of the Fishery Board for Scotland. og 
them, 6 inches. This Hledone, therefore, would have measured over all fully 
12 inches in length—a fairly big mouthful to swallow even for a moderate- 
sized halibut. 
CETERA. 
Some odd things observed included Crangon allmanmi, discs of starfishes 
(Ophiura), small Echinocardium, fragments of Zoophytes, a small univalve 
shell (/usws), and a few small stones. Most of these small things, however, 
were probably derived from the stomachs of the haddocks, whitings, &c., 
which the halibuts had swallowed. 
May. 
The number of halibut stomachs examined in May was 95, and of these 
60 contained food which could, to some extent at least, be identified. The 
size of the halibut from which these stomachs were removed ranged for the 
most part from 30 inches to 42 inches in length. A few were from halibut 
under 30 inches, and a few others between 48 and 60 inches. The food 
found in 54 of the stomachs examined consisted entirely of fishes, chiefly 
Gadoids. Two contained crustacea only, and two the remains of cuttlefish 
only, while in Swo others were found the remains of fishes and sbell-fish 
(Buccinum, sp.). From the results stated above, it would appear that in 
May halibut had been feeding more exclusively on fishes than during any of 
the previous monthly periods. Whether there is any natural cause for this 
change—whether, for example, it is due to seasonal influences affecting the 
supply of food, or merely to some accidental change—there is scarcely 
sufficient data to show. 
Tue FisHes OBSERVED. 
The fishes met with in the halibut stomachs examined in May included, 
as usual, haddocks, whitings, sand-eels, and very rarely flat-fishes. Herrings 
were occasionally observed, a few of which were of fairly large size. In one 
stomach, for example, a herring of about 10 inches in length, and in another 
a specimen about 8 inches, were obtained. A witch sole about 121 inches 
long was also found in one of the stomachs examined on May 6th. Some of 
the Gadoids were tolerably large ; a whiting 15 inches long and a brassie 
(Gadus luscus) 13 inches were among some of the larger specimens met with. 
The fish food in a considerable number of the stomachs examined in May 
was so much digested that if the earstones were absent the species was 
practically unrecognisable. 
CrustacEA, CUTTLEFISHES, &C, 
Crustacea and cuttlefishes were both very sparingly met with. Hyas 
coarctatus was almost the only crustacean observed, and the cuttlefish remains 
consisted chiefly of their dark-coloured horny jaws. 
June. 
The halibut stomachs examined in June numbered 119. Fifty-seven of 
_ them were empty or contained food that could not be identified, while the 
food in the remaining 62 consisted largely of gadoids. © In 47 of the stomachs 
examined the food consisted entirely of fishes, and in fully 50 per cent. of 
them the food was so much digested that in many cases only a few bones 
were left, so that even the species could not be determined. The following 
Gadoids were recognised, viz.:—The remains of a codfish about 15 inches in 
