248 THE ZOOLOGIST. 



the line of living as the parent fishes. These I estimate to be 

 two months old. 



No. 3 contains young Pollack caught at the same place as 

 above, on July 6th. The two largest give an average fish of 

 three inches long and sixty grains in weight, and estimated at 

 three months old. 



No. 4 contains young Pollack from the same place, caught 

 on August 14th. These two give an average length of five 

 inches, and 325 grains in weight, and are estimated to be four 

 months old. 



No. 5 bottle has two young Pollack caught at Mevagissey on 

 the 25th of September, 1884. Average five inches and six-eighths 

 in length, and 362 grains in^weight. These are probably a little 

 over five months old. 



I give these lengths and weights with the greatest confidence, 

 knowing they represent the monthly growth of the first Pollack 

 which reached the shores around Mevagissey for the year 1885, 

 and also, with very little change, in the same months for ten years 

 past. These little creatures are as familiar to me as barn-door 

 fowls are to the farmer. The figures show the increase in four 

 months to be one hundred times their original weight. 



I may here state that throughout my observations on these 

 little fishes I have kept to those which first reach the shore, and 

 these throughout the season, as a rule, are the largest. Some 

 young Pollack do not float in for two or three weeks after the first, 

 probably through contrary winds and tides, or later spawning ; 

 hence these will be behind the earlier examples in growth and 

 condition thi'oughout the season. Besides this there are the 

 accidents of food, health, and other conditions, which keep some 

 of the season's fish back to less than five inches in length up to 

 November, and after this, like the Mackerel and Red Mullet, 

 there is but little, if any, growth among the young Pollack until 

 the following May. In further tracing their growth it will be seen 

 that the summer is the time of their greatest development, and 

 that some will reach maturity in the third and others in the 

 fourth year of life. 



