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Part III. — Tenth Annual Report 
the nets from the Laboratory. It would, therefore, seem that adults in a 
ripe condition are rare within the limits of the bay, and probably are 
found chiefly in the offshore grounds. The persistent slaughter of this 
form by trawlers and stake-net fishermen, who see in it only an enemy to 
the ordinary food-fishes, may in recent years have somewhat diminished 
its numbers. 
On the 10th July 1891, a considerable portion of the gelatinous mass 
containing the ova was found in a stake-net off the East Bocks,* having 
apparently been swept in by currents and entangled in the meshes. Its 
nature being misunderstood (it was supposed to be a kind of jelly-fish), 
the mass had been thrown on the bottom of the boat, and was considerably 
injured. The gelatinous ribbon forms hexagonal, pentagonal, curved or 
irregular spaces in which the large eggs lie. It is perfectly transparent, 
and its disposition on the surface and in the intermediate partitions gives 
a somewhat areolar arrangement. Moreover, on its surface are numerous 
apertures for the ingress and egress of water. The septa are invisible, 
unless the gelatinous stroma be injured. 
The contained ova had a diameter about 2 '2860 mm. > and the large 
oil-globule *5334 mm., its colour being pinkish-brown or smoky (like 
honey). The description of the eggs and embryos will be given by Prof. 
Prince, in whose hands they were placed. The foregoing note is made only 
in connection with the occurrence of a single free egg in the tow-net of, 
the ' Garland ' in St Andrews Bay, on the 3rd July 1891, amongst a con- 
siderable collection of the eggs of other forms. This appears to be a com- 
paratively rare feature, though in the present case it can readily be 
explained by the breaking up of the gelatinous ribbon amongst the rocks, 
by the salmon stake-nets, crab-pot lines, or other obstacles. A week 
later the ribbon above alluded to was secured by the salmon-fishermen. 
This isolated pelagic egg, after preservation, is somewhat ovoid, its long 
diameter being 1*6764 mm., and the shorter 1*6383 mm., but the con- 
tained embryo, which was far advanced (PI. XIV. fig. 12), may have modi- 
fied the outline to some extent. The oil-globule, which now has a 
diameter of about '3048 mm., is situated slightly to the left of the middle 
line, rather behind the middle of the yolk, arid is surrounded by black 
pigment (PI. XIV. fig. 13). The embryo is more than half round the yolk, 
and the tail is carried to the left. Blackish (stellate) pigment is present 
in large patches and streaks on the head and along the sides of the body, 
as shown in the sketch (Ibid., fig. 12). The yolk, as usual in such 
cases, has an orange hue. 
There are few eggs with which the foregoing can be confounded, if 
indeed any. Only five species of 2 mm. in diameter and upwards are 
mentioned by Raffaele, and all are unknown. Without going into detail, 
the , structure of every one diverges characteristically from the foregoing. 
13. On an Abnormal Plaice. 
Ichthyologists are familiar with the continuation of the dorsal and anal 
fins on the right side — for instance, in Midler's topknot — but this condition 
is unknown as a normal character in the plaice and other members of the 
genus Pleuronectes of Artedi. 
In March 1891, a liner, named James Gourlay, who has from the first 
most cordially helped in Fisheries' work, secured a peculiar plaice about 
8 inches in length and about 4^ inches broad. The right surface presents, 
a fairly normal appearance, except that near the caudal an irregularity of. 
* The courtesy of Mr Turbyne, the lessee of the salmon fishings, on this and other 
occasions, merits my best acknowledgments. 
