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Part III — Fifteenth Annual Report 



Turbot. — This form is not abundant, neither in Firth of Clyde nor 

 Loch Fyne. On the east coast it was not found until the end of May. 



Flounder and dab. — These may be considered together because they 

 are rarely separate, the llounder being more abundant. Their eggs are 

 as universal as those of the cod, and almost as abundant. On 

 13th April, at Station II., Clyde, the eggs were almost entirely llounder 

 and dab in the bottom net. How this is to be understood is difficult. 

 Station II. may be in partly fresh water ; if so, it is curious that no 

 mure eggs of cod, etc., were found in this net. On the east coast, the 

 flounder eggs are common from March till the end of May, and the 

 dab reaches a maximum in April. 



Motella. — The eggs of motella were very abundant, as on the east 

 coast at the same period. The greatest number was got on April 22nd, 

 at the Station Pladda to Turnberry. 



Dragonet. — The eggs of this form, which did not appear on the east 

 coast till June, were present at the beginning of April in Firth of 

 Clyde. They are not so abundant as motella's, and are almost entirely 

 absent from Loch Fyne. 



Two other forms occur — the sole and megrim. The sole was got three 

 times, twice in the bottom-net on 13th and 20th April, and once in 

 surface-net on 20th April. Two eggs of megrim were got in the same 

 net as last. 



In connection with the trawlings in Loch Fyne : — five places visited. 

 At four of these trawls were made at different depths, and the result is 

 interesting. At 6J fathoms no whiting, poor cod, sprat, turbot, flounder 

 (twice only), dab, Motella (once), or dragonet were found, while the 

 haddock and cod were present in small numbers, but the forms with 

 eggs of large bulk, the long rough dab and plaice were got in greater 

 quantities than anywhere else. This is easily understood for the plaice, 

 because of the greater mass of its eggs as compared with those of other 

 forms, but the long rough dab eggs are specially adapted for floating — owing 

 to perivitelline space — as is to be seen in spirit in the bottles. They float 

 above all the other eggs. The reason for these being found in deep 

 water is, that the larvae were for the most part hatched, — the embryo 

 having just broken through the egg capsule, or being fully developed 

 within the capsule. In the surface net, the cod eggs, as in Firth of 

 Clyde, were predominant. 



LARViE AND YOUNG FISHES. 



Firth of Forth. — The number and variety of these are not so great 

 as in 1894, owing to the much shorter time that the ' Garland ' spent in 

 the Forth. 



Clupeoid forms were the commonest, and varied greatly ' i size. 

 This corresponds to the different months of spawning (Masterman, 

 Fourteenth Scottish Fishery Board Report), one set being from 8 to 

 9'5 mm., the other from 28 to 31 mm. Sand-eels were fairly common, 

 varying from 5 to 9*5 mm. A single example of the common eel, 6 - 3 

 cm. was got at Station II. on the 24th February. Gunnels were 

 almost as common as clupeoids, varying in size from 9 to 13 mm. A 

 few cotti were caught at Station IV. on 20th February. 



FIRTH OF CLYDE AND LOCH FYNE. 



The most common forms met with were gadoids, sand-eels, and mon- 

 tagu's suckers. The gadoids varied in size from 3*5 to 20 mm., and 



