of the Fishery Board for Scotland. 
J 65 
a closely allied fish, seems to be pelagic. Professor M'Intosli's statement 
on the subject is as follows : — 
' The eggs of the sprat appear from St Andrew's Bay and the Forth in 
* March and May. They are very frequently met with in April and May, 
1 and often in the bottom net in profusion* * The Italics arc ours. 
Now this is the same spawning season as the sardine, April and May, 
and the ' pelagic ' ova of this fish are found in the bottom net in profu- 
sion. Is there here an explanation of the difference of opinion as to their 
deposition, and their absence from the surface nets at Concarneau 1 We 
want more light on this matter. As while specific gravity may affect them 
In St Andrews Bay and the Forth, it cannot do so in the Bay of Biscay 1 
Meantime we have the opposing views of those who fancy that : 
1. * The sardine comes from the North to the South. The fishermen of 
4 Coruna say that between July and September the sardine enters the 
* bays in quantity with the wind to the north-east which- causes a current 
* on the coast towards the north, and this tendency to shelter itself against 
1 an impulse towards the north, agrees with the above old established 
' opinion. 
2. ' That the sardine proceeds from the South to the North. This view 
' is based on the fact that the sardine fished in Biscay, towards the com- 
' mencement of spring, could not visit England until the autumn, when 
1 much larger. 
3. ' To-day certaiu fishermen in Galicia believe that the sardine comes 
' from outside, and some captains declare they have seen it about 15 miles 
4 from the land.' f 
That there is a remarkable, if not absolute, similarity of species between 
the sardine and the pilchard no one can now well doubt. But we do doubt 
most emphatically that either the sardine of Galicia or of Concarneau 
belongs to the same shoals as the pilchards of Cornwall, or those of the 
south-east of Ireland. The probability is that all are shoals of varieties 
of the same species depending upon locality and food for the slight variation. 
The great depths of the Rios of Galicia, or close by, are given as 
reason for the constant regard of the sardine . for the district. While 
other regions have been subjected to their intermitted attentions, 
Galicia has never failed of their attendance. The idea seems to be that 
the fish retire to these depths to escape from turbulent waters, or to 
reach a milder temperature. But the experiments and observations of 
Pouchet do - not seem to have given any support to the temperature 
theory, as neither the prevalence of the fish themselves, nor of their food, 
seem to be regulated by thermometrical readings. J 
The great probability is, however, reasoning from analogy, that the 
sardine of Galicia, although closely resembling the Cornish pilchard, is local. 
It is extremely delicate in its mature condition, and of particularly fine 
flavour ; and although we cannot say the same of the Galician tins of small 
sardines, compared with the French, the likelihood is these are injured 
by lack of skill and care in the preparation. For the tinning of sardines 
is a quite recent industry compared with the preserving of the matured 
fish in Galicia ; and even on the Biscay coast of France, the quality is, 
and has always been, most irregular, and largely dependent upon the 
district and the character of the ground. 
The conditions of these ' tinnable ' sardines, which are young fish 
' on the feed,' and largely attracted by the use of cod roe as bait — 
* Eighth Annual Report, p. 284. + Prince de Monaco, op. ext., pp. 4-5. 
X ' The action of the temperature is not clearly appreciable, and the effects that 
' one might attribute to it, are easily attributable to other causes acting at the same 
' time. The same remark applies to the light.'' — Pouchet. 
