SEA-FISHERIES LABORATORY. 259 



usual rule, this species seems more abundant on the 

 surface than deeper — e.g., 



Surface nets. 10 faths. 



April 18 100 100 Station II. 



19 400 230 25 Station I. 



19 190 112 50 Station II. 



22 150 50 50 Station I. 



23 100 50 Station IV. 



24 1,300 800 75 Station I. 



24 700 1,140 75 Station II. 



These last two hauls show the highest numbers recorded 



for the year ; they fall to 100 or under during May, June 



and -July, recover to 600 by August 12th, drop again to 



the tens, or a hundred or two at most, later in August — 



when the larger numbers are sometimes in the deeper 



nets, e.g. — 



Surface nets. 10 faths. 



August 24 40 20 225 Mid- Channel 



24 30 50 700 



27 30 20 100 Train Bank 



During September, while the surface hauls remain 

 relatively small the deeper nets occasionally get larger 

 numbers, such as 420, 130, 230. On September 16th, 

 however, at Station I, the numbers were : — surface nets, 

 255 and 47 ; weighted net (10 fathoms), 100. On 

 September 19th a surface haul just outside the bay gave' 

 240, and the following day successive surface hauls at 

 Station I gave 165, 230, 165, 140. On September 23rd 

 the record was 300, on 28th 100, in October 100, 150, 25, 

 and in Xovember and December the numbers drop to 

 units. How a species with this record can be called 

 " a seasonal species occurring only in the summer " is 

 difficult to understand. The mistake can only be 

 attributed to the attempt to draw conclusions from 

 insufficient observations : twenty-three samples in the 

 year is quite an inadequate treatment of the Irish Sea. 

 There are various other statements in the Blue-book in 



