32 TRANSACTIONS LIVERPOOL BIOLOGICAL SOCIETY. 



Amongst the many marine animals exhibited in the 

 tanks the Octopns of the Irish Sea, Eledone cirrosa (see 

 fig. 4), has maintained an easy first place in the estimation 

 of the visitors. We were fortunate enough to obtain a 

 good supply of this Cephalopod in the early spring, and 

 the tank in which they lived always had its semi-circle of 

 interested visitors. 



Fig. IV. — Our local " Octopus." 



Next in point of interest came a number of young 

 plaice, hatched on April 25th, and exhibited in a large 

 dish alongside the series of table tanks. An explanatory 

 label, bearing a sketch of the larva at the time of hatching, 

 was appended, and led to the diffusion of a large amount 

 of information upon the rate of growth and habits of this 

 important food fish amongst many hundreds of visitors. 

 I found a widely prevalent impression that the rate of 

 growth of fishes is much more rapid than it really is, and 

 many people expressed great astonishment on being told 

 that a plaice takes at least two to three years to attain a 

 size fit for the table. 



The Aquarium tanks have been maintained in. good 

 condition throughout the year, and few of the specimens 

 exhibited therein have died from what may, perhaps, be 

 called natural causes. 



The majority of our losses have been the result of 



