of the Fishery Board for Scotland. 



2G7 



'three rows down each side,'* but the chromatophorcs were generally 

 distributed over the sides, though perhaps they were a little denser in a 

 lateral view along the dorsal and ventral borders. 



During the latter days of the month also a few larval cod in their 

 speckled condition, along with a few larvae of the haddock, were captured 

 in the mid-water net, and the larvae from some of the eggs of the rock- 

 ling escaped as soon as the contents of the mid-water and bottom-nets 

 reached the laboratory. 



In March likewise vast numbers of Clupeoids, apparently herrings, occur 

 in the nets, especially in the trawl-like bottom tow-net. Some of them still 

 had the yolk sac. Moreover, the intestine in many had a bright greenish 

 coloration from chlorophyll. Comparatively few larval herrings were 

 obtained' in the mid-water net, but myriads thronged the lower part of 

 the water towards the end of the month. They had probably only 

 recently escaped from the eggs, though the absence of the yolk-sac in 

 many, and the presence of well-marked embyronic fin-rays, showed that 

 they were some days old. These active little fishes are so translucent 

 as nearly to be invisible, except for the silvery eyes with a slightly greenish 

 lustre. So far as known, the ova of the herring have not been found on 

 the open sandy reach (opposite the estuary of the Eden), where the densest 

 masses of these young herrings occurred. They are, however, abundant 

 enough off the Forth and east of Fife. The appearance of the young 

 herrings would not seem to be much later than those in the south, for 

 Mr Cunningham records them in Plymouth Sound in February and 

 March. Chromatophores run along the ventral edge from the vent to 

 the liver, and a few specks occur over the united segmental ducts at the 

 rectum. 



These young fishes alone would enrich a Bay as regards fish-food, and 

 yet myriads of Nauplii, zoeae of crabs and shrimps, and various other 

 forms swarm round them. Such inquiries, indeed, extend our views in 

 connection with the resources in the ocean for the nourishment of fishes 

 at all seasons of the year. 



Numerous young sprats, from If inch to If inch, were occasionally 

 captured in the mid- water net. 



A larval form, which in the laboratory was associated with the sand-eel, 

 more, however, as a convenience in description than from any absolute 

 certainty of its relationship, was abundant in the Bay towards the end of 

 the month. It is easily distinguished from the larval Clupeoid by the 

 position of the vent, which is almost median. 



Another larval fish (Plate III. fig. 8, and Plate IV. figs. 2, 3 and 4), which 

 is readily distinguished from the Clupeoids by the presence of a large oil- 

 globule in the posterior region of the abdomen, is not uncommon in March, 

 occurring year after year about the beginning of the month. In those 

 hitherto seen here, the yolk has been absorbed, but a large globule of oil 

 remains thereafter, though it also speedily diminishes by absorption. The 

 rapid disappearance of the yolk is a feature of interest. Though in general 

 aspect it is Clupeoid, the anus is nearly median, thus boldly contrasting 

 with the condition in the latter. Its exact relationships have yet to be 

 worked out. 



The larval fish figured in Plate IV. fig. 1 presents another type, and 

 differs from anything hitherto met with. The body is less elongate than 

 in the Clupeoids, and the vent is median. The intestine, moreover, 

 presents a peculiarly distinct incurvation in the rectal region. Remains 

 of the yolk with a considerable oil-globule exist towards the anterior 



* Cunningham, Op cit. 



