I 92 Part III. -—Twenty-fourth Annual Report 



Another collection, on 10th September, in Lochfyne, yielded 17 young 

 flounders, the smallest measuring 44mm. and the largest 78mm. (l|-3yL- 

 inches). It is not clear, however, that the last, and another at 77mm., 

 belong to the same series, since none were taken between 61mm, and the 

 sizes stated. They were mostly aggregated about 5cm., or 2 inches. 

 The other collections of little flounders were small, and serve to in- 

 dicate only a few points. Thus, some taken in spring, and therefore not 

 belonging to the year's spawning, were rather small in certain cases. On 

 27th March 2 were got in Lochfyne, measuring 63mm. and 99mm. On 

 25th May 2 were taken in the Dornoch Firth, one measuring 60mm. and 

 the other 70mm. At Annan, in April, two, measuring 82mm. and 90mm. 

 were taken. These represented fish of the preceding year, and there are 

 few of the second series in the collections; but it is probable that while 

 those mentioned, and a few others of the same kind in the Table, belong 

 to the second group, or those a little over one year old, those in the 

 Tables at 17cm. to 19'5em. are at least a year older. 



A large collection of flounders was obtained in the Dornoch Firth on 

 the 30th March, 1904, in from 5 to 16 fathoms, in the otter trawl, and as 

 they were either actually spawning or nearly ripe, the sexes were 

 separated and measurements made. They numbered 158, namely, 136 

 males and 22 females, the males in this species preponderating in numbers 

 over the females. It is unfortunate that the small-meshed net was not 

 used on this occasion, but, at the same time, it is not probable that many 

 more small flounders would have been taken, as the smaller fish do not 

 migrate to the depths referred to. The smallest male flounder in the 

 collection measured 202mm., or just 8 inches, and the smallest female was 

 252mm. The measurements are not sufficient to enable the fish to be 

 separated into definite annual series with any certainty, but they in all 

 probability represent flounders of at least three years and over. 



LEMON DAB ( Pleuronectes microcephalus). 



The growth of the lemon dab has not been made out so well as that of 

 most of the flat-fishes. This is owing to several circumstances. The 

 spawning period is of exceptional length, extending from the middle of 

 April to well on in September and even into October. Of a number of 

 large lemon dabs examined at a fish-yard at Aberdeen on the 21st and 22nd 

 September, all the males — 129 in number — yielded more or less spermatic 

 fluid on pressure, and of 168 females, 44, or 26 per cent., contained ripe 

 eggs, and were, in point of fact, spawning. On 10th November all were 

 found to be spent. Eggs of the lemon dab were also obtained in tow- 

 nets on 8th October. Owing to this circumstance of the extended 

 spawning period, the various annual groups soon coalesce to such 

 an extent as regards length that it is difficult to separate them. 

 Another difficulty is the scarcity of small specimens. For a long time 

 lemon dabs under three or four inches were unknown, though now 

 specimens under that size have been recorded by Holt, Cunningham, and 

 myself. Still another reason is the fact that large individual collec- 

 tions of lemon dabs are not very often obtained by the trawl. They are 

 scattered, and it would appear that collections from different parts may 

 show a different rate of growth. The number dealt with in this paper is 

 2201. 



I ascertained that in the Solway the boats that carry on prawn -fishing 

 by means of trawl nets often take considerable numbers of small lemon 

 dabs, and I arranged for collections to be made from the boats and the 

 fish forwarded to me. Such collections were obtained in April, May, and 



