CHAPTER I 
FISHES’ EGGS 
THE empty egg-shelis of the dog-fish, the skate and the 
ray are frequently to be found thrown up on the 
beach, and in our childhood’s days we were told 
that they were mermaid’s purses. 
The newly laid egg of the dog-fish, however, has 
a very different appearance from the opaque, almost 
black, crinkled egg-shell of the shore, for it has a smooth, 
glistening surface, and is light greenish-yellow in colour. 
If held up to the light the oval yolk is seen surrounded 
by the white of the egg as an opaque mass through the 
translucent egg-case. At each angle of the quad- 
tangular shell is a tendril comparatively thick at the 
base, and tapering to a fine point. This tendril can be 
stretched to about a vard in length, and when relaxed 
curls up like the spring of a watch. Dog-fishes’ eves 
take from seven to ten months to hatch, and if tt 
were not that they are safely secured during this 
time, most, if not all of them, would be washed 
on to the shore and perish. The egg is secured 
by the female fish swimming round and round 
some sea plant, and wrapping the tendrils on to the 
stem. 
An illustration is shown of a freshly deposited dog- 
To 
