18 



Part III. — Twenty-seventh Annual Report 



West Coast. — Stornoway, 2-3 miles off Tolsta Sands, 12th February 

 1907 :— 35 W. Spr., 24 to 32 cm. : eggs, -8-1-1 mm. : o, 15-27 mm. : t, 

 20-32 mm. : fat, none, some. Schizopods and a sand-eel were observed in 

 certain stomachs; the majority of the latter were empty. 



West Coast. — Stornoway, 14 miles N.-W. of Butt of Lewis, 23rd 

 February 1899 :— 7 W. Spr. F., 29-34-5 cm. 



West Coast. — Loch Broom, 17th February 1905: — 4 Imm. dev., 21 to 

 24 cm. ; 2 Spg. Spr. rf, 23 cm. ; 4 W. Spr. F., 25 to 27 cm. 



East Coast.— Firth of Forth, 18th February 1909 :— 4 Imm ., 21, 22 cm.: 

 o, very small: t, very small: fat, large quantity ; 24 W. Spr., 21 to 27 cm.: 

 e gg s > '9-L1 mm.; 1 W. Spt. $, 21 cm. A little food was observed in 

 certain of the stomachs. 



East Coast.— Vicinity of St. Andrews Bay, 11th February 1903: — 



4 Imm., 14 to 19 cm.: fat, large quantity, none; 12 W. Spr. F., 23 to 

 28 cm. 



East Coast.— Firth of Tay, 8th February 1 905 :— 50 Imm., 7 to 19 cm.: 

 eggs, -07--15 mm. : o, l'5-3'5 mm. : t, -7-3 mm. : fat, large quantity, none; 

 1 W. Spr. F. c?, 17 cm. : t, 10 mm. : fat, some. 



East Coast.— Firth of Tay, 26th February 1906:— 379 Imm., 8 to 

 20 cm. : o, 2 mm. : fat, a little ; 2 Imm. dev. 18, 19 cm. : o, 4 mm. ; t, 



5 mm. ; 2 W. Spr. $. 21 cm. 



East Coast.— Moray Firth, 8th February 1905 :— 2 Imm. 13, 14 cm.: 

 fat, none; 4 Imm., 15 to 18 mm.: fat, large quantity; 11 Imm. dev., 17 

 to 22 cm. : fat, large quantity ; 4 W. Spr. F., 21 to 26 cm. 



Summary. 



Immature, 8 to 23 cm. : eggs, -07-- 15 mm. : o, 1*5-4 mm. : t, *7-3 mm. : 

 fat, large quantity, none. 



Imm. dev., 17 to 24, 26 cm. ; eggs, -25-'4 mm. : o, 3-5 : t, 4 mm. : fat, 

 large quantity, some. 



Spg. Spr., 17 to 23 cm.: eggs, -4--6 mm.: o, 5-8 mm.: t, 4-8 mm.: fat, 

 large quantity, none. 



W. Spr., 17 to 34 cm. : eggs, -7-1*35 mm. : o, 9-30 mm. : t, 7-38 mm. : 

 fat, none, some. 



Immature. — The immature ovary is plump, smooth on the outside 

 except for the curved bossing, due to the growth of the eggs stretching the 

 skin. The vein is wide. The eggs are, under the microscope, visible 

 through the skin. The lower edge of the ovary is crenate, marking the 

 internal transverse division by septa. In section the ovary is triangular 

 or wedge-shaped. The section is filled with eggs, which are closely packed 

 in the septa. There is no spacing between the eggs, which in one fish 

 17 cm. long were '1 mm. in diameter. Some eggs were larger ; they were 

 oval, measuring in long diameter '15 mm. The eggs have very large nuclei. 

 Some very small eggs — viz., -03 mm. in diameter — were also noticed. In 

 a spent ovary there is usually spacing between the eggs when the majority 

 are as small as the above. 



The immature testis, in herrings 14-16 cm. long, has a smooth, un- 

 wrinkled external skin ; the vas deferens and the vein are large. The 

 testis is a solid filled with small cells. On teazing a portion in water very 

 little of the white coagulable matter was washed out. No honeycomb 

 structure was made out. The testis is a little crenate along its free edge. 



Winter Spawners. — They measured from 17 to 34 cm. in length ; 17 cm. 

 or less is then the lower limit of the first sjoawning shoal of winter spawners. 

 When all the winter spawners, viz., winter spawning developing, table, 

 p. 61, and " fulls," table, p. 60, are combined, there appears to be a break 

 in the series at 27 cm., but I am not able to regard that size of any definite 

 significance. 



