xvi 



Second Annucd Report of the 



Scientific chapter on the natural history of the herring. Professor Allman's 

 investigations, investigations proved that the spawn of the herring 1 was deposited 

 Experiments ' on the surface of stones, shingle, and gravel, and on old shells and 

 Anman eSSOr ' coarse shell sand, and even on the shells of small living crabs, and 



' other Crustacea,' and that it ' adhered tenaciously to whatever 



' matter it happened to be deposited on.' 

 Herring The spawn examined by Professor Allman was obtained for the 



atSofMl firSt time ° n tlie 6th ° f Marcn ' on tne east and wesfc sides of tne 

 & e o ay. ^ May, from depths varying from 14J to 21 fathoms, and was 



plentiful until the 13th March, but had almost entirely disappeared 



by the 25th, The spawn was not deposited until about 65 days 



after the appearance of the herring in the Firth, and it was never 



found except at the Isle of May. Professor Allman, who 



Spawn succeeded in hatching many of the eggs obtained, states ' that the 



hatched. < incubation probably continues during a period of between 25 



' and 30 days.' 



Commissioners 



In the chapter on the natural history of the herring, it is pointed 

 conclude there ou t for the first time that there are two principal spawning periods — 

 spawning an autumn period, with August and September as the two principal 

 periods. months, and a spring period, with February and March as the 

 principal months; and it is further mentioned that when spawning, 

 the herrings ' lie in tiers covering square miles of sea bottom, and so 

 ' close to the ground that the fishermen have to practise a peculiar 

 'mode of fishing in order to take them,' and 'when once their 

 ' object has been attained, and they have become spent fish, the shoal 

 ' rapidly disappears.' 

 Conclusions Following the example of Professor Ballot, the Meteorological 

 Steoro a *cal Societ y of Scotland in 1873, at the suggestion of the Marquis of 

 Society°of Ca Tweeddale, began a series of inquiries, with the view of determining 

 fnfluence t0 ^ l0W ^ ar ^ ne temperature of the sea and other meteorological 

 temperature, conditions influence the migration of the herring. After examin- 

 ee, ing the weekly returns of fishing sent to the Board by the fishery 

 officers during the six previous years (1867-1872), the Society 

 reported that 1 the results appeared to bring out an evident con- 

 ' nection between the exceptional atmospheric temperatures and the 

 1 migration of the herring, although it would be premature to draw 

 ' any general conclusion from the facts collected ;' and further that 

 ' it appeared that during the periods when good or heavy catches 

 ' were taken the barometer was in the great majority of cases high 

 ' and steady, the winds light and moderate, and electrical phenomena 

 ( wanting ; and, on the other hand, when catches were low, the 

 ' observations often indicated a low barometer, strong winds, 

 ' unsettled weather, and thunder and lightning.' 



The Fishery Board continued to obtain, through its fishery 

 officers and the commander of the fishery cruiser, daily registers 

 of the weather, and the temperature of the sea at different periods 

 of the herring fishery. From the registers and information supplied 

 for the years 1874-75, the Committee of the Meteorological Society 

 arrived at the following, amongst other conclusions — (1) that the 

 catch of herrings is less during any season, with a high tempera- 

 ture than during a corresponding season, with a low temperature ; 

 (2) that if the temperature is higher in one district than 

 another, the catch of herrings is greatest in the district with the 



