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Part III. — T i verity -fourth Annual Report 



that there was no good evidence against the supposition that it reaches 

 the spawning condition in one year, a view which was also held by the 

 old Dutch naturalist Leuwenhoek. But it might be well, he said, to leave 

 the question whether the herring attains its maturity at 12, 15, or 18 

 months open, in the tolerably firm assurance that the period last named 

 is the maximum. Later, he modified his opinion, agreeing rather with 

 Mitchell (2, p. 30) and Yarrell (3, ii., p. 190), that it attained maturity 

 when about one year and a half old — a somewhat odd conclusion, since it 

 implies that the summer-spawners of one year give rise to the winter- or 

 spring-spawners of the next year but one, and vice versa. 



De Caux, who wrote a book on the herring and its fishery, stated his 

 belief that herrings arrived at maturity well within twelve months (4, 

 p. 50). 



Mr. George Sim did not agree with the supposition that the herring 

 grew so fast. From the examination of large numbers of herrings, he 

 thought that it grew in its first year six or seven inches, and that it did 

 not spawn until the end of its second year (5, p. 46). 



(b) Scandinavian and Dutch. 



On the Continent, and especially in Sweden and Norway, much atten- 

 tion has been given to the question. 



Ljungmann (6, 6a), as the result of the measurement of a large number 

 of herrings in May from the west coast of Sweden, came to the conclusion 

 that the herring grew much more slowly than the above statements would 

 indicate. 



On the coast of Bohusl'an, where the small herrings come in May, they 

 grow rapidly with the high temperature, and measure 80mm. to 100mm. 

 He measured a great many herrings in the latter part of November on 

 the northern part of the Swedish coast, and found that the length of 

 these one-year-old fish varied from 78mm. to 109-5mm. In the latter 

 part of spring he also measured many herrings on the Bohuslan coast, 

 and came to the conclusion that the majority could be divided into three 

 groups, (1) about 120mm. (4| inches), or one year old; (2) 170mm. to 

 175mm. (6f-6| inches), or two years old; (3) 200mm. to 210mm. (7|- 

 8| inches), or, presumably, three years old, and with fully-developed 

 reproductive organs. 



Ljungmann occasionally found herrings as small as 18 -5cm. (7| inches) 

 with fully ripe eggs ; on the other hand, many herrings from this size up 

 to 20cm. (7-J inches) could not possibly spawn the same season. While 

 he thinks the herring spawns first at three years of age, he says some may 

 not do so until four years old. Fish of about 23 5cm. (9J inches) he 

 regards as four years old. 



Widegren (7), who assigned a length of 75mm. (3 inches) to a one- 

 year-old herring, and a length of 150mra. (6 inches) to one two years of 

 age, stated that herrings two months old had a length of 25mm. (1 

 inch) and at three months a length of 37mm. (1^ inches). The size 

 at maturity he placed at 20cm. (8 inches) and the age at three years. 



Axel Boeck (8), with special reference to the Norwegian spring herring, 

 puts the average length when maturity is reached at 25cm. (9|- inches), 

 and the average age at three to four years ; while Sundevall (9), dealing 

 with the stromling of the eastern coast of Sweden, supposed them to 

 attain maturity v/hen three or four years old, and about 20cm. (8 inches) 

 in length. He states that the young herring reach a length of 25mm. 

 in about two months; 36mm. in three months; 50mm. in four months; 

 75mm. (3 inches) when one year of age, and from 125mm. to 150mm. 

 (5-6 inches) when two years old. 



