256 Second Annual Report of the 



during the early spring consist entirely of fry or elvers. Dr. 

 Tracey publishes the following notes in the report last quoted: 



" Spawning takes place in the ocean in winter. The place of 

 spawning is probably in water 500 fathoms or more deep, along 

 the steep slope where the continental plateau shelves off into the 

 great oceanic depths. The young when hatched are in a larval 

 condition and known as Leptocepkali, which require nearly a year 

 for the metamorphosis into young eels. In the meantime they 

 gradually approach the coast and enter the rivers in April and 

 May, i. e., in the spring a year after hatching. The young eels 

 two or three inches long, which can be seen moving up the rivers 

 in the spring are thus a year and two or three months old. The 

 mature eels which migrate down the rivers in the autumn to 

 spawn are probably 8 to 10 years old. (Gemzoe.) They die after 

 spawning. 



Young taken when ice breaks up in the spring, 1 to V/2 inches 

 long. Prof. Jenks found specimens 2 1 /4 inches long April 19. 



Shad. 



dp id May 13, 1912, the Hudson river fishermen had taken 

 87.5 quarts or 2,450,000, shad eggs for the Linlithgo station. Mr. 

 Rhines stated that the fishermen had trouble to get enough male 

 fish for good fertilization. That was the first week of egg col- 

 lecting, and conditions became more favorable when the tempera- 

 ture rose to the proper degree. On May 24, when the water 

 temperature was 70 1 degrees, the eggs in the hatching jars were 

 developing much better than they did at first. The number of 

 eggs in the station at that time was 6,608,000. 



In rearing shad in the ponds at Linlithgo great care is needed 

 to protect them from little eels which will enter the ponds through 

 water supply pipes unless they are kept out by screens and by 

 seining. 



River Herring. 



Up to May 24, 11912, the Linlithgo station had obtained 25,- 

 000,000 herring eggs from the Hudson river. The eggs were 

 hatching very nicely. Last year the quality of the eggs was very 

 poor. 



