It will be within the recollection not only of the comparatively small section of the community which is consciously interested in fishery matters, but of all those whom a sense of public duty or a lack of other occupation compels to some acquaintance with the current topics of the day, that the question of the deterioration of our sea fisheries commenced some few years back to assume something approaching to prominence. One of the earlier indications of the importance with which the question was invested, in the minds of those principally concerned, was the formation, in 1882, by a number of fish merchants, smack-owners, and others, of the National Sea Fisheries Protection Association,—a title which may well be forgiven for its length, in consideration of the happy augury it holds out of the enduring nature of the Association's services to one of our most deserving industries.

In subjoining the continued results of my statistical inquiries it is necessary to occupy but little space with introductory remarks, since the question has assumed no new features. The suggestions as to size-limits embodied in the draft report of the Parliamentary Committee would, if carried into effect, leave the North Sea fishery practically in statu quo.

One of the objects of zoological study is to ascertain more completely and more accurately the peculiarities by which one kind of animal (species, variety, genus, &c.) is distinguished from another. The advance of our knowledge in this direction depends on the more minute examination and more accurate distinction of known forms, the examination of larger numbers of specimens from familiar localities, and the examination of specimens from localities previously unsearched. There is scarcely any family so thoroughly investigated that it does not yield new discoveries on a renewed examination of more abundant material. It is found possible to recognise finer distinctions, and so split up one species into several, or convert what was considered a species into a genus. New material—that is to say, examination of a large number of specimens— often shows, too, that distinct species are more or less connected by intermediate forms. But in all this work the part played by these minute peculiarities in the life of the animal usually receives little attention. It is not the object of systematic zoology to ascertain the uses of characters, or to explain their origin. These objects require different methods, and are usually pursued by different investigators. But among the various methods employed there is one which has seldom, if ever, been followed—that of surveying the various characters of different grades,—specific, generic, family, &c.—in order to find whether it is possible to trace a connection between them and the habits of the animals which exhibit them, and generally to consider how far the principles which have been suggested in explanation of the evolution of species are applicable to the diagnostic characters of a particular family.

From the time of Aristotle many naturalists have desired, and a large number have attempted, to discover something about the breeding and development of the common eel, but until the present time it has remained a baffling mystery. At last the mystery is to a great extent penetrated; the larva of the eel has been discovered, and turns out to be a creature which was known before. Until the present year absolutely nothing was known of the history of the eel between the disappearance of the parents in the sea in autumn, and the disappearance of the young transparents elvers in early spring. Professor Grassi and Dr. Calandruccio have now discovered that one of the larval forms called Leptocephali is the larva of the common eel. This form was described and distingushed as Leptocephalus brevirostris, but it was not suspected that it belonged to the eel.

Some explanation is due to the members of the Association for the delay in the publication of the Journal, which in the ordinary course would have appeared in November, 1893. It is proposed for the future to issue the half-yearly parts in July and January, and accordingly the publication of the present number was deferred from November of last year to January, 1894. Unforeseen circumstances affecting myself have caused a further postponement, but the customary punctuality in the appearance of the Journal will be observed in the future.

On May 4th of the current year a number of small Pleuronectids were captured by the hand in a pool left by the ebb tide at Plymouth Breakwater, and brought to me alive. Two of them were very transparent, and, from their habit of lying on the right side when at rest, evidently sinistral forms. One of them was almost perfectly symmetrical; while in the other the torsion of the facial region and eyes had commenced. The pigmentation had the form of interrupted transverse bands, which were most conspicuous on the dorsal and ventral fins; on the dorsal fin seven bands were indicated. The terminal portion of the original trunk, containing the notochord, was seen at the upper edge of the caudal fin. The neurochord was covered with pigment, forming a very distinct band, situated, however, not in the skin, but in the connective tissue surrounding the neurochord or spinal cord. The mouth was large, and the snout upturned. The pectoral fin was large, the pelvic small. But the most important characteristic was the presence of two straight spines projecting laterally from the auditory region. These have been called otocystic spines by Prof. McIntosh, but I think they would be more appropriately described as periotic spines, as they are evidently projections of the periotic cartilage or bone; to which particular bones of the periotic region they belong has not been determined. Mr. Holt cut sections of the spines in situ, and found that they consisted of a knob of periotic cartilage passing into a mass of undifferentiated cells, the whole forming the core of a dermal spine consisting of hyaline ossified tissue. In my specimens I observed a third spine, much smaller, situated in the region of the frontal bone, behind and above the eye; it was visible in both the stages.

The present list, the result of observations made at intervals in the course of last year, was undertaken with the view of determining for embryological purposes the resources of the Sound with regard to this group. It includes the species obtained during a great part of the year 1892.

I. On The Destructionof Immature fishin the North Sea

Introductory.—Owing to enforced idleness during the period which would otherwise have been devoted to preparing my reports for publication, I am under the necessity of reserving much of the information collected during the last four months for a future occasion, and of treating only in the briefest possible manner the few subjects selected for present discussion. I have again to express my obligations for much courtesy and assistance received from members of the Grimsby fishing community, and to the Marine Fisheries Society of the same town for cordial co-operation in the work carried on at their laboratory and aquarium at Cleethorpes.

I subjoin the results of statistical inquiries into this question, continued from the point at which they were left in the last number of this Journal. Having been permitted by the Council of the Association to undertake a series of lectures along the coast of Yorkshire on behalf of the North-eastern Sea Fisheries Committee during the present autumn and winter, I find it necessary to restrict the present paper to the smallest possible compass, reserving practically everything except the mere statement of figures until more time shall be available for the deduction of results.

I regret to have to say that the statistics for the month of May are by no means complete. Bibliographical work in connection with several scientific papers on which I was then engaged necessitated my absence from Grimsby during the early part of the month, and the sudden illness of my subordinate during the same period interfered with the arrangements I had made for keeping up the records. The statistics as to plaice are, therefore, a blank for the first week of May; Mr. Clark unfortunately remained unwell for the rest of the month, while a serious break-down in the circulating apparatus of the Cleethorpes aquarium made great demands upon the time which I should otherwise have been able to devote to market observations; and, though I was able to keep account of all plaice landed, my statistics as to haddock and cod are too meagre to be worth insertion.

It may be useful to put on record the following notes of renewed attempts to solve the difficult problem of rearing fish larvæ.

I propose in this paper to furnish a list of the marine Turbellaria of Plymouth Sound and the neighbourhood, including all species that have hitherto been recorded from this locality. That such an attempt is in some respects premature I am only too well aware, but I have written it for the convenience of those who are working at, or are interested in, the fauna of Plymouth, and it may serve as a starting-point in our knowledge of the Turbellaria of the Sound. The synonymy and descriptions of the species are given by v. Graff, Lang, Jensen, and recently, together with figures of the new species and the literature, by myself.

At the request of the Secretary I venture to send you a brief account of the voyage we made last year in the smack “Albert” 97 tons register, belonging to the Council of the Mission to Deep Sea Fishermen.

By “post-larval stage” I wish to indicate that stage in the developmental history of Arenicola at which the full adult number of somites has appeared, and the body is already distinguishable into (a) an anterior chætigerous region, and (b) a posterior achætous region or tail, but in which the gills are not yet completely formed or have not yet even made their appearance.

After repeated trials with dilute solutions of methylene blue upon larvæ and embryos of a number of the smaller decapod Crustacea, a favourable object for the study of the nervous system was at last found in the embryo of the common lobster. The embryos of this animal are specially advantageous on account of their large size, which enables them to be readily manipulated without much damage being done to their tissues, and also on account of the large size of the individual nerve elements.

The specimens conform to a type which appears to be fairly well known to Grimsby fishermen, and fish merchants, and which is always regarded by them as the offspring of the parents mentioned in the title. The object of the present note is to discuss the probabilities of the correctness of this diagnosis as fully as the material allows. The form can hardly be said to be rare, since within two years I have secured three specimens, while I have heard of several others having been present in the market. In some old manuscript notes kindly lent me by my friend Mr. G. L. Alward I find descriptions which apply to two fish of the same type, while Dr. Günther tells me that he has received several from London fish merchants.