354 
Pari III — Eighth Annual Report 
numbers of the more important kinds of fish thus labelled and set free 
are shown in the accompanying table. 
<6 
d 
o . 
'o 
m 
'bC 
M 
o 
e3 . 
bb 
laice. 
o ^ 
emou 
W rt 
btP 
a 
o 
lounc 
-2 
r rt 
gtf 
tS 
o 
[addo 
.c 
'-2 
urna: 
□ 
M 
En 
O 
w 
o 
Firth of Forth, . 
48 
43 
29 
70 
11 
8 
15 
5 
1 
6 
St. Andrews Bay, 
259 
60 
2 
6 
22 
4 
1 
1 
10 
The brass labels were tied round the tail of the fish, and aluminium 
wire was for several months employed to attach them; more recently 
black silk cord has been alone used, and it answers well. All the fish 
known to have been recaptured had the label attached by the silk cord. 
These are shown in the second table. 
I think these experiments are fairly satisfactory; especially as they 
represent only a few months trial since the silk cord was used. It will 
be observed (1) that only plaice, cod and skate were recaptured; (2) that 
the length of the fish had, when re-measured, diminished as a rule; (3) 
that the fish were recaptured almost always very near to the place where 
they were returned to the sea, sometimes months before. The other fish 
labelled included witch soles, starry rays, cat-fish, lump-suckers, anglers, 
and grey skate. 
It is probable that many of the lemon soles, dabs, and flounders perished 
because of their diminished vitality when returned to the sea (vide, p. 183); 
plaice are very tenacious of life. About 2| per cent, of the plaice and 
over 18 per cent, of the cod were recaptured. In devising these experi- 
ments I desired to obtain information not only as to the migrations of 
fishes, but also as to the rate of growth. I was therefore surprised to 
find on measuring the specimens sent to me that they had often 
diminished rather than increased in length. By keeping a fresh plaice, 
however, and measuring it on successive days, I found that it gradually 
shrank from drying, e.g., a plaice 12 inches long shrunk two-fifths of an 
inch within 48 hours. As the fish when they came into my hands had 
usually been removed from the sea a day or two before, the measurements 
given are in all cases under what they would have been when the fish 
were just captured. Allowing for shrinking it would appear that their 
rate of growth is not rapid, but it must be stated that the ligature had 
caused abrasion round the tail which may have interfered with their 
growth. Most of the fish were, however, very plump and in good condi- 
tion. 
It is perhaps surprising that these fishes should not have travelled 
further. The two plaice described as having been caught beyond the 
Bell Rock, and the skate, were caught by beam-trawlers ; but none of the 
fish caught by fishermen were obtained outside the territorial waters. 
Plaice, up to 13 inches seem to remain within the territorial waters during 
the spawning season off-shore (vide, p. 260). As the cost of these 
experiments is very small, they will be continued on a large scale. 
3. The Migrations and Reproduction of the Common Eel 
(Anguilla vulgaris). 
There are many points connected with the life-history, and especially 
with the reproduction, of the eel which are obscure. Eels, it is known, 
