SEA FISHERIES LABORATORY. 129 
Newfoundland over 500 million of young Lobsters were 
hatched and set free last season, in addition to millions 
of Cod. Even the comparatively small hatchery just 
erected at Dunbar, and which I have had the advantage 
of visiting through the kindness of Dr. Fulton, will ac- 
commodate 80 million eggs at one time, and can of 
course by choosing the fish judiciously be used for many 
such batches in succession during a season—say from 
January to July. 
I would now strongly advocate the establishment of a 
small Sea Fish Hatchery for this district, such as I 
suggested In my memorandum to the Committee dated — 
April 26th, 1892; and I am of opinion that by far the best 
situation for such a purpose would be Port Erin at the 
South end of the Isle of Man. The Liverpool Marine 
Biology Committee have erected at Port Erin a small 
Biological Station in which work has now been carried on 
since last June so I can speak with an intimate knowledge 
of the conditions there, and I can confidently say that 
there is no place on the Lancashire or Cheshire coasts 
which would present equal advantages. The sea-water at 
Port Erin is perfectly pure—a primary requisite—while 
along our own coasts the water seems not to be any where 
sufficiently pure and free from mud and decaying matters 
to be used for hatching purposes. At Port Erin there are 
rocky creeks which could be readily enclosed to serve as 
ponds for collecting the spawning fish in, and there is one 
large tidal pool on the shore close to the present Biological 
Station which might at very small expense, by the erection 
of small pieces of wall between the rocks (see Pl. V.), 
be enlarged to more than twice its present size so as to 
form a pond measuring about 40 by 20 feet and 6 feet in 
depth. Another decided advantage in having the Fish 
Hatchery at Port Erin would be that time, labour, and 
