SEA-FISHERIES LABORATORY. 421 



tion in 1908 appeared to be rather limited. The eggs 

 were not observed before April 15th, and none were 

 present in the plankton after April 29th. In 1909, they 

 first appeared on March 27th, and were frequently 

 captured throughout April. The eggs remained one of 

 the constituentsi of the plankton up to May 24th. The 

 first eggs obtained in 1910 were found in a surface 

 collection taken on April 8th, and were represented in 

 the plankton from that date onwards until May 31st. 

 This is the latest record in the whole of the six years' 

 intensive study investigations. The distribution of the 

 eggs during 1911 was restricted to about a month. None 

 were observed in the plankton before April 12th, and 

 they finally disappeared on May 15th. We obtained the 

 earliest record of the occurrence of the eggs during the 

 six years' plankton investigations in 1912. The first 

 eggs were captured on March 4th. They were present 

 almost continuously from that date onwards until 

 May 9th. Over 400 eggs were obtained from seven hauls 

 with the shear-net in the open sea at Stations I and III 

 between April 12th and 27th. No larval or post-larval 

 stages that could be identified as young megrims were 

 observed during the investigations. 



Pleuronectes pla-tessa, Linn. — Plaice. 



The pelagic eggs of the plaice, which can be readily 

 recognised by their large size, corrugated shell and 

 absence of oil-globule, occur in the plankton of the area 

 investigated during the intensive study from February 

 9th to April 23rd. The first eggs observed in 1907 wer^ 

 found in a surface collection taken in Port Erin Bay on 

 February 22nd. They were noted again on March 6th, 

 and in the plankton of the open sea on April 1st, 4th 

 and 5th. The eggs appeared to be generally distributed 



