SEA-FISHERIES LABORATORY* 89 



week or two, when all, with the exception of two, were 

 unfortunately lost through the overflowing of the aquaria 

 in the night, no doubt having jumped out when the jars 

 were full. The survivors remain alive, and at the end of 

 November measured 3 T 7 o inches in length, one having 

 grown three-fourths of an inch in four months and the 

 other slightly less. The transformation of these larvae 

 from the Leptocephalus stage was not actually observed, 

 but on June 30fch they were flat, transparent, colourless 

 Leptocephali ; and on August 3rd had passed into young 

 eels, having a smoky-tinted back, silvery-grey sides, and 

 being no longer transparent. 



During the earlier parts of August numbers of young 

 eels were found under the stones on various parts of the 

 shore, which exactly corresponded with the appearance of 

 the transformed Leptocephali. 



From these observations it would thus appear that 

 the Leptocephali are inhabitants of the mud, and their 

 occasional presence in surface tow-net collections is due 

 to their having been swept out of their burrows by the 

 strong currents, and that they are never taken in the 

 dredge is owing to their activity. Attempts to capture 

 them with a tow-nefc when they are swimming against the 

 current usually ends in failure. 



In passing, it may be noted that all the Leptocephali I 

 have obtained from tow-nettings on the Lancashire coast 

 are identical with the hemi-larval stage described by 

 Grassi, and many of the observations agree with those 

 made by him, and published in his paper in the Proceed- 

 ings of the Royal Society already referred to. 



