of the Fishery Board for Scotland. 



287 



24 5: 25: 25: 27: 27'5 : 30: 30: 34: 34 : 35: 37 5 : 43: 52 

 mm. A dab 10 mm. long was got in the Forth on 8th June 1891. If 

 these specimens mentioned by Cunningham, 10'5 and 17 mm. long, are 

 three months old, they must have been exceptionally slow in growth, and 

 it is not likely that such aberrant individuals would be common. But 

 they must be comparatively common — as one dab 10 mm. long was got in 

 the Forth in June 1891 and Cunningham records several specimens 

 between that size and 20 mm. It is peculiar that in the cold months of 

 February and March, the dab in the Humber managed in six weeks to 

 reach the size of 20 mm., while those got near Plymouth in June, only 

 measure 10'5 and 17 mm., and are supposed to be three months old. It 

 is more reasonable to suppose that these small specimens (the latter two 

 10*5 and 17 mm.) instead of being spawned in March had been spawned 

 in April or May, and were thus between one and two months old. The 

 specimen got in the Humber, 20 mm. long, is likely to be far more than 

 six weeks old. 



In the table of sizes given above there are two distinct series. One of 

 these begins with 16th April 1887, and runs on to 2nd October 1887. 

 It starts with a specimen 13 mm. long, and ends with one 49 mm. long. 

 The second series commences with 10th October 1891, and extends to 

 2nd October 1887. Beginning with a dab 11 mm. long, it is continued 

 through January, March, April, with the sizes, 14, 20 &c, 25 mm. It is 

 represented in September and October by the two specimens 71*5 and 70 

 mm. respectively. If spawning had taken place at the end of September or 

 beginning of October, the small sizes of the other specimens in the second 

 series would be occounted for. It is difficult otherwise to account for the 

 great aberrancy in growth presented by the second series. The dab 

 71 -5 mm. long caught on 7th June 1888 apparently belongs to the first 

 series, as likely do the specimens 105 and J 06 mm. long, captured in 

 September. The dabs 70*5 and 70 mm. obtained in 11th September and 

 2nd October maybe referred to the second series. The specimen 52 mm. 

 long got on 4th March 1890 might be included in the first series. The 

 members of the second series are comparatively small, but they have had 

 the winter months to contend with. There is. however, no evidence of 

 spawning taking place at the end of September, so that the ages of these 

 specimens have been calculated from the known, spawning period. 



The Grey Gurnard. 



(Trigla gurnardus.) 



The spawning period of this form extends from April to August, both 

 inclusive. The eggs were not got by the s.s. ' Garland' (1892 Report) in 

 very great abundance in April ami August. They were more common in 

 May, even more so in June, and were obtained in largest quantity in July 

 (Station VIII., Forth). The eggs of the gurnard have been found by Mr 

 Scott, of the ' Garland,' in January. ' The embryos are hatched in from 

 ' six to seven days, according to the temperature, after fertilisation of the 

 ' eggs. The embryos, when five days old, measure 4*125 mm. In the 

 ' following June the young gurnards appear to reach the length of 68*7- 

 ' 75 mm. (2|-3 inches), though others range to 118 and 162 mm. (4| 

 1 and 6 \ inches). Some even reach the length of 103-153 mm. (4J— 

 ' 6^ inches). It is probable that all these may be included in the season's 



