14 
Part III. — Eighth Annual Report 
greatly increased if the Board were in possession of a vessel capable 
of carrying on such work at distances from shore. It is very 
desirable to have a thorough examination made of the great 
fishing banks lying off the Scotch coast. 
The Proportional Numbers and Sizes of the Sexes among Sea Pishes. 
— In another paper Dr Wemyss Fulton gives the results of his in- 
quiries into this subject, based upon an examination of 12,666 
fishes. Females are as a rule much more numerous than males ; 
the proportion of females to each 100 males is, among sea fishes 
generally, 228 females to 100 males ; among lemon soles the pro- 
portion is 297 ; among plaice, 138 ; flounders, 84 ; long rough dabs, 
842 ; turbot, 196 ; cod, 133 ; haddock, 188 ; and gurnard, 409. The 
females are also as a rule larger ; but the male is the larger among 
cod, haddock, and a few other fishes. 
Experiments on the Migratory Movements of Sea Fishes. — A series 
of experiments, designed to ascertain the migrations of the food- 
fishes and their rate of growth, were carried on last year on board 
the ' Garland, 5 chiefly in the Firth of Forth and St Andrews Bay. 
Such experiments are also being carried on in Denmark. Brass 
labels, bearing a number, were attached to about a thousand fishes, 
which were then replaced in the sea. Several of the plaice and 
cod, and one of the skates were recaptured, in some cases after the 
lapse of six months. The results serve to show that in corre- 
spondence with what has been ascertained in regard to the distri- 
bution of immature fish, that plaice under twelve inches in length 
do not quit the territorial waters during the offshore spawning. 
They also serve to show that fish do not probably travel such 
distances as has been supposed, nearly all having been recaptured 
w T ithin a mile or so of the place where they were returned to the 
sea. 
The Pelagic Fauna, Pelagic Ova, and Larval Fishes. — Professor 
W. C. M'Intosh, F.K.S., has made an elaborate study of the pelagic 
fauna of St Andrews Bay. The first portion of his report on this 
subject was published last year ; the second part, dealing with the 
distribution of the invertebrate organisms which form the food of 
many larval and other fishes, will be found in the present volume. 
Professor M'Intosh has also in another paper described the ova 
of the food-fishes and the larval and post-larval stages obtained in 
the c Garland's' tow-nets at various parts of the coast. These 
include the ova or larvse of plaice, lemon sole, flounders, dabs, cod, 
haddock, ling, whiting, &c; and they constitute an indispensable 
part of the general study of the reproduction of the food-fishes. 
Additions to the Fauna of the Firth of Forth. — Mr Thomas Scott, 
F.L.S., one of the naturalists of the Board, while superintending the 
prosecution of the trawling experiments of the ' Garland,' and the 
inquiry into the food of fishes, has made large collections of the 
invertebrate fauna. Mr Scott's industry is indicated by the fact 
that in his paper describing these, he records over 80 species of 
organisms not previously recognised as belonging to the Firth of 
Forth. Several of these are for the first time recorded for the East 
of Scotland ; some are new to Britain and a few new to science. 
This paper is illustrated by two plates. 
The Invertebrate Fauna of Inland Waters. — The first part of 
