190 TRANSACTIONS LIVERPOOL BIOLOGICAL SOCIETY. 



is in charge of Captain J. Wright, and the uncertainty of 

 the weather, makes the work rather difficult, however. 

 Frequently, after a rough passage, many of the fish are in 

 a dying state when Piel is reached. 



At the beginning of the hatchery season of 1904 our 

 stock of fish was represented by 150 plaice and about 200 

 flounders. A number of the latter, however, proved to 

 be immature and a smaller number of eggs than might 

 have been expected from so many fish, was secured. 



On March 1st the plaice commenced to spawn, and 

 the flounders a few days later. The first fertilised eggs 

 were secured on March 9th and the last on May 7th. The 

 spawning season, so far as the hatchery was concerned, 

 practically extended over a period of two months and 

 was of the same duration as the previous year. During 

 the two months one and a quarter millions of plaice eggs 

 were secured, and fourteen millions of flounder eggs. 

 These were incubated in the Dannevig hatchery boxes and 

 yielded thirteen and a half millions of fry. The fry were 

 set free, as in former years, near the centre of Morecambe 

 Bay. There was practically no difference in the periods 

 of incubation from those of the previous year. In March 

 and early part of April the plaice took seventeen days, 

 and the flounders ten days to incubate. Towards the end 

 of the season the plaice have hatched in fifteen days, and 

 the flounders in seven days. The losses during incuba- 

 tion, resulting from all causes, averaged, in the case of 

 the plaice eggs 11*8 per cent, and in the flounders 11*3 

 per cent. 



The following tables give the number of eggs 

 collected and of the fry hatched and set free, on the dates 

 specified : — 



