of the Fit fieri/ Board for Scotland. 



11 



The Mauine Crustacea. 



A paper, illustrated by four plates, is also contributed to the 

 present report by Dr. Thomas Scott on a number of marine 

 Crustacea, obtained in collections made during various fishery 

 investigations, especially the trawling investigations in the Moray 

 Firth. 



All the forms described are small ; they are for the most part 

 free-swimming in their habits and belong to the Copepoda, a group 

 that constitutes a large proportion of the food of the edible fishes 

 in their young stages. Of these free-swimming crustaceans four 

 are new to science and are now described for the first time. A few 

 species that live as parasites on other crustaceans are also recorded. 

 They belong to the somewhat abnormal Choniostomatidpe ; two of 

 these are also new to science and are now described for the first 

 time in this report. 



The Tay Sprat Fishery. 



A paper is included in the present report in which Mr. John 

 Fletcher gives an account of the bag-net fishing for sprats on the 

 Tay in the season 1904-1905. The methods and course of the 

 fishing and the situation of the ground where the sprats are taken 

 are described, but the chief part of the paper deals with the 

 composition of the catches. In forty-six samples examined at 

 various periods from October to February inclusive, comprising 

 43,871 fishes, the number of young herrings was found to be 

 26,037, the 3prats numbering 16,992 ; there were also 581 specimens 

 of other food fishes, mostly whiting and cod, as well as 261 

 specimens of unmarketable and inedible forms. The herrings 

 measured from If inches to 7 inches in length. 



The quantity examined represented about one-thousandth part 

 of the entire season's catch. On the basis mentioned tables are 

 given showing the estimated composition of the catches throughout 

 the season, from which it appears that in the 1348 crans taken the 

 number of young herrings was approximately nearly 23^ millions, 

 while the sprats numbered a little over 21 millions. The percentage 

 proportion of herrings increased gradually and steadily from the 

 commencement of the season in October, when it was 204, to 

 January, when it was 78*2. 



The Young of the Conger. 



In last year's report two specimens of the young of the conger 

 (Leptocephalus) at different stages were described, the earlier being 

 known as Leptocephalus Morrisii and the older as L. punctatus, and 

 both were taken in the Moray Firth. Last May another specimen 

 of L. punctatus was captured in Aberdeen Bay in from four to five 

 fathoms of water and brought alive to the Laboratory, as well as 

 the head part of a third specimen. They are described by 

 Dr. Fulton in the present report. Leptocephali are exceedingly 

 rare, and the capture of four in so short a time is of interest. 



The Spawning of the Cod in Autumn in the North Sea. 



Dr. Fulton also describes further observations in connection with 

 the discovery that shoals of cod spawn in August, September, and 



