AND DECENNIAL SUMMARY. 



173 



numbers. Nothing, however, must be taken on trust in so 

 important an inquiry and accordingly a Table has been 



Lemon-Dab, during the months of the Decade. 







1st 



period 



2nd 



period 





Average 





No. of 



Sale- 



Unsale- 



Sale- 



Unsale- 



No. of 



1st 



2nd 





Hauls 



able 



able 



able 



able 



Hauls 



period 



period 



Jan. 



9 



10 



7 



110 



13 



27 



1 



4 



Feb. 



18 



20 



— . 



150 



9 



44 



1 



3 



Mar. 



18 



63 



— 



147 



23 



32 



3 



5 



Apr. 



18 



156 



— 



339 



62 



36 



8 



11 



May 



18 



246 



— 



505 



105 



44 



13 



13 



June 



35 



713 



151 



471 



98 



37 



24 



15 



July 



16 



211 



7 



668 



157 



34 



13 



24 



Aug. 



35 



801 



261 



794 



105 



38 



30 



23 



Sept. 



24 



682 



104 



624 



164 



35 



32 



22 



Oct. 



31 



298 



13 



377 



28 



35 



10 



11 



Nov. 



29 



176 



63 



138 



14 



29 



8 



5 



Dec. 



18 



53 



3 



131 



16 



41 



3 



146 



3 

 139 



constructed showing the captures of the species throughout 

 each month of the ten years. From this it will be seen that 

 the averages for the first period of five years exceed by 7^ those 

 of the second period, a result in keeping with the principles 

 already so often adverted to, though not so strikingly shown as 

 in certain cases. This result is due not to any noteworthy 

 diminution of the species, but to causes connected with the 

 periods of capture and the usual variations met with in all 

 methods of fishing in the sea. It would have been unusual to 

 find that with so favourable a first period of five years the 

 captures of lemon-dabs had not exceeded those of the second 

 period. This result is, perhaps, more evidently exhibited in the 

 monthly totals for the decade in Table on p. 174. The spindle 

 formed by the captures reaches its maximum (with a slight 

 break in July) in August (1,961), the minimum being in January 

 (133). No fish, indeed, could more conspicuously show the 

 effect of the season in regard to its numbers, and this altogether 

 irrespective of man's interference. It would seem, therefore, 

 that the hypothesis of the depletion of the ofifehore grounds 



1 Decimals are here as elsewhere not counted. 



