478 MR. F. BALFOUR BROWNE ON THE EARLY STAGES IN THE 
XVII. 
ON THE EARLY STAGES IN THE LIFE HISTORIES 
OF CERTAIN FRESH-WATER FISHES. 
By Frank Balfour Browne, M.A. (Oxon.), F.R.S.E. 
(Director of the Sutton Broad Laboratory.) 
Read 30 tli October, 1906. 
During the Spring of 1903 I was partly occupied in watching 
the breeding habits of the fishes in the Sutton Broad, and in 
each succeeding year I hav.e continued my observations when 
time has allowed. I made careful drawings and notes of the 
eggs and larvae of those species which came within my notice. 
So far as I have been able to ascertain, very little attention 
has been paid to the early stages in the life history of any of 
our fresh-water fishes, references in books being of a more or 
less general and vague character ; and it has occurred to me 
that it may be well to put on record the few facts which 
I have observed and to give some illustrations of the eggs and 
larvae as has been done in the case of many of the marine 
species of fishes. 
My observations have been upon only six of the fresh- 
water species and in one of these cases I only obtained ripe 
unfertilized eggs. 
The eggs of all fresh-water fishes are demersal and of the 
majority are strongly adhesive, sticking to the water plants, 
&c., amongst which they are deposited. In some cases, as 
in that of the Perch, the eggs are laid in long tangled skeins, 
which are deposited in such a manner as to become twisted 
round water plants, &c., and in such cases the eggs are non- 
adhesive. The eggs of such species as the Salmon and Trout 
