36 



TRANSACTIONS LIVERPOOL BIOLOGICAL SOCIETY. 



fish frequently touches the gravel with the tip of the 

 single barbel borne by the lower jaw in much the same 

 way as a dog will follow a trail of scent. 



Passing now to the work of the fish hatchery, I may 

 say that nearly five and a half millions of plaice fry were 

 hatched from March 14th to May 18th inclusive. Of this 

 number nearly four millions were liberated in the open 

 sea, about half the remainder being transferred from our 

 hatching boxes to the marine lake on the Mooragh at 

 Kamsey, and the other half to the western portion of our 

 spawning pond, which had been cleansed and reserved for 

 their reception. 



Fig. VI. — The Spawning Ponds. 



We have, as yet, no information as to the result of the 

 first of these experiments ; that of the second is curious 

 and, in one respect, quite unexpected, for, in spite of 

 abundance of pure water and food, there has been 

 considerable mortality amongst the fry, and a remarkable 

 variation in their size when examined and measured on 



