PLAICE. 
183 
find out liow siTcli an absurd opinion could have had an 
origin. He apjilied himself to the inquiry for several years, 
and, hy way of experiment, he placed some of these little 
shi'imps in a vessel of sea water of sufficient size; and in 
about twelve or thirteen days he found in the vessel eight 
or nine little Plaice, which gradually increased in size; and 
this circumstance confirmed him in the opinion, of the truth 
of which he had been already persuaded. In the following 
spiring he pursued the inquiry by pjiacing some Plaice in one 
vessel, and in another vessel some Plaice together with some 
of these small shrimps. It appeared that among the Plaice 
contained in these two vessels there were some females which 
shed their spawn; but, notwithstanding this, the only vessel 
which shewed the presence of young Plaice was that in 
which were the shrimps. Deslandes proceeded to examine the 
crustaceans, and then it was that he discovered the grains of 
the roe of the Plaice attached to the under part of these 
crabs. He opened these grains, and thus was able to ascertain 
that not only were they in a fertile condition, but that each 
one of them held an embryo which was somewhat advanced in 
development; from which circumstance he was led to form 
the conclusion that the grains of the roe of the Plaice can 
only come to life when hatched on the under surface of these 
small shrimps. But on the other hand, Lacepede was firmly 
persuaded that this opinion of Dr. Deslandes is founded on 
error, and that those grains of ova had been first shed in a 
place frequented by these shrimps, which are known to be 
disposed to feed on the ova of fishes, and especially on those 
of flatfishes. He further remarks that the ova of all kinds of 
fishes are enclosed in a tenacious kind of covering, and thus, 
as in this instance, they may become glued to the under 
portion of these shi’imps at a time when the latter were 
seeking to devour them. Of course they would carry them 
thus attached wherever they themselves went. 
I possess the record of a Plaice which measured nineteen 
inches in length, and ten inches in hreadth; but these dimensions 
probably included the width of the fins. Mr. Thompson 
mentions an Irish specimen that weighed twelve pounds; and 
Ekstrom says he has seen it two feet long; but usually they 
are much less, the breadth of the body being about one half 
