Vlll PREFACE. 



As regards our respective shares in the preparation of this 



book, we may state that the Introduction and Chap. I are the 



result of our conjoint labours, and that, whilst the senior author 



is responsible for the Chapters dealing with the Life-history 



and development of a fish from a pelagic egg (Chaps. II and IV), 



upon Pelagic Fauna (Chap. Ill), and the typical development 



of a Teleostean Fish (Chap. V), — the Chapter on the Rate 



of Growth of Fishes (Chap. VI) is the work of the junior. 



The composition of the special life-histories of each species was 



originally divided between us, the latter taking in hand those 



of the grey gurnard, dragonet, angler-fish, wolf-fish, viviparous 



blenny, mackerel, fifteen-spined stickleback, cod, haddock, 



whiting, poor cod, green cod, the rocklings, ling, hake, the 



sand-eels, plaice, dab, flounder, herring, sprat, pilchard, eel, 



and conger, the former of us undertaking the remainder. To 



this we should add that certain remarks were later made 



to such an extent in the parts dealing with e.g. the dragonet, 



viviparous blenny, cod, haddock, whiting and rocklings, that 



they must be regarded as a conjoint production. 



While this work is only a step in a department to which 

 future investigators will continually add, it is not without some 

 satisfaction that one of us contrasts the condition of to-day 

 with what it was when he undertook the Trawling work 

 towards the end of 1883. Then the life-history of not a single 

 British marine food-fish was known, at least from observations 

 in our country. In the present work between 80 and 90 

 species are dealt with, the majoiity of the important forms 

 more or less exhaustively. The larger share of this work has 

 fallen to the St Andrews (now the Gatty) Marine Laboratory, 

 and amongst those who have given their energies to this task 



E. E. Prince, R. Scharff, J. Cleland, J. Burdon Sanderson, 



F. Gotch, Marcus Gunn, E. W. L. Holt, W. L. Calderwood, 

 W. E. Collinge, G. Sanderaan, H. C. Williamson, J. R. Tosh, 

 J. H. Fullarton, H. M. Kyle, W. Wallace, G. Lawrence, and 

 J. L. Steven deserve acknowledgment. 



