of the Fishery Board for Scotland. 



81 



The table brings out what we have already seen as to the greater varia- 

 tion among the winter than the summer herrings ; the relatively smaller 

 heads being found in more localities in winter than summer, and the 

 relatively largest not being represented at all in the summer list. This of 

 course must be quite distinguished from the relative size of the head 

 among all the fish, as given in Table VI. Otherwise the preceding table 

 gives . us practically no indication of any special size of head being more 

 prevalent in one locality than in another. It must be noted that the 

 actual distinction between the figures in adjacent columns of the table 

 indicates no great difference between the sizes ; and, in fact, since the 

 division into these classes is purely for convenience of general comparison, 

 which would from the large number of minute variations be otherwise 

 extremely difficult, many of the fish included in one column would require 

 only a small fractional difference to shift them into the neighbouring column, 

 nearer which they may really be than to others included under the same 

 head. We must look, therefore, only for strongly marked distinctions, 

 such, for instance, as seem to occur between the winter fish of Banff and 

 Fraserburgh. These examples, however, are marked as unreliable, and in 

 this respect, therefore, are of little or no value. The Banff specimens con- 

 sisted of only two fish, from which it would be absurd to conclude that no 

 intermediate forms were to be found there, as, in fact, we know they must 

 be by the returns from the neighbouring districts. They are, however, 

 included in the table as being of considerable interest otherwise, and 

 having a bearing on the returns from other places. They are of special 

 interest because they were caught at the same time and place, and de- 

 monstrate the presence in one and the same shoal of the widest extremes 

 of those conditions in which we find the length of head of the herring. 

 Those places which are distinguished in the table by having fish with one 

 or other or both of the extremes of length of head are so widely separated 

 and the circumstance that no such peculiarity is shown by herrings from 

 neighbouring districts, even when so adjacent that some of the samples 

 must have come almost from the same shoals, is evidence, I think, that 

 this mere difference is insufficient to justify us in saying that these 

 localities possess a different race of herrings from any or all of the others. 



The percentages for 1884 and 1885, and which are combined in Table 

 VIII., agree in general closely, but as showing the difficulties which are 

 met with and the likelihood of falling into error by too narrow a view of 

 the distinctions, the percentages according to head variation of the fish sent 

 from Girvan (principally netted on the Ballantrae bank) in 1884 and 1885 

 are given below separately : — 





head 





127 



•1 QQ 





151 





•175 



to 



•186 



•187 

 to 

 •198 







length to 

 length. 



3ody 





to 

 138 





to 

 150 





to 

 162 





to 

 174 









1-2 





13-1 





iO-5 





33-3 



9^5 



2-4 



























































Winter, 1885 . 









1-6 





17-7 





i5-l 



34-0 



1-6 





From this there would appear to have been in 1885 a decjrease in the 

 shorter headed and a corresponding increase in the larger headed fish over 

 1884 — a difference quite as marked as the previous table shows between 

 distinct districts. 



