclosing follicle. One specimen with eggs 
in this condition was taken from the aquarium. No per- 
fectly ripe ova were ever obtained. In February moving 
spermatozoa were discovered in hermaphrodite specimens, 
but the total quantity of milt present was quite imsigni- 
ficant. ‘The greater number of the specimens examined were 
obtained from fishermen’s lines baited for haddock ; some were 
taken by baited traps. In March dredging was carried on off 
St. Abb’s Head, with a view to obtain deposited fertilised eggs — 
of Myxine, but none were found. It has thus been shown that 
Myxine deposits its eggs in the months of December to March, 
and that the females are taken on the hook immediately after 
the eggs have been shed. But no method has been discovered 
of obtaining adults in the ripe condition, or of obtaining the 
fertilised ova andembryos, The research and its results are de- 
scribed ina paper in the Proceedings of the Royal Society of Edin- 
