250 
Part TIL — Ninth Annual Beport 
pared and examined contained seventy-four large hyaline ova, 1*59 to 1'35 
mm. in diameter, and a great number graduating from 0*9 mm. to 0*05 
mm. My notes on the external appearance of the ovaries are as follows : 
— 'Very soft, ripe; numbers of large hyaline ova; pale brown in colour; 
* probably some ova voided.' The ovaries of this fish contained about 6000 
mature hyaline ova; probably between 40,000 and 50,000 ranging in 
diameter from 0'9 mm. to 0*5 mm., and a still greater number of more 
minute ova. Later in the season other specimens were obtained which 
enabled more accurate computation to be made as to the numbers of ova 
present at the time in the ovaries, as shown in the table. 
Length of 
Fish 
(in inches). 
Weight 
of 
Fish. 
Weight of 
Ovaries 
(in grains). 
Weight of 
part taken 
(in grains.) 
Number of 
Ova 
counted. 
Total 
Number 
of Ova 
in Ovaries. 
1 
m 
9| oz. 
530 
10 - 
Large, 35 
Small, 3600 
1 o er e 
l,O00 
190,800 
2 
14 
12| „ 
506 
3635 
Large, 184 
Small (?)4500 
192,655 
9,255 
(?)235,605 
3 
14i 
14 „ 
625 
4684 
Large, 110 
Small, 4200 
244,860 
6,875 
262,500 
4 
13i 
13i „ 
746 
4310 
Large, 98 
Small, 3886 
269,375 
7,310 
289,895 
6 
15i 
19 „ 
572 
3984 
Large, 236 
Small (?)4400 
4636 
297,205 
13,499 
265,179 
278,678 
All these specimens were caught in the Firth of Forth — the first on 
15th May, the second and third and fifth on 22nd May, and the fourth 
on June 11th. Fully mature clear ova were present in all the ovaries, 
and a certain number had very probably been voided. The aid of a lens 
was required in enumerating the more minute ova. One peculiarity was 
noticeable, that ova of all sizes, from the most minute to those just under 
the fully mature, could be detected. In the gurnard the gradual process 
of ripening and the co-existence of perfectly mature and microscopic ova 
is even more marked than in the whiting, and shows that the spawning 
process is a prolonged one. 
CATAPHRACTL 
PoGGE {Agonus cataphr actus). 
Mr T. Scott forwarded a specimen caught on the 20th February in the 
Firth of Forth.* It was 5^ inches in length, and weighed 252 grains. 
The ovaries, which were ellipsoidal and filled up the whole of the small 
abdominal cavity, were of a reddish-salmon colour. They weighed 84 
grains, or exactly one-third of the gross weight of the fish. The ova were 
large, of uniform size (1-8 mm.), loosely connected in the thickish ovarian 
membrane, and typically demersal in character. I counted all the ova ; 
they numbered 1146, or an average of 13 '6 per grain. The pogge is thus 
one of the least fecund of the species examined, and at the same time 
possesses a reproductive organ heavier in relation to the rest of the body 
than any other species. No minute ova were detected. 
* This specimen lived for eighteen hours in fresh water. 
