of the Fishery Board for Scotland. 
273 
IV.- -CONTRIBUTIONS TO THE LIFE-HISTORIES AND DE- 
VELOPMENT OF THE FOOD AND OTHER FISHES. By 
Professor M'Tntosii, M.D., LL.D., F.R.S., F.K.S.E., St Andrews 
Marine Laboratory. (Plates XIV. -XVII.) 
CONTENTS. 
1. General Remarks, . . . . . . . 273 
2. Remarks on Young Plcuronectids, including the Turbot, Brill, Flounder, 
Dab, Plaice, &c, . . . . . . .274 
3. On a Post- Larval Form from Smith Bank, .... 285 
4. On the Eggs of the Halibut, ...... 285 
5. On the Eggs of the Green Cod (Saitlie), ..... 287 
6. On the Eggs of the Pollack (Lythe), ..... 288 
7. On the Eggs of the Torsk, ...... 288 
8. On the Eggs of the Sail Fluke or Whiff, .... 289 
9. Further Remarks on the Eggs of the Brill, .... 292 
10. On an Egg resembling that of the Solenette, with Remarks on the latter, 295 
11. On an Unknown Pelagic Egg with a large Perivitelline Space and a 
single Oil-Globule, ....... 296 
12. On the Eggs of the Frog- Fish {Lophius), .... 297 
13. On an Abnormal Plaice, ....... 298 
14. Further Remarks on Injuries to Food-Fishes on the Lines, . . 299 
15. List of some of the Pelagic Eggs, Larvse, and Young Fishes captured 
in the Nets of the ' Garland ' in 1891 and 1892, with Remarks, . 300 
1. General Remarks. 
At present the observer in this country has laboriously to search the 
seas for his specimens of the earlier conditions of the food-fishes, finding a 
stage here and another there ; and the whole task of identifying young 
forms, which closely simulate each other at this period, and whose rate of 
growth is irregular, is thrown upon him. Under these circumstances 
progress is somewhat slow, and misinterpretations not uncommon. Yet all 
this might have been avoided if the appeal for a few inexpensive open-air 
tanks (where they can best be supervised) had been granted. Then the 
ova would have been placed under nearly natural conditions, and the 
history of the several species of food-fishes rapidly and accurately followed. 
Yet, perhaps, the satisfaction derived from the occasional appearance of 
important links — even though they occur only at long intervals — does 
much to solace the observer under existing- circumstances. 
The present season has been productive of several interesting additions 
to our knowledge of the pelagic eggs of the food-fishes, a result in a 
large measure due to the sympathy and energy of the Scientific Secretary 
of the Board, who has spared no effort to fill in the gaps in this depart- 
ment. The list of the eggs of British food -fishes which have been 
I developed lias thus been extended ; those which for the first time have 
been fully described, figured and hatched at St Andrews (and by that 
expression is meant in this country) are, in the case of pelagic eggs, the 
following species : — frog-fish, grey-gurnard, dragonet, cod, haddock, whit- 
ing, poor-cod, ling, torsk, long-rough dab, turbot (partly), brill, sail-fluke, 
plaice, lemon-dab, flounder, sole, dab and sprat, while not a few others 
have been examined and figured for the first time, or additional informa- 
tion about them gained, such as the pelagic eggs of the lesser weever, 
bib, green cod, pollack, rockling, halibut, Midler's topknot, solenette, 
craig-nuke, mackerel, &c, besides various undetermined eggs and larva. 
S 
