130 



Part III. — Thirteenth Annual Report 



While the plaice this season have been mainly dealt with on a large 

 scale, the eggs of other species have also been fertilised and incubated, 

 and the young fry distributed in the waters of the neighbourhood. A 

 summary of the numbers of young fry put out from the hatchery during 

 this spring season (February — May), is as follows : — 



Plaice (Pleronectes pJatessa) .... 38,615,000 

 Long rough dab (Hippoglossoides Jimaneloides) \ 



Common dab (PL Umamia) . . V about 600,000 

 Flounder (PL rtesus) ) 



Cod (Geirtus morrl(ua) ..... 2,760,000 



Haddock (G. eeglennus). . \ , .. A „ Aft 



Whiting (G. merfangus) . . } about 450 ' 000 



Total of fry hatched 42,425,000 



6. Experiments with the Sole. 



In my report* on the operations last year, a detailed account is given 

 of the work on the plaice during the spring season. 



Later, experiments were begun with the sole, turbot, and lemon dab, 

 and I may here give particulars of these experiments during the time I 

 was engaged in charge of the operations at the hatchery. This, however, 

 terminated on the 20th of July, and before the experiments had been 

 brought to an end. 



In the account of the hatchery given in the Board's Twelfth Annual 

 Report, full particulars will be found as to how soles were transported 

 by rail from the Lancashire coast to Dunbar ; while turbot were brought 

 in the same manner from the west coast of Scotland (Girvan). In the 

 same paper, Dr Fulton also describes what arrangements had been made 

 here to allow experiments with different species at the same time. 



The spawning pond had been divided into two compartments, each 

 with a separate in-flow and out-How, the one part being for turbot, and 

 the other for soles ; while the tidal creek had been preserved for the 

 lemon dabs. 



During the early part of June soles were collected in the tidal creek, 

 from which, on the 14th of that month, they were transferred to one of 

 the compartments of the spawning pond, since a few eggs of the sole 

 had been observed in the surface water in the former place. These eggs, 

 however, were not fertilised ; but an occurrence like this often takes place 

 previous to the actual spawning, which, therefore, was expected to take 

 place in the near future. After this transference, the fishes remained 

 very quiet, and were only occasionally seen swimming about in the water ; 

 some specimens were seen to remain on the same spot for a day or more 

 at a time. It was not until the end of the month that they became more 

 acclimatised, and were apparently in good progress, as they about that 

 time began to take food. Lugworms (Arenicola) were mostly used. 

 But though the soles were prospering well, no eggs were observed in the 

 water j during the fir-it weeks of July, I therefore made some modifi- 

 cations of the arrangements in -order to find out the mo?t desirable 

 circumstances under which the fishes were expected to spawn. But 

 before this could be finished my engagement in charge of the operations 

 was terminated. 



The collection of turbot from Girvau was carried out in the middle o 

 * Twelfth Annual Report, Part III. p. 196. 



