The Montgomery advertiser., 1908-05-31

 For live years ten steamers belonging to eight different nations whose coasts are washed by the Atlantic, the North Sea and the Baltic have been engaged In international oceanic research. The purpose has been to make a study of the life history of fishes. with expecta- ton that it would yield both practical and scientific results of importance.
 To learn the life story of fishes. says The New York Sun. the observers found t necessary 10 study the element in which fishes live and the influences, such as water temperature. ocean cur rents, minute organisms that are the food supply of many fishes. and other things which affect fish life. These general survey of the most note worthy features relating to fish life in the seas of North Europe. from the Baltic to the North Sea, thence to Ire- land in the West and spitsbergen m the North.
 Hundreds of thousands of fish and millions of nsh eggs have also been collected while studying the wander ingg of fish and the mode of their oc- currence. It is the purpose here to mention q few of the significant re- suits of the investigation.
 Meat Fiah EwKs Float.
 It is found that the eggs of most food fishes loat in the sea, the herring pe- fuw an execution. The little eggs, about one-twenty fourth of an inch In size. develop in 6 few days or weeks into larvae, only slightly larger; tness remain floating. and after few weeks acouIre a little of the structure and appearance of the future denizen of the deep.
 For a month or 60 they remain sus- ns,ided fn the waste of waters some near the surface and some at consider able depth. and then, If possible. tney seek the bottom, where by degrees they attain maturity. 4 great step forward in the study of nsh was the discovery of means to determine their age.
 It waa found that the otoiiths or cal eareous secfetions of the ear evenings Of plaIce showed age rings similar so those found on the stems of trees and the horns of cattle So it became pos sible to tell the age of each individual plaice, and later 1t was proved that also many of the bones and also the scaiee show age rings. a fact which now enables the observers to tell with certainty the age of cod. haddcck paitlae. herring or sprat as well as of many other species Of Ash.
 Age of . Flah.
 The age of a Ash up 10 i4 or IS years 10 easily aGccrtained by the scales, but after that time the additional growth is so small as to b& of little service. Some of the largest specimens Of cod carried proof that they were from 1e to l7 years old 1k is inferred that many of these cod have spawned from eleven to twelve times in their lives.
 Another interesting question is the rate of growth of hsh. It Is found that the rate at which young cod grow va ries according to their surroundings.
 In the southern part of the North Sea they grow very rapidly, attaining a length of nearly eight inches in the first year. but in many places along the Norway coast the average size of 9 year-old cod is only about three inches. Some of the largest cod caught were over 46 inches in length and more than is years old. The growth of haddock is about four inches the first year. but the rate decreases as they approach the higher ages.
 A very important part of the work was the investigation of the haAnts and wanderings of fish This study was carried on chiefly by marking thous- ands of fish by means of small wires. There are buttons at each end of the wires. and the time and place of turn- Ing each fish loose are marked on the buttons.
 WanderRngu of the Eel.
 It was found that the larvae of the eel are met only in the deep portion Of 1 the Atlantic, and far-reaching conclu- | siong were reached from this fact as to l