president's address. 13 



instances deep bays, and thus large tracts of ground, where the 

 young fish are enabled to lie and feed unmolested, one can but 

 hope that their natural instinct will in course of time lead them 

 to seek these undisturbed places. "We know that quadrupeds, 

 birds, and other living creatures, leave haunts where they are 

 incessantly disturbed, and seek places where they can in peace 

 and quiet rear their progeny ; and I do not see why fishes 

 should not do the same. Two very valuable Eeports to the 

 House of Commons have been issued during the past twelve 

 months — one an account of the third annual meeting of repre- 

 sentative authorities held under the presidency of tJie President 

 of Trade in June last, under the Sea-Fisheries Regulation Act ; 

 and the other the Eeport of a Select Committee on Sea-Fisheries. 

 Such enquiries as these must do good, because information is 

 gleaned from all parts of the coast, and it is only by gathering 

 together all the information we can, and carefully compiling 

 and comparing it, that we can draw just conclusions on matters 

 such as these. The Technical Education Committee of the 

 Northumberland County Council has been doing excellent 

 work during the last two winters, by obtaining the services 

 of Mr. Greig "Wilson, M.A., B.Sc, of Edinburgh University, 

 who is a thorough expert in all the last discoveries in fishery 

 matters, to lecture to fishermen at all the large fishing centres 

 and villages on our coast. The amount of information given at 

 these lectures, which were all illustrated by the lantern, on 

 the spawning habits, feeding-ground of immature and full- 

 grown fish, their growth and time of coming to maturity, and 

 a vast fund of other valuable information, was evidently much 

 appreciated ; and I hope that year after year the same course 

 may be adopted, as by such means as this a great amount of 

 useful information must be spread amongst these hardy, hard- 

 worked men, who toil all night for our benefit. 



I cannot close these few cursory remarks on fishery matters 

 without alluding to the valuable "Catalogue of Fishes of the 

 Elvers and Coast of Northumberland and Durham and the 

 adjacent Sea," compiled with great care by our esteemed 

 Honorary Secretary, Mr. Eichard Howse. A more complete 



