BULLETIN OF THE UNITED STATES FISH COMMISSION. VOL. XVII, 1897. GEORGE M. BOWERS, Commissioner. WASHINGTON: GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE. CONTENTS Pages. Fishes of the Klamath River Basin. By Charles H. Gilbert 1-13 Salmon Investigations in the Columbia River Basin and elsewhere on the Pacific Coast in 1896. By Barton Warren Evermann and Seth Eugene Meeic 15-84 Fishes found in the Vicinity of Woods Hole. By Hugh M. Smith 85-111 Salmon Fishery of Penobscot Bay and River in 1895 and 1896. By Hugh M. Smith 113-124 Descriptions of New or Little-inown Genera and Species of Fishes from the United States. By Barton W. Evermann and William C. Kendall 125-133 The Work of the United States Fish Commission from December 1, 1896, to November 3, 1897. By John J. Brice 135-139 Notes on the Halibut Fishery of the Northwest Coast in 1896. By A. B. Alexander 141-144 Proceedings and Papers of the National Fishery Congress 145-371 Prefatory Note 147 Proceedings of the Congress 149-164 List of Delegates in attendance at the Congress 164-165 International Fishery Association 167-168 Methods of Plankton Investigation in their relation to Practical Problems. By Jacob Reighard 169-175 The Importance of Extended Scientific Investigation. By H. C. Bump vs 177-180 The Utility of a Biological Station on the Florida Coast in its relation to the Commer- cial Fisheries. By Seth E. Meek 181-183 Establishment of a Biological Station on the Gulf of Mexico. By W. Edgar Taylor. 185-188 Some Notes on American Shipworms. By Charles P. Sigerfoss 189-191 An Economical Consideration of Fish Parasites. By Edwin Linton 193-199 The Fish Fauna of Florida. By Barton W. Evermann 201-208 The Lampreys of Central New York. By H. A. Surface 209-215 The Protection of the Lobster Fishery. By Francis H. Herrick 217-224 The Florida Commercial Sponges. By Hugh M. Smith 225-240 On the Feasibility of Raising Sponges from the Egg. By H. V.' Wilson 241-245 The Hudson River as a Salmon Stream. By A. Nelson Cheney 247-251 A Plea for the Development and Protection of Florida Fish and Fisheries. By James A. Hensiiall 253-255 International Protection for Denizens of the Sea and Waterways. By Bushrod. W. James 257-263 The restricted Inland Range of Shad due to Artificial Obstructions and its Effect upon Natural Reproduction. By Charles H. Stevenson 265-271 The Green Turtle, and the Possibilities of its Protection and consequent Increase on the Florida Coast. By Ralph M. Munroe 273-274 Some Factors in the Oyster Problem. By H. F. Moore 275-284 The Oyster-grounds of the West Florida Coast; their Extent, Condition, and Peculiari- ties. By Franklin Swift 285-287 The Oyster and Oyster-beds of Florida. By John G. Ruge 289-296 The Louisiana Oyster Industry. By F. C. Zaciiarie 297-304 The Oyster-bars of the West Coast of Florida; their Depletion and Restoration. By II. A. Smeltz 305-308 Notes on the Fishing Industry of Eastern Florida. By John Y. Detwiler 309-312 Oysters and Oyster-culture in Texas. By I. P. Kibbe 313-314 III IV CONTENTS. CONTENTS— Continued . Proceedings and Papers of the National Fishery Congress— Continued. Page. The Methods, Limitations, and Results of Whitehall Culture in Lake Erie. By J. J. Stranahan 315-319 A Brief History of the Gathering of Fresh-water Pearls in the United States. By George F. Kunz 321-330 The Red-snapper Fisheries; their Past, Present, and Future. By Andrew F. Warren. 331-335 Some Scattering Reminiscences of the Early Days of Fish-culture in the United States. By Livingston Stone 337-343 The Relations between State Fish Commissions and Commercial Fishermen. By W. E. Meehan 345-348 Possibilities for an increased Development of Florida’s Fishery Resources. By John N. Cobb 349-351 The Utility and Methods of Mackerel Propagation. By J. Percy Moore 353-361 The Large-mouthed Black Bass in Utah. By John Sharp 363-368 Florida Fur-farming. By J. M. Willson, jr 369-371 The Fresh- water Pearls and Pearl Fisheries of the United States. By George F. Kunz 373-426 LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS. Plate. Page. 1. Map of Lake Washington, Wash., showing Soundings in feet 2. Lake Sammamish, near Seattle, Wash., showing Soundings taken by H. S. Pish Commission 3. Map showing legion of Woods Hole, Mass 4. Map showing Location of Salmon Weirs and Traps fished in Tenobscot River and Bay 5. (1) Chinook or Quinnat Salmon ( Oncorhynchus tschaioytscha). (2) Atlantic Salmon ( Salmo salar). (3) Steelhead Trout ( Salmo gairdneri ) - 6. (1) Ictalurus anguilla. '(2) Notropiswelaba. (3) N otropis hudsonius 7. (4) Signalosa atcliafalayce. (5) Alosa alabamce , male. (6) Alosa alabamce, female. (7) Gorytliroichthys cayorum - 8. (8) Gottogaster cheneyi. (9) Dermatolepis zanclus. (10) Anisotremus surinamcnsis 9. (11) Lyosphceraglobosa. (12) Lyosphceraglobosa, young. (13) Lophogobius cyprinoides. (14) Ogilbia cayorum . 10. (1) Lake I.amprey ( Petromyzon marinus unicolor). (2) Brook Lampreys ( Lampetra vjilderi ), a, male; b, female. (3) Pickerel (Lucius reticulatus) and Sucker (Catostomus commersonii) with Lamprey Scars. (4) Lake Lamprey clinging lo the Sucker 11. (1) A dozen Catfish (Ameiurus nebulosus ) fatally attacked by Lake Lamprey ( Petromyzon marinus unicolor). (2) EightCatfisli (Ameiurus nebulosus) fatally attacked by Lake Lamprey .. 12. Sheepswool Sponge 13. (1) Sheepswool Sponge from Matecumbe Key. (2) Sheepswool Sponge from Florida Keys 14. Cluster of connected Sheepswool Sponges 15. (1) Sheepswool Sponge from Florida Keys. (2) “ Wire” or “ Bastard ’ Sheepswool Sponge 10. Sheepswool Sponges 17. Sheepswool Sponges artificially grown from Clippings 18. Velvet Sponge 19. Yellow Sponge 20. Yellow Sponge from Matecumbe Key 21. Yellow Sponge from Florida Keys 22. (1) Yellow Sponge locally called “Hardhead" ; (2) Yellow Sponge from Biscayno Bay 23. Yellow Sponge from Anclote Keys - 24. Grass Sponge from Matecumbe Key 25. Grass Sponge from Florida Keys, two views 26. Grass Sponge locally known as “ Niggerliead," two views 27. Grass Sponge from Anclote Keys 28. Grass Sponge containing a large piece of Coral in depression, two views 29. Grass Sponges from Anclote Keys . 30. Glove Sponges from Florida Keys 31. Glove Sponge from Florida Keys X. Shells of Fresh-water Mussel (Unio crassidens) 11. Fresh-water Mussel, showing Pearl included between Mantle and Shell III. (1) Dipsas plicatus, interior and exterior, interior containing tinfoil figures' of Buddha; (2) Dipsas plicatus, containing three strings of beads with a pearly coating IV. Salmon-colored Pearl, weighing 14J pearl grains, lying loose where it was formed in a shell, four views V. Interior and exterior views of Shell, showing barrel-shaped adhering Pearl of large size VI. A typical Hnio of the Mississippi Valley type, showing exterior of Right Valve and interior of Left Valve.. VII. Left Valve of Unio rectus , outside and inside views VIII. Sterling Silver Teapot IX Evolution of a Pearl Button X. (1) Hollow pearl made by Chinese, by scaling off a layer from a large Oval Pearl and filling it witli a compo- sition of hard wax or shellac to strengthen it ; (2) Irregular and Button-shaped Pearls XI. Encysted Pearls and Pearls with Marked Interiors XIl. Same as preceding page, but showing Exterior Sides XIII. Pearls presenting the aspect of having been turned in a Lathe — i. c., with one or more regular Ridges or Furrows running completely around them 46 85 113 124 134 134 134 134 209 212 240 240 240 240 240 240 210 240 240 240 240 240 240 240 240 240 240 379 402 402 402 402 402 425 426 426 426 426 VI LIST OP ILLUSTRATIONS. LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS— Continued. Plate XIV. Grouped Pearls consisting of several originallyHistinct Pearls joined together at a later stage by a connecting deposit of Nacre XV. (1) Wisconsin pearls. Pink, copper-colored, and brown; (2) Twisted and Reniforin Pearly Growths, some showing Grouping or Coalescence XVI. Twisted, Elongated, and otherwise Irregular Pearls XVII. Irregular Baroque Pearls XVIII. Large Baroque Pearls ; Irregular Nacreous Growths, with more or less Beauty of Luster and Color XIX. Baroque Pearls XX. Hinge Pearls XXI. Irregular and Twisted Pearls XXII. Reverse of Plate XXI Page. 426 426 426 426 426 426 FIGURES IN TEXT. Chasmistes stomias Gilbert, new species 5 Leuciscus bicolor (Girard ) 7 Jlulilus bicolor (Girard) 8 Cottus lelamathensis Gilbert, new species 10 Cottus evermanni Gilbert, new species 11 Cottus princeps Gilbert, new species 12 Temperature Reference Table 18 Catostomus tsiltcoosensis Evermann Sc Meek, new species 69 Catostomus occidentalis Ayres 69 Chasmistes copei Evermann & Meek, new species 71 Leuciscus siuslawi Evermann Sc Meek, now species. . . 72 Agosia klamathensis Evermann & Meek, new species. . 75 Vranidea tenuis Evermann & Meek, new species 83 Choetodon bricei H. M. Smith, new species 103 Figures of Salmon Weirs 117, 118, 119 Mouth of Lake Lamprey 211 Diagram of Weir for catching Lampreys as they run upstream to spawn 214 Water Telescope in Use 402 1.— THE FISHES OF THE KLAMATH BASIN. By CHARLES H. GILBERT, Ph. D., Professor of Zoology, Leland Stanford funior University. The Klamath Eiver rises in the arid region east of the Cascade Mountains in south- central Oregon. After expanding to form the Klamath Lakes, it cuts its way through the mountainous region of northern California and enters the sea nearly midway between the mouths of the Columbia and Sacramento rivers. It occupies, therefore, an intermediate and closely contiguous position with respect to these two great river systems, being separated from them in many places by narrow watersheds only. It is the more remarkable that its fish-fauna should contain nothing in common with either of them, save such auadromous forms as the salmon, trout, sturgeon, and him prey, which enter all the rivers of the coast. Such characteristic genera as Mylocheilus, Acrocheilus , and Columbia , of the Columbia River, and Mylopliarodon , Poyonichthys, Orthodon, Lavinia, Archoplites, and Rysterooarpus , of the Sacramento, have no represen- tatives in the Klamath. Even the genus Ptyclioclieilus is unrepresented there, though present in both the Sacramento and the Columbia, where P. yrandis and P. oreyonensis are but slightly different and are among the most abundant and characteristic fishes of their respective basins. A similar case is that of Cottus asper of the Columbia and Cottus gulosus of the Sacramento, two species so extremely similar that it is difficult to distinguish them, yet without any close relative in the Klamath. The relations of the Klamath fishes become at once apparent, however, when we compare them with those of the Lahontan and Bonneville basins of Nevada and Utah.* In each of these three localities the same genera occur — among them Chasmistes, which is not found elsewhere — and in many cases their species are so close as to be undoubt- edly representative. That the three areas have at one time formed part of the same hydrographic basin can not be questioned. Nor can we doubt that they have been separated for a very long period — long enough to permit the comp'ete differentiation of every species within each of them — for no species is now known to be common to any two of them, if we exclude the whitefish aud perhaps the trout, two forms which seem to be superior to any discoverable law of distribution. The Lahontan Basin has been very imperfectly explored, but the facts now at hand do not warrant the assumption that it has maintained a connection witli the Klamath at any time since its final separation from the Bonneville. Future exploration may be expected to throw light on this question. Important, also, will be a thorough survey of the lakes of southeastern Oregon which lie between the Lahontan and Klamath basins. Cope’s investigation of these leaves much to be desired, aud no facts are as * See Cope, “ On the Fishes of the Recent and Pliocene Lakes of the western part of the Great Basin, and of the Idaho Pliocene Lake.” Proc. Acad. Nat. Sci. Phila. 1883, pp. 134-167. . 1 ]T. 0. B. 1897—1 2 BULLETIN OF THE UNITED STATES FISH COMMISSION. yet available from which we can draw conclusions as to their interrelationships and recent history. Excluding anadromous fishes and the trout, the Klamath is known to contain eleven species, of which eight are peculiar to this basin, two ( Catostomus snyderi and Rutilus bicolor) have been reported as well from Goose Lake, its neighbor on the east, and one species ( Catostomus oregonus) seems to occur also in Eogue River, its neighbor on the north. The collection here reported on was made at Klamath Falls, Oregon, in the inter ests of the United States Fish Commission, June 13-16, 1894, by the writer, assisted by Frank Cramer and Keinosuke Otaki. Collecting was carried on near the outlet of the Upper Lake, in the river at and below Klamath Falls, and in Lost River below Lostine. A few specimens were also secured in Willow Creek, at Ager, California. Valuable for comparison have been a few fishes collected in Scott River, Siskiyou County, California, by Mr. R. C. McGregor, and in Trinity River, Hoopa Valley, Cali- fornia, by Capt. W. E. Dougherty. The lower part of Upper Klamath Lake is narrow, and is surrounded by a mar giual tule belt, which is overflowed at high water. The bottom consists of mud and sand, with scattered lava bowlders. The outlet is a very rapid, turbulent stream, 50 to 75 feet wide, and falling about 85 feet between the lake and the town of Klamath Falls. It swirls around huge lava bowlders and makes imposing rapids. The temperature of the water June 13, at 9 a. m., was 56°; temperature of air, 64°. At Klamath Falls the river widens out, covering at the time of our visit extensive bottom lands, partly in tules, partly meadows. From this portion a slough makes off toward Lost River, into which it carries a considerable amount of water during early summer. Tule Lake and Lower Klamath Lake are overflow reservoirs from Klamath River, and lie lower than that stream. At the time of our visit the lake and river contained many dead and dying fish, principally Catostomoids. Chasmistes stomias seemed to predominate, then Deltistes luxatus, Chasmistes brevirostris, and Catostomus snyderi , in the order given. The breeding season for these fish is said to be in March and April, varying from year to year with the condition of the streams. We saw no specimens entirely free from injury. Many had lost a portion of their fins, some had round holes in their sides, said to be caused by lampreys; many had diseased areas covered by a fungous growth, and a large number were afflicted by some disease of the skin of the head, which turned yellow and flaked off, leaving the skull bare. This disease often attacked and destroyed the eyes. We were told that the same fish in Tule Lake were never diseased. A few large specimens of Rutilus bicolor were also attacked, but other fish seemed not to be affected. LIST OF SPECIES. 1. Entosphenus tridentatus (Gairdner). One young specimen of this anadromous species, 26 cm. long, was taken in Klamath. They are said to he abundant in the lake, and to attack fishes, which are often seen to leap out of the water to free themselves. Several of the mutilated suckers which were examined had round wounds on their bodies, which might well have been produced by the lamprey. It is not improbable that this species has become resident in Upper Klamath Lake, as happens with other anadromous species elsewhere. 2. Acipenser medirostris Ayres. A young specimen of the green sturgeon is in the museum of Stanford University, collected in Trinity River, Hoopa Valley, California, by Capt. W. E. Dougherty. The species was not seen at Upper Klamath Lake. FISHES OF THE KLAMATH BASIN. 3 3. Catostomus rimiculus Gilbert & Snyder, new species. ? Catostomus tahoensis Cope, Proc. Ac. Nat. Sci. Phila. 1883, 152 ; Warner Lake. This species belongs to the C. catostomus type, with very small scales, and is most nearly related to C. tahoensis. From the latter it differs in the smaller eye, less deeply cleft lower lip, blunter labial tubercles, larger scales, and the much smaller fontanelle, which is reduced in adults to a very narrow linear slit, or more commonly entirely obsolete. Type No. 5654, Leland Stanford Junior University collection. Type locality. Trinity River, Hoopa Valley, Humboldt County, California. Collector, Capt. W. E. Dougherty. Additional specimens were collected in Scott River (Klamath Basin), Siskiyou County, California, by R. C. McGregor. Head 4£ in body ; depth 5 ; depth of caudal peduncle 2f in head ; eye 74 ; dorsal rays 11 ; anal rays 7; scales in lateral line 91; above lateral line 18; from lateral line to insertion of ventral 13; before dorsal 42. Dorsal 11. Anal 7. Pectorals 17. Head as deep as wide. Both lips full, the lobe of lower lip broadly rounded behind, the cleft not nearly reaching base of lip; the portion between mandible and apex of cleft with four series of tubercles; tubercles coarse and blunt, becoming reduced in size toward margins of lips, but less so than in related species; upper lip with five rows of tubercles. Eyes very small, the front of the eye nearly midway of head. Interorbital space convex, 2f in head. Scales comparatively smooth, gradually growing smaller posteriorly. Dorsal fin inserted midway between end of snout and base of caudal; first ray preceded by two short, simple ones; last ray divided to base; length of base of fin equal to the height, which is contained times in the body. Height of anal twice the length of the base; contained 5 times in body; length of pectorals 4|- in body; ventrals 64 in body; caudal 4J. Color above dusky, the central parts of scales lighter; under parts white; dorsal and caudal fins dusky, others white. The total length of the type is 266 millimeters. In the following table the scales above the lateral line were counted from the lateral line upward and forward to a point half way between the dorsal fin and occiput ; below the lateral line, downward and backward to insertion of ventral. 4. Catostomus snyderi, new species. Catostomus labiatus Girard, Proc. Ac. Nat. Sci. Phila. 1856,175; and of all recent authors. Not Catostomus labiatus Ayres, Proc. Calif. Ac. Nat. Sci. 1855, 32, from Stockton, California, and synonymous with C. occidentalis Ayres. Type, No. 48222, U. S. N. M. Type locality, Upper Klamath Lake, Oregon. Collectors : Gilbert, Cramer, and Otaki. Closely related to C. occidentalis and C. macrocheilus, differing from both species in the shorter head, smaller mouth and lips, deeper caudal peduncle, somewhat smaller scales, and in the shorter dorsal fin, which is more anteriorly inserted. Head 4J- in length; snout 2-,% in head, equaling interorbital width; eye 5|; D. 11; A. 7; scales 69 to 77 ; above the lateral line, 13 or 14 ; below the lateral line, 10 or 11. Mouth very small, the width between angles but half length of snout in our largest specimen; greatest width of lobe of lower lip two-thirds diameter of eye; lower lip deeply incised, with one or two papill® between symphysis and base of cleft ; upper lip narrow, with five or six papillae in a cross series, the uppermost becoming very small; basal portion of the lower lip with coarse tubercles, those toward posterior margin becoming very fine and arranged in evident series separated by grooves. Mucous canals on head forming conspicuous raised ridges with prominent pores, the system much more conspicuously developed than in any related species. Origin of dorsal fin constantly nearer snout than base of caudal; the dorsal fin short, its base not exceeding the height of the longest ray, usually less. In our specimens the 4 BULLETIN OF THE UNITED STATES FISH COMMISSION. pectorals reach scarcely two-thirds distance to ventrals and the ventrals scarcely two-thirds distance to vent. The anal may extend beyond base of rudimentary caudal rays. Scales strongly ridged, their margins crenate; the anterior scales are smaller, but do not appear greatly crowded; the average number of tubes in the lateral line is about 73, the number varying from 69 to 77. There are 13 or 14 in an oblique series from middle of back downward and backward to lateral line, and 10 or 11 between lateral line and base of ventrals. Dusky, the lower part of sides with coarse black specks, the under parts white. Fins all dusky. In the following table of measurements the unit is one hundredth of the length from tip of snout to base of median caudal rays. The length of caudal peduncle is taken from base of last anal ray to the vertical from base of median caudal rays : Measurements. No. 1. No. 2. No. 3. No. 4. Total length in millimeters 238 205 153 139 Length ot' head 23 23 23 23 Length of snout 11 10 10 10 Diameter of eye 4 4 4 5 Length of mandible 61 7 u 7 Interorbital width 10' 94 91 10 Depth at occiput. • 18 17 171 18 Depth of caudal peduncle 94 9 94 91 Length of caudal peduncle 161 i 16J 16 18' Distance from snout to origin of dorsal 49' ! 49 484 49 Distance from snout to insertion of ventrals 55 55 544 54 Heiaht of dorsal 164 164 17 ! 18 Base of dorsal 164 14 17 154 In 13 specimens the fully developed dorsal rays are 11, 11, 11, 11, 11, 11, 11, 11, 11, 11, 12, 12, 12. All have 7 anal rays. In 11 specimens the oblique rows of scales above lateral lino are 70, 71, 73, 73, 73, 75, 75, 75, 76, 77, 77. A few specimens, none of them adult, were taken in Upper Klamath Lake and in Lost River. The species is named for my assistant and coworker, Mr. John O. Snyder, who first noticed that Catostomus labiatus was a synonym of C. occidental is, and that the present species was uunamed. 5. Chasmistes brevirostris Cope. Two species of typical Chasmistes inhabit Upper Klamath Lake, so similar in all their characters that it is difficult to decide to which one the name brevirostris properly belongs. The scale and fin formulae are the same, and the general proportions scarcely differ. One of them has a larger, deeper head, with larger, more obliquely placed mouth, and conspicuously protruding premaxillary spines. To the other, with smooth upper profile of snout and smaller, more nearly horizontal mouth, I here apply the name brevirostris, following Cope’s assertion that the snout “is without the hump produced by the protuberant premaxillary spines.” In all other respects Cope’s brief description applies equally well to both species; but the one described below as new, under the name C. stomias, is apparently the most abundant in the lake, and is known to the Indians by the name attributed by Cope to C. brevirostris. One adult and several young specimens of C. brevirostris were preserved ; others were seen, but were so mutilated as to be unfit for preservation. From this adult, a female 37 cm. long, the following notes are taken : Mouth inclined at an angle of about 15°. Maxillary reaching a vertical from slightly behind front of nostrils, its length contained If times in snout. Mandible 1J in snout. Lips thin, the lower interrupted at symphysis, forming moderate lobes laterally. Both lips with small, inconspicuous, sparse tubercles, those on upper lip in three or four series. In other specimens these can not be detected, owing, perhaps, to poor state of preservation. Snout 2-J or 2§- in head. Interorbital width (2-J- in young). Vertical depth of head at mandibular articulation 2 ^ in length of head. Mucous canals large, with very prominent series of pores on head, as apparently in all the fishes of Klamath Lake. Gillrakers slender, triangular, their free edges densely tufted. Fontanelle narrow. Ventrals inserted under the middle of the dorsal. Front of dorsal slightly nearer tip of snout than base of caudal. Anal elongate, in the adult female reaching to opposite base of median caudal rays, doubtless extending farther in adult males. Pectorals not reaching two-thirds distance to ventrals, 1J in head. Ventrals extending two-thirds distance to vent. Scales with strong concentric striae, the radiating ridges produced into narrow projecting lobes at margin. Seventy-three scales in the course of the lateral line; 13 in an oblique series downward and FISHES OF THE KLAMATH BASIN. 5 backward to lateral line from in front of dorsal; 11 in a series upward and forward from base of ventrals to lateral line; 32 or 33 oblique series crossing back in front of dorsal flu. Color dark on upper portions of bead and body, silvery on belly and lower part of sides. Fins all dusky. The Indians to whom this fish was shown failed to distinguish it from Catostomus snyderi, applying to both of them the name Yen. Below is a table of proportionate measurements of three specimens, the unit being hundredths of the standard length. Measurements. No. 1. No. 2. No. 3. Total length in mm 370 250 195 i Length of head 22 234 11\ Length of mandible 7 8" 74 Length of maxillary 5 6 54 Depth of bead at mandibular joint 94 104 104 Iuterorbital width 10 104 10 1 Depth of caudal peduncle 8i 94 84 Length of caudal peduncle , 16 16J 17 Snout to insertion of dorsal 48 50 48 Snout to insertion of ventrals 52 57 55 Ohasmistes stomias Gilbert, new species. Drawn by A. H. Baldwin from tbe type (No. 48223, U. S. N. M. ) from Upper Klamath Lake. 6. Chasmistes stomias, new species. Klamath name, K-alip-tu. Type, No. 48223, U. S. N. M. Type locality, Upper Klamath Lake, Oregon. Collectors: Gilbert, Cramer, and Otaki. Distinguished from all species of the genus except C. brevirostris by the small scales. From the latter, as already indicated, it differs in the deeper head, larger mandibles, more steeply inclined mouth, and by the presence of strongly marked protuberances on the upper side of the snout, caused by the protruding spines of the premaxillary processes. Month inclined at an angle of over 45°. Maxillary' longer than in C. breviroslris, but scarcely reaching vertical from front of nostril, its length contained 1£ times in snout. Length of mandible exceeding that of snout in adults, in one specimen equaling distance from tip of snout to middle of eye. Lips thin, the lower interrupted at symphysis, forming narrow lateral lobes. In none of our specimens can we detect papillae on either lip. The lower lip is ridged and slightly fringed on its lower edge. Snout 2£ to 2* in head. Interorbital width 2£ to 2£. Vertical depth of head at mandibular articulation 2-J- in length of head. Mucous canals raised to form narrow ridges, the pores conspicuous. Gillrakers long, narrowly triangular, the free margins densely tufted. Fontanelle very narrow, often shortened by a coalescence of posterior halves of parietals. In adults a median frontal crest often developed. Ventrals inserted under middle of dorsal. Front of dorsal usually nearer tip of snout than base of caudal. Anal long, the rays extending beyond base of caudal in adult males. Pectorals nearly’ 6 BULLETIN OF THE UNITED STATES FISH COMMISSION. reaching ventrals, the latter extending to vent in adult. Dorsal with 11 or 12 fully developed rays, anal with 7, the last ray in each divided to base. Scales more crowded and irregular in adults of this species than in C. brevirostris, the posterior very conspicuously larger than the anterior. This difference between the two species is less marked in the young. The ridges on the scales are less strong in C. stomias. 76 to 82 scales are traversed by the lateral line; 14 or 15 scales in an oblique series downward and backward from in front of dorsal to lateral line; 11 in a series vertically upward from insertion of ventrals to lateral line; 35 to 38 oblique series before dorsal. Upper portions of head and body blackish, the lower parts whitish or silvery, the two colors separated along a definite line traversing sides midway between lateral line and insertion of ventrals. Mandible, preopercle, and the contiguous part of cheeks whitish. Fins dusky. Abundant in Upper Klamath Lake, where all seen were spent fish in a badly mutilated and dying condition. Following is a table of measurements, the unit being hundredths of the standard length : Measurements. No. 1. No. 2. No. 3. Total length in mm Length of head 370 380 220 27* 27* 25 I Length of mandible 11" 12 9* Length of maxillary 8 8* 6* Depth of head at mandibular joint 13 14 12" 1 Interorbital width 12* 13 11 1 Depth of caudal peduncle 9* 9 8i Length of caudal peduncle 18 16* 17' Snout to insertion of dorsal 48 50 48 Snout to insertion of ventrals 54 57* 57 7. Deltistes luxatus (Cope). Chasmistes luxatus Cope, American Naturalist 1879, 784, Upper Klamath Lake and tributaries; Proc. Ac. Nat. Sci. Phila. 1883, 149. Catostomus rex Kosa Smith Eigenmann, American Naturalist 1891, 667, Lost River, Oregon. Deltistes luxatus Alvin Seale, Proc. Cal. Ac. Sci. 1896, 269. The “Lost River sucker” is the most important food-fish of the Klamath Lake region. It is apparently resident during most of the year in the deeper waters of Upper Klamath and Tule lakes, running up the rivers in incredible numbers in March and April, the height of the run varying from year to year according to the condition of the streams. The Lost River fish are the most highly prized and are said to be much fatter and of finer flavor than those ascending the tributaries of Upper Klamath Lake. Prior to 1894 an attempt had been made to preserve the meat in cans, but apparently with poor success. Oil had also been extracted from heads and entrails, said to be worth from 60 to 85 cents per gallon. The species most closely resembles in appearance Chasmistes fecundus, from which it differs principally in the simpler gillrakers, as already noted by Mr. Seale. It agrees with C. fecundus and differs from other species of Chasmistes in its very long, slender head, its small, nearly horizontal mouth, and thicker lips. When these species shall have been thoroughly investigated, C. fecundus. will probably be separated generically from Chasmistes. At the time of our visit to Upper Klamath Lake, June 13 to 16, the run of suckers was well over, and the only specimens observed were the dried heads on the banks of Lost River and some more or less diseased and mutilated individuals floating about in Upper Klamath Lake and River. One young specimen only could be preserved, from which the following notes are taken : Head 4 in length ; depth 4f. D. 12. A. 7. Lat. line 78. Head very long and slender, the snout and cheeks especially so, the mandibles inclined upward at an angle of about 35°. Snout tapering to a very slender tip, on the under side of which is the very small, nearly horizontal mouth, little overpassed by the premaxillaries. Premaxillary spines forming a decided hump on upper surface of snout near tip. Maxillary not reaching vertical from nostril, half length of snout. Snout 2f in head; interorbital width 2§ ; diameter of orbit (measured just within the bony rim) 5f. Lower lip thin, but thicker and wider than in typical Chasmistes, the two lobes widely separated at symphysis, which is very narrowly bordered; upper lip very narrow; several series of minute papilhe on each lip. Very conspicuous mucous canals on top and sides of FISHES OF THE KLAMATH BASIN. 7 head. Gillrakers short, triangular, somewhat wider than in species of Chasmistes, their free margins plain or moderately fringed, not bearing the dense mass of short, divided processes so conspicuously developed in C. fecundus and to a less degree in other species of Chasmistes. Scales with concentric lines and radiating ridges very strongly marked. Seventy-eight pores in the lateral line ; 14 scales in an oblique series from median line before dorsal downward and backward to lateral line; 9 scales between lateral line and base of ventrals. In 9 specimens not preserved the pores in lateral line were as follows : 76, 78, 78, 79, 79, 79, 79, 80, 81. Thirty-four series of scales before dorsal. Ventrals inserted about under middle of dorsal. Front of dorsal slightly nearer snout than base of caudal. Last dorsal ray more than half the length of the first, which is equal to distance from snout to preopercle. Pectorals not nearly reaching ventrals, the latter not reaching vent. Anal high, the anterior rays reaching rudimentary caudal rays when deflexed. Dorsal with 12 rays, the last one divided to base. In six other specimens counted the dorsal rays were 11, 11, 11, 11, 11, 12. Anal constantly with 7 rays (in eight specimens), the last divided to base. Very dark above, silvery on belly and lower part of sides. Dorsal and caudal dusky, the lower fins dusky on terminal half, light at base. 8. Leuciscus bicolor (Girard). Tigoma bicolor Girard, Proc. Ac. Nat. Sci. Phila. 1856, 206. Gheonda cwrulea Girard, 1. c., 207. Lost River, Oregon. Squalius cceruleus Cope, Proc. Ac. Nat. Sci. Phila. 1883, 146. Klamath Lake. Abundant in Upper Klamath Lake and Lost River. A large species with compressed body, a tapering caudal peduncle, a small compressed head tapering to an acute snout. The snout is usually slender wedge-shaped, with straight outlines ; in exceptional cases blunter and heavier. The mandible is usually included, but projects slightly at tip in some of our specimens. The mouth is gently oblique, the maxillary reaching vertical from front of orbit or slightly beyond it, its length 3£ to 3i in head. Eye 5 to 5| in head in adults, 1| to 1* in interorbital width. Teeth 2, 4-5, 2 or 2, 5-5, 2, all of them comparatively small, with deeply grooved grinding surface, in adult specimens with the hooks obsolete. The teeth differ strikingly from those in L. lineatus, in which they are much larger, with strong hooks and with grinding surface convexly rounded, or in older specimens beveled by use. In L. intermedius they are hooked and channeled. Scales marked with strong concentric lines and radiating ridges, as in L. lineatus. In seven speci- mens examined, the scales range from 65 to 67 in the course of the lateral line, 14 or 15 in an oblique series running downward and backward from the median line before dorsal to the lateral line, and 30 to 32 before dorsal (enumerating the oblique series which cross the median line). The dorsal fin is inserted distinctly behind the ventrals and has the upper margin straight when spread, slightly concave when closed. There are usually 9 developed rays, of which the first is unbranched, the last forked to base. In 20 specimens examined, but one had 8 dorsal rays. Anal with 8 rays, the first unbranched, the last forked to base; 2 out of 20 specimens examined have 9 anal rays. The pectorals do not nearly reach the ventrals, the ventrals usually not to vent. 8 BULLETIN OF THE UNITED STATES FISH COMMISSION. Color dusky above, silvery below, the middle and lower part of sides darkened by numerous coarse, black specks, which are also numerous on opercles and upper portion of cheeks. Dorsal and caudal dusky. Basal portion of anterior anal rays and inner face of pectorals dusky, the inner face of ventrals sometimes minutely black-punctate in adults. The sharp division of color between tipper and lower parts, which suggested the name bicolor, is usually not very evident. Tho following table gives proportionate measurements in hundredths of the length from tip of snout to base of caudal, in four specimens from Klamath Lake: Itutilus bicolor (Girard).— Drawn by Anna L. Brown from a specimen from Upper Klamath Lake. 9. Rutilus bicolor (Girard). Algansea bicolor Girard, Proc. Ac. Nat. Sci. Pliila. 1856, 183. Klamath Lake. Myloleucus parovanus Cope, Proc. Ac. Nat. Sci. Phila. 1893, 143. Klamath and Goose lakes. Myloleucus thalassinus Cope, 1. c., 144. Goose Lake. ? Myloleucus formosus Cope, 1. c., 144. Silver, Chewaucan, and Warner lakes. Not Algansea formosa Girard. f Leucos bicolor Jordan & Henshaw, Report Chief of Engineers, Geogr. Surv. W. 100th Mer., 193, 1878. Warner Lake. This species is very similar in appearance to Ji. obesus from the Truckee and Humboldt rivers and their connecting lakes, differing only in the larger scales and the additional ray in the dorsal fin. Tho body is robust, the mouth oblique, the snout not obtuse. The maxillary reaches the vertical from front of eye in adults and is shorter in the young. Snout 3| to 4 in head; eye 5£ in adults; interor- bital width 2| to 3£. Head 3J- to 3j in length; depth 3§- to 4. Teeth 4-5, the cutting edge broad and deeply channeled in young and adults, the hook largely obsolete in the latter. Scales marked with strong concentric lines and radiating ridges. In fifteen specimens examined, there were 47 to 52 pores in the lateral line, 10 or 11 scales in an oblique series running from median lino Measurements. No. L I No. 2. No. 3. No. 4. Total length in millimeters 250 175 120 92 Length of head 27 20 24 Length of snout g 7 7 6 Diameter of eye 5 5 6 6 Interorbital width 9 g g 8 ! Length of maxillary 8 g 7 7 ! Greatest depth 27 27 26 22 Least depth of caudal peduncle... 10 10 11 9 Length of caudal peduncle 23 23 23 23 Distance snout to front of dorsal. - 54 54 50 52 Snout to ventrals 51 50 48 50 ! Base of dorsal 13 13 13 I Base of anal 10 9 11 11 ! Height of anal 15 14 1G io ! 1 Height of dorsal 19 18 19 19 ! 1 Length of pectoral 18 17 20 18 | ! Length of ventral 15 15 10 15 | 1 Length of caudal 23 22 25 FISHES OF THE KLAMATH BASIN. 9 before dorsal obliquely downward and backward to lateral line, and 5 or 6 between base of ventrals and lateral line. One specimen bas the formula 12-56-7, but is entirely exceptional. Ten specimens examined have 20 to 23 oblique series crossing median line in front of dorsal fin. The front of dorsal is slightly behind insertion of ventrals in adults, hardly noticeably so in young, always nearer base of caudal than tip of snout. Both dorsal and anal have straight margins when the fins are spread. The following table records the fin rays in 25 specimens. The single specimen noted with 10 ventral rays had 9 rays in the ventral of the other side. Pins. No. of 1 specimens. No. of rays. Dorsal 4 8 19 9 2 10 | Anal 1 7 1 24 Ventral 2 8 22 9' 1 10 The pectorals fall far short of the ventrals, and the ventrals reach to or nearly to the vent. As in other related species, the color is dark steel-gray above with greenish luster, growing lighter on lower half of sides. Belly white. Lower half of sides coarsely specked with black. Fins all dusky. No dark stripe along sides of head or body, and no orange on head or in axil of fins. The following table gives proportionate measurements of parts in four specimens from Upper Klamath Lake, the unit of measurement being hundredths of the standard length from tip of snout to base of caudal : Measurements. No. 1. No. 2. No. 3. I No. 4. | Total length in millimeters 206 155 130 100 Length of head 30 27 274 26 Length of snout 84 8 74 64 Diameter of eye 51 54 6 7 InterorLdtal width 10 94 94 Length of maxillary 84 74 74 74 Depth of body 261 29 274 25 Depth of caudal peduncle 12 12 114 114 Length of caudal peduncle 20 21 21 21 Distance, snout to front of dorsal ... 554 53J 53 521 Distance, snout to front of ventrals. 53 52 52 52 Length of base of dorsal 13J 134 131 13§ Length of base of anal 9 91 9| 9 Height of dorsal 19 17 194 194 Height of anal 151 13 16" 14 Length of pectorals 18 17 174 18 Length of ventrals 17 16 154 16 Numerous specimens were collected in Upper Klamath Lake and in Lost River, where it is the most abundant species. Others have been examined from Scott River, Siskiyou County, California (tributary to the Klamath River), collected by Mr. R. C. McGregor. It seems very improbable that this species should be identical with R. parovanus Cope, from the Utah Basin, a species which has not appeared in any recent collection. The representatives of this Great Basin type of Rutilus are so very similar that the status of B. parovanus can not be determined from current descriptions. Material from the other lakes in southern Oregon must also be carefully compared with the Klamath form. B. thalassinus from Goose Lake seems to agree in all the details assigned, but other specimens from Silver, Chewaucan, and Warner lakes, identified by Cope with Rutilus formosus (Girard), have smaller scales below the lateral line than we have found in any specimen of B. bicolor. 10. Agosia klamathensis Evermann & Meek. Agosia klamathensis Evermann & Meek, Bull. U. S. Fish Comm. 1897. Pelican Bay, Upper Klamath Lake. ’ The Agosia of the Klamath Basin has its closest allies in A. yarrowi and A couesii of the Upper Colorado River. These seem to have the fins strongly falcate, at least in adults, while the Klamath form has the outlines of dorsal, anal, and caudal lobes broadly rounded, even in adult breeding males. The dorsal also averages farther forward in the Klamath species, being usually .located midway between base of median caudal rays and middle of snout. 10 BULLETIN OF THE UNITED STATES FISH COMMISSION. The head is 3.9 to 4.2 in length. The barbels are conspicuous and constantly present. The max- illary reaches vertical from middle of nostril. The mouth is little or not at all overlapped by the snout. In adult males the paired fins are very long, the pectorals strongly overlapping the ventrals, the ventrals reaching to or beyond front of anal. In females of the same size, these fins fail to meet. In fourteen specimens examined the scales along lateral line are 70, 71, 71, 72, 72, 72, 73, 73, 74, 74, 74, 76, 77, 77. The species seems to differ from A. nubila carringtoni only in the smaller scales. Numerous specimens were secured in Willow Creek, at Ager, California, and in Lost River. One specimen was taken in Upper Klamath Lake. 11. Salmo gairdneri Richardson. Very abundant in Upper Klamath Lake and River; but few specimens obtained by us. These I am unable to distinguish from typical S. gairdneri, the larger specimens with the characteristic appear- ance of sea-run or landlocked fish, i. e., with few small spots and a truncate tail. Young specimens are also more silvery and with fewer spots than are found in S. gairdneri from coastwise streams. There is no patch of fine teeth at the base of the hyoid, nor any red dashes under the mandible. In five specimens examined, the scales are 134, 135, 136, 143, 146. As the California Fish Commission has operated on the Klamath River, it is not improbable that one or more species of trout have been planted there. 12. Salvelinus malma (Walbaum). Reported by Cope from Williamson River; not seen by us. Gottus klamathensis Gilbert, new species. Drawn by Anna L. Brown from tbe type (No. 48226, G. S. N. M.) from Upper Klamath Lake. 13. Cottus klamathensis, new species. Uranulea minuta Cope, Proc. Ac. Nat. Sci. Phila. 1883, 152 (Klamath Lake) ; not of Pallas. Type, No. 48226, U. S. Nat. Mus. ; Upper Klamath Lake near Klamath Falls, Oregon, June 12, 1894. (C. H. Gilbert, Frank Cramer, and K. Otaki, collectors.) A large, strongly matked species, very abundant in Upper Klamath Lake. It is characterized by its short, spinous dorsal, broadly joined to the long, soft dorsal, the unbranched pectoral rays, the very incomplete lateral line, the weak development of prickles, the lack of palatine teeth, and the distinctive coloration. It is most nearly related to C. perplexus. Head 2,2ff to 3-iV in length ; depth 3& to 4|. D. vu, 19 ; A. 14 ; P. 15 ; V. i, 4. Body heavy and deep, the head narrowed and wedge-shaped anteriorly, the snout rather acute, and the mouth with much lateral cleft. Maxillary broadly exposed, its tip reaching vertical from behind front of pupil, its length 2| or 2£ in head. Broad bands of teeth on jaws and vomer ; palatines toothless. Anterior nostril with a distinct tube. Eye of moderate size, 1} in snout, 4f to 5 in head. Interorbital space and occiput gently concave in adults, the total interorbital width 1J to 14 in orbit, the bony septum narrower. Upper preopercular spine robust, straight, directed backward, or backward and slightly upward. Below this the margin of the bone is without evident spines, but bears one or two slight prominences, which may be rounded or acute. Anterior angle of subopercle with a short spine directed forward; opercle ending in a short, flat spine. Head with large pores ; two pairs above front of orbit, those FISHES OF THE KLAMATH BASIN. 11 of the posterior pair nearest together; distant from these a single median pore on posterior portion of iuterorbital space, from which diverge two lines of pores around the back of the orbits. The spinous dorsal is short and low, the longest spine usually less than two- thirds the longest soft ray. The two fins are very broadly joined. Distance from base of last dorsal ray to base of caudal slightly less than depth of caudal peduncle. Caudal short and broadly rounded, its length 11 in head. Pectorals very short, usually not reaching vertical from front of anal, 1| in head. Ventrals large, sometimes reaching vent, hut usually shorter, If in head. Caudal with 9 (sometimes 8 or 10) forked rays ; rays of other fins, including all pectoral rays, simple, unbranclied. Skin mostly naked, the young with a narrowly oblong patch of prickles below the lateral line and under the posterior half of pectorals. These become gradually absorbed with age, adults being nearly or quite naked. Lateral line very incomplete, the last pore under some portion of the anterior half of soft dorsal in all our specimens from the lake. From the last pore a shallow open groove or trace follows the course of obsolete portion of the canal. In four specimens from Klamath River below the falls, and in one collected by Mr. E. C. McGregor in Scott River, Siskiyou County, California (a tributary of Klamath River), the lateral line is much more nearly complete, ending under the last fifth of soft dorsal. Color brownish-olive, with four or five indistinct dark bars downward from hack, breaking up below into narrow bars which may unite to form V-shaped markings, or often into mere irregular blotches. A narrow bar at base of tail. Caudal with broad dark bars alternating with much narrower light ones. Dorsal and anal with somewhat narrower oblique bars. Pectorals very conspicuously checkered, the dark and light spots on the rays arranged in vertical series. 14. Cottus evermanni, new species. Type, No. 48228, U. S. Nat. Mus. Type locality, Lost River near Lostine, Oregon. (C. H. Gilbert, Frank Cramer, K. Otaki, collectors.) Characterized by the long slender body entirely covered with coarse prickles, the short spinous dorsal very broadly united to the very long soft dorsal, the long anal fin, the incomplete lateral line, the very large pores on head, the branched pectoral rays, and the absence of any distinctly projecting preopercular spine. Head 3 1 in length; depth 5; depth of caudal peduncle 2f in greatest depth. D. vn, 21; A. 18; P. 16; Y. i, 4. Head small, depressed, narrowing rapidly forward, the snout more acutely rounded than in C. punctulatus. Mouth with distinct lateral cleft, the maxillary reaching a vertical immediately in 12 BULLETIN OF THE UNITED STATES FISH COMMISSION. advance of pupil, 2* in head. Mandible slightly protruding. Teeth in narrow hands on jaws, vomer and palatines, the latter very weak, apparently concealed in part beneath the skin. Total interorhital width about two-thirds diameter of eye, shallowly concave. Occipital area flat or gently convex. Eye small, 1£ in snout, 5 in head. Pores on head unusually large, the most conspicuous occurring on suborbital ring, along mandible and preopercle, and in a horizontal line above opercle. 'three pores form a straight transverse line behind the orbits. A short nasal tube. The upper preopercnlar spine is represented by a short triangular process, the margin of the bone below it being smoothly rounded- Spinous dorsal short and comparatively very high, the longest spine slightly more than three- fourths the longest soft ray. The last spine is higher than the first and about four-fifths the longest, the least height of the membrane joining last spine to first soft ray exceeding length of snout. Longest ray of soft dorsal slightly more than half head. All the rays of dorsal and anal fins simple, unbranched. Caudal long and narrow, nearly truncate when spread, six-sevenths length of head. Nine caudal rays are branched at tip for about one-fifth length of rays. The pectoral reaches the vertical from fourth ray of soft dorsal. The upper ray is simple, the next six or seven forked, the remaining rays being simple, thickened, with incised membranes. Yentrals with 1 spine and 4 rays, not reaching vent, If in head. Lateral line conspicuous anteriorly, running high, interrupted under eleventh or twelfth ray of soft dorsal, a mere trace visible thence to base of caudal. Sides of body thickly covered with coarse prickles, the head, breast, belly, and a narrow strip along base of anal fin naked. Color light brownish, faintly vermiculated with darker, with traces of five irregular cross-bars from back, and a narrow distinct bar at base of caudal. Pectorals, dorsal, and caudal cross-barred. One specimen, 59 mm. long, from Lost Kiver, near Klamath Falls, Oregon. Named for Dr. Barton W. Evermann, the energetic investigator of American fresh-water fishes. Cottus princeps Gilbert, hew species. Drawn by Anna L. Brown from the type (No. 48227, TJ. S. N. M.) from Upper Klamath Lake. 15. Cottus princeps, new species. Type, No. 48227, U. S. Nat. Mus. Type locality, Upper Klamath Lake, Oregon. (Gilbert, Cramer, and Otaki, collectors.) Head 3£ to 3| in length ; depth 5 to 5*. D. vi or vn, 21 to 23. A. 16 to 18. Y. i, 4. P. 15. A slender form with small narrow head, which is nearly quadrate in cross-section, the opercles and cheeks being subvertical, the greatest width of head but one-fifth or one-sixth more than its depth at occiput. Mouth small, oblique, the gape slightly curved, the maxillary reaching a vertical crossing eye in front of pupil, 2J to 3 in head. Eye equaling snout, 4J in head. Teeth small, uniform, in narrow bands in the jaws. Vomer with a narrow patch; palatine smooth. Eye small, separated by a narrow, flat interspace, as wide as pupil. Margin of preopercle evenly rounded, without developed spine, a minute spinous point sometimes occupying the position of the upper preopercular spine. Opercle without spine. Tubes and pores of head extraordinarily developed. A series of six very large pores across cheeks and on lower edge of preorbital. A large median pore at symphysis, and a series of seven occupying each ramus and extending onto edge of preopercle. Similar, somewhat smaller, pores form the supraorbital series. Branchiostegals 6. Gill membranes broadly united to the isthmus, without free fold. No pore behind last gill. Dorsal and anal fins very long and low, the dorsal spines very slender, the notch shallow between spinous and soft portions. Pectorals reaching beyond front of anal; ventrals usually to vent. About two-thirds of our specimens have the back and sides completely invested with minute close-set prickles, the head and belly and a narrow area along base of anal naked. The caudal peduncle is also naked in varying degree. In the remaining third (possibly males) the body is FISHES OF THE KLAMATH BASIN. 13 smooth except for a postaxial band of prickles, and in one specimen these are absent, leaving the body entirely naked. Lateral line variously incomplete, interrupted at some point under posterior half of second dorsal. Color light olive with darker markings, which may on the head take the form of vermiculating lines. Seven quadrate dark blotches along base of dorsal fin, the first and third usually narrower than the others, an eighth on back of caudal peduncle. Very distinctly marked individuals show a series of blotches along middle of sides, which may be connected with the dorsal series by broad, dusky bars. Dorsal, caudal, and pectoral with faiut bars. Yentrals and anal unmarked. I subjoin table of fin rays in 12 specimens. Fins. No. of specimens. Spines or rays. ] 1 Dorsal spines 3 VI 9 VII Dorsal rays 7 21 4 22 1 23 ! Anal rays , 2 16 17 | 3 18 Pectoral rays 1 14 11 15 Numerous specimens were obtained in shallow water along the shore of Klamath Lake, on a bottom of fine sediment and vegetable debris. This differs widely from any other species of Cottus in the very narrow, slender form, the long fins, and especially in the extreme development of the mucous tubes and pores. 2.-A REPORT UPON SALMON INVESTIGATIONS IN THE COLUMBIA RIVER BASIN AND ELSEWHERE ON THE PACIFIC COAST IN 1896. By BARTON WARREN EVERMANN and SETH EUGENE MEEK. During the season of 1896 the United States Fish Commission conducted a number of investigations in Idaho, Washington, and Oregon, having for their general purpose the improvement and extension of the fish-cultural operations of the Commission on the Pacific Coast. The specific object of each inquiry, the details of the work, and results accomplished are given in the following pages. The work was under the imme- diate direction of Professor Evermann, assisted by Dr. S. E. Meek, associate professor of biology and geology in Arkansas State University 5 Mr. Ulysses O. Cox, professor of biology in the State Normal School at Mankato, Minn. ; Mr. A. B. Alexander, fishery expert of the Fish Commission steamer Albatross ; Mr. W. F. Hubbard, superintendent of the United States fish-hatchery at Clackamas, Oregon, and Mr. Alfred G. Maddren. Investigations were carried on in ten different regions, as follows: (1) At the Bedfish lakes in Idaho, by Messrs. Evermann, Meek, and Maddren; (2) at Lake Pend d’Oreille, Idaho, by Messrs. Alexander and Cox; (3) at Wallowa Lake, Oregon, by Messrs. Meek and Maddren ; (4) on tributaries of the Lower Columbia, by Messrs. Evermann, Meek, and Hubbard, and by Messrs. Alexander and Cox; (5) on streams tributary to Puget Sound, by Messrs. Alexander and Cox; (6) at Lakes Washington, Sammamish, and Union, by Mr. Alexander; (7) on the Siuslaw Biver, Oregon, by Dr. Meek; (8) on Whoahink, Tsiltcoos, and Tahkenitch lakes, Oregon, by Dr. Meek; (9) at Upper Klamath Lake, by Messrs. Meek and Alexander; and (10) at Crater Lake, Oregon, by Messrs. Evermann and Cox. During the progress of this work the representatives of the Commission were the recipients of material assistance and many acts of courtesy from various citizens, to all of whom we are glad to acknowledge our indebtedness and to express our thanks. Especial mention should be made of Mr. G. H. Stevenson, Vancouver, Wash.; Seufert Brothers and Mr. I. H. Taffe, salmon- canners at Celilo, Oregon; Mr. Frank Warren, salmon-canner at Portland; Captain Steers, of the steamer Lillian , Florence, Oregon; Mr. William Kyle and Messrs. Elmore & Sanborn, salmon-canners at Florence; Mr. Leonard Christianson, of Acme, Oregon, and Mr. Scott Morris, of Ada, Oregon. THE REDFISH LAKES, IDAHO. It was found in 1894 that these lakes and their connecting streams afforded unusu- ally good facilities for the study of the spawning habits of the chinook salmon and both forms of the so-called redfish. The matter was taken up in the following year and a continuous series of observations was carried on at those lakes from July 17 to September 24. A detailed account of those observations, together with full descrip- tions of the physical features of the region, may be found in the published report, in the Bulletin of the United States Fish Commission for 1896, pp. 149-202. 15 16 BULLETIN OF THE UNITED STATES FISH COMMISSION. The investigations of 1895 resulted in the following conclusions concerning -a number of important questions regarding these fishes, viz : 1. The cliinook salmon resorting to the headwaters of Salmon River for spawning purposes reach the spawning-grounds in perfect condition, so far as shown by external appearances, no mutilations nor injuries of any kind having been seen. The many sores and mutilations seen upon them later in the season result from injuries incident to spawning, are received on the spawning-beds, and are not due to injuries received en route from the sea. 2. After spawning, the Chinook salmon coming to these waters die in the vicinity of the spawning-beds. 3. The young cliinook salmon remain about one year in the streams where they were hatched before beginning their journey to the sea. 4. The large redfish are identical with the blueback salmon, or sockeye (Oncorhyn- clius nerka), and come up from the sea, as do the chinook salmon. They reach the spawning-beds in perfect condition, are mutilated there during the spawning season, and then die, never returning to the sea. 5. The small redfish spawn at the same time and on the same beds with the large redfish. They arrive upon the spawning-beds in apparently perfect condition, but soon become mutilated, just as do the large form and the chinook salmon, and then die without returning even to the lake. 6. Eggs of the small redfish laid in September in the inlet to Alturas Lake began hatching on the 21st of March following. 7. The young redfish remain in Alturas Lake at least one year from the time when they were spawned. The investigations of 1895 left unanswered, however, some of the most important and interesting questions concerning the redfish. It was not possible to determine when the large redfish arrives at the Idaho lakes, nor whether the small form is really anadromous. Both forms were already in Alturas Lake before the nets were set in the outlet, on July 20. The importance of settling these questions, if possible, and the desirability of repeating and verifying the observations of 1895, justified the continuance of the work another season. Alturas Lake was, therefore, again visited in the summer of 1896. Gamp was established July 11 on the outlet of Alturas Lake, at the ford about li miles below Perkins Lake. On account of unusually high water it was impossible to set the gill nets satisfactorily until July 17. On July 22 the camp was moved to the head of Alturas Lake and a gill net was placed across the inlet at its mouth. The net at the ford was taken up August G and reset in the outlet between Perkins and Alturas lakes, thus making it more easily reached from the camp. It remained in this place until September 25, when it was taken up and not reset again. Redfish began to come into the inlet August 3. After that date the net was kept in place only at irregular intervals until August 14, when it was taken up. Sigh water. — The spring of 1896 was an unusually late one in Idaho. The snows of the preceding winter were much deeper than usual and were slow in disappearing in the spring. Rains were also uncommonly frequent, even late in the spring and during the first half of summer, the last of importance occurring August 6. A very hard rain fell on the night of August 3, resulting in a perceptible rise in the streams. On July 11 the streams were much higher than at the same time the year before. Salmon River and Alturas Creek were overflowing their banks in many places ; much of the SALMON INVESTIGATIONS IN COLUMBIA RIVER BASIN IN 1896. 17 valley above Alturas Lake was from a few inches to 3 feet under water. Not until about July 22 was it possible to reach the head of the lake with a wagon, and the outlet could not safely be forded earlier than that date. After July 14, however, the water ran down very rapidly, and during August and September Alturas Creek was only slightly higher than in 1895. Temperatures. — Temperature observations were made as regularly as circum- stances permitted. The records for July 11 to July 21, inclusive, are those made at the camp on the outlet of Alturas Lake. The thermometer for air temperatures was kept hanging in the shade on a tree at the camp; the water temperatures were taken in the creek at the camp in water about a foot deep. Temperatures recorded at the outlet of Alturas Lake, Idaho, July 11 to 21, 1896. The temperatures recorded in the following table are those taken at the camp at the head of Alturas Lake. The “inlet” temperatures were taken a few feet above the lake where the water was about 2 feet deep; those for the lake were taken just in front of our camp at a depth of about 3 feet, and those of the air were in the shade : a During the night of August 3 there were heavy thunder and rain, snow falling on the mountains. F. C. B. 1897—2 18 BULLETIN OF THE UNITED STATES FISH COMMISSION. In the following diagram are shown the temperature curves obtained by taking serial temperatures in Alturas, Big Redfish and Wallowa lakes. Two series were taken in Alturas Lake and one in each of the others. DEPTH INFEET TEMPERATURE IN FAHRENHEIT DEGREES. 0) CO o T CM sf CO 5 CO § 03 RI AHO. 230 G RFDFIRH IAKF ID 240 S ® AUG.9T^I896. BET 2:30X3:30 PM. 250 EGON. 260 bVALLOWA LAKE. OR 270 AUG. 20™. 1896. 280 1 290 6 SALMON INVESTIGATIONS IN COLUMBIA RIVER BASIN IN 1896 19 The following temperatures were taken August 11, in Alturas Lake just beyond the bar at the mouth of the iulet. All are bottom temperatures except the first three. The first, second, third, and fourth were all taken at the same place, the others a short distance away: 1. At surface 57° I 5. At depth of 72 feet 43° 2. At depth of 24 feet 54 6. At depth of 96 feet . 40£ 3. At depth of 48 feet 45 7. At depth of 102 feet 40J 4. At depth of 90 feet - 40§ I Two series of temperatures at different depths were taken in Alturas Lake August 11, between 3 p. m. and 6 p. m. These are shown on the temperature diagram on pre- ceding page. The series indicated by the crosses shows the bottom temperatures, obtained by starting near shore in 1 fathom and going outward into increasing depths. The circles on the continuous line indicate a vertical series taken near the middle of the lake, where the depth was 150 feet. It will be noticed that, after reaching a depth of 30 feet, the two series coincide exactly and that the temperature at the bottom iu the deepest part of this lake is but slightly, if at all, above that of fresh water at its greatest density, namely, 39°. A similar series was taken at Big Redfish Lake August 9, between 2.30 and 3.30 p. m., the results of which are platted on the same diagram, an examination of which shows that this lake is, as a whole, considerably colder than Alturas Lake. Though the surface temperatures are nearly the same, the water in Big Redfish Lake is seen to grow colder much more rapidly as the depth increases. This is apparently due to the greater size and depth of Big Redfish Lake, the lower temperature of the inflowing water, and the greater protection afforded by the higher surrounding mountains. In both lakes, however, the temperature decreases rapidly until a depth of about 100 feet is reached, and beyond that depth the decrease is less than 2° in either case. These temperatures were taken with a Regretti Zambra deep-sea thermometer tripped by means of a messenger, and the results are believed to be reliable. The bottom temperatures which we took at these lakes in 1895 were taken with a Wilder protected thermometer, and we are now convinced that the results obtained are wholly unreliable whenever the depth exceeded a few feet. The thermometer can not be drawn up quickly enough to prevent the mercury from being warmed by tbe warmer water above. The few bottom temperatures given in the report of the work done on these Idaho lakes in 1895 are therefore worthless. SUMMARY OP OBSERVATIONS REGARDING THE REDFISH. Camp was established on the outlet of Alturas Lake July 11, and observations began on that date. The daily inspection of. the nets and the periodical examination of Alturas Creek and Salmon River were carried on essentially as during the season of 1895. Although gill nets could not be well placed until July 17, the opportunities for examining the stream make it certain that if any redfish had ascended to the lake between July 11 and 17 they would have been seen. Beginning with July 17, gill nets were kept constantly in the outlet of Alturas Lake, set in such manner as wholly to obstruct the stream to the ascent of fish. These nets were kept iu place until September 25, but not a single redfish, either of the large or small form, was caught in them. No redfish were seen in the outlet or else- where below Alturas Lake during the season. Small redfish appeared in the inlet in considerable numbers in August and September, but no large redfish were seen this year at any of the Redfish Lakes. 20 BULLETIN OF THE UNITED STATES FISH COMMISSION. Tlie first redfisli seen was caught in Alturas Lake near the inlet July 16, while fishing for Dolly Yarden trout in about 30 feet of water. It was a male, 11£ inches long, and was taken on a hook baited with salmon spawn. Its stomach was well filled with food, chiefly small crustaceans. Its color was a rich metallic blue on the back, becoming silvery on the lower sides and under parts. The reproductive organs were not greatly developed. The next redfish were caught in the inlet gill net on the night of the 2d of August, 3 males in prime condition. On the next night 3 more males were taken, in excellent condition and nearly or quite ripe. On the next night 8 males and 3 females were caught, all the males ripe and the females nearly so. No others were seen until August 6, when about 40 were observed in a deep hole about a mile above the lake. As the redfish were now running up in considerable numbers, the nets were taken up and not put down again except for one night, August 13, when 53 males and 32 females were caught. None of these showed any sores or mutilations of any kind. By the middle of August the fish had arrived in large numbers, the maximum being reached during the last week in that month. The fish in the inlet were counted at intervals and a careful record made of their numbers. The record reads as follows: 1,044 fish on August 18; 1,345 on August 21; 1,038 on August 25; 1,558 on August 28; 1,354 on September 1; 1,515 on September 4; 1,286 on September 9; 1,067 on September 12; 952 on September 14; 703 on September 18; 214 on September 25; 106 on September 28; October 2, none. The fish seen on the first few days were all in perfect condition, but soon after they began spawning mutilations appeared, and some died as early as August 23. After that date they died rapidly, but the numbers were reinforced from time to tirnii by new schools which continued to come up from the lake until probably the first week in September. The large decrease shown August 25, compared with the number observed four days earlier, was apparently caused by a great many fish being caught out by campers. Beginning early in September the number of dead fish increased and the number of live ones gradually decreased until October 2, when all had died. The dead fish were usually found in the deeper pools or quiet portions of the inlet. On September 14 one dead redfish was found lodged against the net in the outlet a few rods below Alturas Lake, and on September 25 four were found washed up on the shore of the lake a few rods west of the inlet. These had all doubtless been carried down by the current. Bun later than in 1895. — In 1895 the first redfish appeared in Alturas Inlet July 25, the maximum was reached about September 6, and all had died by September 25. In 1896 the run began nine days later, the maximum was attained about nine days earlier, and the last live fish were seen about nine days later than in 1895. Though the season began a little later, it covered almost exactly the same length of time. Mutilations. — Previous observations concerning the cause of the mutilations were verified. As the fish came into the inlet they were all in perfect condition, and con- tinued and careful observation of their movements during the spawning season showed conclusively that the injuries are caused by contact with the gravel and by fighting on the spawning-beds. Dying of the redfish. — The conclusion reached last year, that every redfish dies after spawning once, was based upon absolute proof, so far as this region is concerned, and no other conclusion was possible from the observations made this year. The SALMON INVESTIGATIONS IN COLUMBIA RIVEK BASIN IN 1896. 21 number of redfish entering Alturas Inlet in 1895 was about 2,000 in round numbers, and not one ever returned alive to the lake below. The run this year was somewhat larger. The greatest number counted at any one time was 1,558, but many had died or been caught by campers prior to that time, and many new schools came in subse- quently. It is a conservative estimate to say that between 2,500 and 3,000 fish entered Alturas Inlet in 1896. While the observations for the purpose of determining whether any returned to the lake were not as carefully made as in 1895, there is no evidence that a single fish ever returned to the lake alive. While the mutilations are usually quite severe, in many cases they are not par- ticularly so, and unmutilated fish were sometimes found dead or dying. This fact seems to be of great importance because of the light which it throws upon the probable cause of the death of spawning salmon. Some naturalists have maintained that the dying is attributable to the injuries; others that exhaustion resulting from the long journey from the sea or long abstinence from the use of food is the cause; but as a matter of fact, many observers have seen salmon dying in large numbers at the end of the spawning season in waters only a few miles from the sea, and even in salt water, and the cause could, therefore, not have been exhaustion resulting from long journeys without food,, or mutilations received on such journeys. That the dying results from long abstinence from food is completely disproved by observations at Alturas Lake, where redfish have been observed to come up out of the lake with food in their stomachs, and have died a few days after spawning. The true cause is evi- dently deeper seated in its nature and more general in its application than has been supposed. Wo large redfish seen in 1896. — In 1894, 14 large redfish were seen in Alturas Inlet and 1 in the inlet to Pettit Lake, and as these waters were visited only once this does not, of course, indicate the total number that may have spawned there in that year. In 1895 only about 8 large redfish were seen, 3 in the inlet to Pettit Lake, 3 in Alturas Inlet, and 2 in Alturas Lake. During the season of 1896 no large redfish appeared in Alturas Inlet, nor were any seen at Pettit Lake, which, however, was not visited sufficiently often to fully determine the matter. None was observed at Big Bedfish Lake during a trip there August 8 to 10, and parties who visited the lake during August and September report seeing no redfish. Are the small redfish anadromousf — This question can not yet be positively answered. If they are, they had reached Alturas Lake prior to July 11, just as they must have reached it before July 20, in 1895. But this may very well be so, for the big redfish, which is undoubtedly anadromous, had also reached this lake earlier in 1895 than July 20. Observations at Alturas and Wallowa lakes point strongly to the probability of the small redfish being permanently resident in those lakes. The first of these was the catching of a small redfish in Alturas Lake July 16. This fish took the baited hook, and its stomach was found to contain some food, chiefly insect larvm and small crustaceans. One caught in the gill net August 6 had a trace of food in its stomach. Twelve small redfish were caught with grabhooks i.u Wallowa Lake by Mr. J. J. Stanley, about the first of September, and the stomachs of 9 of them were found to contain food consisting almost wholly of entomostracans and other small crustaceans. In one case the stomach contained a small quantity of some alga and in five or six cases the stomach was quite full of food. 22 BULLETIN OF THE UNITED STATES FISH COMMISSION. The twelve specimens taken Tby Mr. Stanley were males which probably would have spawned that season. They are considerably smaller than any heretofore taken and vary from 6f to 9f inches in total length; one found dead on the shore of Wallowa Lake August 24 is only 5J inches long. In the light of all these facts it is hard to believe that the small redfish come up from the sea. On the other hand, when we consider that the large and small forms present no structural differences of value, that they spawn at the same time and on the same beds, that the small form has never been seen, so far as known, in any of these lakes except at spawning time, and that they, like other members of the genus, die after once spawning, it is equally difficult to believe that they are permanently resident in fresh water. Chinook salmon in the upper Salmon River. — The number of chinook salmon coming to these spawning-beds in 1895 was not far from 1,000. The first appeared July 24, and the maximum number was reached about August 24. All arrived in perfect condition, and all died soon after spawning, none returning to the sea. Not much time was given to the chinook salmon in 1896, only occasional visits being made to Salmon River. From such observations as were made and from infor- mation obtained from various parties who came up the river from Stanley Basin and other points below, it appears that the run was very small and much later than in the preceding year. Four were seen in Alturas Creek, at the mouth of Pettit outlet, August 24, and seven days later 7 more were seen in the Salmon River a mile below the mouth of Alturas Creek. On September 3, 8 were seen from this point down to Roaring Creek. The same fish, or possibly others, were seen at various times until September 11, after which no more were seen. Mr. Springer, who was fishing and hunting for the Custer market, says that in Bear Valley and Sulphur creeks, where salmon have until this year been plentiful, not one was seen. He saw only 1 salmon in Salmon River below Roaring Creek. LAKE PEND D’OREILLE, IDAHO. In February, 1889, the United States Fish Commission placed in Lake Pend d’Oreille 1,300,000 fry of the common whitefish ( Coregonus clupeiformis). Until now no investigation had ever been made to determine whether any of these fish survived. Fugitive reports have come to the Commission from time to time of the capture of examples of this species, but specimens submitted for identification proved to be the common native species ( Coregonus williamsoni). If the planted. species succeeded in establishing itself, the individuals would by this time have attained a size sufficient to enable them to be taken in gill nets. Mr. A. B. Alexander and Prof. U. O. Cox were instructed to go to Lake Pend d’Oreille and endeavor to determine the result of the whitefish plant made in this lake in 1889, and to make investigations regarding the suitability of the lake, in its physical and biologic features, to the common whitefish. The investigations were begun June 25 and it was hoped they might continue through the season, but, owing to urgent work on Puget Sound, which Messrs. Alexander and Cox were directed to perform, the Pend d’Oreille investigations were discontinued July 16. Excessively high water prevailed during the time spent upon the lake and the conditions were not favorable for investigations of this kind. Gill nets were set in different places in the north end of the lake, but no tests were made in the southern portion. While no SALMON INVESTIGATIONS IN COLUMBIA RIVER BASIN IN 1896. 23 whitefish were found, the result can not be regarded as conclusive. The investigations should be resumed and continued until the whole lake can be carefully examined. The report upon the physical examination of the lake and upon the fish-food collected will be reserved until a more thorough study of this important body of water can be made. WALLOWA LAKE, OREGON. It has been known for several years that both the large and small redflsh have spawning-beds in the inlets of this lake, and that chiuook salmon spawn in Wallowa River and other streams in that region. A short visit was made to Wallowa Lake by Messrs. Meek and Maddren on August 19, and they remained there and on Wallowa River until August 26. Wallowa Lake is in the northeastern portion of Oregon and in the southern part of Wallowa County. It lies in the southern end of a considerable valley, which is bounded on the east, south, and west by the Powder River Mountains. This lake is of glacial origin, and is bordered on the east and west sides by immense lateral moraines, which rise about 1,200 feet above the surface of the lake at the upper end, but become less high as the lower end of the lake is approached. Across the broad canyon at the foot of the lake is a terminal moraine a few feet high, through which the outlet has cut its way. At the foot of each of the lateral moraines, about 20 feet above the surface of the water, is a bench from 20 to over 100 feet in width. This bench was evidently formed when the surface of the lake was at that height. The outlet has cut a sort of canyon through the terminal moraine and lowered the lake to its present level. The sides of the moraines above and below these benches are very steep, and except along the upper one-third of the lake there is very little timber on them. There is a dense growth of willows and alder along the south shore of the lake, extending back- ward into the valley about one-fourth of a mile. The rest of the valley near the head of the lake is quite heavily timbered. The mountains near the head of the lake are very rugged, and are said to be over 5,000 feet above the surface of the lake. Wallowa Lake is about 4£ miles long from north to south, with a maximum width of about 1 mile. The greatest depth found was 250 feet. Its shores are quite regular, there being no marked indentations anywhere. The beach at the upper end of the lake is sandy; that on the other three shores is for the most part covered by bowl- ders. The inlet of this lake has its origin in some lakes about 3 miles farther up the narrow valley. The largest of these is said to be about half a mile in diameter. About 2£ miles above Wallowa Lake are Wallowa Falls. Just before reaching this point the inlet flows through a canyon about 90 feet in depth, the height of the falls being about 50 feet. The water falls into a basin about 50 feet in diameter, the outlet of which is 15 to 20 feet wide. A great many bull trout are caught with hook and line in this basin each year. Between the falls and the lake the inlet flows most of the distance, with a swift current, over a bed of bowlders. Within about half a mile of the lake the inlet breaks up into two or more channels, and finally discharges its waters into the lake by two mouths, which are only a few rods apart. The mouth of the inlet has been changed within the past few years. The stream is very swift and contains very few gravel beds, and these are along it's lower mile. Another small 24 BULLETIN OF THE UNITED STATES FISH COMMISSION. inlet empties into tlie lake near its southeast corner; this inlet is only a small brook in summer. The lakes and the inlet above the falls are said to contain no lish life. Wallowa River, as it leaves the lake, is a very rapid stream and flows over a bed of bowlders. The first half mile of its course is through a canyon about 30 feet deep. From Joseph to Lostine the river is said to be very rapid. The West Fork of Wallowa River rises in the mountains west of Wallowa Lake, and, after flowing in a general northerly direction until within about a mile of the main fork at Lostine, it bends to the westward and joins the main fork a short dis- tance below that town. About 12 or 15 miles below where these two forks come together Wallowa River is joined by Minam River, which forms a part of the western boundary of Wallowa County. The river here flows nearly due north, and soon unites with the Grande Ronde River, a tributary of Snake River. About 4 miles from Lostine up the West Fork of Wallowa River, the river was narrower and flowed with considerable velocity among the huge bowlders scattered over its bed. About 3 miles above Lostine there is a somewhat level stretch in the river of about half a mile, which includes some gravel bars. From Lostine to the mouth of Minam River the Wallowa is a rapid stream, flowing most of the distance over a bed of bowlders. Gravel or sand bars are not common. The water is very clear, and at the time of our visit was not over 3 feet deep in this portion of the stream. Miuam River is smaller and is said to be very similar to the Wallowa. The Grande Ronde River was seen at Lagrande and Elgin and at various places between those towns. It appears to be a rather sluggish stream, the water being warm and muddy. Soundings and Temperatures. — The following soundings and temperatures were taken on Wallowa Lake about half a mile north of the south end of the lake. We began on the west side and counted the strokes of the oars as we crossed, taking soundings and temperature at intervals, as shown below. The first sounding was made 20 oar strokes from the west shore. Soundings and temperatures taken in Wallowa Lake, August SO, 1896. Strokes taken between sound- ings. Depth. Temper- ature at bottom. Strokes taken between sound- ings. Depth. Temper- ature at bottom. No. Feet. °F. No. Feet. °F. 20 42 51 50 219 40$ 100 216 40i 30 180 40$ 100 236 40! 30 99 4ll 100 234 40J; 35 strokes to east shore. 100 228 40£ Temperature of water at surface The greatest depth, 250 feet, was about a mile from the south end of the lake and about a third the distance across from the west shore; the bottom temperature here was 40J°. About a quarter of a mile south of this point and near the middle of the lake from east to west a depth of 246 feet was found, and the same bottom temperature. A series of temperatures taken August 20 is platted on page 18. The surface of the lake near the inlet at 3 p. in., August 24, was 62° when the air was 70°. The tempera- ture of the east inlet at the same time was 52° and the other was 48°. The water in a small spring creek was 44°. SALMON INVESTIGATIONS IN COLUMBIA RIVER BASIN IN 1896. 25 Redfish at Wallowa Lake. — No large redfish were seen at the time of our visit to this lake, August 19-26. From interviews with persons familiar with the region it appears that the large redfish usually reach the lake during the last half of J uly. They come up the river with the first run of chinook salmon, the run into the lake lasting about three weeks. Soon after entering the lake they are seen in large schools at its upper end. They begin to spawn in September. They are not red when they enter the lake, but become so a short time before spawning. They spawn in the inlets of the lake and on the shores of its upper end. They were formerly caught for the market during the month of August. According to Mr. J. J. Stanley, of Joseph, the run of large redfish in Wallowa Lake in each year since 1882 was as follows: 1883. The run of redfish was very large. 1884. It is estimated that less than 100 redfish entered the lake. 1885. About 75 were caught with a seine, the run being very small. 1886. The run was very large, but not as large as in 1883. 1887, 1888, and 1889. Very few redfish were caught with spears in the river above the lake. 1890. The run was quite large ; two parties salted many for the home market. 1891, 1892, and 1893. Very few redfish seen in the lake during these years. 1894. About 2,000 redfish were caught at the head of the lake and salted. 1895. The run was again very small. 1896. The run was very small; about one dozen were seen in the lake and one in the inlet. Iu the spring many small fish, from about 6 to 8 inches in length, are stranded in irrigating ditches, many others are killed by entering mill-races. By the inhabitants of Joseph these are thought to be the young of the big redfish on their way to the sea. The large redfish are not known from any streams in this region except in the lake and its outlet and inlets. It is said never to run up the West Fork of the Wallowa Biver. Only one small redfish was observed while at Wallowa Lake, a small example 5^ inches long, which was found dead on the lake shore August 24. According to Mr. Stanley, the small redfish are seldom or never seen there except in September, and then only in schools at the head of the lake or in the inlets where they spawn, at the same time and on the same beds with the large redfish. He says the small ones are called “yanks,” and that not more than 1 in 15 is a female; 12 which he caught for us were all males. According to Mr. Stanley, the fish which he calls “grayling” is usually seen only in June, when it is easily caught by trolling in the lake. The small redfish found dead on the beach of Wallowa Lake, August 24, was called a grayling by Mr. Stanley, from which it seems probable, that the so-called “grayling” are the more silvery small redfish. Chinook salmon. — This salmon is known to enter both the West and Main Forks of Wallowa Biver, the majority running into the West Fork. Those which keep in the Main Fork enter Prairie Creek, where they have their spawning-beds. They have been seen in the outlet close to the lake itself. The early run is in July. The largest run is in September when they are known locally as “dog salmon.” West Fork was examined for a distance of 4 miles, that portion of the river most frequented by Chinooks, but no salmon were seen. Four had been caught, however, on the spawning-beds 3 miles above Lostine a few days before, and one was killed by an Indian below Lostine about the same time. Steelhead trout. — The steelhead reaches Lostine on the Wallowa Biver in March and April. They spawn mostly in the West Fork of Wallowa Biver, very few being seen in the Main Fork. 26 BULLETIN OF THE UNITED STATES FISH COMMISSION. LOWER COLUMBIA RIVER. It being the desire of tlie Commissioner to establish a station for the hatching of salmon in the Lower Columbia Eiver basin, we were directed to visit and examine varions streams, particularly in the vicinity of The Dalles and Cascades, and select a site suitable for such purposes. The conditions requisite for such fish-cultural operations as were contemplated are essentially as follows: (1) An abundant supply of salmon easily obtainable when ripe, or nearly so; (2) water of proper quality as to purity and temperature and in sufficient quantity; (3) suitable land upon which to locate the hatchery building, and so situated as to permit the water to be brought to the hatching-troughs by means of gravity; (4) proximity of building materials and good railroad facilities. Upon taking up this inquiry it became at once evident that no definite informa- tion existed concerning the location of salmon-spawning beds anywhere in the Lower Columbia Eiver basin and information regarding the spawning time was equally uncertain and unreliable. It was therefore necessary to visit as many streams as possible and determine the facts by personal inspection and by interviews with people living on or near them. The telegraphic instructions dated August 1 directed that a site be definitely selected, and as soon as possible, in order that the station might be operated during the season of 1896. In order to be able to examine as many streams as possible in the brief time at our disposal Messrs. Cox and Alexander were ordered from Puget Sound to examine the Lewis Eiver and other streams below Vancouver, while Messrs. Evermann and Hubbard made examinations at the Cascades, The Dalles, Hood Eiver, Big White Salmon, and Celilo. These inquiries were made during the first ten days of August. Later (August 28 to September 6) Messrs. Evermann and Meek examined the Des Chutes, John Days, Hood, Big White Salmon, and Little White Salmon rivers, and on September 7 and 8 Messrs. Evermann and Hubbard reexamined Little White Salmon Eiver and examined Tanner and Eagle creeks near Bonneville. Mr. Hubbard also visited Hamilton and Eock creeks across the river from Cascades, and Mr. Alexander made an examination of Toutle Eiver, Wash- ington. Only the more important results of these various inquiries are given here, detailed reports having been made at the time to the Commissioner. LEWIS RIVER. This river forms the boundary between Clarke and Cowlitz counties, Wash., and flows into the Columbia between Vancouver and Kalarna. Two main branches, known as the North Fork and South Fork, unite only a few miles above the mouth of the river The North Fork has its headwaters on the eastern slopes of Mount St. Helens; the South Fork rises in Skamania County, southeast of Mount St. Helens. No salmon were seen in the North Fork at the time of Mr. Alexander’s visit, during the first week in August. It is said that the salmon of the spring run do not enter the river, but that large numbers of chinook salmon of the fall run enter it; also a good many silver salmon and steelheads. The Chinooks are said never to run in until after the 10th of August, when the close season begius. When the close season ends (September 10) fishing with gill nets and seines is carried on to some extent in this river. Some logging is carried on in this stream during the spring, but it ceases long before the salmon arrive. SALMON INVESTIGATIONS IN COLUMBIA RIVER BASIN IN 1896. 27 Considerable spawning-beds are said to be located in the vicinity of A5tna. The water is pure and cold, and if chinook salmon really come there in large numbers all other conditions are favorable for fish cultural purposes. The South Fork was examined as far up as La Center. This stream is about the same size as the North Fork, but the water is not clear. The bauks, in the lower portion at least, are composed of red clay or easily disintegrated rock, and the water is thus usually kept more or less muddy. Below La Center there seems to be no bottom suitable for spawning-beds and there are no tributary creeks from which water suitable for hatchery purposes could be obtained. Chinook salmon of the fall run are said to enter this fork, but the locality of their spawning-beds is not known. No salmon were seen by Professor Cox at the time of his visit. TOUl'LE RIVER. This stream is an eastern tributary of the Cowlitz, into which it flows a few miles north of Castle Bock. Aboutll miles above its mouth is a fall 15 feet high. From this point down there are many riffles suitable for spawning-beds, and where racks could be put in without difficulty. One of the best places is at the mouth of Pat’s Creek, about 7 or 8 miles above the mouth of the river, where the stream is 35 to 75 feet wide and the bed is of coarse sand and gravel.. Suitable water for hatchery purposes could be obtained from the creek. It is claimed that the fall run of salmon enters this river in considerable numbers, including chinook, silver, dog, humpback, and steelhead. Salmon appeared to be scarce at the time the river was examined, as only three were seeu by Mr. Alexander; but it was stated that they would be more abundant about the 1st of September. They are said to collect in numbers at the foot of the falls already alluded to, and if this be true, that would prove a good place for collecting the eggs. The falls do not seem to offer an impassable barrier, as salmon are reported from points still farther up the stream. CASCADE LOCKS. On the Washington side of the Columbia Biver, opposite Cascade Locks and at the head of what is known as the “Old Incline” at the Upper Cascades, is a place where it was thought fish-cultural operations might be carried on successfully. The fish would have to be caught in wheels, several of which are operated in the vicinity, and held until ripe in a retaining channel or pond. This channel has sufficient water flowing through it, can be easily racked at each end, and seems in every way fairly well suited for such a purpose. There is a good site for the buildings and sufficient water is obtainable by gravity from a small creek near by. It is claimed that au abundance of salmon can be obtained by running the wheels in August and Septem- ber and that they will be so nearly ripe that retention in the pond or channel will be necessary for only a short time. An effort was made in August to transport fish caught in these wheels to the retaining pond, but it proved a failure. Whether due to lack of care and skill in making the transfer, or to inherent difficulties, is not certain, but we believe there is no good reason why salmon may not be safely transferred at this place. We question, however, whether they would live in the retaining pond until ripe, unless the pond be rather deep and kept dark. 28 BULLETIN OF THE UNITED STATES FISH COMMISSION. CELILO. Mr. A. B. Alexander was directed by the Commissioner to visit Celilo, Oreg., for the purpose of watching the daily catch of fish taken there in wheels. He arrived there September 17 and remained till September 23. His report is in substance as follows : Only one wheel was in operation September 17. Two others close by were not running, owing to low water. It was expected to pack 4,000 cases, but by September 23 less than 1,000 cases had been packed. The fall run of salmon was very light in nearly all parts of the river. The accompanying table will show the daily catch for one wheel, with their condition, etc. : Steelhead. Chinook (all caught in wheel). Silver (all caught . wheel) . Date. Total catch. Number of males. Males nearly ripe. Number of females. Females nearly ripe. Caught in wheels. | Total catch. Number of males. | Males nearly ripe. | Number of females. J Females nearly ripe. | Total catch. Number of males. | Males nearly ripe. Number of females. | Females nearly ripe. 1896. Sept. 18 235 Ill 10 124 15 160 75 28 19 10 9 9 6 5 2 1 0 19 240 130 28 110 22 180 60 18 g 5 10 6 g i 6 4 2 1 21 487 121 29 366 98 192 295 53 18 11 35 26 ! 22 9 7 13 8 22 550 159 59 391 164 350 200 20 12 8 8 6 19 11 8 8 6 Total . 1, 512 521 126 991 299 882 630. 119 57 34 62 47 1 55 1 31 1 . 21 24 15 Among the 119 Chinooks, 13 were small males, with their milt as fully developed as that of the large fish. The wheels sometimes take these fish in considerable numbers. The Indians prize them highly and seldom offer one for sale. Those examined were quite uniform in size, few weighing over 4J pounds, the minimum being about 3 pounds. In length they vary from 12£ to 23 inches. Their color is very dark, the spots not being visible a distance of 10 feet. On closer inspection all the marks of a large chinook are visible. Fishermen usually do not class this fish with the Chinook, but think it a different species. The chinooks taken in the fall of 1896 at Celilo were said to be somewhat larger than those for several years past, the average weight being 20 pounds ; average length, 37 inches; greatest length, 43 inches. The average was about 1 pound larger than the usual fall run, and 1 pound less than the spring fish. The steelhead varied in length from 25 to 42 inches, the average weight of those taken at Celilo being 18 pounds. A few weighed from 35 to 37 pounds. On first coming from the water the steelhead is very bright-colored, the large specimens having a bright stripe extending along the sides the whole length of the body, vary- ing from a light pink to a deep bronze. The colors are very pronounced when the fisb is first caught, but grow dim on being exposed to the air. Silver salmon are from 18 to 30 inches long; their average weight is 7 pounds. Early in the fall Seufert Bros, operated three wheels, but two of them could not be run after the river had fallen. Mr. Taffe’s wheel was adapted to low water. An island lying between Celilo and Tumwater is exposed when the river is low, the SALMON INVESTIGATIONS IN COLUMBIA RIVER BASIN IN 1896. 29 water on the south side of the river flowing over a rocky ridge forming falls some 12 or 15 feet high. Many salmon find their way to the foot of the falls and endeavor to ascend them and when the water is about half low many succeed, but when the dis- tance from the lower to the upper current of water is from 8 to 10 feet thousands of salmon at times may be seen jumping into the whirlpools at the foot of the falls. Just above the falls are two wheels, the larger on a rocky point projecting into the river. When the river is high, many of the salmon pass by this point over that part of the river where the falls are during low water. The wheel here catches fish only when the water is high ; the other wheel, at the head of a channel, takes fish when the water is low. The wheels in operation during the fall months are built in places where the water is deep. and the current swift. There being few natural places iu the vicinity where wheels can be successfully operated, long deep channels have been cut through the volcanic rock and the water led into them. At or near the head of these artificial channels the wheels are built. The water rushes through the channels with consid- erable force, offering a strong inducement for salmon to enter. On arriving at the foot of the falls and finding it impossible to go farther salmon naturally enter the channel which leads to the wheel. If the water is very clear, the fish will congregate in large numbers in pools and eddies near the mouth of the channel and at the foot of the falls, remaining there for days without attempting to go up the channel. Sometimes several thousand fish will crowd themselves into the mouth of the narrow channel and remain there for hours at a time. Suddenly, as if by one impulse, they will dart up channel, and are soon caught up by the revolving wheel and landed on the platform in the fish-house. Wheels are built in places near high-water mark where salmon are known to run in greatest numbers. The migratory habits of all species of salmon visiting the. Columbia Eiver in the vicinity of The Dalles are said to vary from year to year. This often causes a considerable expenditure of money in wheels frequently followed by negative results. For several years the main run of salmon may pass certain points in the river, when suddenly a new route will be selected. This change often transfers the best fishing-ground from one side of the river to the other, and wheels which have made large catches one season prove a failure the next. Only those with long experience in this locality are competent to select good sites for wheels. Several wheels on the river, built at a cost of from $3,000 to $5,000, have never taken a fish. This method of fishing requires considerable capital. On September 18 and 19 a large number of fish, mostly steelheads, were noticed to ascend the falls, but, as the river was falling rapidly, in a short time they were prevented from taking their natural course and were forced either to enter the channel or remain in the pools or eddies at the foot of the falls. At this time the wheel at Celilo began to take more fish than it previously had, the daily catch increasing during the time Mr. Alexander was there. The catch of chinook and silver salmon was small as compared with the number of steelheads. The last- mentioned species is always found in greater numbers at this season, the fall run of chinook being limited in number. Only a few silver salmon are caught here. This season, owing to the unusual scarcity of fish at Oelilo, the cannery there did not put up any spring fish, the run being very small. The great bulk of salmon was taken in wheels below the Cascades. Arriving at this point, they seemed inclined to go no farther up, and the canneries in that locality made large packs. Fish expected 30 BULLETIN OF THE UNITED STATES FISH COMMISSION. at The Dalles in the spring did not appear until about the close season. A large body of steelheads passed up the river during that time. Ordinarily the run of steelheads arrives at The Dalles early in September, but this year most of the run passed by during the close of the season. On September 18 the wheel at Oelilo took 160 steelheads, 28 chinook, and 6 silver salmon, and 75 steelheads were taken by Indians with spears and dip nets. Of the steelheads, 111 were males and 124 females; 10 males and 15 females were in an advanced stage of development, and would have been ripe in a comparatively short time; the rest of the catch would not have been ripe until late in the season. Of the Chinooks, 19 were males and 9 females; 10 males and all of the females would have been ripe by about the first week in October. During the five days spent at Celilo 1,512 steelheads, 119 chinook, and 55 silver salmon were examined. Of the steelheads, 991 were females and 521 males; 299 females and 126 males showed considerable signs of development, and would have been fully ripe by the first week in October. As the river falls many places are left bare wheresalmon were caught earlier in the season. Sharp rocks are exposed, small peninsulas formed, and rocky islands appear where a few months before there was nothing to indicate their presence except an occasional small whirlpool or riffle. At such places Indians fish with spear or dip net. Each fall several tribes from various parts of the State camp at Oelilo and Turn water, remaining there until the season is over. They fish for the canneries principally, but also lay in a supply of salmon for themselves. In pleasant weather when salmon are plentiful they do a lucrative business. Sometimes one man catches 35 salmon in a day. Their fishing is with a dip net and detachable gaff hook and is carried on in swift water, the men standing on overhanging rocks or shelving places where a foothold can be had. This is dangerous work, and not a few lives have been lost from time to time. When the wind is high, one of the strong gusts that frequently sweep the river may' suddenly strike a fisherman unprepared to receive it and blow him into the river. Each fisherman who stands in a dangerous place therefore has a rope fastened around his waist and secured to a rock. In the whirlpool of water only an occasional fish can be seen and the fisherman stands and dips blindly. Sometimes a hundred dips or more will be made without a fish being taken, at other times one will be caught at almost every dip. Where the water is less turbulent salmon are taken with spears, each spearsman having his par- ticular standing-place, from which he keeps a vigilant watch, few salmon escaping that approach within throwing distance. The Indian is assisted by the women and children of the tribe, who gather the fish when caught, throwing them into a pile on the rocks and rendering such other assistance as may be required. As soon as the day’s fishing is over the Indian leaves the fish to be taken care of by the women, and they are taken from the island to the mainland, and carried in baskets over a steep, rocky path to the cannery, a distance of about a third of a mile. When there is a good catch many trips are required to be made to the cannery. A male Indian seldom does this kind of work; he is quite willing that it should be performed by the women, and raises no objection when young girls are pressed into the service by their mothers. Sometimes, however, small boys lend assistance, but by the time they arrive at the age of 12 they have caught the spirit of their elders and refuse to do woman’s work. SALMON INVESTIGATIONS IN COLUMBIA RIVER BASIN IN 1896. 31 When salmon are plentiful an Indian can earn from $5 to $8 a day. The price varies from year to year, according to the supply and demand for salmon by the can- neries. This season 2 cents a pound was the standing price for Chinooks and steelheads. Indians consider the Chinooks superior to ail other salmon, and it is only when plentiful that they are sold to canneries. No part of this fish is thrown away; the ripe eggs and even the tail, head, and fins are eaten. The dwarf Chinooks, previously spoken of, not being used by canneries, are greatly sought after by the women of the tribes, who squat on the floor of the room where the fish are dressed, patiently waiting for the small fish to be culled out. They sit for hours shivering in the cold, and consider themselves well paid if each receives one or two fish. During the fishing season the women and children congregate in the dressing-room, waiting for a share of the heads, tails, and fins as they fall from the butcher’s knife. The ripe eggs of chinook salmon are considered a great delicacy and are gathered in large quantities. They are first separated and then dried in the sun, after which they are prepared in various ways as food. Steelheads swim near the surface and are more easily caught than the Chinooks, which swim deep. Clear water influences the catch; if the water be clear the catch is less than when it is muddy. From September 25 to the 13th of October 2,667 steelheads, 1,402 Chinooks, and 2,213 silver salmon were examined at Celilo ; 1,010 of the steelheads were males and 1,657 females; 683 of the Chinooks were males and 719 females; of the silver salmon, 1,011 were males and 1,202 females; 350 male steelheads and 601 females were in an advanced stage of ripeness; also 574 male and 528 female Chinooks, and 843 male and 1,048 female silver salmon. The eggs and milt of the salmon caught during October were somewhat further advanced than that of those examined in September at Celilo. A large part of the eggs of the chinook on being taken from the fish would immediately separate; this was also true of many of the silver salmon and steelheads. A number of the latter showed no signs of development, but many were well advanced and some about ready to spawn. It would seem that the spawning season of the steelhead extends over a greater period of time than that of other species. A careful examination carried on in other streams would no doubt throw more light on the subject. In the fall, after the close season, a seining “ gang” of twelve to fifteen men goes into camp on a long pebbly beach, about a mile below the fishing station at Tumwater. This season two seines were operated on the Oregon side of the river and one on the Washington side. At times fish will be found plentiful on one side of the river and few on the other, when suddenly, without apparent cause, they shift to the opposite side. During the fishing season seining is carried on with little or no interruption, hauls being mjide in quick succession all through the day. The seines are set from a flat- bottom boat, one end of the seine rope being held on shore by horses while the net is being thrown out. As soon as the net is set the seine rope on the lower end is picked up by other horses and the hauling-in commences. It would be impossible to land the net by hand, so swift is the current, and frequently the united strength of four horses is barely able to land it. At each haul the fish caught are loaded into wagons and taken to the fishing station, where they are weighed, washed, and put into cars. If they are to be canned they are thrown into the car in bulk; if shipped east, they are 32 BULLETIN OF THE UNITED STATES FISH COMMISSION. packed in boxes and iced. In the early part of the fall season the demand for fresh steelheads is large, and there is more profit in shipping fish east than in canning them. The only place noticed near Tumwater 'where salmon could be held for spawning purposes is near the seining-ground on the Washington side of the river. Here a channel has been cut, but owing to the small number of fish that entered it the wheel built near its head and also the channel have for several years been abandoned. On the lower end of the channel is a small indentation where an eddy is formed: a dam could be built here and also one across the mouth of the upper end of the channel, with iron screens at either end. By covering the top of the channel, either the whole or a part of it, an inclosure would be formed which would hold a large number of salmon. It seems reasonable to suppose that salmon would live much longer in an inclosure of this kind than in boxes, as they would be crowded far less and have a better circulation of water. A swift current or comparatively still water could be had by putting in a gate at the upper end of the channel. The cost would be considerably more than keeping salmon alive in cars or boxes, but it is thought that the results would be more satisfactory. seufert’s tumwater. On the Washington side of the river, opposite Seufert Brothers’ cannery, is an excellent seining-ground, where salmon are said to be caught in large numbers. Within a few rods is a narrow channel of the river suitable in every way for a retain- ing pond. The hatchery building could be placed upon grouud quite close to the retaining channel and where a supply of suitable water can be led by gravity. Seining is carried on principally for silver salmon and steelheads; many Chinooks are also caught, but they are so near the spawning condition that they are not used for can- ning. The probabilities that fish could be secured here and retained for a short time until ripe are greater than at the Cascades, and the expense would be very slight. JOHN DAY RIVER. This river was examined at its mouth September 2. It is there a stream of moderate size, quite shallow, and very muddy. The banks and bottom for some distance above the mouth are of mud or sand. Farther upstream the water is, of course, much clearer. Salmon could doubtless ascend the John Day River, but it is not certain that they do so in any numbers, and none was observed. Interviews with persons living on or familiar with the upper course of the stream failed to elicit any evidence that chinook salmon are now found there. It is said that a good many salmon formerly entered this river and spawned in the spring, but these are evidently steelheads and not Chinooks. A few years ago a wheel was operated in the mouth of the John Day, but it has not been run for two or three years. DES CHUTES RIVER. The Des Chutes River has its source on the eastern slopes of the Cascade Mountains and elsewhere in Crook County, Oregon, flows nearly north and joins the Columbia about midway between the mouth of the John Day River and The Dalles. It has been generally regarded as the best salmon-spawning stream in the lower Columbia basin, and it was reported that large numbers of salmon can be seen at any time in the fall in this river at Sherar’s Bridge, 30 miles front The Dalles or about 40 miles above the mouth of the river. This place was therefore visited from August 29 until September 1. SALMON INVESTIGATIONS IN COLUMBIA RIVER BASIN IN 1896. 33 Throughout the lower portion of its course this river has cut a narrow, deep channel in the lava beds. The canyon’s walls are so abrupt that it is impossible to reach the river in many places. At Sherar’s Bridge the canyon widens out a little and the river here has a fall of 8 or 10 feet. Below the falls the river is compressed into a very narrow gorge, through which the water rushes with much fury. At the bridge the water is said to be 86 feet deep, which is about equal to the river’s width at that point. Immediately above the falls the river widens out greatly and is very shallow for some distance. Until within the last six or eight years “ salmon” were seen here every spring in considerable numbers. Mr. J. H. Sherar, who has lived at these falls for many years, says “ salmon trout ” were present throughout the year, but were not abundant except in the spring, and that they spawned in the spring; they had no difficulty in ascending the falls, and his understanding has always been that many of them went far toward the headwaters to spawn. Formerly Mr. Sherar caught large numbers of these salmon trout, but he has seen but very few for four or five years. Several persons who live on the upper course of the Des Chutes, report that for- merly a good many “salmon trout” were seen there in the spring, which was their spawning time, but that few if any have been noticed for several years. It would appear that the chinook salmon has never run into the Des Chutes in large numbers and that few enter it now; that the fish which at one time was rather abundant is the salmon trout or steelhead, tSalmo gairdneri. The spawuing-beds in this river are too remote from the railroad to be available for fish-cultural operations. HOOD RIVER. This stream is fed chiefly by the snows and glaciers of Mount Hood and flows into the Columbia at Hood River Station. It does not appear to ever have been frequented by chinook salmon in large numbers. The people at Hood River Station do not think that many salmon enter this river, and persons living several miles up the river say that salmon are seen there but rarely. BIG WHITE SALMON RIVER. This river was examined August 6, and again on September 4. It is a stream of considerable size, having its sources on the western and southern slopes of Mount Adams. It flows in a general southerly course and empties into the Columbia nearly opposite Hood River Station. It is, in its lower course at least, a rough, turbulent stream, full of rapids and large bowlders, and flowing between high, and, in some places, precipitous, banks, so that it is difficult to reach the edge of the stream. At the mouth of the river the canyon widens out and there is a little level land along the stream. In August all of this was flooded by back water from the Columbia, but in September it was dry. Ho salmon were seen on our first visit, but on September 4 quite a number were observed jumping in the Columbia about the mouth of the tribu- tary stream. On that date Indians had established two camps at the mouth of the river for the purpose of taking salmon during the season. They go up the stream from a quarter of a mile to a mile and capture the salmon by means of gaff-hooks on the ends of long poles. Only four salmon were taken during an afternoon. While the conditions are not favorable for operating a hatchery on this river, a good many eggs could probably be obtained and carried to any station which may be established on the lower Columbia. S’. C. B. 1897—3 34 BULLETIN OF THE UNITED STATES FISH COMMISSION. LITTLE WHITE SALMON RIVER. This stream enters the Columbia about 6 or 8 miles below the mouth of Big White Salmon River. It was examined September 5 and 7, and the prospects for successful salmon-cultural operations appeared so good that a site at the mouth of the river was selected and preparations begun at once for equipping the station. Salmon were already in the stream in large numbers and spawning had begun. By the time the station was ready to begin operations the height of the spawning season had arrived, but more than 2,000,000 eggs were taken, and it is believed by Mr. William P. Sauer- hoff, superintendent of the station, that 10,000,000 eggs could have been obtained if operations had begun earlier in the season. The success attending the operation of this stationis highly gratifying. Up tothe time of writing these lines (October 30, 1897) the total number of eggs taken at the Little White Salmon Station this season is over 12,500,000. TANNER AND EAGLE CREEKS. These are two small streams flowing into the Columbia at Bonneville, Oregon. The smaller is Tanner Creek, whose mouth is only a few rods west of the railroad station. It was examined September 7 by Messrs. Evermaun and Hubbard, who found about 300 chinook salmon in the stream within a mile of its mouth. Most of the fish were lying quietly in deep holes, but some were in shallow water and evidently spawning. The mouth of Eagle Creek is about half a mile east of Bonneville. This stream is considerably larger than TannewCreek. Its bed is exceedingly rough and rocky, and only with much difficulty can salmon ascend it. A large bunch of salmon were lying in the deep hole under the railroad bridge and a few others were seen a short distance farther up the creek. Though these creeks are small, from 1,000,000 to 2,000,000 eggs could probably be taken there annually and carried to the Little White Salmon Station. Across the river from Bonneville, and only a short distance below Little White Salmon River, are several streams into which salmon are said to run. Among these are Little Wind River, Wind River, Smith Creek, Rock Creek, Hamilton Creek, and Hardy Creek. Some of these are unsuitable for salmon on account of large quantities of wood which are floated down, and bars sometimes form across the mouths of others, especially Hamilton and Hardy creeks, so that salmon are not able to enter; but usually a good many salmon spawn in these creeks, and doubtless a great many eggs could be collected from- them. Their proximity to the Little White Salmon will make it easy to carry the eggs to that station. PUGET SOUND. In connection with the work of the joint commission appointed to investigate the fisheries of the contiguous waters of the United States and Canada, certain investigations were made by Messrs. Alexander and Cox concerning the movements of the sockeye or blueback salmon in Puget Sound and its tributary streams. The information obtained has been furnished to the joint commission and has been used in its report. The movements of the sockeye in the north end of the sound were studied, particularly among the San Juau Islands, chiefly to determine whether many of that species run into streams flowing into the sound from the State of Washington. SALMON INVESTIGATIONS IN COLUMBIA RIVER BASIN IN 1896. 35 The principal rivers examined were the Nooksack, Skagit, Stillaqualmish, and Snohomish. The time was too short to permit an exhaustive study of the questions involved, but enough was done to show that most of the rivers flowing into Puget Sound from the east are salmon streams of considerable importance. This is particu- larly true of the Skagit. The sockeye runs into this river in large numbers, and there are important spawning-beds of this species in its headwaters. The State of Wash- ington has recently established, and is now successfully operating, a hatchery for this species on Baker Lake, one of the upper tributaries of the Skagit. The height of the run of sockeye salmon in 1896 at the San Juan Islands was from August 20 to 28. The run was regarded as unusually large in view of the fact that this was an off year. Nothing definite was learned regarding the occurrence of the sockeye in any streams except the Skagit, nor whether it is found in any of the upper tributaries of the Skagit except the Baker. The Baker Biver has a lake in its upper course which can be reached by the sockeye. So far as is yet known, this species spawns only in such streams as have lakes at their headwaters, and the spawning-beds are found only in the streams tributary to the lakes or in the lakes themselves. Several streams tributary to the northern part of Puget Sound contain lakes in their headwaters, and it would prove interesting and valuable work to determine accurately the distribution of the sockeye in this region. All the other species of west coast salmon are found here in large numbers. The Chinook first appear, then the silver salmon and steelhead, and still later the humpback and the dog salmons. The Nooksack is the principal river frequented by these species. The silver, humpback, and dog salmons are said to ascend both forks of this river. The actual or even relative abundance of the different kinds of salmon and their distribution in the rivers of western Washington is not well understood, and scarcely anything is known regarding them after they enter the rivers. LAKE WASHINGTON. In February, 1889, the United States Fish Commission planted 375,000 fry of the common whitefish ( Coregonus clupeiformis) in Lake Washington at Seattle. In June, 1896, Mr. A. B. Alexander visited this lake and began a series of observations for the purpose of determining the results of this planting of fish. After a few observa- tions he was called away to other work, but returned and again took up the inquiry November 23, continuing it to January 10 following. General description of Lalce Washington. — This lake is situ ated in King County, Washington. Its greatest length, whichlies nearly due north and south, is 18^ miles, and its greatest width, from Mercer Slough across Mercer Island to the west shore, is about 4g miles. The greatest width of open water is about half a mile north of Mercer Island and is 3£ miles. The narrowest channel lies between Mercer Island and a point on the east shore about | of a mile north of Mercer Slough. T'he city of Seattle is situated upon the west shore about equally distant from the north and south ends of the lake. There are numerous bays and indentations, which give the lake a total shore-line of about 58 miles. The lake has an elevation of 34 feet above low tide at Seattle. The principal outlet is Black River, at the extreme southern end of the lake. This river is 2£ miles long, and unites with White River to form Duwamish River, which flows into Elliott or Duwamish Bay a short distance south of Seattle. About a half mile below the lake Black River receives the Cedar River from the east. 36 BULLETIN OF THE UNITED STATES FISH COMMISSION. A few years ago a channel was cut from Union Bay through Lake Union to the sound. Considerable water flows through this channel and small boats are able to pass through it. At the north end Lake Washington receives Squak Slough, which is the outlet of Lake Sammamish. This slough runs in a tortuous channel through low, marshy ground, its width varying according to the height of water in the lakes which it con- nects. When the water is very high the slough overflows and covers the low land on either side. During heavy rain the Duwamish River is unable to carry off readily all the water brought down by the White, Cedar, and other streams, and as a result Black River becomes, for the time being, an inlet instead of an outlet of Lake Washington. The lake therefore rises perceptibly, the inflowing water from Lake Sammamish is held back, and Squak Slough overflows the adjacent lowlands. Lake Washington is a beautiful body of water, surrounded by high hills from which a fine view of the surrounding country may be had. The Cascade Mountains are plainly seen to the eastward and on the south Mount Ranier comes into conspicuous view. In many places steep banks make down to the water’s edge, indicating deep water. Nearly all the hills are covered with a dense growth of trees, except where clearings have been made for homes and settlements. The shore line in nearly all parts is fringed with a dense undergrowth of brush and small trees; tule grass is found at every low point and slight indentation. Small trees along the shore interfere with the hauling of seines, and only limited collections can be made. In November and December a large amount of decayed vegetation covers portions of the shore. In summer various forms of minute animal and plant life inhabit the water. Seine-liauling grounds. — Only in a few places along the shore of the entire lake is the bottom sufficiently free from snags, fallen trees, and other material to permit the successful hauling of nets. On the west side of the lake, about 2 miles above Union Bay, is a long stretch of sandy shore mixed with fine gravel; in June, 1896, several attempts were made to haul a seine here, but on account of the many obstacles no fish were taken. On the east side, at Hunter Point, is a comparatively good ground, but tule grass grows in considerable quantities, though by wading out and bending it down where the seine is to be landed fairly good results can be obtained. Several hauls were made here and a number of fish taken. In fall and winter there is a great scarcity of life here, as several trials demonstrated. From Hunter Point south- ward for about 2£ miles the shore makes down to the lake with a gradual slope, but owing to the great amount of vegetation that extends in most places into the water, it is almost impossible to use a seine. This also may be said of Mercer Slough and the shore farther south. On the east side of Mercer Island the bank is usually quite steep ; on its west side the laud is more sloping. The water all round the island is deep. In the extreme southern portion of the lake, in the vicinity of Renton and Black River, the land is marshy and filled with small sloughs. The bottom is of soft mud. On the north and west sides of Lake Washington, from Webster Point to Sand Point, are scattering sandy patches, but only in a few places can a seine be hauled, owing to a thick growth of scrubby trees at the water’s edge. High banks in most places overhang the shore line. Northward from these points the land is more sloping and in some places comparatively level. Rocky and gravel beaches crop out from the banks in many places and in a number of indentations the water makes off shallow SALMON INVESTIGATIONS IN COLUMBIA RIVER BASIN IN 1896. 3 1 from the shore a distance of 50 feet or more. The bottom here is very muddy aud covered with tule. The shore on this side of the lake is thickly strewn with logs, slabs, and small floating debris. Few rocks are noticeable, and none at any great distance from shore. The sandy and gravelly beaches referred to on the west side of the lake below Sand Point are usually narrow; only in one place observed is the beach over 10 feet wide; here the width from the water’s edge to the bluff is about 30 feet. The clear ground indicates a smooth bottom, but stumps of trees and broken limbs prevent seine collecting. These beaches are formed by wave action, the water having washed away the base of the bluffs, leaving a deposit of sand and gravel. In many places, particularly on the west side of the lake, bushes and small trees have taken root in the sand and gravel deposit. Only in a few instances does the sand and gravel formation extend any great distance below the water’s edge; 30 or 40 feet from the shore is soft muddy bottom. As is indicated by the high perpendicular bluffs, the beaches make oft’ at a sharp angle, deep water being found a short distance from the shore. As a whole, the shore of Lake Washington is not well adapted to collecting with a seine. Depth and character of bottom. — Soundings were taken at different times and in various parts of Lake Washington. It has a uniform depth in the center, ranging from 138 to 222 feet. The character of the bottom is generally muddy. Off' the mouth of Union Bay and near the boathouse at Madison street sandy bottom was found. Off and in the vicinity of Sand Point, 3£ miles farther north, the bottom is composed of sand and gravel. This kind of bottom does not extend very far from the shore, from 500 to 800 feet being about the limit. For nearly 2 miles south of Sand Point there are a number of sandy places along the shore, mostly covered with an undergrowth of bushes. In all other parts of the lake examined the bottom is chiefly of soft mud. On the east side of the lake, south of Hunt Point, the water is quite deep close to the shore; this is also true of the west side, south of Sand Point, and in many other parts. A depth of from 500 to 1,800 feet was reported off the northern end of Mercer Island and in the vicinity of Hunt Point. Comparatively deep water was found off these points, as will be seen by referring to the map, but no such depths as had been reported. About 1 mile along the shore above Kirkland a plateau from 60 to 100 feet wide, covered with vegetation, makes off from the shore. The water varies in depth from 10 to 20 feet, but suddenly deepens into 60 and 70 feet when the edge is reached. Temperature of water. — It will be noticed in the table of temperatures that near the shore on the east side of Mercer Island the temperature of the water at the surface varies considerably from that taken a short distance toward the middle of the channel. A difference of 2J° is recorded, the bottom temperature in both soundings being the same. In no other part of the lake was such a marked difference found. Several tests of the water were made within a radius of 100 feet or more, all with the same result. A few hundred feet from this position, to the north, south, or east, 47° was found at the surface. It is said that thermal springs occur in this vicinity in a number of places. The temperature of the water at the bottom, however, does not indicate their presence. The lowest temperature found in the main body of the lake was 44£°, and the highest 48£° ; the first in depths of 180 and 190 feet. In Union Bay, in 14 feet of water, a temperature of 41° was recorded both at the surface and the bottom. This low temperature was due, no doubt, to the cold weather, which at this time was quite severe. At no other place was such a low temperature found. 38 BULLETIN OF THE UNITED STATES FISH COMMISSION. The temperature of the air seemed to have no perceptible daily, effect on the water in deep portions of the lake. From November 23 to 30 the air varied but little, from 20° to 29° being about the minimum and maximum height. During December from 45° to 48° was the approximate daily temperature. In depths over 150 feet the air ceased to have an effect on the water much below 40 feet from the surface. In a few places 50 feet below the surface was reached before the temperature remained constant. In depths less than 100 the temperature was found constant about 30 feet below the surface. It will be noticed that in a number of places in depths ranging from 40 to over 200 feet the temperature both at the surface and bottom is the same. Why this should be, when only a short distance away the difference between the surface and bottom is a degree or more, is not easily explained. Many of the temperatures and soundings taken are recorded in the following table : Soundings and temperatures taken in Lake Washington. Dae. Depth. Temperature at surface. Temperature at bottom. Position. Date. P< A Temperature at surface. Temperature : at bottom. Position. Feet. op. ° F. Feet. ° F. ° F. Nov. 23 35 484 48| 300 feet from shore, near Dec. 19* 50 494 46 Close to shore east side of Madison-street boathouse. Mercer Island. A A [ Iu various parts of Union 19 58 47 46 300 feet from shore and in 1C ^ Bay, which is a part of near last sounding. 24 10 45 45} Lake AVashington. 19 674 47 46 Halfway across channel 25 98 48 48 One-fourth mile east of boat- between Mercer Island house. and east shore. 25 156 48 47 One-fourth mile east of last 19 55 47 46 Near the east side of lake. station. 19 12 46 45 Close to shore. 25 162 48 47 Middle of lake. 20 70 46 46 Half a mile north of last 25 150 48 47 Two-thirds across lake. sounding. 25 144 48 47 One-eighth mile from east 20 87 46 46 One-eighth mile west from side of lake. last sounding. 25 72 48 48 300 feet from shore. 20 U5J 46 47 Halfway across east end 27 14 41 41 In Union Bay ; cold weather, Mercer Island to east air 28° and 30°. side of lake. 27 98 47 44 Off mouth Union Bay. 20 174 464 46 Halfway between Daphne 28 150 47 47 Do. Point and north end Mer- 28 152 47 47 Do. | cer Island. Dec. 1 96 47 47 Do. 23 204 464 454 Half a mile east Webster 1 168 47 47 14 mile SSE. from Madison- I Point. street boathouse. •23 219 464 45J Half a mile north last 1 90 47 47 \\ mile east from Yesler- I sounding. street boathouse. 23 201 464 45£ Half a mile northward last 1 114 47 46 Two-thirds across i ake from sounding, 4 mile from pumping station to Mer- shore. cer Island. 23 66 46 46 Third of mile north and 1 156 47 | 46 One-halfmileoff waterworks. close to shore. 18 210 40£ 46 One mile SE. from Madison- 23 584 464 464 About 500 feet from Sand street boathouse. Point south near shore. 18 204 46 46 One-fourth mile SE. from 23 105 - 47 46 About 200 feet from Sand Madison-street boathouse. Point NE. 18 •218 m 1 46 li mile SE. from Madison- 23 181 464 454 Less than J mile NE. from street boathouse. last sounding. 18 204 464 46 One-third of a mile SAV. of 23 168 46J 45 Less than 4 mile in same Daphne Point. direction. 18 150 46 46 One-eighth of a mile SW. 23 180 464 444 About the same distance of Daphne Point. farther on. 18 156 46 46 One-third mile off Meyden- 23 190 464 444 Less than 4 mile NE. last bauer Bay. station, a • 19 114 46 46 Near middle of Meyden- 23 178 464 454 Last deep sounding on liauer Bay. this line. 19 69 46 46 South side of bay. (Other 23 72 46 46 Near opposite shore from soundings taken in bay; Sand Point. same temperature.) 23 96 46 46 About l,500feetfrom shore. 19 12 47 1 47 Short distance south of 23 129 46 46 About halfway from last Meydenbauer Bay. station to Kirkland. 19 40 47 47 One-third mile farther south near shore. a Said to be thermal springs in near vicinity, which may account for the change of temperature. Plate 1. SALMON INVESTIGATIONS IN COLUMBIA RIVER BASIN IN 1896. 39 During the winter months short periods of cold weather sweep over this part of the Northwest, but not sufficiently severe for ice to form in the main portion of Lake Washington. Occasionally skim ice appears on the margin of the lake in sheltered places covering small areas. Trials with gill nets and other apparatus. — On November 23 the first trial with gill nets for whitefish was made in 35 feet of water, 300 feet from the shore, at a point where it is said that an example of this species had been taken. Two nets were set, and remained down 48 hours. They were visited on three different occasions during that time, but no fish were found in them. The reason for setting nets in such shallow water for whitefish, was in compliance with a request made by the person who claimed to have caught a specimen on the above-mentioned ground in the fall of 1892. It was taken on a hook, which throws considerable doubt as to its being the true whitefish. So far as we have been able to learn no other specimen has since been seen. On November 24 three more gill nets were set about 1£ miles from first position on the south side of Union Bay. Here also whitefish had been reported. Depth of water, 15 feet; temperature of water at bottom and at surface, 45°; bottom muddy. These nets remained in the water three days, and were visited each morning. No fish were found in them. On November 26 three nets were set at the head of Union Bay, in 10 feet of water, close to the shore, where fish are said to be plentiful in summer; also two other nets near outlet or portage, about three-quarters of a mile farther south. In this place anglers have good fishing, and it was thought that if fish were running in any consid- erable numbers the nets would be likely to take samples of different species. The nets set at the head of the bay were taken up the following morning, nothing being found in them. Those set near the outlet remained down two days, and were visited each morning. The second morning one cut throat trout and one chub were taken from them. During the time the nets were down a number of cut-throat trout, chub, and suckers had been taken on hook and line. Sounding and collecting with surface tow net had also been carried on whenever the weather permitted. On November 27 three gill nets were set near the bottom, off the mouth of Union Bay, in 18 feet of water, bottom hard sand, where they remained two days. Nothing was found in them when taken up. It is reported that large numbers of fish pass over this ground, and it was thought that our efforts would be rewarded by a few specimens. The result of this trial indicates that at this season fish do not move in great numbers. The same nets were set in 96 feet of water about a quarter of a mile farther off shore, where the bottom temperature was 3° warmer than at last station. The nets were, as before, set near the bottom, but without result. Had whitefish or other species been traveling over this ground a few would have been captured. A small creek that flows into the head or western part of Union Bay was next investigated. This creek is said to abound with trout in summer and with redfish in early fall. The water in the upper part of the creek flows with considerable velocity over a gravelly bottom. It is from 4 to 5 feet wide in most places, and about 7 or 8 inches deep; there are a few pools whose depth is nearly 2 feet. The creek is largely fed by seepage from the surrounding hills. At the time of our visit the weather was cold and the ground covered with snow, and in many places ice had formed. The stream empties into a marshy lagoon where it finds its way, through several smaller ones, into Union Bay. 40 BULLETIN OF THE UNITED STATES FISH COMMISSION. Repeated trials with a small collecting seine at tlie mouth of the creek were made, but nothing was taken in it. Only one fish, thought to be a redfish, was seen, and it escaped under a fallen tree. Unsuccessful hauls were also made from a half to three- quarters of a mile upstream. Hook-and-line fishing was also tried, with the same result, salmon eggs being used for bait. At the mouth of the creek a salamander was found, and this was the only form of life seen, except the supposed redfish. On December 11 gill nets were set in a number of places, from a half to three quarters of a mile apart, in Squak Slough at the head of Lake Washington, in 9 and 10 feet of water. They were visited twice in 48 hours, nothing being found in them. The bottom temperature in the places where they were set was 44 J°, surface 45£°. During the entire investigation the water in the slough was unusually high, and this prob- ably had a great deal to do with the scarcity of fish here, for at such times, instead of following the main channel, fish would naturally scatter over a large area, thereby greatly lessening the chances of taking them. Troll fishing was tried, but with unsat- isfactory results. Nearly all of December 18 was spent in sounding and taking water temperatures. In the afternoon four nets were set on the north side of Meydenbauer Bay; depth, 102 feet; bottom and surface temperature, 46°. Nothing being in the nets the following niorning they were taken up and set on the north side of Mercer Slough, nearly 3 miles farther down the lake. A trial for 48 hours resulted in the capture of one female cut-throat trout, the eggs of which were approaching a state of ripeness. Two other specimens subsequently taken showed the same amount of development. Several creeks on the west side of the lake were investigated but no fish were found. Whitefish. — There is no satisfactory evidence of whitefish ever having been caught in Lake Washington, though several persons claim to have seen them. One person says in the fall of 1892 he caught a specimen, but no accurate description was given as to its shape or color, and Prof. O. B. Johnson and State Fish Commissioner James Crawford doubt whether it was the genuine whitefish, and believe that the whitefish planted in the lake no longer exist. The investigation strengthens this opinion. The Columbia chub ( Mylocheilus caurinus) is a common species in the lakes of this region, and is by many people known as 11 whitefish.” It is not improbable that all the so-called “ whitefish” which have been reported from Lake Washington were really this species of minnow. Williamson’s whitefish ( Coregonus williamsoni) doubtless occurs here, but no specimens were seen. Other fishes of Lake Washington. — The various species of fishes collected during these investigations, as well as all other species known to occur in Lake Washington, are listed in another part of this report. The principal species are the cut-throat trout, Columbia River chub, squawfish, Columbia River sucker, a blob, two or three other species of Cyprinidce, and the redfish. Salmon are said to enter the lake through Black River early in the fall, but none was seen. They are probably the large form of the redfish or sockeye ( Oncorhynchus nerka). Redfish are said to run up into shallow places during the latter part of October and a part of November, but repeated trials resulted in collecting only a few specimens. Those familiar with the different runs of fish on the lake attribute the scarcity of redfish this season to high water. In Squak Slough, where they are said to run in great numbers, not a specimen was seen or taken, though before the water began to rise in the slough a considerable body of these fish was reported as passing through. Black bass are occasionally SALMON INVESTIGATIONS IN COLUMBIA RIVER BASIN IN 1896. 41 taken in Lake Washington, and they are at times quite plentiful in Lake Union, which supplies all the black bass to the Seattle market. The yellow perch (Perea flavescens) has also become well established in this lake. LAKE SAMMAMISH, WASHINGTON. While engaged in carrying on observations upon Lake Washington Mr. Alexander made a trip, December ill to January 6, to Lake Sammamish, a short distance to the eastward. He gives the following account of this lake and the investigations: This body of water lies parallel to Lake Washington, the two lakes being sepa rated by a hilly strip of country, the most narrow part being 3£ miles across. The greatest distance between the lakes is 8 miles. Lake Sammamish is 38 feet above low-water mark at Seattle and 4 feet above Lake Washington. The land separating the southern portion of the bodies of water might be termed mountainous; many of the hills rise from 1,000 to 1,500 feet from their base, and are covered mostly with a dense growth of trees. A road cut through the forest from the west shore of Lake Sammamish to the east side of Lake Washing- ton is traveled considerably during the summer months. A boat connecting at the end of the road carries passengers across Lake Washington and lands them in Seattle much sooner than if they traveled by rail. The length of Lake Sammamish is 8 miles; its greatest width (about halfway between its north and south points) is If miles. Its narrowest part is near the northern end, a little over half a mile from shore to shore. From Inglewood, in the northern part, to Monohan on the south it has a nearly uniform width of about 1J miles. It lies nearly in a north-and-south direction; a line being drawn north from the south end would strike 1 mile east of its most northern part. The Seattle and Lake Shore Railroad strikes the lake at Adelaide, and follows the east shore the entire length. Three small towns are situated near the shore on the east side. The most important is Monohan, near the south end. On the west side a number of settlers have made considerable clearings. Opposite Monohan is a huge pile of sawdust, which extends for a considerable distance into the lake, and when the water is rough small chunks of it are washed away. It being water- soaked, most of it that falls into the lake immediately sinks. The sawdust coming from the mill at Monohan is burned. Topography of the shore. — The shore in most parts of Lake Sammamish is com- posed chiefly of sand and gravel, forming numerous beaches. These beaches, when the water is at its normal height, are exposed. At the time of our visit to the lake (December 31 to January 6) the water was about 4 feet higher than in summer; it had then fallen 2 feet since the middle of December. Judging from the condition of the lake at high water, the beaches when exposed must be from 8 to 12 feet wide, measur- ing from the water’s edge to the bank. In most places they extend offshore at a sharp angle. Except in a few places, where the sandy and gravelly beaches appear, the bottom makes off gradually and its character is either hard or soft mud. The south- ern shore of the lake is skirted by low marsh land, which extends from the southwest to the southeast side. Here several small creeks empty into the lake, which, no doubt, have contributed largely to the marsh land. The hills bordering the southern portion of the lake descend with a more gradual slope than those on the east and west sides. The land in the immediate vicinity of the lake is not more than 4 or 5 feet higher than the level of the water, gradually 42 BULLETIN OF THE UNITED STATES FISH COMMISSION. rising- for a distance of about a mile before the foothills are reached. Many portions of this slope have been cleared. Off the points in this part of the lake, from 30 to 40 feet from the shore, thick clusters of tule are submerged in water from 7 to 10 feet deep. Later in the season a large portion of the ground in which this grass grows is exposed. Soundings were made along the outer edges of these strips and points without finding any indications of hard bottom. On the east and west sides of the lake the steep hills rise within a short distance from the water; in many places projecting points and bluffs rise very abruptly, with little or no shore line at their base. The bottom close to these projections is hard, being composed of a mixture of sand, coarse gravel, and small stones. The hilly land is covered with a dense growth of trees, extending to the water’s edge, and at times when the water is high it is very difficult to walk any distailce along the shore without swinging from one bough of a tree to another. When the water is low or at its average height the sand and gravel beaches here are bare. At the foot of the lake, on the northeast side near Squak Slough, a low point of land extends for a considerable distance southward. From this point south, a distance of nearly 2 miles, the shore is composed of sand and gravel beaches. On the west side and north from where the last line of soundings was begun the hills gradually descend to the shore, and in a number of places toward the foot of the lake the land is quite level. The shore line along the northwest and northeast portions of the lake is covered with logs, slabs, and pieces of timber, refuse material that comes from the shingle mill situated near the north end and the sawmill near the south end. The greater part of this material is found in the northeast portion of the lake, being forced there by the southwest winds. On the west side of the lake, near its southern end, is a submerged forest, about half a mile long north and south, extending nearly a third of the distance across toward the east side. The northern end of the forest commences near the pile of sawdust already mentioned. It runs parallel to the shore and is separated from it by a distance of about (J00 feet. During the summer months it is said that the tops of many of the trees project above the water from 1 to 2 feet. The lake then is much clearer than in winter, and on a bright day, when the water is smooth, a large portion of the forest, according to the statement of people living at the lake, is plainly visible. Owing to the muddy condition of the water, caused by the heavy rains, we were unable to find any of the trees. Many theories are advanced by people living near the lake as to how the forest came to be in its present position. The most common theory is that at some remote period a gigantic landslide occurred and the displaced material found a resting-place at the bottom of the lake. Considering that the nearest hills where a landslide of such magnitude could have started are situated nearly 2 miles from the lake with comparatively level country lying between, this theory is not altogether tenable. A large tract of land becoming detached from the side of a moun- tain and carried along rapidly by its own weight a distance of a mile or more from its starting point would by the time it reached its destination be a huge mass of trees, earth, and stones. The trees would be more or less broken, and not left standing in an upright position. It is also likely that if the forest in question had suddenly been detached from the side of one of the adjacent mountains it would have stopped on arriving at comparatively level ground, but instead we find it deposited a long distance from hills of any great size. If, however, such had been the case, and it was forced SALMON INVESTIGATIONS IN COLUMBIA RIVER BASIN IN 1896. 43 along over level ground, we might expect to find that part of the lake where the land- slide was deposited more shallow than elsewhere; but, on the contrary, we find a depth of water varying from 50 to 70 feet, which corresponds with depths found in other parts of the lake the same distance from the shore. It seems more reasonable to suppose that at some distant period the ground on which this forest grew, subsided. This, in a measure, would account for the trees being left standing in their natural position. Not having seen any portion of the submerged forest, we are not able to state from personal observation anything concerning it, only stating what has been given by several reliable parties. Efforts were made to locate some of the trees, but none of them could be found with the sounding line. Depth of tvater and character of bottom. — Lake Sammamish is quite uniform in depth, varying from 70 to 90 odd feet in the middle and from 35 to 50 feet near the shore. The deepest sounding was found near the middle of the lake, about halfway across from Hattie Bell Springs to the west shore. A line of soundings run across the upper part a short distance below the shingle mill corresponds nearly with the line across the south end of the lake. In no part of the lake examined are there indi- cations of plateaus or shelves making off from the shore. Only in a few places was shallow water found, and this extended but a short distance from the shore. In nearly all parts of the lake along its margin the bottom drops off suddenly, the water being deep enough for boats and small steamers to lie alongside and discharge freight or passengers. From 80 to 100 feet from the shore is the average distance where the sand and gravel merge into the hard or soft mud. A number of places, however, were found where sand and gravel bottom extends from 125 to 300 feet into the lake; one of these places is on the west side, opposite Hattie Bell Springs, and the other off the wharf on which the sawmill at Monohan is built. At the foot of the lake, above the shingle mill, the bottom is very soft and in the center between the east and west sides the mud is said to be several feet deep, and this statement is probably not exaggerated, for in running the line of soundings which ends just below the shingle mill the sounding lead, nearly all the way across, sank into the soft bottom a foot or more. Inlets. — Numerous small creeks empty into the lake both on the east and west sides, but the discharge of water is not great even during the rainy season, and in summer many of them dry up, they being fed by the drainage from the surrounding hills. The principal inlets are Issaquah and Manner creeks, which enter the lake on the south end. The main portion of the first creek is 2 miles long and the second about 3 miles, each having several branches from £ to 2£ miles long. The water in Issaquah Creek is said to be very clear during the summer and fall months, or was previous to the coal company using the creek as a dumping-ground for coal screenings, since which time the water has become muddy. There are a number of coal mines in this region, and the people complain of the screenings from them being dumped into the creeks, thereby doing considerable injury to the fishing grounds. Outlet. — Squak Slough, or Sammamish Biver, is the only outlet to the lake. This at times is not large enough to prevent the water in the lake from rising rapidly, and when Lake Washington rises at the same time, which is usually the case, and forces the water from the slough into Lake Sammamish, both lakes rise rapidly. At the 44 BULLETIN OF THE UNITED STATES FISH COMMISSION. time of visiting Lake Sammamisli the water had overflown the channel of the slough from a quarter to a half mile; its average width for the part visited is less than 100 feet, in some places not over 50 feet. Its length is about 12 miles; its course, as indi- cated on the map, is very crooked, and it is navigable for small craft only. Temperatures. — The water temperatures during our investigation varied but little, and in many parts of the lake there is no difference. In the first line of soundings run across the lake the surface and bottom temperatures were the same. The weather at the time was rainy, misty, and cold. In the second line a difference of 1° was found in two places, each in a depth of 90 feet. At the surface the thermometer registered 45° and at the bottom 44°. In the third line the depths were from 33 to 92 feet, with no variation in temperature. The fourth line, run the same day, shows in eight different soundings 45° at the surface and 44£° at the bottom. The fifth line, run across the head of the lake, showed no difference; but in a number of soundings taken on the west side, near where a small brook empties into the lake, the water was 1° warmer at the surface than at the bottom. The depths here were comparatively shallow. The last line of soundings run, which was across the foot of the lake, also showed the water to be 1° warmer at the surface than at the bottom. This difference may possibly have been because the weather was warm and pleasant, while most of the time, when the other soundings were taken, it was rainy and foggy and the temperature of the air from 44° to 50°. On this day, January 6, it registered 60° a greater part of the day. Where the water at the surface was warmer than at the bottom it was found that the warm water extended from 5 to 8 feet below the surface ; where the temperature at the bottom was warmer than at the surface the water was constant from 15 to 18 feet from the bottom. The thermometer was let down at various depths, in most cases at intervals of 10 feet, no variation in temperature being noticed until the above distance from the bottom was reached. In a few places, however, within 10 feet of the bottom the water remained constant. Condition of water. — In the fall and winter, when the lake is high, the water is con- siderably discolored by vegetable matter and sediment washed from the surrounding hills and brought down by the swollen creeks. This gradually disappears as the rain ceases, after which the water becomes clear. The fish then bite better than at any other time, there being less food in the water for them to subsist upon. Lake Sammamish, like Lake Washington, never freezes over. When the weather is unusually severe skim ice sometimes forms near the edge in shallow places, but the deep water does not freeze. Fishing trials. — From December 31 to January 6 sounding, taking temperatures, collecting with surface tow net, and fishing with gill nets and troll were carried on. The weather most of the time was stormy. Fishing with gill nets was unsuccessful. They were set in various places and in different depths, visited twice each day, and in the evening set iu a different place. Inquiries were made of fishermen as to where fish would most likely be found, but nothing was caught. A trawl was the only stationary apparatus used that captured anything, and this caught only one chub and a blob. Fishing with troll line was fairly successful, five cut-throat trout being taken. The weather was unsuitable for this kind of fishing. To meet with good results the weather should be moderate and much warmer than it was during the time these trials SALMON INVESTIGATIONS IN COLUMBIA RIVER BASIN IN 1896. 45 were made. Fishermen say that in summer, and at other times when the weather is pleasant, it is comparatively easy to catch from twenty -five to thirty trout in a day by trolling. Trout would bite only when the wind was light and the lake smooth. During the day, whenever there was little wind stirring, they could be seen jumping or breaking water in all parts of the lake, but they did not bite as ravenously as was expected, probably on account of the creeks having brought down considerable quantities of vegetable and other matter, such as they may feed upon. Fishermen claim that the fish never bite well when the lake is high. Several good examples, however, were caught in the few trials made. When fish are at all inclined to bite, a trawl will usually pick up a variety of species. The trawl set (90-odd hooks) was baited with fresh chub and meat, and good results were expected of it, but in this we were disappointed. The trout taken by trolling were caught close to the shore, that being the part of the lake where the fishermen troll when the water is high. Fish were breaking water in the middle of the lake, but none was captured. In summer good fishing is to be had in all parts. Methods of fishing. — The principal method of taking fish in Lake Sammamish is by trolling, though good catches are sometimes made with set line and with rod and line. In summer the lake is quite a resort for sportsmen from Seattle. No commercial fishing is carried on, all fish caught being locally consumed, except the few taken to Seattle by people belonging there. Kinds of fish. — The economic species of fish found in Lake Sammamish are the same as those of Lake Washington, namely, cut-throat trout, “grayling,” or redfisli, and salmon. No examples of the last two species were found, they having disappeared shortly after the water in the lake began to rise in November. About that time it is said that redfisli were plentiful iu Squak Slough and in the creeks at the head of the lake. Salmon run with the ledfish, but only scattering individuals are taken. No information could be obtained as to what kind of salmon enter the lake; but the dog salmon and an occasional steelhead probably find their way into this body of water. During the redfish run the neighboring Indians do considerable fishing on Squak Slough, and lay in their supply for winter. Only one person living near the lake claims to have caught a whitefish in it, and he was not sure that the specimen was a genuine whitefish; others who saw the fish say that it was not, but admit that the fish differed from any previously taken in the lake. Spawning habits. — People living near Lake Sammamish say that the cut-throat trout spawn in the spring and the condition of most of the specimens indicates that they are correct in their observations. One taken in Lake Washington contained eggs well advanced, but this fish would hardly indicate a difference in the spawning season between the two lakes, as fish can easily pass from one lake to the other. The redfish probably spawn some time in November, that being the time they run in greatest numbers. Only a few specimens were taken, and they were not sufficiently developed to form an estimate as to the month in which they spawn, but people who have caught and observed the redfish, both in Lake Sammamish and Lake Washington, believe that the spawning season is from the latter part of October to the middle of November. To gain a better knowledge as to the habits of this species in this region some person should be stationed at these lakes early in the fall, before the rainy season comes on. 46 BULLETIN OF THE UNITED STATES FISH COMMISSION. It is said tliat redfish run only for a short time, that they disappear as suddenly as they come, and few are seen in any part of the lakes after the run is over. Almost every person with whom we conversed on the subject expressed the opinion that the redfish, or “grayling,” as they are commonly called, annually come in from the ocean; but some believe that they never leave the lake, but retire into the deep parts of the lake as soon as the spawning season is over. Positive knowledge on the subject is lacking. The few specimens taken in Lake Washington would hardly warrant an opinion to be formed as to their habits in these lakes. It would be necessary to observe a considerable number from the time they first appear until they leave. Surface material. — Collecting with surface tow net was carried on at different intervals. As was the case on Lake Washington, surface life was found most abun- dant in the evening; at other times a trial of 15 dr 20 minutes would result in a small quantity of material. Depth of water, temperature, and character of bottom of Lake Sammamish . a About 20 feet from bridge; first line sounding. d Commencement of fourth line of soundings. b Second line of soundings 250 feet from sawmill. e Soundings close to a brook. c Commencement of third line of soundings. /Sixth line of soundings 20 feet from shore. Bull. U. S. F. C. 1897. (To face page 46.) Plate 2. - SALMON INVESTIGATIONS IN COLUMBIA RIVER BASIN IN 1896. 47 LAKE UNION, WASHINGTON, The following notes on Lake Union have been furnished by Mr. Alexander: This body of water lies close to the city of Seattle. Its length, measured iu a straight line from north to south, is miles; width, halfway between the north and south ends, three-quarters of a mile. Branching out from the head of the lake are two arms, one leading to the northeast and the other to the northwest. Measured from the foot of the northeast arm the lake has a length of 3| miles. Lake Union has a quite uniform depth in the center; tbe greatest depth, 48 feet, is found in nearly all parts of the main body a quarter of a mile from the shore. In the northeast arm the soundings varied from 24 to 27 feet. Near the shore, except in places where there is marsh land, the depth is from 18 to 25 feet. Iu the south end of the northeast arm the land is marshy; also off the point extending into the northern part of the lake between the two arms. In most other parts grass land extends down to the water’s edge with a gradual slope. On the east side the land is quite level and covered with willow and other trees. This strip of land extends back from the lake for a considerable distance, when it suddenly runs into high bluffs. The land surrounding the lake for the most part is high and was at one time heavily wooded, but now only small clumps of trees are left standing, most of the once great forest having given way to town sites and buildings. Skirting the north shore runs the Seattle and Lake Shore Railroad. The shore is thickly settled, except on the east and northeast sides. The bottom in nearly all parts is mud, in some places intermingled with fine sand. From the 2d to the 8th of December gill nets were set in ten different places, taking 4 salmon, 1 cut-throat trout, and 2 suckers. In no place were the nets down less than 24 hours, and in one place they remained down 72 hours. They were set iu places best adapted for this kind of fishing and where black bass had been caught in greatest numbers. Trolling for black bass was carried on at different times, but nothing was caught. The season was too late for them, but it was thought that the gill nets might capture a specimen or two. During the summer black bass are frequently taken by trolling, and it is reported that they are sometimes taken in nets secretly set for their capture. This method is illegal, but is carried on to some extent. Only a few black bass have been caught iu Lake Washington, and those planted in this lake in 1890 soon found their way into Lake Union, where they are said to be quite plentiful during the summer months. Why they should find the water in Lake Union better suited to their wants than where they were planted is not easily explained. It can not be due wholly to the difference in the condition of the water, for Lake Washington largely supplies Lake Union. The theory that presents itself to account for these fish being found in Lake Union and not in Lake Washington is that in the former lake snjall surface life is much more abundant. The collections made in the two lakes show a considerable difference in the amount taken in each trial. In winter the temperature of water of this lake is several degrees colder than that of Lake Washington, though ice seldom forms, and only when the winter is unusually severe does the lake freeze over; it is probable that in summer Lake Union is the warmer, it being shallow. 48 BULLETIN OF THE UNITED STATES FISH COMMISSION. Temperatures taken in Lake Union. Date. Time. Depth. Temperature. Date. Time. Depth. Tempe rature. Surface Bottom Surface Bottom. 1896. Feet. °F. °F. 1896. Feet. °F. °F ' Dec. 2. . . 9.00 a. m 6 42 44 Dec 2.... 4.20 p.m, 24 43 42 | 2.. . 11.00 a. m 21 42 44 2.... 4.45 p. m 27 42 43 ' | 2... 3.20 p. m 12 42 42 3.... 10.30 a. m 48 43 42 2... 3.30 p. m 48 43 42 3.... 12.15 p. m 48 43 42 2 3.40 p. m 36 43 42 3..;. 1.00 p.m 9 41 42 2... 4.00 p. m 24 43 42 SIUSLAW RIVER, OREGON. In 1S94 the State of Oregon erected a building on the Siuslaw River at Mapleton, Oregon, with the intention of conducting salmon-cultural operations at that place. This building finally reverted to the original owner of the land upon which it was located. Believing that this station could be successfully and profitably operated, the owner, through Mr. L. E. Bean, of Mapleton, kindly offered its free use to the United States Eish Commission for that purpose. In response to this offer Dr. Meek and Mr. Alexander were instructed to visit the station and make such examination as would determine the i robability of its being operated advantageously. The preliminary inquiry, made early in September, showed that it would be necessary to catch the fish at the fishing-ground, several miles below the station, and retain them in boxes until ripe. It was thought that this could be done and that the boxes could be floated on the tide up to the station. This could be determined only through experimentation. Dr. Meek was therefore instructed to return to Mapleton and thoroughly test the matter. General description of Siuslaw River. — The Siuslaw River is one of the short coastal streams in Oregon whose basin is confined entirely to the western slope of the Coast Range. From its mouth to its source is a distance of about 100 miles. It drains a very broken country, which is quite heavily timbered. From the mouth of Wildcat Creek to near the mouth of North Fork the river flows through a-canyon £ to 3 miles in width. The hills or mountains on each side of the canyon are from 200 to over 1,000 feet above the river and are very steep. At the mouth of North Fork is a large area which is covered by water only at high tide. This region, known as the mud flats, is on the north side of the river and includes most of the distance between Acme and Florence. At Florence the river turns nearly north and then curves slightly toward the west. The right-hand bank is, for the most part, a low bluff' of soft sandstone; the left is bordered by sand hills. The Siuslaw River above the mouth of Wildcat Creek was not visited, but from what we were able to learn that portion is quite similar in all respects to the part immediately below that creek, except that gravel bars become much more frequent as you ascend the river. From the mouth of Wildcat Creek to the head of tide, a distance of about 24 miles, the bottom of the river is sandstone in situ , over which, in many places, are scattered large, angular, somewhat water-worn, sandstone bowlders. The river above head of tide water is from 60 to 200 feet in width, and during the summer in many places the water is less than 2 feet in depth. The canyon is cut through sandstone, which in some places is nearly horizontal, while in others it is tilted more or less, seldom more than 30°. The only portion noticed which showed signs of being metamorphie is a bluff on the right hand of the river between Seaton and Mapleton. SALMON INVESTIGATIONS IN COLUMBIA RIVER BASIN IN 1896. 49 The timber in the region drained by the Siuslaw is chiefly fir, some cedar, hemlock, spruce, maple, and alder. Some of the alders are as much as 18 inches in diameter, and some of the fir trees a short distance west of the summit of the Coast Range are very high. There is also in this region a very rich growth of ferns, chiefly the common Pteris. A‘ large portion of the timber along the lower 30 miles of the Siuslaw was destroyed by Are some sixty years ago. This is being replaced by an undergrowth of fir, alder, maple, etc. The timber bordering the sand hills is mostly bull pine. The North Fork of Siuslaw River is much smaller than the main river. In the neighborhood of Minerva the deeper holes in the river are from 20 to 50 feet wide, the shallow places connecting these holes being about half this width. Along the river, for a distance above tide water of about 8 miles, are many gravel bars over which the water flows during the summer in depths varying from a few inches to about 3 feet. The timber along the North Fork is similar to that on the main river, the under or smaller growth immediately on the banks being some denser. Very little timber along the North Fork below Minerva has been destroyed and scarcely none above that place. The water in North Fork is clear, though considerably stained by vegetation, much more so than in the main fork. The water in the Siuslaw in the summer is moderately clear, though slightly discolored by vegetation. It also contains a fine silt or sediment of some sort, which collects on the web of gill nets. At flood tide, about halfway between Florence and Mapleton, the water appears of a reddish color, apparently due to the mingling of the comparatively fresh with the brackish water, the salt in the brackish water precipi- tating the clay sediment in the fresher water. During the summer, at the head of navigation, the water at all times is too brackish for steamboat boiler use. The head of tide water is about half a mile above Seaton. About half a mile below Seaton is an island in the river, on either side of which, at low tide, the water in the deepest place is less than 3 feet. Small steamers drawing about 3£ feet of water can not pass this island in summer except at from half to full tide. Mapleton is 1 mile below Seaton. Below Mapleton in summer and at low tide the water in the shallow portions of the river is seldom less than 10 or 12 feet in depth. Seaton is properly the head of tide water, Mapleton the head of navigation. The river below Mapleton will average at least twice as wide as it does above it, and it varies in depth at low tide in summer from 10 to 12 feet to as much as 60 feet. On October 16 a series of bottom temperatures from Martin Creek to Acme was taken. The temperature of the air at 8 a. m. was 57°; surface of the water at Martin Creek, 57°; bottom at same place at a depth of 15 feet, 58°. This bottom temperature decreased as we approached the lower portion of the river until at Acme, in 30 feet of water, it was 54°. The fishermen , methods of fishing , etc. — The fishermen on the Siuslaw River are with few exceptions Americans, Norwegians, and Indians. The fishing on the main river is done for the most part by the Americans and Norwegians, on the North Fork mostly by Indians. During the past season about three-fourths of the fishermen were permanent residents on the river; the remaining one-fourth were mostly from the Columbia River, and in general they restricted their fishing to the lower 8 miles of the river, using drift nets. The resident fishermen are further up the river and set their nets in the ordinary way. Each fisherman regards himself as privileged to fish anywhere along the river he chooses. The fact that a man owns property on the river F. C. B. 1897—4 50 BULLETIN OF THE UNITED STATES FISH COMMISSION. is apparently no reason why he should restrict his fishery to his own water front or prevent anyone else from fishing there. For convenience each resident sets his nets as near his home as possible and has usually a number of well-defined sets, which are sometimes marked. These sets are the places which he regards as the best in which to catch fish, and are free from snags. One fisherman will seldom intentionally use a set belonging to another. During the past year very little attention was given to the “ Saturday night law.” It was said that this has not only been the case in past years on the Siuslaw Eiver, but that it is practically a dead letter on all of the streams in Oregon. The fishermen on the Siuslaw seem to agree that all of them would profit as well by respecting it as by breaking it. A few persist in setting their nets or drifting Saturday nights and, in order that these few men may have no advantage over the others, they, too, put out their nets on Saturday nights. According to the law the fishing season closes on the Siuslaw Eiver November 1. This law, of course, is intended for all of the coastal streams in Oregon, and as the time of the run of salmon, especially of silver salmon, varies somewhat in the differ- ent rivers the law does not protect all alike. In the Siuslaw Eiver the largest run of silver salmon occurs anywhere from October 25 to November 10. About this time the first fall rains begin and a gradual rise in the river is accompanied by an increased run of silver salmon. In 1896 the rains began October 24. The river did not rise much until the night of November 7, when it rose about 8 feet, which put an end to fishing. The largest run of silver salmon was between October 28 and November 6. About the same condition of affairs is said to have existed last season. The law which requires the season to close November 1 in no way protects the chinook salmon, as the run of this fish is over by October 15. As fishing is the chief source of income of many of the citizens on the Siuslaw Eiver it seems to them quite a hardship to be obliged to stop fishing daring the best portion of the season. All commercial fishing on the river is confined to that portion below tide water ; in fact very little is ever done above Mapleton until near the close of the fishing season. The distance from the head of tide to the mouth of the river is about 28 miles. Commercial fishing on the Siuslaw is carried on by gill nets, seines, and trolling lines, but mostly by gill nets. The gill nets operated by the fishermen engaged in drifting are from 100 to 150 fathoms long; they are used only on the lower 8 miles of the river, where the current is too swift during flood and ebb tides to allow them to be set in the ordinary way. There are a great many sunken logs and trees in this portion of the river, as well as further up the stream, and the drifts are therefore usually short. All gill nets used on the river from the head of tide water to within 8 miles of its mouth are set in the ordinary way. They are all anchored by heavy rocks tied to the lead line at distances of from 3 to 8 fathoms apart. They vary in length from about 25 to 100 fathoms. That portion of the river in which gill nets are set varies from about 8 to 150 fathoms in width. The gill nets also vary in length and, as no fisherman confines his fishing to any one portion of the river, very little attention is paid to the law which prohibits the use of gill nets reaching more than one-third distance across the river. Nets set in the Siuslaw Eiver reach all the way from one-fourth to the entire distance across it. During flood and ebb tide the current in the river is so swift that nets extending from about one-third to two-thirds across the river have their cork line dragged so low that the net presents a comparatively small and a very poor fishing SALMON INVESTIGATIONS IN COLUMBIA RIVER BASIN IN 1896. 51 surface. If the net extends from bank to bank the current raises the lead line between anchor rocks and drags down the cork line to the extent of destroying a good share of the fishing capacity of the net. It is quite evident that nets set in the Siuslaw Eiver fish very little except during slack water. During the new and full moon tides the current in the river is so swift that the outer ends of the nets, which reach only a part way across the river, are drifted toward the shore, and they frequently become so much snagged in drifting one way that it is impossible to pick them up until the return tide. The fishermen drifting always take advantage of slack water, in order to fish their nets a longer time without taking them up. In the latter part of the fishing season many nets used in drifting are cut into shorter lengths and set farther up the river. It seems to be a fact recognized by the fishermen that in any one portion of the river a net will fish much better at one bank than at the other, so it is much more advantageous to have two nets, each reaching halfway across the river, than one single net reaching entirely across. Three nets each reaching one-third distance across the river are often preferable to a single net reaching the entire distance. Nets are seldom set in the river in the daytime. Gill nets are also used in surf fishing late in the fishing season, when comparatively few salmon are entering the river. The usual depth of the net used in surf fishing is about half that used in drifting. At either end of the nets, which are about 150 fathoms long, long ropes are attached. The net is stretched along the shore and allowed to be caught by the surf, which carries it some distance to sea; it is then slowly drawn to shore after the manner of a seine. This method of fishing is so diffi- cult and the results so small that it is not much followed. A short distance above Acme is an excellent seining-ground, but the use of a seine has usually been opposed by fishermen using gill nets farther up the river. The seine was used this season from September 10 to November 1 by those who most strongly opposed it last year, but was less profitable than was expected. The majority of the fishermen would favor a law restricting the fishing to the use of gill nets. The seine was but little disturbed this year. One night a boat filled with rocks was sunk on the ground, but this the seine brought ashore at its first haul next morning. At another time a peculiar framework was anchored in the river, which was so constructed as to raise the lead line when the seine was about half hauled in. This contrivance was also brought ashore. The fact that the seine did not meet with the success expected lessened the opposition to its use. Chinooks were caught by it for the hatchery, and this was no doubt a factor in its favor. Chinooks and the silver salmon are often caught by trolling in the Siuslaw Eiver, and they occasionally take hooks baited with salmon eggs or other bait. On October 10 Mr. L. E. Bean caught 3 Chinooks and 6 silver salmon trolling for about an hour near the mouth of Martin Creek. The following day 8 silver salmon were caught by trolling from Mapleton to Point Terrace, a distance of about 6 miles. Some of the Chinooks and silver salmon caught in this way were red in color and the jaws distorted. Considerable trolling is done during October between Mapleton and Point Terrace, not only for sport, but for market as well. The amount of fishing done on the Siuslaw Eiver is rated by boats, each boat having ordinarily 2 men and about 100 fathoms of net. This past year there were from 75 to 80 boats engaged in fishing on both the Siuslaw Eiver and North Fork, using a total of about 10,000 fathoms of net. The seine was operated by 6 men and 1 horse, and was equivalent to 3 or 4 boats. 52 BULLETIN OF THE UNITED STATES FISH COMMISSION. The legal fishing season extends from September 1 to November 1. Some of the fishermen begin fishing as soon as the law permits, but the majority do not commence until the cannery begins operations. Tests made in August and early in September showed that the chinook salmon did not arrive in considerable numbers until about the 10th of September. They began to enter the river in the early part of August. Very few were caught in the lower part of the river after the middle of October. In the vicinity of Mapleton, however, a good many were taken as late as the last of Octo- ber. They moved up the river apparently very slowly, evidently remaining for a considerable time in the deeper portions of the river. At Point Terrace the water is 56 feet deep; near the mouth of Martin Creek the water is from 25 to 36 feet in depth. A large number of Chinooks remain in these places (or are thought to, at least) until they become red and distorted. They seem to be very inactive. Gill nets set near these places catch very few. Fishermen say that as soon as the first fall rains come and the water in the river freshens up a little the fish become very active and are easily caught in large numbers. No special effort is ever made to catch the Chinooks from Point Terrace to head of tide after about the 10th of October. Many of those taken after this date are so white-meated that they are worth not over 5 cents each, and they are usually thrown overboard by the fishermen. Some fishermen think that many Chinooks spawn on the margins of these deeper holes, but there is no positive evidence of this further than that late in the fishing season a few ripe females are caught near or in these deep holes. October 28 and 29, just after the first important fall rains, about 50 Chinooks were caught near Mapleton, which was the largest catch at this place during the season. A few of these were ripe and others nearly so. These fish were evidently just leaving the deep hole near the mouth of Martin Creek about three quarters of a mile below Mapleton. The larger portion of this catch was rejected by the cannery. The fall rains not only increase the amount of water in the river and freshen the lower portion of the stream, but they also lower the temperature of the water. These are doubtless the main factors causing the salmon to leave the deep holes and resume their run upstream. Salmon ordinarily reach their spawning-grounds before they are ripe, but there is considerable evidence that they sometimes do not enter the river until almost ripe. Mr. Leonard Christianson did considerable surf fishing in November, 1895, and informed us that he caught a few ripe chiuooks then. Eggs were forced from them while the fish were dying on the shore. This, however, is probably unusual. The North Fork being a much smaller stream than the main river and comparatively few white men fishing on it, it seemed that it was of very little importance as a fishing stream. Late in October it was learned that many chinooks were spawning all along the stream above tide water. On October 23 and 24 the North Fork was examined for some distance both above and below Minerva. The water was so stained that salmon could be seen only in shallow water on the gravel bars. These when frightened by our approach at once disappeared in deep water. A few were much mutilated and in a dying condition; in fact, all seen were more or less mutilated. North Fork, though not a large stream, has from tide water to a distance of about 8 miles above a number of excellent spawning-beds, and all showed much evidence of having been so used this year. On the 26th of October about 17 chinooks were caught, all spent fish and all more or less mutilated. As these spawning-beds are only about 8 to 16 SALMON INVESTIGATIONS IN COLUMBIA RIVER BASIN IN 1896. 53 miles from the sea, the mutilations exhibited could not have been incurred while on their way from the sea, but were received on the spawning-beds. Several dead ones were seen, and many others were so weak and injured that recovery was not believed possible. On October 23 and 24 at least 50 Chinooks were seen on spawning-beds. On all of these the fins were considerably frayed, while most of them were badly mutilated and covered with fungus. A few were so far gone that we captured them by wading in the water and catching them by the tails. The seals collect in large numbers during the salmon run on the bar at the mouth of Siuslaw Eiver. Some enter the river and are seen nearly half way to Mapleton. They are regarded as being destructive to the fishing interests, both by destroying large numbers of fishes and preventing many more from entering the river. These seals are regarded by the fishermen as by far the worst enemy of the salmon. The run of silver salmon began later. The first examples were taken about Sep- tember 10, but they did not appear in any considerable numbers until about a week later. From that date they continued pretty evenly until the 20th of October, after which they appeared in much larger numbers. They were still abundant on November 7, when a sudden rise in the river washed away many of the nets and practically put a stop to all fishing for the season. The importance of the salmon fishery of the Siuslaw River for each year since its beginning in 1889 is shown in the table which follows. For convenience of reference the salmon taken in Tsiltcoos (Ten-mile) Creek are included. Year. j Siuslaw Eiver. North Fork. Tsiltcoos Creek- silver. Chinook. Silver. Chinook. Silver. 1889 9, 000 62, 340 4,000 16, 432 8, 000 1890 6, 500 41, 320 2, 340 9, 320 (0) 1891 16, 500 23, 450 6,800 2, 100 ( a ) 1892 7, 000 86, 340 3, 050 13, 460 (a) 1893 4, 000 78, 430 1, 100 12, 000 fi, 300 1894 1, 300 84, 642 1, 234 6, 742 4,870 1895 4, 200 69, 454 1, 600 4,340 8,200 1896 4,378 57, 000 2, 100 4, 650 1, 578 Totals 52, 878 502, 973 22, 224 69, 044 27, 948 a Did not fish. From this it appears that the total number of chinook salmon from the Siuslaw River and the North Fork handled by the canneries in the eight years was 75,102 fish, or 1,301,632 pounds. Mr. Kyle estimates that this amount should be increased by one-sixth, to cover the number salted or shipped away. This would give 87,619 fish, or 1,518,750 pounds. The total number of silver salmon handled during the same period was 599,965 fish, or 5,429,675 pounds; increased by one-sixth for fish salted or otherwise utilized, the total becomes 699,959 fish, or 6,334,620 pounds. The number of silver salmon taken in the outlet of Tahkenitch Lake (Five-mile Creek) is said to have averaged about 5,000 fish per year for the last three years. Condition of salmon. — The Chinooks caught in the Siuslaw River are not so fat as those caught in the Columbia. This is no doubt due to the fact that the Siuslaw has only a fall run. In any river the spring run is always better than the fall run ; the 54 BULLETIN OF THE UNITED STATES FISH COMMISSION. early spring run is better than the late spring run, and the early fall better than the late fall run. The condition of the salmon depends on the length of time he remains in fresh water before spawning. Those whose sexual organs are the least developed have redder and fatter flesh, and these are the ones which must remain in fresh water the longest time before spawning. Salmon taking the hook. — Fishermen hold different opinions as to why salmon take the hook, some regarding it simply as due to the pugnacious disposition of the fisli. others as showing a playful disposition. Both males and females will take the hook. The baited hook falling near them or the silvery spoon passing rapidly by no doubt produces an involuntary impulse on the part of the flsli to seize it. The Siuslaw hatchery. — This hatchery is at Mapleton, Oregon, on the Siuslaw River, about 26 miles above its mouth, or 1£ miles below the head of tide water. The building is about 300 feet from the river and is supplied with water by gravity from a small spring brook, which flows within 200 feet of the building. This supply is abundant and of good quality. As there was no rack in the river, flsh for spawning purposes could be obtained only at the seiniug-ground near Acme, about 16 miles below Mapleton. The method followed was to retain the fish in live-boxes until they were ready to spawn. Special boxes were built for this purpose, the fish put in them at the seining-ground, then they were floated on the tide up to Mapleton, where they were tied until the fish were utilized. The first live-box was built September 17. It was made 20 feet long, 10 feet wide, and 4£ feet deep. The frame-work was made of 3 by 6 material; to this were nailed horizontally 1 by 4 strips, with interspaces of about 2£ inches. The lumber used was undressed. This box will hereafter be referred to as Box No. 1. On September 19 Box No. 2 was built, 16 by 8 by 4£ feet. This box differed from No. 1 only in being made out of boards 6 and 8 inches wide instead of 4 inches, and in having the inter- spaces narrower. These were not more than 2 inches wide anywhere, and near the top of the sides no interspaces were left, the first two or three being placed against each other. On September 21 Box No. 3 was built, not differing in any way from Box No. 2. On the 1st of October Box No. 4 was built. It was made of dressed lumber and was 20 by 6£ by 4£ feet. Care was taken to have this box as smooth inside as pos- sible, so that the fish might not become injured in any way on account of contact with the box. The account of the experiments with each of these boxes is given with considerable detail, in order that the nature of the work and the conditions under which it was done may be fully understood. On September 18, 43 chinook salmon were placed in Box No. 1. They were obtained from the seines and carried in sacks a few feet to a small live-box, in which they were floated to No. 1. The next day 48 more salmon were placed in this box. On September 21, 47 salmon were placed in No. 2, and the next day 22 fish were put into No. 3, to which 6 more were added on the morning of the 23d. These three boxes, with 91, 47, and 28 fish, respectively, were lashed together and were started drifting up the river with the tide. This tide carried them upstream about 7f miles, or about ^ mile below McLeod’s wharf. Here the boxes were taken in tow by the steamer Lillian and brought to McLeod’s wharf. The next day they were drifted to Point Terrace, a distance of about 5f miles, and on the following night they were drifted 2£ miles farther to Hartley’s wharf. The next day, the 25th, they were drifted If miles farther, which brought them within f mile of Mapleton. They were SALMON INVESTIGATIONS IN COLUMBIA RIVER BASIN IN 1896. 55 tied up here until tlie 27th, when the Lillian took them in tow and brought them to the Mapleton wharf, where they were kept until the fish were spawned. Three fish were placed in Box No. 4 on the evening of October 1, and 29 more were added the next morning. This box was set drifting on the evening of October 2. The fish were quite restless, jumping and striking against the top of the box in efforts to get out. After floating about 1£ miles this box was tied up for the night. That evening it was covered with spruce boughs, so as to darken it and at the same time to cause it to float lower in the water. The next morning it was drifted to within half a mile of McLeod’s wharf, or about 6 miles. The box was anchored here until the even- ing flood tide, when it was drifted to McLeod’s wharf and tied up. The next day it was drifted about miles to Hartley’s wharf, and on the day following it was floated to within half a mile of Mapleton, to which place it was taken on the next tide on the morning of October 6. It was tied in a protected place in the river opposite Mapleton, where it was not subject to the disturbances to which the other three were liable. On October 8 two more salmon, which had been caught in a gill net near by, were placed in this box, thus increasing the number to 34. Except during the first evening the fish in this box remained quiet and showed no signs of restlessness under the restraint. Boxes 1, 2, and 3 were tied to the piling at the upper end of the wharf at Mapleton. The fish were here occasionally disturbed by persons coming about the boxes or step- ping upon them; whether this really increased the mortality or not can not be certainly stated, but it seems reasonable to believe that it would prove detrimental to the fish. An unusually low tide on October 15 left Box No. 3 about one-third out of water. This seemed to distress the fish, and may have caused some injury. During the latter part of October about 12 more fish were put in No. 1. These had been caught in the gill nets at Mapleton. The total number of fish which were experimented with was as follows : In Box No. 1, 103; in No. 2, 47 ; in No. 3, 28; in No. 4, 34. No accurate record was kept of the number of each sex, but at least three fifths of the total number were females. The mortality among the fish in these different boxes is shown in the following tabular statement : After the taking of spawu began, October 26, the fish were shifted about from one box to another, and, though a few continued to die, no accurate record was kept. The mortality was greatest in No. 1 and least in No. 4. The crowded condition of the fish in No. 1 was doubtless a feature which contributed to the loss. After October 26, when spawn-taking began, the fish were shifted about from box to box, and it was therefore impossible to keep an accurate record of the number dying 56 BULLETIN OF THE UNITED STATES FISH COMMISSION. in each as originally apportioned. The total number that died after October 27, how- ever, was 18, and on November 15 a sudden rise in the river broke open box No. 1 and 30 fish escaped. The total loss, therefore, was 112 dead and 30 escaped. The 70 which were left were spawned. Of this number, 36 were females and 34 males; to this number should be added 8 females and 8 males taken from the gill nets at Mapleton ; these 86 (44 females and 42 males) were spawned at different times between October 26 and November 15. The total number of eggs taken is stated by Mr. L. E. Bean to have been 217,000. An examination of a great many of the fish which died showed that some had received internal injuries which probably caused their death. Others which showed no internal injuries exhibited severe bruises which doubtless hastened their death. Particular pains were taken with the fish in Box No. 4. Care was taken in handling them when they were first placed in the box. The box had been constructed with unusual care by making it smooth inside and placing the boards close together, so as to admit but little light, and it was anchored at Mapleton in a secluded place where the fish were subjected to the minimum amount of disturbance. As a result, a higher percentage of success was attained with this box than with the others. With Nos. 1, 2, and 3 the principal factors which were detrimental were the following : 1. Too many fish were put in each, resulting in too close crowding. 2. The interspaces were too wide, thus letting in too much light and making the fish more restless. 3. The rough surfaces on the inside of these boxes caused injuries to the fish striking against them. 4. Some of the fish were not handled with proper care when placed in the boxes. 5. During the interval between the arrival of these boxes at Mapleton and the spawning of the fish they were kept in a place where the fish were subjected to some annoyance. If the fish in these three boxes had been treated with the same care and attention as was bestowed upon Box No. 4, it is quite certain that the measure of success would have been greatly increased. Of the 217,000 eggs taken Mr. Bean reports that he hatched and successfully liberated 180,000. Conclusions. — -These experiments seem to demonstrate that it is entirely practi- cable to retain salmon intended for spawning purposes for a period of at least six weeks in properly constructed live-boxes, but in order to operate Siuslaw hatchery with the best results, particular attention should be given to the following details: 1. The boxes should be constructed with as much care as possible. They should be made smooth inside. No interspaces should be left in the top nor in the upper third or half of the sides and ends, and those elsewhere should not exceed 2 or 3 inches in width. It is also desirable that the boxes be made 6 to 8 feet deep instead of 4^ feet. 2. It will prove advantageous to get as large a proportion as possible of the fish desired toward the close of the run, as they will be more nearly ripe and will not have to be kept so long in the boxes. It is also believed that these fish are not so restless in the boxes as are those caught earlier in the run. 3. The fish should be handled carefully when placing them in the boxes, so that they may not receive any serious bruises. 4. Too many fish should not be placed in any one box. In our judgment each fish should be allowed at least 20 cubic feet of space. SALMON INVESTIGATIONS IN COLUMBIA KIVER BASIN IN 1896. 57 TSILTCOOS AND WHOAHINK LAKES, OREGON. The investigation of these lakes was undertaken in response to a petition signed by numerous citizens living in their immediate vicinity and addressed to the United States Commission of Fish and Fisheries under date of June 13, 1896. The petitioners asked that Tsiltcoos Lake be stocked with black bass and that a plant of brook trout be made in Whoahink Lake. To determine the advisability of complying with these requests, Dr. Meek was directed to make an examination of these lakes, particularly in regard to the following points: 1. Are these waters suitable as to temperature, quality, and food supply for the species requested ? 2. Would the introduction of these species have any detrimental effect upon the food or game fishes native to those waters or to waters into which the introduced species might spread? 3. Would the species which it is proposed to introduce probably thrive so well as to afford, after a few years, better fishing than is now furnished by the native species? Three visits were made by Dr. Meek to these lakes, the first on October 7 and 8, when only Tsiltcoos Lake was seen ; the next October 15 to 19, during which time considerable work was done on each of the lakes; the third trip November 28 to December 7, when the lakes were examined carefully and extensive collections made. The conclusion reached from a study of the conditions obtaining at these lakes is that it is not advisable for the Commission to stock them with black bass or brook trout. The planting of black bass in Tsiltcoos Lake would prove detrimental to the silver-salmon fishery carried on in the outlet of that lake, and the probability that the bass would in time spread to the Siuslaw and the Umpqua is too great to warrant the risk. As to placing brook trout in Whoahink Lake, it is not believed that that species would ever become so well established as to afford better fishing than the native species supplies. These lakes are already abundantly supplied with a native trout which attains a weight of 2 pounds or more, which possesses excellent game qualities, and whose flesh is firm and sweet. If these trout are properly protected, there is no reason why Whoahink Lake should not become an important fishing-resort. The detailed report upon these lakes follows : TSILTCOOS AND OTHER LAKES. Between the mouths of the Siuslaw and Umpqua rivers, and almost bordering the sand hills along the shore, are three large lakes and a few small ones. The inves- tigations were restricted to the large lakes; these lie in a line parallel with the ocean beach and comprise at least three-fourths of the distance between the Siusla w and Umpqua rivers. They are quite peculiar on account of their great irregularity in outline. The amount of shore line as compared with the area of each is very great. Whoahink Lake, or Clear Lake, as it is more commonly known, is about 2 miles from the Siuslaw Biver at Glenada. This lake is very irregular in outline and deeper than the other two. Except a small portion in the southwest corner, it is surrounded by hills from 50 to about 200 feet in height. The hills immediately surrounding the lake are composed of a soft, irregularly stratified sandstone, and evidently of a much newer formation than the higher hills to the southeast. The inlets are only ravines, some of which contain many small springs. The points of land projecting into the 58 BULLETIN OF THE UNITED STATES FISH COMMISSION. lake are being quite rapidly worn away by rough water, forming bluffs. The surface of the lake at one time was somewhat lower than at present; this is evident from the fact that on a shoal place on the east side (near the middle of section 14) stumps of trees are seen some 10 feet below the surface. The former outlet of the lake was into the outlet of Tsiltcoos Lake. A few years ago this outlet became closed by shifting sand, causing the water to rise in the lake at least 6 feet above its present level. A new outlet, a short distance to the east of the old one, was dug to Tsiltcoos Labe some four or five years ago. The new outlet was not only intended to lower the sur- face of the lake, but to afford a water power for a small sawmill. It has never been so used. The material through which the outlet was dug is a fine clay, so compact that it erodes very slowly. In the extreme ends of the arms of the lake are some tales and small areas of other water-plants. The surface of Whoahink Lake is about 15 to 20 feet above that of Tsiltcoos Lake, from which it is less than half a mile distant. The timber on the hills bordering the lake was nearly all destroyed by fire some sixty years ago. It is being replaced by a growth of fir, alder, hemlock, maple, rhododendron, huckleberry, and a vigorous growth of ferns. To the west and bordering the sand hills about half a mile distant from the lake are many bull pines. The shore was everywhere so snaggy that a seine could not be used and our collecting apparatus consisted only of gill nets and trot lines. This lake is reported as having very few fishes in it, and our experience confirms this view. The water is clear, though much less so than in the mountain lakes of Idaho; the depth is usually from 30 to 78 feet. The water is not very cold, as may be seen from the following recorded temperatures : Date. Hour. Tem- per- ature of air. Temperature of water. Sur- face. Depth. Bot- tom. 1896. Oct. 18 18 19 19 19 4.30 p.m. OP. 63 62*" Feet. 54 72 30 54 66 op. 61 56 60 61.5 57 9.30 a.ni. 58 61.5 Tsiltcoos lake is larger and more irregular than Whoahink Lake. The main body of the lake is about 2 miles in extent from north to south, and 1 to 2 miles from east to west. It is also supplied with several arms, usually about a fourth of a mile wide and from £ to 1£ miles long and extending in different directions. Tsiltcoos Lake is comparatively shallow. In summer its greatest deptli is about 17 feet, its average depth being from 10 to 14 feet. During the rainy season the water is from 6 to 10 feet deeper. The bottom is a soft, black mud, like that of Whoahink and Tahkenitch lakes. Except at a few intervals the shore is bordered by a rich growth of tules. In the shallow portions around the shore the tules extend into the lake about a fourth of a mile. There is also considerable swamp vegetation in and about the tules. The surrounding country is quite similar to that around Whoahink. On the east, and at one point on the south, are bluff's of a dark, compact sandstone of much older formation than the bluffs around Whoahink Lake. There are also two timbered islands in this lake, composed of this older sandstone; the larger is about half a mile long and about an eighth of a mile wide. That portion of the country bordering the lake on the south and southwest was not burnt over during the big fire of about sixty years ago. SALMON INVESTIGATIONS IN COLUMBIA RIVER BASIN IN 1896. 59 Tsiltcoos Lake lias two inlets, 6 to 8 miles long, Maple Creek at the northeast and Tsiltcoos Creek to the southeast corner of the lake. In summer these are little more than small brooks, but during the rainy season they become much swollen and afford a spawning-ground for many silver salmon, and possibly a few others, which enter the lake. It is said that about 6 or 7 years ago many more salmon spawned in Maple Creek than at present. The outlet of Tsiltcoos Lake is quite small, especially so in summer and at low tide. Gill nets are put across the outlet at low tide and are so anchored and staked down that it is quite impossible for silver salmon, except the smaller ones, to pass them. October 17 a number of soundings and temperatures were taken in Tsiltcoos Lake. The temperature of the air at 10.15 a. m. was 56° ; that of the bottom in various parts of the lake, at depths from 7 to 17 feet, varied from 58.5° to 59.5°. Tsiltcoos Creek (Ten-mile Creek), the outlet of Tsiltcoos Lake, is about 5 miles long, while the distance from the lake to the ocean in a direct line is about 2 miles. At low tide in summer there is barely water enough in the outlet to float a small flat- bottom boat. At high tide the water in the outlet for its entire length is brackish. There is some commercial fishing, though the fishing season is short (this year from October 10 to about November 5). Many silver salmon enter the lake, as is evidenced by the number caught in our small gill nets. Fishermen report that salmon are often stranded on the beach. About 100 silver salmon, the first catch of the present season, were brought to the cannery on October 13. There is no reliable evidence that blue- back salmon are ever found in this lake or its outlet, and only an occasional Chinook is found. On October 16 and 17 the bar at the mouth of this creek at low tide com- pletely closed the outlet. This prevented salmon from entering and none had been taken since October 13. The fishermen were watching the surf closely to see if many salmon were near shore. Ordinarily, if the bar is closed and many fishes are seen in the surf, the fishermen resort to surf fishing until after the bar is opened. Tahkenitch, or Five-mile, Lake is very irregular in outline. Its greatest length from north to south is about 4£ miles; east to west about the same distance. This lake consists of four large arms whose general directions are with the four cardinal points. The eastern arm is the longest, the western the shortest, while the other two are about equal in length. The width of these arms varies from about one-eighth to three-quarters of a mile. In the mouth of the smallest arm is a small timbered island. Tahkenitch Lake does not lie in the burnt region. The hills surrounding it rise abruptly to a height of usually about 100 feet, and are covered by a dense growth of tall fir trees of about to 3 feet in diameter. In the extreme end of the arms and in a few other places along the shore are found tules and other water vegetation similar to that in Tsiltcoos Lake. The bottom of the lake is a soft, black mud, like that found in the two other lakes. The depth is very uniform, being from 16 to 22 feet. Five-mile Creek, the outlet of Tahkenitch Lake, has its origin in the distal end of the western arm, its upper end being about 1 mile from the ocean. Its total length is about twice this distance. The sand hills extend almost to the lake. The isthmus separating Tahkenitch and Tsiltcoos lakes is rather low and narrow. So far as we could learn, the commercial fishing on Five-mile Creek is very similar to that on Ten mile Creek. The catch has amounted, according to Hon. A. W. Reed, of Gardiner, to an average of 5,000 silver salmon for each of the past three years. 60 BULLETIN OF THE UNITED STATES FISH COMMISSION. UPPER KLAMATH LAKE, OREGON. In 1889 the United States Fish Commission planted 400,000 wliitefish fry ( Core - gonus clupeiformis) in the southern end of Upper Klamath Lake, near Klamath Falls. Ample time having elapsed to enable this species to become well established, observa tions were made by Messrs. Meek and Alexander for the purpose of determining the result of the plant. Pelican Bay was reached on the evening of October 31, and work was carried on in the upper part of the lake until November 7, when the camp was moved to the lower end of the lake near the outlet, where the investigations were continued until the 11th. During the time spent at this lake the weather was unusually stormy, and it was exceedingly difficult to carry on the investigations in a manner at all satisfactory. There were only two really good days for work during the entire time. For the purpose of determining the result of the whiteflsh plant gill nets of suitable mesh were set in various places in Pelican Bay and in the lower end of the lake. Collections of native fishes were also made, and as much time as possible was given to the study of the fish-food supply of the lake, which was found to be abundant and rich in species of Untomostraca, insect larvae, and other invertebrate life. The fish life of the lake does not consist of many species, but the individuals of several of the species are very numerous. These will be discussed fully in the list of fishes at the end of this report, but it seems proper to call attention in this connection to the suckers and trout. There are five or six species of suckers in this lake and each of them attains a large size, which renders them of great importance to the Indians on the Klamath Beservation. In the spring of the year, during the spawning time of these fish, vast numbers are caught in traps and by hook and line by the Indians and cured for future use. The trout are also very common and roach a very large size. Trout weighing 8 to 10 pounds are not at all unusual, examples of 10 to 12 pounds are not rare, and occasionally oue weighs as much as 14 pounds. Trout can be taken readily with the fly in the spring and by trolling in the spring and fall. In Pelican Bay they may be taken by trolling at any time. The Klamath lakes comprise a series of lakes which extend in a north-and-south direction in southern Oregon and northern California. They lie just east of the Cascade Mountains, and are about 4,300 feet above sea level. Our investigations were limited to the largest of these lakes, known as Upper Klamath Lake. This lake is about 25 miles long and about 8 miles in average width. Its northern half extends in a northwest-and-southeast direction, while its southern half is nearly due north and south. It is quite irregular in outline, having on its western side two large bays, the upper of which forms the northwestern corner of the lake, and is known as Pelican Bay. About 2 miles west of Pelican Bay is a very large spring which forms a prominent creek emptying into the bay. The first half mile of this creek is about 50 to 100 feet wide and from 2 to 8 feet deep. After this it widens out into a large estuary, half a mile or more wide and more than a mile long. On the north this estuary is bordered by a hill, at the foot of which the water is as much as 17 feet deep. The rest of this estuary is bordered by a rich growth of tules and swamp grass. Its depth, except at the north end, seldom exceeds 7 feet, while the greater portion is less than 6 feet in depth. There are, especially on the east side of this estuary, many small narrow arms known as sloughs. These sloughs are about as SALMON INVESTIGATIONS IN COLUMBIA RIVER BASIN IN 1896. 61 deep as the estuary, and each supports a rich growth of Potamogeton , Myriophyllum , aud Elodea. These water-plants are also more or less abundant along the water’s edge just inside the tules, but are scarce in the main body of the estuary. The water in Pelican Creek and estuary is very clear, aud when it is not disturbed the bottom can be plainly seen everywhere. The bottom of the creek and estuary is composed of a light fluffy mud, varying in color from dark grayish to black. The water in the lake when we saw it was not clear. The fine sediment held in suspension was no doubt picked up from the bottom duriug rough weather. The northern portion of Upper Klamath Lake contains many tule islands, and is evidently very shallow. Its shores north of Bare Island are very marshy. The main portion of the lake, or its middle half, is bordered on each side by mountains which rise from the water’s edge to an altitude of 1,000 to 1,500 feet above the lake. Toward its southern end the lake becomes narrow. Its shores are mostly marshy and bordered by tules and willows. It also contains considerable water vegetation, the same as at its north end. There are two islands in the lake, Bare Island and Buck Island, each about 500 feet high. North of the upper end of Upper Klamath Lake is a large area of tule marshes, 6 to 10 miles wide aud 10 to 12 miles long. Lying in this marsh is a small lake which has sometimes been improperly called the Upper Klamath Lake. It is now regarded as being only a part of Upper Klamath Lake. It is about 2 miles from the main lake and is about 3 miles wide and 6 miles long. Through this marsh flow several small streams, the principal ones being Seven-mile Creek aud Wood River. Williamson River, the principal stream flowing into Upper Klamath Lake, is of considerable size and much importance in its relations to the fishes of the lake. About 10 miles above its mouth it receives from the east a large tributary known as Sprague River. About half a mile above its mouth it is 125 feet wide and 10 feet deep. It flows before entering the lake through a low, flat, marshy plain covered with tules and swamp grass. On the banks of the river is a rich growth of willows. The current is very moderate. We rowed about 2 miles or more up the river and noticed no important change in it. The water in the river was very dark, evidently stained to some extent by vegetation. The small lake just below Klamath Falls is about £ mile wide and 2 miles long. This lake is surrounded by a rich growth of tules and some willows. The depth about half a mile below Klamath Falls was 15 feet. On November 9 the surface temperature was 42J°; bottom temperature in 15 feet of water, 42J°. We set one large and two small gill nets in this lake on November 9 and took them up on November 11, obtaining 4 chubs ( Leuciscus bicolor) and 2 trout. The outlet of Upper Klamath Lake is Link River, a short stream not over 1£ miles long, consisting of a series of rapids and falls. Upper Klamath Lake is a rather shallow body of water. The creek and estuary at Pelican Bay are from 2 to 8 feet deep in the upper part aud from 6 to 17 feet in the lower portion. A line of soundiugs was run across the mouth of the estuary and the depth was found to be about 5£ feet. Pelican Bay and the north end of the lake are very shallow. A line of soundings was run from the mouth of the estuary of Pelican Creek to the mouth of Williamson River, and 8 feet was the greatest depth found, while the average was not more than feet. The bottom could be easily seen anywhere when the surface of the water was smooth. It seemed to be composed of loose, decaying vegetation, into which the 62 BULLETIN OF THE UNITED STATES FISH COMMISSION. sounding lead would usually sink several inches. We were unable to take any sound- ings in the middle of the lake between Bare and Buck islands. While this is doubtless the deepest portion, we were informed that the water even here probably does not exceed 30 or 40 feet in depth. The south end of the lake is a little deeper than the upper portion. The greatest depth was found near the outlet and was 20 feet. The portion south of Buck Island will not average more than 12 or 13 feet deep. The temperature observations made at Upper Klamath Lake are given in the table which follows. All the water temperatures except those at the surface were taken at the bottom. Owing to the shallowness of the lake the temperature of its water is everywhere affected by that of the air. Date. Hour. Station. Tem- per- ature of air. Depth of water. Tem- per- ature of water. °F. o jr. Nov. 2 9 a. m Near mouth of Pelican Creek 38 Surface. 42 2 9.20 a, m North end of Pelican Estuary do ... 40 2 9.20 a. m Pelican Bay 5£ feet . . 41£ 2 9 20 a m do 5§ feet . . 39J 2 9.20 a. m do 5£ feet . . 39£ 3 8.45 a. m Pelican Creek near spring Surface . 44 3 10.45 a. m Pelican Estuary do ... 41 3 2.30 p. m Pelican Creek near spring 41 do ... 44 3 2.30 p. m Pelican Estuary do ... 42£ 4 9 a. m Pelican Creek near spring 42 do ... 44 5 9 a. m Pelican Creek 42J do ... 431 5 10 a. m Northwest part of Pelican Estuary do ... 40f 5 10 a. m do 16 feet . . 41J 5 Noon Klamath Lake between Pelican Bay and Wil- Surface. 42£ liamson River. 5 Noon ......... do 7 feet . . . 43 5 12.30 p. m do Surface . 42J 5 32.30 p.m do 8 feet . . . 43 5 1 p. m do Surface . 42§ 5 1 p. in do 8 feet . . . 42 5 4p.m Kear mouth of Williamson River Surface . 42£ 5 4 p. m do 10 feet 42 5 4.30 p. m Two miles above mouth of Williamson River. . . Surface . 421 5 4.30 j). m do 10 feet .. 42 4.30 p. m A t. mouth of Pelican Estuary Surface - 39£ 6 4.30 p. in do 5ft feet . . 404 9 9 a. m Small Lake below Klamath Falls 44 Surface . 421 g . do 15 feet 42^ 10 3.30 p. m South end of Klamath Lake 10 3.30 p.m do 13 feet . . 4lf Character of bottom. — The large area of tule and marshy lands surrounding the lake has doubtless had much to do in determining the character of the bottom of Upper Klamath Lake. The lake is very shallow, and the vast amounts of decaying vegeta- tion carried into it and the ever-increasing area of tule lands render it more shallow year by year. The bottom, where we examined it, was composed of loose, disintegrat- ing vegetable material, with no sandy or gravelly bottom. Fishes. — Gill nets of suitable mesh were set in this lake in various places, chiefly in Pelican Bay and in the lower end of the lake. A good many trout and chubs and a few suckers were taken, but no whiteflsh were caught and none was seen anywhere. Inquiry among people at Klamath Palls and elsewhere about the lake failed to elicit evidence that whiteflsh have ever been seen there since the plant was made. It is to be regretted that nets could not have been set in the middle portion of the lake, as it is there that fish would be found if any have survived. But when it is consid- ered how shallow the lake is, how warm the water probably becomes in summer, and how difficult it would be for whiteflsh to find suitable spawning-beds, it is doubtful if the eastern whiteflsh would thrive in such a lake. SALMON INVESTIGATIONS IN COLUMBIA RIVER BASIN IN 1896. 63 Advantages of a trout-cultural station at Klamath Falls. — The trout of Upper Klamath Lake are probably not surpassed by any lake dwelling trout in America in beauty, size, gaminess, or sweetness and delicacy of flavor They are excellent trout to propagate and plant in other lakes. Trout-cultural operations could be carried on at some point on Upper Klamath Lake very advantageously. Perhaps the best loca- tion would be at Klamath Falls, where all the engineering conditions are excellent. Fish can be obtained readily and in abundance at any time. A station located upon this lake would be useful in maintaining the supply of trout in it and neighboring lakes and for furnishing fish for planting elsewhere in suitable lakes. The distance of Klamath Falls from the railroad is the chief objection to the establishment of a station at that place. CRATER LAKE, OREGON. In the spring of 1896 the U. S. Commissioner of Fish and Fisheries received a request to plant trout in Crater Lake, Oregon. This request was made by citizens of Medford, Ashland, and Klamath Falls, and by the Mazamas, a club of mountain climbers with headquarters at Portland, whose members take an active and intel- ligent interest in discovering and making known the scenic and other natural attractions of the Northwestern States. Before complying with the request, the Commissioner decided to have made such investigations as would determine whether the physical and biologic conditions existing at Crater Lake are such as will permit fish to thrive in it. These investigations were made by Professor Evermann and Prof. U. O. Cox, of Mankato, Minnesota. Crater Lake is about 100 miles from the nearest railroad station, and is reached by a wagon road, which has a number of steep, rough grades. The Mazamas had selected this lake as the place of their annual meeting for 1896, and the Fish Com- mission party by their invitation made the trip to the lake with them, thus obviating the necessity of employing special conveyances and making the trip comparatively inexpensive. The party left Ashland by wagon August 13 and reached the lake on the morning of August 19. Work was carried on at the lake until August 24, when the party set out upon the return trip to Ashland, which was reached August 26. Crater Lake* lies in the top of Mount Mazama and on the very summit of the Cascade Range, about midway between Mount Shasta and Mount Hood. Its latitude is 42° 56' N. and its longitude is 122° V W. In many respects it is one of the most interesting natural wonders in America. It is approximately circular and averages a little more than 5 miles in diameter. It is completely encircled by a bold escarpment ranging from 500 to 2,000 feet in height above the surface of Hie water. Although the steep slopes of the escarpment are in some places well wooded, they are generally either cliffs or talus, descending to the lake and plunging into deep water. There are many places where the walls are almost perpendicular, and at only two or three places is it possible to descend to the water’s edge. The lake has practically no shores or beaches; only in a few places is there sufficient beach to afford standing room. The average diameter of this great pit at the top is 5.7 miles and its depth is 4,000 feet. The highest part of the wall surrounding this lake is 8,228 feet above sea level, while the surface of the lake is 6,239 feet above the sea. *In our general description of this Jake we have made free use of the excellent account given hy Mr J. S. Differ, of the U. S. Geological Survey. Mr. Differ has made a careful topographic survey of the region and possesses a thorough and intimate acquaintance with Crater Lake. 64 BULLETIN OF THE UNITED STATES FISH COMMISSION. The rim of the basin now occupied by Crater Lake is the present summit of what was once a mountain cone. That this is simply the frustum of what was once a com- plete mountain cone is evidenced by the attitude of the sheets of lava and ejected volcanic material which form the rim. They all incline away from the lake, indicat- ing a common source from a crater that surmounted a huge volcano high in air above the place now occupied by the lake. At that time, of course, neither basin nor lake existed. Mr. Diller thinks that this great volcanic mountain, recently named Mount Mazama, must have extended about 5,000 feet higher than the remaining fragment, thus making its height about 14,000 feet, nearly that of Mount Shasta. What became of the top of Mount Mazama is an interesting question. The geologists are convinced that at some period in its history the molten interior, instead of escaping through the crater in the usual way, found an outlet at a lower level. The top of the mountain being thus left a mere shell and without adequate support, fell in and became engulfed in the vast pit which the lake now partly tills. The pumice upon the surface for many miles around Crater Lake was probably blown out by the volcano before the pit developed, and the volcano of Wizard Island was active at a much later stage upon the bottom of the pit. It was the scene of the last eruption about the lake, and, although recent in appearance, must have occurred centuries ago. Crater Lake is, so far as known, the deepest lake in America. Many soundings have been taken by the United States Geological Survey. Over only very limited areas was a depth of less than 1,000 feet found, while over a large part of the lake the depth ranges from 1 ,800 to 2,000 feet. In the eastern portion of the lake is a great level floor, with a nearly uniform depth of 2,000 feet for a distance of more than 3 miles. In the western part are three or more small cones, one reaching within 93 feet of the surface of the water, while another rises 845 feet above the water. This is Wizard Island, a perfect cinder cone, with symmetrical slopes, and in its top a crater 80 feet deep. This cone is composed chiefly of red lapilli, and so new and fresh that it is sparsely forested and shows no trace of weathering. About the base of this island cone is a rough fringe of lava, which has spread in all directions to far beneath the water’s level. The shallowest parts of the lake lie west and south of Wizard Island. The average depth in this area probably does not exceed 150 feet. Crater Lake has neither inlet nor visible outlet. The catchment area is scarcely greater than the lake itself. During the summer season several streams trickle down the walls from the snow banks which lie within the rim; these streams are all very small, but a few of them continue throughout the summer, as some of the snow banks lying on the southern walls never entirely disappear. The amount of precipitation is believed to be greater than the evaporation, but the level of the lake does not appear to be rising. It is therefore quite probable that there is a subterranean outlet, and the large springs in the vicinity of Fort Klamath may have their source in Crater Lake. The water of Crater Lake is cold, fairly pure, and exceedingly clear. Though sufficiently pure for all fish-cultural purposes, it is slightly flat to the taste and doubt- less contains some minerals in solution. Froth or foam readily forms when the water is disturbed. The clearness is remarkable, an ordinary dinner plate being distinctly visible at a depth of nearly 100 feet, even in a hazy atmosphere. The color of the lake is a wonderful blue, except in certain comparatively shallow places near the shore. In the deeper parts of the lake it is the most intense blue we have ever seen ; from there toward the shore, and in the changing light and shadows of SALMON INVESTIGATIONS IN COLUMBIA RIVER BASIN IN 1896. 65 cliffs and clouds, the colors change from ultramarine through cobalt and azure blue to smalt blue and hyacinth, and even to royal purple, violet, and mauve. So marvelously and strangely beautiful are these colors that one never tires watching and studying them. The general effect as one views the lake from some advantageous point upon the rim is profoundly impressive. Two thousand feet below lies the lake in whose placid blue waters everything is so perfectly mirrored that one can not tell where the real ends and the mirror begins. Near the west shore rises Wizard Island, symmetrical and beautiful in all its proportions, while around the lake is a circle of 20 miles of nearly perpendicular wall, hundreds of feet high and unrivaled in its scenic effects. Temperatures. — Considerable time was devoted to the making of temperature observations in different parts of the lake and at different depths. The following table gives the surface temperatures recorded : Date. 1 1896. Aug. 19 20 20 20 20 21 22 22 22 Hour. Station. Temper- 10 10 a. m 1.40 p. m 8.45 a. m 9.11 a. m From shore in Eagle Cove One-fourth mile from shore in Eagle Cove. . . One mile from shore in Eagle Cove — One-fourth mile from Wizard Island One-fourth mile oil' Phantom Ship From shore in Eagle Cove 59' 57 56.5 58 60 55.6 56 62 61. 61 3pm 4 p. Til About 21 miles east of Wizard Island . . . -flo . . . The following intermediate and bottom temperatures were taken, with a Negretti- Zambra deep-sea thermometer tripped by means of a propeller, such as is used by the Albatross in her deep-sea temperature work: Date. Hour. Station . Depth. Temper- ature. 1896. Aug. 20 11 a. ra At bottom 4 mile south of Wizard Island Feet. 43.5 | 20 1. 40 p. in At bottom 4 mile off Phantom Ship 866 44 22 3p.m | A bout 24 miles east of W izard Island 555 39 4 p. m do 1, 040 41 ’ 22 5p.m At bottom 2J miles east of Wizard Island 1,623 46 The vertical series taken on August 22, at a station about 2^ miles east from the southeast corner of Wizard Island, proved of very great interest. The surface tem- perature was 01°; at 555 feet it was 39°; at 1,040 feet 41°; and at 1,623 feet, which was at the bottom, 46°. In all other American lakes, so far as known, the coldest water in summer is always at the bottom. The effect of the sun in heating the water of lakes does not ordinarily reach to any great depth. Observations recently made upon Lake Champlain by Prof. George C. Whipple and our own observations made in 1896 upon Alturas and Wallowa lakes showed that the sun’s heat did not much affect the temperature of the water beyond a depth of 100 feet. If there be no error in the above observations, it seems that the waters of Crater Lake are still receiving heat from the rock upon which they rest. The heat of the old volcano has not entirely disappeared. The coldest water is neither at the surface nor at the bottom, but at some intermediate depth. The results of these observations^are so unexpected, and the indicated conditions are so unusual, that the matter should receive further attention. The only possible source of error which has yet suggested F. C. 13. 1897-5 66 BULLETIN OF THE UNITED STATES FISH COMMISSION. itself is that the propeller may not always have worked properly. It is possible (though improbable) that in some cases, when beginning to haul up the thermometer the propeller failed to reverse until some moments later, in which case the temperature reading would be for some depth other than the one desired. The observations should be carefully repeated before the conclusions suggested are accepted. During the trip of the Mazama party from Ashland to Crater Lake and return a good many temperature observations were made. All of these possess a certain value and it has been thought proper to record them in this connection. The air temperatures were all in the shade unless otherwise stated. The instrument used was a Wilder protected thermometer. Miscellaneous temperatures recorded on the Crater Lake trip, August 13 to 26, 1896. 2.00 p. m. 4.00 a. m. 9.42 a. m. 11.30 a. m. 4.40 a. m. 12.30 p. m. .do .... ....do .... do ...do .... 2.14 p. m. 10.20 l Hunt’s ranch, 4,400 feet elevation. do Camp at Lake of the Woods. do Creek on way to Moun t Pitt. Spring on creek on way to Mount Pitt. C amp onsideofMount Pitt. Summit of Mount Pitt, 9,760 feet. Summit of Mount Pitt, 9,760 feet, in sun. Camp returning from Mount Pitt. Large spring at Peli- can Bay. Small spring at Peli- can Bay. Creek 100 yards helow spring at Pelican Bay. Creek 400 yards below spring at Pelican Bay. Creek at entrance of Pelican Bay. Air in shade at Peli- can Bay. do Crane Creek camp, 3,900 feet. do Creek at Crane Creek camp. 54 42.75 43 43.5 44. 75 45.5 47 Hour. Station. 5.00 a. m. Creek at Crane Creek camp. ....do Air at Crane Creek camp. 8.30 a. m. Wood River at. bridge. 6.30 p. m. Camp 2J miles from Crater Lake, 6,100 feet. 5.25 a. m. do 1.20 p. m. Camp Mazama, Crater Lake, 7,185 feet. 3.00 p. m. Small stream on trail down to lake. 11.00 p. m. Camp Mazama 6.00 a. m. do 12.00 m. do 10.00 p. m. do 6.00 a. m. -do do 2.30 p. m. do 8.00 p.m. do 10.20 p. m. do 6.00 a. m. do 9.00 a. m. do 4.00 p.m. do 7.35 a. m. .... do 9.00 a. m. Camp Mazama, Cathe- dral Spring. 12.20 p.m. Camp Mazama 3.00 p.m. do 9.00 p. m. do 5.00 a. m. do 9.00 p.m. Rogue River camp, 2,300 feet elevation. 5.50 a. m. Rogue River camp 9.00 p.m. Jackson’sranch camp, 1,300 feet. 6.00 a.m. Jackson’s ranch camp . Life of Grater Lalte. — Crater Lake contains no fishes; lakes without inlets or outlets seldom or never do, for fishes naturally get into one body of water only by swimming to it from some other body of water with which it is connected. Fishes never appear de novo in any lake or stream; if they appear there at all it is because they can swim there from some other lake or stream. Breaks in water continuity, or even considerable falls, are absolute barriers beyond which fishes can not go. So with Crater Lake; it has never had any inlet or visible outlet connecting it with any other body of water in which fishes are found and through which fishes might reach it. . Mammals and birds excepted, only 3 species of vertebrates were found within-the rim of Crater Lake, viz, a snake, a frog, and a salamander. The snake is the small-headed striped snake, Thamnophis leptocephalus (Baird & Girard). Two specimens were obtained on Wizard Island. It was not seen elsewhere. SALMON INVESTIGATIONS IN COLUMBIA RIVER BASIN IN 1896. 67 One frog, 1 tana aurora Baird & Girard, was also obtained on Wizard Island. Others were seen about the spring below the camp. The salamander is Amblystoma macrodactylum Baird. It is by far the most abundant and most interesting vertebrate occurring at Crater Lake. Our first specimens were found on the shore under Bed- cloud Cliffs, where we found it to be exceedingly abundant. It was afterwards found in considerable numbers along the shore in Eagle Cove and a few were obtained about Wizard Island. More than a hundred specimens were collected and many more could have been obtained. The majority of the individuals seen were adults, only 4 or 5 still retaining the external gills were seen. These salamanders were found under the rocks just above the edge of the water of the lake. Sometimes as many as a dozen or fifteen were found under a single flat stone. These three species are not uncommon throughout western Oregon and Washington. Invertebrate life was found to be fairly abundant, and a few plants were found. By using fine-meshed surface towing nets considerable collections were made. The following is a list of the species obtained : PLANTS. Algol : Nostoc sp. ? Colonies common. Melosira granulata . Not common. Pleurosigma sp. ? Several specimens. Surirella sp. 1 Not common. ANIMALS. Crustacea : Cyclops albidus. Not common. Cyclops serrulatus. Not common. Daphnia pulex pulicaria. Very abundant. Allorclxestes dentata. Not common. lnsecta : Chironomus sp. ? Larvae. Very common. Ephemerid larvae. Common. Limnophilus or caddis fly. Very abundant. These crustaceans and insect larva? are all excellent food for trout, and were found in considerable abundance, particularly in Eagle Cove. The small eutomostracan, Daphnia pulex pulicaria, was the most abundant species, and large numbers could be seen during favorable afternoons swimming at the surface in Eagle Cove. The three other species of crustaceans seemed far less abundant. Caddis-fly cases were very abundant on the under sides of rocks lying in the edge of the water. A small black leech was quite common on the rocks in Eagle Cove and about Wizard Island. The small gastropod ( Physa ) was found about Wizard Island in limited numbers, a species of water-beetle ( Dytiscus ) was pretty common, and a single specimen of Gordius , or hair snake, was found near the shore of the island. There are no water-plants of any size in the lake. On the rocks about Wizard Island the gelatinous masses of colonies of Nostoc were common. A number of speci mens of the diatom, Pleurosigma, were obtained in the towing net, and a few specimens of two other algae were secured. Summing up the matter, it may be said that while the conditions at Crater Lake are not the most favorable to fish-life, there seems to be no reason why trout in limited numbers might not thrive in it. The water is all that could be desired as to purity and temperature, but the depth is so uniformly great that only small areas of bottom suitable for spawning-beds are found. The entire absence of all other fish -life and the ANIMALS— Continued. lnsecta — Continued. Laccophilus larva?. Not common. Deronectes striatellus. Common. Dytiscus sp. ? Not rare. Vermes : Gordius sp. ? One specimen obtained. A species of leech. Not common. Mollusca : Physa sp. ? Not common. Batrachia: Amblystoma macrodactylum. Rana aurora. Reptilia : Thamnopliis leptocephalus. 68 BULLETIN OF THE UNITED STATES FISH COMMISSION. very limited vegetation supported by tbe lake reduce the food supply almost wholly to small free-swimming crustaceans and insect larva}. Both are present in considerable abundance, but probably not in sufficient quantities to support a large number of fishes. On the other hand, fishes planted in this lake will have no rapacious fishes with which to contend; the struggle will, therefore, be wholly with the physical environment and the food supply. It has, therefore, been recommended that a plant of trout be made in Crater Lake, and it is hoped that the Mazamas who visit the lake hereafter may make observations to determine the result of the experiment. The best species to plant is the black-speckled trout of Lake Tahoe, Salmo mylciss henshawi. LIST OF FISHES. In the following list of fishes we give only those species of which specimens were obtained by us during the investigations of 1896. In the nomenclature and sequence of species we follow Jordan & Evermann’s Check-List,* recently published: 1. Entosphenus tridentatus (Gairdner). Three-toothed Lamprey. A specimen, 18 inches long, was obtained July 23 in Alturas Inlet, 1 mile above the lake, and several larvae were dug out of the sand at the head of the lake July 25. Comparing the large specimen with one 24 inches long, obtained by Mr. Williams at Big Payette Lake, some important differences are noted. In the Payette example the dorsal fins are separated by a space equal to one-third the length of the base of the anterior fin, while the Alturas example has the dorsals scarcely separated. The fins are also much higher in this specimen, the height of the anterior dorsal being contained 3f times in head, measured to first gill-opening, or If times in the height of the second. The infraoral lamina has 5 cusps; the supraoral has 3, the middle one being much smaller than the other two; the buccal teeth before the mouth are unicuspid ; on each side of the oral opening are 4 teeth, the anterior and posterior ones of which are bicuspid, while the other two are tricuspid. The arrangement of the teeth does not differ materially from that in the Payette specimen. The larvae range from If to 3f inches in total length. In all of these the dorsal fin is continuous, though deeply incised. An example lOf inches long was found attached to a chub in Upper Klamath Lake, November 10. 2. Acipenser medirostrin Ayres. Green Sturgeon. Common near the mouth of Siuslaw River ; several taken in a seine near Acme in September, measuring about 18 inches each in total length. At Gardiner, near the mouth of the Umpqua, a good many large sturgeon, probably A. transmontanus, were taken in November and December. 3. Pantosteus jordani Evermann. Western Blach Sucker. During the season’s work this sucker was found only in Wallowa Lake, Oregon. Two small specimens were obtained in the upper end of the lake August 24. 4. Catostomus tsiltcoosensis, new species. Type No. 48479, U. S. Nat. Mus. ; cotypes No. 38, U. S. F. C., and No. 5703, L. S. Jr. Univ. Mus. Type locality: Tsiltcoos Lake, Lane County, Oregon, where numerous specimens were obtained December 2, 1896, by Dr. Meek. Apparently most closely related to C. occidental is Ayres. Head 4f; depth 5; eye 6f in head; snout 2; D. 13; A. 7; scales 13-65-8, 34 before the dorsal. Pectoral If in head; longest dorsal ray If; base of dorsal If; longest anal ray If; ventral If. Body rather slender, subterete; head small, snout long and pointed; mouth inferior, overhung by the pro- jecting snout; lips rather thin, one row of large papillae on upper lip, and about 2 irregular rows of smaller ones behind or inside of it; lower lip incised nearly to base, 1 or 2 rows of small papillae across the isthmus ^ lobes of lower lip moderately long and thin, the bases with papillae merging into plications toward the tips. Eye quite small, the anterior edge of orbit at middle of head. Top of head flat or very slightly convex between the eyes. Fins small; pectorals short and rounded; *A Check-List of the Fishes and Fish-like Vertebrates of North and Middle America, in Report U. S. F. C. for 1895 (December 28, 1896), 207-590. SALMON INVESTIGATIONS IN COLUMBIA RIVER BASIN IN 1896. 69 ventrals short, rounded, the middle rays hut little longer than the others; anal small, somewhat pointed ; margin of dorsal slightly concave ; caudal lunate, not deeply forked. Muciferous canals on head not strongly developed. Scales moderately large; lateral line nearly straight, not running upward toward nape. Length of type, 8 inches to base of caudal. The cotypes agree closely with the type in all characters of importance. We have compared our specimens of this species with specimens of C. occidentalis (Fig. 2) from the Sacramento River and find important differences. Comparing examples of the same size, we find that C. tsiltcoosensis has a smaller head, longer, more pointed snout, smaller eye, larger scales, and much smaller fins; the pectorals in C. occidental is are falcate while in this species they are more rounded, and the ventrals also are less pointed. An example of C. occidentalis 9 inches long has the head 4f; depth 5 ; eye5f-; snout 21 ; D. 12; A. 7; scales 13-70-10, 41 before the dorsal. This species is abundant in Tsiltcoos Lake and Siuslaw River. The specimens from Siuslaw River were obtained in brackish water. 5. Catostomus macrocheilus Girard. Columbia Hirer Sucker; “Yellow Sucker.” Abundant throughout entire Columbia River basin ; obtained this year from Alturas and Wallowa lakes, in both of which it is abundant. It seems not to occur in Siuslaw River, nor in lakes of that part of Oregon. Five specimens from Lake Union near Seattle, and one from Lake Washington at Seattle. 6. Catostomus snyderi Gilbert. One obtained from an Indian at the mouth of Williamson River, November 5. This species was caught, along with Chasmistes copei and Chasmistes stomias, in the small trap or basket nets which the Indians were using at that place. Three small specimens, 2f to 4f inches long, were taken in the seine at the south end of Upper Klamath Lake November 10, and two others, 2 and 2£ inches long, respectively, in a slough at Pelican Bay November 3. No large examples seen in shallow water. 70 BULLETIN OF THE UNITED STATES FISH COMMISSION. The Klamath Lake Catostomus has been identified, by all who have had occasion to mention it, with C. labialus Ayres, upon the supposition that the type of Ayres’s species came from Klamath Lake. But Ayres plainly states'1 that it came from Stockton, California. As only'oue species of this genus is found in San Joaquin River, C. labiatus becomes a synonym of C. occidentalis, and the Klamath Lake species is left without a name, a fact first pointed out by Mr. J. O. Snyder, for whom the fish has been recently named by Dr. Gilbert. t The type specimen upon which Dr. Gilbert based his description is less than 8 inches long. As the one which we have from the mouth of Williamson River is much larger (length, 144- inches) and shows some slight differences, we describe.it fully as follows: Head 4f; depth 4; eye 6f in head; snout 2f; maxillary 3f ; mandible 2'-- ; interorbital 2| ; width of mouth 34 in head, more than half length of snout ; greatest width of lower lip f diameter of eye; D. ii, 11; A. 7; scales 13-70-11. Body rather slender ; head long, mouth moderate, horizontal; lips thick papillose, the upper with about 4 or 5 rows of papill®, lower with about 7; lower lip divided nearly to base, leaving only one row of papilhe crossing the symphysis; premaxillary not much projecting and not forming a prominent hump ; maxillary rather short, not reaching vertical at front of anterior nostril; eye equally distant between snout and poste- rior edge of opercle; mucous canals on head forming raised ridges, the pores conspicuous. Fins mod- erate; origin of dorsal a little nearer snout than base of caudal, sixth spine over insertion of ventrals; pectoral If in head, reaching slightly more than two-thirds distance to ventrals ; ventrals not quite reaching vent, the seventh ray longest, If in head; anal long, pointed, reaching to base of caudal, 1£ in head. Scales crowded anteriorly, about 32 transverse rows in front of dorsal, strongly ridged, the margins crenate. 7. Chasmistes stomias Gilbert. One specimen, 15 inches long, obtained from an Indian at Klamath Falls, November 11. Head 44; depth 4f ; eye 7 ; snout 2f ; maxillary (measured from free end to tip of snout) 34; mandible 24; D. ii, 11; A. i, 7; scales 13-85-10; interorbital width 2f ; vertical depth of head at mandibular articulation 2).. Head small, body heavy forward, the back strongly and regularly arched from snout to origin of dorsal fin, thence declined in a nearly straight line to base of caudal; ventral surface nearly straight. Premaxillary spines strongly protruding, forming a prominently projecting snout ; mouth rather small, inclined upward at an angle of about 40°, maxillary scarcely reaching vertical from front of anterior nostril ; width of mouth If in snout or 4f in head ; upper lip thin, without papillae ; lower lip thin, interrupted at the symphysis, forming narrow lateral lobes the width of which is about 2f times in their length ; faint indications of a few papillae ; mucous canals forming ridges, the pores conspicuous; gill-rakers long, narrowly triangular at the tip when viewed from behind, densely tufted on the anterior edge; fontanelle narrow, its length 2f in the snout, its width about y its length. Fins all large ; the origin of the dorsal a little nearer tip of snout than base of caudal, the sixth ray over base of ventral, its base If in head, the free edge nearly straight, the last ray If in the first, which is If in head; pectorals scarcely falcate, reaching a little more than two-thirds distance to base of ventrals, their length If in head; ventrals long, reaching vent, the rays gradually increasing in length from the outer to the seventh and eighth, which are longest, the ninth and tenth being but slightly shorter, the length of the longest ray If in head or about f longer than the first; anal long and pointed, the fourth ray longest, reaching base of caudal, If in head; each ray of anal fin with 8 to 12 strong tubercles; caudal lobes about equal, their length 1| times the middle ray. This specimen agrees with Dr. Gilbert’s type,} with which we have compared it. In the type the mouth is rather more oblique, the maxillary is slightly longer, and the anal fin is longer. 8. Chasmistes copei, new species. Klamath Indian name “ Tsivam.” Type No. 48224, U. S. N. M. (collectors’ No. 871), a specimen 16 inches long. Type locality: Northwest part of Pelican Bay, Upper Klamath Lake, Oregon ; collected (in gill net) November 6, 1896, by Messrs. S. E. Meek and A. B. Alexander. Head 3f; depth 4; eye 6f; snout 24 ; maxillary (measured from free end to tip of snout) 3; mandible 2f ; D. ii, 10; A. i, 7; scales 13-80-12; interorbital width 2f ; vertical depth of head at man- dibular articulation 2f. Head large, cheek very deep, the depth equal to distance from tip of snout to nostril ; body stout, back scarcely elevated, caudal peduncle rather short and stout ; ventral surface somewhat convex. Premaxillary spines less protruding than in C. stomias, not forming a prominent *Proc. Cal. Ac. Nat. Sci., i, 1855, 33. tBull. U. S. F. C. 1897, 3. t Described in Bull. U. S. F. C. 1897, 5, with figure. SALMON INVESTIGATIONS IN THE COLUMBIA RIVER BASIN IN 1896. 71 hump ; mouth large, inclined upward at an angle of 45°, maxillary not nearly reaching vertical at front of anterior nostril; width of mouth If in snout, or 4 in head; upper lip thin, without papilla;; lower lip thin, entirely without papilhe, interrupted at symphysis, forming rather broad lateral lobes; pores on head very conspicuous; gillrakers larger than in C. stomias, broadly triangular at tip when viewed from behind, densely tufted on anterioredge, each appendage more or less bifid and club shaped, closely resembling those of C. liorus; fontanelle narrow, its length in snout, width one-fifth its length. Fins all small ; origin of dorsal a little nearer snout than base of caudal, its sixth ray over base of ventrals, free edge straight, base 2-f in head, last ray a little less than 2 in first, which is 2 in head; pectorals somewhat falcate, reaching slightly more than half distance to ventrals, their length If in head; ventrals very short, reaching only two-thirds distance to vent, free end nearly straight; outer ray longest, 2f in head ; inner shortest, 3f in head ; anal fin short, bluntly pointed, not reaching base of caudal, third and fourth rays longest, If in head; no tubercles on anal rays; caudal lobes equal, length about 1|- times the middle ray. Scales small and crowded anteriorly, about 14 rows downward and backward from front of dorsal to lateral line, 11 vertically upward from base of ventral to lateral line, about 38 oblique series before dorsal; lateral line nearly straight, with about 80 scales. Entire upper parts of head and body, and sides nearly to level of base of pectorals, dark olivaceous ; under parts abruptly whitish or yellowish in alcohol; a dark spot in upper part of axil; dorsal and caudal dark; pectorals dark on inner surface; ventrals and anal plain. From Chasmistes stomias this species is readily distinguished by its larger head, larger, more oblique mouth, less prominent snout, and very small fins. The differences in the fins are very great, particularly in the ventrals, as may be seen in the accompanying illustrations. It differs from C. brevirostris, as characterized by Dr. Gilbert, in its much larger, more oblique mouth, the absence of papilhe on the lips, and shorter fins. We name this species for the late Prof. Edward Drinker Cope, who wrote the first paper on the fishes of Upper Klamath Lake. Six nominal species of suckers have thus far been described from the Klamath Lakes, viz : Chas- mistes luxatus and Chasmistes brevirostris by Cope in 1879; Catostomus rex by Rosa Smith Eigenmann in 1891; Catostomus snyderi and Chasmistes stomias by Gilbert, and Chasmistes copei by Evermann & Meek, the last three in the present Bulletin. Mr. A. Seale has recently taken C. luxatus as the type of his new genus Deltistes, which he bases upon the peculiar structure of the gillrakers. Dr. Gilbert finds that Catostomus rex is a synonym of Deltistes luxatus. As now understood, we therefore know from Upper Klamath Lake one species of Catostomus, one of Deltistes, and three of Chasmistes. 9. Mylocheilus caurinus (Richardson). Columbia Chub. Obtained from Little White Salmon River, Lakes Washington and Sammamish at Seattle, and Lake Pend d’Oreille at Hope, Idaho. Abundant early in September in lagoon at mouth of Little White Salmon River, and seen in considerable numbers at steamboat landings between Portland and The Dalles. It does not occur in the Redfish Lakes in Idaho, nor has it been recorded from Wallowa Lake, nor from any of the streams or lakes south of the mouth of the Columbia. 72 BULLETIN OF THE UNITED STATES FISH COMMISSION. 10. Ptychocheilus oregonensis (Richardson). Squawfish; Yellowlelly. This large minnow is abundant throughout the Columbia River basin except the portion above Shoshone Falls. In Montana, and perhaps elsewhere, it is called “squawfish”; at Sawtooth, Idaho, it is known only as “yellow belly”; at Mapleton, Oregon, “chub” was the only name heard applied to it; while at Tsiltcoos Lake it was called “ dace.” Specimens obtained from Lakes Alturas, Pend d’Oreille, Gamlin, Washington, Tsiltcoos, Whoahink, and Tahkenitch, and from Siuslaw River. One was taken on a set line in Whoahink Lake, at a depth of 78 feet, on December 3. Scale and fin formulas and comparative measurements of specimens of P. oregonensis from Lalce Washington . Length in inches. Head. Depth. Eye. Snout. Dor- sal. Anal. Scales. Length in 1 inches. Head. Depth. Eye. Snout. Dor- sal. Anal. Scales. 7. 25.. 3. 64 5.33 5.60 1.80 10 9 76 5. 25 3 7g 5. 00 5. 00 1.42 10 9 77 7. 75.. 3. 67 5. 00 5. 80 2. 00. 10 9 80 | 5! obi" 3. 60 4. 86 5. 25 1. 67 10 9 74 7. 00.. 3.50 5.00 5. 60 1. 80 10 9 77 4.63... 3.83 4. 75 5. 00 1.67 10 9 76 5. 75.. 3.57 5. 00 5.17 1.67 10 9 74 4.38..: 3.83 . 4.67 4. 67 1. 50 10 9 74 5. 88 . . 3. 44 5. 00 5. 00 1. 50 10 9 74 4. 38... 3.67 4. 67 5.00 1. 50 10 9 77 5. 50.. 3.67 5. 00 5. 00 1.50 10 9 75 3. 17... 3. 60 4. 60 4. 60 1.40 10 9 78 11. Leuciscus bicolor (Girard). Judging from our collections, this is the most abundant minnow in Upper Klamath Lake. About 60 were obtained at the lower end of the lake November 10, and over 100 from a small creek at Pelican Bay November 5. At the time of collecting this species was found in the shallow water of the little creeks and passages among the tules. The largest are 9 to 10 inches long, but only a few exceed 3 inches. Examples 2 to 3 inches long gave the following measurements : Head 4; depthS; eye 3^ to 3|; snout 4f to 44; scales 59; teeth 2, 5-5, 2.' See illustration on page 7 of this Bulletin. 12. Leuciscus siuslawi, new species. Type No. 48480, U. S. N. M., a specimen 5 inches long. Cotypes No. 433 U. S. F. C. ; No. 48231, U. S. N. M., and No. 5702, L. S. Jr., Univ. Mus. Type locality: Siuslaw River at Mapleton, Oregon. Collected September 8, 1896, by S. E. Meek. Head 41; depth 4^; eye 4; snout 3J; maxillary 3f- ; D. ii, 9; A. ii, 12 or 13; scales 11-58-8; teeth 2, 4-5, 2, somewhat hooked. Body rather slender, slightly elevated and somewhat compressed; head small and pointed, cheek not deep; snout pointed, somewhat longer than eye; mouth moderate, somewhat oblique, maxillary just reaching vertical at front of orbit; jaws subequal, the lower sometimes slightly projecting; eye large, not as great as snout. Origin of dorsal fin behind base of ventrals and much nearer base of caudal than tip of snout, the longest ray 14 in head, greater than base of fin; origin of anal fin under Fig. 4 .—Leuciscus siuslawi Evermann & Meek, new species. SALMON INVESTIGATIONS IN THE COLUMBIA RIVER BASIN IN 1896. 73 last dorsal ray but two, its height equal to that of dorsal, its base equal to its longest ray ; free edges of dorsal and anal nearly straight; pectoral 1£ to in head, not reaching insertion of yen trals; ventrals short, 1-j- in pectoral, reaching anus; caudal deeply forked ; lateral line complete, decurved; color in spirits, brownish or olivaceous above, middle of side with a broad dark band involving the lateral line anteriorly and posteriorly, but lying chiefly above it mesially; middle of side from gill opening to beneath dorsal fin with a broad rosy band, following closely beneath the lateral line; lower part of sides and under parts silvery, dusted over with fine dark specks; a light yellowish band extending backward from upper posterior border of eye nearly halfway to origin of dorsal fin; cheek with a silvery or golden crescent; top of head dark; opercles dusky silvery ; snout dusky; fins plain, dorsal and caudal somewhat dusky. Numerous specimens were obtained in the Siuslaw River and one from Tsiltcoos.Lake. At Mapleton both this minnow and PtychocUeilus oregonensis are known as “chub,” while on the lakes south of Florence they are called “dace.” It is probably common in these lakes, but a single specimen only was obtained there. Compared with Leuciscus balieatus, which our specimens most closely resemble, the latter are seen to have smaller anal and dorsal fins, a more slender body, smaller and more slender head, and longer, more pointed snout. The extent of variation in proportional measurements and in the number of anal fin rays appears to be much less than in L. balieatus. This species also resembles Leuciscus cooperi of Girard. In the type of L. cooperi (No. 238, U. S. N. M.) the lower jaw is notably shorter and the snout more pointed. In the following statement will be found measurements of a number of specimens from Siuslaw River, Mapleton, Oregon : Total length Head. Depth. Eye. Suout. Dor- sal. Anal. Scales. Total length Head. Depth. Eye. Snout. saL Anal. Scales. \ Inches. 5.75 4. 20 4.17 3. 50 9 13 11-58-7 Inches. 4. 50 4. 00 3. 83 3.50 3. 50 7 12 10-60-7 5.50 4.00 4.00 4’. 00 3. 60 8 11 12-59-7 4.50 4. 00 4. 00 3. 80 3. 50 9 12 10-59-7 5.50 4.00 4. 17 4. 00 3. 60 9 13 10-59-7 4.50 4. 00 4. 40 3. 40 3. 80 9 12 10-61-7 5.50 4. 17 4.17 4. 00 3.60 9 13 12-64-6 4. 50 4. 00 3. 80 3. 80 3. 75 9 13 10-59-7 5. 25 4. 00 4. 00 4. 00 3. 75 g 12 12-60-7 4. 25 4. 00 4. 00 3. 60 3. 80 9 11 10-63-6 | 5.00 4. 00 3.80 3. 50 3. 60 g 13 12-60-7 4. 00 4. 00 4. 00 3.20 4. 00 9 13 10-61-7 4.50 4. 00 4. 17 3. 50 3. 50 9 13 12-64-6 The anal fin rays were counted in 16 additional specimens with the following results, the average for the total 29 specimens being 121 : 13. Leuciscus balteatus (Richardson). Abundant throughout the Columbia River basin except above Shoshone Falls. Specimens obtained from Alturas, Pend d’Oreille, Gamlin, and Washington lakes. The variation in the number of anal fin rays of specimens from these localities is shown in the following table. The length is measured from tip of snout to base of caudal fin. The last ray, though usually deeply divided, is counted as one. There are usually two rudimentary rays at front of fin, which are not counted. Of 30 specimens from Gamlin Lake, 1 has 13 rays, 7 have 15, 14 have 16, 4 have 17, and 4 have 18, the average being 16 rays. Of 10 specimens from Lake Washington 5 have 14 rays, 3 have 15, 1 has 16, and 1 has 18, the average being 15 rays. 74 BULLETIN OF THE UNITED STATES FISH COMMISSION. Table showing variation in the number of rays in the anal fin in Leuciscus balteatus. 14. Rutilus bicolor (Girard). Numerous specimens obtained in a slough at Pelican Bay and others at the south end of Upper Klamath Lake. Some were caught in a gill net, others in a small dip net, such as is used by Klamath Indians; a few were taken on a set line, but the majority were obtained by means of a small seine, in small sloughs or lagoons at the south end of Upper Klamath Lake. It seems to be one of the most abundant species occurring in the lake. The largest measure about 9 inches in total length. There does not appear to be much variation in the number of scales or fin rays, or in proportional measure- ments, as is shown in the following table. The Indians use this species for bait when fishing for trout near Klamath Falls, the average length of those thus used being about 4 inches. It is caught in large numbers in dip nets in the edge of the tules. This species is figured on page 8 of this Bulletin. Table showing variation in 13 specimens of Rutilus bicolor from Upper Klamath Lake, Oregon. 15. Rhinichthys dulcis (Girard). One specimen from Wallowa Lake. The origin of the dorsal is midway between tip of snout and base of caudal peduncle. 16. Agosia klamathensis, new species Type No. 48225, U: S. N. M. ; cotypes No. 5704, L. S. Jr. Univ. Mus. and No. 451, U. S. F. C. Type locality at mouth of the small creek which flows into the arm of Upper Klamath Lake called Pelican Bay, where numerous specimens were collected November 3, 1896, by Dr. Seth E. Meek and Mr. A. B. Alexander. Length of type 2\ inches, measured to last caudal vertebra. Close to Agosia nubila. An examination of a large series of specimens of Agosia from Upper Klamath Lake and a comparison of them with specimens of A. nubila from various localities show the fish from this lake to possess certain characters which serve to distinguish it from typical A. nubila. While the differences are slight, they are plainly evident and must be recognized, and we therefore describe this form as a new species. Head 4; depth 44 ; eye 44 in head; snout 34. D. i, 8; A. i, 7; scales about 14-78-10 (average, 73 in 49 specimens). SALMON INVESTIGATIONS IN THE COLUMBIA RIVER BASIN IN 1896. 75 Body robust, subcylindrical, back somewhat elevated ; snout rather long, mouth inferior, little oblique, the lower jaw included; maxillary not reaching front of orbit; upper lip without frenum ; barbel present, but small. Lateral line incomplete, interrupted in many places, about 30 pores devel- oped. Origin of dorsal fin midway between front of pupil and base of caudal fin; pectorals rather short, reaching about three-fourths the distance to base of ventrals ; ventrals reaching vent ; anal large, its longest ray 11 in head; caudal widely forked. Color in alcohol, olivaceous, mottled and blotched with darker on back and sides ; under parts pale; an obscure pale streak from eye to base of caudal fin, below which is a broad dark band; dorsal, pectorals, and caudal dusky ; other fins plain ; a black blotch at base of caudal. An examination of the 48 specimens which we designate as cotypes shows all the important char- acters to be fairly constant. The barbel is in a few cases obscure or possibly absent. The number of scales in a transverse line varies from 68 to 78, the average being 73. The lateral line is in all cases incomplete, though in different degrees; sometimes it is continuous for only 6 or 8 scales, after which there are several interruptions and only 8 to 10 more pores ; in others there are 20 to 30 pores in a continuous series. This form is distinguished from Agosia nubila chiefly by the smaller size of the scales. This difference will appear from an examination of the tabular statement which follows : Table showing number of scales in Agosia nubila and Agosia klamathensis. Locality. No. of specimens examined. Variation in number of scales. Average number of scales. Agosia nubila: Colville River, Meyers Falls 6 52-57 55 Little Spokane Iiiver, Dart's Mill 9 52-63 62 Hangman Creek, Tekoa, Wash 10 51-65 57 Lake Coeur d’Alene 9 61-70 66 Kewaukum River, Chehalis (?) 53-58 55 Boise River, Caldwell-. 56 56 Potlatch Creek, Lewiston 10 60-66 62 Pataha River, Starbuck 9 60-64 62 . Walla Walla River, Wallula 15 47-55 49 Mill Creek, Walla Walla 20 52-61 55 Umatilla River, Pendleton 3 48-58 Columbia River, Umatilla 7 48-57 53 Natchess River, North Yakama (?) 53-58 56 Shookumcliuck River, Chehalis 6 50-57 Agosia klamathensis : Pelican Bay, Upper Klamath Lake 49 68-78 73 17. Clupanodon cagruleus (Girard). California Sardine. Very abundant in Siuslaw River about the cannery wharf at Florence during the canning season. It seems to disappear as soon as the fall rains set in and the river becomes filled with fresh water. The specimens seen were each about 2)£ inches in length. 76 BULLETIN OF THE UNITED STATES FISH COMMISSION. 18. Alosa sapidissima (Wilson). Common Eastern Shad. During the salmon fishing season of 1896 in the Siuslaw River about a dozen shad were taken — one in a salmon gill net near Mapleton about the middle of October, the others in salmon seines at Acme in September and October. The specimen caught near Mapleton is a male 18 inches long and weighing about 2J pounds. The spermaries are hut slightly developed, indicating that the spawning season would he some months earlier than when this fish was taken. Head 4; depth 3; orbit 4J-; snout 4| ; maxillary 2; gill-rakers 35+68 on the left and 36+68 on the right. The first planting of shad on the Pacific coast was made in 1871 by Mr. Seth Green, who liberated about 10,000 fry in the Sacramento River 275 miles above Sacramento. The second plant was made in July, 1873, by Mr. Livingston Stone, who placed 35,000 fry in the Sacramento River at Tehama. Vari- ous subsequent plants have been made by the U. S. Fish Commission in California, all at Tehama, the last plant having been made in 1880. Besides these plants made in the Sacramento River, 60,000 fry were placed in the Willamette River at Portland and 10,000 in Snake River in 1885. In 1886, 550,000 fry were. liberated in the Willamette River at Albany, and 300,000 in the Columbia at Wallula Junc- tion. In 1884, 1885, and 1886, 2,651,000 shad fry were placed in the Colorado River at The Needles, Arizona. No investigation has ever been made for the purpose of determining the result of the plant- ings made in the Colorado River and it is not known whether any of the fry survived. The results from the plants made in California and Oregon, however, are little less than marvelous, as shown by Dr. H. M. Smith in a recent paper. * From the Sacramento and Columbia rivers shad have spread to Los Angeles County, California, on the south, and Wrangell Island, Alaska, on the north. They had spread from San Francisco to the Columbia River as early as 1880, and by 1882 had been taken at various places along the Washington coast. The only passages through which the planted shad could reach the sea are the mouth of the Columbia River and the Golden Gate. From these points they have spread up and down the Pacific coast a distance of more than 1,300 miles. This is greater than its range in latitude on the Atlantic coast. Not only have they spread to these distant points, hut shad have been reported from a number of intermediate places, among which are Monterey Bay, Drake Bay, Klamath River, Rogue River, Umpqua River, Siuslaw River, Fraser River, and the north end of Vancouver Island. These facts in the distribution of the shad on the Pacific coast are of extreme interest and importance as bearing directly upon the belief, still more or less prevalent, that anadromous fishes possess a mysterious geographic instinct which leads them back to the stream in which they were spawned. While the number of shad entering the Columbia and San Francisco Bay is far greater than that for all the other rivers combined, it is nevertheless true that many shad have found their way to other and distant streams. The extent to which this has occurred seems to us fully sufficient to disprove the possession by the shad of any “special geographic instinct.” We believe the same to be true of the various kinds of salmon and other anadromous species. The question is in need of further research, but investigations already made indicate that anadromous fishes, like migrating birds, are guided in their movements by landmarks or other tangible physical features or conditions. The young shad hatched in any given stream go down to the sea, but probably do not ordinarily wander far from the mouth of that particular river. When they become mature, and physiological unrest, due to the development of the reproductive organs, comes on, they begin to search for suitable spawning-beds, and the chances are they will find the river in which they w#re hatched. The majority will find this stream, while those that wandered farthest from its mouth may find others which they will enter. 19. Coregonus williamsoni Girard. Roclcy Mountain Whitefish. Common throughout the Columbia River basin. Specimens obtained from Alturas, Pend d’Oreille, and Wallowa lakes, Des Chutes River at Sherar’s Bridge, and Big White Salmon River. A specimen 10 inches long, taken in the gill net in Alturas Inlet July 27, has the head 5; depth 44 ; eye 4f; snout 3J; maxillary 3jj ; D. 12 ; A. 11 ; scales 86. Another example, a female, 12£ inches long and with well-developed roe, was taken with the hook at Sherar’s Bridge August 30. Head 5; depth 4|; eye 5; snout 3+ maxillary 3jq D. 13; A. 11; scales 88. In this specimen the adipose fin is remarkably large, its base being half length of head, its height 64 in head. This species spawns in October at Big Payette Lake, in Idaho, but the condition of the ovaries of the specimen taken at Sherar’s Bridge indicates a much earlier spawning period. * A Review of the History and Results of the Attempts to acclimatize Fish and other Water Animals in the Pacific States, in Bull. U. S. F. C. 1895, 407. SALMON INVESTIGATIONS IN THE COLUMBIA RIVER BASIN IN 1896. 77 20. Oncorhynchus keta (Walbaum). Dog Salmon. According to Mr. Alexander, this salmon usually commences to run in the southern part of Puget Sound about the middle of October and continues until the first of December. In 1895 and 1896 they were quite numerous. During fall and winter all the small creeks, lagoons, and sloughs near Duwam- ish and Cedar rivers are filled with dog salmon, and boys find great amusement killing them with clubs and stones. In the rivulets by the roadside, where the water is not over 2 or 3 inches deep, dog salmon may be seen trying to get farther upstream. At such times they are in poor condition and no use is made of them. The condition of the dog salmon in January, 1897, was unusually good. These fish were plump in appearance and marked with that brightness which they possess when first coming from the ocean. In the opinion of some of the dealers many of the January (1897) run were fresh from the ocean. Their eggs, like those of the steelhead, showed various degrees of development; most of the fish were well advanced, however. It has been only a few years since it was known that any species other than the steelhead was to be found in Puget Sound during winter, but it is now thought that salmon have always been more or less plentiful in Puget Sound during the winter months — not a heavy run, but enough to supply the local demand. In former years, there being no sale for salmon after the canneries were closed, fishing was almost wholly suspended until the next season. As soon, however, as the experiment of shipping fresh salmon to eastern markets proved a success, a new industry was opened, and fishermen who had hitherto given no thought to winter fishing now began to investigate the waters of Puget Sound out of season, and the result is that a winter fishery of considerable importance has been introduced in Seattle and other places on the sound and is increasing yearly. The steelhead is the most valuable fish for shipment to eastern markets, as it reaches its destination in better condi- tion than other species. 21. Oncorhynchus tschawytscha (Walbaum). Chinook salmon. Very few Chinook salmon came to the headwaters of . Salmon River in 1896, perhaps not over a dozen, where there were about 1,000 in 1895. The number which came to the Wallowa spawning-beds was also very small. Important spawning-beds were found in Little White Salmon River, and con- siderable numbers were found spawning in Big White Salmon River, Eagle Creek, and Tanner Creek. Young chinooks were found in Siuslaw River in considerable numbers and a few were obtained in Lake Washington. Two specimens, 2| and 2§ inches in length, respectively, from the mouth of Big White Salmon agree perfectly with those gotten in 1895 at Alturas Lake. These two specimens were evidently hatched the preceding winter. Nine specimens from the Siuslaw River, caught with hook and line at Florence, October 14, 1896; length, 5, 5J, 6, 64, 6^, 7, 7, 7, and 7i inches respectively. Salmon of this size are very abundant about the cannery wharf during the canning season. They are easily caught with hooks baited with salmon eggs. Two specimens 11J and 11| inches in length from Seattle, Washington, caught December 8, 1896. These specimens were no doubt hatched during the winter of 1894-95. One specimen, 6 inches long, was taken with a seine near the mouth of the Siuslaw River December 9, 1896. It is the same age as the specimens mentioned above from Florence. One small, nearly ripe male, length 18|- inches, from the Siuslaw River at Mapleton, Oregon, was caught on a hook baited with salmon eggs. A few other specimens of the same size were caught in the same way while fishing for trout about October 21. We are informed that it is not uncommon to catch these fish with baited hooks. A few of these small male salmon were seen on the spawning-beds in the North Fork, near Minerva, October 23 and 24. They were mutilated the same as the larger ones, and one was in a dying condition. On September 9 Mr. A. B. Alexander examined 129 Chinook salmon in the Florence cannery; of these 76 were females and 53 were males; 25 of the females and 13 of the males were fully developed. On September 11 he examined 546 chinooks; of these 317 were females and 229 males; 229 females and 110 males were nearly ripe. There were among this number 25 small fish from 18 to 25 inches in length; these were as fully developed as the large ones. During the latter part of September and early part of October, Mr. Alexander examined many chinook salmon at Celilo and obtained much valuable information as to their spawning condition. In one lot of 119 fish examined 57 were males and 62 females ; 34 males and 47 females were nearly or quite ripe, and would have spawned by the 8th or 10th of October. In the following tables is given a record of the fish examined by Mr. Alexander. 78 BULLETIN OF THE UNITED STATES FISH COMMISSION. Chinook salmon taken in fish-wlieels by Mr. I. II. Taffe, Celilo, Oregon, September 18 to 22, 1896. Males. Females. Date. Number. Well de- veloped. Number. Well de- veloped. Total. 1896. Sept. 18 19 10 9 19 8 5 10 6 18 21 18 11 35 26 53 22 12 8 8 6 20 57 34 62 47 1 119 Among the 119 chinook salmon, 13 small ones were found, all males, and their milt as fully developed as that in larger fish. Sometimes the wheels take these fish in considerable numbers. Chinook salmon taken by Mr. F. A. Seufert, at Celilo, Oregon, September 25 to October 13, 1896. In a total of 683 males and 719 females Mr. Alexander found 574 males and 658 females which, in his judgment, were nearly ripe. In other words, 84 per cent of the males and 90 per cent of the females would have spawned between the first and middle of October. These observations indicate that chinook salmon can be obtained abundantly at Celilo by wheels and that if retained a few days they would be ripe enough for stripping. Whether the wheels seriously injure the fish can be determined only after actual experiment with fish so caught. If the wheels do not injure them they can probably be kept until fully ripe in properly constructed retaining boxes or ponds, as was demonstrated by experiments at Mapleton, Oregon. According to Mr. Alexander chinook salmon appear in the lower part of Puget Sound about the 1st of May and continue to increase in numbers until July. Scattering ones are taken, however, throughout the year in all parts of the sound. 22. Oncorhynchus kisutch (Walbaum). Silver salmon. Our collection contains specimens of this species as follows: Three ripe males, one 16 inches in length, caught December 1 in Whoahink Lake, the other two, 16 and 17| inches respectively, December 3, in Tsiltcoos Lake. Specimens of this size and very much smaller were frequently caught in the seine at Acme. Not less than 50 of these were examined. All were males with sexual organs as highly dev eloped as in the larger ones. One large ripe male from Tsiltcoos Lake, caught in a gill net December 3, 1896. Immaculate, back with a bluish tinge, body bright red, mouth much distorted. Locally called “hookbilled silverside.” There is a moderately small form of the silver salmon in the Siuslaw River called blueback, which resemble the true blueback in size, form, and color, but are more spotted. Two specimens, 8f and 10 inches in length respectively, from Tsiltcoos Lake near outlet, December 2, 1896. Back, brownish blue; dorsal, nearly black, darker on posterior part ; pectorals, light brownish ; ventrals, white; anal fin with a dark shade. These specimens were probably hatched during the winter of 1894-95. Two specimens from Seattle, Washington, 104 inches in length. SALMON INVESTIGATIONS IN THE COLUMBIA RIVER BASIN IN 1896. 79 Six mature specimens from Union Lake near Seattle, Washington, 4 males and 2 females. Of the small specimens, no doubt hatched during the winter of 1895-96, our collection contains the following : Two specimens, 2£ and 3| inches in length respectively, hatched during the winter of 1895-96 by Mr. L. E. Bean at Mapleton and retained in a small spring brook until September 9, 1896. One, 3 J inches long, caught in a seine in Siuslaw River below Florence December 8, 1896. Two specimens, 5J and 5f inches respectively, caught with a seine in Tsiltcoos Lake December 1, 1896. All three with parr marks present ; no red on sides ; dorsal, adipose, and caudal tins yellowish ; caudal reddish near tips; pectoral and ventrals yellowish. During the latter part of September and early part of October Mr. Alexander was at Celilo, on the Columbia River, and made some valuable observations upon the silver salmon. He examined a total of 2,268 fish of this species, all of which he found well advanced, indicating to him that they would spawn before the middle of October. Silver salmon examined by Mr. Alexander at Celilo. Male. Female. Date. Num- ber. Well de- veloped. Num- ber. Well de- veloped. Total. Taken in wheels by Mr. Taffe : Sept. 18, 1896 5 2 1 0 6 Sept. 19, 1896 4 2 1 Sept. 21, 1896 9 7 13 8 22 Sept. 22, 1896 11 8 8 6 19 31 21 24 15 55 Taken in seines by Mr. Seufert: Sept. 26, 1896 136 112 149 135 285 Sept. 27, 1896 157 146 186 160 343 Sept. 28, 1896 117 97 123 114 240 Sept. 29, 1896 102 73 115 83 217 Oct. 2, 1896 137 123 166 145 303 Oct. 5, 1896 149 105 144 123 293 Oct. 7, 1896 96 83 127 119 223 Oct. 10, 1896 68 63 78 154 Oct. 13, 1890 49 41 106 91 155 1, Oil 843 1, 202 1, 048 2,213 Silver salmon first appear in the southern end of Puget Sound about the 1st of September, and the run usually lasts until the first or middle of November. A few individuals are taken as late as December, after which few are seen in the sound, but a good many are caught in Duwamish River. 23. Oncorhynchus nerka (Walbaum). Bluebaclc Salmon; “ Redfish “ Sockeye.” The investigations made in Idaho in 1894 and 1895 resulted in settling some of the disputed questions concerning the redfish, but left others still in doubt. The details of the observations made in those years will be found in the reports already published. * A summary of the conclusions reached regarding the life-history of the redfish is given on page 16 of this article. Although no satisfactory evidence was obtained as to the occurrence of the small form anywhere in the stream helow the lakes, this was not considered proof that it does not come up from the sea. So close is its resemblance to the native trout, except at spawning time, that it would probably not attract the attention of anyone, even if seen below the lakes. In order to obtain more definite results in the study of this problem, the redfish lakes of Idaho were again visited in 1896. Camp was established July 11, on Alturas Lake Creek at the crossing of the trail a short distance below Perkins Lake. Gill nets were set in the outlet the same day and were kept set until September 25. These nets were examined from day to day during the entire period of seventy-six days and not a single redfish was caught in them. The water was so high and the current so swift during the first ten days the nets were set that it was impossible to place them so as to wholly obstruct the stream. It is therefore possible that fish may have ascended the stream and passed the nets * A Preliminary Report upon Salmon Investigations in Idaho in 1894, by Barton W. Evermann, Bull. U. S. F. C. 1895, 253-284. A Report upon Salmon Investigations in the Headwaters of the Columbia River, in the State of Idaho, in 1895 ; together with Notes upon the Fishes observed in that State in 1894 and 1895, by Barton W. Evermann, Bull. U. S. F. C. 1896, 149-202, plates 67-72. 80 BULLETIN OF THE UNITED STATES FISH COMMISSION. during that time. This, however, is improbable. Our camp was situated upon the hank of the stream, the water was at all times very clear, and we were able to keep close watch for fish. If any redfish had come up during those ten days it is more than probable they would have been seen by some of us. After July 22 these nets were examined usually about three times each week, and though other fishes, such as yellowbellies, Dolly Yarden trout, suckers, and whitefish, were caught by them, no redfish, either large or small, were taken. But small redfish were in the lake at least as early as July 16, and they began entering the inlet August 3. Between August 3 and August 28 the number in the inlet increased rapidly until the latter date, when 1,569 were counted. The first small redfish seen was caught on a hook in Alturas Lake, just off the inlet, July 16, by Mr. Maddren, while fishing for Dolly Yarden trout. The hook was baited with salmon spawn. This fish was a male 11^ inches in total length, and the stomach contained a small amount of insect larvae. Of the many examples, taken by a gill net in Alturas Inlet on August 6, 9 were examined, only one of which showed any trace of food in the stomach. Twelve specimens, caught with grab-hook in Wallowa Lake about the 1st of September by Mr. J. J. Stanley, were all quite fat, and food was found in the stomachs of all but three. This food consisted chiefly of small crustaceans, a few insect larvae, and some gelatinous alga, probably a Nostoc. Among the fishes from Lake Washington are 5 redfish, 3 of which are 7 to 8 inches long, the other 2 about 4 inches each. These were all collected June 15 by Mr. Alexander. Each contains more or less food in the stomach. Two other small redfish were obtained, which had been taken on the fly by Mr. E. L. Kellogg while fishing in Lake Sammamish about May 15. Whether this fish is anadromous or not is an exceedingly difficult matter to determine. If it comes up from the sea it reaches the lakes much earlier in the summer or spring than has hitherto been sup- posed. The fact that it feeds while in the lakes is now fully established, and it apparently continues to feed almost or quite to the time when it runs into the inlets for spawning. The one with food in its stomach, taken in Alturas Inlet August 6, had just reached the inlet on that night. The specimens from Wallowa Lake were caught in the upper end of the lake near the inlet, which they doubtless would have ascended in a few days. A consideration of small redfish from different localities, as to their size, proves interesting and suggestive. Those from Alturas Lake are larger and much more uniform m size than those from other places. Those from Washington, Stuart, and Nicola lakes are somewhat smaller, while those from Wallowa Lake are much smaller. These differences in size are, in some cases, doubtless due to differences in age, the specimens having been taken earlier at some of the lakes than at others, but the marked difference between the Alturas and Wallowa specimens can not be accounted for on this basis. It is doubtful if any of the Wallowa individuals would have reached even the minimum size of those taken at Alturas Lake. This fact is brought out in the following table. In the first column are given lengths in inches, the length being measured to the tip of the caudal fin ; in the otlmr columns are given the number of fish of each length from the respective lakes named at the head of the columns. Table showing comparative sizes of specimens of the small redfish from different lakes, SALMON INVESTIGATIONS IN THE COLUMBIA KIVER BASIN IN 1896. 81 Table of comparative measurements of small redfish from Alturas and Wallowa lakes. Wallowa Lake. No. Length in inches. Sex. Head. Depth. Eye. Snout. Maxil- lary. Scales. 102 103 104 105 106 107 108 109 110 111 112 113 155 9. 38 8. 50 7.13 7. 00 8. 75 8. 13 o! 00 8. 63 8. 25 8. 63 6.38 5.25 Male.. ...do .. ...do .. ...do .. ...do .. ...do .. ...do .. ...do .. ...do .. ...do .. ...do . ...do .. ...do .. 4. 00 3. 90 4. 00 4. 20 4. 00 4. 00 4. 00 4.00 4. 00 3.83 4. 00. 4. 40 4. 40 4. 00 4.00 4. 00 4. 00 4. 00 4. 00 3.75 4. 00 4. 00 4.00 4. 10 4. 50 4. 50 5.00 5.00 4.67 4.50 4. 75 4. 67 i. 75 4. 50 4. 80 5. 00 4! 33 3! 80 4. 00 4.60 4.00 4. 50 4. 00 4. 50 4. 16 4. 00 4. 00 5. 25 5. 25 1.90 2. 00 1.85 2.00 2. 00 2. 00 2. 00 2. 00 2. 00 2. 00 2. 10 2. 13 130 130 127 128 126 127 120 126 128 122 126 125 124 Alturas Lake. No. Length in inches. Sex. Head. Depth. Eye. Snout. Maxil- lary. Scales. 786 11.50 Male... 4.50 4. 33 4.25 4. 50 2.00 126 788 12. 00 ...do ... 3. 80 4. 00 5. 00 3. 50 1.80 807 12. 50 ...do ... 3.75 4. 00 5.25 3. 33 1.75 803 11. 50 . . .do ... 3. 80 4. 20 5.00 3. 33 1. 80 808 12. 00 Female 4. 13 4.50 4.50 4. 00 2. 00 811 12.25 Male... 4.20 4. 40 5. 00 3. 67 1.83 810 12. 50 ...do ... 3. 80 4. 20 5.20 3. 50 1.80 783 12. 25 ...do ... 3. 75 5. 25 3.25 1. 80 813 11.50 Female 4.17 5.00 4.00 2. 00 Specimen No. 155 was found dead on the shore at head of lake; specimens Nos. 113 and 155 with undeveloped sexual organs. 24. Salvelinus malma (Walbaum). Dolly Varden Trout; Western Charr ; Bull Trout. Obtained in Alturas, Pend d’Oreille, and Wallowa lakes, where it is abundant and affords good sport for the angler. At Alturas Lake during July a great many were caught about the mouth of the inlet and many large examples were taken in Lake Pend d’Oreille. The charr is a voracious fish and preys largely upon other species of fishes. In the stomachs of some of those examined at Lake Pend d’Oreille were numerous specimens of Leuciscus balteatus, Ptychocheilus oregonensis, Myloclieilus eaurinus and Coitus. All of these except M. eaurinus were found in the stomach of one fish. Some specimens from this lake were infested about tho axils by a small crustacean of the genus Lernwopoda. Measurements of a number of specimens of charr are given in the following table: Comparative measurements of charr from the Columbia River Basin. Length in inches. Head. Depth. Eye. Snout. Maxillary. a 12. 50 3. 80 4.80 6.40 4. 00 2. 00 a 18. 50 3.40 6. 00 7. 50 3. 00 1. 60 612. 25 3. 83 5. 00 6. 60 3. 60 1. 85 e 6. 50 4.20 5. 00 5. 25 4. 00 1. 85 c 5. 50 4. 00 4. 75 5. 00 4. 00 2. 00 dll. 50 4. 00 5. 50 7. 00 3. 83 2. 00 dlO. 50 4.00 6. 00 6. 00 3. 83 2.00 dio. 50 3. 83 6. 00 6. 00 3.83 2. 00 dll. 00 3. 75 6. 00 6. 00 4. 00 2.00 tiFrom Alturas Lake, Idaho. c From Wallowa Lake, Oregon. b From Little White Salmon River, Washington. d From Lake Pend d’Oreille, Idaho. 25. Salmo mykiss clarkii Richardson. American Cut-throat Trout. Numerous specimens obtained. Particularly abundant in Lake Washington, Siuslaw River, and the lakes near its mouth, Wallowa and Alturas lakes, Upper Klamath Lake, and in Des Chutes River. A comparison of many specimens indicates that it will be necessary to recognize more species or varieties of Salmo in the northwestern portion of the United States than have hitherto been admitted ; but it seems best to hold the matter open for additional data and consideration. F. C. B. 1897—6 82 BULLETIN OF THE UNITED STATES FISH COMMISSION. 26. Salmo gairdneri Ricliardsou. Sleelhead Trout; “Salmon Trout.'’ Seen in large numbers at Astoria and The Dalles. Not common in the Siuslaw, and only 2 speci- mens obtained in Upper Klamath Lake. While at The Dalles during the last week in September and the first half of October Mr. Alexander examined 4,179 steelheads, of these, 1,531 were males and 2,648 females; 476 males, and 900 females were well developed, and would probably have spawned in four to six weeks. The remaining 2,803, he thinks, would not have spawned until some time in the spring. Sleelhead salmon taken by Mr. I. II. Taffe, at Celilo, September 18 to 22, 1896, and examined by Mr. Alexander. Date. Male. Female. Total. How caught. Number. Well de- veloped. Number. Well de- veloped. In wheel. By spear. Sept. 18,1890 Ill 10 124 15 235 160 75 Sept. 19, 1896 130 28 110 22 240 180 60 Sept. 21, 1896 121 29 366 98 487 192 295 Sept. 22, 1896 159 59 391 164 550 350 200 521 126 991 299 1, 512 882 . 630 Steelhead salmon taken in seines by Mr. F. A. Seufert, at Celilo, September 25 to October 13, 1896. Date. Male. Female. Total. Number. Well de- veloped . Number. Well de- veloped . Sept. 25, 1896 129 22 296 103 425 Sept. 26. 1896 148 28 281 112 429 Sept. 27, 1896 218 91 328 140 546 Sept. 28, 1896 97 44 140 48 237 Sept.. 29. 1890 176 77 234 72 410 Oct. 5, 1896 49 12 50 14 99 Oct. 7, 1896 116 49 181 60 297 Oct. 10, 1890 46 12 81 21 127 Oct. 13, 1896 31 15 66 31 97 1, 010 350 1, 657 , 601 2, 667 Mr. Alexander states that not many steelhead are seen about Seattle until the latter part of Novem- ber or early in December, or about two months after they begin running up the rivers at the northern end of the sound. Daring the early part of January, 1897, a good many were taken near Seattle. They were considered equal in quality to those taken in other parts of the sound. Their eggs were in various stages of development; a few fish were spent, but themajority were well advanced and would have spawned in a short time. 27. Hypomesus pretio'sus (Girard). Nineteen specimens from Sinslaw River at Florence, where it is abundant about the cannery wharf during the canning season. 28. Gasterosteus cataphractus (Pallas). Alaska Stickleback. Found in Siuslaw River at Florence and at mouth of the outlet of Tsiltcoos Lake. Only a few specimens were obtained. 29. Gasterosteus williamsoni microcephalus (Girard). California Stickleback. Many specimens from Tsiltcoos Lake, in which it is quite abundant. A few specimens were obtained in Lake Washington by Mr. Alexander, where it was also obtained in 1892. 30. Siphostoma griseolineatum (Ayres). Pipefish. One specimen, 10f inches in length, from the Siuslaw River near Point Terrace. It was caught in a 7-inch-mesh salmon gill net.. 31. Ammodytos personatus Girard. Sand Lance. One specimen, 3| inches in length, from the Siuslaw River at Florence. Dorsal 60; anal 26. 32. Cymatogaster aggregatus Gibbons. Very abundant in Siuslaw River about the cannery wharf during the canning season. SALMON INVESTIGATIONS IN THE COLUMBIA RIVER BASIN IN 1896 83 33 Cottus asper Richardson. Prickly Bullhead. Nine small specimens collected in Lake Washington, June 15. Head nearly or quite naked, hut entire body except belly uniformly covered with small prickles. 34. Cottus gulosus (Girard) A Cottus which we with some hesitation refer to this species is very abundant in fresh and brackish waters in Siuslaw River and in the lakes south of Florence, and easily caught on a trawl, or with hook and line. Mapleton, Oregon, Siuslaw River, 25 specimens ; Acme, Oregon, South Slough, 1 ; Whoahink Lake, 3; TsiltcoosLake, 20; Tahkenitch Lake, 9; Lake Washington, 1 ; Lake Sammamish, 2. 35. Cottus punctulatus (Gill). One specimen, 2,75 inches long, obtained from the stomach of a bull trout, Alturas Lake, July 16, 1896. Five from Alturas Lake, July 30, 1896. 36. Cottus princeps Gilbert. Cottus prince-pa Gilbert, Bull. U. S. F. C. 1897, 12, with figure. . Eighteen specimens from Pelican Bay, Upper Klamath Lake. Head 31 ; depth 5 ; D. viiorvm 20 or 21; A. 16 to 18; eye 5; snout 4; interorbital width 5f. Ventrals i, 4; lateral line scarcely complete ; anterior portion of body covered with prickles ; posterior part smooth below. Head rather long, pointed ; maxillaries reaching to front of pupil. Color same as in C. leiopomus, which it closely resembles, but from which it differs in the more numerous dorsal and anal rays, the shorter snout, somewhat broader interorbital, and in having the body covered with prickles. 37. Cottus klamathensis Gilbert. Cottus klamathensis Gilbert, Bull. U. S. F. C. 1897, 10, with figure. Head 3J; depth 4J; eye 3|; snout 3£; D. vii, 19; A. 13 or 14; V. i, 4; interorbital width 5; maxillary reaching front of pupil. No teeth on palatines; a single straight preopercular spine, appar ently disappearing in older examples; nostril in distinct tubes; body short, stout; head moderately broad, wedge-shaped anteriorly ; caudal peduncle short, compressed, its greatest width 2 in eye, least depth 1 in eye; gill membranes joined to the isthmus, widely separated; body smooth. Color rather light; body with about 10 obscure irregular vertical blotches, but everywhere covered with minuet brown spots, a V-shaped bar at base of caudal; spinous dorsal with a dark blotch on its posterior portion; soft dorsal profusely covered with fine black specks; caudal faintly barred with dark and lighter. A single small example from the lower end of Upper Klamath Lake. Fig. 6. — Uranidea tenuis F.verniann & Meek, new species. 38. Uranidea tenuis, new species. • TypeNo. 48229, U. S. N. M. ; cotypes No. 5705, L. S. Jr. Univ. Mus., and No. 434, U. S. F. C. Type locality: Lower end of Upper Klamath Lake, near Klamath Falls, Oregon, November 10, 1896. Collectors Meek and Alexander. Length of type, 3 inches, or 3f inches including caudal. Apparently allied to Uranidea marginata. Head 3f ; depth 7; eye 4^; snout 4; V. i, 3; D. vr-i, 17 ; A. 15. Vomer with teeth ; palatines tooth- less. Head long, contracted from eyes forward; snout rather long; body much compressed, very slender; greatest width of caudal peduncle 2^ in eye; least depth of same slightly^ greater than eye; preopercular spine well developed, broad, rather sharp, partly covered by skin, curved upward ; below this two other spines, the anterior one blunt, the other sharp, directed toward lower base of pectoral; post-temporal spine well developed. Bodyr smooth, wholly without prickles or scales; lateral line complete except on caudal peduncle. 84 BULLETIN OF THE UNITED STATES FISH COMMISSION. Color, dark above and on upper three-fourths of sides, pale below ; dorsal fins barred with series of dark dots or blotches ; caudal similarly marked but rather darker; anal light with afew dark blotches; pectorals same as caudal; ventrals plain ; underside of head profusely covered with small, round black specks; muciferous pores on head well developed. Besides the specimen described above we have two others of the same slender style from Pelican Bay, and many others from Pelican Bay, the majority of which are much smaller and less slender. The slender ones are apparently entirely smooth; a ripe female 3 inches long has a few prickles on anterior part of body, while all the smaller ones are pretty well covered with small prickles. 39. Leptocottus armatus Girard Very abundant in Siuslaw River below Acme and easily caught on a trawl or with hook and line. 40. Platichthys stellatus Pallas. California Flounder. Common about the mouths of Siuslaw River and Ten Mile Creek; occasionally taken during the summer as far up the river as Mapleton. Of 11 specimens from Siuslaw River and Ten Mile C?eek, 6 are dextral and 5 are sinistral. Plate 3. Plate 3. MAP SHOWING THE REGION OF WOODS HOLE, MASS. 3.— THE FISHES FOUND IN THE VICINITY OF WOODS HOLE. BV HUGH M. SMITH, Chief of Division of Scientific Inquiry, U. S. Dish Commission. Since the establishment of the United States Commission of Fish and Fisheries in 1871, systematic fish collecting has been carried on at Woods Hole, Massachusetts, by Commission assistants. In the year named, Prof. Spencer F. Baird studied the fish fauna of the region and later published a list of the species then observed which has served as a valuable guide in subsequent investigation. For more than a quarter of a century almost daily observations, based on collec- tions, have been made and recorded, and it may be safely asserted that nowhere else in the United States has such long-continued and comprehensive work of this char- acter been done. The duty of collecting specimens and recording information has fallen chiefly to the lot of Mr. Yinal U. Edwards, of the Fish Commission, to whose assiduous labors the principal additions to the fish fauna are due. The collection of specimens has been done chiefly with flue-meshed bag seines, about 150 feet long, hauled from the shore in harbors and coves and on the beaches in Vineyard Sound and Buzzards Bay. This has been supplemented by the setting of fyke nets in suitable localities, by the employment of surface tow nets and dip nets, and by the use of hand lines. The traps or pound nets of the commercial fisher- men in Buzzards Bay and Vineyard Sound have also been regularly visited and have yielded many interesting specimens. Professor Baird’s “List of fishes collected at Woods Hole”1 has remained the only list of the kind. It gives the names of 121 species taken in 1871, two of which have since been shown to be identical, leaving 120 species known from the region at that time. In the twenty-seven years that have since elapsed the list has been augmented almost annually by one or more fishes and has grown to the large proportions here shown. In the Report of the U. S. Fish Commission for 1882, Dr. Tarleton H. Bean pub- lished a “ List of fishes collected by the U. S. Fish Commission at Woods Hole, Mass., during the summer of 1881.” It mentious about 114 species, but less than half of this number were fishes actually obtained in the vicinity of Woods Hole, the others being- deep-sea or offshore fishes, like the tilefish, pole flounder, and hagfish, brought to the station by exploring vessels. The present list is based on the collections of Woods Hole fishes at the station, in the U. S. National Museum, and at the laboratory of the Fish Commission in Wash- ington, on the yearly records kept by Mr. Edwards, and on personal observations by the writer in 1897. Report U. S. Pish. Commission, 1871-2, pp. 823-827. 86 BULLETIN OF THE UNITED STATES FISH COMMISSION. Partly on account of the systematic collecting, and partly because of the very favorable geographical position of Woods Hole, an unexpectedly large number of lishes have beeu ascertained to inhabit the region as permanent residents, regular seasonal migrants, casual visitants, or stragglers. There is probably no other locality in the United States, with the exception of southern Florida, in which so many species have been detected. Excluding the fresh- water fishes, more than 200 species have been obtained at Woods Hole. The section is interesting as marking the northern limit of distribution of many common fishes, and, on the other hand, the southern limit of a number of northern species. The most striking feature of the fauna is the extent to which species character- istic of the West Indies or Florida are represented. This enrichment of the fauna is directly traceable to the Gulf Stream, which is within about 100 miles of Woods Hole. Most of the southern fishes are very young, the adults of many species being either entirely absent or quite rare; and it is apparent that their presence in the waters of southern Hew England is involuntary. Falling within the influence of the Gulf Stream, the small fishes are passively carried northward. A common medium of transfer is tbe gulf-weed or sargasso- weed ( Sargassum bacciferum ), under which the fishes congregate for protection. The patches of floating weed are often of large size, affording ample shelter and at the same time furnishing food to the fishes beneath and among them. Winds from the south, southeast, east, or northeast dislodge the weed from the Gulf Stream and distribute it along the shores of the United States. The configuration of the shore of southern Flew England forms a kind of huge pocket in which the drift is concentrated, in Buzzards Bay and Vineyard Sound, from a wide expanse of sea. The weed appears in this section every year and is distributed by winds and tides in Buzzards Bay and Vineyard Sound. It is most abundant after southerly winds. The fishes which it shelters gradually become dispersed in the inshore waters as the weed is driven ashore or dies and sinks. There is every reason to believe that practically all the young fishes which do not get out of the Gulf Stream before it has ascended very far along the east coast of the United States must inevitably perish, since their small size makes their return to southern waters almost impossible. Those which are blown ashore on the Middle and North Atlantic coasts in spring, summer, and early fall doubtless find the surface water not uncongenial, and survive until winter, while those which are carried out of the Gulf Stream in winter must very quickly succumb to the cold. The Gulf Stream is, in fact, a great highway along which a continuous body of fish and other animals, in infinite variety, is being carried from their natural habitat in the south to almost certain destruction in the north. During July, 1897, there was an unusual p revalence of southerly, southeasterly, and southwesterly winds. Toward the end of the month the weed drifted into Vine- yard Sound and Buzzards Bay in large quantities, and was distributed by the tide in long, straggling lines. To this circumstance may be attributed the capture during the subsequent summer and fall months of a number of fishes that were either very rare or wholly unknown in the region heretofore. On July 24, in the course of two hours, 15 species were obtained in gulf-weed off Great Harbor, by means of small dip nets operated from a sailboat. Among these were the marbled angler ( Pterophryne ldstrio ), Bermuda chub ( Kyphosus sectatrix ), log perch (Palinurichthys perciformis), rudder-fish ( Seriola zonata ), dolphin ( Coryphcena hippurm), trigger-fish (Balistes vetula), sobaco FISHES FOUND IN THE VICINITY OF WOODS HOLE. 87 ( GantMdermis asperrimus), and filefish (Moncicantlms liispidus). A single piece or mass of gulf- weed was sometimes found to harbor a number of species of fishes. The information hereafter presented consists of the following parts: I. Annotated list of fishes known to inhabit the Woods Hole region. II. Fishes of the Woods Hole region not previously reported so far north or south. III. Fishes obtained in the Woods Hole region which have not yet been found elsewhere on the United States coasts. IY. Fishes recorded from adjacent localities which may be looked for near Woods Hole. V. Fresh water fishes collected in the vicinity of Woods Hole. A map is appended covering the region within a radius of about 25 miles of Woods Hole and showing the places referred to in the accompanying lists. The visits of many biological students annually to Woods Hole and the continu ation of systematic collecting by the Commission warrant the expectation of a number of additions to the fish fauna in the next few years. The use of a small purse seine offshore in Vineyard Sound and Buzzards Bay and the employment of a small beam trawl on suitable bottom in the same waters will undoubtedly result in bringing to light fishes new to the region. That there is still something to be learned regarding the fish life of this section maybe readily inferred from the outcome of the collections in 1897, when, f wenty-six years after systematic work was begun, live species, including one species new to science, were added to the list. This paper is presented chiefly as a basis for future inquiry; it contains but little information concerning the fishes mentioned, with the exception of a statement of their abundance and the times when they are found. The daily observations that have been made regarding the fishes of the region, supplemented by meteorological data and the very valuable fish cultural records of the station, afford material for a comprehensive account of the fish fauna which it is hoped will shortly be prepared. 88 BULLETIN OF THE UNITED STATES FISH COMMISSION. I.— ANNOTATED LIST OF FISHES KNOWN TO INHABIT THE WOODS HOLE REGION. In the following list there are arranged in systematic order, by families, all species of fishes known to have been found in the vicinity of Woods Hole. In nomenclature and sequence of species, the “Check List of the Fishes and Fish-like Vertebrates of North and Middle America” 1 has been followed. The local names which the fishes bear in this region are indicated by means of quotation marks. The existence in collections of specimens from this section is for convenience and brevity designated for each species by means of signs; an asterisk (*) referring to the fish collection of the U. S. National Museum in Washington, a dagger (t) to the local museum of the Fish Commission at Woods Hole, and a section mark (§) to the laboratory of the Fish Commission at Washington. The fishes enumerated represent 88 families, 160 genera, and 209 species. The families having a noteworthy mtmber of species are the Clupeidaz, 9 species; the Scombridce, 11 species; the Carangidce , 18 species; the Sciwnidce, 7 species; and the Gadidce, 9 species. PETROMYZONIDiE. The Lampreys. 1. Petromyzon marinus Linnaeus. Great Sea Lamprey ; “Lamprey Eel”; “ Lumper Eel.” (* t; Not abundant. Taken in traps in Buzzards Bay in May and June. GALEID.33. The Requiem Sharks. 2. Mustelus canis (Mitchill). Smooth Dogfish ; “Dogfish”; “ Switchtail.” (* t) Very abundant from about June 1 to November. Feeds mostly on crabs. The largest examples are 5 feet long, the usual length being 3 feet. 3. Galeocerdo tigrinus Miiiler & Henle* Tiger Shark; “ Spotted Shark.” (*) Present every year in variable abundance, and caught in traps in Vineyard Sound and Buzzards Bay. The last species of shark to appear in this region, rarely coming before August. It remains until October. Usual length, 5 feet. 4. Prionace glauca (Linnoeus). Great Blue Shark. (*) Very rare, apparently only one having been taken; this was obtained from a trap in July, 1877. 5. Carcharhinus obscurus (LeSueur). Dusky Shark; “Shovel-nose.” (* t) Very common, but less so than the sand shark. Taken in traps and on lines fished from wharves. Comes about June 1 and remains through a part of November. The largest observed here^are 12 to 14 feet long; the average are 8 or 9 feet, and the smallest are 24 feet. 6. Carcharhinus milberti (Miiiler & Henle). Blue Shark. (*) Given by Professor Baird in his 1871 list. Four examples about 4 feet long were taken in a trap at the breakwater, on August 8, 1873, and sent to Washington. None has since been observed. Their color is described by Mr. Edwards as being an intense, almost indigo, blue. 7. Carcharhinus limbatus (Muller & Henle). Spotted-fin Shark. (*) Observed on only one occasion. In 1878 at least 20 wero taken in traps at the breakwater and Quisset Harbor during a period of three weeks. All were about 4 feet long, and all were found dead in the traps. The “ stray specimen taken at Woods Hole, Mass.,” referred to in several lists of Ameri- can fishes, was one of the foregoing lot that was sent to Washington. SPHYRNIDiE. The Hammer-headed Sharks. 8. Sphyrna zygaena (Linnteus). Hammer -headed Shark ; “Hammerhead”; “ Eakeliead.” (* t) Usually common; some years abundant. Taken in traps from July to October, being most numerous in July and August. Generally swims with its dorsal and caudal fins out of the water. The largest ones taken here are 7 or 8 feet long; the smallest are under 14 feet, and the average are 4 feet. The name “rakehead” is an old local designation of this species Report U. S. Fish Commission, 1895. FISHES FOUND IN THE VICINITY OF WOODS HOLE. 89 ALOFIIDiE. The Thresher Sharks. 9. Alopias vulpes (Gmelin). Thresher; “Thrasher;” Swingle-tail. (*) Common in Vineyard Sound in vicinity of Menemsha; also found in Buzzards Bay. Not infre- quently caught in the fish traps. In fall the hoat cod fishermen at Gay Head catch them on lines haited with fresh herring. At Woods Hole three “thrashers” 16 feet long were taken one morning in a trap at the breakwater. Specimens 20 feet long have been caught at Menemsha. Some only 4 feet long have been obtained. This species comes in April and remains until late in fall. CARCHARIIDiE. The Sand Sharks. 10. Carcharias littoralis (Mitchill). “Sand Shark.” (* t) The commonest shark in this region, found from June to November, and often caught with traps and lines. The largest are 12 feet long ; the average length is 4£ or 5 feet. Fish, crabs, and various other animals are found in their stomachs. ZiAMNIDJE. The Mackerel Sharks. 11. Isurus dekayi (Gill). “Mackerel Shark.” (* t) Quite common in Vineyard Sound and Buzzards Bay. Most numerous in fall, remaining till end of November. Largest 10 feet long ; average 4 to 5 feet. 12. Carcharodon carcharias (Linnaeus). Man-eater Shark. (*) Rare. Reported by Professor Baird in his 1871 list. The U. S. National Museum contains several specimens sent from Woods Hole. SQUALIDiE. The Dog-Fishes. 13. Squalus acanthias Linnaeus. Dogfish; “ Horned Dogfish.” (* t) Less abundant than formerly, and comparatively scarce in 1897. When the fish factory was established at Woods Hole, this was the principal fish utilized in the manufacture of oil and guano; later, the scarcity or irregularity of the supply necessitated the use of menhaden. When the horned dogfish first comes, in May, it feeds largely on ctenophores. SQUATINIDiE. The Angel Sharks. 14. Squatina squatina (Linnaeus). Angel-fish ; Monkfish. (*) A specimen weighing 35 or 40 pounds and 3 or 4 feet long was taken in a fish trap at Menemsha Bight, September 1, 1873. It was sent to Washington at the time. The species has not since been observed. RAJIDiE. The Skates. 15. Raja erinacea Mitchill. Summer Skate ;“ Bonnet Skate.” (* t) The commonest species of skate in this region. Found from June to October. In allusion to the habit the fish has of rolling itself up when caught, the local fishermen call it the “bonnet skate.” 16. Raja ocellata Mitchill. Big Skate; “ Winter Skate.” (* t) Common from February to June and from October 15 to end of trap fishing. Either absent or very rare in summer. 17. Raja radiata Donovan. Starry Ray. (*) Not common. 18. Raja eglanteria Bose. Brier Ray. (* t) Not common. A few taken every year in traps at Menemsha; formerly caught at the breakwater. 19. Raja las vis Mitchill. “ Barndoor Skate.” (* t) Common in spring and fall, rare in summer. NARCOBATIDiE. The Electric Rays. 20. Tetranarce occidentalis (Storer). Torpedo; “Crampfish.” (* t) Not uncommon in Buzzards Bay and Vineyard Sound from May to November. Most numerous in October and November. At times as many as half a dozen are taken at one lift of a trap at Menemsha. The average weight is 30 pounds, the maximum 75 pounds, and the minimum 4 or 5 pounds. 90 BULLETIN OF THE UNITED STATES FISH COMMISSION. DASYATIDiE. The Stingrays. 21. Dasyatis centrura (Mitcliill). “ Sting Hay.” .(* t) Common during summer, appearing early in July. The fishermen are much afraid of them. 22. Pteroplatea maclura (LeSueur). Butterfly Bay ; “Angel-fish.” ( " t) Bare. Observed mostly in August and September. MYLIOBATIDJE. The Eagle Rays. 23. Myliobatis freminvillei LeSueur. Sharp-headecl Bay ; “ Sting Bay.” (* t) Not very common. A few are taken every year in traps. 24. Rhinoptera bonasus (Mitcliill). Cow-nosed Bay ; “ Sting Bay.” (* t) Common. ACIPENSERIDA1 The Sturgeons. 25. Acipenser sturio Linnaeus. “Sturgeon.” (* t) Common. Most numerous in Vineyard Sound in June and July. Has the habit of jumping out of the water ; at times as many as half a dozen may be seen in the sound at once. There is a considerable catch in traps, many 3 to 4 feet long being taken. The sturgeon was formerly thrown away when caught, but is now sold. 26. Acipenser brevirostris LeSueur. Short-nosed Sturgeon, (t) Found in company with common sturgeon, but less numerous than latter. Taken in traps. SILURIDJE. The Cat-Fishes. 27. Felichthys marinus (Mitchili). Sea Catfish; Gaff-topsail Catfish. (* f) Quite rare. Reported by Professor Baird in 1871. Recently but few have been seen ; one speci- men caught in a trap at Menemsha in 1886 is preserved in the collection. 28. G-aleichthys felis (Linmeus). Sea Catfish, (t) Reported to have been common in spring in Vineyard Sound many years ago, being often taken with cod; now very rare, and only occasionally observed since the Fish Commission station at Woods Hole was established. A specimen was taken in 1887, since which time none has been reported. ANGUILLIDJE. The True Eels. 29. Anguilla chrysypa Rafinesque. “Eel.” (* t §) Abundant at all times, but most numerous in October. On west side of Buzzards Bay traps have been set especially for eels, and large catches have been made. During two weeks in October, 1896, one trap took 350 barrels ; in one night between 30 and 35 barrels were caught. LEPTOCEPHALIDiE. The Conger Eels. 30. Leptocephalus conger (Linnaeus). Conger Eel. (* f) Comes in July and remains until fall; very common for several years, but rather rare formerly. Fishermen as a rule do not distinguish from the common eel. A few are taken in traps and with lines, but many large ones, weighing from 8 pounds upward, are caught in lobster pots. A specimen in the collection weighs 10 pounds. One caught on a line at Falmouth, August 30, 1897, weighed 12 pounds. The smallest observed are 15 to 20 inches long. ELOPID.®. The Tarpons. 31. Tarpon atlanticus (Cuvier & Valenciennes). Tarpon. Taken every year in traps at South Dartmouth, also occasionally at Quisset and at Menemsha, in latter part of September. All are about one size, 80 to 100 pounds. Fishermen call them “big-scale fish.” An effort has been made to find a market for them in New Bedford, but the people did not like them, owing to the toughness of the flesh. 32. Elops saurus Linnseus. Ten-pounder ; Big-eyed Herring. (* t) Common in fall, none appearing before October. Taken in traps in Vineyard Sound and in herring gill nets at Vineyard Haven. Many have been sent to the Fish Commission by fishermen for identification. Average length, 18 to 20 inches. No young fish observed. FISHES FOUND IN THE VICINITY OF WOODS HOLE. 91 ALBULID2E The Lady-Fishes. 33. Albula vulpes (Linnseus). Lady-fish,; Bonefish. (*) Very rare. Reported by Professor Baird in 1871, and since observed only once or twice. None seen for many years. CLUPEIDiE. The Herrings. 34. Etrumeus sadina (Mitchill). Round Herring. (*) Apparently rare. Known to have been found on only a few occasions. Some years ago, in Octo- ber, several were taken in traps at Menemsha Bight. 35. Clupea harengus Linnaeus. Sea Herring ; “Herring”; “Sperling” (young). (* t) Schools of large herring, in a spawning condition, appear about October 15 and remain till very cold weather sets in, their departure corresponding with that of cod. By January young herring \ inch long are taken in surface tow nets; by May 1 they are 1 to 1J inches long, and by August 1 they have attained a length of 2-£ to 3 inches. Fish 3 to 5 inches long, called “sperling,” are found from September 1 to end of season and are used for mackerel bait. About June 1 there is a large run of herring, smaller than those in the fall run. This lasts two weeks, during which the traps are full of them. No use is made of the early run, but in fall they are caught in gill nets for food and bait. 36. Clupanodon pseudohispanicus (Poey). Spanish Sardine. (*t) First seen in 1892, when it was abundant throughout the region. It appeared at Menemsha in September and was taken in the traps. A few weeks later it was found in large numbers at Woods Hole, remaining till late in fall. In Eel Pond over 250 were taken at one seine-haul. Since then only a very few have been observed each year, none being taken in 1897. The fish is 4 or 5 inches long and is usually found with young herring ( Clupea harengus) of slightly smaller size. 37. Pomolobus mediocris (Mitchill). “ Hickory Shad.” (* t) Common. Comes in spring but is most numerous from last of September to end of trap-fishing season. In October, 1895, a trap near Tarpaulin Cove caught 3,500 at one lift. These brought 10 cents each in New York. In spring and summer the fish has no market value, but in fall it is shipped to New York. 38. Pomolobus pseudoharengus (Wilson). Branch Herring; “Alewife”; “River Herring.” (* t $) Arrives in March and is taken during March and April. By May 1 most of the fish have entered the streams and ponds to spawn; early in May it begins to return to salt water. Many are caught in scoop nets for bait. 39. Pomolobus aestivalis (Mitchill). Glut Herring; “Blackhack.” (* t §) Common. Comes later than branch herring. Spawns in adjacent ponds. 40. Alosa sapidissima (Wilson). “Shad.” (* t) Comes ab( nit May 1 and is taken in traps. Less numerous than formerly; twenty-five years ago probably 100 times as many were caught as in recent years. In 1897 the average number taken in a trap was not over three to five. 41. Opisthonema oglinum (LeSueur). Thread Herring. (* t) Very rare. A number were taken in the fall of 1871, but the species is not recorded in Professor Baird’s list. In 1885 it was quite common in Buzzards Bay and Vineyard Sound in July. It remained about a month, and specimens were taken in traps at almost every lift. During the next four years the fish was also noticed, but none has been seen since 1890. Recorded from Newport, Rhode Island, from which place the type came; but not regularly found north of the Carolinas. 42. Brevoortia tyrannus (Latrobe). “Menhaden”; “Bogy.” (* t §) Arrives in schools about May 20, but scattered fish are taken in March with alewives ; they remain until first of December, sometimes as late as December 20, but are most abundant in June. When the schools first arrive the reproductive organs of many of the fish are in an advanced stage of devel- opment, but after July 1 none with large ovaries are found. Late in fall the fish again- have well- developed roes. The smallest fish are about an inch long; these are found in little schools about the shores and wharves as early as July 15. The Young are abundant throughout suinmer and fall. The average length of adult menhaden is 13 or 14 inches ; one fish 18 inches long, probably the largest ever observed, was caught here in 1876. 92 BULLETIN OF THE UNITED STATES FISH COMMISSION. ENGRAULIDIDiE. The Anchovies. 43. Stolephorus brownii (Gmolin). Striped Anchovy ; “Anchovy.” ( * t § ) Abundant. Occasionally rather uncommon. Found from August to late in fall. Much the most numerous species of anchovy. 44. Stolephorus argyrophanus (Cuvier & Valenciennes). “Anchovy.” (*t) Not uncommon at times. Most numerous in fall, in company with small herring. 45. Stolephorus mitchilli (Cuvier & Valenciennes). “Anchovy.” (* t) Abundant. Associates with S. brownii. SALMONIDA1. The Salmon Family. 46. Salmo salar Linnmus. Salmon. (* t) A few are taken every year in traps in Buzzards Bay and Vineyard Sound, generally in May. The usual weight of those caught is pounds, large fish being rare. As having salmon in one’s posses- sion is against Massachusetts law, it is difficult to learn much about the fish from the fishermen. 47. Salvelinus fontinalis (Mitchill). Broolc Trout; Speckled Trout, (t) Abounds in the fresh waters of the region, and in fall, where communication exists, regularly enters the salt water, remaining through winter. Occasionally taken in fyke nets set in Great Harbor and Little Harbor. ARGENTINIDiE. The Smelts. 48. Osmerus mordax (Mitchill). “Smelt.” (* t §) Most abundant in March, but common from October to May ; a few are found in summer in Eel Pond and Hadley Harbor. Spawns in February and March. Maximum length 14 inches, minimum inches ; fishes of the latter size being seined in Eel Pond. SYNODONTIDiE. The Lizard-Fishes. 49. Trachinocephalus my ops (Forster). Ground Spearing. (* t) Rare. On September 10, 1892, two specimens, 4 inches and 24 inches long, respectively, were taken at Nobska Beach, Woods Hole, in a seine. The National Museum contains a specimen obtained at Woods Hole September 3, 1887, and others taken in 1876, 1878, and 1887. 50. Synodus foetens (Linnreus). Lizard-fish, (t §) First noted in 1885, since which time a few have been taken nearly every year in September on the beach inside of Nobska Point. Generally 3 or 4 inches long, but a few are 6 inches long. MAUROLICIDiE. 51. Maurolicus pennanti (Walbaum). (*) A specimen of this pelagic species was taken at Woods Hole on January 3, 1884, and is now in the U. S. National Museum. In August, 1879, one was found on the beach near Provincetown, Mass. FCECILIIDiE. The Killifishes. 52. Fundulus majalis (Walbaum). M ay fish ; Killifish. (* t) Common in summer, especially on sandy beaches. Leaves late in fall and is not seen until about April 1, from which time till May it increases in abundance. Spawns in June. 53. Fundulus heteroclitus (Linmeus). Common Killifish ; Mummichoy. (* t §| Most abundant of the mummichogs, and present at all seasons. Found principally in eelgrass. Spawning is chiefly in June, but to some extent in July and August. 54. Fundulus diaphanus (LeSueur). Spring Minnoiv ; Killifish. ( * f §) Common throughout year. Very abundant in Waquoit Bay and other places having fresh-water tributaries. Rare in Eel Pond. Found in Hadley Harbor, where there are springs. 55. Lucania parva (Baird & Girard). Rainwater-fish, (t) First taken in 1884 in Waquoit Bay, 9 or 10 miles east of Woods Hole, on Vineyard Sound. Since then obtained in all brackish ponds between there and the station. In 1897 was found in Eel Pond and Quisset Harbor for first time. 56. Cyprinodon variegatus Lacdpbde. Short Minnow ; Variegated Minnow. (* t) Locally abundant in salt-water ponds near Falmouth. A few are found in Woods Hole Harbor. Spawns in June. FISHES FOUND IN THE VICINITY OF WOODS HOLE. 93 ESOCIDJE. The Needle-Fishes and Gar-Fishes. 57. Tylosurus marinus (Walbaum). Garfish; Billfish; “ Bill Eel.” (* t §) Common. Fish 2 to 3 feet long arrive about June 15 and are caught in traps with scup. Young, from 3 to 6 inches long, found along shores aud in harbors in summer. Examples 10 to 24 inches long are usually common and often abundant in September and October. 58. Tylosurus acus (Lac^pfede). Houndfish. (* t) A fish of this species, 4£ feet long, now in the Woods Hole collection, was taken in a trap at the breakwater August 6, 1885; on the top of its head, between the eyes, were 5 or 6 barnacles, each about 2$ inches long. In the Proceedings of the National Museum for 1878, Dr. Goode refers to the capture of this houndfish (then called Belone latimana) at Woods Hole in 1875. This specimen was 49 inches long and weighed 5£ pounds. Several other specimens have, from time to time, been sent to Washington from Woods Hole. 59. Athlennes hians (Cuvier & Valenciennes). (§) In the summer of 1895, a specimen of this fish, 2£ feet long, was brought into the Woods Hole market from a trap at the breakwater. This is the only known occurrence of the species in these waters, or, in fact, north of Florida. HEMIRAMPHID2E. The Halfbeaks. 60. Hyporhamphus roberti (Cuvier & Valenciennes). Half beak; “Skipper.” (*+) Usually common; often abundant at mouth of Vineyard Sound. Found in July, August, and September. Caught in traps at Menemsha, and has also been seined at West Falmouth, on Buzzards Bay. The usual size of the fish is 8 inches, but specimens as small as 3 inches are taken in the fine- meshed collecting seine. In August the thresher shark may frequently be seen among the schools of half beaks near Gay Head; when the sharks are driving the fish and causing them to “skip,” the jaegers ( Stercorarius ) catch them with great dexterity. SCOMBERESOCIDIE. The Sauries. 61. Scomberesox saurus (Walbaum). Saury; Skipper; Billfish. (*t) Very rare. Given by Professor Baird in his 1871 list. Since then observed only a few times. Several specimens now in Washington were taken prior to 1880. On December 4, 1885, one was seined on the beach near Nobska Point. Very abundant on the northern side of Cape Cod late in fall, and hundreds of barrels are sometimes taken there in traps ; many also go ashore. EXOCCETIDiE. The Flying-Fishes. 62. Exoccetus volitans Linnaeus. “ Fly iny- fish.” (* t) Common some years, but usually scarce. Taken in traps in Vineyard Sound, and a few have been caught in Great Harbor. Small fish, from 1-J- to 4 inches, are obtained in seines in the harbor in the latter part of September and the first of October. Even the smallest specimens have been observed to “fly” a distance of 10 feet. GASTEROSTEIDiE. The Sticklebacks. 63. Pygosteus pungitius (Linnaeus). Nine-spined Stickleback. (* t §) Common in Eel Pond, Quisset Harbor, and Hadley Harbor, but rare in open harbors. Present throughout the year. 64. Gasterosteus bispinosus Walbaum. Two-spined Stickleback. (* t §) Most common of the sticklebacks, being, perhaps, twenty times as numerous as Apeltes. Found throughout the year. 65. Gasterosteus gladiunculus Kendall. (§) A stickleback taken at the surface October 15, 1897, is referable to this species. It may be distin- guished from G. bispinosus by its greater depth, brighter color, and fewer dorsal and anal rays. Reported as not uncommon at the surface in April and May, but rare at other times. 66. Apeltes quadracus (Mitchill). Four-spined Stickleback. (* t §) Very common. Found at all seasons. 94 BULLETIN OF THE UNITED STATES FISH. COMMISSION. FISTULARIIDiE. The Cornet-Fishes. 67. Fistularia tabacaria Linnaeus. Trumpet-fish. (* t $) A few are observed every year, mostly in Buzzards Bay near Quisset; some are taken in Great Harbor; found mostly in September and October. The usual size is 7 or 8 inches, the smallest 1 inches; the largest, specimen, about 16 inches long, was caught at the station within the inner basin. SYNGNATHID1E. The Pipe-Fishes. 6S. Siphostoma fuscum (Storer). Pipefish. (* t §) The types of this species were obtained at Woods Hole.1 Very common from about the first of May till December, and probably present throughout the year. Found chiefly among eelgva-s. Spawning occurs about June 1. Very young transparent pipefish are sometimes taken at the surface in tow nets in July. HIPPOCAMPIDiE. The Sea-Horses. 69. Hippocampus hudsonius DeKav. Sea-horse, (t) Rare. A few are picked up every year in August and September in Vineyard Sound in gulf-weed or rock-weed. All are about 4 inches long. ATHERINIDJE. The Silversides. 70. Menidia gracilis (Gunther). Silverside. (t $) Abundant. Often in large dense bodies about piers in July, August, and September and as late as December. Appears early in spring and remains later than M. notata. 71. Menidia notata (Mitchill). Silverside; “Brit.” (* i §) Very abundant from April to December. In November exceedingly numerous in harbor. MU GILID-33. The Mullets. 72. Mugil cephalus Linnaeus. Striped Mullet; “Jumping Mullet.” (* + §) Commoner than the white mullet. Found from September to end of October, going in large schools about October 1. Largest, 10 inches; average, 7 or 8 inches. 73. Mugil curema Cuvier & Valenciennes. White Mullet; “Jumping Mullet.” (* t) Common from July 1 to October. Largest, 5 inches long. In summer fish from f inch to 2 inches long and upward are taken. 74. Querimana gyrans Jordan & Gilbert. Whirligig Mullet. (§) Common in summer. Originally described from Key West, this species has been successively recorded from North Carolina, Virginia, and Massachusetts.'2 SPHYRJENIDiE The Barracudas. 75. Sphyraena barracuda (Walbaum). Barracuda. (§) A rare straggler. First recorded from Woods Hole by Dr. Goode, who says “it occasionally finds its way into our northern waters, and one or two specimens of it and other West Indian species have been taken at Woods Hole.”3 A young example 3f inches long was seined at Quisset Harbor Sep- tember 22, 1897. 76. Sphyraena guachancho Cuvier & Valenciennes. Barracuda. (*) A rare straggler not recently met with. A specimen 22 inches long was taken at Woods Hole July 7, 1876. Another was caught in Buzzards Bay, near Woods Hole, July 17, 1883. 77. Sphyraena borealis DeKay, Barracuda. (* t §) Dr. Goode3 said of this fish in 1882 that it had “recently appeared in considerable numbers on the coast of southern Massachusetts. * * * No specimens of greater length than 10 or 12 inches have ever been taken, and individuals of this size are very unusual, though smaller ones, ranging from 2 to 6 inches, are occasionally found in large schools about the western end of Marthas Vineyard 1 See Storer, Rept. Mass. Fishes, 1838. 2 See Bull. U. S. F. C. 1894, p. 20. 3Nat. Hist. Aquat. Anim., p. 448. FISHES FOUND IN THE VICINITY OF WOODS HOLE. 95 and about Wood’s Holl, Massachusetts. It seems incredible that the young should occur so abun- dantly in these waters and the full-grown individuals should be absent. This is possibly because we do not yet know how to capture them.” • Specimens 2 to 6 inches long are common in this region after July, hut large fish are rare. Most numerous at Woods Hole from October 1 to December, although at Gay Head many occur as early as July and many are caught in fish traps in fall. When snow falls early, large numbers sometimes come ashore dead in Buzzards Bay and Vineyard Sound. Examples 18 inches long are sometimes taken; but those 12 inches long are uncommon and the usual length of the larger fish is only 8 inches. POLYNEMIDiE. The Threadfins. 78. Polydactylus octonemus (Girard). Eight-threaded Threadfish. A specimen 4 inches long was taken in a seine in Little Harbor in September, 1882. The identifi- cation was by Professor Baird (as Trichidion octofiliis). The fish was sent to Washington at the time, and appears on the fish register of the National Museum, but seems to have been lost. AMMODYTIDiE. The Sand Launces. 79. Ammodytes americanus DeKay. Sand Launce; Land; “ Sand Eel.” (* t §) Found throughout the year, although most abundant late in fall and early in spring. Only a few are observed iu winter, and ordinarily they are not especially common in summer, but some years (1897, for instance) they are fairly plentiful; they usually frequent sandy beaches and rips, and go in dense schools. In this region the launce is rather small, rarely exceeding 6 inches in length, but on the north side of Cape Cod the size is usually 8 inches. This fish is one of the principal foods of the mackerel in this section. Although it burrows in the sand with great rapidity, it is readily caught by the mackerel. 80. Ammodytes dubius Reinhardt. Sand Launce. (*) Apparently very rare on the south side of Cape Cod and known to have been taken there on only one occasion (June, 1877), but regularly found north of the cape. MULLIDJE. The Surmullets. 81. Mullus auratus Jordan & Gilbert. Goatfisli. (* t) Rare. Taken every year in September, mostly iu Quisset Harbor. Usually not more than 4 to 6 are obtained annually. Prior to ten years ago the fish was rather- more numerous than now, the National Museum containing a good many specimens taken between 1875 and 1880. SCOMBRIDiE. The Mackerels. Of the richness of the Woods Hole fish fauna the. representation of this family is an illustration. Of the 15 species of Scombridce known to inhabit the waters of North and Middle America, 11 have been obtained at Woods Hole. 82. Scomber scombrus Linnaeus. Common Mackerel. ('“ f §) This region has felt the general scarcity of mackerel, which has now (1897) existed for more than ten years. Nevertheless, a good many small and medium-sized mackerel have recently been taken in Vineyard Sound, and some years there has been a run of large fish. There is a regular mackerel line fishery carried on with catboats in Vineyard Sound near Gayhead, and the fish is also taken in traps at Menemsha and in Buzzards Bay. The mackerel appears in the latter part of May or about June 1 and remains for about two weeks; it then disappears for about two weeks, when it is thought to he spawning. About July 4 the fishermen look for its reappearance, after which it remains until the latter part of November. 83. Scomber colias Gmel in. Chub Mackerel ; “ Bull’s-eye Mackerel.” (* t) Some years abundant in Vineyard Sound and lower part of Buzzards Bay ; other years uncommon. Caught in traps, and also on lines while fishing for common mackerel. Usually appear about July 15 and leave late in October. 84. Auxis thazard (Laedphde). Frigate Mackerel ; “ Bonito “Tunny.” (t) Very rare. First observed in 1885, when one was taken in a trap at Menemsha Bight. Since then only one has been recorded; this was caught in a pound net at Woods Hole, June 29,1892. These weighed respectively 34 and 3 pounds. 96 BULLETIN OP THE UNITED STATES FISH COMMISSION. 85. Gymnosarda pelamis (Linnaeus). Oceanic Bonito; “ Blue Bonito.” (*) This fish has been reported in the Woods Hole region on only one occasion, in 1878, when there was a remarkable run in the traps at Menemsha. The fish remained in the vicinity several weeks, and were caught daily in some of the nets. As many as 2,000 or 3,000 in all were taken. The name “blue bonito” was given them by the fishermen in allusion to the intense dark blue of the back. They were about the same length as the common bonito, but were somewhat heavier. The species was first taken on the United States coast in July, 1877, when a specimen was obtained at Provincetown, Mass. 86. Gymnosarda alleterata (Rafinesque). Little Tunny ; “ Tunny"; Bonito. ( " ) Usually abundant in Vineyard Sound in July and August. Taken only at Menemsha, where some- times as many as 100 are caught in a net at one lift. All are of one size, weighing about 8 pounds. The species is stated by Goode1 to have made its first appearance in American waters in 1871, when several large schools were observed by the Fish Commission in Buzzards Bay and Vineyard Sound. 87. Thunnus tlrynnus (Linnaeus). Horse Mackerel; Tunny. (*) Formerly plentiful, but rare for a number of years ; none for five years in Buzzards Bay traps. About 1888, one weighing 630 pounds was taken in a trap off Quisset Harbor. Abundant on the north side of Cape Cod. 88. Germo alalunga (Gmelin). Long-finned ATbacore. On May 21, 1895, a specimen 3 feet long and weighing 21 pounds became entangled in the leader of a fyke net set in Great Harbor and was thus caught. This appears to be the only known occurrence of the fish on the Atlantic coast of the United States, although it is found in the eastern Atlantic and Mediterranean, as well as in the Pacific. 89. Sarda sarda (Bloch). “Bonito.” (* t) Usually common. Some years abundant and some quite scarce. In traps, at Menemsha, as many as 1,000 are often taken daily in August, September, and first part of October. The average weight is 3 J- to 4 pounds ; a few weigh 7 or 8 pounds, and many small ones are caught weighing only half a pound. Very young fish are rare. On one occasion some 2 inches long were taken in July at Menemsha. 90. Scomberomorus maculatus (Mitchill). “ Spanish Mackerel.” (* t) Rare during recent years, and apparently scarcer each season. Formerly abundant. In 1883 or 1884 530 were taken at one lift of a trap at the breakwater. When the fish was abundant it was more common in Buzzards Bay than in Vineyard Sound. Only one or two have of late been taken annually. The average weight in this region is 21 pounds. 91. Scomberomorus cavalla (Cuvier). “ Cero.” (* t) Appears in Vineyard Sound about July 1, and is quite common until the end of the trap-fishing season. It is much more common than the Spanish mackerel. At times 8 or 10 are taken at one lift of a trap at Menemsha. When traps were set in Buzzards Bay about 35 or 40 of this and the preced- ing species were caught annually at Quisset. The fishermen do not distinguish S. cavalla from S. regalis, but call both “cero.” 92. Scomberomorus regalis (Bloch). Kingfish; “Cero.” (* t) Occurs in about same abundance and at same time as the foregoing species. TRICHIURIDiE. The Cutlas-Fishes. 93. Trichiurus lepturus Linnaeus. Cutlas-fish; Scabbard-fish. (*) A specimen 3 feet long was taken at Woods Hole in 1874. A few stragglers have been taken in traps at Menemsha Bight during the last ten years, usually not more than one or two in a season; one that has been preserved was caught September 21, 1874. Chesapeake Bay appears to be the normal northern limit of its range, and is the limit assigned in recent lists. As early as 1840, however, the fish was taken in Buzzards Bay, and in 1845 was recorded from Wellfleet. 2 'Natural History of Aquatic Animals. See Storer, History of Massachusetts Fishes. FISHES FOUND IN THE VICINITY OF WOODS HOLE. 97 ISTIOPHORIDiE. The Sail-Fishes. 94. Istiophorus nigricans (Lac6pfede). Sailfish. (*) Rare. Taken only at Quisset Harbor, where during the past 25 years about half a dozen have been caught in a trap; all were about 9 feet long. 95. Tetrapterus imperator (Bloch & Schneider). Spearfish. (*) Generally rare, but between 1885 and 1890 numbers were taken in the traps in Vineyard Sound and Buzzards Bay during July and August. Most were caught in the trap farthest up Buzzards Bay at Quisset Harbor. XIPHIIDJE. The Sword-Fishes. 96. Xiphias gladius Linnaeus. “ Swordfish (*) Abundant near Gayhead. Rare now in Vineyard Sound, but some time ago a number were taken there annually near Tarpaulin Cove. CAR AN GID-53. The Pompanos, Crevalles, Amber-Fishes, Etc. 97. Oligoplites saurus (Bloch & Schneider). Leather-jacket. (*) Very rare. Only three instances of its occurrence known. In 1874 one specimen was caught in a trap at Menemsha; on August 13, 1875, another was taken, and in September, 1886, two or three specimens were taken in a pound net at the breakwater. Specimen in the Woods Hole collection, from Newport, Rhode Island, taken September 10, 1886. 98. Naucrates ductor (Linnaeus). “Pilot-fish." Recorded by Professor Baird in 1871. Not common in inshore waters. The banded rudder-fish (Seriola sonata) is usually mistaken for this species by the fishermen. 99. Seriola zonata (Mitchill). Shark-pilot; Eudder-fish; “Pilot-fish.” (* t §) Common from July to October. Usually seen around spiles, pound-net stakes, vessels, and under floating seaweed. In July and August, 1897, was often met with in Vineyard Sound, under gulf- weed and eelgrass; also in Eel Pond, Great Harbor, Quisset Harbor, Hadley Harbor, and elsewhere. While the Grampus was moored at the Woods Hole pier in August, 1897, there was a school of “pilot-fish,” 6 to 7 inches long, beneath the bow and stern for several weeks, feeding chiefly on Menidia gracilis. They were very shy and would not take the hook, but some were caught with a dip net. This species is not distinguished by fishermen from Naucrates ductor. Examples as small as 1| inches in length are taken in summer. 100. Seriola lalandi Cuvier & Valenciennes. Amber-fish. (* t §) Rare. An amber-fish, 2J feet long, taken at Woods Hole September 10, 1895, is apparently referable to this species. Another, 3 feet 1 inch long, taken July 8, 1892, and several others, obtained at various times, have been preserved. 101. Seriola dumerili (Risso). Amber-fish; Amber-jack, (t §) Rare. The Woods Hole collection contains three specimens, from 7f to 13 inches long, taken in August and September.1 102. Decapterus punctatus (Agassiz). Pound Robin; Scad; Cigar-fish. ('* t) Reported by Professor Baird in 1871. Recently very rare and observed only in Quisset Harbor; taken there in 1886 and on only one or two other occasions. 103. Decapterus macarellus (Cuvier & Valenciennes). Mackerel Scad. (* t) Common every year in fall, but not observed at other times. Comes in October and remains about a month. In Great Harbor several hundred have been taken at one seine-haul. No full-grown fish ever observed. Those taken are usually 5 inches long, none over 6 inches. In October, 1897, the fish was remarkably abundant in Vineyard Sound, some traps taking 10 barrels daily. 104. Trachurops crumenophthalmus (Bloch). Goggler; Big-eyed Scad. (* t) Common every year in fall, from about October 15 to November 15. All are 4 to 6 inches long. ‘See Rept. U. S. F. C. 1896, p. 172. F. C. B. 1897 7 98 BULLETIN OF THE UNITED STATES FISH COMMISSION 105. Caranx bartholomasi Cuvier & Valenciennes. Yellow-jack. (* t f) Very rare, but has been obtained during four different years. Nine specimens about 6 inches long were taken in 1876; one 5£ inches long was obtained November 10, 1885; another was caught in Great Harbor September 30 of the same year; one 2J inches long was seined August 10, 1886. On October 6, 1887, one 4J inches long was caught in a fyke net in Great Harbor. 106. Caranx hippos (Linnseus). “Crevalld” ; Jack. (* t) Common. First appear about July 1, and caught as long as the fish traps are set, being most numerous in October. No spawn found in them. Young an inch long are taken about July 1. Large examples occur in fall; they sometimes measure over 2 feet in length and weigh 12 to 14 pounds. 107. Caranx crysos (Mitchill). “Yelloiv Crevalle” ; Hardtail; Runner; Jurel. (* t) Arrives and departs about same time as foregoing. Young, 2 to 2-£ inches long, are caught in Buzzards Bay in summer. The largest are about 15 inches long and weigh 2 to 3 pounds. 108. Alectis ciliaris (Bloch). Cobbler-fish; Threadfish. (* t §) Usually not common, but some years numerous. Found from June 15 until November 1, or later; taken in traps. Three to 8 inches long. 109. Vomer setipinnis (Mitchill). Horsefish; “Dollar-fish.” (* t) Common some years, rare others, in Buzzards Bay and Vineyard Sound. Usually more numerous than Selene vomer. It first appears in August and is found during that month and September. 110. Selene vomer (Linnaeus). Lookdown ; “Dollar-fish.” (* t) Rare. A few are taken each year in traps and with the collecting seine, usually in September. First noticed here in 1885. 111. Trachinotus falcatus (Linnaeus). Round Pompano, (t §) Young very common; adults never observed. Fish half an inch to an inch long appear in July; by September 15, when they disappear, they are about 2 inches long. 112. Trachinotus goodei Jordan & Evermann. Permit; Black-finned Pompano, (t §) Rare, and not observed every year. First obtained in 1894, when about a dozen specimens were seined on Nobska Beach, on September 18. In September, 1897, a number were caught at various places, in company with T. carolinus and T. falcatus. The specimens are all small — 3 inches or less in length. 113. Trachinotus argenteus Cuvier & Valenciennes. Silvery Pompano. Rare. On September 7, 1885, a specimen was taken at Woods Hole which was- identified by Professor Baird as this species. 114. Trachinotus carolinus (Linnseus). Common Pompano. (* t§) Adult fish rare, none having been observed for ten years. Young, from 2 to 4 inches long, com- mon, usually appearing between July 20 and August 1, and remaining till about end of September. FOMATOMIDiE. The Blue-Fishes. 115. Pomatomus saltatrix (Linnseus). “ Bluefisli.” (*t$) Common. Arrives about June 1 and remains till some time in November, being taken as late as the traps are operated. Most numerous in July and October. Young first appear early in July, being about 3 inches long. Fish from 3 to 6 inches long are often very abundant in the harbors, several hundred being taken at one haul of the collecting seine. Many of this size are caught with Hues off the Fish Commission wharves. The largest are taken in fall; some weigh 14 to 16 pounds. Well- developed spawn is found in a small proportion of the bluefish when they first arrive, and at Nantucket large roes have been found as late as July 15. RACHYCENTRIDiE. The Sergeant-fishes. 116. Rachycentron canadum (Linnseus). Cobia; Crab-eater. Rare. Not observed every year. All specimens recorded in this region have been taken in September in Buzzards Bay traps and have weighed 5 or 6 pounds. The fish appears to have been more common in the seventies than at present. FISHES FOUND IN THE VICINITY OF WOODS HOLE. 99 NOMEIDiE. Tlys Nomeids. 117. Nomeus gronovii (Gmelin). Portuguese Man-of-war-fisli. ( * t) First noticed in 1889, when specimens were taken in Vineyard Sound, on July 6, July 23, anti August 12. Since then observed only in 1894, when there were many “Portuguese men-of-war” in Vineyard Sound . For several days in July there were often several dozen of the “men-of-war” in sight at one time off Tarpaulin Cove, and under these the fish were numerous. Sometimes a dozen would be found under one “man-of-war,” and 21 were collected by the Commission on July 31, all about 6 inches long. CORYPHiENIDJE. The Dolphins. 118. Coryphasna hippurus Linnseus. “Dolphin.” (* t) Large specimens are very rare in Vineyard Sound, and none has been seen since about 1890. In past years some 3 feet long have been taken in traps at Menemsha. Young fish from 2 to 12 inches long are obtained nearly every year in the floating gulf- weed; four or five were secured in 1897 in Vineyard Sound, in July and August. CENTROLOFHIDiE. The Rudder-Fishes. 119. Centrolophus niger (Gmelin). Blackfish; Black Ruff. (*) A specimen of this southern European species was taken at Dennis, Mass., about 25 miles east of Woods Hole, on November 23, 1888. 120. Falinurichthys perciformis (Mitchill). “Rudder-fish”; “Polefish.” (* t §) Common from last of June to October. Observed in gulf-weed and other floating objects. As many as a hundred small and medium-sized fish may sometimes be found under a box, barrel, or tub. It is often seen around pound-net poles and has received the name of “polefish ” among the local fisher- men. The largest specimens are taken in traps at Menemsha, and are 15 or 16 inches long. STROMATEIDJE. The Butter-Fishes. 121. Rhombus paru (Linnseus). Harvest-fish; “ Long-finned Butter-fish.” (t) Usually rare, but occasionally common. As a rule only 3 or 4 are taken in a season, but one year 300 or 400 were obtained. Observed mostly in June and July, in company with butter-fish. 122. Rhombus triacanthus (Peck), “ Butter -fish.” (* t §) Abundant. There is a noteworthy run in June, mixed with the scup. In 1896 and 1897, as many as 60 barrels were taken from a trap at Naushon at one lift; 30 barrels shipped from this trap to New York in 1897 yielded the fishermen only two 2-cent stamps ! This run lasts only 1 or 2 weeks, but the fish is taken from early summer to late fall. Spawning occurs in June. The butter-fish is often seen swimming under jelly-fish. TETRAGONURIDiE. The Square-Tails. 123. Tetragonurus cuvieri Risso. Square-tail; Sea-raven. (*) One specimen obtained at Woods Hole November 10, 1890. SERRANIDiE. The Sea Basses. 124. Roccus lineatus (Bloch). “ Striped Bass”; Rockfish. (* t) Not common. Arrives about May 1, and leaves about November 1. Most numerous in June. Apparently does not spawn in this section. Smallest weigh half a pound; largest 65 pounds. 125. Morone americana (Gmelin). “ White Perch.” (* f §) Abundant in fresh-water ponds of the region connected with salt water. Spawns in ponds in May and June. In October specimens from 8 to 15 inches long are taken in nets in Buzzards Bay and Vineyard Sound. 126. Epinephelus niveatus (Cuvier & Valenciennes). Snowy Grouper, (t §) Not rare. First reported in 1895, when as many as 10 or 12 specimens were obtained in the Woods Hole region.1 In 1897 several others were taken in summer and fall; one was caught August 7 in a dredge in Vineyard Sound in 6 fathoms of water and in November several were taken in a fyke net in Great Harbor. All have been of small size (3 inches or less), and most of them have been brought up in lobster pots. A number have also been secured in Rhode Island waters. SeeRept. U. S. F. C. 1894, p. 171. IOC BULLETIN OF THE UNITED STATES FISH COMMISSION. 127. Centropristes striatus (LiunEeus). “ Sea Bass'’; “ Black Bass.” (* I $) Very common. Arrives in May, and departs from the inshore waters about October 1, being most abundant July to September. Spawns in June. Young are first seen about August 1. Maximum weight 6 pounds. A very important and excellent food-fish, taken iu large numbers on lines for market and sport. LOBOTIDJE. The Triple-Tails. 128. Lobotes surinamensis (Bloch). Flasher; Triple-tail. (* t) Very rare. Given by Professor Baird in his 1871 list. Since then the fish has been met with on only a few occasions. Specimens now preserved in Washington were taken in August, 1873, and December, 1875. On September 20, 1886, a specimen 2 feet long was taken in a trap at Menemsha, and in August, 1890, another thus caught was sent to Washington. PRIACANTHIDiE. Catalufas. 129. Priacanthus arenatus Cuvier & Valenciennes. Catalnfa; Short Big-eye. (* t) • Rare. First taken in 1876, when 7 specimens were obtained iu September and October, after which time for several years 3 or 4 were caught annually. The last specimen, 3f inches long, was taken October 2, 1888, in a seine at Quisset Harbor. 130. Pseudopriacanthus altus (Gill). Big-eye. (* t) Rare. The local collection contains 2 specimens, 1£ inches long, taken November 28, 1885. Examples in the National Museum were obtained September 29, 1875, and September 26, 1877. There have been several other known occurrences of the fish in this section ; it is also recorded from Marble- head, Mass., by Storer (Fishes of Massachusetts, 1867). On November 1, 1890, a specimen was taken in the Acushnet River at New Bedford. The type of the species was from Narragansett Bay, R. I. LUTIANIDAE3. The Snappers. This family of tropical and subtropical fishes is represented in the Woods Hole collection by an unexpectedly large number of species, some of which were taken for the first time in the fall of 1897. Several large snappers have been taken in traps from time to time, but they can not be identified witli certainty, as they were not preserved. On September 28, 1894, a snapper weighing 25 pounds, similar in general appearance to the gray snapper ( Neomcenis griseus), was taken in a trap in Buzzards Bay. It was seen by a number of persons from the Fish Commission station. In 1896 a fish of the same species was caught at Newport. 131. Neomasnis griseus (Linnaeus). Gray Snapper; Mangrove Snapper. (§) Two obtained in the fall of 1897, one 2\ inches long in Eel Pond, September 21, and one 2 inches long in Great Harbor, September 26. Not previously detected and apparently only a waif. 132. Neomaenis jocu (Bloch & Schneider). Dog Snapper. (§) Apparently only a straggler. One specimen, 2^ inches long, taken in Eel Pond September 21, 1897. 133. Neomaenis apodus (Walbaum). Schoolmaster. (§) A rare straggler. The collection contains one specimen, 5| inches long, taken at Woods Hole September 20, 1888. 134. Neomaenis aya (Bloch). Bed Snapper, (t) A very rare straggler, taken on only one occasion. On October 10, 1890, a specimen weighing 84 pounds was caught in a trap at Menemsha; this is preserved in the collection at Woods Hole. 135. Neomaenis analis (Cuvier & Valenciennes). Mutton-fish. (* t) In 1897 two specimens were taken; one 1£ inches long in Quisset Harbor, August 14, and one 2£ inches long in the same locality September 4. Seven specimens of similar size in the National Museum were taken at Woods Hole in 1876. SPARIDA1, The Porgies. 136. Stenotomus chrysops I'Linmeus). “Soup”; Porgy; Scuppaug. (* t §) Very common. Appears about May 1 and leaves about October 15 or 20, being most abundant in June and July. Spawning occurs during first part of June, and young £ inch to f inch long are observed by the middle of July. The largest taken weigh about 3 pounds. FISHES FOUND IN THE VICINITY OF WOODS HOLE. 101 137. Lagodon rhomboides (Linnaeus). Sailor’s Choice; Pinfish; “Shiny Soup.” (* t §) Not common. A few are usually taken each season from July to September. 138. Archosargus probatocephalus (Walbanm). Sheepsheacl. .(* t) Very uncommon of late, not one having been seen or heard of in Vineyard Sound or Buzzards Bay in past four or five years. Formerly quite common, often being caught while line-fishing for tautog and scup. Maximum weight about 3 pounds; smallest 8 or 9 inches long. GERRIDiE. The Moj arras. 139. Eucinostomus gula (Cuvier & Valenciennes). Irish Pompano. (* t §) Usually very uncommon. In 1897, when apparently this fish was more common than in any pre- vious year, 5 specimens were taken at one seine-haul in Quisset Harbor on August 14, 2 in the same locality September 7, and another in Eel Pond on September 23; all of these were 1 to 2 inches long. On October 5 the fish was numerous at Quisset Harbor. KYFHOSIDiE. The Rudder-Fishes. 140. Kyphosus sectatrix (Linnaeus). Rudder-fish; Bermuda Chub. (* t §) Not rare in summer and fall, occasionally found in spring (April) ; sometimes taken among gulf- weed at surface. Specimens usually small, largest about 6 inches. SCI.33NID2E. The Drums. 141. Cynoscion regalis (Bloch & Schneider). Wealcfish; “ Squeteague.” (* t) Usually abundant. Comes about June 1, and leaves October 1 to 10. This is the principal fish taken in traps in Vineyard Sound, the catch in 1896 being over 400,000 pounds. In July, 1897, a school of several hundred followed young herring into the basins at the Fish Commission station and remained there for several days; many weighing 4 to 5 pounds were taken at night with short lines, baited with herring, rapidly drawn in on the surface after having been thrown out a few yards. Young fish as small as li inches long are taken about July 1 at the head of Buzzards Bay. Spawning occurs about June 1, some of the fish having ripe spawn when they arrive. The average weight is 4 pounds; 8 pounds is usually the maximum weight in a season, but in 1897 a squeteague weighing 14 pounds was obtained at Cuttyhunk. 142. Larimus fasciatus Holbrook. Banded Drum, (t) A very rare straggler, taken on only one occasion. On August 13, 1889, a specimen 8 inches long was caught in a trap at the breakwater, Buzzards Bay. 143. Scieenops ocellatus (Linnaeus). Red Drum; Channel Bass; Redfish. (t) Only one fish of this species is known to have been taken in this region. This was caught in 1894 in a trap in Buzzards Bay at the breakwater. The specimen, now in the Woods Hole collection, is 2 feet 10 inches long and weighs about 14 pounds. 144. Leiostomus xanthurus (Lacepede). Spot; Goody. (* t) Common in fall, being observed during whole of October. When water temperature reaches 45° F. the fish leaves. All specimens are about 6 inches long. 145. Micropogon undulatus (Linnaeus). Croaker, (t) On September 9, 1893, a specimen 15 inches long was taken in a trap at the breakwater in Buzzards Bay. This is the only known occurrence of the fish in this vicinity. 146. Menticirrhus saxatilis (Bloch & Schneider). “ Kingfish” ; Sea-mink. (* t §) Adults full of spawn are common in June; uncommon after July 15. Fish about an inch long appear in the middle of July, and the young are numerous on sandy beaches during the summer and until early part of October, when, they leave, having attained a length of 4 or 5 inches. Some of the young are almost entirely black, while others of same size taken at the same time show the color markings of the adults. The maximum weight is about 2 pounds. 147. Pogonias cromis (Linnaeus). Drum, (t) Very rare. First taken May 7, 1874, and observed only 3 or 4 times since. The recent specimens have been taken in traps at Quisset Harbor, in the latter part of September or early in October. All were of one size, weighing 4£ or 5 poimds. 102 BULLETIN OF THE UNITED STATES FISH COMMISSION. LABRIDAI. The Wrasse-Fishes. 148. Tautogolabrus adspersus (Walbaum). “Gunner"; “Chogset.” (* + §) Very abundant. Kemains in eelgrass in winter and thousands perish from cold every year. Large numbers of cunners of all sizes are found under wharves and around piers in warmer months. Spawn- ing takes place in June. By August 1 the young, au inch long, are observed. In the bays and harbors the maximum weight is about a pound, but outside of Gayhead and Cuttyhunk they reach a weight of 24 pounds. The usual weight is one-quarter to one-half a pound. 149. Tautoga onitis (Linnaeus). “Tautog”; “Blaekfish.” (*t§) Abundant everywhere on rocky bottom, remaining throughout the year. In winter they seek deep water or the eelgrass; many are killed each year by anchor ice. Spawns in June and July. Young appear about 1st of August. Average weight 3 pounds, but 12-pound fish are common, and some weigh 16 pounds. Many are caught on lines by anglers and professional fishermen, and some are also taken in traps in April. Lobster is the most attractive bait. Judging from the behavior of tautog in aquaria, it must be one of the greatest enerhies of both large and small lobsters ; it readily attacks full-grown lobsters, first biting off their eyes by rapid darts, and then consuming them. The fish continues to bite at the hook until snow falls, usually about November 15 or 20, EPHIPPID^j. The Angel-Fishes. 150. Chcetodipterus faber (Broussonet). Moon fish ; Angel-fisli; Spadefish. (* t) A very rare straggler. First taken in 1889, when one specimen was obtained. Since then only three have been observed. All were caught in traps at Menemsha in August and September. The fish are all of one size, having a length of 16 to 18 inches. Not known to fishermen. CHiETODONTIDiE. The Butterfly-Fishes. 151. Chsetodon ocellatus Bloch. Parehe. (* f §) A few specimens are taken nearly every year in October and November, when seining in eelgrass. Three is the largest number caught at one haul of the net, and five the largest number in one season. 152. Clisetodon bricei, new species. Three specimens of an undesoribed species of Chcetodon\ were seined in the vicinity of Woods Hole in 1897. One was obtained August 3 in Quisset Harbor, another August 10 in Eel Pond, and the third October 7 in Quisset Harbor; all are under 1-J inches in length. These examples were undoubtedly stragglers from the West Indies, whence they were transferred in the Gulf Stream. The species is readily distinguished by two prominent ocelli situated posteriorly, and is one of the most strikingly beautiful members of a large family of peculiarly marked and brilliantly colored fishes of the tropical seas. It is named for Hon. John J. Brice, United States Commissioner of Fish and Fisheries. Description. — Body short, deep, much compressed, its depth contained If times in length. Profile steep, slightly convex. Head rather large, pointed, its length rather less than a third of the body length. Mouth small, terminal; snout not produced, five-sixths length of eye. Eye large, its length contained 2| times in head. Lateral line beginning at posterior edge of eye, curving upward and backward, and terminating under anterior part of soft dorsal fin. Scales large; number in median line of body 40; number in transverse series between front of dorsal and base of ventral 23, 6 being above the lateral line; rows of scales above longitudinal axis of body directed upward and backward, those below inclined slightly downward. Caudal peduncle very short, about as broad as eye. Dorsal long, elevated, with 13 spines and 20 rays, the longest spine six-sevenths length of head; soft dorsal evenly rounded; basal half of both portions of fin thickly covered with small scales; dorsal origin opposite posterior edge of opercle. Anal fin deep, long, rounded, containing 3 spines and 18 rays; the proximal two-thirds of soft portion densely squamated, the small scales also covering the bases of the second and third spines. Caudal short, rounded. Pectorals two-thirds length of head, rounded. Ventrals as long as pectorals, pointed. Colors in life: General body color, pearly gray. A glistening jet black band about two-fifths width of eye, and having a forward curve, begins a short distance in front of dorsal and extends downward through eye and thence downward and backward to lower margin of gill opening ; this does not extend on the breast, and hence does not meet its fellow of the opposite side; above eye this stripe is bordered on each side by a very narrow pale streak. A dull blackish band, 14 times as wide as eye, runs vertically across body from base of dorsal to median line of abdomen ; the anterior border FISHES FOUND IN YHE VICINITY OF WOODS HOLE. 103 of this band, extends from front of dorsal to posterior angle of opercle, thence obliquely downward and backward behind base of pectoral. Behind this band and separated from it by a space somewhat wider than eye is another dark band; it is duller and two-thirds wider than the foregoing, with its anterior edge curved forward and its posterior margin on the caudal peduncle. Involving about two- thirds the width of this band aud extending from the dorsal to the ventral edge of the body is a large, circular ocellus, more than 1£ times the size of eye, consisting of a dark -blue spot surrounded by a narrow white zone, which covers a part of the base of the soft dorsal. Immediately above this and within the extension on the dorsal fin of the dark band is another similar but smaller ocellus, about the size of eye, involving the first 8 or 9 rays of the soft dorsal. A narrow, dark-brown, vertical bar on caudal peduncle is separated from the base of the caudal rays and from that part of the broad body band posterior to the ocellus by narrow white spaces. Head in front of ocular stripes, and breast greenish yellow. A black crescentic mark on opercle. Spinous dorsal dusky, the dark vertical band extending on the first 7 spines. Soft dorsal dark, with sharply defined pale edge. Part of anal covered by scales dusky, with a narrow darker margin; unsealed portion yellowish white. Caudal and pectorals pale, ventrals dusky, edged with yellow. The foregoing description applies especially to the largest specimen, taken October 7 ; the others differ from it only in having darker dorsal, anal, and ventral fins, and minor variations in the dorsal and anal rays. 153. Chaetodon striatus Linnfeus. Portuguese Butterfly. (§) Taken on only one occasion.- On October 29, 1894, a specimen 1| inches long was caught in a seine in Great Harbor. BALISTIDiE. The Trigger-Fishes. 154. Balistes vetula Linmeus. Trig ger- fisli ; Leather-jacket. (* t §) Every season, mostly in September, adult specimens of this fish are taken in some numbers in the traps at Menemsha. During summer and fall the young, 11 or 2 inches long, are found at the surface in Vineyard Sound in gulf-weed and also around the shores. 104 BULLETIN OF THE UNITED STATES FISH COMMISSION. 155. Balistes carolinensis Gmelin. Trigger-fish ; Leather-jacket, (t §) Very rare; not taken every year. Young not observed. 156. Canthidermis asperrimus (Cope). Sobaco. (§) A specimen of Canthidermis taken in the summer of 1897 is identified as Balistes asperrimus of Cope, the type of which, belonging to the Philadelphia Academy of Natural Sciences, has been examined. The type is 3 inches long and is labeled “ Darien” (Isthmus of Panama); no other specimens are known, unless this fish should prove to be the young of Poey’s Balistes sobaco from the West Indies. The Woods Hole example is If inches long, and was obtained July 24, 1897, under a small piece of floating gulf-weed in Vineyard Sound off Great Harbor. MONA.CANTHIDJE. The File-Fishes. 157. Monacanthus hispidus (Linnaeus). Foolfish; Filefish. (* t §) Present every year ; some years rather scarce, some years abundant. In 1897 it was extremely numerous in July and August, and several hundred were often taken in one day in the collecting seine. May often be obtained under gulf- weed, but usually most plentiful in eelgrass and rockweed. No large fish are observed; the maximum size is under 4 inches, and the smallest is 1 inch. The smallest filefish are rather uniformly dull brownish or greenish yellow in color, but those 3 or 4 inches long are mottled with white and several shades of dark green. In aquaria, small filefish often annoy and injure other fish, following them with great persistency and biting their fins, eyes, and other parts. Fish many times larger than themselves are sometimes the object of their attack. 158. Alutera schoepfii (Walbaum). Foolfish; “Filefish.” (* t ()) Rather common every year in August and September. The largest are 18 inches long, the smallest 3 inches. The position constantly assumed in the aquarium is with the head down. Succulent algae are often eaten by the fish in captivity, the long branches of some species being bitten off and swallowed in a surprisingly short time. The color of the young is a dirty white, with large reddish- brown mottlings or blotches ; the larger are orange-colored with same mottlings as when young. OSTRACIIDiE. The Trunk-Fishes. 159. Lactophrys trigonus (Linnaeus). Trunhfish ;■ Shellfish. (* §) Adult trunkfish have not been observed in this vicinity, but the very young are not uncommon and are taken every year. They are found from July to October. On quiet days they are seen, singly or in scattered bodies, in the eelgrass about the wharves. The largest specimens in the collection are 1 inch long, and the smallest one-fourth inch. They are taken under the gulf- weed, in surface tow nets and in shore seines. Several dozen have been obtained at one seine-haul. TETRAODONTIDiE. The Puffers. 160. Lagocephalus lsevigatus (Linnaeus). Smooth Puffer; “Puffer.” (*t) Not very common. Perhaps half a dozen are taken each year in traps in Buzzards Bay and Vineyard Sound, mostly in September and October. All are about 11 or 12 inches long, small ones never being observed. 161. Spheroides maculatus (Bloch & Schneider). Swellfish; “Puffer.” (t§) Appears about first of June, and is abundant during the run of soup ; many caught in traps at that time. Common throughout the summer at head of Buzzards Bay, but rare at Woods Hole during that season. Leaves in fall as soon as cold weather sets in. The spawning season is June 1 to 10. The largest are 7 inches in length, but the average size is 5 inches. From about July 1 to October 15 the young, from f inch to 1 inch long, are extremely abundant at Woods Hole, frequenting chiefly sandy beaches, where as many as a hundred are often taken in one seine-haul. 162. Spheroides spengleri (Bloch). Southern Puffer; Sivelltoad. (*) Very rare. A number of small specimens taken in September and October, 1877 ; not recently detected. DIODONTIDAl The Porcupine-Fishes. 163. Diodon hystrix Linnaeus. Porcupine-fish. (§) A very rare straggler, being taken only once. On August 12, 1895, a specimen, 9 J inches long, was obtained in Buzzards Bay near the station.1 See Rept. U. S. F. C. 1896, p. 173. FISHES FOUND IN THE VICINITY OF WOODS HOLE. 105 164. Chilomycterus schoepfi (Walbaum). Swell-toad; “Puffer”; “ Porcupine-fish.” (* t) Rare, and of irregular occurrence. Some years a few are taken in almost every trap in the vicinity, then none will be caught for several years. The latter part of September and the early part of October are the periods when this iish is observed. The specimens tsrtren are from 2£ to 5 inches long. MOLIDA!!. The Head-Fishes. 165. Mola mola (Linnteus). Sunfish. Much rarer now than formerly. In the early years of the Commission 8 or 10 specimens were observed annually in Vineyard Sound, but of late there is seldom more than one seen in a season. In 1896 a 400-pound fish was seen off Tarpaulin Cove. In 1887 a 200-pound specimen, caught off Great Harbor, was retained alive at the station for about a week. August is the month when the sunfish is usually found in these waters. A number that have been opened by Mr. Edwards contained only ctenophores and medusae. SCORPiENIDJE. The Rock-Fishes. 166. Sebastes marinus (Linnaeus). Bosefish; Bed Perch; Bream; Norway Haddock. (* t) Obtained in the Woods Hole region on only one occasion. On December 20, 1895, in Great Har- bor, 7 or 8 specimens, 3 inches long, were found in a hole on a flat, where they had been left by the tide; 4 or 5, of these had been stranded and were dead; the others were alive, and are now preserved in the collection. Taken in deep water as far south as New Jersey, but not previously recorded from inshore waters south of Maine. Fishermen claim that they sometimes catch these fish in traps very late in fall at Provincetown. COTTIDiE. The Sculpins. 167. Acanthocottus aeneus (Mitchill). Little Sculpin ; Grubby. (* t §) Very common. Remains during entire year, and is the only sculpin found during summer. In winter from 10 to 50 are caught daily in fyke nets set in harbor. The fish is then in a spawning- condition, and the eggs adhere to the twine. The maximum size of the fish is 5 inches. 168. Acanthocottus octodecimspinosus (Mitchill). Eighteen-spined Sculpin ; “Sculpin.” (* f) First appear about October 1, become very abundant by October 15, and remain until December or January. The spawning time is November and December; the eggs often come ashore by bucket- fuls on Nobska Beach. 169. Acanthocottus grcenlandicus (Cuvier & Valenciennes). Daddy Sculpin ; “Sculpin.” (* t) The foregoing remarks apply equally well to this species. 170. Hemitripterus americanus (Gmelin). Sea-raven; “Red Sculpin.” (* t) Common in October and November. Usual length about 16 inches. Young are rarely seen. CYCLOPTERIDiE. The Lump-Suckers. 171. Cyclopterus lumpus Linnaeus. * “Lumpfish.” (* t §) Adults common in April; a few in May. Young are taken throughout the summer in Vineyard Sound among driftweed. Spawning occurs in April. LIPARIDIDiE. The Sea-Snails. 172. Neoliparis montagui (Donovan). Sea-snail. (*) Apparently not common in the shallow waters reached by the collecting seine. No specimens in local collection. 173. Liparis liparis (Cuvier). Sea-snail; “Sucker.” (* t) Common in the winter on rocky bottom. Found full of spawn in December and January. GOBIID1E. The Gobies. 174. Gobiosoma bosci (Lac^phde). Goby. (* t) Common in Buzzards Bay. Taken in seine at Quisset Harbor throughout the summer. BATRACHOIDIDiE. The Toad-Fishes. 175. Opsanus tau (Linnaeus). “Toadfish”; “ Toad-grunter.” (* t) Common under stones in ponds and harbors. Spawns in June, the eggs being attached to the under side of stones. Maximum weight about a pound. 106 BULLETIN OF THE UNITED STATES FISH COMMISSION. XIPHIDIIDiE. 176. Pholis gunnellus (Linnaeus). Butter -fish; “Rock Eel." (' t) Abundant around shores in March a%d April, hut rare at other times. May he taken in Vineyard Sound with a dredge at almost any season at a depth of 4 or 5 fathoms. Largest about 7 or 8 inches. Seined only on gravelly bottom. CRYPTACANTHODIDiE. The Wrymouths. 177. Cryptacanthodes maculatus Storer. Wrymouth; G-hostfish. (* .§) Very rare. On December 18, 1896, one 18 inches long was caught at Woods Hole in a fyke set in Great Harbor.1 A specimen in the National Museum from Woods Hole was taken about 1875. ANARHICHADIDiE. The Wolf-Fishes. 178. Anarhichas lupus Linnaeus. Wolf-fish; “ Catfish.” (t) Quite rare. Taken in Vineyard Sound late in fall in traps and also on lines fished for cod. ZOARCIDiE. 179. Zoarces anguillaris (Peck). Eel-pout; “ Sea Eel.” (* t) Abundant in'fall, off Gay Head and Cuttyhunk ; caught while line fishing for cod, on rock bottom, and occasionally late in fall in Vineyard Sound off Great Harbor on lines baited for tautog. 180. Lycodes reticulatus Reinhardt. Eel-pout. (*) This northern species has occasionally been taken i n southern New England . The N ational Museum contains specimens obtained by the Fish Hawk in Vineyard Sound and Narragansett Bay. TRIGLIDiE. The Gurnards. 181. Prionotus carolinus (Linnaeus). Common Gurnard ; “Sea-robin.” (*t) Appears in May or J une and remains until October or later. More abundant than F. strigatus. Begins to spawn early in June. Young are very common in Waqfioit Bay in summer, hut are rather rare elsewhere. This species attains only a third of the maximum weight of the striped gurnard. 182. Prionotus strigatus (Cuvier & Valenciennes).1 Sea-robin; “Red Sculpin.” (* t) Comes in June, somewhat later than P. carolinus. It is then rather abundant, but is less common at other times. Spawns in summer. Young, f inch long and upward, are very common throughout summer; hy fall they have reached a length of 4 inches. This species attains a length of 18 inches in the Woods Hole region. CEPHALACANTHIDiE. The Flying Gurnards. 183. Cephalacanthus volitans (Linnaeus). Flying -robin ;“ Flying Gurnard.” (* f ) A few are taken every year late in the fall. They sometimes come ashore in Buzzards Bay and Vineyard Sound benumbed by cold.. Not so abundant now as they were prior to ten years ago. ECHENEIDIDiE. The Remoras. 184. Echeneis naucrates Linnaeus. Shark Sucker ; Remora. ( * t) Not uncommon. One If feet long was caught at West Falmouth, July 16, 1897, on a hook baited with fresh clam. 185. Echeneis naucrateoides Zuieuw. Sucker. (*) Given by Professor Baird in 187 1, and a number taken during next ten years. N ot recently detected. 186. Remora remora (Linnaeus). Remora. (* t) Rare. Reported by Professor Baird in 1871. Specimen in collection taken in July. Usually attached to large sharks. 187. Remora brachyptera (Lowe). Swordfish Sucker. (*) Rare. 188. Rhombochirus osteochir (Cuvier). Spearfish Remora. (* t) Rare. Recorded by Professor Baird in 1871. A specimen was taken August 6, 1886, in a fish-trap at Quisset Harbor. See Rept. U. S. F. C. 1896, p. 176. FISHES FOUND IN THE VICINITY OF WOODS HOLE. 107 MERLUCCIIDiE. The Hakes. 189. Merluccius bilinearis (Mitchill). Silver Hake; Whiting; “Frostfish.” (* +) Abundant every fall; some years common in summer. The fish swims close to the shore, and is caught in considerable numbers in Buzzards Bay at night with spears, for home use and sale in New Bedford. The weight of those thus taken is about a pound, but those caught in traps usually weigh 5 or 6 pounds. Young specimens, 2A to 3 inches long, are seined in fall about Woods Hole. GADIDA3. The Cods. 190. Pollachius virens (Linnaeus). “Pollock." (* t) Adult fish appear in Vineyard Sound and Great Harbor in May, following the run of cod. They depart when temperature of water reaches 60° or 65°. There is no regular fishing with lines, but many are caught in traps at Menemsha. Fyke nets set in the harbor take pollock 7 or 8 inches long in February and March. In April there is a run of fish 1 to 1| inches long; by June these have attained a length of 4 inches. The fish leave in June. In fall there is a small run of fish 7 or 8 inches long. Average weight of adults about 10 pounds, the maximum being 14 pounds. 191. Microgadus tomcod (Walbaum), Tomcod; “Frostfish." (* t) Abundant in winter, coming about October 1 and remaining till May 1. Spawns in December. Many are caught in fykes and sent to the markets. 192. Gadus callarias Linnaeus. “ Cod." (* t) Appears in Vineyard Sound about April 1 and remains till about May 15, or till the dogfish strike on. When the fish first come they feed chiefly on worms, and are known among the fishermen as the “worm school”; later they feed on herring, lants, and crabs, and are known as the “herring school.” After the middle of October the cod come again, but in less numbers than in spring, and remain until the first wintry weather. Young cod are first observed about the 1st of April, when fish about 1 inch long are seined. Most of the young leave by June 15, having attained a length of 3 to 4 inches. No cod are seen between fish of that size and those weighing !$• to 2 jiounds caught in traps in spring. There is now but little line fishing for cod in Vineyard Sound, although there is some off Gay Head. 193. Melanogrammus aeglifinus (Linnseus). “ Haddock. " (* t) ' Not detected in Vineyard Sound or Buzzards Bay, but common 6 or 7 miles off Gay Head and on ocean side of Marthas Vineyard. Reported by Professor Baird in 1871. 194. Phycis regius (Walbaum). Codling; King Hake. (* t) Rare. Taken in seine only late in fall. Varies in length from 7 to 12 inches. 195. Phycis tenuis (Mitchill;. Squirrel Hake ; White Hake; “Hake." (* t) Fish weighing 1 to 14 pounds abundant in October and November. A great many then enter Eel Pond. Young fish, 1 inch long and upward, associate with pollock in spring and are also found throughout the summer in considerable numbers. They are often obtained in summer at the surface, under gulf-weed and eelgrass. 196. Phycis chuss (Walbaum). “Hake." (* t) Abundant in May and June and in October and November. They fill the traps and cause fisher- men much annoyance, as there is no sale for them. They weigh from 2 to 5 pounds. 197. Rhinonemus cimbrius (Linnseus). Four-bearded Rockling. (* t) A rare visitor, found only in winter. Once taken in a fyke net in Great Harbor. 198. Brosmius brosme (Miiller). Cusk; “Ling.” (* t) Formerly not uncommon in Vineyard Sound, and caught with cod in April and May. Very rare for twenty years or more, although a few are still taken in April. Average weight is 5 pounds; maximum, 12 or 13 pounds. MACRURIDJE. The Grenadiers. 199. Macrourus bairdii Goode & Bean. Baird’ s Grenadier. (*) Very rare. Obtained once in Vineyard Sound by the Fish Hawk at a depth of 9 fathoms, on August 26, 1882. 108 BULLETIN OF THE UNITED STATES FISH COMMISSION. PLEURONECTIDJE The Flounders. 200. Hippoglossus hippoglossus (Linnaeus). “Halibut.” (*) Formerly not very uncommon in Vineyard Sound, hut now very rare. Last taken about ten years ago, when one weighing about 80 pounds was caught. Between ten and twenty-five years ago, during April, a number of large-sized halibut were taken annually while fishing for cod off Great Harbor and elsewhere in the sound. In 1872 or 1873 Mr. Edwards caught a number weighing 235 or 240 pounds. 201. Hippoglossoides platessoides (Fabricius). Sand-dab; Rough-dab; Rusty Flounder. (*) Not common. Found some years in winter in the inshore waters adjacent to Woods Hole; speci- mens have been taken in February on lines. One year some were caught in a fyke net in Great Harbor. 202. Paralichthys dentatus (Linnaeus). Summer Flounder; “Flounder.” (* t) Found from about May 10 to October 15. More abundant during summer than the flatfish. Fre- quents sandy bottoms. Average weight, 2£ pounds; maximum, 20 pounds. The largest are taken in the traps. 203. Paralichthys oblongus (Mitchill). Four-spotted Flounder; “Flounder.” (* t) Common in May and June; scarce at other times. Most abundant about June 1, during the run of soup, when many are caught in traps. Young fish are rarely observed, but in the fall of 1885 or 1886 large numbers, 2 or 3 inches long, were seined. Average length, 12 inches. The fish spawns in May and its eggs have been experimentally hatched at Woods Hole. The eggs are buoyant, of an inch in diameter, and hatch in 8 days in water having a mean temperature of 51° to 56° F. 204. Bothus maculatus (Mitchill). “Sand-dab”; “Window-panefi (* t) Found from April to late in autumn. There is quite a large ruu about June 1, when the fish is with spawn. The average size is 10 or 12 inches. In the experimental hatching of the .eggs of this fish at Woods Hole it has been found that the eggs are buoyant, nonadhesive, and of an inch in. diameter, and that they hatch in eight days when the mean water temperature is 51° to 56° F. 205. Limanda ferruginea (Store.r). “Rusty Flatfish.” (*t) Very common in Vineyard Sound and Buzzards Bay, in water 10 to 12 fathoms deep, where it may be found throughout the year. There is no fishery, but numbers are caught incidentally while bottom fishing for other species. In Great Harbor a few are taken in fyke nets only in winter. The average length is about 14 inches. 206. Pseudopleuronectes americanus (Walbaum). “Flatfish”; “ Winter Flounder”; “ Pug.” (* t) A very abundant permanent resident. Frequents muddy or grassy bottom. Some are either wholly or partly blackish on the nude side, this condition being more prevalent some winters than others. The average weight of those taken in the immediate vicinity of the station is only 1 pound, but larger examples are found in the deeper water of the sound and bay. In October fish averaging 2 pounds, and apparently slowly migrating, are taken with lines in Vineyard Sound on sandy bottom; these are called “pugs” by the fishermen, and the fishery is called “pugging.” This fish spawns from February to April in this region and its artificial cultivation is extensively carried on. Spawning fish are very abundant and are caught with fyke nets on hard clay bottom in water 6 to 15 feet deep. On being transferred to tanks containing running water, many deposit their eggs voluntarily during the night. The eggs are of an inch in diameter, and when first extruded are very glutinous, sticking together in masses of various sizes. The average number of eggs to a fish is 500,000. On March 6, 1897, 1,462,000 eggs, or 30 fluid ounces, were taken from a fish that weighed 3$ pounds after spawning. The eggs hatch in 17 or 18 days when the mean water tempera- ture is 37° or 38° F. SOLEIDJE. The Soles. 207. Achirus fasciatus Lac6p5de. Sole; Hog-cholcpr; “ Black Flatfish.” (* t) A few are taken every year in the traps in Vineyard Sound. It is abundant in Wareham River, at the head of Buzzards Bay; some are found in Waquoit Bay and a few are taken in Great Harbor. It is present throughout the year. In allusion to the dark underparts the fishermen call it the “black flatfish.” FISHES FOUND IN THE VICINITY OF WOODS HOLE. 109 LOFHIIDJE. The Fishing-Frogs. 208. Lophius piscatorius Linnseus. Goosefish; Angler; Fishing- frog; “ Toadfish.” (* t) Abundant in Vineyard Sound, usually from April 1 to July 1, some seasons from April to November or as late as the traps are set. The spawn is often found floating in Vineyard Sound. The traps often take boatloads of them which are carried ashore and put on the land, no other use being made of them, although the flesh is considered very palatable. Those caught in traps are from 4 inches to 4 feet long. The young keep offshore in deep water and are never taken in the seine. ANTENNARIIDiE. 209t Pterophryne histrio (Linnaeus). Marbled Angler. {* f §) This fish is to be regarded as a straggler from the tropics, whence it comes in the Gulf Stream and is drifted ashore in gulf- weed. It was first taken in 1877. 1 In November, 1885, 12 specimens were seined in Quisset Harbor. From that year until 1897 none was observed, although the gulf- weed was systematically examined. In 1897 this fish was comparatively common in Vineyard Sound. During July there was an unusual prevalence of southerly winds and a large quantity of sargasso-weed was blown inshore from the Gulf Stream, and with it the marbled angler. During the forenoon of July 24, 22 specimens were taken in a boat from the Fish Commission station with small dip nets, among the gulf- weed in Vineyard Sound, a few miles from Woods Hole, and on the same day 28 specimens were secured by a steamer of the Marine Biological Association. Stragglers continued to be caught during July and August, one "being obtained at the Fish Commission wharf on August 2. Probably not less than 100 specimens were taken during the season. Many were kept alive in aquaria for several weeks, and proved of great attraction to visitors. Some remained under or among the gulf- weed at the sur- face, some concealed themselves in alga} on the bottom, some hid behind stones and other objects in the aquarium, and some sought crevices in rocks. While clumsy in their movements, they were adept in approaching and capturing other fishes. They were quite cannibalistic, one about 6 inches long swal- lowing another nearly 4 inches long, and they frequently bit off the fleshy dermal appendages of their fellows. In August several spawned in the aquarium. The eggs are connected in long bands like those of the goosefish {Lophius). On July 17, 1897, 8 specimens of this fish were taken in gulf-weed off Nantucket. It is reported that in the summer of 1889 the fish was not uncommon in that region. Coincident with this note worthy appearance of Pterophryne in the summer of 1897, the Portuguese man-of-war ( Physalia ) was more abundant in Vineyard Sound than during any time in the past twenty-five years ; on several days in the latter part of August hundreds were in view at one time off Woods Hole. 1 Recorded from Holmes Hole (Vineyard Haven) by Storer, History of Massachusetts Fishes, 1867. 110 BULLETIN OF THE UNITED STATES FISH COMMISSION. II.— FISHES OF THE WOODS HOLE REGION NOT PREVIOUSLY REPORTED SO FAR NORTH OR SOUTH. Tlie following species, represented in collections or authentically ascertained to inhabit the waters embraced within the limits of this paper, have not before been reported from the region in published ichthyological works. The limits of the pre viously ascribed range of each are noted. Tarpon atlanticus (Cuvier & Valenciennes). Tarpon. Long Island to Brazil. Opisthonema oglinum (LeSueur). Thread Herring. Regularly northward to Florida and Caro- lina, straying occasionally to Virginia, New Jersey, and Rhode Island. Trachinocephalus myops (Forster). Ground Spearing. Tropical parts of western Atlantic; common in West Indies and Brazil, and ranging on the Atlantic coast to South Carolina. Lucania parva (Baird & Girard). Rainwater-fish. Atlantic coast, from Connecticut to Key West. Athlennes hians (Cuvier & Valenciennes). West Indies, from Florida to Brazil. G-asterosteus gladiunculus (Kendall). Off coast of Maine. Polydactylus octonemus (Girard). Eight-threaded Threadfish. New York to the Rio Grande. Oligoplites saurus (Bloch & Schneider). Leather-jacket. Both coasts of America, north to New York and Lower California. Caranx bartholomaei Cuvier & Valenciennes. Yellow-jacle. West Indies northward to Florida and North Carolina. Trachinotus goodei Jordan & Evermann. Permit; Black-finned Pompano. West Indies north to southern Florida. Neomaenis griseus (Linmeus). Gray Snapper. Atlantic coast from New Jersey to Brazil. Neomaenis jocu (Bloch & Schneider). Dog Snapper. West Indies, north to Florida Keys, south to Bahia. Neomasnis apodus (Walbaum). Schoolmaster. West Indies, north to Key West, south to Bahia. Neomaenis aya (Bloch). Red Snapper. Long Island to Brazil. Neomaenis analis (Cuvier & Valenciennes). Hutton-fish. West Indies, Pensacola to Brazil. Larimus fasciatus Holbrook. Banded Drum. Coast of United States from Chesapeake Bay to Galveston, Tex. Sciaenops ocellatus (Linnaeus). Red Drum; Channel Bass; Redfish. Coast of United States from New York to Texas. Pogonias cromis (Linnaeus). Drum. Atlantic Coast from Long Island to Rio Grande. Chaetodon ocellatus Bloch. Parche. Havana; Gulf Stream ; New Jersey and Rhode Island. Chaetodon striatus Linnaeus. Portuguese Butterfly. West Indies. Canthidermis asperrimus (Cope). Sohaco. Darien, Isthmus of Panama. Spheroides spengleri (Bloch). Southern P offer ; Swelltoad. West Indies; coast of Texas and of Florida south to Rio Janeiro and to the Madeiras and Canaries. Sebastes marinus (Linnaeus). Rosefish; Red Perch; Bream; Norway Haddock. North Atlantic, south to Faroe Islands, Maine, and in deep water off coast of middle New Jersey. III.— FISHES OBTAINED AT WOODS HOLE NOT YET FOUND ELSEWHERE ON THE UNITED STATES COASTS. Stolephorus argyroplianus (Cuvier & Valenciennes). Anchovy. Centrolophus niger (Gmelin). Blackfish; Black Ruffe. Tetragonurus cuvieri Risso. Square-tail; Sea-raven. Chaetodon striatus Linnaeus. Portuguese Butterfly. Chaetodon bricei H. M. Smith. Brice’s Chastodont. Canthidermis asperrimus (Cope). Sohaco. FISHES FOUND IN THE VICINITY OF WOODS HOLE. Ill IV.— LIST OF FISHES RECORDED FROM ADJACENT LOCALITIES WHICH MAY BE LOOKED FOR AT WOODS HOLE. Besides stragglers from the high seas and the West Indies that may from time to time he detected at Woods Hole, a number of species have been obtained within comparatively short distances to the north or south of the region which are liable to be added to the local fauna. Narragansett Bay, for instance, distant only 35 miles, has yielded several species not yet observed at Woods Hole; and there are also some more northern shore fishes regularly found as far south as Cape Cod which are to be looked for in Vineyard Sound. The following list, not by any means complete, is suggestive of the possible augmentation of the already rich fauna of Woods Hole. Scoliodon terrag-novas (Richardson). Sliarp-nosed Shark. Cape Cod to Brazil. Lamna cornubica (Gmelin). Porbeagle; Mackerel Shark. Newfoundland to West Indies; com- mon on Massachusetts coast. Somniosus microcephalus (Bloch). North Atlantic, south to Cape Cod. Dasyatis hastata (DeKay). Sting Bay. West Indies, north to Rhode Island. Dorosoma cepedianum (LeSueur > . Gizzard Shad; Mud Shad. Cape Cod to Mexico. Cypsilurus gibbifrons (Cuvier & Valenciennes). Flying-fish. Atlantic Ocean ; Newport, R. I. Chloroscombrus chrysurus (Linnseus). Bumper. Cape Cod to Brazil. Spheroides testudineus (Linnaeus). Glohefisli; Swellfish. West Indies; in Gulf Stream as far north as Newport, R. I. Prionotus tribulus (Cuvier & Valenciennes). Sea-robin. Atlantic coast, north to Long Island. V.— FRESH-WATER FISHES COLLECTED IN THE VICINITY OF WOODS HOLE. Iu the fresh-water ponds near Woods Hole, a number of fishes are found, some of which have been mentioned in the foregoing list, together with others that are strictly fresh water species. Besides the white perch ( Morone americana ), spring minnow ( Fundulus diaphanvs), four-spined stickleback ( Apeltes quadracus ), and nine-spined stickleback (Pygostens pungitius) already given, the following have been noted, speci mens being preserved iu the local collection. Further collecting will doubtless disclose the presence of other species. Catostomus commersonii (Lacdpede). Brook Sucker. Abramis crysoleucas (Mitchill). Golden shiner ; Roach; Dace. Notropis cornutus (Mitchill). Shiner ; Red-fin. Hybopsis kentuckiensis (Raflnesque). River Chub; Horny-head. Lucius reticulatus (LeSueur). Pickerel. Perea flavescens (Mitchill). Yellow Perch. Ameiurus nebulosus (LeSueur). Horned Pout; Bullhead. Boleosoma nigrum olmstedi (Storer). Darter. Eupomotis gibbosus (Linnseus). Sunfish. Micropterus dolomieu Lacdpede. Small-mouth Black Bass. (Introduced.) Micropterus salmoides (Lacepede). Large-mouth Black Bass. (Introduced.) Scale ofHUec * i « 4 -THE SALMON FISHERY OF PENOBSCOT BAY AND RIVER IN 1895 AND 1896. By HUGH M. SMITH. During the months of August and September, 1896, the writer visited the shores of Penobscot River and Bay in the interests of the United States Fish Commission, for the purpose of securing data regarding the condition and extent of the salmon, shad, and alewife fisheries. Special attention was given to the salmon fishery, as the Penobscot is now the only important salmon stream on the Atlantic coast of the United States and has been the field for very extensive fish-cultural operations on the part of the Fish Commission. A large majority of the owners of the salmon weirs and nets along both sides of the bay and river were interviewed and accurate accounts of their fishing obtained, together with their observations as to the effect of artificial propagation on the supply. The history and methods of the salmon fishery of this basin have been well pre- sented in papers by Mr. Charles Gf. Atkins, superintendent of the Government hatchery at Craig Brook, Maine.* The present paper is primarily intended to show the extent and condition of the salmon fishery of Penobscot Bay and River in 1895 and 1896 and the influence of artificial propagation on the supply. The methods and apparatus of the fishery are briefly considered. A chart of the Penobscot region, giving the location of salmon weirs and traps in use in 1896, is appended, and illustrations of some of the types of salmon apparatus are shown. Extent and condition of the fishery in 1895 and 1896. — While the number of nets operated in these two years was practically the same, the catch in 1896 was much greater than in 1895, and was one of the largest in the recent history of the fishery. A comparatively large number of fishermen reported that they took more salmon than in any previous year. The salmon, however, were smaller than usual, and their market value was but little more in 1896 than in 1895. The traps set especially for salmon, or in which "salmon were taken, numbered 193 in 1895 and 184 in 1896. These, with the accessories, had a value of $12,474 and $13,146, respectively. The boats and scows required in the construction and operation of the nets numbered 188 in 1895, the same in 1896, and were valued at $3,576 and $3,599, respectively. The number of men engaged in the fishery was 127 in 1895 and 126 in 1896. In the comparatively unimportant branch of the fishery carried on with gill nets in the vicinity of Bangor, 10 nets, valued at $189, were used in 1895, aud 11 nets, worth $199, in 1896; these were set by 6 men in the first year and 7 in the next. The boats numbered 4 in 1895 and 5 in 1896, and were valued at $29 and $37, respectively. * (1) On the Salmon of Eastern North America, and its artificial culture. In Report of Com- missioner of Fish and Fisheries 1872-73, pp. 226-337, 9 plates of apparatus and methods, and map showing location of salmon weirs in Penobscot region. (2) The River Fisheries of Maine. In The Fisheries and Fishery Industries of the United States, section v, vol. i, pp. 673-728. F. C. B. 1897—8 113 114 BULLETIN OF THE UNITED STATES FISH COMMISSION. The total number of salmon caught in 1895 was 4,395; these weighed 65,011 pounds and yielded the fishermen $11,356; in gill nets 117 salmon were caught, weighing 1,985 pounds and valued at $323. In 1896 the result of the fishery was 6,403 salmon, weighing 80,175 pounds, with a market value of $12,716; the gill-net catch this year was 246 salmon, with a weight of 3,444 pounds and a value of $492. The outcome of the fishery iu 1896 exceeded that of 1895 by 2,008 salmon ; the increase in weight was 15,164 pounds, and in value $1,360. The percentage of increase in these items was as follows: Fish taken, 46 per cent; weight of catch, 23 per cent; value of catch, 12 per cent. As an illustration of the uniform increase iu the number of salmon taken in 1896, the following facts may be cited: The nets that were set in both years numbered 162; of these, 146 uets, or 90 per cent, took more salmon in 1896 than in 1895; and only 16, or 10 per cent, took the same number or less. The comparative figures for the nets that secured more fish in 1896 were 3,449 salmon in 1895 and 5,681 in 1896. The nets whose catch was the same or less in 1896 caught 295 fish in 1895 and 289 in 1896. The largest number of salmon taken by one fisherman in 1895 was 408; these were caught in 3 nets on the lower side of Sears Island, in the township of Searsport. Other catches by single fishermen in 1895 were 104 salmon in 4 nets in Stockton, 102 in 5 nets in Nortbport, 150 in 3 nets in Islesboro, and 150 in 3 nets in Yerona. In 1896 the 3 Searsport nets first mentioned took 426 salmon, and a large number of fishermen secured between 100 and 200 fish in 2 to 5 nets. Thus, in Stockton 100 fish were caught in 2 nets, 105 in 3 nets, and 110 in 1 net; in Penobscot 192 salmon were taken in 2 nets, 105 in 2 nets, and 127 iu 2 nets; in Northport 5 nets obtained 204 fish and 4 nets 125 fish; in Islesboro 3 nets took 130 fish, 3 nets 150 fish, 4 nets 190 fish, and 2 nets 100 fish; in Yerona 3 nets caught 174 fish, 2 nets 106 fish, 3 nets 150 fish, 1 net 100 fish, and 2 nets 170 fish. About 80 per cent of the fishing is done in that part of the river between the northern end of Whitmore Island and Islesboro. While single weirs in that part of the river between Bucksport and Bangor may take as many as 50 or 60 salmon some seasons, the average was only 14 in 1895 and 26 in 1896, and the aggregate is com- paratively small. In the townships of Lincolnville and Camden, which are the lowest points in the Penobscot region at which salmon fishing is done, the average catch to a net in 1895 was only 16 salmon and in 1896 only 19 salmon. Detailed statistics for 1895 and 1896. — The following tables show, by townships, the extent of the salmon fishery of Penobscot Bay and River in 1895 and 1896 : Persons employed. Towns. 1895. 1896. Towns. 1895. 1896. Brooksville (Cape Rosier) 4 2 Orrington 5 5 10 9 Penobscot 1C 15 Camden Searsport 3 2 Cast ine 3 - 2 South Brewer 2 Hampden 1 1 Stockton and Prospect 17 15 Yerona . . . 21 21 Lincolnville „ 7 Winterport Matinicus and Bagged Islands Northp^rt -- ........... 4 6 Total 183 133 17 22 THE SALMON FISHERY OF PENOBSCOT BAY AND RIVER. 115 Apparatus, boats , etc. Towns. ■Weirs and traps.* Gill nets. Boats and scows. Total investment. 1895. 1896. 1895. 1896. 1895. 1896. 1895. 1896. No. Value. No. Value. No. Value. No. Value. No. Value. No. Value. Brooksville (Cape Hosier) . . 7 $420 4 $240 T $30 2 $20 $450 $260 16 270 14 238 781 693 Camden _ 5 200 5 200 45 45 245 245 Cantina 4 3 201 5 25 4 20 277 221 Hampden 2 $26 2 $26 1 1 12 38 Islesboro 17 925 16 875 7 94 79 1,019 954 Lincolnville 12 650 14 700 7 132 7 117 782 817 Matinicus and Ragged Islands 1 1,000 2 2, 500 2 75 5 195 1,075 2, 695 Nortliport 15 1, 155 12 1, 005 163 7 138 1, 318 1, 143 Orland 19 664 26 888 25 467 32 535 1, 131 1, 423 Orrington 2 99 2 99 5 58 5 58 2 11 11 168 168 Penobscot 24 1, 587. 22 1, 421 30 436 28 413 2, 023 1,834 Searsport 4 213 3 152 6 145 4 358 277 South Brewer 3 105 3 105 6 1 6 111 111 Stockton and Prospect 26 1, 530 20 1, 183 33 413 31 383 1,943 1,566 Verona 37 2, 801 37 2, 760 35 1, 100 36 1, 110 3, 901 3, 870 Win ter port 7 467 7 1 467 i 10 10 181 11 189 648 666 Total 193 12, 474 184 13, 146 10 189 H 199 |192 3, 605 193 3,636 16, 268 16, 981 * Includes accessories. 1895. 1896. Towns. No. of salmon. Weight. Value. No. of salmon. Weight. Value. Brooksville (Cape Rosier) 163 Pounds. 2,092 $283 146 Pounds. 1, 626 $190 Bucksport 205 2, 885 448 245 2, 729 471 Camden 64 964 136 71 990 139 Castine 77 1, 150 207 93 1,166 156 Hampden 30 510 102 32 448 90 Islesboro 474 6, 551 1, 042 643 8,265 1, 313 Lincolnville 205 3, 240 583 297 3, 503 525 Matinicus and Ragged Islands 65 780 109 182 1,627 175 Northport 286 4,066 697 418 5, 401 810 Orland 78 1,077 202 152 1, 802 306 Orrington 65 1,101 165 82 1,150 161 Penobscot 485 7, 270 1, 313 959 12, 483 1,992 Searsport .' 458 7, 278 1, 456 426 5, 112 818 South Brewer 63 1,071 161 170 2, 380 309 Stockton and Prospect 629 10, 067 1,713 829 10, 471 1,590 Verona 908 12, 555 2, 337 1,421 17, 761 3, 172 Winterport 140 2, 354 402 237 3,311 499 Total 4, 395 65, Oil 11, 356 6, 403 80, 175 12, 716 116 BULLETIN OF THE UNITED STATES EISH COMMISSION. Comparative data relative to the salmon fishery. — In 1880 the catch of salmon in Penobscot Bay and Kiver and their tributaries was 10,016, having an estimated weight of 110,176 pounds. The weirs and traps used numbered 230; the gill nets, 36. The fishery yielded 169,891 pounds, valued at $32,800, in 1887; 192,177 pounds, worth $38,019, in 1888; 110,469 pounds, valued at $31,156, in 1889, and 92,282 pounds, worth $19,121, in 1892. As previously shown, in 1895 193 traps and 10 gill nets took 4,395 salmon, weigh- ing 65,011 pounds, valued at $11,356, and in 1896, 184 traps and 11 gill nets caught 6,403 salmon, weighing 80,175 pounds, valued at $12,716. Comparing 1896 with 1880, it appears that there was a reduction of 27 per cent in the number of nets used and a decrease of 36 per cent in the number of salmou caught. A relatively large catch was made in 1887 to 1889, inclusive, and the decrease in 1896, as compared with those years, was marked. From 1892 to 1895 the output declined nearly 30 per cent, and the general tendency for the past eight years has been toward a decrease, 1896 presenting a very ideasing contrast, of which the fishermen all make mention. Following is a continuous record from 1874 to 1896 of two of the most successful salmou weirs. These are located on the east side of the river, in the town of Penob- scot, a short distance from the southern end of Whitmore Island. The number of salmou taken in 1896 was 20 per cent greater than in any previous year and over 93 per cent greater than the average for the preceding 22 years. Similar comparative statements for other nets are at hand, showing the iucrease in 1896 over previous seasons. Record of two Penobscot River salmon weirs, from 1874 to 1896, inclusive. Year 1874.. 1875. 1870. . 1877.. 1878. . 1879. 1880. 1881. 1882. 1883. 1884.. 1885. 1886.. 1887. 1888. 1889. 1890.. 1891.. 1892.. 1893. 1894.. 1895. 1890. Note.— The weirs are set one or two days after the ice moves out. Occasionally they are put in place be ' ore the ice leaves. left river. nrst salmon . Apr. 20 Apr. 30 Apr. 18 May 13 Apr. 14 Apr. 25 Mar. 30 Apr. 24 Apr. 4 Apr. 21 Apr. 25 May 12 Apr. 9 May 7 Mar. 21 Apr. 17 Apr. 10 May 1 Apr. 13 ....do ... Apr. 9 Apr. 29 Apr. 19 May 8 [ Apr. 16 Apr. 21 Apr. 23 May 8 Apr. 15 Apr. 29 Apr. 2 Apr. 21 Apr. 7 Apr. 20 Apr, 2 Apr. 28 ....do ... Apr. 9 Apr. 15 Apr. 23 Apr. 12 Apr. 19 Apr. 6 Apr. 21 Apr. 12 Apr. 16 Date of catching largest number of salmon. Total number of salmon. Aggre- Average we|htofKxh*“f T, 480 1, 711 1, 643 911 1, 104 1,631 2, 020 2, 196 1,246 641 1, 199 989 1,384 1, 160 1, 191 2, 524 14. 57 12. 97 15. 10 13. 92 13. 52 11. 95 12. 92 17. 41 11. 11 16. 77 12. 13 16. 31 13.47 13. 81 14. 66 15. 63 10. 25 15. 22 13.57 13. 19 13. 15 THE SALMON FISHERY OF PENOBSCOT BAY AND RIVER. 117 Salmon weir , Penobscot. — Leader of stakes interwoven with brush, 175 yards long. “Great pond” brush, 42 foet long. “Middle pond "and “back pond,” netting with board floor, eacli 10 feet long. Outer en- trance, 16 feet wide ; middle, 2 feet; inner, 1 foot. Value, $75. Salmon weir , Buclcsport. — Leader, brush, 4 to 8 rods long. Middle pond, 40 feet long, 8-foot, entrance; inner side, brush ; outer side, twine. Pockets, twine, 10 feet long, 10-inch entrances, wooden floor. Value, $25. Some weirs have only one (up- stream) pocket. 'ITooTc weir,” Orland. — A brush hook, about 50 feet long and extending down stream, is built on some of the weirs. It serves the purpose of lead- ing the fiah into the net. Value, $35. Apparatus and methods of the fishery. — There is probably no other river in the United States in which a fishery of such magnitude has undergone so few changes with respect to methods, number of traps operated, and sites where nets are set, as the Penobscot. This is chiefly owing (1) to the character of the bottom, (2) to the fact that the fishing is a riparian privilege enjoyed only by those who own land fronting on the water, (3) to the circumstance that the fishing is almost entirely of a semiprofessional character, and lias been taken up by generation after generation as a part of the regular duties connected with the small farms, and (4) to the small number of food-fislies occurring in the river, and- the preponderating importance of two of them — the salmon and the alewife — for which the nets are exclusively set. The salmon fishery of the Penobscot basin is carried on with practically a single type of apparatus, namely, the brush weir. In most parts of the region this trap is used in the same form that it had in the primitive days of the fishery, but in some sections the weir has undergone evolution into a combination brush and twine trap, and in places into a trap made wholly of netting. 118 BULLETIN OF THE UNITED STATES FISH COMMISSION. Some of the types of salmon nets used in this region are illustrated and described by the accompanying figures. In addition to these, which are wholly or partly of brush, a common apparatus is the floating trap, constructed entirely of twine, such as is now generally employed in the New England States. This is the only salmon net in use at Islesboro and in some other sections. The local and individual variations in the form of the nets depend on the topography of the bottom and shore and the habits of the salmon, and are the result of long experience. The fishing begins as soon as the ice moves out in spring and continues until some time in July. Fish are rarely taken before the last two weeks in April. May and June are the best months. In that part of the river adjacent to Bangor there is a small fishery prosecuted with set gill nets. The nets are from 100 to 200 feet long and have a 6-inch mesh. Salmon weir, Castine. — Hedge 200 feet long, made of stakes driven in mud interwoven with brush to low- water mark, covered with netting beyond. Great pound, 30feetlong, 30 feet wide at base, made of netting; entrance 8 feet wide. Inner pounds, 10 feet wide, with board floors; outer en- trance 2 feet wide, inner 1 foot. Value, $70. Salmon weir, Stockton. — Leader or hedge, 400 yards long, all brush ex- cept 20 yards next to head, which piece is* netting above low-water mark and brush below. Main com- partment or great pound 60 feet long and 25 feet wide, with 10-foot en- trance on each side of leader. Smaller compartments, direc ted downstream , 21 feet long, with 2-foot entrance to first and 8-mch entrance to second. Value, $100. Salmon weir, Stockton. — Leader 200 feet long ; brush from shore to low- water mark; remainder brush at bottom, netting at top. Head 60 feet long; outer pound 40 feet, middle pound 12 feet, inner pound 8 feet; brush below low- water line, netting above; plank floors in two smaller compartments. Value, $40. THE SALMON FISHERY OF PENOBSCOT BAY AND RIVER. 119 Salmon weir, Winterport. — Leader, brush, 6 rods long. Heart, brush or netting, 40 feet long, 20 feet wide, with 8-foot entrance on each side of leader. Pockets, netting, 10 feet in diameter, 9-inch entrance, wooden floor. Yalue, $50. 'Upanddown "Salmonweirs, Orland. — Constructed of brush except final compartments, which are of netting with wooden floors. Value of set, $65 Salmon weir, built at Verona in 1889. — The most elaborate net used in the Penobscot region. Salmon at Matinicus and Ragged islands. — Matinicus is a small island located south of Penobscot Bay and about 15 miles southeast of the nearest mainland (Thomaston). It is in the route of salmon coming in from the sea to ascend the river, and nets set in favorable positions would naturally be expected to intercept the iish. On the western side of the island Messrs. R. Crie & Sons have operated a trap for mackerel and herring for four years, and during that time have incidentally taken a number of salmon. Between May 20 and July 10 marketable fish are caught, while in August and September salmon too small to utilize are taken in considerable quantities; in the opinion of the Messrs. Crie these small fish were on their way to sea from the Penobscot River. It has been observed that when an easterly wind is blowing very few salmon are taken, but during a westerly wind salmon are always obtained in the mouths named, and the quantity of salmon secured in any given year bears a close relation to the direction of the prevailing winds. In 1895 the number of marketable salmon caught was 65; in 1896 the catch was 167. The largest fish taken in the two years weighed 30 pounds, the smallest J pound. The largest daily catch was 31 salmon, in 1896 ; the next largest, 27, in 1894. 120 BULLETIN OF THE UNITED STATES FISH COMMISSION. Mr. W. B. Young, of Matinicus Island, has a herring weir on the southwestern part of Ragged Island, which lies a short distance south of Matinicus Island. In 1890 this weir during June aud July caught 15 salmon with an aggregate weight of 200 pounds. The largest weighed 24| pounds. No small, unmarketable ones were obtained. Salmon at the Cranberry Isles. — The Cranberry Isles lie a few miles south of Mount Desert Island and about 25 miles east of Penobscot Bay. They are in the. track of migrating salmon, as a few herring weirs set around the islands have for several years taken one or more salmon almost annually.* Mr. W. I. Mayo, a corre- spondent at the islands, reports that in June, 1895, Colonel Hadlock took a 17-pound salmon in a weir, and on May 5 of the same year Mr. Mayo caught one weighing 19 pounds. None had been taken, however, in 1896 up to September 1. Salmon caught with hook off Maine coast. — Instances are multiplying of the taking of salmon at sea on trawl lines on the New England coast. The salmon are usually taken during the time when the fish are running in the rivers, but occasionally one has been caught in midwinter. The following data relate to fish that probably belonged to the Penobscot school. On June 19, 1896, a Gloucester fishing vessel brought into Rockland a 10-pound salmon that had been caught on a cod trawl 20 miles southeast of Matinicus. The fish was sent home to Gloucester by the captain of the vessel, through Mr. Charles E. Weeks, a Rockland fish dealer. Several salmon have been taken on hooks off Frenchman Bay within a few years. One 25-pound fish was caught on a cod trawl 3 miles off Gouldsboro, in 20 fathoms of water, and another was taken southeast of Mount Desert Island in 35 fathoms. Some years ago, on May 22, one of the crew of the schooner Telephone , of Orland, Me., while fishing for cod on German Bank, caught a 10-pound salmon. German Bank lies about 50 miles southeast of Mount Desert Island and has 65 to 100 fathoms of water. Destruction of salmon by seals. — Seals are known to kill a great many salmon in Penobscot Bay and the lower river. They enter and leave the weirs and traps with- out difficulty and cause great annoyance to the fishermen. When a seal enters a net, the fish are frightened and usually become meshed; the seal may then devour them at its leisure. The initial bite usually includes the salmon’s head. Fishermen in some places report a noticeable increase in seals in the past few years, and a consequent increase in damage done to the salmon fishery. Tlie State pays a bounty of $1 each for seal scalps, which serves to keep the seals somewhat in check, although the sagacity of the animals makes it difficult to approach them with a rifle and to secure them when shot. Within a few years some weir fishermen have been obliged at times to patrol the waters in the vicinity of their nets, in order to prevent depredations. In the Cape Rosier region, where some salmon trap fishing is done, seals were very troublesome in the early part of the season of 1896. Mr. George Ames, who set three traps in 1896 and took about 100 salmon, had knowledge of 13 other salmon that were destroyed by seals while in his nets. Similar instances of relatively large numbers of salmon killed by seals might be given. With salmon worth 20 to 50 cents a pound the loss of 10 or 12 salmon by seals, in a total catch of 75 or 100, is a matter of importance to the fisherman. * See paper entitled “Notes on the capture of Atlantic salmon at sea and in the coast waters of the Eastern States,” Bull. U. S. F. C. 1894. THE SALMON FISHERY OF PENOBSCOT BAY AND RIVER. 121 Evidences of results of propagation. — The opinion is now practically unanimous among the salmon fishermen of Penobscot River and Bay that the artificial hatching of salmon by the U. S. Fish Commission is producing beneficial results. About the same arguments in support of their opinions are presented by all, and these accord well in the main with the observations of other persons who have given this matter attention : (1) The opportunities for natural reproduction are exceedingly limited, owingtothe obstructions to the passage of the fish to their spawning-grounds in the headwaters of the Penobscot basin. (2) The salmon that are naturally hatched are, even under the most favorable conditions prevailing at the present time, not numerous enough to keep up the supply of market and brood fish, with the fatalities incident to the long residence at sea and to the passage of immature fish down from the spawning grounds to the sea. (3) The remarkable run in May and June, 1896, of fish of comparatively small size that had apparently just reached maturity and the relative scarcity of large fish that had evidently been in the river during one or two previous seasons seemed to show a tendency toward the depletion of the run of old fish and the substitution of a run of young, artificially hatched fish. (4) A feature of the salmon supply in recent years, on which the fishermen nearly all lay considerable stress, is that the runs in April and July, which in former years were often quite important and remunerative, have of late been very poor, although the fish constituting them are of large size, while the runs in May and June have kept up, but have consisted chiefly of comparatively small fish. In this the fishermen believe they see evidence of the work of the hatchery, for the young salmon artificially hatched have been from eggs of May and June fish, and the fishermen think that such young fish, when they return to the river to spawn, will come at about the same time that their parents did. Many salmon fishermen might be quoted on the question of results of propagation. A few sample statements and records of salmon taken will be given covering different parts of the bay and river. Mr. Francis French, an experienced salmon fisherman of Stockton, on the western side of Penobscot Bay, reports that of the 61 salmon taken in his weir in 1896, 56 were under 11 pounds in weight, and all evidently belonged to the same year’s brood. In 1895 the 29 salmon obtained by Mr. French averaged 20 pounds each. According to his observations, a very large percentage of the salmon in the Penobscot region in 1896 were hatchery fish that then entered the river for the first time. Mr. A. H. Whitmore, a salmon fisherman of over thirty years’ experience, who fishes three weirs off the southern end of Whitmore Island, states that in that part of the river the catch in 1896 was the largest in thirty years, with the exception of one season. He thinks there is no doubt whatever of the beneficial results of artificial propagation, as shown by the maintenance of the supply when obstructions to the passage of salmon to the upper waters must greatly curtail natural spawning. Mr. Joseph Hurd, of Winterport, has two weirs at Oak Point, which is the upper limit of weir fishing for salmon on the west side of the river; the nets are about 12 miles below Bangor; 25 salmon were taken in 1895, and 60 in the following year. The catch was better in 1896 than in a number of years. Eight years before, Mr. Hurd 122 BULLETIN OF THE UNITED STATES FISH COMMISSION. took 140 salmon, which was the best season in his experience; since then the fish have been decreasing until 1396. He thinks very few fish get to their spawning-grounds, owing to dams and other obstructions in the river above Bangor, and has no doubt the small fish which were so conspicuous in 1896 were from the Government hatchery. Mr. William F. Abbott, of Verona, who has two weirs on Whitmore Island, caught 41 salmon in 1895, and 80 in 1896.’ He makes the following statement: In my opinion, there would not enough salmon come into the river to pay for building weirs if there had been no salmon artificially hatched ; and I hope the Government will continue to keep the salmou fishing up, so it will pay to build our weirs. No person that knows anything about it can doubt that it is a good thing for the fishermen. Mr. Harvey Heath, of Verona, has two weirs on the eastern side of the southern end of Whitmore Island. He caught 62 salmon in 1895, and 100 in 1896. He thinks that the removal of obstructions to the passage of fish to their spawning-grounds would be all that is necessary to secure a good run of fish in the river, but believes that under present conditions the salmon-cultural work of the Government is very useful in sustaining the fishery. Three weirs of Mr. E. A. Bowden, located on the eastern side of Whitmore Island, above those of Mr. Heath, took 31 salmon in 1895, and 85 in 1896. Mr. Bowden says : I think that if it was not for the hatchery we would not have any salmon to speak of, for all the school we have is in June. April, May, and July salmon are very scarce. Mr. Charles G. Atkins, superintendent of the government salmon hatchery in Orland, Me., informs the writer that he has been inclined to believe that each year a great many salmon succeed in reaching their spawning-grounds; but recent observa- tions have caused him to change his mind, and he is now of the opinion that only relatively few salmon elude the traps, weirs, and gill nets, surmount the dams and fishways, escape the poachers, and succeed in depositing'their eggs under conditions favorable to their development. The dam at Bangor, while certainly a formidable obstruction to the passage of fish, is probably passable at high water. It is provided with a fishway, and some fish are known to surmount the dam by this means. Above Bangor, in the main river, there are dams at Great Works and Montague, the dam at Montague being an especially serious obstruction, although it is provided with a good fishway. Below the dam at Bangor there is little poaching, but below the other dams— especially at Montague — comparatively large numbers of salmon are sacrificed by the illegal use of the spear and drift net. In 1896 all the salmon below Montague were at the mercy of poachers after July 15, when all wardens on the river were laid off. The supply of spawning fish was thus greatly reduced. The people above Bangor have no interest in preserving the salmon supply of the river, as they receive none of the benefits from fishing which are enjoyed by fishermen of the lower river. This year Mr. Atkins, having this matter under consideration, visited the east branch of the Penobscot River. A certain tributary of the east branch, which was said to be one of the best spawning-grounds for salmon in the Penobscot basin, was obstructed by a dam in the spawning region. The dam was impassable to fish in July, and had been so during the previous months. In a deep pool below the dam, which was reported to be a favorite resort for salmon each season, no salmon were found. In other words, if the salmon had reached this stream they could not have gotten above the dam, and would undoubtedly have congregated in the pool mentioned and been noticed, but no fish had ascended even that far. THE SALMON FISHERY OF PENOBSCOT BAY AND RIVER. 123 Extension of salmon-liatching operations on the Penobscot. — The establishment of branch hatcheries has been suggested in order to utilize the spawning salmon in the region which lies above commercial fishing, and thus increase by artificial means the production of young fish. It is well known that even under the best conditions now prevailing in our streams the eggs of anadromous fishes like the salmon and shad are liable to numerous destructive agencies; that only a small percentage of the eggs laid under natural surroundings ever hatch, and that the young are subject to heavy mortality up to the time when they leave the river and enter the salt water. Probably 5 per cent would be much too large an estimate of the number of salmon eggs which in a state of nature produce fish that reach the ocean. Fish-culture, on the other hand, hatches 95 per cent of the eggs and raises 75 per cent of the fry to the age of yearlings. Of 206,350 Atlantic salmon eggs obtained in 1895 at the government station at Oraig Brook, 206,109 were hatched and 151,761 yearling fish were liberated in the fall. The percentage of eggs hatched was thus 99.88 and the percentage of yearlings raised was 78.39. This is sufficient ground for interfering with the salmon even after they have reached their spawning-beds, and justifies the establishment of hatcheries in the headwaters of the Penobscot, provided the supply of fish in any section is large enough to insure a reasonable take of eggs. No examinations of the upper tributaries of the Penobscot thus far made have disclosed the existence of any stream on which the construction of a branch salmon hatchery is warranted, owing to the few salmon obtainable. The matter deserves further investigation, however, and will receive due consideration at an early date. It is thought that a satisfactory supply of fish may be secured by constructing a dam or rack which will intercept fish in the main stream and lead practically the entire run into one tributary, where they may be retained. The operation of a branch salmon hatchery in the river above Bangor would of course depend on the successful working of the fishways and the enforcement by the State of the anti-poaching laws. Planting of quinnat salmon and steelhead trout in Maine streams. — The United States Fish Commission is making the experiment of planting large numbers of non-indigenous salmon in the Penobscot Basin and other Maine waters with a view to test whether the fishes are adapted to those streams. The species with which trials have thus far been made are the quinnat or chinook salmon ( Oncorhynchus tschawytscha) and the steelhead trout ( Salmo gairdneri). It is intended to plant sufficiently large numbers of yearling fish to fully test the feasibility of the project; and in the event of success two extremely valuable species will have been added to the fishery resources of the Maine streams. During the years 1896 and 1897 over 2,000,000 young quinnat salmon and steel- heads were deposited by the Commission in the Penobscot Biver and adjacent waters, several hundred thousand of which were four to six months old. The planting of additional fry and yearlings is contemplated in order to thoroughly demonstrate whether their introduction is possible. The quinnat salmon ranges along practically the entire Pacific Coast of North America north of Mexico, entering all suitable streams. It is the most valuable member of the salmon family, and is taken in very large quantities for canning, salting, and fresh consumption. Its flesh is very rich and of a deep-red color. It is caught in the rivers with gill nets, seines, pound nets, traps, weirs, wheels, and other 124 BULLETIN OF THE UNITED STATES FISH COMMISSION. appliances. In Monterey Bay, California, large numbers are taken with trolling hooks baited with small iisli, and, although the fish abstains from food after entering the fresh waters, it may often be lured with artificial or other baits. The chinook salmon begins to enter the California rivers in February, the Columbia in March, and the Alaskan rivers in May and June. The spawning season covers six months, extending from June to December, although the spawning period in any given basin is more limited, seldom exceeding one or two months. The highest accessible positions in the streams are sought by the spawning fish, which make rounded excavations in gravelly bottoms, in which the eggs are deposited. The vitality of the fish rapidly decreases after spawning, their bodies become mutilated and diseased, and in a short time they die. The steelhead ( Salmo gairdneri ), also known by the names of salmon trout, winter salmon, and Grairdner’s trout, closely resembles the Atlantic salmon in size, form, and habits. It is found from southern California to Alaska, and enters the coast rivers in large numbers. Its flesh is light-colored, but is of excellent flavor, being not inferior to the eastern salmon. It is caught in large quantities with gill nets and traps, for canning and use in a fresh condition. As a game fish the steelhead enjoys a high reputation in the Pacific States. Its principal run in the rivers is during the fall and winter months, when it ascends the streams long distances, spawning in late winter or early spring. In order that anglers, fishermen, fish-dealers, and others may be able to distin- guish from the Atlantic salmon and from each other any specimens of quiunat salmon and steelhead that come to their notice, the following key* has been prepared to cover the principal differential characters, and illustrations of the three species are shown: I. Anal fin elongate, with 16 ray s ; gillrakers 9 + 14 ; hranchiostegals 15 to 19 ; pyloric cceca 140 to 180; caudal fin considerably forked; average weight about 20 pounds, maximum 100 pounds Quinnat salmon. II. Anal fin short, with 9 to 12 rays; gillrakers 8 + 12: hranchiostegals 11; pyloric cceca less than 70. 1. Teeth on vomer little developed, those on shaft few and deciduous; scales large, about 120 in lateral series ; pyloric caeca 65 ; caudal fin emarginate ; average weight 15 pounds, maximum 40 pounds Atlantic salmon. 2. Teeth on vomer well developed, those on shaft of bone numerous and persistent in a zigzag row or two alternating series; scales about 150 (130 to 180) in lateral series ; pyloric coeca 42 ; caudal fin squarely emarginate ; average weight 10 pounds, maximum 20 pounds Steelhead trout. “The parts referred to in the key may be defined as follows: Anal fin, the single fin on the median line of the body, between the vent and the tail ; gillrakers, bony protuberances on the concave side of the bones supporting the gills; hranchiostegals, small bones supporting the lower margin of the gill cover; pyloric cceca, worm-like appendages of the lower end of the stomach; vomer, a bone in the front part of the roof of the mouth. Bull. U. S. F. C. 1897. (To face page 124.) Plate 5. CHINOOK OR QUINNAT SALMON ( Oncorliynchus tscliawytscha). ATLANTIC SALMON (Salmo salar). STEELHEAD TROUT ( Salmo gairdneri ). 5 -DESCRIPTIONS OF NEW OR LITTLE-KNOWN GENERA AND SPECIES OF FISHES FROM THE UNITED STATES. By BARTON W. EVERMANN and WIEEIAM C. KENDAEE. The recent investigations of the United States Fish Commission in Florida, Louis- iana, and elsewhere have resulted in large and important collections of fishes from those regions. The preliminary study which has been given to these collections has shown that they contain a number of species new to science, besides several others which have not hitherto been taken in the wnters of the United States, or are of rare and unusual occurrence within our limits. Among the collections of especial interest which have not yet been fully studied are those made in the St. Lawrence Basin in 1S94, in Florida in 1896, and in Louisiana and Mississippi in 1897. A multi- plicity of duties having delayed the completion of the detailed reports, it has been thought desirable to publish in advance, in the present paper, descriptions of three new genera and eight of the new species. Descriptions are also given of Anisotremus lAirinamensis and Lophogobius cyprinoides, species not until now known to occur in our waters. Illustrations are presented, showing both the male and female of the Alabama shad. 1. Ictalurus anguilla, new species. Eel Cat; Willow Cat. (PI. 6, fig. 1.) Type, No. 48788, U. S. N. M., a ripe female, 14 inches long. Cotypes, No. 48787 and 48789, U. S. N. M. ; No. 1078 and 1079, U. S. F. C. ; and No. 5772, L. S. Jr. Univ. Mus. Type locality, Atchafalaya . River, Louisiana. Collectors, Evermann and Chamberlain. Head 4; depth 4f; eye 7 in head; snout 2±; interorbital 14; maxillary (without barbel) 3; free portion of maxillary barbel longer than head; dorsal spine 2 in head; pectoral spine 2; width of mouth 2. D. i, 6; A. 24; vertebrae 42. Head large, broad, and heavy; the mouth unusually broad; cheeks and postocular portion of top of head very prominent; interorbital space fiat, abroad, deep groove extending backward to origin of dorsal fin ; body stout, compressed posteriorly ; back scarcely elevated. Eye small ; maxillary barbel long, reaching considerably past gill-opening ; other barbels short. Origin of dorsal fin equidistant between snout and origin of adipose fin, its distance from snout 2f in length of body; base of dorsal fin 3.) in head; longest dorsal ray If in head; dorsal spine strong, entire both before and behind; pectoral spine strong, entire in front, a series of strong, retrorse serrae behind ; humeral process 24 in pectoral spine ; ventrals barely reaching origin of anal, i heir length 2 in head ; anal fin long and low, the longest rays about 24 in head; base of fin greater than head, 3J-.in body ; caudal moderately forked, the middle rays about 24 in outer rays, which are about If in head. Color, uniform pale yellowish or olivaceous ; no spots anywhere. An examination of the 6 cotypes shows that there is not much variation, all the important charac- ters remaining quite constant. The maxillary barbel varies somewhat in length, in some individuals scarcely reaching gill-opening, and the number of anal rays varies from 24 to 26. A comparison of the skull of this species with that of I, furcatus and I. pwnotatus of the same size shows a number of very marked differences. Nearly all the bones in J. anguilla are heavier than 125 126 BULLETIN OF THE UNITED STATES FISH COMMISSION. in the other species ; the supraoccipital is broadly triangular, and its upper surface finely grooved, while in each of the other species it is much longer and narrower and the upper surface nearly smooth. From the blue cat {Ictalurus furcatus) this species differs chiefly in the fewer rays in the anal fin, the wider mouth, tho shorter, heavier head, the much longer maxillary barbel, and in the cranial characters already given. From the spotted cat (I. punctatus) it may he distinguished by its wider mouth, more blunt snout, heavier head, the color, and the cranial characters already mentioned. This species is well known to the fishermen of the Atchafalaya River, by whom it is usually called the “eel cat,” though the name “willow cat” is sometimes applied to it. It was explained by the fishermen that the name “eel cat” was given on account of the long feelers (i. e., barbels) and the name “ willow cat” because it is most frequently found about the roots of willow trees. The eel cat is not an abundant species in the Atchafalaya River. During six days (April 19-24) spent at Morgan City, several hundred catfish were examined at the three fish-houses, and the total number of eel cats seen was fewer than twenty-five. The fishermen report that this proportion is about as great as at any time of the year. Of the four commercial species of catfishes handled on this river the most abundant one is the blue cat ( Ictalurus furcatus), and the next is the yellow cat or goujon ( Leptops olivaris ) ; the eel cat comes next and the spotted cat ( Ictalurus punctatus) last. The blue cat and the yellow cat probably constitute 98 per cent of the entire catch. The eel cat rarely attains a greater weight than 5 pounds, and usually does not exceed 3 pounds. Its flesh is firm and of excellent flavor. The spawning season appears to be during the spring, as several of the individuals examined were in mature spawning condition. Etymology, from Anguilla, the generic name of the eel. 2. Notropis hudsonius (DeWitt Clinton). (PI. 6, fig. 3.) A specimen of this species, collected by Mr. George D. Head, at Kilpatrick Lake, Minnesota, presented certain peculiarities in the dental formula (2, 5-4, 2) and coloration which led us at first to identify it as an undescribed species. But other specimens subsequently received from the same lake show that all belong to the very variable N. hudsonius. The presence of 5 teeth on one side in the inner row and 2 in each of the outer rows is an unusual combination for a species of Notropis, and this is, so far as we are aware, the first record of the fact. As long ago as 1886 one of us called* attention to the strong tendency of N. hudsonius to vary in this character. The specimen with the unusual number of teeth may be described as follows : Head 44; depth 4-); eye 3-g- in head; snout 3f; maxillary 3f; interorbital width 3; D. 8; A. 8; scales 7—43-4. Teeth 2, 5-4, 2, hooked and with evident grinding surface. Body moderately long, slender, and compressed ; profile of back rising gently to origin of dorsal ; head moderate ; mouth rather large, oblique, lower j aw included, the maxillary-nearly reaching vertical of pupil ; snout blunt, forming an angle in front of nostrils ; eye large, in axis of body ; caudal peduncle long and slender. Fins moderate ; dorsal, anal, and pectoral each somewhat falcate; longest dorsal ray equal to length of head, If greater than base of fin; longest anal ray 14 in head; pectoral 1J in head, not nearly reaching insertion of ventrals ; ventral short, 1)- in head, not reaching vent ; caudal widely forked, the lobes subequal and nearly equal to length of head; origin qf dorsal slightly in front of base of ventral, nearer tip of snout than base of caudal. Scales large, regularly imbricated, 15 before the dorsal; lateral line complete, gently decurved above the pectoral. Color in alcohol, dark olivaceous on back; sides and under parts rich satiny silvery, everywhere showing steel-blue iridescence; upper parts of head dark, lower parts silvery ; a black blotch at base of caudal fin, as usual in this species ; fins all plain. 3. Notropis welaka, new species. (PI. 6, fig. 2.) Type, No. 48786, U. S. N. M. Cotypes, No. 48785, U. S. N. M. ; No. 529, U. S. F. C. ; and No. 5773, L. S. Jr. Univ. Mus. Type locality, St. Johns River, near Welaka, Florida, where numerous specimens were -collected March 19, 1897, by Dr. Kendall. Head 41; depth 5; eye 3 in head; snout 3J. D. 8; A. 8 or 9; scales 6-35-3; teeth 4-4, hooked. Body rather slender, moderately compressed; head short, snout bluntly pointed ; mouth moderate, somewhat oblique, lower jaw slightly included, maxillary scarcely reaching front of eye; premaxilla- ries protractile. Eye large; posterior edge of pupil at middle of longitudinal length of head; inter- orbital width greater than eye; caudal peduncle long and slender. Dorsal fin inserted well behind base of ventrals, a little nearer base of caudal than tip of snout, its longest rays shorter th,an head, * Fishes of the Monongahela River, in Ann. N. Y. Ac. Sci. 1886, 338. DESCRIPTIONS OF NEW AND LITTLE-KNOWN FISHES. 127 but slightly longer than longest anal rays; anterior dorsal and anal rays longest; pectoral 1!, in head; ventral s reaching origin of anal; caudal deeply notched, the lobes long and pointed. Scales large, lateral line incomplete, developed only on 6 to 10 scales. Back olivaceous ; side with a broad black band extending from snout through eye, and ending in a rather distinct black spot on base of caudal, the black spot in some specimens (probably mature males) surrounded by orange; the black line bordered above by a narrow orange or reddish line, less distinct, or even whitish, in females and immature individuals ; under parts plain ; fins all plain; dorsal and caudal somewhat dusky; dusky specks on body along base of anal and under side of caudal peduncle; lower jaw tipped with dusky. This species resembles Notropis anogenus, but differs in having the mouth somewhat larger and less oblique, the lower jaw more included, the body more slender, the lateral line less developed, the dorsal fin more posterior, and the anal rays more numerous. It was found in considerable abundance in the St. Johns River near Welaka, Florida. Etymology, welaka, from the type locality. 4. Alosa alabamae Jordan & Evermann. Alabama Shad. (PI. 7, fig. 5, male, and fig. 6, female.) Alosa alabavice Jordan & Evermann, in Evermann, Rept. U. S. F.- C. 1895 (December 28, 1896), 203-205. Since the publication of the original description of this species some additional information has been obtained regarding the occurrence of shad in the streams tributary to the Gulf of Mexico. During the season of 1897 the run of shad in the Black Warrior River at Tuscaloosa seems to have been unimportant. During the investigations in the South in April, 1897, some testimony was obtained indicating that there is usually each year a large run of shad at Mobile. That the fish is not taken there in large numbers is due, it is claimed, to the fact that suitable apparatus is not used. Some inquiries made at Montgomery failed to elicit any definite information concerning the occurrence of shad in the Alabama River at that place. The same inquiries made at the mouth of Pearl River and at different places along the Atchafalaya, Sabine, and Neches rivers yielded similar results. No one of those interviewed had ever seen real shad in any of these rivers. The Atchafalaya fishermen use for bait on their set-lines what they call shad, but they are Dorosoma, Signalosa, and Hiodon. “Shad” have been from time to time reported from the larger rivers of Arkansas; also from the Ohio and the Great Kanawha; but whether they are Alosa alabamce or some other species has not been determined. SIGNALOSA, new genus of Clupeidw, allied to Alosa and Dorosoma. Type : Signalosa atchafalaya; Evermann & Kendall. Body short, deep, and compressed, the form somewhat elliptical ; ventral outline more strougly curved than the dorsal; head rather large, snout sharp and pointed, not tumid; mouth small, oblique, the lower jaw scarcely included; maxillary of three pieces, broad and. curved, but without notch in the outer margin as in Dorosoma; caudal peduncle short and deep. Branchiostegals 5; pseudo- branchise large ; gillrakers short and very numerous, about 340 in number. No teeth; adipose eyelid present; stomach gizzard-like; scutes about 6+10. Last ray of dorsal very long and filamentous. This genus is allied to Dorosoma, from which it is plainly distinguished by the absence of the notch in the maxillary, the more pointed snout, the less-included lower jaw, the shorter anal fin, larger scales, and the fewer scutes. It differs from Alosa in the very numerous gillrakers, the character of the dorsal fin, and in other respects. Etymology, signum, a flagstaff or pole; Alosa, the shad; a reference to the long dorsal ray. 5. Signalosa atchafalayae, new species. (PI. 7, fig. 4.) Type locality, Atchafalaya River at Melville, Louisiana. Type, No. 48790, U. S. N. M. Cotypes, No. 48791, U. S. N. M. ; No. 532, U. S. F. C.; and No. 5775, L. S. Jr. Univ. Mus. Collector, F. M. Chamberlain, May 5, 1897. Associate type localities, Grand Plains Bayou and Black Bayou, Missis- sippi. Collectors, F. M. Chamberlain and Id. R. Center. Length of type, 4| inches to base of caudal, or 5f inches to tips of caudal rays. Head 3f ; depth 3*-; eye 3£ in head; snout 5i; maxillary 3) ; D. i, 12; A. i, 24; scales 42-15; scutes 17+10. Body oblong-elliptical, compressed, the hack in front of dorsal narrow; ventral edo-e sharp, serrate;, head small, mouth terminal, oblique, lower jaw slightly included; snout rather pointed, not blunt, as in Dorosoma cepedianum ; maxillary in 3 pieces, long and curved, reaching vertical at front of pupil, the outer edge not notched; no teeth. Caudal peduncle short, compressed, and deep. Origin of dorsal fin over base of ventrals, much nearer tip of snout than base of caudal, the last ray 128 BULLETIN OF THE UNITED STATES FISH COMMISSION. filamentous, about one-fourth longer than head and nearly reaching base of caudal ; the first dorsal ray about 2 in the last one; pectoral lj- in head, reaching base of ventrals; ventrals short, reaching only half way to vent, their length 1£ in pectorals; anal rays short, base of fin 1^- in head; scutes moderate; caudal widely forked, the lower lobe the longer; scales large, thin, deciduous, somewhat crowded anteriorly ; accessory scales at bases of pectorals and ventrals ; base of caudal with small scales. Color, bluish-black or dark olivaceous on back and sides to level of the jet-black humeral spot; rest of sides and under parts bright silvery; dorsal and caudal dusky; other fins plain. The cotypes from Grand Plains Bayou are 2 females with ripe roe. They are 4| and 5-J- inches long, respectively, and differ from the types only in the deeper body and the much darker coloration of the upper parts. The amount of variation in this species, shown by the material at hand, is exhibited in the following table: No. Head. Depth. Eye. Snout. Max. Dorsal. Anal. Scutes. Scales. Locality. 1 ih 3 n 5| 31 I, 12 . I, 24 16 + 11 40-15 Grand Plains Bayou, Miss. 2 4 2| 34 51 31 I, 12 I, 24 16 + 11 42-15 Do. 3 4 3 3 i 51 31 I, 12 I, 24 16 + 10 42-14 Melville, La. 4 3j! 3 1 3 1 54 31 I, 12 I, 24 17 + 10 42-15 Do. 5 3g 3 4 5 3? I, 12 1, 24 16 + 11 43-15 Do. G 31 3 31 54 3 I, 12 I, 24 16 + 10 41-15 Grand Plains Bayou, Miss. 7 3 & 3 34 5 31 I, 12 I, 24 17+ 9 41-15 Do. 8 3J 3 34 3 I, 12 I, 24 17+ 9 41-15 Black Bayou, Miss. 9 2§ 34 54 3 I, 12 I, 24 17+9 40-15 Do. This species appears to be rather common in the larger lowland streams and bayous of Louisiana and Mississippi. It probably does not reach a large size, adult examples being less than 6 inches long. It is not used as food, hut is of considerable value as bait in the catfish fishery of the Atchafalaya Eiver and its connecting lakes and bayous. Etymology, atchafalayos, from the type locality. 6. Corythroichthys cayorum, new species. (PI. 7, fig. 7.) Type, a male 31 inches long, No. 48784, U. S. N. M. Cotype, a male, 31 inches long, No. 526, U. S. F. C. Type locality, near Crawfish Bar, Key West, Florida, where 3 specimens were obtained, October 19, 1896, by Evermann & Kendall. Head 8f; depth 12 1; snout 31 in head; eye 4+ D. 21 rays, on 11 + 3i rings ; A. 3, on first caudal ring; C. 10; P. 10. Rings 17 + 26 = 43. Body short and stout; head short, snout very short; tail but little longer than head and trunk. Cranial ridges strong; a high, sharp keel on snout, the occi- pital keel very high, its edge convex, notched near the middle, not continuous with keel on snout ; a strong supraocular ridge, beginning opposite posterior end of nasal keel and continuing backward with one hiatus upon upper edge of opercle; just below this on the opercle another longer but scarcely stronger ridge ; another short ridge on anterior part of opercle at level of lower part of eye ; opercles very convex, as if swollen outward ; keels on body and tail all strong ; the 2 lateral keels on body terminating on third caudal ring; the 2 lateral keels on tail beginning on the last body ring, thus overlapping the body keels; median keel on side well developed, terminating on sixteenth body ring; ventral keels strong; abdominal keel very strong. Egg-sac on first 18 caudal rings. Color yellowish- brown, with darker punc'tulations ; tip of snout white ; cheek, throat, and under parts of snout white, crossed by about 7 or 8 irregular brownish bars extending downward and backward; opercles brown ; fins pale. This species is related to C. albirostris of Heckel, differing from it chiefly in the shorter snout, smaller dorsal, and fewer rings. The genus Corythroichthys, established by Kaup in 1856, seems to be well distinguished from Sipliostoma by the strong keel on the top of the head, the strong oper- cular ridges, the short, stout body with prominent angles, and the very short snout. As thus defined, Corylliroichthys contains two species besides the one here described, viz, C. albirostris Heckel and C. cayennensis Sauvage. Etymology, cayorum, of the Keys; from Cayo Huesoy Bone Key, the original Spanish name of the island of Key West. DESCRIPTIONS OF NEW AND LITTLE-KNOWN FISHES. 129 7. Cottogaster cheneyi, new species. (PI. 8, lig. 8. ) Type, No. 48781, U. S. N. M. Cotypes, No. 48782, U. S. N. M. ; No. 527, U. S. F. C. ; and No. 5774, L. S- Jr. Univ. Mus. Length of type, 2£ inches. Type locality, Racket River, Norfolk, New. York. Collectors, Barton W. Evermann and Barton A. Bean. Head 4; depth 6; eye 4 in head; snout 4; maxillary 3|; interorbital width 5 A D. xi-12; A. II, 8 ; scales 7-56-6. Body rather stout, heavy forward, compressed behind ; head heavy ; mouth moderate, slightly oblique, lower jaw included, maxillary reaching front of pupil; premaxillaries pro- tractile. Cheeks, opercles, breast, and nape entirely naked ; scales of body large and strongly ctenoid ; lateral line complete, straight ; median line of belly naked anteriorly, with ordinary scales posteriorly. Fins large; dorsals separated by a space equal to half diameter of eye; origin of spinous dorsal a little nearer origin of soft dorsal than tip of snout, its base about equal to length of head; longest dorsal spine 2-1 in head, the outline of the fin gently and regularly rounded; soft dorsal higher than spinous portion, the second to tenth rays about equal in length, scarcely 2 in head, the first, eleventh, and twelfth rays hut slightly shorter than the others; anal moderate, its origin under base of third dorsal ray, the spines slender, the second a little longer than the first, whose length is 3| in head; longest anal rays about 2j in head; caudal lunate, the lobes more produced and pointed than usual among darters ; pectorals long and pointed, the middle rays longest, about li in head, reaching tips of ventrals; ventrals well separated, not nearly reaching vent, the longest rays 1£ in head. Color in alcohol, hack dark brownish, covered with irregular spots and blotches of darker; side with about 8 or 9 large dark spots lying on the lateral line; belly pale; top of head dark; snout black; lower jaw and throat dark; a broad black line downward from eye to throat; cheek and opercles rusty; spinous dorsal crossed by a median dark line; ventrals blue black; other fins pale, hut dusted with rusty specks. An examination of the 14 cotypes shows some variation in the species. In 2 examples there is a well-developed frenum, rendering the premaxillaries nonprotractile, and in a third specimen the frenum is partially developed; in some individuals the origin of the spinous dorsal is exactly midway between the tip of snout and origin of soft dorsal. The females and immature males are less highly colored than the adult male described above. Length If to 2i inches. This species is most closely related to Cottogaster shumardi , from which it may be readily distin- guished by the shorter snout, the naked cheeks and opercles, the smaller soft dorsal, the smaller anal, and the different coloration. Fifteen examples of this interesting darter were obtained July 18, 1894, by Messrs. Evermann and Bean in the Racket River near Norfolk, St. Lawrence County, New York. It did not seem to be very common, .as only 15 examples resulted from numerous hauls of the collecting seine. Named for Mr. A. Nelson Cheney, State fish-culturist of New York, in recognition of his valuable contributions to our knowledge of the food and game fishes of that State. 8. Dermatolepis zanclus, new species. (PI. 8, fig. 9.) Type, No. 48843, U. S. N. M. ; a specimen 20 inches long to base of caudal fin. Type locality, Key West, Florida, or more definitely, near Dry Rocks Reef, 1 mile east of Sand Key, on rocky bottom in 5 fathoms. Collectors, Evermann & Kendall. Head 2f; depth 2+ ; eye 8 in head; snout 34; maxillary 3; mandible 2. D. xi, 19; A. in, 10- scales difficult to count, but about 30-130-35, those above lateral line counted obliquely backward and downward from origin of dorsal, those below from origin of anal upward and forward to lateral line. Branchiostegals 8; gillrakers 8 +12, short and stout, the longest If in orbit. Body stout, compressed, oblong-elliptical, the dorsal and ventral outlines about equally curved; head moderate, the profile rising from tip of snout to origin of dorsal fin, thence descending in a regular, gentle curve to caudal peduncle; a depression above nostrils and a slight one on nape; interorbital very narrow, equal to orbit ; mouth moderate, somewhat oblique ; premaxillaries protractile ; maxillary broad at tip, reaching vertical at posterior edge of the pupil; supplemental bone well developed; lower anterior edge of maxillary covered by the broad dermal flap of the premaxillary ; eye small, high up ; nostrils close together and close to eye, the anterior small and round, the posterior oblong-oval, much larger than the other. Small eardiform teeth on each j aw, those in front movable, scarcely canine- like ; similar teeth on vomer and a long, narrow band on each palatine. Preopercle coarsely serrate, the serrse short and blunt, more or less obscured by the skin ; opercle with a broad dermal border, somewhat produced at lower angle. Fins all large; origin of dorsal slightly in advance of base of pectoral, its distance from tip of snout equal to length of head; third dorsal spine longest, its length about 2* in head or 2% times length of first ray; interspinal membranes of the spinous dorsal deeply F. C. B. 1897—9 130 BULLETIN OF THE UNITED STATES FISH COMMISSION. incised, fclie anterior portion of each somewhat produced beyond its spine; soft dorsal high, the middle rays longest, If in head, the anterior portion of the fin gently convex, the posterior slightly concave; pectoral short, broad, and rounded, barely reaching origin of anal, the length 1-J in head; ventral pointed, the second and third rays longest, It in pectoral, the fin somewhat falcate; anal fin strongly falcate, the fourth and fifth rays longest, longer than pectoral, 1£ in head, 2} times length of last anal ray ; second anal spine short, 5t in head; caudal shallowly lunate, the lobes It in head. Scales small, smooth, and thin, closely hut irregularly imbricated; nape, opercles, and cheeks scaled, snout and lower j aw naked ; bases of all the fins except the ventrals densely scaled; lateral line beginning at upper angle of opercle, gently arched above pectoral fin, following approximately the curvature of the hack and on median line of caudal peduncle. General color of body in life brown, with large, irregular blotches of dirty white on hack and upper part of sides, these blotches with small rusty spots; lower part of sides, belly, and caudal peduncle with irregular whitish spots; belly brassy brown ; snout and nape with numerous small, round dark spots; cheek with large blotches of whitish overlaid with black and brassy spots; lips whitish, with dark spots; spinous dorsal blotched with white, olivaceous and black; soft dorsal brown, with numerous white spots and a few black ones, the posterior rays tipped with white and •orange; anal olivaceous, with irregular white spots, greenish at edge, the produced rays black toward distal ends; pectoral dark olivaceous, with greenish white splotches, the edge yellowish; ventral rays greenish white, the membranes black ; inside of mouth white; eye brown. Related to D. inermis (Cuvier & Valenciennes), but differing notably from that species in the shorter, stouter gillrakers, the emarginate caudal, the shorter anal spines, and the strongly falcate anal fin. Only the type of this species is known. It was obtained by James E. Roberts, a Key West fisher- man, October 23, 1896, while fishing in 5 fathoms of water, with hook baited with sardine. Mr. Roberts reports that the fish at first pulled very hard, showing good game qualities, hut very soon ceased its struggles and came up a dead weight. This fish was wholly unknown to Mr. Roberts and many other Key West fishermen who saw it. One man claimed to have seen it or a similar fish in the Canaries, which was there known as " cabosa.” Etymology, ^aynXov, a scythe or sickle, from the falcate anal fin. 9. Anisotremus surinamensis (Bloch). Pompon. (PI. 8, fig. 10.) Anisotremus surinamensis Evermann & Bean, Rept. U. S. F. C. 1896, 244. Not until recently was this species known from the waters of the United States. Its known range extended from Cuba south to Brazil, Surinam being the type locality. On January 23, 1896, a single large example (15 inches long) was obtained at Fort Pierce, Fla., by Messrs. Evermann & Bean. It had been caught in the Indian River near Fort Pierce and was kindly presented to the Commission by Capt. Joseph Smith of that place. No other specimens from our waters were known until in November, 1896, when Dr. Jordan saw a fine example in the French Market at New Orleans. It had been received along with other fish from Eden, Fla., and was doubtless taken in Indian River. This species is apparently quite rare on the East Florida coast, as the Indian River fishermen to whom we showed our specimen did not recognize it as known to them. The following is a description of the specimen obtained at Fort Pierce : Head 3|; depth 21; eye 4.( ; snout 2f ; maxillary 3. D. xn, 16; A. hi, 8 or 9; scales 5-50-13. Body deep, hack elevated, greatly compressed, profile steep, nearly straight from snout to above eye, a slight depression in front of nostril and another in interorbital space ; profile from interorbital space to dorsal strongly arched in a broad curve. Head moderate; cheek deep; mouth rather small; jaws subequal, maxillary barely reaching front of orbit; ventral line of body nearly straight; caudal peduncle moderately long, its least depth equal to snout; teeth in several bands, the outer enlarged and canine-like. Fourth dorsal spine strongest and longest, its length 2 A- in head; soft dorsal as well as anal, pectorals, ventrals, and caudal densely covered with minute scales ; height of longest soft dorsal ray 3 in head; second anal spine very stout, its length equal to that of fourth dorsal spine; third anal spine broad at base, but shorter than second; free edge of soft anal straight; dorsal and anal fins depressible in a scaly sheath ; pectoral long and falcate, nearly reaching tip of ventrals, 1A inhead; ventral shorter, It in pectoral; caudal well forked, the lobes about equal to ventral. Pre- opercle strongly but irregularly serrate. Seales of cheek in about 7 rows ; those on operele in about 8 rows ; those on interorbital and nape small and crowded; scales of back and sides arranged in oblique rows not parallel with the lateral line ; lateral line arched, following approximately the contour of the back. Gillrakers rather short, stiff, 13+19. DESCRIPTIONS OF NEW AND LITTLE-KNOWN FISHES. 131 Color grayish, darkest on anterior half of body, where each scale is dark brown on its basal half, then with a white ellipse, the narrow border darker, the contrast between the dark base and the white ellipse very marked; owing to the irregular arrangement of the scales the dark bases in some cases appear as spots ; upper side of caudal peduncle brown, sides nearly plain white ; snout and under parts of head lilac-brown; under parts of body rusty brown; tins all dark brown, especially the soft parts of dorsal and anal. LYOSPHiHRA, new genus of Diodoniidw, allied to Chilomycterus. Type: Lyosphcera globosa Evermann & Kendall. This genus is distinguished from Chilomycterus by its armature of flattish, papery or cartilaginous plates to which minute hair-like papillae are attached. The nostril, as in Diodon, is undivided. Etymology, Xvoo, to loose, i. e., lax or flabby; 6aipa, sphere, ball. 10. Lyosphaera globosa, new species. (PI. 9, figs. 11 and 12.) Type locality, the Rappahannock River near the mouth of Windmill Creek, Virginia, where 2 specimens were collected by W. C. Kendall, July 18, 1892. Type, No. 48794 U. S. N. M. Associate type locality, Biscayne Bay at Cape Florida, Florida, 1 specimen. Cotype, No. 531 U. S. F. C. The type specimen is about 1J inches long and about 1 inch wide and deep. Head 3; depth 1J; eye 3^ in head; snout 4; D. 11; A. 4. Form oblong-ovoid ; head broad; inter- orbital space slightly convex, broad, its width H in head. Dorsal and anal far back, each separated from the caudal by a space equal to two-thirds diameter of eye, each very small, the anal rays scarcely distinguishable ; pectoral broad and short, with about 20 rays, the length less than interorbital width. Tooth of each jaw solid and continuous. Entire body sparsely covered with minute hair-like append- ages or flexible, dermal papillae, these very short inch in type), and appear to be two-rooted. Nostril a short, entire papilla with two lateral openings and no division at the tip. Ground color yellowish white, this color regularly broken up into hexagonal spots by a network of dark brown, the width of the brown spaces being usually less thau one-fourth the diameter of the spots, which are smallest on back and top of head; a villous papilla in the center of each spot. The two specimens from the Rappahannock agree closely, but the one from Cape Florida, which js a younger individual, differs from them somewhat in color. It may be described as being pale yellowish- white, covered with about 50 narrow dark-brown or blackish rings or circles, each inclos- ing a circular spot of pale, yellowish- white; these circles smallest on the back and not touching each other anywhere; on the belly they are distant from each other a distance about equal to their own diameter. It seems that as the fish grows older these dark rings approach each other and finally unite to form the reticulations seen in the two other specimens. We were at first disposed to regard these specimens as being the young of some known species, or possibly Trichodiodon pilosus1 (Mitchill), but an examination of DeKay’s figure2 shows that they can not be Mitchill’s species. It is equally apparent that they can not be Cuvier’s Diodon asper3 4 or Gunther's Trichocyclus erinaceus:' Etymology, globosus, spherical. 11. Lophogobius cyprinoides (Pallas). (PI. 9, fig. 13.) Gobius cyprinoides Pallas, Spicilegia, Zool., vm, 17, pi. l, fig. 5, 1770, Amboina(?); Poey, Reper- torio, i, 335, 1868. Lophogobius cyprinoides Poey, Synopsis, 393, 1868; Poey, Enumeratio, 125, 1876. Gobius crista-galli Valenciennes, in Cuvier & Valenciennes, Hist. Nat. Poiss., xii, 130, 1839, Havana (Coll. Poey) ; Poey, Repertorio, I, 335, 1868. One of the most interesting results of the recent investigations of the fish-fauna of the coastal waters of Florida is the finding of this remarkable goby in considerable numbers in the mouth of Little River, near Miami. It is a West Indian species, not hitherto known north of Cuba. The type used by Pallas is said to have come from Amboina, and the specimens which Valenciennes had came from Havana, whence they were sent by Professor Poey. Poey had specimens from Cuba, Haiti, Jamaica, and Santo Domingo. 1 Diodon pilosus, Mitchill, Trans. Lit. and Philos. Soc., vol. i, 1815, 471, pi. 6, fig. 4. 2 DeKay, N. Y. Fauna : Fishes, 326, pi. 55, fig. 180, 1842. 3 Diodon asper, Cuvier, Mem. clu Musdum, iv, 1818. 4 Gunther, Cat., vii, 316, 1870. 132 BULLETIN OF THE UNITED STATES FISH COMMISSION. On October 28, 1896, several hauls with a 45-foot fine-meshed seine were made by Messrs. Ever- mann & Kendall in the Little River at various places in the last half mile of its course, and 35 fine specimens of this species were secured. They were found in all portions of the stream examined, in very brackish water about the mouth, in company with Neomwnis griseus and Lagodon rhomboides, and farther up where the water was perfectly fresh, and associated with such fresh-water fishes as Notropis, Abramis, Lucania, Jordanella, Heterandria, Acantharchus, and Elassoma. In studying the fishes collected in Florida by Dr. TI. M. Smith, in 1895, we find 3 specimens of this species which he obtained in Crocodile Hole, Indian Creek, a locality on the opposite side of Biscayne Bay from the mouth of Little River. Little River flows into Biscayne Bay a short distance north of Miami. It is a short stream, having its rise in the Everglades a few miles to the westward. At the mouth there are a good many mangrove bushes, but farther up the shores are lined with tall marsh grasses. The bottom is composed in most places of hard coral rock, worn into an irregular surface, over which it is difficult to haul a seine. In some places this rock is more even and is overlaid by a thick layer of mud and vegetable debris. The current was slow and the stream was well filled with such water plants as Myriop hyllum, Chara, Pota- mogeton, various species of filamentous alg;e, and an occasional patch of pickerel weed ( Pontederia ). The thirty-five specimens of Lophogobius cyprinoides from Little River vary in length from 1 to If inches. The following description is based upon one of the largest examples : Head 3£; depth 4; eye 4 in head; snout 4. D. vn-10; A. n, 8; P.16; scales 27, 9 in a transverse series, counting from origin of anal upward and forward to dorsal. Head very broad and heavy, its greatest width It in its length; snout short and blunt; mouth large, oblique, maxillary reaching vertical of pupil; teeth in a single series in each jaw, none on vomer or palatines ; gill membranes united to the isthmus, the gill slits wholly lateral ; branchiostegals 4 ; jaws subequal; anterior nostril in a short tube; body compressed, tapering from head to the rather long, slender caudal peduncle, which is considerably expanded vertically at base of caudal fin ; least depth of caudal peduncle 2-J in head, depth at base of caudal fin 2 in head. Fins all large; origin of spinous dorsal at one-third distance from tip of snout to base of caudal, its base l-J- in head, its longest spine slightly greater than base of fin; the 2 dorsal fins not connected, the interspace very short; base of soft dorsal nearly equal to length of head, the rays all about equal in length, the last reaching base of caudal, in head; anal fin similar to the soft dorsal, immediately under it, the last rays reaching base of caudal; pectoral broad and long, the length equaling head, reaching past origin of anal; pectorals completely united, the middle rays reaching anal; caudal rounded, the middle rays longest; a high dermal crest from above eye nearly to origin of spinous dorsal, its height about equal to diameter of eye. Scales very large, finely ctenoid; no lateral line; head, nuchal region, and breast naked; cheek and opercles beautifully vermiculated with about 10 irregular lines of close-set mucous tubes. Color in adult, uniform dark brown, almost black on back and upper part of sides, somewhat paler beneath ; fins all black; entire head black. There is not much variation among the thirty-five specimens. The smaller individuals are somewhat more chunky in general form and the color is lighter. The nuchal dermal crest is present on all. OGTLBIA Jordan & Evermann, new genus of Brotulidas, allied to Dinematichthys. Type : Ogilbia cayorum Evermann & Kendall. Body moderately elongate, covered with small, smooth, embedded scales; no lateral line; sides of head with similar scales. Preopercle with its margin adnate, and mucous pores along its border; opercle with a small spine posteriorly; no barbels; jaws subequal; gape of mouth wide, the maxillary broadened posteriorly, but without distinct hook; teeth in jaws in bands, subequal; similar teeth on vomer aud palatines; lower lip without cirri. Gill membranes little connected, free from the isthmus; dorsal fin low, continuous, of soft rays only, inserted behind base of pectoral and not joined to the caudal, the base of the fin embedded in thick skin; anal similar to dorsal, but shorter; caudal small, rather pointed; pectorals moderate, inserted high; ventrals inserted before pectorals, each developed as a long filament of two soft rays. Anal papilla of the male without horny appendages or claspers. This genus is closely related to Dinematichthys, from which it differs in the absence of horny claspers to the anal papilla. Dinematichthys ventralis Gill, from the Pacific coast of Mexico, DESCRIPTIONS OP NEW AND LITTLE-KNOWN PISHES. 133 belongs to it. Brosmopliycis is also closely related, differing in the presence of cirri on the lower jaw and the absence of developed scales on the side of the head. Named for J. Douglas Ogilhy, the accomplished naturalist of the Museum of Sidney, in recog- nition of his excellent work on the fishes of Australia. 12. Ogilbia cayorum, new species. (PI. 9, fig. 14.) Type, No. 48792, U. S. N. M., a young individual inches long. Type locality, Key West, Florida, October 23, 1896. Collectors, Evermann and Kendall. Head 4; depth 4£; eye 8J in head; snout 4; D. about 68; A. about 50; scales about 14-87-13; maxillary If; pectoral 1 j ; ventral If; caudal 2J. Body moderately elongate, compressed; head moderate, snout blunt; mouth large; jaws subequal, maxillary extending beyond vertical of eye a distance nearly equal to length of snout; eye very small, high up, situated in anterior third of head; nostril small, close to eye. Teeth small, in bands on jaws, vomer, and palatines. Back elevated, strongly arched from snout to origin of dorsal fin, thence descending in a nearly straight line to base of caudal; ventral outline comparatively straight, slightly concave at front of anal. Dorsal and anal long and low, distinct from caudal, the posterior rays longest, about 3f in head, base of each scaled ; distance from tip of snout to origin of dorsal about 3 in length of body ; origin of anal under about 22d dorsal ray, equidistant between tip of snout and base of caudal. Scales very small, embedded, but showing distinctly under a lens; cheek and opercles partially covered with minute, embedded scales; top of head naked; opercle with a large, flat, flexible spine on level with eye. No barbels, cilia, nor tubercles; 2 large mucous pores at symphysis of lower jaw, 2 on preorbital near anterior edge on each side, and a row of 5 or 6 pores ou lower jaw and edge of preopercle. Color, uniform pale olivaceous or light brown, finely punctate with minute brown specks. A single example of this species was seined on a shoal covered with algse, at Key West. Etymology, cayorum, of the keys, from Cayo Hueso, Bone Key, the original name of the island of Key West. Bull. U. S. F. C. 1897. fTo face page 134.) Plate 6. Fig. 1. ICTALURUS ANGUILLA, new species. Type. Fig. 2. NOTROPIS WELAKA, new species. Type. Fig. 3. NOTROPIS HUDSONIUS (DeWitt Clir Bull. U. S. F. C. 1897. (To face page 134. Plate 7. Fig. 4. SIGNALOSA ATCHAFALAY/E, new species. Type. F’g. 5. ALOSA ALABAM/E Jordan & Evermann. Male; one of the types. !;!§s1f£ fe |‘l; s' ?; ?! *? 'f *■ - * Fig. 7. CORYTHROICHTHYS CAYORUM, species. Type. Bull. U. S. F. C. 1897, (To face page 134.) Plate 8. Fig. 9. DERMATOLEPIS ZANCLUS, new species. Type. Fig. 10. ANISOTRE MUS SURINAMENSIS (Bloch). Bull. U. S. F, C. 1897. (To face page 134.) Plate 9. Fig. 14. OGILBIA CAYORUM, new species. 6.— THE WORK OF THE UNITED STATES FISH COMMISSION FROM DECEMBER 1, 1896, TO NOVEMBER 3, 1897. By JOHN J. BRICE, United States Commissioner of Fish and Fisheries. The following is a summary of the work accomplished by the United States Com- mission of Fish and Fisheries since December 1, 1896: At that time the cod-spawning season on the Atlantic coast had just opened, and operations were being conducted, as usual, at the Gloucester and Woods Hole stations, Mass.; auxiliary stations having been established at Kittery Point, Me., and at Duxbury, Mass., for the collection of eggs from fish captured by the commercial fish- ermen. As a result of the season’s operations, 180,000,000 eggs were collected, from which 98,000,000 fry were liberated on the natural spawning grounds along the coast of Massachusetts. The results secured were 40,000,000 in excess of the previous year. Attention is particularly called to the method adopted of planting the fry on the natural spawning-grounds instead of liberating them in the immediate vicinity of the stations, where less favorable conditions of food, temperature, etc., prevailed. At the completion of the cod work the propagation of the flatfish (winter flounder) was undertaken at Woods Hole, Mass., on a much larger scale than heretofore, as evidenced by an output of over 64,000,000 of fry from a total collection of 80,000,000 eggs, 69,000,000 in excess of the previous year. To further extend the propagation of the lobster, the most important crustacean in the waters of the United States, which is now rapidly decreasing in numbers, it was arranged not only to cover the region in the vicinity of Woods Hole and Gloucester, but also to make systematic collections from fishermen operating on the entire coast between Eocklaud, Me., and Noank, Conn. The schooner Grampus was utilized on the Maine coast for. the collection of eggs and the liberation of fry; and the steamer Fish Hawlc was employed as a floating hatchery at Casco Bay. Agents were stationed at Kittery, Me.; Boston, Plymouth, and New Bedford, Mass., and at points iu Con- necticut, who collected the egg lobsters and held them in live-boxes until called for by launches and vessels from the Gloucester and Woods Hole stations. As a result of this extension of the work, notwithstanding the poor catch, over 128,000,000 eggs were secured, producing 115,000,000 fry ; an increase of 20,000,000 over the number obtained the preceding year. During the spring and summer particular attention was paid to the food, habits, and growth of the young lobster; and much valuable information was obtained at Woods Hole, where extensive experiments were conducted in the holding of the fry during the larval stages. The experiments indicate that, under natural conditions, the young lobster is much less a cannibal than has been believed, eating his fellows 135 136 BULLETIN OF THE UNITED STATES FISH COMMISSION. only when natural food is not available. There is reason to doubt whether it lives for the most part at the surface of the water; observations have shown the young as often at the bottom and at the middle depth of the aquarium as at the surface. Reports from various sections along the coast of Massachusetts show that young lobsters are abundant; from ten to twenty, 2 to 4 inches in length, have been frequently found in a single trap. The number caught during the x>ast season is unprecedented, and the abundance is credited to the plants made by this Commission,. It is believed that if the work is continued on the same scale as in the past few years this declining fishery will be fully reestablished. In pursuance of the plan outlined in my previous report, of testing the value for shad propagation of certain rivers along the south Atlantic coast, prior to the estab- lishment of auxiliary hatcheries, careful observations on the movements, food, and growth of the young shad in various streams were made during the winter by scientific assistants. In February and early March the steamer Fish Hatch was stationed on the St. Johns River. Later in March the steamer proceeded north to Albemarle Sound, where work was undertaken at the mouth of the Chowan River with such favorable results that over 27,000,000 shad eggs were collected. This, with the collec- tions on the Potomac, Susquehanna, and Delaware rivers, made an aggregate of over 203,000,000 for the season’s work, an increase of 55,000,000 over the year preceding. With the establishment of auxiliary stations at a few points along the Atlantic coast there is little doubt, after this year’s experience, that the work can be largely increased. The lake fisheries have also received particular attention; and although, owing to restrictive legislation, the field for the collection of lake trout and whitefish eggs has been confined to Lakes Superior, Erie, and Ontario, a larger collection than in the past is anticipated, as arrangements have been made, in addition to the usual method, to pen several thousand adult whitefish in Lake Erie, with a view to stocking tlie hatcheries in the upper lakes. Arrangements have also been made for increasing the production of landlocked salmon by opening an additional station on Grand Lake Stream, Maine. Owing to the partial failure in the catch of Atlantic salmon during the past spring, when the brood fish were collected for the fall work, it is doubtful whether the collection ot eggs this year will exceed 3,000,000. The trout stations in the various sections of the country have made fair collections of eggs, and though the season is not as yet sufficiently advanced for definitely deter- mining the output, there is little doubt that all past seasons will be exceeded. During the spring and fall the usual distributions of yearling bass and crappie were made, and a carload of tautog was sent to the Pacific and planted off the Farallone Islands. The system of auxiliary stations inaugurated on the Pacific Coast last year, for increasing the output of salmon, has been further extended, so that the collections this season will probably double the phenomenal take of last year. Operations are now being conducted at the Baird, Battle Creek, and Fort Gaston stations, California; on the Clackamas, Rogue, and Salmon Rivers in Oregon, and on the Little White Salmon River in Washington. The results already achieved show the following increased collections: Clackamas, 6,000,000, against 1,000,000 in 1896. Little White Salmon, 12,600,000, against 2,125,000 in 1896. Baird Station, 7,000,000, against 4,000,000 in 1896. WORK OF THE COMMISSION. 137 The following table shows the number of eggs of nine of the important species collected during the period under consideration. Species. Annual collections of eggs. Increase over 1895. 1897. 1896. 1895. Cod 180, 000, 000 140,000,000 140, 000, 000 40, 000, 000 Flatfish 80, 000, 000 11, 000, 000 9, 263, 000 70, 737, 000 Lobsters 128, 000, 000 105, 000, 000 82, 000, 000 46,000,000 203, 000, 000 148, 000, 000 118, 000, 000 85, 000, 000 Lake trout * 16, 0C0, 000 16, 000, 000 16, 400, 000 Whitefisli * 200, 000, 000 125, 000, 000 234, 000, 000 Atlantic salmon * 2, 800, 000 2, 800, 000 983, 000 1,817,000 Landlocked salmon * 1, 000, 000 324, 000 100, 000 900, 000 Quinnat salmon * 75, 000, 000 37, 000, 000 10, 000, 000 65, 000, 000 * Season not over; number estimated. The total output of artificially-hatched fishes in the United States at the present time amounts to over one billion annually. This is about five times as great as the combined production of all Europe. To further test the feasibility of the introduction of quinnat salmon in eastern waters, 5,000,000 eggs were transferred from the Battle Creek Station, California, during the fall of 1896, and as a result 4,000,000 fry were liberated during the past spring in the St. Lawrence, Hudson, and Delaware rivers in New York State, and in the Penobscot and Union rivers in the State of Maine. In addition to these plants, 250,000 fry were retained to rear as yearlings for liberation in the Penobscot Biver during the present fall. The acclimatization of the steelhead trout in eastern waters was continued, and as a number of specimens have already been captured in the tributaries of Lake Superior, there is little doubt that this valuable game and food fish will be added to the food supply of this section of the country. Owing to the wide territory over which distributions are made, it is impracticable, except in a very small proportion of cases, to obtain exact information as to the results secured. Reports are forwarded by agents of the Commission in the field, by correspondents who have been interested in the introduction of fishes in certain waters, and by the State fish commissions, as to the results of plants made under their jurisdiction. From these sources assurance has been received of the successful introduction of the Atlantic salmon in the Hudson and Delaware rivers, numbers of specimens averaging 12 pounds in weight having been captured in New York Bay, while fully 300 were reported to have been taken in the Delaware River during the season of 1895. The rainbow trout, native only to the mountain streams of the Pacific Coast, has been successfully acclimatized in nearly every State east of the Rocky Mountains. Reports from all sections of the country indicate the successful estab- lishment of the large-mouth black bass in streams hitherto unoccupied by them. An introduction of both species of the crappie into the Potomac River has resulted from a small plant made by this Commission in 1894. As an indication of their abundance, it may be stated that 4,000 crappie, weighing between £ and 2 pounds, were removed from the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal during the mouth of March and liberated in the Potomac. Considerable numbers have also been taken in the vicinity of Analostan Island, near the mouth of Little River, opposite Washington, D. C. 138 BULLETIN OF THE UNITED STATES FISH COMMISSION. The scientific work of the Commission has an important bearing on the artificial increase of food-fishes, and is carried on with a view to determine the best methods to be pursued in fish-culture, to ascertain the results of fish propagation, and to study the habits, migrations, growth, food, enemies, and diseases of fishes. The recent marked development of the fisheries of the southern California coast makes it desirable that the extent, location, and resources of the principal fisliing- bauks be accurately determined. Accordingly, in the spring of 1897 the steamer Albatross conducted preliminary investigations on parts of that coast, having for their special object the pointing out of the possibilities for an extension of the offshore fisheries. This work will be continued until the fishing-grounds of the coast are thoroughly surveyed. In the summer of 1897, the Albatross entered on an examination of the salmon streams of Alaska. No systematic study of the salmon in different parts of this Territory has heretofore been undertaken, and important results are expected from the researches begun this season. The very active prosecution of the fisheries in certain streams threatens to seriously reduce the supply unless effective measures are taken to overcome the destruction. The conditions are so various along the 3,000 miles of the Alaskan coast on which the salmon fishing is done that no general protective law can be framed that will apply to all regions; the determination of the proper restrictive measures for the different streams thus becomes an important matter. The inquiries progressed very satisfactorily this season and will be resumed next year. Extended surveys of the streams and lakes in the Pacific States have been in progress, having for their object the study of the abundance, spawning hahits, and spawning- grounds of the salmon and other fishes, and the examination of available sites for hatcheries. In conjunction with the efforts to increase the mackerel supply on the New Eng- land coast by artificial propagation, important studies were conducted relative to the development of the mackerel egg and its natural distribution at the surface of the ocean by winds and tides. At Woods Hole, Mass., the Commission has, in addition to the hatchery, a labo ratory and a large, well-equipped residence building erected for the accommodation of those who are allowed the privilege of the laboratory for scientific research- During the past summer there was begun the organization of a corps of trained scientific experts who, under the direction of the chief of the Division of Scientific Inquiry of the Commission, should pursue a concerted line of research bearing directly on the habits and life-history of the commercial fishes and pertinent to the practical work of the Commission. This plan promises to be very successful, and it is believed will give to the Government a practical biological institution of great value. Canvasses of the commercial fisheries in their statistical and other aspects have been carried on throughout the country. In order that this information may be accurately obtained and made promptly available, a plan has been adopted of locating statistical agents of the Commission at important centers where each can give attention to a certain district. From the reports received from these agents special bulletins relating to the conditions of the fishery industries are issued to those engaged in the business and to the various boards of trade, and in a like manner monthly bulletins are issued, giving the quantity and value of the catch lauded at certain important WORK OF THE COMMISSION. 139 ports. This system has received general commendation, and will be extended to embrace all centers of the fishing trade. At the end of each year these statistics will be issued in complete form, and comprehensive and reliable data will be thus at once made available. In the general deficiency bill approved July, 1897, $4,216 was appropriated for the completion of the Manchester, Iowa, station ; $1,800 for the San Marcos, Texas, station; $2,500 for the construction of a dwelling at the St. Johnsbury, Vermont, station; also $10,000 for rebuilding the cars Nos. 1 and 3, and $500 for the investiga- tion and selection of a fish-cultural station in the State of Georgia. The Manchester station has been completed aud thoroughly equipped, and is ready for operation. The necessary improvements have been made at the San Marcos station, and work at St. Johnsbury on the superintendent’s residence is now in progress. Cars Nos. 1 and 3 have been thoroughly rebuilt and refitted with all modern appliances. A careful investigation has also been made of a number of available sites recommended for a fish-cultural station in the State of Georgia, and a full report thereon will be submitted to Congress. Further investigations with reference to the selection of a fish-cultural site in the State of New Hampshire, authorized by act approved March 2, 1895, have been made and a site selected. As soon as the property has been acquired the construction of the station will be undertaken as appropriated for in the sundry civil bill approved June 4, 1897. An appropriation of $10,000 for the establishment of a fish-cultural station in the State of South Dakota having been made on June 30, 1896, an examination of locali- ties favorably considered by ray predecessor was commenced in December, 1896. A site at Spearfish was favorably reported upon; but as this examination had been conducted during the winter months it was determined, before a final decision was reached, to make further investigation during the following summer. This resulted in the selection of Spearfish, and steps have been taken to acquire the property. As soon as the titles have been passed upon by the Attorney-General the construction of the station will be commenced. The station provided for in the State of Tennessee, by act approved August 18, 1894, was located in Unicoi County, near Erwin, after an examination of numerous sites throughout the State. The hatchery, residence, and outbuildings have all been constructed and the ponds are partially complete. Arrangements are being made to collect the necessary brood fish, and the station will be in operation by the close of November 3. U. S. Commission of Fish and Fisheries, Washington , I). C., November 3 , 1897. 7 -NOTES ON THE HALIBUT FISHERY OF THE NORTHWEST COAST IN 1895. By A. B. ALEXANDER, Fishery Expert, Steamer Albatross. The halibut fishery of the northwest coast has developed into an industry of considerable importance, there being double the number of vessels engaged in it that there Avere four years ago. The demand for this fish five years ago was mostly limited to local orders; now large shipments are made to all parts of the West. For the past two winters important shipments have been made to the Atlantic Coast by Canadian fishermen. The American catch finds a market in the States west of the Mississippi River. There being less demand for halibut in summer, the Canadian vessels continue in the fishery only a part of the year. In 1890 there were landed at various points on Puget Sound 740,000 pounds of halibut, valued at $16,750. In 1891 the amount increased to 994,000 pounds, valued at $23,620, and in 1892 to 1,410,000 pounds, representing a value of $29,140. The amount caught continues to increase yearly. From estimates made by wholesale dealers and fishermen it is safe to say that about 2,500,000 pounds were landed in Puget Sound in 1895. Two-thirds of this amount were taken in northern waters on banks off Cape Scott, Vancouver Island, Rose Point, and North Island, which lie off the northern end of Queen Charlotte Island. For several winters past, one and sometimes two steam vessels have fished for halibut on the northern banks, sailing from Vancouver, British Columbia. At first the enterprise was not very successful, owing to the limited demaud for halibut and also to the inexperience of the fishermen. But it did not take long to find the best fishing- grounds, and much valuable time was thus saved. The success of these vessels caused dealers and fishermen of the East to become interested, and soon their capital was invested, and in the winter of 1895-96 three steam vessels were fishing for halibut on the northern banks. Two sailed from Vancouver and one from Victoria. At Vancouver the fishery is under the management of Americans and is controlled by American capital. It is estimated that the catch of these vessels was nearly half that of the American fleet, or about 1,000,000 pounds, nearly all of which was exported to the United States. Fish landed at Victoria was shipped to Tacoma ; that which came into Vancouver was shipped east over the Canadian Pacific Railroad, and distributed over the Eastern States. When this fishery began on the Pacific Coast, Port Townsend was its center, on account of having better harbor accommodations than most places on Puget Sound, but for the past few years Tacoma and Seattle, chiefly the latter, have absorbed the business. This was brought about by their having much better shipping facilities and a larger population. Now only an occasional fare is landed at Port Townsend. At one time there were three wholesale and retail fish-dealers here, but during the past year there has been only one. 141 142 BULLETIN OF THE UNITED STATES FISH COMMISSION. Nearly all the halibut caught on local banks and in northern waters by American fishermen is landed at Seattle and Tacoma. Fairhaven and Whatcom, during the past two years, have made shipments of halibut, but only in a small way as compared with Seattle; herring, smelts, and salmon are the fish mostly shipped from this northern part of Puget Sound This industry has increased 50 per cent in the past year. In 1895 there were 48 small boats sailing from Port Townsend, Seattle, and other places on Puget Sound engaged in this fishery. These boats ranged in size from 5 to 10 tons; most of them were sloops, but a few were schooners. They carry a crew of 2 to 4 men. The smallest confine their fishing to the banks off Cape Flattery and in the Straits of Fuca. A few of the larger boats make occasional trips to Cape Scott and the Queen Charlotte Islands. In addition to the small boats there is a fleet of 10 larger ones, ranging from 18 to 40 tons, averaging about 25 tons. Most of these are schooner-rigged and were built for the halibut fishery. This style of craft is the outgrowth of the small boats first used. As more northern waters were sought, it was found that boats under 10 tons were too small either for comfort or safety. They can be run economically, but the amount they carry is too small for the voyage to be remunerative. A few fishermen have talked of introducing sailing vessels of from 75 to 100 tons in this fishery, similar to those employed on the Atlantic Coast. Such vessels would be very expensive, and it is claimed that they would be less profitable than the vessels now employed. The banks on this coast not being so large as those on the Atlantic, a fleet of 10 or 12 large vessels fishing in one locality would soon temporarily exhaust the supply, and considerable time would be lost in searching for new grounds. The experience of the past few years shows that vessels of from 30 to 40 tons are best suited for the halibut fishery on the Pacific Coast, and are the type most likely to be used in the future. In spring most of the small boats and some of the large ones fish on Flattery Bank and adjacent grounds. As the season advances halibut in this region grow scarce and better fishing is found on local “ spots” in the Straits of Fuca. During the spring and summer months good fishing is found on small banks OS' the San Juan Islands and in the vicinity of Port Townsend. As the halibut fishery has increased, fishermen have been searching for new grounds. The first ground of any importance discovered north of Cape Flattery Bank was in the vicinity of Cape Scott, on the northern end of Vancouver Island. Halibut were found here in considerable numbers and it was thought that the ground covered a large area, but it was soon learned that the bank was small and the best localities confined to small patches, found only by landmarks. On these places fish are some- times very abundant, but no extensive fishing can be carried on. A fleet of vessels would soon exhaust the supply. Fishermen say that halibut on this ground are now very scarce as compared with two years ago. The character of the bottom on the Cape Scott ground is rocky. The weather here at times is very stormy, making fishing very difficult. Foggy weather prevails for many days at a time, and at such times when fish are scarce in one place it is not easy to find another ground, owing to the landmarks being hidden from view. On several occasions halibut on this ground have suddenly disappeared, and on investigation they were found on the north side of Hecate Strait, in the vicinity of Provost Island. It was reported that a prolific ground was off Lyall Island, from 5 to 8 miles off shore, but only small catches have been taken there. THE HALIBUT FISHERY OF THE NORTHWEST COAST. 143 One of tlie best grounds yet discovered lies off the northern end of Graham Island, between Rose Point and North Island. All along this shore, a distance of GO miles, good fishing is found in from 25 to 40 fathoms of water. The bottom is chiefly sand. Fish are found here in considerable numbers at all seasons, but they are more abundant in the winter and fall months. From Rose Point southward below Cape Fife nearly to White Cliffs, a distance of nearly 30 miles, halibut are abundant. The bottom is sandy, and the water very shallow, from 4 to 5 fathoms being the depth where the most fish are taken. Vessels on this ground are frequently in a dangerous position, there being many bars and shoals not located on the chart. When fishing off the northern end of Graham Island, the only shelter to be had when a gale suddenly comes on from the northwest is under the southeast side of Rose Point. If vessels are fishing on this side of the island, and the wind increases fresh from the eastward, they are compelled to seek shelter on the west side of Rose Point. When the wind blows here with any great force, the sea becomes very rough. Fishermen say that it is a dangerous locality, and those not thoroughly acquainted should give it a wide berth. Across Dixon Entrance, on the south side of Prince of Wales Island, in the vicinity of Nicholas Bay and Cape Chacon, a few schooners have taken good fares. Here, as at Cape Scott, the ground is made up of small “spots,” which can only be located by landmarks. Only a few vessels can fish on this ground; it is said that even a small fleet would soon exhaust the ground, not permanently, but for some weeks. The Indians of this locality catch halibut here in considerable numbers, and from these people the white fishermen soon learn the best places. The best banks, so far as discovered, are in the Canadian waters; few places in southeastern Alaska have been found where halibut are in such abundance as on the above-mentioned grounds. Canadian vessels fish mostly on grounds off Banks, Goschen, and Stephens islands, which lie on the east side of Hecate Strait. The bottom is composed of sand, shells, and patches of rock, with a depth of water varying from 6 to 35 fathoms. A bank makes off from the Warrior and Seal Rocks and extends nearly across the Strait to Cape Fife. From the northern end of Banks Island to Shrub Island on the south, aud also off Goschen and Stephens islands, halibut are abundant during the winter months. Around the Gardner Islands, which lie 32 miles SE. by E. from Banks Island, is a good fishing-ground. In the winter of 1895, 90,000 pounds of halibut were caught there by one vessel in three days. About 12 miles S. £ W. from the southern end of Gardner Islands is a small bank covered by 14 fathoms of water, where at seasons halibut are found in abundance ; several trips have been taken here. Sixty miles farther south from the last place mentioned is a small bank off the north side of Hecate Island. Indians of this region fish with set lines. Few white fishermen have ever taken halibut here, though Indians catch considerable quantities near Killisnoo; but the ground is not large enough to induce a fleet of vessels to fish on it. In many places around Prince of Wales Island halibut are plentiful, but there are no extensive banks. Halibut on the northern banks are sometimes very erratic; in places where they are numerous one day few will be found the next. It frequently happens that a vessel will have good success for several days and in a few hours’ time fish will 144 BULLETIN OF THE UNITED STATES FISH COMMISSION. become so scarce that it is useless to remain longer on the ground. Fishermen can give no cause for this sudden disappearance other than that the halibut are traveling in schools, going from one bank to another, not stopping long at any one place. On all the grounds halibut are more plentiful in winter than in summer, and are scarcer in June than at any other time in the year. At this season they begin to scatter all through the numerous bays and channels of British Columbia and south- eastern Alaska. At places where salmon canneries are located, halibut in considerable numbers are seen feeding on the offal that is thrown away. In the fall months fewer halibut are found among the islands; it is then that they seek more remote localities. Fishermen say that on banks composed of rock, sand, and gravel bottom the food of halibut is largely sand-lance. In the vicinity of Bose Point their food is mostly crabs, the bottom being thickly covered with that species. It is said that on ground where red rockfish are plentiful few halibut may be looked for. Herring, both fresh and salt, is the bait principally used for catching halibut. Boats sailing from Puget Sound ports lay in a supply before starting out on a voyage. It is generally kept on ice, although sometimes a quantity is salted. Considerable salt herring is used by the Canadian vessels. When on the fishing-grounds the trawls usually take large quantities of small fish of various species, which are not market- able; these are also used for bait. Halibut, not being very particular as to what kind of bait is presented to them, it is not at all difficult to satisfy their appetite. Dogfish, with the skin removed, makes a very good bait; good catches have been taken with it. The price of halibut on this coast does not fluctuate in the same manner as it does in the East. While it sometimes suddenly rises 4 and 5 cents a pound, it seldom goes above 10 cents a pound. The average price for 1895 and 1896 wras from 2f to 3 cents a pound. During the month of June several trips werq sold for a cent a pound. A trip of 20,000 pounds lay in the harbor of Seattle a week without receiving an offer, the fish being finally taken to Tacoma and sold for a cent a pound. As a rule the supply of halibut exceeds the demand, keeping the price at a low figure. Halibut caught on Flattery Bank average about 18 pounds; those taken on grounds in the Straits of Fuca run about 25 pounds. Fish from the Straits are better in quality than those from the offshore grounds. The northern halibut are still larger than those in the Straits of Fuca; they average fully 30 pounds, and occasion- ally individuals weighing 175 and 200 pounds are caught. As a rule, fish of this size are inferior in quality, and many of them are not considered worth saving at all. Frequently among the large halibut gray ones will be found, but few of this color are found among small fish. An occasional trip of fletched halibut is caught on the northern banks, but this branch of the fishery has never been carried on very extensively, owing largely to the light demand for smoked halibut on the Pacific Coast. A number of carloads of fresh halibut shipped east that did not meet with ready sale have been fletched and smoked. Fletches from northern halibut are of good quality, but those from halibut caught in the vicinity of Cape Flattery are not considered so good. PROCEEDINGS AND PAPERS NATIONAL FISHERY CONGRESS, TAMPA, FLORIDA, JANUARY 19-24, 1898. F. C. B. 1897—10 145 CONTENTS. Page. Prefatory note 147 Proceedings of the Congress 149-164 List of delegates in attendance at the Congress 164-165 International Fishery Association 167-168 Methods of plankton investigation in their relation to practical problems. By Jacob Reighard. 169-175 The importance of extended scientific investigation. By H. C. Bumpus 177-180 The utility of a biological station on the Florida coast in its relation to the commercial fish- eries. By Seth E. Meek 181-183 Establishment of a biological station on tbe Gulf of Mexico. By W. Edgar Taylor 185-188 Some notes on American ship worms. By Charles P. Sigerfoos 189-191 An economical consideration of fish parasites. By Edwin Linton 193-199 The fish fauna of Florida. By Barton W. Evermann 201-208 The lampreys of central New York. By H. A. Surface 209-215 The protection of the lobster fishery. By Francis H. Herrick 217-224 The Florida commercial sponges. By Hugh M. Smith 225-240 On the feasibility of raising sponges from the egg. By H. Y. Wilson 241-245 The Hudson River as a salmon stream. By A. Nelson Cheney 247-251 A plea for the development and protection of Florida fish and fisheries. By J. A. Henshall. . 253-255 International protection for denizens of the sea and waterways. By Bushrod W. James 257-263 The restricted inland range of shad due to artificial obstructions and its effect on natural reproduction. By Charles II. Stevenson 265-271 The green turtle, and the possibilities of its protection and consequent increase on the Florida coast. By Ralph M. Munroe 273-274 Some factors in the oyster problem. By II. F. Moore 275-284 The oyster-grounds of the west Florida coast: their extent, condition, and peculiarities. By Franklin Swift 285-287 Tbe oysters and oyster-beds of Florida. By John G. Rrrge 289-296 The Louisiana oyster industry. By F. C. Zacharie 297-304 The oyster-bars of the west coast of Florida : their depletion and restoration. By H. A. Smeltz. 305-308 Notes on the fishing industry of eastern Florida. By John Y. Detwi'ler 309-312 Oysters and oyster-culture in Texas. By I. P. Kibbe 313-314 The methods, limitations, and results of whitefisb -culture in Lake Erie. By J. J. Strauahan. 315-319 A brief history of the gathering of fresh-water pearls in the United States. By G. F. Kunz_. 321-330 The red-snapper fisheries : their past, present, and future. By Andrew F. Warren 331-335 Some brief reminiscences of the early days of fish-culture in the United States. By Livingston Stone 337-343 The relations between State fish commissions and commercial fishermen. By W. E. Meehan. . 345-348 Possibilities for an increased development of Florida’s fishery resources. By John N. Cobb. . 349-351 The utility and methods of mackerel propagation. By J. Percy Moore 353-361 The large-mouthed black bass in Utah. By John Sharp 363-368 Florida fur-farming. By J. M. Willson, jr 369-371 146 PREFATORY NOT IJ. S. Commission of Fish and Fisheries, Washington , I). C., February 23, 1898. The National Fishery Congress, which convened at Tampa, Florida, in January, 1898, pursuant to the call of the governor of Florida, was attended by a large number of persons prominently connected with the fisheries, fish- cultural work, scientific research, and general economic pursuits from all parts of the United States. Papers covering a wide range of subjects were presented, and some of them evoked considerable discussion. A number of special topics of timely importance were brought up, some of which formed the basis for formal resolutions. Of scarcely less consequence than the regular proceedings of the Congress was the opportunity afforded the dele- gates for the personal interchange of opinions and experiences. In order that a permanent record may be made of the work of the Congress, the Commission has undertaken the publication of the papers and an abstract of the proceedings, but in so doing assumes no responsibility for any opinions expressed. For the purpose of expediting the issuance of this report, it has been deemed advisable to utilize the Bulletin for 1897, although the proceedings more properly belong in the Bulletin for 1898, the printing of which will not begin for some months. George M. Bowers, Commissioner. 147 8 -PROCEEDINGS OF THE NATIONAL FISHERY CONGRESS, HELD AT TAMPA, FLORIDA, JANUARY 19-24, 1898. Wednesday, January 19. The convention met at noon in the casino of the Tampa Bay Hotel and was called to order by Hon. M. E. Gillett, mayor of Tampa. On motion of Hon. S. G. McLendon, of Georgia, Mr. Gillett was made temporary chairman, and on motion of Maj. A. A. Wiley, of Alabama, Mr. H. Cunningham, secretary of the Tampa Board of Trade, was elected temporary secretary. On motion of Mr. William E. Meehan, of Pennsylvania, the chair appointed the following committee on credentials and permanent organization, the chairman being subsequently added to the committee : Mr. W. E. Meehan, of Pennsylvania, chairman ; Hon. S. G. McLendon, of Georgia; Maj. A. A. Wiley, of Alabama; Dr. H. M. Smith, of Washington; Mr. F. Q. Brown, of Massachusetts, and Gen. Patrick Houston, of Florida. On motion of Major Wiley the following resolution was adopted: Resolved, That no resolution will be considered by this Congress that is not germane to the call of Governor Bloxham, and that all resolutions shall be referred, without debate, to the committee on resolutions, when duly raised by this Congress. The chairman announced that it was expected that at this morning’s session Governor Bloxham would deliver an address of welcome and that the work of the convention would begin, but owing to the fact that a great many delegates, who expected to be here, were en route and would arrive on incoming trains, it was thought best to defer further action until to-morrow. The Congress then adjourned until 11 o’clock a. in., January 20. Thursday, January 20. The Congress was called to order by Temporary Chairman Gillett. The secretary then read the following call of Governor Bloxham for the Congress : Executive Mansion, Tallahassee, Fla., April 14, 1897. Impressed with the importance of propagating and protecting the fish in the waters of the United States, and the necessity of devising means and formulating methods to save from total extinction many varieties of valuable food-fish, we have deemed it proper to issue a call for a National Fishery Congress to assemble at Tampa, Fla., on the 19th day of January, 1898. The National Fishery Commission of the United States will take a prominent part in the proceed- ings of this assembly. We respectfully request the governors of the various States of the Union, and the fishery com- missioners of the same, to appoint delegates to this Congress, which should command the earnest 149 150 BULLETIN OF THE UNITED STATES FISH COMMISSION. attention of all good citizens of the United States. In this interest we commend the words of Hon. T. T. Wright, who says : "The water farms of the United States, oceans, lakes, and rivers, are neglected and but half developed. Let us turn on them the search-light of science to reveal their treasures and possibilities, and thereby increase openings for new fields of labor and a larger supply of food for mankind.” Trusting that this Congress will receive the consideration it deserves, and that its deliberations may prove beneficial to the citizens of the United States and the world at large, W. D. Bloxham, Governor of Florida. Mr. Gillett then addressed the meeting, welcoming the delegates in behalf of the city of Tampa, after which he introduced Governor Bloxham, who spoke as follows: The assembling of this Fishery Congress is the result of the suggestion of Col. T. T. Wright, one of the most progressive intellects of the South. His presentation of the possibilities of such a meeting was the prompting cause of my issuing the call, and he organized the movement so well executed by Tampa’s board of trade and Dr. H. M. Smith of the United States Commission of Fish and Fisheries. Tampa’s representative will bid you welcome to this city ; and I have been requested to welcome you not only to this progressive and prosperous city, but to Florida. I take pleasure in performing the task, feeling that in doing so I but voice the sentiments of our entire people. I welcome you to a State whose history is the most romantic in the annals of America. When familiar with the raiment with which nature has clothed her — the richest that a tropical luxuriance could furnish so captivating a figure — with her limpid streams glistening like sheens of silver under a semitropical sun; with deep-bedded rocks reflecting with a dazzling brilliancy God’s great orb of light, and penciled fringings of the richest foliage adding a halo to their unsurpassed beauty, can we wonder that fable’s persuasive tongue invested her with treasures surpassing the famed El Dorado? Are we surprised that imagination’s “weird sisters” pictured her waters as holding by divine right the most precious of Hygeia’s elixir to restore honorable but tottering infirmities to the freshness and vigor of robust manhood, and that the hope of this famed fabled physical regen- eration should have served as an irresistible stimulant to Spain’s lion-hearted cavalier, Ponce de Leon ? You meet here upon historic ground, where the footprints of some of Spain’s greatest cavaliers and America’s noblest captains can be traced. While it is not my intention to recur to their heroic deeds, or to offer you a cup filled with the ambrosia of ancient story, yet there is one romance, based upon historic fact, associated with this very spot, that I feel you will kindly indulge should a brief reference thereto be made. Wherever the history of America is read, there the story of Pocahontas is known. The romance is most captivating, and some of Virginia’s most honored sons trace back a lineage to this daughter of the forest. But the historic fact that a similar scene was enacted on this very spot, three-quarters of a century before the name of Pocahontas was ever lisped by English lips, is unknown even to many Floridians. It was here, in 1528, twelve years before De Soto landed upon Tampa’s Bay, that Juan Ortez, a Spanish youth of eighteen, having been captured at Clearwater, was brought before Hirrihugua, the stern Indian chief, in whose breast was rankling a vengeance born of ill treatment of his mother by the followers of the ill-fated Narvaez. Ortez was young and fair, but the cruel chief had given orders, and here was erected a gridiron of poles, faggots were prepared, and young Ortez was bound and stretched to meet the demands for a human sacrifice. The torch was being applied, the crackling flames began to gather strength for a human holocaust, when the stern chief’s daughter threw herself at her father’s feet and interposed in Ortez’s behalf. Her beauty rivaled that of the historic dame “whose heavenly charms kept Troy and Greece ten years in arms.” The soft language of her soul flowed from her never-silent eyes as she looked up through her tears of sympathy, imploring the life of the young .Spaniard. Those tears, the ever-ready weapon of a woman’" weakness, touched the heart of even the savage chief, and Ortez was for a time spared. But the demon of evil in a few months again took possession of Hirrihugua, and his daughter saw that even her entreaties would he unavailing. She was betrothed to Mucoso, the young chief of a neighboring tribe. Their love had been plighted — that God-given love that rules the savage breast as — “It rules the court, the camp, the grove, And men below, and saints above.” NATIONAL FISHERY CONGRESS. 151 Her loving heart told her that Ortez would he safe in Mueoso’s keeping. At the dead hour of night she accompanied him beyond danger, and placed in his hands such tokens as Mucoso would recognize. She acted none too soon. As the sun rose over this spot its rays fell upon the maddened chief, calling in vain for the intended victim of his revenge. His rage was such that it dried up the wellsprings of parental affection, and he refused the marriage of his daughter unless Ortez was surrendered. But that Indian girl, although it broke the heartstrings of hope, sacrificed her love to humanity; and Mucoso sacrificed his bride upon the altar of honor. Ortez lived to welcome De Soto. Tell me, aye, tell the world, where a brighter example of noble virtue was ever recorded. Where in history do you find more genuine and more touching illustrations of “love, charity, and forgive- ness”— the very trinity of earthly virtues and the brightest jewels of the Christian heaven? What a captivating theme this Florida Pocahontas should present to the pen of imagination picturing this spot, then and to-day associated with romance rich in historic lore ! But I am here to welcome you to this National Fisheries Congress ; and what location more fitting for such a congress than the shores of this western Mediterranean, the Gulf of Mexico. Mathew Maury, that great intellect and writer on the currents of the oceans, that great map- maker of the air that circles above Old Ocean’s waves, states it as a physico-commercial fact that “ the area of all the valleys which are drained by the rivers of Europe that empty into the Atlantic, of all the valleys that are drained by the rivers of Asia that empty into the Indian Ocean, of all the valleys that are drained by the rivers of Africa and Europe that empty into the Mediterranean, does not cover an extent of territory as great or as fertile as that included in the valleys drained by the American rivers alone, which discharge themselves into this our central sea.” Those vast valleys furnish waste organic matter that is brought into this inland sea, furnishing abundant food for animal life. The temperature of the waters of the Gulf of Mexico and the Carib- bean Sea is most favorable to the development of the lower orders of animal life; and the animalcula and small fish feed upon this abundant supply of food, and in turn become food for larger fish. The Gulf Stream, originating in the Caribbean Sea, sweeping through the Gulf of Mexico and around the entire coast of Florida, helps to bring to our very doors this vast food supply, and gives us the best of feeding-grounds, many times the area of our State. What State, then, more suitable in which to organize a national fishery congress than Florida? Stimulated by the erroneous sentiment that America’s fishery resources, on account of the great area and capabilities of her waters, are practically inexhaustible, improvidence has led, in many States, to useless and wasteful destruction that tends strongly to the depletion of their waters. The valleys drained into the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea range through all the pro- ducing latitudes of the world and embrace every agricultural climate under the sun. Upon their green bosom rests the throne of the vegetable kingdom; and in the near future, when the waters of the Atlantic and Pacific shall be allowed to commingle through a canal across Central America, the commerce of the world will here hold its court. Public sentiment is becoming largely directed and educated up to a full comprehension of the importance of the industry, and the General Government is lending its powerful aid to the dissemina- tion of information and the propagation of valuable species of food-fish. With such earnest and intelligent workers as are now in the Government employ and at the head of this great work, with the various States cooperating, we may confidently look to a cessation of useless improvidence and an increase in the supply of desirable food-producing fish. And what efforts more commanding and deserving greater consideration than the suggesting of new fields of labor looking to increasing the food supply of mankind? And where can we look more confidently for such increase than in the water farms of America? This Congress is really in the interest of the highest civilization, for no questions are of more moment than the increase or diminution of a wholesome food supply for mankind. But, Mr. Chairman, I am not here to discuss any of the phases of the many questions that may be brought to the attention of this Congress. That will be the work of specialists and experts. I am here simply to give you a cordial welcome, and in the name and on behalf of the good people of Florida, “I will welcome thee and wish thee long.” 152 BULLETIN OF THE UNITED STATES FISH COMMISSION. Hon. A. Nelson Cheney, of New York, was then presented and made the following- response to the governor’s address of welcome: Your Excellency, Ladies, and Gentlemen : On behalf of the delegates of the National Fishery Con- gress I desire to thank you, and also the people of Florida, for your most gracious welcome. As you have said, the food problem is a most important one to this country and all countries, and the fish food is not the least important. Called upon unexpectedly, as I have been, I thought that I could do no better than to state to you the beginning of fish propagation, leading back some centuries. It is said iu the encyclopedias that China and Egypt practiced fish-culture. If they did it is not probable that they practiced the fish- culture that we know to-day. The history of our fish-culture has never been written, and I regret that I must trust to my memory as to dates. It is recorded that a French marquis hatched fish in 1420. By those best informed it is believed that he did not do more than to transport the fertilized egg8 of fish from one water to another. The real father of fish-culture was Stephen L. Jacobi, a Ger- man fish-breeder, who announced the discovery in 1761. He practiced it for some twenty years before that date. His observations were conducted in a little wooden trough, and he himself or his sons continued the work for thirty or forty years. He is undoubtedly the father of fish-culture, as we understand fish-culture to-day. His methods were translated into French, Italian, and English, and George III granted him a life pension. Down to 1848 there is little or no record of fish-cultural work. Two French fishermen, Remy and Gehin, discovered, as they claimed, the process of hatching fish artificially, and were brought to Paris and there conducted a number of experiments, which happened to be witnessed by Dr. E. S. Sterling, from Cleveland, Ohio, who had as a classmate in Cleveland a Dr. Garlick. Dr. Sterling went abroad to complete his studies, and there witnessed the experiments. In 1853 Dr. Garlick brought trout from Lake Superior to a stream or pond near Cleveland, took the eggs of trout, artificially fertilized them, and hatched them in 1854. Those were the first fish to he hatched artificially in the United States. Dr. Sterling was then in Cleveland and knew nothing about this experiment until he was called on by Dr. Garlick to look at the trout. Dr. Sterling is credited as being the author of the experiments as practiced by Dr. Garlick. Soon after these experiments were made known, as they were in a paper before the Cleveland Academy of Science, it was claimed that the fish had been hatched artificially in 1804 in this country, but this was found to be a mistake. The first act of any State legislature looking to the propagation of fishes was a resolution passed by the legislature of Massachusetts in 1856. The States formed fish commissions from that date, and in 1872 the United States Fish Commission was organized — largely at the instigation of the Ameri- can Fisheries Society, as it is now called; it was formerly the American Fish-Cultural Association. One of the first acts of the society was to appoint delegates to go to Washington and recommend the creation of a United States Fish Commission. We all know the workings of the United States Fish Commission and the State fish commissions, because almost every State in the Union has a commission now. The following telegrams were read : Washington, D. C., January 20. The Secretary of State of the United States has the pleasure to extend cordial greetings to the National Fishery Congress now assembled at Tampa, in the hope that its deliberations and results will further the important objects proposed to be attained. John Sherman. London, England, January 20. The world will be benefited by your Fishery Congress. Success to it. R. Miller Arnold. Dusseldorf, Germany, January 19. Accept my hearty congratulations for the great movement you have inaugurated. May success attend your deliberations. The International Fishery Congress which you propose to organize is destined to benefit the whole world. Peter Lieber. Washington, D. C., January 19, 1898. Accept my best wishes for success of National Fishery Congr< Theodore Roosevelt. NATIONAL FISHERY CONGRESS. 153 Indianapolis, Ind., January 19, 1898. May the National Fishery Congress he a success is the wish of your Indiana friends. Albert Lieber. Regret exceedingly can not attend Fishery Congress, greater protection to one of our greatest industries. Chicago, III., January 18, 1898. Sincerely hope meeting will result in H. H. Kohlsaat. Regret extremely inability to attend. Chicago, III., January 19, 1898. Noble industrial enterprise. Thomas B. Bryan. Chicago, III., January 19, 1898. Please express to Governor Bloxham and to the Fisheries Congress my regret at being unable to accept.his and their very kind invitation, and be good enough to tender my best wishes for the success of the Congress; also present my regards to my old and valued friend, H. B. Plant, whose hospitality I am sure you are all enjoying. Stuyvesant Fish. Letters were read from President McKinley, expressing the sincere hope that the Congress would accomplish all that it was assembled for, and from United States Pish Commissioner Brice, conveying his best wishes for the success of the meeting. In response to calls from the audience Mr. H. B. Plant spoke in part as follows: I am not a public speaker, and am rarely called upon to make any address, and especially to such an intelligent set of people as I see before me now. It is a pleasure, however, to be here, in the presence of gentlemen who are devoting their time for the benefit of mankind in an effort to promote the propagation and preservation of that excellent food for man — fish. And I thank you, sir, Governor Bloxham, for calling the attention of the American people — not only the American people, but the people of the world generally — to the fact that fish must be protected. It is not an easy matter to protect the fishes of this country, whether it be the fish that swims in the water or the fish that is hidden away in the sands. You have done well, sir, to call this convention. You have done better, perhaps, than you thought to bring it to the attention of the whole country, as well as to the countries represented here, and to whom invitations have been sent by the Secretary of State of the United States. It is to be regretted that so few foreign delegates have been able to attend. I know, sir, that it was the intention of the Emperor of Japan, through his cabinet, to have sent a delegate here, and I am informed that the occasion for not sending is, as you have announced, a change in the official cabinet of the Emperor. I had the assurance of the prime minister that there was no subject that could be brought to the attention of the Emperor and the cabinet that they felt a greater interest in than that of preserving the fish industry. The Japanese are a great fish-eating people. Fish is their principal article of diet, together with rice, and I am sure that country will regret that it was not able to be represented here. In response to calls Ool. A. A. Wiley, of Montgomery, Ala., made a stirring address. Mr. W. E. Meehan, of Pennsylvania, from the committee on credentials and per- manent organization, announced the list of delegates and made the following report, which was adopted : We recommend that Mr, A. N. Cheney, of New York, be selected as president of this Congress, and that Dr. H. M. Smith, of Washington, D. C., be selected as secretary of this Congress. We further recommend that five vice-presidents be hereafter appointed by the president, to preside over the deliberations of this Congress at his invitation. We further recommend that a committee on resolutions, consisting of one from each State, shall be appointed by the president of this Congress on the nomination of such delegates as may be selected respectively by the representatives from said States. 154 BULLETIN OF THE UNITED STATES FISH COMMISSION. Mr. Cheney, on taking the chair, made the following address: Gentlemen of the Congress : I thank you for the honor you have paid me by my selection to preside over your deliberations. I am often asked the question, How many fish arrive at the age that we call adult fish! That is a difficult question to answer; hut there is this known: That during a drought in the rivers of Canada, salmon rivers especially, the hatchery men of the State of New York went to the head of one river and secured some salmon eggs. They found that only 2 per cent of the eggs were impregnated. If that, or anything near it, holds true of the salmon family, probably less than 1 per cent is hatched. In all artificial propagation of the salmon family about 95 per cent of all good eggs are hatched. That is a long step forward in fish propagation. We also rear a large percentage of other fish. But there is still another step, and, as I believe, a most important one, thatnow deserves attention. Fish-breeders have very little to do with the enacting of laws to protect fish; hut it is incumbent upon them to discover some means to feed the fish that are planted in the waters in such large numbers. The State of New York alone last year hatched aud planted of various kinds of fish 216,000,000, and the United States Fish Commission, for the year ending June 30, 1897, hatched and planted 586,000,000 fish of various kinds and ages. Of the value of artificial fish propagation I will only refer you to one item. About 1880 the shad resorts of the Atlantic coast were in a deplorable condition.- The shad had fallen off, and some- thing had to he done to restock them, and they were restocked by artificial processes. At that time the catch was 5,162,000 shad. In 1896 the catch was 13,000,000 shad, an increase of 7,900,000 fish, or an increase in the value of the shad product of $1,580,000, on the basis of 20 cents each to the con- sumer. That will show the benefit derived from artificial fish propagation. Pursuant to the recommendations of tlie committee, the chair announced the following as vice-presidents: lion. Thomas H. Watts, of Alabama; Hon. Eugene G. Blackford, of NewYork; Hon. George F. Peabody, of Wisconsin; Hon. P. J. Berckmans, of Georgia; Hon. D. P. Corwin, of Pennsylvania. The Congress then took a recess until 3 p. m. The Congress reassembled at 3.30 p. m. The committee on resolutions, as selected by the respective States, was announced as follows: Alabama, W. K. Pelzer; Florida, John G. Buge; Georgia, T. B. Felder; Illinois, S. E. Meek; Iowa, A. Holland; Kansas, Albert Finger; Kentucky, Jule Plummer; Louisiana, W. Edgar Taylor; Maine, Henry O. Stanley; Massachusetts, F. Q. Brown; Michigan, Col. Hiram F. Hale; Minnesota, Frank Bruen; Missouri, J. A. Sherman ; New Jersey, George L. Smith; New York, Edward Thompson; North Caro- lina, W. B. Capehart; Pennsylvania, W. E. Meehan; Bhode Island, C. W. Willard; Tennessee, A. J. McIntosh; Vermont, J. W. Titcomb; Wisconsin, Calvert Spensley. The reading of papers was then taken up, and Mr. W. E. Meehan was called on to present his paper on u The relations between the State fish commissions and the commercial fishermen.” The paper was discussed by Messrs. Blackford, of New York; Corwin, of Pennsylvania; Peabody, of Wisconsin; Spensley, of Wisconsin; Cheney, of New York, and Meehan. The paper of Prof. Jacob Beighard on “ Methods of estimating plankton and their value for practical purposes,” was read by the secretary. Prof. W. Edgar Taylor then read his paper on u The establishment of a marine biological station on the Gulf of Mexico.” The paper of Mr. B. M. Munroe, ou u The green turtle and the possibilities of its protection and consequent increase on the Florida coast,” was read by the secretary. The Congress then adjourned to meet at 9.30 a. m. January 21. NATIONAL FISHERY CONGRESS. 155 Friday, January 21. On tlie assembling of tlie Congress the cbair asked Hon. L. T. Carleton, of Maine, to speak in connection with the discussion of Mr. Meehan’s paper of the previous day, especially the matter of the money expended in Maine each season by anglers. Mr. Carleton said: I did not expect to take any active part in these proceedings. The printed program as distributed does not call for any paper or speech from any of the Maine delegates, and, sir, I am taken very much by surprise to be called upon this morning to make an address upon any subject connected with the deliberations of this Congress. I have been more than content to be a silent listener to the exceed- ingly interesting papers that have been read and the timely and lively discussions thereon. I count myself indeed fortunate that I was privileged yesterday to listen to the stirring address of welcome of his honor the mayor of this metropolitan city of south Florida, and that I was permitted to sit here as a delegate and hear the wonderfully eloquent speech of his excellency Governor Bloxham, the chief magistrate of this great and powerful and prosperous Commonwealth. To a person coming as I do from the frozen North to this sunny Southland, the voices of these eloquent and distinguished citizens were sweet music to my ears, more charming, I assure you, than “the voices of many waters.” And, sir, I feel that I express the sentiments, the feelings, of delegates from the North, from the West, and, in fact, of all the representatives here assembled, when I declare that we are charmed with the cordiality of the people of this State, greatly pleased with your city and State, and are enjoying ourselves to the fullest extent. Coming as I do to Florida for the second time only — my first visit was in 1861-62— the patriotic words of Governor Bloxham, when, pointing to the Star-Spangled Banner, the emblem of our national unity and liberty, he declared “ that for all time we are one and indivisible, and that we have one flag and one country and one destiny,” thrilled me through and through. We are indeed, sir, gathered here from every State in the American Union with unity of purpose, unity of interest to do as best we may to advance the great and important fish and game interests of the nation, as citizens of the best country on God’s green earth, under the best government ever yet devised by mortal man. Maine sends geeting to the earnest, patriotic, and brave people of the South, and rejoices in your marvelous prosperity, the evidences of which are seen on every hand. But I am reminded, Mr. President, that I am expected to say something about the fish and game of the old Pine Tree State — the State of Maine. You will pardon me, sir, when I declare to you that Maine in this respect, as in many others, leads the world. In her limitless forests roam countless numbers of the monarch of the forest, the gigantic moose, the bounding caribou, and the graceful, beautiful Virginia deer. In her more than 2,000 inland seas and lakes are found in greater abundance than elsewhere the square tailed trout and the landlocked salmon. The great dailies and sporting papers of the American continent are in the habit of referring to Maine as the “ Paradise of the sports- man,” and this is a very appropriate title, as nowhere else is there such sport to be had for either rod or rifle. We have an area of about 30,000 square miles in extent, and from the nature of the soil and climate, affording food and cover for numberless herds of deer, caribou, and moose, not to speak of the countless flocks of birds, both resident and migratory, including the ruffed grouse, woodcock, snipe, wild geese, black duck and wood duck, and an endless variety of sea birds — and the whole world is fast learning of our advantages in this respect. In her majestic rivers, those great highways from the mountains to the sea, is found in increasing numbers the best fish that swims the ocean blue, the Atlantic salmon. Wise, well-considered laws we have and an enlightened public sentiment. Ten thousand citizens of other States during the open season last year, now just closed, came to Maine to fish and hunt, employed our 1,300 registered guides, skilled guides, and spent $1,000,000 among our people and killed 10,000 deer, 250 moose, 230 caribou, and 160 bears, while $6,000,000 more were spent there by non-residents last year, by visitors to our seashore and inland summer resorts, making $10,000,000 expended in Maine last year by non-residents for pleasure. Do you wonder that the people of Maine are marvelously interested in fish and fisheries? We follow the example of the great Apostle Peter, we go a fishing, and invite everybody to come and do likewise. We have a health-giving, invigorating climate, wondrously charming and enchanting scenery. There is not a poisonous reptile, nor ravenous beast, nor poisonous insect in all her borders; and in her mountain streams, numerous as the sands of the seashore, are the protected nurseries of our lakes, wherein are millions of speckled beauties, the brook trout, and these feeders are so numerous, 156 BULLETIN OF THE UNITED STATES FISH COMMISSION. so well protected and restocked by artificial propagation as to give assurance that fishing in Maine will be better and still better as the years go and come. Something has been said here about the constitutional right of a State to enact restrictive or protective laws regulating the times in which and the circumstances under which inland fish and game may be taken. That question has fortunately been settled for all time in the United States. The United States Supreme Court in a late decision has declared that the people of a State, in their sovereign capacity, own the fish and the game within its borders, and may say through its legislature how, when, and where the game and the fish may be taken and disposed of; in other words, the legis- lature may give a qualified property right or ownership to fish and game lawfully taken. We have found by experience that protective laws are necessary, and that these laws must be enforced. Why, do you know that down in Maine if a person is shot by another while hunting it is called an accident, but if a person shoots a moose or a caribou unlawfully we imprison him four months “without the benefit of clergy.” As true disciples of Isaak Walton we propagate artificially the trout and the salmon, and, aided greatly by the United States Fish Commission, we are constantly making the fishing better, and the multitude is constantly growing larger who come among us, and let me say, though I am no prophet, or the son of a prophet, but only a down-east Yankee, that in these times of wages growing less and still less, and the army of the unemployed constantly being augmented, the Congress of the United States can display wise statesmanship by giving earnest attention to the improvement of fishing, better fishing to those who go down to the sea in ships, better opportunity to secure this good, wholesome food, greater opportunity to willing hands to engage in this great industry. Dollar wheat may be a bless- ing to the farmers of the West, but it means dearer bread to the toiling millions, but better than dollar wheat would be a greater abundance of fish and game and enlarged opportunities to our laboring people to engage in this great, important, and growing industry. The committee on resolutions reported organization by the election of Hon. H. O. Stanley, of Maine, as chairman, Hon. Edward Thompson, of New York, as vice-chairman, and Mr. W. E. Meehan, of Pennsylvania, as secretary. The committee also presented a resolution calling for a statement at each session of the program for the next session, which was adopted. The secretary gave notice of a complimentary excursion to the Manatee Eiver provided for the delegates by the Tampa Board of Trade on Saturday, January 22, on the steamer Margaret ; also a trip on the U. S. Fish Commission steamer Fish Haivk on Tampa Bay, for exhibiting the methods of deep-sea dredging, etc. The following telegram was read : Omaha, Nebr., January 20, 189S. Unable to be present at meeting of Congress, but send greeting and invite all members to visit Trans-Mississippi and International Exposition at Omaha during meeting of American Fisheries Society third Wednesday in July, current year. W. L. May, President American Fisheries Society. The following letter from Mr. A. Milton Musser, of Salt Lake City, Utah, was read by the secretary and discussed by Mr. Edward Thompson, of New York: It would give me great pleasure to attend the Fishery Congress, were it possible for me to do so. For the information of the managers I will give brief data respecting the Utah fish industry. The native fishes consist of mountain trout, Williamson’s whitefish (both very choice), suckers, chubs, and mullets; more suckers than all others put together. During my labors for the Territory and the State as fish and game commissioner, I introduced from the East and West and planted in our public waters some 11,000,000 of choice fishes. Most of these were gifts from the general government, and consisted of whitefish, shad, black bass, rock bass, perch, crappie, sunfish, speckled, rainbow, and lake trout, catfish, eels, carp, etc. We hope soon to have an abundant supply of the best of these fishes for home consumption and sale to our neighbors. We have not yet attempted to increase our supplies by artificial means. Our legislators thus far have refused to appropriate funds for a public hatchery. Long ago I came to the conclusion that the only way to NATIONAL FISHERY CONGRESS. 157 keep our mountain streams stocked with trout would be by turning into them a few million fry every year from a local hatchery. The basses, etc., need no artificial manipulation. They multiply very rapidly, and, as a rule, find suitable places to spawn in the waters in which they are planted. The salinity of Great Salt Lake is too great for the propagation of fishes. Nothing larger than the brine shrimp is found in its waters. At different periods since the year 1850 the following densities have been observed by different persons: 22.28, 14.99, 16.716, 19.557, and 22. As has been suggested, I hope your Congress will find some process for drying fish when taken from the water, so that they can be shipped as hay, cotton, etc., are shipped to the marts. This would indeed be a grand consummation, especially if it is comparatively inexpensive. I have all along contended that an acre of water can be made more remunerative than an acre of land, and when the comparative labor and expense bestowed upon their respective cultivation is considered, the force of the conclusion is irresistible. Our large lakes have never been thoroughly prospected. Only a very limited area has been seined, and we do not know what might be found in the great areas not yet seined. Under the pressure brought to bear on our legislators by selfish men, an abnormal and no doubt unconstitutional provision was put iu the fish and game law of the State, which obliges seiners to hire and pay the warden for his presence during the seining. The provision reads : “Provided, that before any person shall use a seine * * * such person shall secure the pres- ence of either the county warden or his deputy, who shall be paid not to exceed $2 per day by the party drawing the seine.” I would be surprised to find any such provision in the fish law of any other State in the Union. To discriminate against fishermen alone is class legislation, and to oblige them to pay a second party to keep them from breaking the law is, indeed, to say the very least, remarkable legislation. The result is that nearly all the seiners are forced out of the business. Another source of evil, which nearly amounts to a crime, is that carp, suckers, etc., are permitted to multiply prodigiously and prey upon the spawn and fry of the good fish and to occupy the waters largely to their exclusion. Further, the poor people who can not afford to pay from 15 to 30 cents per pound for hass, trout, etc., are barred from purchasing the commoner kinds, which by this lawless law virtually prevents their being caught. The president, having called Vice-president Corwin to the chair, presented his paper, “The Hudson as a salmon stream.” In the discussion which followed Messrs. Meehan, Corwin, Titcomb, Thompson, Spensley, Peabody, and Cheney participated. Dr. H. C. Bumpus, of the Rhode Island Fish Commission, then read his paper on “The importance of extended scientific investigation.” In discussing the paper Hon. E. Gr. Blackford, of New York, said: The point emphasized by Professor Bumpus as to the proper handling of fish is a very important one, especially to the fishermen of Florida. Some ten years ago, when the first shipment of fresh fish was made to New York from the State of Florida, they were thrown into large casks, indiscriminately, and chunks of ice weighing 15 pounds each were put upon top of the fish, then another layer of fish was thrown upon the ice, and again another layer of broken ice, and the whole put under a canvas cover on the steamer. These were Spanish mackerel. On the arrival of the steamer at New York the entire shipment had to be thrown away, as a large portion of the fish were spoiled by decomposition, and the remainder were so badly bruised as to be unfit for market purposes. This was a costly experiment for the shipper; yet year by year experience has demonstrated to the shippers of fish the importance of careful handling and packing, so that now mackerel, pompano, sheepshead, and other fish are sent from the most remote parts of Florida to the New York market in perfect condition, and bring a fair and remunerative price to the producer. As an example of the increased returns to the shippers from careful handling, I call the attention of the convention to the fact that certain shipments of shad, going to the New York market from North Carolina, bring from 25 per cent to 40 per cent more than other shad from the same locality. For instance, a certain shipper from Albemarle Sound, North Carolina, pursues the following method: His shad are carefully taken from the nets and placed in a cold room until thoroughly chilled, then packed in boxes ; first a layer of fine ice, broken into lumps no larger than chestnuts, is placed in the bottom of the box; then the shad are placed in rows, lying on their backs, making a complete layer on the ice; then a layer of fine ice is spread over the bellies of the shad, and on this layer is another 158 BULLETIN OF THE UNITED STATES FISH COMMISSION. row of shad; all the shad are packed in a similar way; then the top of the box is filled with fine ice and the cover nailed securely on. These shad reach the New York market in a perfect condition, and so well known has this shipper’s mark or brand become that the buyers are always on the lookout for this particular brand, and these shad are the first that are sold and bring the highest prices. On arriving in New York the fish have not moved from their position in the box, the ice is still intact, and on opening the box we find all the fish to be in a perfect condition, each scale undisturbed, and the whole presenting the appearance of a glistening jewel just taken from a casket. As I said before, these fish bring a very much greater price than other fish shipped from the same locality ; the latter have been packed in a careless and slovenly way, and the packages when opened in the New York market do not look inviting, and, as a result, are not sought for and can only be sold by marking down the price. What I wish to impress upon the shippers and fishermen is that for every dollar invested in labor and ice in packing the fish they will receive $10 in return. Mr. J. M. Willson, jr., of Kissimmee, Fla., read a paper on u Florida fur-farming,” relating to the breeding of otters in captivity, which was briefly discussed by Mr. Blackford. A pair of live otters raised in captivity were exhibited. Col. F. C. Zacharie, of Louisiana, brought up the subject of crayfishes in the Mississippi levees, showing the damage done by a certain species, which appeared only during high water. Dr. H. C. Bumpus, Dr. H. F. Moore, and Mr. C. H. Townsend made remarks on the subject. A recess was then taken until 3 p. m. On the reassembling of the Congress, the president called Vice-president Peabody to the chair. The afternoon session was occupied in the reading of papers aud discussJons thereon. Prof. H. A. Smeltz, of Tarpon Springs, Fla., delivered a paper on the “ Florida oyster-bars, their depletion and restoration,” and exhibited specimens of live oysters attached to various objects, from the vicinity of Tarpon Springs. Mr. Blackford, Dr. Moore, and Colonel Zacharie spoke on the subject. In the discussion of the paper Mr. Blackford said : One point as to the oyster question brought forward so very interestingly by Professor Smeltz, in speaking of the efforts that should be made to obtain legislation : He seems to lay a great deal of force upon the fact that a revenue might be obtained from the leasing or selling of these grounds for oyster-culture. I think that is the wrong end of it. I think that the terms should be such as to invite oyster-culture, to protect the industry by giving the man the right, by lease or selling the ground outright, on such terms as would encourage him to go into the business. There is no reason why a revenue should be sought from the oyster-cultivator for the purpose of lowering the tax upon the farmer who occupies the upland. I think this the wrong way to go at it. I think we should make legislation so as to encourage and promote oyster-farming, to obtain such an immense product that it would bring a large business to the State, and consequently wealth, but not particularly for the purpose of raising a revenue for the State and thereby reducing the taxes of other people. Dr. Moore said: I have given the subject of oyster-culture some attention during the last year or more. I have been interested in it more or less for a number of years, and I have given particular attention to the facts which Mr. Blackford has just brought up. I am inclined to agree with what he has said. I think the main unfortunate feature of our oyster legislation heretofore has been the effort to get a NATIONAL FISHERY CONGRESS. 159 large income. The prospects of acquiring a large revenue to the State have been held out. The income to he derived from oyster-culture has been very much magnified by those who have given the subject attention, and legislatures have become imbued with an entirely erroneous idea concerning the matter. Their aim has, therefore, been to secure as large an amount of the revenue as possible, and in many cases this has resulted in the enactment of laws which were practically prohibitory, so far as oyster-culture is concerned. This is the case in the State of Virginia. They have there an enactment allowing the leasing of the land. The annual rental was at first 25 cents per acre. The legislators from the interior of the State of Virginia believed that vast revenues’ were being derived from these oyster-bars, and it immediately became their aim to secure a larger share of this revenue for the State. The consequence has been that the annual rental has been raised, to the detriment of oyster-culture. Col. F. C. Zacharie, in discussing tlie subject, spoke as follows : As a member of the bar, as a lawyer, I desire to say something in regard to the laws which we have in the State of Louisiana, supplementary to the comments of Mr. Blackford and Dr. Moore. I am not familiar enough with the oyster laws of the other States to say what their provisions are, or what is the principle upon which the oyster tax is based. One of the chief difficulties which we have had in Louisiana has been that oyster-culture is looked upon by a large portion of our legislators as an experiment, and people from the interior are very ill-disposed toward making any experiments which increase taxation upon them. The theory of taxation is that it is a correlative and corresponding duty between the citizens and the government; that the government shall give him protection in life, liberty, and property, and that the tax which is levied on him is simply a correlative duty from the taxpayer to pay his proportionate share toward that protection. Now, in view of this, we have sought in Louisiana not to derive any revenue for the State beyond the needs of the regulation and protection of the oyster fishery, and so we have held out for very small taxation or fishing licenses, and have a tax upon planted oysters — a very small tax, for the purpose of meeting the expenses of the particular production and regulation of that particular industry — so that we have not sought to make the oyster industries of the State a source of general revenue. This is a tentative process or principle, because we look forward to the day, or at least some of us do, when these industries will become very much developed and very valuable, and of course as they become more valuable and remunerative and the protective system is more detailed and complicated, then will be the time for the State to tax that property, as it does all other property, in proportion to its value. I believe I make myself clear in announcing that the policy of my State has been not to derive a revenue from the oyster in dustry as a matter of general revenue, but merely to attempt to raise a revenue sufficient to regulate and protect the industry, and when we placed it on that basis we found that the people from north Louisiana and the interior middle district of Louisiana were perfectly willing to pass any legislation which they thought productive of good in regard to the oyster industry, providing it did not cost them anything. Mr. Meehan read the paper by Dr. Bushrod W. James, of Philadelphia, on “ Inter- national protection for the denizens of the seas and waterways.” Mr. J. F. Welborne, of Sanford, Fla., read a paper by Mr. George W. Scobie, of Titusville, Fla., entitled “ The fishing industry on the east coast.” Dr. H. F. Moore read an article by Dr. J. P. Moore, of Philadelphia, on “ The utility and methods of mackerel propagation.” Adjournment was then taken until Monday morning, January 24. Saturday, January 22. In the evening, in the music hall of the Tampa Bay Hotel, Mr. Charles H. Town- send, of the United States Fish Commission, gave a lecture on “The world’s seal fisheries, with special reference to the American fur-seal.” The lecture was illus- trated by lantern slides. 160 BULLETIN OF THE UNITED STATES FISH COMMISSION. Monday, January 24. The meeting was called to order by President Cheney. He presented a letter he had received from Mr. Stevison, of New York, relative to a close season for tarpon in Florida, and asked any persons who were informed on the subject of the spawning time of the tarpon to report at the afternoon session. The president introduced Mr. Chow Tsz-chi, who made the following response in behalf of the Chinese Government: Mr. President and Gentlemen of the National Fishery Congress: I thank you for your kind reference to my Government and also for honoring the Government of China with an invitation to be represented at this important gathering of learned and distinguished gentlemen who have assembled here in the interest of a work which is destined to benefit mankind and all the nations of the earth. How I long for words in your language to express the feelings of my heart for the many kind attentions extended to me! 1 came to you a stranger; I leave you as a brother. Governor Bloxham in eloquent words referred to the early pioneers of Florida; I would write in words of gold the deeds of Henry B. Plant, the modern Christopher Columbus, who rediscovered Florida and built the palace which now shelters us. I will ever remember you, kind friends ; my heart goes out to you in thanks unspeakable. May peace, prosperity, and happiness be with you and the people of the United States forever! The president presented Capt. E. N. del Arbol, of the Spanish navy, who said : I wish to congratulate you on the interest you are taking in such an important matter to you and to the world at large as that which pertains to fish and fisheries ; to congratulate you, too, on the numerous and valuable papers that are being read here ; to thank you in behalf of my country for the courtesy in inviting it to participate in this Congress, and for the kindness you have shown to its delegate; and allow me to express my desire that in some time to come all the navies of the world, to one of which I belong, may be a large police force whose principal duty may be to protect fish and fisheries for the benefit of mankind and to enforce the wise laws enacted for this purpose. The committee on resolutions reported the following, which were adopted : Whereas it is the opinion of this Congress that every State should have a well-organized and active board of fish commissioners, whose duty it should be to foster the fishery interests of their respective States ; to advise the legislatures in all matters pertaining to fishery legislation ; and to secure by protective, fish-cultural, and educational methods the preservation and increase of useful water products : Therefore, be it Resolved, That this Congress recommends to those States having no fish commission the appoint- ment of such at the earliest practical date. Resolved, That at least one member of each commission should be a man of scientific attainments, competent to intelligently deal with the biological phases of fish commission work. Resolved, That a copy of these resolutions be sent to the governor of each State having no fish commission, requesting him to bring the matter to the attention of the legislature; and that a copy also be sent to the governors of those States which now have such commissions. The following resolutions were also reported and adopted: Whereas, recognizing the great extent of the Gulf coast line and the fact that this section pos- sesses excellent- food fishes in greater abundance than elsewhere; that her superior oyster facilities are being rapidly depleted by lack of proper protection and investigation ; that this section possesses shrimp and other resources of great interest, with the possibility of development of still other indus- tries as yet untried; that climatic conditions being different from other sections of our country renders it necessary that the fauna of this region be given individual study; and, furthermore, wish- ing in every reasonable way to stimulate and encourage each and all of the States of the Gulf region to a more active interest in our fisheries : Therefore, be it Resolved, That this Congress express itself as favoring the location and equipment of a national fish-hatchery and laboratory at some central and suitable location on the Gulf coast, to be under the control and direction of the United States Commission of Fish and Fisheries. Resolved, That this Congress appoint a committee of five, one from each of the States bordering the Gulf, whose duty it shall be to irrge upon the United States Congress the necessity for making an appropriation for carrying on this hatchery and laboratory. NATIONAL FISHERY CONGRESS. 161 The committee appointed in pursuance of this resolution was later announced, as follows: Florida, Mr. John G. Ruge; Alabama, Maj. A. A. Wiley; Mississippi, Mr. Frank Howard; Louisiana, Prof. H. A. Morgan; Texas, Prof. W. W. Norman. In acknowledgment of the telegram from Mr. W. L. May, president of the Amer- ican Fisheries Society, the following resolution was adopted : Resolved, That the National Fishery Congress now assembled in Tampa, Fla., accepts the greeting and invitation of the American Fisheries Society, and hereby expresses the hope that the purpose and result of this Congress may, with their aid and approval, become an international one in full effect. Resolved, further, That the secretary of this Congress transmit a copy of this resolution to the President of the American Fisheries Society. A resolution was also adopted providing that in the presentation of papers preference be given to those accompanied by their authors, and another recommending that the proceedings of the Congress be terminated on this date. Dr. H. F. Moore, in referring to the resolution relative to the establishment of a biological station on the Gulf coast, called attention to the large prawns found in the waters of Tampa Bay by the Fish HawTc while engaged in experimental trawling, and their prospective importance to the State. Col. F. C. Zacharie discussed the resolution relative to fish commission boards, and asked for information relative to the organization of such boards. He gave notice of the calling of a proposed meeting of the people of Louisiana interested in fishery matters, and announced that later there would be a convention of the Gulf States for the purpose of securing uniform legislation and interstate cooperation. Mr. Meehan referred to the valuable aid rendered the Pennsylvania Fish Commis- sion by fish-protective associations, and the financial assistance given the commission after the failure of the legislature to make any apppropriation for the current year. The president then yielded the chair to Hon. E. G. Blackford, vice-president, who spoke briefly on the oyster question, and presented Dr. H. F. Moore, who delivered a paper on “ Some factors in the oyster problem.” Mr. Edward Thompson, shellfish commissioner of New York, spoke on the extent of the oyster-planting business. His remarks, in substance, were as follows: The sensible oysterman leaves natural grounds alone. After Mr. Blackford had secured a law to permit the use of barren bottoms in New York, the business increased rapidly. The great importance of liberal laws, the prohibition of poaching, and the taking up of barren grounds should be emphasized. The business is almost certain to be successful. The fifteen-year lease is a failure, as five years may be required to get a set. There should be a perpetual lease. I am a successful grower, and give the credit of it to Mr. Blackford, the gentleman in the chair. The present law ought to give place to the old Blackford law, which is good enough for all. All the members should go home and secure the enactment of liberal planting laws, where none exist. I once got a lease of 200 acres of bottom in Long Island Sohnd, spending $9,000 in cleaning the grounds, and planted 45,000 bushels of shells and 1,500 bushels of large oysters thereon. In a year I sold out my half interest for $30,000 and bought it back in two years for $50,500 at public auction. Mr. Jobn G. Ruge, of Apalachicola, Fla., then read a paper on “The oysters and oyster- grounds of Florida.” In response to an inquiry of Mr. Blackford as to whether any delegate could present information on the subject of raising seed oysters in claires or ponds according to the French system, Colonel Zacharie spoke as follows : I know of no such experiment having been tried in the Gulf States or indeed anywhere in this country. I may add, however, that members of the Bayou Cook Fish and Oyster Company have discussed the feasibility of an experiment in that direction on a small scale on their property, as it F. O. B. 1897—11 162 BULLETIN OF THE UNITED STATES FISH COMMISSION. could be tried at trifling expense. The current in Bayou Cook, like that in nearly all the salt or brackish bayous, while bringing down the finest food for the fattening of planted oysters, prevents to a great degree the satisfactory "fixing of spat,” as the spawn is carried out, in large part, into Bastian Bay or the Gulf, into which Bayou Cook empties, where it is nearly entirely lost. The reckless and wasteful fishing of the natural reefs in that neighborhood has denuded and destroyed them, so that planters in the bayou now have to go over 60 miles to the westward, mainly to Timbalier Bay, to get seed or young oysters for planting. The Timbalier natural reefs are being rapidly exhausted from the same causes as the eastward, and fishing in a few years will be entirely exhausted unless the matter is regulated by stringent legislation and execution of the laws. The planters, and indeed the fishers for market, will be forced to go farther west still when the Timbalier fisheries are destroyed. It is therefore contemplated for the company to raise its own seed in the following manner : The soil on the banks of the bayou being soft and marshy, an area of a quarter or half an acre can be readily excavated by spading to the depth of from 4 to 6 feet. An inlet, say 10 feet wide, can be cut in from the bayou so as to admit the waters thereof, and a similar outlet can be made into the bay, through which the water can be partially discharged into the sea at low tide, the reverse flow taking place at high tide. These openings may be closed by close-meshed nettings of galvanized wire or other suitable material, so as to protect the breeding oysters and spawn, in the pond to a great extent at least from drumfish, starfish, boxers, conchs, crabs, and other enemies of the oyster. Benches of poles can then be erected in the “claire” or pond, and on them will be placed earthenware tiles, or half tiles, previously limed. These tiles or half tiles can be procured frpm a tile factory a few miles above on the Mississippi River at a nominal price for the broken or damaged unsalable half tiles which would answer the purpose. The pond or "claire” can then be stocked with breeding oysters, carefully selected from prime stock. Indeed, by importation from northern and eastern quarters, crosses could be experimented with by interbreeding with the native bivalve. In the spawning season the ova of the female and the milt of the male would, in this comparatively still water, more readily coalesce with their "affinities” of the opposite sex, and a larger product of the embryo oyster be furnished. This embryo or "spat” would readily "fix” on the tiles. When this spat is sufficiently developed in size to plant, the wire-netting screens can be removed and small flatboats or shallops introduced into the "claires,” the tiles covered with spat removed from the benches and loaded on the flatboats. These being carried out into the bayou, the young plants can be scaled off the tiles with trowels or similar instruments, and dropped into and on the plant or growing beds, there to fatten, grow, and mature until ready for market. The tiles being then relimed may be placed back in the “ claires” ready for the “fixing” of the next season’s spat. In other words, the "claires” would be used as nurseries for the raising and growing of spat, which might be perhaps further improved and developed by artificial feeding. The system is called the “French,” but is in fact the old Roman method, as frequent mention is made in the old Latin writers of "oyster ponds.” The French, it is said by French writers, have also made use of these "claires” as "dcoles des huitres,” by which they profess to be able to teach the oysters, by gradually increasing the length of time during which the oyster is without water, to take in an extra supply of water like a camel about to cross a desert, so as to last through transporta- tion on long voyages and keep the mollusks in good condition. It is not definitely known that this last method has ever been tried in America, although it is believed that it has been — and that suc- cessfully. American biologists (humorously styled here "oyster sharps”) are, however, skeptical on the subject. The French governmental reports seem to substantiate the practicability of the method. In case the idea is adopted, when the Bayou Cook Company gets into operation it will report progress and results to the United States Fish Commission. If successful, each oyster-culturist will be independent of the natural reefs, can obtain all the necessary seed or spat in his own inclosure, and vastly improve the poorer species of the native oyster by interbreeding with other and choicer varieties, besides improving much the preservation of oysters in shipment in their full excellence when delivered to the consumer at far distant points. If successful, it could be conducted on a very large scale, and it would be profitable for some planters to embark in the business of raising and selling the young plants exclusively as a special branch of the trade. It would produce a revolution in oyster-culture. In reference to the opposition of oystermen to the enactment of oyster-planting laws, Mr. Blackford referred to meetings at which the oyster fishermen had had their NATIONAL FISHERY CONGRESS. 163 opposition allayed by being shown that they would have more regular and remunerative employment on planted grounds than if they worked on the natural grounds. Mr. John Y. Detwiler, of New Smyrna, Fla., read a paper on “ Experimental oyster-culture.” A recess was then taken until 3 p. m. At the opening of the afternoon session a paper entitled “The Florida commercial sponges: their nature, protection, and cultivation,” was read by Dr. Hugh M. Smith . and discussed by Professor Smeltz and the author. The committee on resolutions reported the following, which were adopted by a rising vote : Resolved, That the National Fishery Congress acknowledges the call of his excellency W. D. Bloxham for the existence of this Congress, as well as the inception of the idea to Col. T. T. Wright, and hereby gives an expression of appreciation and grateful thanks to Mr. H. B. Plant, not only for his general interest in the purpose of this Congress, but for his liberal hospitality in furnishing the use of the hall for the Congress, the excursion by train and steamer; and in thus manifesting our appreciation we also gratefully acknowledge the courtesy of his honor M. E. Gillett, mayor of Tampa, as also of Mr. H. Cunningham, the efficient secretary of the Board of Trade of Tampa, fQi- their cordial greeting; be it further Resolved, That we extend our thanks to Lieut. Franklin Swift for the pleasant trip on the United States Fish Commission steamer Fish Hawk ; be it still further Resolved, That the secretary of the Congress furnish a copy of these resolutions to those above mentioned. The question of publishing the proceedings of the Congress being under consideration, the following resolution was passed, and pursuant thereto Dr. H. M. Smith and Mr. W. E. Meehan were selected by the chair to constitute, with himself, the committee on publication: Resolved, That the president of this Congress appoint two persons, who, with himself, shall constitute a committee on publication, with powers to arrange for the editing, printing, and distribution of the papers here presented. Col. F. C. Zacharie, of New Orleans, presented his paper on “ The oyster industry of Louisiana,” which was discussed by Mr. Blackford and Colonel Zacharie. Dr. S. E. Meek, of Chicago, read a paper entitled “The utility of a biological station on the Florida coast in its relation to the commercial fisheries.” Dr. H. C. Bumpus brought up a topic which had been referred to iu the paper of Professor Smeltz read on January 21, namely, the alternating sexuality of the oyster. He asked the author to state the basis for his remark that the sex of the common Eastern oyster changes from season to season, aud requested an outline of the experiments on which the statement was founded. Professor Smeltz said he had had about 400 oysters under observation, and about 2 per cent of them apparently exhibited the condition stated. Dr. Bumpus, Dr. Moore, and Mr. Blackford referred to the great liability of error in the experiments and observations, and thought Professor Smeltz should not make a positive statement until crucial tests had been applied. Owing to the fixing of an earlier date for final adjournment than had been anticipated, a number of papers could not be read. These were read by title by the secretary, who outlined their scope. 164 BULLETIN OF THE UNITED STATES FISH COMMISSION. The following are the titles of the papers : Possibilities of an increased development of Florida’s fishery resources. By John N. Cobh. The fish fauna of Florida. By Prof. B. W. Evermann. A plea 'for the development and protection of Florida fish and fisheries. By Dr. James A. Henshall. The protection of the lobster fishery. By Prof. Francis H. Herrick. Oysters and oyster-culture in Texas. By I. P. Kibbe. Parasitism among fishes considered from an economic standpoint. By Prof. Edwin Linton. The black bass in Utah. By John Sharp. Some notes on American ship-worms. By Dr. Charles P. Sigerfoos. The restricted inland range of the shad due to artificial obstructions, and its effect on natural reproduction. By Charles H. Stevenson. Some brief reminiscences of the early days of fish-culture in the United States. By Livingston Stone. The methods, limitations, and results of whitefish culture in Lake Erie. By J. J. Stranahan. The lampreys of central New York. By H. A. Surface. The oyster-grounds of the west coast of Florida: Their extent, condition, and peculiarities. By Lieut. Franklin Swift. The past, present, and future of the red-snapper fishery in the Gulf of Mexico. By A. F. Warren. The feasibility of propagating sponges from the egg. By Prof. H. V. Wilson. A motion of thanks to the officers of the Congress was adopted by a rising vote. The Congress then, at 5.30 p. m., adjourned sine die. In the evening, in the music hall of the Tampa Bay Hotel, Mr. George F. Kunz, of New York, delivered au address on the fresh water pearl fisheries of the United States, and exhibited some choice specimens of pearls and pearl-bearing mussel shells. Hugh M. Smith, Secretary of National Fishery Congress. LIST OF DELEGATES IN ATTENDANCE AT THE NATIONAL FISHERY CONGRESS. Alabama : Joel C. Barnett, Montgomery. R. F. Ligon, jr., Montgomery. W. K. Pelzer, Montgomery. W. F. Spurlin, Camden. Alexander Troy, Montgomery. T. H. Watts, Montgomery. A. A. Wiley, colonei, chief of ordnance, governor’s staff, Montgomery. Florida : W. H. Bigelow, Tarpon Springs. F. G. Bunker, Cedar Keys. J. S. Castaing, mayor, Tarpon Springs. W. W. K. Decker, Tarpon Springs. John Y. Detwiler, New Smyrna. J. A. Enslow, jr., Board of Trade, St. Augustine. John Fiernally, Orlando. Frank Hyers, Palmetto. John W. Jackson, Palmetto. Raymond D. Knight, mayor, Jackson- ville. W. T. McCreary, Cedar Keys. William Macleod, St. Petersburg. C. E. McNeil, Palmetto. Florida — Continued. H. E. Mills, Tampa. W. A. Rawls, State chemist, Tallahassee. John G. Ruge, Apalachicola. George W. Scobie, Titusville. Henry A. Smeltz, Tarpon Springs. H. D. Stratton, Board of Trade, Jack- sonville. S. Stringer, mayor, Brooksville. Dr. C. B. Sweeting, Key West. W. S. Ware, Board of Trade, Jackson- ville. J. F. Welborne, Sanford. J. M. Willson, jr., Kissimmee. Georgia : A. H. Adams, Macon. J. H. Alexander, Augusta. P. J. Berckmans, Augusta E. P. Black, Atlanta. H. H. Cabaniss, Atlanta. H. F. Emery, Atlanta. T. B. Felder, jr., Atlanta. V. L. McLendon, Atlanta. S. G. McLendon, Thomasville. H. L. Mershon, Brunswick. NATIONAL FISHERY CONGRESS. Georgia — Continued. C. W. Parrott, Atlanta. J. J. Spaulding, Atlanta. R. D. Spaulding, Atlanta. Illinois : August Hirth, Chicago. Dr. S. E. Meek, assistant curator of zoology, Field Columbian Museum, Chicago. Iowa: A. Holland, Des Moines. Kansas : Judge Albert Finger, Girard. Kentucky : Dr. H. Garman, professor of zoology, State University, Lexington. R. P. Jacobs, Danville. Jule Plummer, Newport. Louisiana : H. A. Morgan, representative Louisiana Society of Naturalists ; professor of zo- ology, State University, Baton Rouge. W. Edgar Taylor, professor of biology, Louisiana Industrial Institute, Ruston. C. J. Wenck, New Orleans. F. C. Zacharie, New Orleans. Maine: L. T. Carlet.on, chairman Maine Fish and Game Commission, Augusta. Charles E. Oak, member Maine Fish and Game Commission, Caribou. II. O. Stanley, member Maine Fish and Game Commission, Dixtield. Massachusetts : F. Q. Brown, Boston. Michigan : C. E. Brewster, Grand Rapids. Hiram F. Hale, Battle Creek. Minnesota : A. J. Boardman, Minneapolis. Frank Bruen, Minneapolis. Missouri: John A. Sherman, St. Louis. New Hampshire: O. L. Frisbee, Portsmouth. New Jersey: George L. Smith, member New Jersey Fish and Game Commission, Newark. New York: Eugene G. Blackford, New York. A. Nelson Cheney, State fish-culturist, New York Fish Commission, Glens Falls. Warren N. Goddard, New York. G. E. Jennings, publisher The Fishing Gazette, New York. George F. Kunz, New York. C. L. MacArthur, editor The Troy Budget, Troy. Edward Thompson, New York shellfish commissioner, Northport. North Carolina: Dr. W. R. Capehart, Avoca. Frank Wood, Edenton. Ohio: Albert Brewer, member Ohio Fish Com- mission, Tiffin. Pennsylvania : D. P. Corwin, secretary Pennsylvania Fish Commission, Pittsburg. Jacob Dowler, member Pennsylvania Fish Protective Association, Philadelphia. W. E. Meehan, member Pennsylvania Fish Protective Association, Philadel- Mrs^W. E. Meehan, Philadelphia. Rhode Island: Dr. H. C. Bumpus, member Rhode Island Fish Commission; professor of com- parative anatomy, Brown University, Providence. Charles W. Willard, member Rhode Island Fish Commission, Westerly. Tennessee : Dr. W. H. Jarman, Knoxville. J. O. Kirkpatrick, jr., Nashville. A. J. McIntosh, Nashville. Vermont: Dr. James B. Tanner, Burlington. John W. Titcomb, superintendent U. S. Fish Commission station; member of the Vermont Fish and Game League, St. Johnsbury. Henry Wells, Burlington. Washington, D. C. : Dr. H. F. Moore, naturalist, steamer Albatross, U. S. Fish Commission. T. C. Pearce, car and messenger service, U. S. Fish Commission. W. de C. Ravenel, in charge Division of Fish Culture, U. S. Fish Commission. Dr. H. M. Smith, in charge Division of Scientific Inquiry, U. S. Fish Commis- Lieut. Franklin Swift, U. S. N., com- mandingU. S. Fish Commission steamer Fisli Hawk. Dr. J. S. Thompson, U. S. Fish Com- mission steamer Fish Hawk. C. H. Townsend, in charge Division of Statistics and Methods of the Fish- eries, U. S. Fish Commission. Wisconsin: George F. Peabody, vice-president Ameri- can Fisheries Society, Appleton. Hon. Calvert Spensley, member Wis- consin Fish Commission, Mineral Point. China : Chow Tsz-chi, Chinese legation, Wash- ington, D. C. Spain : Jos<5 Buigas, Spanish vice-consul. Capt. E. R. del Arbol, Spanish navy. Pedro Solis, Spanish consul. INTERNATIONAL FISHERY ASSOCIATION. On January 25, 1898, at the close of a session of the National Fishery Congress, convened at Tampa, Fla., persons interested in the formation of an international fishery association met. Prof. Herman C. Bumpus, of Brown University, Providence, B. I., a member of the Rhode Island Fish Commission, was made temporary chairman, and Dr. Hugh M. Smith, of the United States Commission of Fish and Fisheries, was made temporary secretary. The following letters were read: [Society for Professional and Technical Instruction in the Marine Fisheries.] 25 Quai Saint-Michel, Dr. H. M. Smith, Paris, November 19, 1897. United States Fish Commission: We will hold at Dieppe, in the latter part of August, 1898, an International Congress of Marine Fisheries under the presidency of M. Perrier, member of the Institute. We will organize in 1900 a third International Congress. If you organize at the Congress of Tampa an International Fish Society, this society would have charge of the organization of the Congress of Dieppe and of that of Paris in 1900. I hope that you have requested the minister of marine to be represented at the Congress of Tampa. If not, it would be necessary to do so immediately, in order that we may avail ourselves of the opportunity. Please accept, dear doctor, the assurance of my highest consideration. E. Cache ux, President of the Society for Professional and Technical Instruction in the Marine Fisheries. Paris, January 14, 1898. Mr. President: Not being able, to my regret, to be present with you at this time, I desire to announce to the members of the Congress at Tampa, that the Second International Congress of Fisheries and Agriculture will assemble at Dieppe on September 5, 1898. At the general meeting the following questions will be considered: 1. The economical transportation of fish by railroads. 2. Modifications of the rules relating to lights on fishing vessels, to avoid collisions. 3. Actual conditions of oyster-culture in France, and of the culture of mollusks. 4. Mutual agreements among sea fishermen to provide remedies in case of loss of apparatus, etc. 5. Effects of trawling near the coast. At the meetings of the sections various questions of interest will be discussed, among which I will cite : Diseases caused by the consumption of fish and shellfish taken from polluted waters. Practical means of improving the lodgings of marine fishermen. Charts of fishing banks. I have addressed to you by the same mail a report of the proceedings of the first congress. It will be desirable that the United States unite with us in organizing the International Society of Marine Fisheries or, rather, a permanent committee which will interest itself in such international congresses, and especially that which will be held in Paris in 1900. Please accept the assurances of my highest esteem. E. Cacheux, President of the Society for Professional and Technical Instruction in the Marine Fisheries. "67 168 BULLETIN OP THE UNITED STATES FISH COMMISSION. A telegram was read from Hon. John Sherman, Secretary of State of the United States, expressing his interest in the formation of an international association and stating that he would take pleasure in bringing the matter appropriately to the attention of foreign Governments. After informal discussion of the importance and functions of such an association, the following resolutions were adopted: Resolved, That pursuant to published announcements, there he organized at this congress an International Fishery Association for the promotion of friendly relations, the exchange of information and experience in fishery and fish-culture matters, and cooperation in preserving and protecting the fishery resources among the nations of the earth. Resolved, That there he chosen at this time hy this meeting a president, two vice-presidents, and a secretary and treasurer, and a committee, not to exceed forty persons, who, with the officers named, shall constitute an executive hoard. This hoard is authorized to appoint an advisory hoard, con- sisting of persons of all nations who are prominently identified with the fisheries, fish-culture, fish protection, and the study of water animals. The executive hoard is also empowered to select a suitable number of vice-presidents at large for the United States and foreign countries and any other officers who may appear desirable. This hoard is further authorized to formulate rules for the gov- ernment of the association, to fill vacancies, and to call meetings, five members constituting a quorum. The following officers were then elected: President: Prof. Alexander Agassiz, Museum of Comparative Zoology, Cambridge, Mass. Vice-Presidents at Large: Prof. Edmond Perrier, Paris, France, member of the Institute and president of International Congress of Fisheries and Agriculture to meet at Dieppe, France, in September, 1898. Hon. A. Nelson Cheney, chief fish-culturist of the State of New York, Glens Falls, N. Y. Secretary-Treasurer : Dr. Hugh M. Smith, U. S. Commission of Fish and Fisheries, Washington, D. C. The following members of the executive board were also elected: Hon. George M. Bowers, United States Commis- sioner of Fish and Fisheries (ex officio), Wash- ington, D. C. Hon. A. A. Adee, Assistant Secretary of State, Washington, D. C. Hon. L. T. Carleton, chairman Maine Fish and Game Commission, Augusta, Me. Mr. Clarence B. Mitchell, Boston, Mass. Prof. Herman C. Bumpus, member of Rhode Island Fish Commission, and professor of comparative anatomy in Brown University, Providence, R. I. Hon. Eugene G. Blackford, New York, N. Y. Mr. William E. Meehan, Pennsylvania Fish Pro- tective Association, Philadelphia, Pa. Prof. Theodore Gill, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D. C. Dr. W. R. Capehart, Avoca, N. C. Hon. W. D. Bloxham, governor of Florida, Talla- hassee, Fla. Col. F. C. Zacharie, New Orleans, La. Prof. Jacob Reighard, professor of zoology, Uni- versity of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Mich. Prof. S. A. Forbes, professor of zoology, University of Illinois, and director of the Illinois Labora- tory of Natural History, Urbana, 111. Prof. David S. Jordan, president Leland Stanford Junior University, California. Mr. Marshall J. Kinney, Astoria, Oreg. Prof. C. C. Prince, Superintendent of Fisheries of Canada., Ottawa, Canada. Mr. Adolphe Neilsen, Superintendent of Fisheries, St. Johns, Newfoundland. Mr. R. B. Marston, The Field, London, England. Mons. Raveret-Wattel, Paris, France. Mr. S. Jaffc, Osnabriick, Germany. Mr. C. J. Bottemanne, Berg-op-Zoom, Netherlands. Dr. C. G. Joh. Petersen, Copenhagen, Denmark. Dr. Rudolph Lundberg, Stockholm, Sweden. Prof. A. Landmark, Inspector of Fresh-water Fish- eries, Christiana, Norway. Mr. Alexander Hintze, Helsingfors, Finland. Dr. Nicolas Borodine, Russian Association of Fish- eries and Fish-Culture, Uralsk, Russia. Dr. Anton Dolirn, director of the Naples Labora- tory, Naples, Italy. Capt. Guilio Ricotti, Leghorn, Italy. Capt. E. R. del Arbol, Spanish Navy. Mr. Chow Tsz-chi, Chinese Legation, Washington, D.C. Mr. K. Ito, Hakodate, Japan. Tbe letters of Mr. Cacbeux and the telegram of Secretary Sherman were referred to the executive board, after which the meeting then adjourned, subject to the call of the board. Hugh M. Smith, Secretary. METHODS OF PLANKTON INVESTIGATION IN THEIR RELATION TO PRACTICAL PROBLEMS. By JACOB REIGHARD, Professor of Zoology, University of Michigan. In this country the fisherman as a rule continues to fish in any locality until fish- ing in that locality has become unprofitable. He then moves his operations to new waters until these in torn are exhausted. He is apt to look upon each new body of water as inexhaustible, and rarely has occasion to ask himself whether it is possible to determine in advance the amount of fish that he may annually take from the water without soon depleting it. On the other hand, the fish-culturist is apt to plant his fry in waters that are quite unsuited to them or to plant them in numbers far in excess of wliat the water can support. The fisherman proceeds as a farmer might who imagined that he could continually reap without either sowing or fertilizing; while the fish-culturist proceeds often as if convinced that seed might grow on barren soil or that two seeds might be made to grow in place of one. In some regions the public is beginning, through the machinery of the State, to insist that its interest in the fisheries be guarded; that neither fishing nor planting of fish should be carried on in excess; and the time is fast approaching when the State will everywhere exert its authority to control the fisheries. It will then become necessary to determine, at least approximately, the productive capacity of any body of water. It is the purpose of the present paper to discuss the method by which it has been proposed to determine the relative productive capacities of bodies of water. This method, for there is really but one, was first proposed by Hensen1 in the sea, and is based upon two principles. It is known that the many species of plants and animals which inhabit a body of water are interdependent. In the final analysis all the fishes are dependent, directly or indirectly, on the minute floating plants and animals which, taken together, we call the plankton. The total mass of plankton is, in most bodies of water, so great that, in comparison with it, it is customary to neglect the fixed plants along the shore and the animals that they harbor. That the plankton lies at the base of all life in the water is, then, the first principle. The second principle is that the plankton, considered as a whole, is uniformly dis- tributed. There is no longer any doubt that some constituents of the plankton, e. g., the Crustacea, may not be distributed uniformly.2 Wherever measurements have been 1 Hensen, Victor. Ueber die Bestimmung des Planktons. Kiel, 1887. 2 Marsh. On the Limnetic Crustacea of Green Lake. Transactions Wisconsin Academy of Science, Arts, and Letters, yoI. 11, 1897, pp. 179-224. 169 170 BULLETIN OF THE UNITED STATES FISH COMMISSION. made of the total plankton it has, on the other hand, been found1 23 that this is so distributed that nearly the same volume of it occurs under each square yard of the surface at equal depths. From these two principles Hensen concluded that a determination of the amount of plankton under a unit of area of any part of the sea would afford a measure of the productive capacity of that part. It remained to find some means of making such determination. After much labor Hensen finally adopted the method of drawing a net vertically from the bottom to the surface. Such a net strains out the plankton contained in a vertical column of water and catches the whole amount of plankton under an area of the surface equal to the net opening. From the plankton so obtained the total plankton of the water under consideration may be calculated and the results expressed in volumes or by weight or by enumerating the contained individuals. Tbe productive capacity of a body of water, as expressed in its plankton production, may thus be compared to that of other bodies of water and so may be made of practical use. The method which Hensen used in the sea was later extended by Apstein, his pupil, to fresh water. Apstein’ s results were published in various special papers and finally collected into a single very useful volume.1 This method, with some slight modifications, has since been used in this country by Beighard,2 Ward,3 and others. The great advantage which this method enjoys over others is that the water from which the net strains the plankton is a vertical column extending from bottom to sur- face, and is thus a representative sample of all the water from all depths in the lake examined. This column of water bears the same relation to the whole body of water that a sample removed from a sheet of metal by a punch bears to the whole sheet. There is no other method applicable to all conditions which has been shown to have this advantage. There are, however, certain difficulties in the use of this method. These were known to Hensen and he attempted to obviate them. The net does not, as a matter of fact, filter the whole of a column of water through which it passes. A part of the water is pushed aside and a part filtered. By an elaborate set of experiments Hensen tried to determine what part of the water was pushed aside. This depends upon the form of the net and upon the material of which it is made. If the net filters half of the column of water, then in order to know the amount of plankton actually in the column it is necessary to multiply the amount of plankton taken by two. The number by which one must thus multiply is known as the coefficient of the net. The coefficient of the net was assumed by Hensen to remain practically constant. There are, however, two factors which may cause a change in the net coefficient — clogging of the net by foreign particles and shrinkage of the net cloth so as to diminish the size of the openings in it. This change in net coefficient is the first difficulty in the use of Hensen’s method. If the pores of the cloth (Ho. 20 bolting cloth) used for such nets become clogged the net will filter less water than before, i. e., its coefficient will become greater. If the net coefficient thus changes, the results obtained with a given net at different times, or by different observers with different nets, can not be accurately compared, and a large part of the advantage of the method is lost. It is 1 Apstein, C. Das Siisswasserplankton. Kiel, 1896. 2 Reighard, Jacob. A biological examination of Lake St. Clair. Bulletin of tbe Michigan Fish Commission, No. 4. 3 Ward, H. B. A biological examination of Lake Michigan. Bulletin of Michigan Fish Commis- sion, hlo. 6. NATIONAL FISHERY CONGRESS. 171 customary in order to prevent clogging to wash tlie net at the end of each haul with a stream from a hose. It was further suggested by Hensen,1 who recognized the effect of clogging on the net coefficient, that the net be more thoroughly washed at the end of each day’s work. Hensen 2 and Frenzel 3 have more recently suggested other methods of cleaning the net. The change in the net due to shrinkage of the cloth and consequent narrowing of the pores does not seem to have been noted by Hensen. It was first pointed out by Reigliard.4 Both causes of change in the net coefficient have been since studied by Kofoid.5 He finds that owing to clogging of the net “the coefficient of the net varies with the amount and constitution of the plankton from 1.5 to 5.7,” and that “ from 84 per cent to 96 per cent of the 30-meter catch is taken in the first 15 meters of the (horizontal) haul.” Kofoid finds further that from the shrinkage of the net “ the total area of the openings in a square centimeter . . . decreases over 50 per cent.” The first difficulty in using Hensen’s method, that arising from change in net coefficient, owing to clogging and shrinkage, seems at first sight to be sufficiently serious. The second difficulty is that the openings in the cloth, although very minute, are still so large that some of the organisms of the plankton pass through them and are lost. After correcting the “catch” by multiplying by the net coefficient, the result still does not express the total amount of planktou present in the column of water through which the net was drawn. This source of error was known to Hensen,6 but he does not appear to have determined the extent to which the smaller plankton organisms pass through the net. Kofoid5 has now called attention to this subject and has determined for certain forms the percentage of loss from this source. He finds that “of Codouella as many as twenty-one individuals may escape to one retained” and that there is a great loss of other small organisms. Kofoid adds, referring to his predecessors, that, “the leakage of the plankton through the silk has been minimized or ignored and without tests of the extent to which it occurs.” An active purpose on the part of plankton workers, such as is implied in the phrase “minimized or ignored,” is nowhere evident in the literature. The truth is rather that Kofoid’s predecessors have omitted to investigate this source of error quantitatively. Though neither the variation in the coefficient of the plankton net nor its pene- trability to the smaller plankton organisms were discovered by Kofoid, he has rendered important service in pointing out their extent. It remains to consider to what degree the errors due to the above causes detract from the value of the results hitherto obtained by the Hensen method. The plankton catches thus far made by this method (as by others) have been utilized principally in two directions : I. They have been measured in order to determine the volume of plankton present in the water. For this purpose the plankton is concentrated, either by allowing it to settle in a graduated cylinder or by the use of the centrifuge, and the volume is then read off. This method is not accurate; it is merely the best method hitherto devised for the purpose. The plan kton, which is thus measured, consists of large and small organisms, and as it settles the smaller organisms are mostly packed between the 1 Hensen. Bestimmung ties Plauktons, p. 13. 2 Hensen. Bernerkungen zur Plankton Metkodik. Bio. Centralblatt, xvn, 1897, p. 510-512. 3 Frenzel. Zur Plankton Methodik. Bio. Centralblatt, xvii, 1897, p. 364-371. 4Reighard. Loc. cit., p. 59. s Kofoid. On some important sources of error in the Plankton Method. Science, Dec. 3, 1897. 6 Hensen. Die Bestimuiung, etc., p. 10, sec. 3, and p. 75. 172 BULLETIN OF THE UNITED STATES FISH COMMISSION. larger, but being lighter, are in part deposited in a thin layer on the top of the mass of larger organisms. We may consider separately the errors which are introduced into the volumetric method from the three sources above mentioned. (a) Errors due to clogging of the net.— This depends principally upon the area of the filtering surface of the net as compared to the volume of plankton present in the water. If the net surface is large and the volume of plankton in the water filtered small, there is but little clogging. The net employed by Kofoid was 25 cm. in diam- eter at the base and 40 cm. on one side. The plankton appears to have been unusually abundant (Kofoid gives no data) and the conditions otherwise un suited to the use of any sort of net. The net employed by Reigliard and Ward in the work above referred to had a diameter of 00 cm. and a slant height of 100 cm. Its filtering surface was thus about six times that of the net used by Kofoid, while the plankton in the water in which it was used was very little. In the work done by Reigkard not more than 4.5 c.c. of plankton was taken in the net at one time and in the work of Ward not more than 11.9 c.c. In a majority of the hauls not more than a fraction of these volumes was taken. The net used by Hensen was much larger (Hensen, loc. eit., p. 6), while that used by Apstein was about the size of Kofoid’s net, but it was probably used under more favorable conditions. Clogging, then, does not seem to me to be an important factor with nets of the size used by Hensen, Reigliard, and Ward. It becomes important only in case a small net, such as Kofoid’s, is used under unsuitable conditions. Some measure of its extent is desirable. ( b ) Error due to shrinkage. — This error is largely if not wholly eliminated by previous thorough shrinking of the net. The cloth used by Reighard and Ward was several times dampened and ironed before it was made up into the net and was thus presumably thoroughly shrunken. The net was also many times wet and dried before it was used for quantitative work. As may be seen from the table on page 57 of Reighard’s report, the cloth of the net used by him and later by Ward differed but little after a summer’s use from new cloth which had been once wetted and then dried; the cloth in the two cases being measured under as nearly as possible the same condi- tions. Whether the nets of other workers were similarly shrunken before use does not appear. I have not encountered any such enormous shrinkage as that recorded by Kofoid, in which the average size of net openings was reduced from .000024 to .00001 sq. cm. Everything here depends on a uniform method of measuring the cloth. ( c ) Errors due to permeability of the cloth. A large number of the smaller plankton organisms escape through the pores of the cloth. According to Kofoid “the silk net retains from £ to of the total solid contents of the water.” “The amount escaping through the silk bears no constant relation to the amount retained.” These statements are certainly very startling, but one must reserve final judgment concerning them until the conditions of the experiments upon which they rest are made known. This degree of leakage through the net may be due to the peculiar constitution of the plankton examined. The extent to which this source of error vitiates previous work can only be determined by tests of the nets used by previous workers in comparison with other methods and in the waters in which the nets were used. In volumetric determinations most of the smaller plankton organisms are packed between the larger organisms in such a way as not to affect the total volume of plankton in the measuring tube. Some of them, however, remain in suspension longer than the larger and heavier organisms, and when they settle lie at the top of the whole mass measured, and so increase its volume. NATIONAL FISHERY CONGRESS. 173 On the whole, one may say that where nets of sufficient size have been used under favorable conditions there is no good reason for assuming that the volumetric results obtained by Hensen’s method are vitiated by the first two sources of error noted above. To what extent they are vitiated by the third source of error (leakage) remains to be determined. Since the organisms which escape are the smallest in the plankton, they may be volumetrically of little importance. Their importance depends upon their abundance, and this must be investigated by other methods. When the considerable variations in the volume of the plankton itself are taken into account it seems improbable that the error arising from leakage is sufficient to seriously vitiate volumetric determinations by the Hensen method or their use for practical purposes. II. The catches made by the Hensen net have also been used for enumerating the number of organisms contained in them. Of the three sources of error above enumer- ated the first two affect this method to the same extent that they affect the volumetric method, so that by using suitable nets properly shrunken these two sources of error may be avoided here also. The third source of error, that arising from permeability of the net, is, however, fatal to the method of enumeration, in so far as it is applied to smaller organisms. In the tables of Apsteiu and Hensen, then, the enumerations of smaller organisms can not be accepted as final until it is shown that these organisms can not escape through the net in considerable numbers. For determining the productive capacity of a body of water use has been made of the volumetric method only. Where the net used has sufficient filtering surface, and where it is not attempted to use the net in situations to which it is unsuited — i. e., among water-plants and in silt-laden waters — it seems to me that this method is not only practicable, but it is the only practicable method hitherto devised, since it is the only method by which the plankton may be obtained from a representative sample of the entire body of water. It should be noted in this connection that the variations in the plankton itself are far greater than the errors of the method. We may now consider the substitutes that have been offered for the Hensen method. By this method the plankton is removed from a measured quantity of water which remains in position in the lake. We may analyze this procedure into two processes — the measuring of the water and the obtaining of the plankton from the water. For each of these processes, as carried out by the Hensen method, one or more substitutes have been proposed. Owing to the inconstancy of the net coefficient due to clogging and shrinkage, it may be a matter of uncertainty as to how much water the net actually strains. To obviate this difficulty it has been proposed by Kofoid (loc. cit.) and by Frenzel 1 that the water to be examined should be pumped through a hose. Water from any desired depth may thus be brought aboard the boat and plankton then removed from it by the Hensen net or other means. It is obvious that by this method the quantity of water obtained may be known with exactness, so the difficulty connected with net coefficient vanishes. By the Hensen method the column of water from which the plankton is obtained extends vertically from the bottom to the surface. This column includes equal volumes of water from all depths and is representative of the whole lake. It does not seem to me possible to obtain a representative sample of the water of the lake in any other form than that of a vertical column extending from 1 Frenzel, Joh. Zur Plankton Methodik, I, Die Planktonpumpe. Bio. Centralblatt, xvii, 1897, pp. 190-198. 174 BULLETIN OF THE UNITED STATES FISH COMMISSION. bottom to surface. If it is possible to obtain by the pump such a column of water, then the pump may very well replace the net so far as this part of the process is concerned. I do not say that this is not possible, but we should not assume that the w'ater drawn in by a pump through the submerged end of a hose, which is being slowly moved from top to bottom, or vice versa, is a vertical column of water. Before the pump can replace the Hensen net there must be sufficient evidence that this is so, and such evidence is not yet forthcoming. Having obtained the water by use of the pump, it is necessary to separate the plankton from it. To accomplish this, the second process into which we have analyzed the Hensen procedure, various means have been proposed. Frenzel, and at first Kofoid,1 made use of the Hensen net to strain the water pumped. In order to avoid the loss of plankton due to the permeability of the net to small organisms, Kofoid later tried various other methods of separating the plankton from the water. These were the sand filter, the filter paper, the centrifuge, and the Berkefeld filter. By each of these methods a greater number of plankton organisms is retained than by the Hensen net. (Nothing is said of volumes.) In some cases as much as 98 per cent of the total number of organisms present is retained. By none of these methods is it possible to obtain the plankton from a large volume of water in a short time, and each has besides other disadvantages which are enumerated by Kofoid. In the case of the Berkefeld filter, which was found to be the most efficient method, it was necessary to remove the catch from the surface of the filter with a “stiff brush.” The surface of the filter, which is composed of infusorial earth, was thereby disinte- grated aud the plankton contaminated by the fragments. It is to be hoped that the disintegration is confined to the filter. The large form of the Berkefeld filter (army filter) filters about 2 liters of water per minute. This is a very slow rate of filtration if one has to deal, as is sometimes desirable in plankton work, with a column of water several hundred feet long and perhaps 10 inches in diameter. The methods which it has been proposed to substitute for the Hensen method are thus seen to be deficient in two ways. For obtaining the water the pumping method is (so far as yet shown) defective in that the source of the water pumped is uncertain. It is not known that the pump can be made to deliver with accuracy the contents of a vertical column of water. For filtering the water the methods proposed, although they remove the plankton organisms more perfectly than the Hensen net, are yet inferior to it in that they are incapable of handling large volumes of water. Is it possible to so modify the Hensen method or to so combine it with other methods as to correct its errors and at the same time retain its good points'? Its errors are the variation in net coefficient, due to clogging and shrinkage, aud the permeability of the net for small plankton organisihs. Its advantages are that it filters a representa- tive vertical column of water, and that it filters rapidly very large volumes of water. Now, if it is possible to measure the volume of water that passes through the net at each haul the difficulties of clogging, shrinkage, and net coefficient at once vanish. I have not made any attempts in this direction, but I see no reason why a small current meter can not be placed within the opening of the plankton net, so as to register the rate of the current of water passing through the opening during each haul. If this rate were known the volume of water passing through the net could be calculated, 1 Bulletin Illinois State Laboratory of Natural History, vol. v, article i. NATIONAL FISHERY CONGRESS. 175 and the plankton taken would be that found in this volume of water. Ko further calculations of any sort would then be necessary. If it is possible to thus meet the difficulty arising from clogging and shrinkage there still remains the further difficulty due to the leakage of small organisms through the net. The net will have collected the larger organisms from a representative column of water. In order to obtain these large organisms it is desirable that the net should filter a very large volume of water, in some cases many cubic meters. In order to obtain the smaller organisms it is, however, not necessary to filter so large a volume of water; a few liters would probably suffice. Water for this purpose might be obtained by the pumping method or perhaps quite as satisfactorily by the well-known method of using flasks so arranged that they can be filled after being lowered to desired depths. It would be necessary to take small samples of water from several different depths and to remove the plankton from them by some one of the methods described by Kofoid as retaining the smaller organisms. The objection to this double method is that while it is entirely accurate for the large organisms taken by the net from a vertical column of water, it does not give us the smaller organisms from the whole of this vertical column of water, but rather from isolated samples of water from different levels. It seems to me, however, that if we know the large organisms in a vertical column of water, and if we know also the ratio of the larger to the smaller for certain parts of the column, we may readily calculate the volume or number of small organisms in the whole column. This volume may then be added to that obtained by the net and the total volume thus obtained. In conclusion, it seems to me that the errors of the Hensen method, the extent of which Kofoid has pointed out, are probably greatly exaggerated by the condition under which he has used the method. This Kofoid himself suggests. The originator of the method probably never intended that it should be used among water-plants and in silt-laden waters. For such waters, which are shallow, the pumping and filtering methods described by Kofoid are undoubtedly best adapted. On the other hand, these methods are by no means so well adapted to deeper and larger bodies of water. For these it seems to me the Hensen method must still be retained, and if it can be modified as suggested above, it maybe of value in such waters as those of central Illinois. Whether or not it can be modified in the way suggested, it can at least be supplemented by a method by which the smaller organisms may be more perfectly obtained. Even in its present form the method is probably sufficiently accurate under most circumstances for the purpose of making rough determinations of the relative productive capacities of different bodies of water. It must be remembered that the method as used for this purpose is at best rough, but it must also be remembered that the variations in volume of plankton are considerable, so that the errors in method are probably within the variations in the material upon which it is used. Zoological Laboratory of the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor , Michigan , January 16 , 1898. THE IMPORTANCE OF EXTENDED SCIENTIFIC INVESTIGATION. By H. C. BUMPUS, Ph. D., Professor of Comparative Anatomy, Brown University. We meet here as members of a government that within less than three decades has not only revolutionized the methods of fish-culture, but has preserved to its several States, inland as well as seaboard, an industry yielding an annual income of over $45,000,000; a government which now maintains for the propagation of its fishes a fleet of steam and sailing vessels, more than a score of liberally equipped hatching and breeding stations, and which gratuitously issues to those unable to inspect its work a series of publications of great value to practical fishermen, of vast importance to the fish-culturist, and of sterling worth to the scientific world. The names of Baird, Terrill, Goode, and Ryder are familiar in every college and university, and their well- worn publications are conspicuous in biological laboratories from Italy to Scandinavia, and from Liverpool to Tokyo. Abstracts from reports of the United States Fish Com- mission form a considerable proportion of the last annual of the British laboratory at Plymouth, England, and other governments have frequently sent .commissioners to inspect our hatcheries and acquaint themselves with American methods of work. We should be careful, however, lest the consciousness of a successful past act as a sedative for the present. The lines of research wisely indicated by the founders, I might rather say founder, of American fish-culture should be assiduously followed, and the bypaths explored. The excellent reports of the one lately in charge of the Division of Fishery Methods and Statistics of the Commission — the secretary of this Congress— give an annual guarantee of the work actually accomplished and prove beyond perad venture that the Commission is not only self-supporting, but that the fisheries under its assistance are of rapidly increasing importance. The introduction of the shad into the Pacific has yielded an average income of approximately $20,000, and the shad industry of the Atlantic, an industry yielding $2,000,000 annually, owes its continuance, if not also its existence, to the efforts of the United States Fish Commission. The planting of cod fry upon the coast of New England has replenished the waters of the east, and it is a fact that the fish were so plentiful in Narragansett Bay during the past autumn that nets could not be drawn, and the neighboring markets became overstocked. The intelligent propagation of the cod rests upon the scientific work of Professor Ryder. Successful shad raising is largely due to the researches and devices of Com- missioner McDonald. The life-history of the oyster was practically unknown until worked out by Professor Brooks. The migrations of the menhaden were unexplained before the researches of Dr. Peck. The work of Professor Libbey bears directly upon the question of distribution of the mackerel, and I venture to predict that successful 177 F. C. B. 1897—12 178 BULLETIN OF THE UNITED STATES FISH COMMISSION. sponge-culture will follow upon the continuation of the work begun at Woods Hole by Prof. H. Y. Wilson. A continuance of these and similar lines of research is an absolute necessity for the growth and development of the more immediately practical work of propagation and distribution. The collection and distribution of seeds is not the only function of the Depart- ment of Agriculture. This Department maintains a corps of scientific workers at home and abroad, and there is not a State, county, town, or hamlet that is not directly benefited by the results of its organized system of acquiring and diffusing knowledge. The efforts of the United States Fish Commission have been along similar lines and have yielded grand results, but the possibilities of the development of the fish industry have scarcely been indicated. For some years the starfish have wrought havoc among the oysters of the colder water of our coast. The fishermen have laboriously “ mopped” the ‘‘beds” with tangles of cotton waste, but have remained quite ignorant of the life habits of their enemy. A brief scientific study of the subject, however, has revealed many facts which point toward a possible, if not a probable, early correction of the evil. It has been found that the young, almost microscopic, gather in a narrow band along the shore, hidden in the eelgrass, where they may be killed off by the thousand with little labor and slight expense. Each oysterman, quite unwittingly, has been actually supporting, immediately around his oyster-bed, a nursery for the propagation of his enemy, the starfish. In one direction in particular there is crying need of both extended and extensive scientific research. I refer to a matter that received some attention at the Chicago congress, namely, that research which shall result in the development of the market for food- fish. I think I do not overstate the fact when I say that there should be three times as much fish consumed as is consumed at the present time. The problem is not alone how shall we produce more fish, but how shall we improve the industry by pro- viding a better and a more stable market for what is already produced. I feel that the fisherman and the fish-dealer are in a measure responsible for the fact that the average American can not endure fish oftener than one day in seven, and were it not for a wise provision of the church perhaps one day in seven would be far too frequent. While the dressing and shipping of meat and poultry has become almost an art, the methods of dressing and handling fish are crude in the extreme. The abuse of fish as an article of food begins at the moment it is captured and extends to, and often beyond, the kitchen. I need not relate the rough handling on board the smack, the careless packing, and the slovenly condition of our markets; these are all prejudicial to the consumer as well as to the fish; but I wish to emphasize the fact that they are also sources of great loss to the dealer. The blood that is ordinarily allowed to remain in the fish is the very medium that the bacteriologist uses for the culture of microbes, and its retention in the body of the fish provides the very medium in which the germs of decay delight. Should the fisherman bleed the fish immediately on its capture he would do much toward its reaching the consumer in a healthy condition. The digestive organs of the fish are very active, and its processes of digestion continue after death; but while before death the contents of the alimentary tract are alone acted upon, after death the digestive ferments attack the surrounding tissues, and they attack these tissues with great energy. A few minutes is often sufficient NATIONAL FISHERY CONGRESS. 179 for the deterioration of the flesh immediately inclosing the abdominal cavity. It would be a great saving to the dealer if the fish could be disemboweled and thor- oughly washed as soon as captured. Decay is practically an infectious disease. It is the direct result of the activity of certain microscopic organisms. If these organisms have difficulty in entering the tissue of the fish, or if their activity is inhibited through the application of cold or certain chemicals, the process of decay is retarded. Every time a fish is roughly handled, thrown upon the deck or pitched about as so much offal, walked upon or bruised in any way, the continuity of its flesh is broken and decay germs flood into the rupture. The slightest bruise of an apple or pear results in the formation of a center of decay quite visible to the eye. In the fish the center of decay is not so easily detected by the eye, but it is nevertheless present, and its presence is damaging to the dealer and disappointing to the consumer. Animal tissue absorbs water very readily, but on the absorption of water it changes its structure, loses its flavor, and rapidly deteriorates. Fish should not be allowed to lie in their own slime on wet floors, or in poorly drained barrels and boxes. The present method of shipping fish by the use of chopped ice is crude, expensive, and often ineffectual. Poultry, meat, or anything but a fish would find no market if shipped in a similar way. The fish arrive at their destination in a thoroughly unin- viting condition, they are reeking with slime and filth, ghastly to the sight, offensive to the smell, and disgusting to the touch. If the retailer, along the coast as well as inland, can be provided with fish that have been properly killed, skillfully cleaned, and carefully handled he will be in a position to present them to his customers in an attractive form, and the consumer will discover that all flsh do not taste alike, which is synonymous with saying, all fish are not equally bad. While urging that all lines of research already undertaken by the Government should be continued, I would suggest that a definite series of experiments be insti- tuted which shall ascertain the best methods of preparing, packing, shipping, storing, and retailing fish, for I am convinced that improvements are possible along all these lines, and that with improvement the demand for food-fish will be very materially increased. Such an investigation, moreover, is eminently appropriate to the United States Fish Commission, since private enterprise can not be expected to experiment unselfishly for the public good. This opens up another question : When more improved methods have been devised, how shall these, as well as the innumerable i mproved methods already familiar to the Commission, be brought to the attention of the fisherman ? There is no school, academy, or college, to my knowledge, in the entire United States which gives even one short course in the economics of fish-culture. There are, however, over 1,000,000 men, women, and children dependent upon the fisheries for their existence. The importance of providing instruction in practical fishery has already resulted in the establishment of schools in Norway, Sweden, Germany, and Japan. Dr. J. Lawrence-Hamilton has indicated the scope and outlined the courses for a Fisherfolk's Free Technical School in England, and the late Professor Goode urged the establishment of similar schools in this country. Though the first purpose of such a school should be to instruct, its laboratory would provide opportunities for research, its field equipment would stimulate investigation, and its existence would 180 BULLETIN OF THE UNITED STATES FISH COMMISSION. guarantee the collection and preservation of scientific data that would be of incal- culable value to the fisherman as well as to the dealer. It is a fact that at present there is not a single institution along our entire coast where one can observe the habits of our marine animals uninterruptedly throughout the year. There is no place where our biologists may go for a few weeks during the winter or early spring, when the ocean is teeming with animal life. The summer months are as the autumn to marine forms, and he who would study ocean life at its best must work in the early spring. The organization or individual that accomplishes the establishment of a permanent institution where instruction in practical fish-culture and fishery economics can be given ; where apparatus is provided for the investigation of the lakes, rivers, and sea; where naturalists from our universities and commission- ers from our States will be welcome at all times of the year, and where problems of scientific and economic interest can be studied and solved, will obtain what Baird, Goode, and Ryder saw in the distant future, and will combine and control the purely practical and the purely scientific. The need of American biology to-day is the same as the need of successful fish-culture — coordination, cooperation, and the establish- ment of a station, or the devotion of a station already established, like that at Woods Hole, to instruction and to extended uninterrupted scientific research. Providence, Rhode Island. THE UTILITY OF A BIOLOGICAL STATION ON THE FLORIDA COAST IN ITS RELATION TO THE COMMERCIAL FISHERIES. By SETH E. MEEK, Ph. D., Assistant Curator of Zoology, Field Columbian Museum. There seems to be considerable disposition of late years on the part of some individuals and institutions of learning to establish biological stations in different parts of the world. Some of these stations are permanent, others only temporary; none, I believe, on our own coast are open during the entire year. They are largely established to supplement biological study in our colleges and universities and to facilitate and promote original research. In none except the Woods Hole Government Station are there any special attempts to solve problems of economic importance. The scientific work done in these is fragmentary in character. Each investigator continues his particular line of work, with no special reference to its bearing on other problems. The investigator’s mind is not troubled as to whether or not the results of his studies will give to anyone the means of securing wealth or be of economic importance to the general public. He is solving, so far as his ability and facilities will permit, some purely scientific problem, without any special interest as to what practical use may be made of its solution. In our own country, aud in this so-called practical age, there is always an attempt to make some practical use of every discovery. The brains of our inventive genius are strained to their utmost to turn new facts into common use; to make scientific discoveries things of commercial utility. In Franklin’s time no one ever dreamed that electricity would serve the commercial world as it is doing to-day. Hardly had the discovery of X-rays been made known when thousands were racking their brains to find in them as many methods for their practical use. So far has this idea of utility been developed in this country with regard to the physical sciences that every new fact must in some way serve mankind. This feature is not so prominent in the biological sciences, though much has been done in this direction, especially in medicine and in the propagation of many of our useful plants and animals. The mapping of the life zones of North America, as begun some few years ago by our Agricultural Department, is already asserting its usefulness. These zones are based on a careful study of the geographical distribution of our land plants and animals, their life-histories and interrelations. This same kind of work must also be extended to our waters, from which we receive such a delicious and abundant supply of food. Observations to this end must be frequently made and constantly carried on during the entire year and under favorable circumstances. Our knowledge of the marine animals which we use for commercial purposes is far too limited. Much infor- 181 182 BULLETIN OF THE UNITED STATES FISH COMMISSION. mation concerning their geographical range, breeding places and habits, migrations and laws governing the same, is very meager and indefinite. On the other hand, there are thousands of other animals upon which these are more or less dependent, concerning the life histories of which we know nothing. The work done in our present marine biological stations is worthy of high com- mendation, and any effort to establish other stations should be encouraged. As I have remarked, these stations are established only to afford students an opportunity to study fresh marine forms and to promote and facilitate research purely scientific. It seems to me that the time is now ripe to establish on our coast Government biological stations, whose objects should be not only to encourage, aid, and promote scientific research, but also to devise means to turn into practical use, as far as possible, all of our knowledge of marine life. These stations should give especial attention to the study of the geographical distribution of all animals, their migrations, and laws governing the same — in fact, everything which bears on their life-histories and their interrelations. These stations should maintain each a dozen or more tables for the use of inves- tigators from time to time from our various educational institutions. These tables should be used only by men who had already demonstrated then- ability to do research work of a high character, and whose purposes at the station were clearly defined. In this respect I would suggest that the policy of the zoological station at Naples be largely followed. This station is the most perfect, and from a scientific standpoint the most useful, of any in the world. It has been in existence a little more than twenty-five years, and its privileges have been used by many investigators from all civilized countries. It is in possession of more information concerning the life of the Bay of Naples than is possessed of a like extent of sea by any other institution. It is strictly a scientific institution, and in this respect has been eminently successful. Its success is largely due to the facts that it is open during the entire year and that its privileges are used only by a high grade of scientific men. A station of like nature established somewhere on the Florida coast, and which would combine the additional feature of the solving of biological problems which have a direct bearing on the commercial products of the sea, is a greatly needed institution, and should, I believe, be largely maintained by our Government and controlled by our United States Fish Commission. The fishery interests of Florida coasts alone are steadily becoming of immense importance. Her fishes, oysters, turtles, sponges, etc., are found in the markets of our great inland cities. Concerning the growth of these products we know too little. Concerning the plants and animals upon which they are dependent for food we know far less, and our knowledge of the enemies they encounter while in the sea is very deficient. Our information along these lines can best be increased through the agency of one or more biological stations, as I have mentioned. I have remarked that these stations should be controlled by the Fish Commission. The work for them to do lies strictly within its province. It is partially equipped, both as to men and apparatus, for the work. The fact that this Congress is attended by representatives of many scientific insti- tutions is a sufficient guaranty of their appreciation of the work of the Commission and their interest in the problems connected with the fishery industries. The solution of these problems must fall to the labors of our trained scientific men, and in the establish- ment of a Government marine biological station efforts should be made to invite to it NATIONAL FISHERY CONGRESS. 183 the best talent in the country. In the Naples station tables are supported by Cam- bridge and Oxford universities. Fellowships are given in these institutions which permit students of excellent record to use these tables, in addition to which each student receives from the university a certain amount of money. In our own colleges and universities are many undergraduate and graduate students engaged in research work, and who are much hampered because of the lack of material. Some of them, because of the expense in securing the proper material when on the coast, are obliged to abandon indefinitely lines of investigation which they have begun. Many of our leading universities give fellowships to meritorious students. These fellowships give the student special privileges of the university, and from noth- ing to about $1,500 per year. Often the student is allowed to spend his time in study in some other university, usually abroad, because of the special advantages it offers in his particular line of work. A Government biological station could be established and so managed that it would invite these students to its privileges, more especially that particular grade of students engaged in special lines of work having the most direct bearing on problems of economic importance. In this way the greatest possible results could be attained at a minimum of expense. We have represented at this Congress the United States Fish Commission, some State commissions, commercial fishermen, sportsmen, and a number of scientific institutions, and I believe it could fulfill no better mission than to in some way encourage our National Congress to supplement its appropriation to the Fish Com- mission, and urge that it establish and maintain at least one biological station on our southern coast, somewhat after the manner which I have outlined. Its importance and usefulness would soon be appreciated, and I am sure it would be productive of valuable results. Chicago, Illinois. ESTABLISHMENT OF A BIOLOGICAL STATION ON THE GULF OF MEXICO. By W. EDGAR TAYLOR, Ph. D., Professor of Biology, Louisiana Industrial Institute. The Gulf region has a coast line much longer than any other geographic division of the coast States. The Gulf coastal line is nearly 7,000 miles long, while the middle Atlantic States have but 5,400 miles of coast. Furthermore, the Gulf region is at the natural trading focus of a very large geographic section. The United States is divided into three great regions, namely, the Atlantic slope section, east of the Appa- lachian system; the Pacific slope section, west of the Eocky Mountain divide; and thirdly, the great hydrographic basin of the Mississippi. This immense basin contains two-thirds of the area of the United States. Likewise, from the standpoint of foreign trade there are three centers, namely, New York, San Francisco, and New Orleans. Hence the Gulf States are most favorably located for supplying a large part of the the country with marine products. Again, nature has, for the most part, given the Gulf region a united river system, thus giving the great Mississippi basin a fauna and flora intimately and peculiarly connected with the life of the Gulf region. This great basin offers opportunities not found elsewhere for a study of life under different climatic conditions. Hence the establishment of a biologic station on the Gulf of Mexico is not simply of interest to the Gulf section, but to the Upper Mississippi basin is of more direct value than a station on either the Atlantic or Pacific coast. Our natural-history resources are proportionally greater, considering the fact that less attention has been given them, than any other section of our country. The Gulf section is supplied with an abundance of marine and fresh-water products, including the oyster, fish, reptiles, sponges, crustaceans, and others. Among invertebrates the oyster ranks first in commercial importance. It is extremely abundant throughout the entire Gulf section, and constitutes the most prominent fishery product. In 1890 Louisiana ranked fourth in the list of States in the quantity of oysters gathered from public reefs, surpassing all the other States excepting Maryland, Virginia, and New Jersey. Louisiana, Florida, Alabama, Mississippi, and Texas each have undeveloped oyster interests. Among crustaceans the shrimp is taken on the coast of Louisiana, Texas, and Mississippi. Crabs of various species are abundant. Several species of crawfish exist in the waters of the Gulf region, becoming very abundant in Louisiana rice fields, where they are sometimes collected and marketed. The economic value of the reptiles inhabiting the Gulf section is greater than in any other section. They occur in both fresh and salt water. The crocodile is found in Florida, while the alligator occurs in every State of the Gulf coast. Turtle farming is carried on in Mississippi, and is being developed in other States, most notably in Louisiana. 186 BULLETIN OF THE UNITED STATES FISH COMMISSION. The fishes of the Gulf section are abundant, their great abundance possibly being the cause of the delay in their more scientific propagation. Thus it will be seen that the Gulf sectiou, both from a geographic standpoint and the standpoint of its fauna and flora, is at the natural focus of at least two-thirds of the territory of the United States. But these are not the only reasons why the Gulf section should favor the study of the biologic sciences. The great problems of the preservation of public health ; the prevention of the spread of infectious diseases among both lower animals and man, are in themselves demanding most serious consideration. The scientific study of horti- culture and agriculture, recognized in all countries as important, is still more necessary in the Gulf section, where all forms of life are more abundant and difficult to control. Other countries are trying to solve the mysteries of malaria, yellow fever, cholera, and other diseases, and why should not we at least do our part! No country on the face of the globe has greater cause for encouraging scientific investigation and progress. Thousands of other problems of equal importance remain to be solved by careful, painstaking investigation. The great need of the biologic interests of the Gulf section is a well-directed Gulf laboratory liberally supported. Marine biological laboratories have distinct pur- poses of their own. Unlike many of the summer schools, they are not designed to give many brief courses, from which students can obtain merely a smattering of a large number of subjects. The biological school confines itself to the pursuit of one branch only, is designed to give thorough work in this line, and the work in these laboratories must not be confused with that of many of the summer institutes. A summer biological laboratory must almost of necessity be placed upon the seashore. The ocean is the great home of life. Some large groups of animals are absolutely confined to the ocean, and others are almost wholly so. Marine life, too, furnishes the biologist with most of the interesting and important problems whose solution is solving questions of wide interest. So well understood is it that the ocean is the great source of life that it is beginning to be felt that no biologist is to-day thoroughly equipped until after he has had the opportunity of spending more or less time in work with living specimens at the seashore. The marine laboratory has about the same relation to biological work in the schools that the ordinary laboratory has to the text book. We no longer regard text-book knowledge as sufficient for a satisfactory equipment in scientific lines, and it is beginning to be felt with equal force that no biologist is properly trained until practical seashore work has familiarized him with the great ocean and its inhabitants. Students in our schools taking their courses away from the shore can, of course, gain a certain practical knowledge, but a knowledge that ought to be completed by the study of the living specimens in their native haunts. Many departments of zoology indeed can hardly be studied except at the seashore. Embryology and comparative physiology are hardly possible except where living, growing specimens are at hand, and certain types of life can not be satisfactorily studied except alive. The teacher in our public schools is learning that to teach zoology or any branch of biology requires not only text-book knowledge, together with laboratory instruction, but requires actual contact with life as it exists in the ocean. Summer seashore work is fast becoming a necessity for the science teacher who wishes to take high rank. To the college professor also a marine laboratory offers its own special advan- tages. He who tries to keep himself in the front ranks among our teachers knows NATIONAL FISHERY CONGRESS. 187 that he can only do this by carrying on research in some chosen line. Along biological lines it is the ocean that contains the great problems for solution, and there the college professor comes, therefore, to obtain his material and to carry on those researches which he knows are the means of keeping himself abreast with the advanced students of his day. The ocean, indeed, is the great source of supply for most departments of biological work. Hence it is that summer biological schools locate themselves at the seashore and aim at work of the very highest character. A marine laboratory supplements the college or university, and through these the lower schools. It is here that tbe student meets representative investigators and fellow- workers. Here he finds out technical methods and carries on quietly investi- gations which could not be made elsewhere. In every country the marine laboratory has become a need to the student and a guide to scientific economic work. The entire coast line of Europe has become dotted with biologic stations estab- lished by societies, private individuals, or governments, or by the combined efforts of these organizations. As early as 1891 France had at least eight biological stations; Great Britain, five; Austria, Holland, and Sweden, two each; Belgium, Germany, Italy, Japan, and Hew South Wales, one each. In the main each of these laboratories is liberally supported and supplied with buildings and other equipments. The bio- logical laboratory at Naples has cost in plant alone over $100,000, and is carried on at an annual expense of at least $20,000. The laboratory and fittings of the English station at Plymouth were completed at a cost of over $60,000, raised by subscription. These facts alone are sufficient to attest the efficiency and popularity of these stations in Europe. Of late years biologists have established marine stations at W oods Hole and Cold Spring Harbor on the Atlantic coast, while Leland Stanford Junior University has a station on the Pacific. In the interior stations have been established by the Univer- sity of Illinois and Monmouth College, Illinois, and the University of Indiana. Other schools, as well as legislatures and private individuals, have made appropriations for natural-history explorations and discoveries. But so far the entire Gulf section, with its immense geographic and biologic interests, has not a single Gulf station. Shall we longer delay this matter ? Are not our interests sufficient to induce this Congress to take steps toward encouraging the establishment of such a station ? A Gulf biological station should supplement the school work being done through the school year, more particularly our State schools and higher schools. Here all these schools may combine equipment and biologic faculties, and otherwise materially aid each other. One of the objects, though not the prime object, of a Gulf biological laboratory should be to give instruction to teachers of the biologic sciences. Through- out the Gulf section, teachers possessing more thorough and more modern training in the sciences are needed. In addition to more advanced work, courses should be given in elementary zoology and botany. These courses should be designed both for the teachers whose knowledge of elementary biology is somewhat slight and for students of higher institutions who may desire to supplement a college biological course with a practical study of marine forms. Each of these courses should be arranged so as to provide the fundamental training needed for a teacher or for independent work of investigation. Hence emphasis should always be placed upon practical work rather than upon class work. A biological laboratory might add much to its usefulness by creating a department of supply. Colleges and high schools are constantly demand- 188 BULLETIN OF THE UNITED STATES FISH COMMISSION. ing more material for class work, while the lower grades of the primary schools are using natural history specimens for nature studies. The demand for such specimens has been growing, but such material is costly. The price of this material should be made low in order to stimulate more practical work in our schools. The great good already accomplished by the United States Fish Commission through the Smithsonian Institution is an excellent illustration of what may be done in this direction. It is customary in connection with these stations to arrange for courses of semi- popular lectures. These lectures are authentic resumes of the most recent investiga- tions, and when published do much toward educating the masses and directing public opinion in proper channels. They create a healthy public feeling in reference to the function of scientific work and the utility of original investigation. All of the arguments so far advanced are important, but the highest and greatest benefit to be derived from a station must come from its original contributions to our knowledge of biology. The distinctive features of such a station must be its capa- bility for carrying on independent investigation. Private rooms for research should be provided and every facility for research supplied. The station should be a place where investigations are made by people who come together for experiment and mutual assistance. Its work should be of such a character and should attain a reputation such that persons contemplating economic work of a biologic nature will unhesitat- ingly trust the results of its investigators. The work of a Gulf biological station should be carried on in connection with similar work of the U. S. Fish Commission. This Commission has for some time had under contemplation the establishment of a laboratory on the Gulf coast, and this Congress, in our opinion, should in every way further this movement. The establish- ment of a biological station in connection with the laboratory and Fish Commission would offer an especially desirable place for public-school teachers interested in scientific topics; would draw college students desiring to supplement a college course with practical work ; attract medical students who feel the necessity of a knowledge of biological subjects in connection with their work ; would serve as a distributing- point for schools wanting marine forms; furnish college and university men chances to meet and compare notes; would immensely increase the development of all our economic interests, and lastly, would crown all of these advantages by stimulating that highest of all labors — the capable, painstaking, original investigation. Ruston, Louisiana. SOME NOTES ON AMERICAN SHIPWORMS. By CHARLES P. SIGERFOOS, B. S., Ph. D., Assistant Professor of Animal Biology, University of Minnesota. In a Congress like this, where men meet to discuss the means of protecting and increasing the supply of the toothsome products of our waters, a paper on shipworms may seem in strange company. While we wish to preserve and protect most of the products of our waters, these creatures we would gladly obliterate from the realm of living things. We have been studying and combating them for a century and more, but have found no adequate means of counteracting their depredations. During the summer of 1893, while engaged in observations on the oyster at Beau- fort, N. C., for the U. S. Fish Commission, the writer became interested in the various shipworms found so abundantly in the waters of that region, and having made some observations on their natural history he returned for periods during the two succeed- ing seasons to continue them. The results have been incorporated in a paper on the “Natural History, Organization, and late Development of the Teredinidce ,” which is almost ready for publication. Shipworms were favorite objects of study during the eighteenth century, on account of their great damage to the dikes of Holland in 1733 and subsequent years. The contemporaneous observers seem to have been unaware of the observations of Pliny and others in ancient times, and supposed the shipworms were natives of India, whence they had been brought by shipping in modern times. During these times they were considered true worms, and it was not till the time of Cuvier that their molluscan characters were recognized. Even if shipworms were not recognized to be bivalve-mollusks from their adult organization, it would be easy to determine this fact from a study of the development. They start as eggs which none but a specialist could distinguish from the eggs of most bivalves. In the American forms that seem most abundant, at least in our southern waters, the eggs are cast freely into the water and soon fertilized by the male element. They soon begin to develop, and in our warm southern climate become little free-swimming creatures in three to four hours. As yet these little creatures have none of the distinctive features of the shipworms or even of bivalve-mollusks, but within a day the bivalve shell is acquired. For a few days one can rear the larvae in aquaria, but after a time the conditions become unfavorable, and they disappear. For perhaps three weeks more, in a state of nature, they lead a free-swimming life, and are grad- ually transformed into little free-swimming bivalves, almost exactly like the little clam or oyster. But how and where, in nature, this transitional period is passed has not been observed. The next stage which the writer found were the little bivalves about T^o inch in diameter, crawling over the surface of the wood, in quest of their future homes. Once 189 190 BULLETIN OF THE UNITED STATES FISH COMMISSION. they have found appropriate places, they begin to change. One by one the bivalve characters become masked, and the little bivalves are transformed into the very long, worm-like shipworms which are found in wooden structures in salt water the world over. But along with the transformation the bivalve shell is preserved, though it is much modified as compared with other bivalve shells, and covers only a small part of the head end of the body. With it the shipworm excavates the burrow in the wood in which it lives, and seems equally able to penetrate the hardest or softest kind of wood with equal facility. As the wood is grated away by the shell, the small particles are taken into the digestive canal, and the debris is extruded through the anus; but whether it serves for food in any way is a question in dispute. During its life in the wood at least the larger portion of its nutrition is taken in through the tube which at rest hangs in the water, and consists of small animal, and especially vegetable, organisms. In thinking of shipworms, then, it should be remembered that the wood in which they form their burrows is primarily for their own protection, and that with- out this protection their long, naked, delicate bodies are defenseless. At Beaufort all kinds of unprotected wood become literally riddled in a very short time. Two kinds of worms are found there in great and about equal abundance — Teredo norvegica and Xylotrya fimbriata , whose mode of spawning has been already described. A very small proportion of specimens were of Teredo navalis , one of the common European forms, in which the eggs are retained in the gills of the mother during a considerable period of their development, perhaps almost till time for them to set into the wood. It is apparently this last species which the writer has found most abundant in Long Island Sound, though a considerable portion of Xylotrya fimbriata were also found. The breeding season in North Carolina, so far as determined, lasts at least till the middle of August and perhaps throughout the summer. That the latter is true is indicated by two sets of facts. In the first place, individuals were found with ripe sexual products during the early part of August, and the young derived from eggs laid at this time must continue to set till September or later. In the second place, the young were setting in the wood abundantly till the middle of August, a fact which indicates that the same continues to some degree for some time longer. Of course, from an economic standpoint, the period during which the wood is attacked is one of the most vital points to discover. The number of young produced is amaziug — estimated in one case, from a single very large female, at 100,000,000 — and while the greater part are lost before the setting stage is reached, yet the number that set is very great, and one of the most discouraging features in dealing with shipworms in a practical way. If the spat were of fairly appreciable size and set in but moderate numbers it might be feasible, by the careful removal of all old piles and other old timbers, to sufficiently reduce the number to a minimum. But when, under favorable conditions, over 100 to a square inch set where there is not room for more than one or two to reach maturity, it is easily seen what an excess is always present and how futile it is to try to combat the larvae before they enter the wood. The practical way, of course, is to prevent their entrance into the wood by protecting the wood with copper paint and sheeting. With small piles and timbers it would seem to be worth while to try various means of keeping the bark on the wood, which, so far as I know, has not been done; for it is well known that as long as the bark is on timbers they are not attacked by shipworms. NATIONAL FISHERY CONGRESS. 191 Once the shipworm has set into the wood it grows with amazing rapidity in our southern waters. Intwelvedays it has grown to be an eighth of an inch long, in twenty days about half an inch, and in thirty- six days 4 inches, when it is thousands of times as large in volume as when it sets. It has become sexually mature, and is ready to produce a new generation. How long shipworms may live has never been observed, though it is probable for several years, and that during this time they keep growing if there be room in the wood for growth, though when crowded the individuals become dwarfed. The writer has found specimens of great size of T. norvegica , some 3 to 4 feet long, and it is easily seen how destructive may be a few of these individuals which may be almost an inch in diameter. The age of such specimens I have not been able to determine, but it is estimated to be less than two years. In the colder waters of Long Island the writer has found specimens of both T. navalis (?) and Xylotrya fimbriata, the former the more abundant. They seem to set most abundantly after the 1st of July, though observations for one season can not be conclusive. The rate of growth is much slower, and it would seem to take twice as long to attain the same sizes as in the warmer southern waters. The writer in his studies of shipworms has paid most attention to features purely scientific in their interest. Observations of any considerable economic value must cover a variety of localities under different conditions and extend through a period of years — observations which the writer has not had sufficient opportunity to make, and which for our American forms have unfortunately never been made. Minneapolis, Minnesota. AN ECONOMICAL CONSIDERATION OF FISH PARASITES. By EDWIN LINTON, Ph. D., Professor of Biology, Washington and Jefferson College . It is not the purpose of this paper to attempt more than a brief sketch of the subject. Before an exhaustive discussion of the economics of parasitism of fish could be profitably undertaken it would be necessary for us to know a great deal more than we do about the life-histories of the forms, which infest fish. All that I shall attempt to do, therefore, will be to gather together in brief space such points as have come under my notice which seem to me to bear on the general thesis of parasites of fish economically considered. The literature of parasitism as affecting fish, mainly systematic or morphological, is widely scattered through a great variety of publications and in many languages; and on account of the great amount of pioneer work which needs to be done — for only a comparatively small number of species of the fishes of North America have been examined for parasites with care — no compilation is yet possible for the parasites of fishes which could be of such permanent utility as the excellent ones which are being prepared for the Department of Agriculture by Dr. 0. W. Stiles relating to the parasites of the domestic animals. I think it must be acknowledged also, for the present at least, that by far the greater number of species of parasites infesting fishes are of interest to the zoologist alone aud do not concern the practical fish-culturist, except as he may be interested in questions which have not yet emerged from the comparatively limited field of scientific investigation into the broader field of practical application. And yet even here it may not be wise to despise the day of small things. Under conditions incident to the work of fish-culture the natural interworking of bionomic relations may be so far disturbed as to give an otherwise insignificant parasite all the importance which attaches to the efficient cause of an epidemic. It is quite within the bounds of possibility for damaging cases of parasitism to arise among the fish of a given fish pond which owe their origin to the casual visit or brief sojourn of a fish-eating bird. An unusual, though altogether natural, condition of this kind exists in Yellow- stone Lake, which has been much written about. It is sufficient to say here that the lake when first discovered contained but a single species of fish — the Rocky Mountain trout — which, it is thought, made its way across the great continental divide by way of a bifurcating stream on Two-Ocean Pass. A considerable percentage of the trout of the lake were found to be infested with a parasitic flesh- worm. Upon a careful examination it was found that this worm, although more commonly occurring in cysts in the body cavity, very frequently left the. cyst, and, migrating into the flesh of its host, there developed until it was, in extreme cases, a foot or more in length. This worm was plainly a serious drain on the vitality of its host and doubtless caused the death of large numbers of the trout. The very probable source of infection in this case was shown (No. 12) to be the pelican, which in 1890 frequented the lake in large 193 F. C. B. 1897—13 194 BULLETIN OF THE UNITED STATES FISH COMMISSION. numbers and had at least one breeding-place on some small islands in the southeastern arm of the lake. The case is of interest here because the unusual conditions at Yellowstone Lake are, in great degree, parallel to those which exist in an artificial pond; that is to say, the natural enemies are diminished in number and the geographical range of individ- uals is limited. In the case of the fish of Yellowstone Lake the effects of parasitism were more marked and the instances more numerous than they were in Heart Lake, where usual conditions of food, enemies, and geographical range prevail. So, in any confined area, such as a fish pond or even lake, if conditions favorable to para- sitism exist, the cases of parasitism will, in all probability, be more numerous and more serious than they will be in an ordinary stream. A knowledge of the life-history of the parasite in question will be of the greatest value. This will help us to understand the importance of what we usually call purely scientific work. As fish- culture becomes more extensive, there will naturally develop a condition of things in a degree paralleled by what we see in the case of the domestic animals. As civilization advances, the carnivorous enemies of the domesticated animals are exterminated, or at least driven out, and are no longer a source of loss to the sum total of herbivorous animals. Further, a link in the chain of an important group of animal parasites is thereby broken, and occasional cases of infection, to a degree which might prove fatal to the herbivorous host while the carnivores were ranging the country, would be impossible under the conditious imposed by civilization. So the cultivation of useful food-fish should lead naturally to the extermination of such enemies as fish-eating birds, mammals, and fish which are not of economic value. Thus one source of parasitism would be destroyed. In those cases, however, where the food-fish is the final host, the intermediate host being an invertebrate which is a necessary source of food for the fish, no link in the chain of parasitic existence is broken, and the extermination of such parasites seems to be altogether impossible. Something can be done, possibly, by instructing fislier- men to burn or bury fish which are not in good condition and the viscera of fish, and not to throw them back into the water. Especially should this be insisted on where the fishing is done in the smaller lakes. It should be remembered that the destruction of a single adult cestode worm destroys immediately many thousands and even millions of eggs and prevents many thousands more from developing for each month which the worm might continue to live. For some general considerations on this subject, as well as upon some phases of the economics of parasitism, reference is here made to an article prepared for the World’s Fisheries Congress held in Chicago in 1893, and published in the Bulletin of the United States Fish Commission for 1893, pages 101-112 ; especially Sections III and IY of that article. In order, as far as possible, to avoid repetition, I shall continue the discussion under headings corresponding to the several natural orders or groups which furnish the majority of cases of parasitism among fish. It does not come within the proposed scope of this paper to discuss vegetable parasitism among fishes. Reference may be made, however, to an article in the U. S. Fish Commission Bulletin for 1893, by G. P. Clinton : Observations and Experiments on Saprolegnia infesting Fish, pp. 163-172, with a bibliography. A list of authorities, for the most part found in publications of the U. S. Fish Com- mission and National Museum, is appended, and will be referred to by number. More extended reference to the literature of the subject will be found in these publications. NATIONAL FISHERY CONGRESS. 195 PROTOZOA. Parasitism occasioned by the presence of one-celled organisms has not been much studied in this country. Gurley’s paper (No. 5) is an admirable compilation, and, it is to be hoped, will be followed by systematic work on the psorosperms of fishes inhabit- ing American waters. From an economic point of view, it is probable that parasitism which results from infection with protozoan parasites will, of all kinds, be found to be most important. Epidemics among European fish have been repeatedly traced to this source. The fatality which attends infection with psorosperms appears to be due to a secondary cause, however, namely, to bacilli which develop within the psorosperms (Myxobohis) tumors and give rise to ulceration. The discharge of these ulcers then disseminates the disease. For an account of an epidemic among barbels in the Meuse and other rivers of France and Germany, see Gurley’s paper (No. 5), p. 231. Brief mention of the remedies there proposed, pp. 233-234, may appropriately be repeated here. Megnin sees no other method than to collect all the dead or sick fishes and destroy them by fire. Ludwig thinks that the waters should be kept pure and that the pollutions of the rivers by communities or industrial establishments should be interdicted. Further he says : That most dangerous contamination of the water by the Hyxosporidia from the ulcers can not of course he stopped entirely, hut it is evident that it will he less if all fishermen are impressed with the importance of destroying all diseased and dead fish instead of throwing them hack into the water. Such destruction must he so effected as to prevent the reentry of the germs into the water. Kailliet says that it is expedient to collect the diseased fish and to bury them at a certain depth and at a great distance from the water-course. He further states that this was done on the Meuse with success, so that at the end of some years the disease appeared to have left no trace. TREMATODA.1 Representatives of this order are numerous among the parasites of fishes, but, so far as 1 have observed, are not likely to occur in sufficient numbers to occasion serious loss. Their presence will be a tax, nevertheless, on the vitality of their host, which may be, in many contingencies, the determining factor in causing that host to fall an easier prey to its pursuer than its uninfected comrade will do. In my paper on Trematodes, No. 17 of the appended list, are described 31 distinct species and one variety taken from 25 specifically distinct hosts. In the majority of cases these worms were found in small numbers in the intestines of their hosts, and presumably occasioned little inconvenience. In a few cases, however, I found them encapsuled in various positions in the body cavity, and occasionally in such numbers that they must have affected seriously the vitality of their hosts. For example, a species (which was referred to Diesing’s JDiplostomum cuticola ) was found in great abundance on the viscera of three species of sunfish, Lepomis auritus, Chcenobryttus gulosus , and, probably, Lepomis pallidus. The viscera consisted mainly of hearts and livers, and were sent to me by Mr. N. A. Harvey, of Kansas City, Mo., January, 1894. The serous coats of these organs were thickly studded with cysts. These were very numerous, and varied in size from minute specks to capsules measuring over 1 mm. in diameter. The largest larva, upon removal from its cyst, measured, in alcohol, a little over 1 mm. in length and about 0.4 mm. in breadth. On account of the immense numbers of these parasites they might very easily prove to be an economic factor of 1 See List of Authorities : No. 6 and 13, pp. 553, 554, pi. 65, figs. 22-30; Nos. 17, 18, and 19. 196 BULLETIN OF THE UNITED STATES FISH COMMISSION. considerable moment, and it is desirable that our knowledge of the life-history of the species should be extended. There is some reason for thinking that the final host is a fish-eating bird, although it may be some voracious fish, like the gar. Dr. H. B. Ward has published some very interesting notes of his observations on the fish parasites of the Great Lakes (No. 18). From an examination of 20 species of lake fish, the total number of individuals examined being 102, 95 of which were infested with parasites, he obtained something over 4,000 Trematodes, 2,000 Acan- thocephala, 200 Oestodes, and about 200 Nematodes. Trematodes were obtained from every species examined, and in enormous numbers from the dogfish (Amia calva). Cestodes were obtained from 14 of the 20 species, Acanthocephala from 13, and Nema- todes from 7. Dr. Ward describes a new Distoma from Amia calva (No. 19,) encysted forms of which he finds in the crayfish ( Gambarus propinquus ), thus establishing its life-history. The adult form was found also in the channel catfish, Ictalurus puncta- tus, and the yellow perch, Perea flavescens. I would conclude from the results of Dr. Ward’s researches, as compared with what I have had the opportunity to observe, that Trematodes are relatively much more abundant in fresh-water fishes than in marine fishes. CESTODA.1 My investigations have been mainly on marine fishes, in which I have found the members of this order very abundant, largely, perhaps, because of the predilection which the adult forms appear to have for the spiral valve of the Elasmobranchii. The individual shark or skate is not only an engine of destruction, but a source of infec- tion from which innumerable ova of a variety of cestode parasites issue to become encysted in various animals which serve them for food. There can be little doubt that if the sharks and skates were to be exterminated, or sensibly diminished in num- ber, the aggregate of intermediate parasitism among the teleosts, squids, Crustacea, and other food of sharks and skates would be materially lessened. The destruction of the Elasmobranchii, while probably not practicable, would be a disturbance of the balance of nature wholly in favor of the food -fishes. I find larval forms of two genera ( Rhynchobothrium and Tetrarhynchus), in which the adult forms are peculiar to sharks and skates, very commonly encysted in many species of marine food-fish, such, for example, as the squeteague (Cynoscion regale). Of adult forms, while the genus Dibothrium is somewhat abundant in cods ( Gadidce ) and flounders ( Pleuronectidce ), and tapeworms not unusual in the eel and some fresh- water fish, the vast preponderance is to be found infesting the Elasmobranchii. The case of the Dibothrium of the Rocky Mountain trout has already been mentioned. It is very desirable that our knowledge of this important group of parasites be extended, both in the direction of ascertaining what forms are to be found in the fish of our waters and in working out the life-histories of forms already known. It should be remarked that one species of human tapeworm ( Bothriocephalus latus) is believed to be got from eating the flesh of the European tench. I take this opportunity of calling attention to a paper by Dr. F. S. Monticelli (Boll. d. Soc. d. Nat. Napoli, Serie I, vol. vm, Anno viii, Fasc. 1, 1894) Si Mangiano le Ligule in Italia? In this paper the author affirms that Leuckart is in error in stat- ing ( Die Parasiten des Menschen) that in Italy the ligula — a larval form of a cestode worm which develops in the abdominal cavity of certain fresh-water fish and there 1 See List of Authorities : Nos. 7, 8, and 10 to 16. NATIONAL FISHERY CONGRESS. 197 attains considerable dimensions — is u eaten as living macaroni.” This statement of Leuckart’s has been taken without question and repeated in various forms by different writers. Donnadieu (Contribution a l’histoire de la Ligule, Journal d’Anatomie et de la Physiologie 1877) repeats the assertion aud adds that many people in Lyons have the same habit. Doubtless the truth is that ligulse have been eaten along with the fish which harbored them, much as roe is eaten, by persons who did not know the real nature of the tidbit, which no doubt, in the blissful ignorance of the eater, pleased his palate quite as well as did the flesh which was a part of the fish. ACANTHOCEPHALA.' The members of this order, so far as my observation goes, are not found in large numbers in many species of fish, although they are likely to occur in great number in occasional individual hosts, particularly among the flounders ( Pleuronectidce ). The most persistently occurring cases of parasitism which I have observed, however, have been in this order. I have examined the striped bass ( Roccus lineatus) repeatedly in successive summers at Woods Hole, Massachusetts, and have rarely found an indi- vidual which was not infested with a thorn-head worm ( Ecliinorhynchus proteus). Sometimes it occurs in considerable numbers, and almost always penetrates with its thorny proboscis the coats of the intestine of its host, thus causing more or less local irritation, followed by a waxy degeneration of the tissues. There is probably no practical way of counteracting the bad influences of worms of this order, since their larval state is passed, in some cases certainly, and in most cases probably, in small Crustacea, which constitute a constant and necessary source of food for the fish. The same remark which was made in another connection with regard to the disposal of the viscera of fish applies here. In no case should the viscera of fish be thrown back into the water. In this order the sexes are distinct, and the females become at last veritable sacs for the shelter and nourishment of enormous numbers of embryos. The importance, therefore, of arresting the development of as many embryos as possible is at once apparent. NEMATODA.3 The round worms are very abundaut, especially in immature stages, in marine fishes. In fresh- water fishes they are probably not so abundant. I have lately gone over a large collection of nematode parasites of fishes, made in part by myself at Woods Hole, Massachusetts, aud in part belonging to the United States National Museum, having been collected in various localities. In this collection there are nematodes from over 60 species of fish. I have noted some 80 distinct kinds, 14 of which have to be recorded as u Ascaris species,” they being immature, although free in the intestines of their hosts. They plainly belong to the genus Ascaris, but do not have distinct characters which will enable one to refer them to species already estab lished or to make it advisable to give them new specific names. At least 40 kinds, from as many specifically different hosts, I have been obliged to refer to a section headed “ Immature nematodes, encapsuled, and for the most part belonging to the genus Ascaris.v It would not be profitable to give names to these immature forms, since many of them are doubtless different stages in the development of the same 1 See list of authorities: No. 7, pp. 490-498, pi. v, vi; No. 9; No. 13, pp. 555-556, pi. 65-67. 2 See list of authorities: No. 13, pp. 557-561, pi. 67; No. 14, pp. 111-112. 198 BULLETIN OF THE UNITED STATES FISH COMMISSION. species. Often in a lot of encapsuled forms, collected at the same time from the same host, individuals are obtained which differ very considerably one from another. One viviparous species belonging to the genus Ichthyonema (which I have referred, with some hesitation, to the species Ichthyonema glohiceps Rudolphi) on account of the enormous number of young which the adult specimens contain, might, under favorable conditions, become of serious import. I shall speak of it somewhat in detail. The several lots of worms which I refer to this species come from the following hosts: 1. Bluelish ( Pomatomus saltatrix), ovaries, Woods Hole, August, 1884. 2. Spanish mackerel ( Scomberomorus maculatus), ovary, New Jersey coast, S. E. Meek, collector, October, 1886. 3. Black grouper ( Lobotes surinamensis), peritoneum, Woods Hole, August 3, 1887. 4. Black grouper ( Lobotes surinamensis ), viscera, Woods Hole, August 6, 1887. 5. Tarpum ( Tarpon atlanticus ), U. S. Nat. Mus. collection, locality and date of capture not given. The specimens are all females, and, with the exception of lots 2 and 5, have the uterus, at least its lower portion, filled with embryos. They are all very long and of nearly uniform diameter throughout, and rather bluntly rounded or conical at the extremities. In lot 1 the embryos, which occur in myriads, appear to have escaped by rupture of the uterus into the body cavity. Lot 3 consists of two specimens obtained from the body cavity of their host. They measured living 510 and 580 mm. in length, respectively, and 1.48 mm. in diameter; color, brownish. The intestine appeared as a dark-brown line for more than two-thirds of the entire length and as a white line for the remainder of its length. The intestine ends blindly at its posterior extremity. My notes, made at the time of collecting, state that the external opening of the uterus is at a point about 1 mm. from the anterior end, where it was observed that the young were being discharged in vast numbers. Under slight pressure, how- ever, two tubes were seen protruding for a short distance, from each of which young were escaping. This would appear to indicate that the uterus had been broken, and what was taken to be an external opening may have been a break in the body wall. The embryos measured about 0.4 mm. in length, 8^ in diameter at the posterior end, and 13 m in greatest diameter. The anterior end was very slender, appearing as a mere line, even when highly magnified. These embryos are characterized by having a few, about four, dark-brown granular masses scattered along the middle region of the body. A slight notch was noticed at the posterior end of some. A favorite position of these embryos is with the posterior end bent rather sharply, often so much so as to point forward. The anterior end is also often bent so that the two ends point toward each other. Where they occur in the greatest abundance in the parent worm they impart to the latter a plump and even distended appearance. After the discharge of the embryos the worm is transparent, much contracted, quite irregular in outline, and in places flattened and shriveled. I do not know what the history of this worm is between the embryos as seen in these specimens and the adult. The embryos are eminently well fitted for making their way by means of their attenuated and filiform anterior ends through the tissues of their host, whatever that host may be. If they have a history anything like that of Trichina spiralis , then the animal which would make a meal off of a fish harboring one or more adult Ichthyonemce has trouble ahead. While encapsuled nematodes were found in a large number of the species of fish examined, and in considerable abundance in some, they were almost always confined to the body cavity, where they lay in flat coils for the most part on and among the viscera. They were very seldom seen in the flesh. The adults in the alimentary canal NATIONAL FISHERY CONGRESS. 199. in most cases occurred in comparatively small numbers in the several hosts. The only fish in which I found numerous adult nematodes was the swordfish ( Xipliias gladius). These worms were referred to the species Ascaris incurva Rudolphi. They were found in the stomach and were of different sizes, from immature, filiform speci- mens up to large, plump individuals 250 mm. in length. The largest of which I have any record was 267 mm. in length and 3 mm. in diameter. I pass over cases of external parasites of fishes, leeches, lerneans (fish lice), etc., as not coming within the proposed scope of this paper. Washington, Pennsylvania. Partial list of American authorities on fish parasites, especially such as have been published by the U. S. Fish Commission and the U. S. National Museum. PROTOZOA. 1. On certain wart-like excrescences occurring on the short minnow, Cyprinodon variegatus, due to psorosperms. Edwin Linton. Bulletin U. S. Fish Commission for 1889, pp. 99-102, pi. xxxv. 2. Notice of the occurrence of protozoan parasites (Psorosperms) on cyprinoicl fishes in Ohio. Edwin Linton. Bulletin U. S. Fish Commission for 1889, pp. 359-361, pi. cxx. 3. On the classification of the Myxosporidia, a group of protozoan parasites infesting fishes (issued July 15, 1893). R. R. Gurley. Bulletin U. S. Fish Commission for 1891, pp. 4C7-420. 4. Report on a parasitic protozoan observed on fish in the Aquarium. C. W. Stiles. Bulletin U. S. Fish Commission for 1893, pp. 173-190, pi. 11, 12. 5. The Myxosporidia, or psorosperms of fishes, and the epidemics produced by them. R. R. Gurley. Report U. S. Fish Commission for 1892, pp. 65-304, pi. 1-47. HELMINTHA. 6. On a skin parasite of the cunner ( Cienolabrus adspersus) . John A. Ryder. Bulletin II. S. Fish Commission for 1884, pp. 37-42. 7. Notes on entozoa of marine fishes of New England. Edwin Linton. Report U. S. Fish Commission for 1886, pp. 453-511, pi. i-vi. 8. Notes on entozoa of marine fishes of New England, Part II. Edwin Linton. Report U. S. Fish Commission for 1887, pp. 719-899, pi. i-xv. 9. Notes on entozoa of marine fishes, Part III. Edwin Linton. Report U. S. Fish Commission for 1888, pp. 523-542, pi. liii-lviii. 10. The anatomy of Thysanocephalum crispum, a parasite of the tiger shark. Edwin Linton. Report U. S. Fish Commission for 1888, pp. 543-556, pi. lxi-lxvii. 11. On two species of larval dibothria from the Yellowstone National Park. Edwin Linton. Bulletin U. S. Fish Commission for 1889, pp. 65-79, pi. xxm-xxvii. 12. A contribution to the life-history of Bibothrium cordiceps, a parasite infesting the trout of Yellow- stone Lake. Edwin Linton. Bull. U. S. Fish Commission for 1889, pp. 337-358, pi. cxvn-cxix. 13. On fish entozoa from Yellowstone National Park. Edwin Linton. Report U. S. Fish Commission for 1889-1891, pp. 545-564, pi. 63-67. 14. Some observations concerning fish parasites. Edwin Linton. Bulletin U. S. Fish Commission for 1893, pp. 101-112. 15. Notes on larval cestode parasites of fishes. Edwin Linton. Proc. U. S. National Museum, vol. xix (1897), pp. 787-824, pi. lxi-lxviii. 16. Notes on cestode parasites of fishes. Edwin Linton. Proc. U. S. National Museum, vol. xx (1897), pp. 423-456; pl.xxvn-xxxiv. 17. Notes on trematode parasites of fishes. Edwin Linton. Proc. U. S. National Museum, vol. xx (1897), pp. 507-548; pi. xl-liv. 18. Some notes on the biological relations of the fish parasites of the Great Lakes. (Abstract.) H. B. Ward. Proceedings of Nebraska Academy of Science, iv, pp. 8-11. 1894. 19. Notes on the structure and life-history of Bistoma opacum, new species. H. B. Ward. Proceedings of American Microscopical Society, vol. XV, pp. 173-182, with plate. THE FISH FAUNA OF FLORIDA. By BARTON WARREN EVERMANN, Ph. D., Ichthyologist, U. S. Fish Commission. There is perhaps no State in the Union whose fishes have attracted more general attention than have those of Florida. The interest in the fishes of this State is shared by the commercial fishermen, the angler, and the ichthyologist. The number of species that are sought because of their commercial value is far greater than in any other section of America. Those that are of interest to the angler are more numerous than any other State can boast, while the richness and peculiarities of the fish fauna of Florida have made this State a fascinating field to the ichthyologist and student of geographic distribution. Before entering upon the detailed discussion of the fish fauna let us notice for a moment a few of the more important geographic and cbmatological factors of the State, for these are the features which determine the character of the fish fauna of any region. Florida is the most southern of all the States, the entire State lying south of the thirty-first parallel. Its most southern point is in latitude 24° 3d, about 1° 30' farther south than any other point of our territory. In longitude it extends from the eightieth meridian to that of 87° 30'. It will be thus seen that the State extends through 6£ degrees of latitude (nearly 400 miles) and 7£ degrees of longitude (or about 400 miles). It has relatively and actually by far the greatest shore line of any State, the total being not fewer than 1,200 miles, or more than 1 mile of shore line for every 5 square miles of territory — in fact, about 230 more miles of sea front than it could have if it were a square island. Though Florida has not the diversified geographic features possessed by many other States, such as Georgia, which give it mountain torrent, upland river, and lowland marsh, nevertheless its numerous lakes and rivers are not without variety. Some of the streams are more or less turbid, some clear and cold, others temperate, and others- warm. All are rich in water vegetation, which invariably implies a rich fauna as well, and the vast Everglades present conditions hardly to be duplicated elsewhere in America. The more than 1,200 miles of coast line present great diversity as to nature of shore and temperature of water. There are to be found on the Florida coast almost any kind of shore one may desire; vast areas of mud flats in some places, long reaches of clean sand and shallow water in others, rocky shores with shallow tide pools, a multitude of narrow, shallow channels and mangrove islands, and the great chain of Florida Keys, among which a wide diversity of conditions is found, such as great mud flats, large fields of algae, forests of gorgonians, great sponge-grounds, coral reefs, etc., not duplicated anywhere on our coast. 201 202 BULLETIN OF THE UNITED STATES FISH COMMISSION. From the relatively cool waters of Pensacola and Fernandina the temperature gradually rises southward until we reach the Keys, where it becomes noticeably higher on account of the Gulf Stream as it sweeps through the Florida Straits and up the eastern coast. Nowhere else on our coast is the influence of the Gulf Stream so great, and nowhere else does the fauna of tropical seas extend so far north. Indeed, among the Florida Keys we find the nearest approach to tropical conditions to be found any- where in the United States. It is remarkable that the rich fish fauna of Florida did not attract the attention of students earlier than it did. Prior to 1870, scarcely anything was known concern- ing the fishes of the State. So far as we have been able to learn from an examination of ichthyological literature the earliest references to Florida fishes are those of Mark Gatesby in 1754, LeSueur in 1824, and Holbrook in 1855 and 1856. Catesby’s Natu- ral History of Carolina, Florida, and the Bahama Islands, a mammoth work of two volumes, royal folio, with 220 colored plates, contains a few references to Florida fishes, but this was before the beginning of binomial nomenclature (which dates from 1758), and no names were given. In 1824 Messrs. Maelure, Say, Ord, and Peale, of the Philadelphia Academy, all great men in the early history of science in America, made a trip to Florida and brought back with them dried specimens of one ray and one skate. These were described in the same year by LeSueur as Baia sabina and Baia desmarestia, but are now known as Dasyatis sabina (one of the most common rays on the Florida coasts) and Baja eglanteria , the brier skate, less common than the other species. These, so far as we have been able to learn, are the first fishes ever described from Florida localities. In 1856 Dr. John Edward Holbrook published an “Account of several species of fishes observed in Florida, Georgia, etc.” In this paper 6 species were credited to the St. Johns River, 5 species of suufishes and 1 darter, all of which were described as new, but not one of which proved to be so. In 1855 Holbrook published the first edition of his Ichthyology of South Carolina, and in 1860 the second edition of the same work appeared. In this work 12 species are referred to definite Florida locali- ties in the first edition and 22 in the second, one of the latter (JEsox ravenelli=Lucius americanus) being described as new. In the twenty years following the appearance of the first edition of Holbrook’s Ichthyology little or nothing was added to our knowledge of the fishes of Florida. Not until 1878 was any serious or considerable study made of the fishes of this State. In that year Mr. Silas Stearns, of the Pensacola Fish and Ice Company, began sending- specimens of Florida fishes to the U. S. National Museum. The first specimen was described by Goode & Bean as the type of a new species, the blanquillo ( Gaulolatilus microps ), a near relative of the noted tilefish, whose sudden appearance in myriads in the Gulf Stream about the same time and whose as sudden disappearance in 1882 remain to this day among the marvels of the natural history of fishes. In the winter of 1877-78 Mr. Stearns began a most active and intelligent study of the distribution and habits of the fishes of the Gulf coast of Florida. Particular attention was paid to the food-fishes and the fishes found on the Snapper Banks. Specimens of the various species were sent to the National Museum, which formed the basis of numerous important papers by Goode & Beau, Jordan, and Stearns. I wish to call special attention to the work done by Mr. Stearns. It was of very great importance and deserves more than a passing notice. During the few leisure hours of an active business life Mr. Stearns found time to make a study of the natural NATIONAL FISHERY CONGRESS. 203 history of the fishes of the Gulf coast which even to this day constitutes the bulk of our knowledge of many of the species of that region. He made invaluable collections, containing many species new to science, and his own direct contributions to the literature of Florida fishes, published in the Fishery Industries reports of the Tenth Census, may well serve as models for writers on natural-history subjects. The untimely death of Mr. Stearns in 1888 was a severe loss to science as well as to the State of Florida. Since 1878 a number of persons have done more or less collecting in Florida; among them the following may be mentioned: Hr. J. W. Yelie, in Clearwater Harbor and vicinity; Dr. J. A. Henshall, from Biscayne Bay around the coast to Tampa; Dr. Jordan, at Pensacola, Cedar Keys, and Key West; Dr. O. P. Hay, about Captiva Pass; the vessels of the Fish Commission, at the Tortugas, on the Snapper Banks, and elsewhere along the Gulf coast; Messrs. A. J. Woolman and L. J. Bettger, in the streams of the western part of the State; Mr. Einar Lbnnberg, in the fresh waters about Orlando; Mr. Charles H. Bollman and the writer, at Pensacola and on the Snapper Banks; Mr. Barton A. Bean and the writer, in Indian River and Lake Worth; Dr. H. M. Smith, in Biscayne Bay; Dr. William C. Kendall, in the St. Johns River; and Dr. Kendall and the writer, about Biscayne Bay, Key West, Tampa, aud Tarpon Springs. The characteristics of the fish fauna of the other portions of the State are almost wholly unknown; and our knowledge of those regions which have received some attention is far from satisfactory. New species and new and important facts about known ones are discovered each time any investigations are made in any part of the State. A vast amount of work remains to be done before we may consider our knowledge of the fishes of Florida even approximately complete. THE FISHES OF FLORIDA. The total number of species of fishes known from Floridian waters is about 600, or about one-fifth of the entire fish fauna of America north of Panama. This number is far larger than can be found in any other section of our country, and is due to the diversity and peculiarities of the climatic conditions already mentioned. The Florida fish fauna may be regarded as made up of at least five more or less distinct fauuas: (a) the salt-water fauna of our South Atlantic States, ( b ) the subtropical fauna of the Florida Keys, ( c ) the Gulf of Mexico fauna, (d) the fresh water fauna of the southern portion of the Lower Mississippi Valley, and (e) the fresh- water fauna of the Everglades. These, of course, overlap more or less, aud in a consideration of the entire fish fauna of America these regions would not be regarded as constituting distinct faunal areas; but for our present purpose they may properly be considered as fairly distinct. From Fernandina southward to Biscayne Bay are found most of the species charac- teristic of the coast south of Cape Hatteras. From Biscayne Bay to Key West and the Tortugas is found a fish fauua marvelous in its multitude of species and in their richness of coloration. Among the fishes of this region which deserve special mention are the great numbers of groupers, snappers, grunts, and porgies, all important food-fishes; the many labroid species, such as the hogfish, pudding-wife, and the various parrot-fishes, all remarkable for their brilliant coloration; the many species of pipefishes, the tangs, angel-fish, and chsetodonts, among them several of the most gorgeous of American fishes. 204 BULLETIN OF THE UNITED STATES FISH COMMISSION. The fish fauna of the Florida Keys resembles that of Cuba very closely. Nearly all the food and game fishes at Key West are also found at Havana. The warm waters of the Keys serve as a more or less effective barrier to the passage of fishes living in colder water. As a result many species are found on the east coast of Florida which do not occur on the Gulf coast, and vice versa. There are so many species found on the west coast of Florida that are not known from the east side that the two coasts may be regarded as having separate faunas. This west-coast fauna extends from the “bay” to Pensacola and beyond, and is not essentially different from that found elsewhere on the Gulf coast. In the fresh waters of the northern part of the State the fishes are essentially the same as occur in the streams and ponds of the other Gulf States, and include several species of minnows, sunfishes, catfishes, suckers, Amia, and a few darters. From the little that is known about the fresh water fishes of the extreme southern part of the State, it is believed that the species are to a large extent distinct and peculiar to that region. There is great need, however, of further investigation in this region. Of the 600 species of fishes credited to Florida waters about 51 are fresh water species, 20 may be regarded as brackish-water species, and the remaining 529 consti- tute the salt-water fish fauna of the State. FRESH WATER SPECIES. The number of fresh-water species known from the State is not large. They belong to the following families: Petromyzonidm (Lampreys) 1 Lepisosteidce (Gars) 3 Amiidce (Bowlins) 1 Siluridce (Catfish) 8 Catostomulce (Suckers) 1 Cyprinidw (Minnows) 7 Luciidce (Pikes) 2 Pceciliidce (Killifishes) 13 Apliredoderidw (Pirate Perch) 1 Atherinidce (Silversides) 1 Elassomidw (Pygmy Sunfishes) 1 Centrarchidw (Sunfish and Bass) 10 Percidce (Darters) 2 Of these 51 species the only ones of commercial importance are the catfishes, pikes, sunfishes, and the large-mouthed black bass. This list is remarkable in that it contains so few of the Catostomidce, Cyprinidce , and Percidce. Each of these is a very large family, the approximate number of species of each in American waters being as follows : Catostomidce, 70 ; Cyprinidce, 227 ; Percidce, 88. The most southern locality in Florida from which specimens of fresh-water species have been obtained is Miami, 8 species having been collected there in the Miami and Little rivers in 1896. Doubtless many additional species will be discovered when the waters of the State are more thoroughly explored. The regions which promise the richest and most important results are the Everglades, the lakes in the interior south of Lake George, and the streams crossing the northern boundary of the State. BRACKISH-WATER SPECIES. In this category may be included all those species which live habitually in brackish water, those more truly salt-water species which are also found more or less commonly in brackish and even fresh water, and also those more truly fresh water species which are occasionally found in brackish water. In this division will fall, of course, all anadromous and catadromous species, such as the shad and the common eel. The family NATIONAL FISHERY CONGRESS. 205 having the greatest number of species in this division is the Pceciliidce , preeminently the family of brackish-water fishes. Florida contains 21 species of this family, of which at least 8 live habitually in brackish water and each of the other 13 may occa- sionally occur there. This family is worthy of note as containing the smallest known fish, Heterandria formosa, which is less than an inch in length. Two species of shad are known from Florida. On the east coast the common shad ( Alosa sapidissima) is a common and valued species. It occurs regularly and in considerable numbers in the St. Johns and St. Marys rivers and rarely in the Indian Eiver, It is not positively known to occur in any other waters of the State. At Pensacola a few young shad were obtained by Dr. Jordan in 1882 and provisionally •identified as a species distinct from the common shad, but no name was given to them and no description published. In the spring of 1896 an unusually large run of shad occurred in the Black Warrior River at Tuscaloosa, Ala., and specimens were sent to the United States Fish Commission for identification. They proved to be different from the common shad and a new and undescribed species, to which the name Alosa alabamcv was given by Jordan and Evermann. When studying these specimens I also studied those from Pensacola (now in the United States Rational Museum) and found them identical with the Alabama shad. Shad have been reported from various west Florida rivers, particularly the Suwanee, Apalachicola, and Escambia rivers. It is not positively known what species these may be, but it is more than likely that they are the Alabama, shad. An actual examination of specimens from these rivers will be necessary to determine the matter, and the United States Fish Commission would be glad to receive specimens from anyone who has an opportunity to collect them. SALT-WATER SPECIES. The great majority of Florida fishes are, of course, salt-water species, there being not fewer than 529 species, distributed among many families and genera. On the east coast approximately 175 species are found, among the Florida Keys 290, and on the west coast about 300. Several important species are found throughout these three regions. Key West is the most important and interesting of all Florida localities as regards the number of species, about 250 species being known from there, of which about 100 are food-fishes of greater or less importance. The richness of Key West in food-fishes will be seen when we recall the total number of food-fishes in each of the other important fishery regions of the United States, as shown in the following list: South Atlantic States 55 i Pacific States 40 Middle Atlantic States 50 I Great Lakes 16 New England States 48 | Gulf States (Florida excepted) 42 The more important species handled at Key West are the grunts (6 species), the porgies (5 species), the groupers (8 species), the snappers (4 species), the hogfish, king- fish, Spanish mackerel, the carangoids (8 species), and the mullets (3 species). Besides these there are some 60 or 70 species which for one reason or another are less important but are nevertheless handled to some extent. A great many, perhaps a majority, of the food-fishes at Key West occur also about Cuba and may-be seen in the Havana market. 206 BULLETIN OF THE UNITED STATES FISH COMMISSION. The method of handling fish at Key West is unique, and calculated to conserve the fisheries of that region to the fullest extent. Practically all of the fishing is done with hook and line, and every fishing boat has a well into which the fish are placed. All salable fish are brought to market in the wells of the vessels and kept alive until sold. The prospective purchaser visits the fish wharf, selects from some one of the boats the fish he desires, and it is then killed and dressed by the fisher- man. This excellent method insures perfectly fresh fish to the purchaser, and few or no fish are lost or wasted. There is no other place in the United States where one can study live fishes so satisfactorily as at Key West. Fishing boats are lying at the fish wharf at all times and in their wells may be seen specimens of numerous species, many of them of brilliant coloration ; and by going out with the fishermen upon the bars and coral reefs one may, by the aid of a water glass, spend many hours observing and studying a multitude of fishes and other interesting forms as they disport themselves in the clear waters beneath the boat. FOOD-FISHES OF FLORIDA. While the waters in the vicinity of Key West are wonderfully rich in species of fishes used as food, not all the food- fishes of Florida are found there. The shad does not occur there; neither does the black bass nor any of the fresh-water species; nor do we find there, except possibly as stragglers, the spotted sea trout, the red drum, spot, whiting, pompon, flasher, and perhaps still other species known from Indian River. Additional species are known from Pensacola which do not occur at Key West. The total number of different species of food-fish now known to occur in the waters of Florida is approximately 140, divided among 36 different families, as follows : Acipenseridce (Sturgeon) 1 Siluridw (Catfishes) 4 Catostomidce (Suckers) 2 Cyprinidce (Minnows) 1 Anguillidce (Eels) 1 Elopidce (Tarpons) 2 Albulidce (Lady-fishes) 1 ClupeidcE (Herrings) 8 Luciidce (Pikes) 2 Esocidw (Needle-fishes) 2 Hemiramphidce (Balaos) 4 Mugilidai (Mullets) 4 Sphyramidai (Barracudas) 2 Polynemidw (Threadfins) 1 Holocentridw (Squirrel-fishes) 1 Scombridm (Mackerels) 4 Trioliiuridce (Cutlas-fishes) 1 Carangidce 14 Pomatomidoj (Bluefish) 1 Centrarchidce (Sunfishes and Black Bass).. 10 Centropomidce (Robalos) 1 Serranidce (Sea Bass) 10 Lobotidce (Triple-tails) 1 Lutianidce (Snappers) 8 Pfaimulidai (Grunts) 12 Sparidw (Porgies) 12 Gerridce (Moj arras) 4 Kyphosidce (Rudder-fishes) 1 Scicunidw (Croakers) 11 Labridai (Wrasse-fishes) 1 Scciridai (Parrot-fishes) •. 2 EpMppidce (Angel-fishes) 1 Chwtodontidai (Butterfly-fishes) 3 Teutldididw (Tangs) 3 Scorpcenidce (Rockfishes) 1 Pleuronectidce 4 This large number represents about one-twentieth of the entire fish fauna of America north of the equator. The value to the State of these commercial fishes will doubtless be set forth in other papers to be presented at this Congress, and need not be dwelt upon here. Suffice to say that the money value of the annual fish output of the State is, in rouud numbers, not less than $1,000,000. NATIONAL FISHERY CONGRESS. 207 THE GAME-FISHES OF FLORIDA. The fame of the game-fishes of the State of Florida extends throughout America, and beyond. Wherever there are anglers and rod and gun clubs, the prowess of the “silver king” is known and talked about. The one great hope of every angler is that he may go to Florida and kill a tarpon before his fishing days are over. But while the tarpon or silver king is the king of the game-fishes of this State, it is by no means the only game fish. Some of the largest black bass known have been caught iu Florida waters. The sunfishes are the largest of their kind. The ladyfish and the bonefish are thought by many to equal their relative, the tarpon, in real game qualities. Trolliug for kingfish, jack, crevalle, bluefish, Spanish mackerel, and spotted sea trout, at Indian River, Lake Worth, Key West, or Biscayne Bay, furnishes sport of the most exciting kind; while still fishing for sheepshead and mangrove snappers at Indian River Inlet; for chubs, porgies, porkfish, yellow- tails, snappers, and grunts at Key West; or for red snappers, red groupers, and others of their kin on the Snapper Banks, furnishes sufficient variety to please any angler, in whatever mood he may chance to be. I have fished in every State and Territory in the Union but three, and from Siberia and Bering Sea to the gulfs of California and Mexico, and, all things considered, regard Florida as unequaled in the richness and variety of its attractions for all sorts of sport with rod and reel. THE NECESSITY OF A BIOLOGICAL STATION IN FLORIDA. The only station for biological research on the coast of the United States which receives Government support is that at Woods Hole, Massachusetts. While it has never received the support which it should, and has never been fully equipped, it has nevertheless been one of the most important centers for biological study in this country. The location is iu many regards admirable. In addition to a rich local fauna and flora, many forms of marine animal and plant life are brought there by the Gulf Stream, thereby greatly increasing the variety of life in that vicinity. But the station is kept open only for a few months during the summer, the winters being too severe for satisfactory work. The ideal marine biological station must be located at some point not only where the local fauna and flora are rich both in species and individuals, but where the climatic conditions will permit investigations and observations to be carried on throughout the year. The region should also be one in which are found in abundance many of the species of animals and plants which are of special interest to biologists, those the study of whose development and life-history will add greatly to our knowledge of the relationships of the larger groups. There is no other place on our coast where these conditions are so fully met as on the southern coast of Florida. The climatic conditions are all that could be desired. Investigations could be carried on throughout the year. The waters fairly teem with hundreds of species of fishes, mollusks, crustaceans, echinoderms, corals, sponges, marine algae, and many other groups, while the abundance of individuals of many of the species is marvelous; and, what is of prime importance, many of the species are permanently resident and can be observed and collected at any time throughout the year, thus enabling the investigator to make a study of the complete life-history of the species. 208 BULLETIN OF THE UNITED STATES FISH COMMISSION. Without even mentioning the numerous purely scientific problems of deep interest to the embryologist which could be studied under most favorable conditions at such a station, I wish to call attention to a few of the many investigations which are sure to prove of great economic importance and which can be conducted here to the best advantage. I may mention the following : 1. The spawning habits of the numerous food-fishes of the coast and the possibility of their artificial propagation. 2. The food of the various species of fishes. 3. The life-histories of the manatee, alligator, crocodile, and the several species of turtles, and the development of methods for increasing their commercial value. 4. Experimentation regarding the artificial cultivation of the commercial sponges. There is not a marine species of Florida fish whose life history is fully known. We are ignorant of the habits of even the most common and important species. Take even such an important fish as the pompano; we know absolutely nothing of the time, place, and manner of spawning, the habits or food of the young, and the possibility of propagating the species artificially; and we are quite as ignorant concerning the bluefish, red drum, spotted sea trout, sheepshead, red snapper, and all of the numerous other snappers, groupers, grunts, and porgies. It is not at all unreasonable to suppose that a study of these species would show that many of them can be cultivated artificially, and the time will doubtless come, and all too soon, when artificial propaga- tion will have to be resorted to to save some of these fishes from practical extinction. It is the part of wisdom to develop the methods requisite for conserving the fisheries and have them perfected and ready for use before any serious diminution begins. No study has ever been made of the food of any of these food-fishes or the many others which swarm in Floridian waters. Except in the most general way we know nothing of the interrelations existing among these various species, and the conditions favorable or unfavorable to the well-being of the useful species. The life-history of the manatee has never been critically studied, and we have doubtless underestimated the importance of its preservation. The same is true of the alligator, crocodile, porpoise, and the several species of turtles found on the Florida coast, all of which are animals of commercial value and of unusual interest to the naturalist. The discovery and perfecting of methods by which the various commercial sponges of Florida may be cultivated artificially furnish a field for investigation which will prove fascinating in the highest degree and will doubtless yield results of the greatest economic importance. Each and every one of the lines of investigation indicated is important and worthy of serious attention. Some of them have already been too long neglected. These problems are legitimate fields of investigation. The establishment of a station for biological research at some point on the coast of Florida is abundantly justified upon both scientific and economic grounds, and should receive the early and serious attention of the General Government and the Commonwealth of Florida. Washington, D. G. I. U S. F. C. 1897. (To face page 209.) Plate 10. LAKE LAMPREY (Petromyzon marinus unicolor De Kay) FROM CAYUGA LAKE, IN WINTER. One-half natural siz BROOK LAMPREYS (Lampetra wilderi Gage). Natural size. (a) male, and b) female, taken at spawning season and photographed under water with a vertical camera. (From Plate IV, in the Wilder Quarter Century Book, by S H. Gage ) PICKEREL ( Lucius reticulatus) AND SUCKER ( Catostomus commersonii) WITH LAMPREY SCARS. In both cases the wounds penetrate the abdomen. (Photographed fresh under water, with a vertical camera.) LAKE LAMPREY CLINGING TO THE SUCKER UPON WHICH IT WAS CAUGHT, Note the characteristic Lamprey scars by the pectoral and pelvic fins. THE LAMPREYS OF CENTRAL NEW YORK. By H. A. SURFACE, M. S., Fellow in Vertebrate Zoology , Cornell University. The greatest enemy of the fish of Cayuga Lake, New York, is a fish-like animal commonly known as the lake lamprey or lamprey eel ( Petromyzon marinus unicolor). The name lamprey eel, however, conveys an erroneous idea, as the lamprey is not an eel and resembles the eel only in general external appearance. The name lamper eel is also applied to the mutton-fish or ling ( Zoarces anyuillaris) of the Atlantic coast. It is possibly from the habits of young lampreys that the authors of our old First Readers justified themselves in the statement: “Eels live in mud.” Although this animal is altogether too well known to the fishermen of this region, to most persons it is an unfamiliar object. The generic name, Petromyzon, signifies a “rock sucker,” because it is sometimes found clinging by its mouth to stones. The specific name marinus indicates the fact that its primary or normal home is the ocean; but the variety unicolor , of which the type is found in Cayuga, Seneca, and the other “finger lakes” of this region, is a land- locked form which has been able to adapt itself to the inland fresh- water conditions throughout the entire year. This variety, now known as the lake lamprey, has become smaller and more uniform in color (hence the varietal name, unicolor) than its probable ancestor, the sea or marine lamprey. There are about 20 species of lampreys known to science, mostly inhabitants of temperate regions. Two species are found in the Cayuga Lake Basin, of which the lake lamprey is very injurious to our best fishes. The brook lamprey, Lampetra wilderi Gage, named in honor of Dr. B. G. Wilder, professor of vertebrate zoology in Cornell University, is much smaller than the former, is not known to be injurious to fishes, and does not occur in the lake. It receives its common name from its con- stant occurrence in streams. It is not known in the lake, and no reference has been found indicating that it has even been collected in any lake. In the adult state it has never been known (by us, at least) to take any kind of food, and the assumption will doubtless be confirmed that this vertebrate, like some insects, does all of its feeding- in the larval stage, and remains in its mature stage or condition only long enough to reproduce its own kind. Its very long larval period (two or three years) and short adult period (a very few months) would appear to give weight to this assumption. This species of lamprey has never been known here in the adult state except during the spring and summer months, and if it has been collected at any other time in other localities particulars of its occurrence are desired. If there is any reference to 209 F. C. B. 1897—14 210 BULLETIN OF THE UNITED STATES FISH COMMISSION. this species attacking fish, or taking other food in the adult state, the information will be very acceptable. Professor Gage has found transforming larvae the last of October, and full adults on the spawning-beds as early as the 26th of April. Their transforma- tion is doubtless completed before midwinter. Some very interesting “Notes on the spawning habits of the brook lamprey ( Petro - myzon wilderi) ” have been contributed by Bashford Dean and P. B. Sumner (N. Y. Ac. Sci., vol. xvi, December 9, 1897). The authors compare their dates with recorded dates for this region, and conclude that “the spawning season of our local (New York City) lamprey is thus found to be nearly a month earlier than at Cayuga Lake,” but to draw accurate conclusions dates in the same year should be compared. In 1897 the brook lamprey was found on beds here on April 30. This makes a difference of 14 days instead of 30 days between New York City and this region. These two species of lampreys are apparently identical in places of spawning, habitat of larvee, and observed external appearances (i. e., specific determinations in the ammoccetes stage are impossible), but the brook lamprey spawns from one to two weeks earlier than the lake lamprey. Plate 10 shows one of the lake lampreys attached to a common white sucker ( Catostomus commersonii), which is also pierced by lamprey marks near both its ventral and pelvic fins, the body-wall being entirely cut through by these blood- suckers, and the abdominal cavity penetrated. This illustration is from a photograph of fresh specimens, under water, taken with a vertical camera, by Prof. S. H. Cage, at Cornell University. Professor Gage and Dr. Wilder have done more work with the lampreys of this region than have any other persons, and it is from Professor Gage’s article on “ The lake and brook lampreys of New York,” in the Wilder Quarter Century Book, 1893, that much information is taken for the present paper. The other illustrations are from photographs of specimens collected in Cayuga Lake or its inlet by persons at Cornell University, and were made for the purpose of showing some special features of the habits of this enemy of our fishes. The lamprey is similar to the frog and most other amphibians in the fact that from the young stage to the adult it passes through a metamorphosis slightly compar- able with the change of a tadpole into a mature frog. Its full life-history, as deter- mined by Professor Gage, is, briefly, as follows : The adult passes about three years in the lake, living exclusively by sucking the blood from living fishes, most of which are good food-fish. In the springtime, about the middle of April, apparently, they start out independently from the various points of the lake, each one forsaking its prey and swimming vigorously or stealing a ride by attaching to the bottom of some boat moving in the right direction. On they go until the current of the inlet gives them the clue, and they follow it. Frequently, also, ordinary fishes bound on the same errand throng the streams, and then the lam- preys, with their inherent desire to be taken care of by the labor of others, fasten to the larger fishes and are carried along up the stream. It not infrequently occurs that from the natural inclination of the stream, or from some of man’s obstructions, there are rapids or dams to be surmounted. Nothing daunted, the lamprey swims up just as far as possible by a tremendous effort, grasping a stone or other object so that he can not be carried downstream again, rests for a while, and then, by a powerful bending and straightening of the serpentine body, a leap is made in the right direc- tion, and what is gained is saved by again fastening the mouth to a fixed object. NATIONAL FISHERY CONGRESS. 211 This goes on until the obstacle is surmounted, if it is not too great. Then, without delay, the lamprey pushes on upstream, sometimes 8 or 10 kilometers, until clear water and numerous ripples are found. Just above some ripple the lamprey begins to make ready a secure place for a new generation. The male arrives first and begins the nest build- ing by removing and plac- ing stones with his suctorial mouth. In a few days he is joined by a female, and to- gether they labor away un- til they have made a basin, or in some cases a ditch across the bed of the stream. Sow they fasten themselves with their mouths to stones at the up- per edge of this basin, and their bodies swing down- stream and sway in the cur- rent. Many hundreds of lam- preys have been actually counted on beds in the inlet in a single season by ob- servers at Cornell Univer- sity, and in 1891 Professor Gage saw there fully r,200. In these nests the eggs, after being fertilized, sink to the bottom and adhere firmly to the sand and stones, being covered by the lampreys stirring up the sand with their tails. After some days the eggs are hatched and the young lampreys, very much like small angle- worms, burrow into the sand. At first they live in the sand at the bot- tom of the nests, but soon make their way to the sand along the banks of the stream. Here they remain for perhaps two years or longer, with their eyes only rudimentary and their mouths valvular, feeding on very minute organisms that live in the mud and sand. It is said that the adult lampreys die soon after spawning, but this is not fully determined. It is also believed that some may return to the lake. When the young ;'Q a '' o Mouth of lake lamprey ( Petromyzon n drawing by Mrs. S. H. Gage inus unicolor). Reproduced from E, eye ; S O, sense organs. 212 BULLETIN OF THE UNITED STATES FISH COMMISSION. are sufficiently developed tliey metamorphose into adults, find their way down the inlet into the lake, and begin the same kind of parasitic bloodsucking life that their parents led. Thus is the cycle of life completed for these creatures. In structure and zoologic position the lampreys are the lowest vertebrates found in this region, being placed at the very foot of the list of fishes and by most recent authors they are even denied admission into the class of fishes. The class to which they belong is Marsipobranchii, or u pouch gill,” because the gills form a series of pouches, seven on each side of the head. They receive their water through as many independent gill-openings. The adult lamprey swims in the water like a fish, only with more of a wriggling or snake-like movement, but it does not have paired fins placed as in the true fishes. The only organs that it has that functionate as fins are membranous expansions on its back and on the dorsal and ventral sides of its tail. As will be seen from the figure of the mouth (p. 211), it has no jaws, but its mouth is a large circular disk, thickly studded with large, strong, chitiuous spines or teeth, which enable it to more securely grasp its victim. This disk is surrounded by a softer membrane, which readily fits tightly over any surface and makes it possible for the animal to adhere quite firmly to an object by suction when the piston-like tongue in the center is drawn back. Having fastened itself by this wonderful mouth, which is larger around than its head, it rasps away with the saw-like teeth on its tongue, using nearly 150 other teeth, until it has worn through the thick skin or scales of its victim. Then it has nothing to do but to remain attached to the fish and be carried around by it, sucking blood when it is hungry, and occasionally rasping away at its raw flesh, making the hole deeper and deeper until finally the abdominal wall is completely perforated and the body cavity penetrated. Often the intestines or other organs of the fish are attacked and cut to pieces, but more frequently the lamprey fastens itself at another place if its victim has any blood left, or if not it seeks another fish. The intestines protruding and the blood escaping from the deserted wound, in a great many cases sooner or later cause the death of the fish, which are often seen swimming in the lake in the miserable condition just described. The injured fish does not always die, but in every case it is seriously weakened and reduced in flesh and blood, and in the power of fully reproducing its kind. Among some specimens recently collected for study here was a bullhead or horned-pout ( Ameiurus nebulosus) that had been so severely attacked by a lamprey that its stomach protruded through the hole in the side. This fish was kept alive in a tank (for the purpose of observing its condition) for three weeks. Last spring (1897), when using a collecting seine under the permission and direction of the New York Fisheries, Game, and Forest Commission, the writer found by actual experiment that it was easy to distinguish the bullheads that had been attacked by lampreys, even when they were purposely turned over so that the holes were not visible. The injured fish loses entirely its rich golden hue, and, assuming a sickly appearance, grows paler and weaker. It is not at all uncommon to find dead fish along the shores of Cayuga Lake, and upon examination the marks of the lamprey may be seen. Among such fish recently found are the bullhead or catfish (Ameiurus nebulosus ), suckers (Catostomus), carp (Gyprinus carpio), lake herring (Argyrosomus artedi), and pickerel ( Lucius reticulatus). Other species of food-fish are also injured. It is a serious enemy of the sturgeon ( Acipenser rubicundus), one of which was caught in Bull. U. S. F. C. 1897. (To face page 212.) Plate 1 1 . A OOZEN CATFISH (Ameiurus nebulusus) FATALLY ATTACKED BY LAKE LAMPREY (Petromyzon marinus unicolor). Collected and photographed by H. A. Surface. EIGHT CATFISH (Ameiurus nebulosus) FATALLY ATTACKED BY LAKE LAMPREY ( Petromyzon marinus unicolor). Collected and photographed by H. A. Surface. NATIONAL FISHERY CONGRESS. 213 Cayuga Lake with, six lampreys on it. A local fisherman claims to have captured a very large sturgeon which had 21 lampreys attached to it. In addition to the above list other valuable fish which have been attacked are the whiteflsh, pike, muskellunge, bass, perch, lake trout, wall eyed pike, redhorse or mullets ( Moxostoma macrolepidotum and M. aureolum), the eel ( Anguilla chrysypa), drum ( Aplodinotus grunniens ), white bass ( Roccus chrysops ), and others. In fact, of the 74 species of fish found in Cayuga Lake basin, none is known to be free from its attacks except those too small for its attachment and support. Several injured specimens of the bowfin, mudfish or dogfish (Amia calva) have been seen; even the heavy-scaled ganoid, the gar pike or billfish ( Lepisosteus osseus ), is sometimes attacked. Fine specimens of lake trout ( Cristivomer namaycush ) with as many as five wounds on one fish have been found. With smaller fishes one attack sometimes proves fatal; often, however, the fish may survive the first attack and fall a victim to the second or even third. Only a fish of considerable size and vitality can survive five or more wounds without intervals for recuperation. The records kept in field work here show that lampreys are much more injurious, or a much greater percentage of fishes are injured in the early spring (February and March) than at any other time. This season of feasting may be to strengthen them for the long period of fasting and spawning, for it is shown that they not only refuse to feed during the spawning season, but owing to the atrophy of the alimentary canal they are entirely incapacitated for taking food. Professor Gage has estimated that the lamprey annually does as much in reduc- ing the available food-fish in this lake as all the work of the fishermen combined. He has also shown that of the bullheads captured in the lake 12 out of every 15 have been attacked by the lamprey. From careful observations made within the past year, the writer is prepared to confirm and emphasize both of the above statements. The attacks on the bullhead or catfish alone are of great importance. It is safe to say that hundreds of barrels (probably about 500,000 pounds) of these are placed annually upon the markets in the State of New York. In most cases they are dressed. No wonder ! Who wants to buy or eat fish with great festering sores or ulcers visible? And yet the bullheads are excellent food-fish. That their value is recognized by experts is attested by the fact that last year the State Fish Commission of New York furnished the State Fish Commission of Ohio with 1,200 of them for stocking certain streams in the latter State. From every economical standpoint it would appear to be advantageous to rid the world entirely of the lampreys. It would certainly be greatly to the advantage of the fisheries of the State of New York if all were destroyed. Naturally, however, the student of biology must mourn the loss of a form so interesting and so instructive. The questions naturally arise: “How can the fish be protected from the lampreys; and is it possible to remove the lampreys from our lakes? Thanks to the service science has rendered by the twenty-five years’ study of this subject by Dr. Wilder and Professor Gage, the modus operandi becomes comparatively simple, as shown by the following quotations from the latter’s paper. It 'will be seen that it [the lamprey] has one very vulnerable point, viz, leaving the lake and running up the tributaries to spawn. This seems to be the only point at which the lamprey can be attacked, and the hope of exterminating it is rendered still stronger from the fact that in Cayuga and Seneca lakes, so far as explored (during several seasons), the lampreys run up the inlet at the head of the lake only, and do not spawn in the tributaries entering the lake at intervals on each side. 214 BULLETIN OF THE UNITED STATES FISH COMMISSION. Lampreys must be destroyed before spawning if they are to be exterminated. Nothing would be easier than to do this. A dam with a fishway — the fishway leading into an isolated inclosure — where the lampreys could be easily removed and disposed of, or a weir of some kind, could be constructed at slight expense. If this could be continued for three or four years in all the lakes and in the Oswego Eiver, the race could be extinguished and the lakes wholly freed from their devastations. In the diagram A represents perpendicular posts set in the stream and fastened, for the purpose of catching floating material that might otherwise tear or injure the weir below. B represents net wings for the capture of creatures running down the stream. C represents the main or chief net placed entirely across the stream to prevent passage either way. At D is the pocket or pen in which the fish coming up the stream will ultimately be found, being guided by the various wings of netting or wire E and F. It can be seen that if a weir for this purpose were established in the inlet of Cayuga Lake, not only would but what is much more, it would give some vastly im- portant absolute facts to the State authorities upon culations for more extensive operations at other lakes for another year. Also, one can scarcely estimate what a valuable amount of scientific information would be gained concerning our anadromous fishes as they run up the stream to spawn and return to the lake again. Im- portant investigations could here very easily be made, and many valuable facts could be gained by such inves- tigations properly conducted. Until trained investiga- tors give our legislators many facts not now known, laws that will prove effectual in the protection and maintenance of fish or game can not be enacted. For example, the laws for the protection of fish are in most cases based upon their spawning habits, and this is of course right; but no one can give or find cor- rect answers to the following questions for even one- fourth of the number of kinds of fish found here: Just when do they commence to spawn, and when is the spawning completed ? How long before spawning do they run up the streams, and how long after do they return to the lake or sea? Just what species find it necessary to run up the streams for spawning, and what remain in the lake? What is their food, and what their enemies and diseases at this most important time in the it do a great deal of good in removing the lampreys, which they may be able to definitely base plans and cal- ( Arrow indicates direction of current.) or condition of all organs, and their food before, after, and during spawning? In what numbers do they run up the streams, and what proportions are males or females? What kind of nest do they build, and do both sexes take part in its construction? Which sex cares for the eggs, and which for the young, and how? And, how long do the young need or receive parental protection? All of these questions and many others that could be asked are of great impor- tance, but can never be answered except through some such careful investigations as NATIONAL FISHERY CONGRESS. 215 can be made in connection with the proposed weir, the diagram of which is given. The plans have been very carefully made, and meet the hearty approval of the State fish, game, and forest commissioners. It has been placed in the inlet above the limit of navigation and below the lowest place where the lampreys spawn. Two watchmen are employed to alternate in watching this weir constantly, day and night, during the “running” season, and, empowered as deputy sheriff's, the watchmen will be able to arrest any trespassers who might otherwise seriously interfere with the success of the experiment. A specialist from Cornell University visits the weir every morning and evening at regular intervals, and with a shallow dip net removes the lampreys and helps over the good fish and lets them go on their way. A strict count and record is made of the kinds seen and of the number of each, their condition, development, habits, and such other points as are of economic or scientific interest and help to give correct answers to the questions above asked. By conscientiously performing this work it is also possible to determine what percentage of each species migrates in the daytime and what at night. President B. H. Davis, of the Fisheries, Game, and Forest Commission, conferred with Senator Stewart on this subject, and the latter, at the request of the former and several other interested persons, introduced a bill, as an item in the general supply bill, for $500 for this work. Last year our legislators passed a bill appropriating $1,500 for the removal of the billfish or gar pike from Black and Chautauqua lakes; and here in Cayuga Lake, the largest of the interior lakes of the State, the lamprey is fully one hundred times as injurious to the fishing industry as is the billfish, and the amount asked for and granted is only one-third of last year’s specific appropriation. The appropriation was made without dissent, and the New York State fish-culturist, Hon. A. NT. Cheney, now has general charge of the affair. The special investigations and experiments are to be made by the writer and the results published by the Fisheries, Game, and Forest Commission of the State of New York. Many eminent scientists and other persons have written, expressing interest in this subject and the possible results of this experiment. Ithaca, New York. ADDENDUM. April 25, 1898. At this date the weir for removing lampreys from the inlet of Cayuga Lake is constructed and in successful operation. Although it is too early in the year for any results with the lake lamprey (■ Petromyzon marinus unicolor), some interesting facts have already been obtained concerning the brook lamprey (Lampetra wilderi). On April 9, the first day the weir was in working order, one adult male of this species was found in it, and on the 11th two others. On the 16th it contained several adult males and females; on the 20th one male and two females, and on the 22d two more females. These were striving to swim up the stream, presumably to regain the places from which they had doubtless been washed during the past year as larvae in the sand, since their spawning-beds are all above this. In a tank at Cornell University several specimens taken from the sand sis weeks ago have not only transformed into adults, but the reproductive organs of both sexes have matured, and one female was spawning when she died. This was without having taken food, and we are still further led to believe that adults of the brook lamprey are not parasitic, and, indeed, take no food at all. H. A. Surface. THE PROTECTION OF THE LOBSTER FISHERY. By FRANCIS H. HERRICK, PH. D., Professor of Biology, Adelbert College. In the lobster fisheries we have an example of an industry which has increased rap- idly in value in a very few years. In 1869 the Canadian fishery was valued at $15,275; in 1891, at $2,250,000.1 In twenty-two years its value increased nearly 150 fold. The value of the products of this industry in the United States was nearly half a million dollars in 1880 ($488,432), and in 1892 over a million dollars ($1,062,392).2 In 1896 there were 14,285,157 cans of lobster packed in Canada, having a value of $2,400,000. The average price per pound in 1883 was 9£ cents; in 1893 it had risen to 14.10 cents, and at the present time it is 18.72 cents.3 The decline of the lobster fishery is a well-worn theme. The facts pointing to its gradual but certain decay are too evident to be mistaken, such as the interminable legislation on the subject of protection, the increase in the number of traps, the decrease in the size of the lobsters themselves, and their increase in market value. Twenty-five years ago the lobster was common ; now it is generally a luxury. The cause of the depletion of the fishery is plain. Tbe supply has been unequal to the demand. More lobsters have been annually destroyed than have been annually raised. No number of animals, however large, can stand such a drain. For twenty- five years the law in Canada has been called to the aid of the fishery. It has taken a vacillating course in both the Provinces and the United States, revoking one year what was enacted the year before, adopting this and that suggestion, and jumping , from one expedient to another. Regard to personal interests, imperfect knowledge of the habits and needs of the animal itself, and perverted logic have characterized much of the legislation which governments have enacted for the preservation of animal life. There are, indeed, praiseworthy exceptions, and legislation, though it has often failed,, may have been animated by the right spirit. The problem of perpetuating an animal like the lobster, or rather of maintaining the supply, for it is not in the power of man to exterminate this species, is certainly a difficult one. In order to discuss this or any similar question profitably and intelli- gently, it is necessary to set aside pride and prejudice of every kind, whether personal, sectional, or national, and consider in a judicial spirit the conditions in which this 1 Report on the lobster industry of Canada, 1892. Supplement to 25th Annual Report of the Department of Marine and Fisheries, 1893. 2 The American Lobster. Bulletin of the U. S. Fish Commission, 1895, p. 12. 3 Discoloration in canned lobsters, by Andrew Macphail. Supplement to 29th Annual Report of the Department of Marine and Fisheries, 1897. 217 218 BULLETIN OF THE UNITED STATES FISH COMMISSION. problem is involved. We must know tlie state of the fishery and the principal facts pertaining to the life and habits of this animal.1 Until within a few years the life history of the lobster was very imperfectly known, and this ignorance has nowhere been more clearly reflected than in the attempts to cure existing evils by legislation. Knowing the general facts of the case, we must interpret them in accordance with the principles of science and common sense. The principal facts are these2: (1) The fishery is declining, and this decline is due to the persistence with which it has been conducted during the last 25 years. There is no evidence that the animal is being driven to the wall by any new or unusual disturbance of the forces of nature. (2) The lobster is migratory only to the extent of moving to and from the shore, and is, therefore, practically a sedentary animal. Its movements are governed chiefly by the abundance of food and the temperature of the water. (3) The female may be impregnated or provided with a supply of sperm for future use by the male at any time, and the sperm, which is deposited in an external pouch or sperm receptacle, has remarkable vitality. Copulation occurs commonly in spring, and the eggs are fertilized outside the body. (4) Female lobsters become sexually mature when from 8 to 12 inches long. The majority of all lobsters 10J inches long are mature. It is rare to find a female less than 8 inches long which has spawned, or one over 12 inches in length which has never borne eggs. (5) The spawning interval is a biennial one, two years elapsing between each period of egg-laying. (6) The spawning period for the majority of lobsters is July and August. A few lay eggs at other seasons of the year — in the fall, winter, and probably in the spring. (7) The period of spawning lasts about six weeks, and fluctuates slightly from year to year. The individual variation in the time of extrusion of ova is explained by the long period during which the eggs attain the limits of growth. Anything which affects the vital condition of the female during this period of two years may affect the time of spawning. (8) The spawning period in the middle and eastern districts of Maine is two weeks later than in Vineyard Sound, Massachusetts. In 1893 71 per cent of eggs examined from the coast of Maine were extruded in the first half of August. (9) The number of eggs laid varies with the size of the animal. The law of produc- tion may be arithmetically expressed as follows: The number of eggs produced at each reproductive period varies in a geometrical series , ichile the length of lobsters producing these eggs varies in an arithmetical series. According to this law an 8-inch lobster produces 5,000 eggs, a lobster 10 inches long 10,000, a 12-inch lobster 20,000. This high rate of production is not maintained beyond the length of 14 to 10 inches. The largest number of eggs recorded for a female is 97,440. A lobster 10£ inches long produces, on the average, nearly 13,000 eggs. (10) The period of incubation of summer eggs at Woods Hole is about ten months, July 15-August 15 to May 15-June 15. The hatching of a single brood lasts about a week, owing to the slightly unequal rate of development of individual eggs. 1 In discussing this subject I have not attempted to discriminate between conditions which may exist in the United States and the Maritime Provinces. The questions to he considered have primarily a general significance. J For further details see The American Lobster, Bull. U. S. F. C. 1895, pp. 1-252. NATIONAL FISHERY CONGRESS. 219 (11) The hatching period varies also with the time of egg-laying, lobsters having rarely been known to hatch in November and February. (12) Taking all things into consideration the sexes appear about equally divided, though the relative numbers caught in certain places at certain times of the year may be remarkably variable. (13) Molting commonly occurs from June to September, but there is no month of the year in which soft lobsters may not be caught. (14) The male probably molts oftener than the female. (15) In the adult female the molting like the spawning period is a biennial one, but the two periods are one year apart. As a rule, the female lays her eggs in July, carries them until the following summer, when they hatch; then she molts. It is possible that a second molt may occur in the fall, winter, or spring, but it is not probable, and molting just before the production of new eggs is a rare occurrence. (16) The egg-bearing female, with eggs removed, weighs less than the female of the same length without eggs. (17) The new shell becomes thoroughly hard in the course of from six to eight weeks, the length of time requisite for this varying with the food and other conditions of the animal. (18) The young, after hatching, cut loose from their mother, rise to the surface of the ocean, and lead a free life as pelagic larvse. The first larva is about one-third of an inch long (7.84 mm.). The swimming period lasts from six to eight weeks, or until the lobster has molted five or at most six times, and is three-fifths of an inch long, when it sinks to the bottom. It now travels toward the shore, and, if fortunate, establishes itself in the rock piles of inlets of harbors, where it remains until driven out by ice in the fall or early winter. The smallest, now from 1 to 3 inches long, go down among the loose stones which are often exposed at low tides. At a later period, when 3 to 4 inches long, they come out of their retreats and explore the bottom, occa- sionally hiding or burrowing under stones. Young lobsters have also been found in eelgrass and on sandy bottoms in shallow water. (19) The food of the larva consists of minute pelagic organisms. The food of the older and adult stages is largely of animal origin with but slight addition of vegetable material, consisting chiefly of fish and invertebrates of various kinds. The large and strong also prey upon the small and weak. (20) The increase in length at each molt is about 15.3 per cent. During the first year the lobster molts from 14 to 17 times. At 10J inches the lobster has molted 25 to 26 times and is about five years old. After reviewing the most important facts concerning the life of this animal we are ready to discuss the methods which have been tried to prevent its destruction, such as: (1) The protection of immature lobsters by establishing a legal-size limit, or by regulating the construction of traps, or by making close seasons — periods of the year when fishing is illegal; (2) protecting the “berried lobster” or females with external eggs; (3) regulating the canning industry; and (4) attempting to increase the supply of lobsters by artificial propagation. It must be admitted that up to the present time all these measures have proved very disappointing. The desire to protect the immature lobster and allow it to breed at least once in its life is certainly commendable. It is largely because of the failure of efforts to attain this result that the fishery is now in decline. One reason for this is that there are no obvious means of determining whether a live lobster has in every case produced 220 BULLETIN OF THE UNITED STATES FISH COMMISSION. eggs or not, and another is that the lobster often matures at a much later period than has been generally supposed. The legal size limit in Canadian waters fluctuated from 9 to 9£ inches between 1874 and 1892. In 1895 the legislature amended the law, making it illegal to take lobsters less than 104 inches long. In 1895 the legal limit in Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, and New York was 10^ inches; in Ehode Island 10, and in Connecticut 6 inches. The legislature of Massachusetts was ready to reduce the 104 limit the next year, but its act was vetoed by Governor Wolcott. Some lobsters are known to produce eggs when 8 inches long ; therefore, it is said, a 10^- inch limit is too great. This can not be allowed. While a few female lobsters produce eggs when 8 inches long, the majority at this size do not. The same is prob- ably true of lobsters 9 and 94 inches long. Some lobsters do not spawn until after reaching the length of 12 inches, and the limit of 10£ inches is none too great. Thus we see how such attempts to protect the lobster have failed through the legalized killing of immature individuals. The legislation on the subject of close seasons forms a curious piece of reading. Ignorance of the fact that the lobster carries her eggs for the period of ten months has been an element of confusion here. In Canada, almost every combination of the calendar has been tried. Close seasons for canning establishments, for fishermen, and for different sections of the coast have been tried in vain, but no combination has brought good or lasting results. The object of a close season is to let the animal breed in peace, but there is a peculiar difficulty in the case of the lobster which makes it impossible to confer any protection upon it worth mentioning by a short close season. The difficulty lies in the fact that the animal does not drop its eggs in the sea or deposit them on some foreign substance, as the older naturalists believed, bui carries them on its body. Consequently, in order to protect the eggs you have to protect the egg lobster. This has been attempted in the United States and in Canada by making it illegal to sell the u berried lobster.” But the object is defeated by the ease with which this law can be evaded. It is only necessary to scrape the eggs from the body. Again, to obviate this, attempts have been made to allow the capture of “ berried lobsters” and to buy up the eggs from the canneries and hatch them by artificial means. On this point I shall speak later. The period of egg-laying on the coast of the United States extends, as we have seen, over the months of July and August. If fishing in these months is closed the spawners are protected.1 This can be done, and would result in some good, but at either end the spawning females would be subjected to fire. First, there being no way to detect females which are ready to spawn, these would be killed in great numbers up to the beginning of the period; then, after the close in September, if egg lobsters were captured and the eggs removed and destroyed, the good which has been done would be partially neutralized. Protection to the immature lobster by regulating the construction of traps, making the distance between the lower slats sufficiently great to let out all the lobsters except those of the legal size — 104 inches — is a measure which, if generally carried out, could not fail to be beneficial. The canning industry is undoubtedly responsible for a large share in the depletion of this fishery. It is operated in the spring, and for years lias destroyed large 1 This period is well covered by the close period in Massachusetts, which extends from June 20 to September 20. NATIONAL FISHERY CONGRESS. 221 numbers of immature lobsters and of mature females nearly ready to spawn. The canneries have been allowed to use smaller lobsters than those which are sent to market, and we are told that if further restricted they could not exist. Whether this is true or not I do not know, but it is surely folly to protect an animal in one direction and allow it to be destroyed in another. We have now to speak of the artificial propagation of the lobster as a means of maintaining or increasing the supply. In 1893 I tried to point out some of the funda- mental errors which rendered the methods of artificial propagation abortive. The objec- tions which were then made have never been answered or removed.1 The difficulty is that a false logic has dominated the whole subject, not only of the propagation of the lobster, but of many of the true fishes, both in this country and in Europe. This is shown by the fact that the number of eggs hatched has been taken as a direct test of the efficiency of the method. The question of prime importance, which overtops all others, what is the ratio between the number of eggs hatched and the number of young reared , has been strangely left in the background or lost sight of. The following sentence, which I quote from a report on the lobster industry in Canada, illustrates the tendency to which I refer : The fecundity of the lobster is wonderful. Every female reaching the age of maturity emits from 12,000 to 20,000 eggs every season.2 What is here implied is that because the lobster produces a large number of eggs there must be a large number of lobsters raised from those eggs. This,is a funda- mental mistake. In the animal kingdom the production of a large number of eggs points, not to a great number of survivals and consequent abundance of the species, but to the great destruction of young, which makes a large number of eggs a necessity in order to maintain the species even at an equilibrium. A blue crab ( Gallinectes liastatus) of medium or large size produces 4,500,000 eggs, or 157 times the number of eggs laid by a lobster 13 inches long. Does this imply that the ratio of survival in the crab is 157 times greater than that of the lobster or that the crab is 157 times more abundant than the lobster at any point on the coast? Not at all. It rather implies that the crab lays a smaller egg, has a longer larval period, and is subject to far greater destruction by the elements of nature. In order to preserve its equilib- rium, this expedient of producing a vastly greater number of eggs than can possibly survive has been tried in nature and has met with success. In the tapeworm we have an animal with individualized segments, capable of producing millions or even hundreds of millions of eggs, and yet it is comparatively rare, since the chances for survival of each of those millions of eggs is very slight, for in order to live the embryo or larva must find its way by chance to the body of two particular and distinct vertebrates. In the course of the struggle for existence among animals and their evolution this chance of survival has been increased in other ways than by the multiplication of ova, as by asexual reproduction seen in budding, or by acquisition of special habits or instincts. In the vegetable world we are even more familiar with the great destruction of seed; thus in the common elm, how many of the hundreds of thousands of seeds which annually fall to the ground from a single tree are ever raised to maturity? 'The habits and development of the lobster, and their hearing upon its artificial propagation. Bull. U. S. Fish Com. 1893, pp. 75-86. 2 This statement is erroneous in that eggs are laid only every other year. 222 BULLETIN OF THE UNITED STATES FISH COMMISSION. Is it possible to determine the number of survivals in an animal like the lobster? We can not fix the number positively, but we can fix a maximum limit beyond which we may be sure, reasoning from known facts, the number of survivals can not pass. By survivals I mean the number of eggs which develop and grow up to maturity, for death, at whatever point occurring at this period, means evil to the species in exactly the same degree. In order to maintain the species at an equilibrium it is only neces- sary that each female produce two adults in the course of her life, whether it be long or short. Then there will be neither increase nor diminution, but the species will hold its own. If more than two adults are raised from the eggs of each female in a given period, then the species must increase; if less, it must diminish. Under present con- ditions it is generally agreed that the lobster is declining, which means that each adult female produces less than two sexually mature individuals to take the place of their parents. Spawning lobsters may produce as few as 3,000 eggs and as many as 90,000 or 100,000, the number of eggs laid increasing very rapidly in proportion to the increase in size, according to the law given above. While a 10-inch lobster produces on the average 10,000 eggs, a 12 inch lobster bears twice as many, and a 14-inch lobster nearly four times as many, or 40,000. Although sexually mature lobsters can produce eggs only once in two years, many live to hatch several broods and give rise to hundreds of thousands of young. Bemembering that females become mature when from 8 to 12 inches long, to be on the safe side we may assume that on the average they mature at the length of 10 inches. A 10-inch lobster produces on the average about 10,000 eggs. Considering all the facts, it is erring on the safe side to assume that the average number of eggs produced by all lobsters which have spawned is 10,000. It is probably much greater than this. It can not certainly be less. Since it is necessary that only two of this number should survive to maintain the species at an equilibrium, we can get some idea of the amount of destruction which is wrought under existing circum- stances. A survival of 2 in 10,000 or 1 in 5,000 is probably even greater than actually occurs. The remainder of this large number must be destroyed in one of two ways, by nature and by man, who assists nature in this work after the young are able to be caught in his traps. It can make no difference in the result what the agent of this destruction is, whether it is the ocean current, the storm lashing the rock-bound coast, the codfish, or man, except in so far as the evil wrought by man may be under control. If we award to man one-half of the blame, this would imply that instead of a saving of 2 in 10,000, under nature there might be a survival of 4. But such a survival would lead to a greater increase in the species than could probably ever occur. What, then, is the ratio of the number of eggs laid to the number of young reared? Allowing that man does one half of the work of destruction — which he certainly does not — and allowing an average total production of 10,000 eggs to each female that has spawned at all — undoubtedly too small a number — the species would be maintained under nature by a survival of 2 in every 10,000, or 1 in 5,000, if man did not interfere. A survival of 4 in every 10,000, or 2 in 5,000, would keep up the present stock with the added drain which man puts upon it. Considering that the fishery is declining, it can be maintained with a considerable degree of confidence that a survival of 1 in 5,000 is a very liberal allowance. These considerations have a direct bearing upon the efficiency of the present methods of artificial propagation, which consist of stripping off the eggs from the NATIONAL FISHERY CONGRESS. 223 berried female, hatching them, and liberating the young larva? into the sea. Nature does not confer any special favors upon the young lobster thus brought into the world. It is not a case of making two blades of grass grow where but one would have grown before. A delicate, helpless organism, one-fifth of an inch long, it must contend alone with the forces of the world into which it is cast, the ocean, on. the surface of which it is destroyed by millions through the indiscriminate forces of nature — the tempest, the tide, the oceau current, and wave-beaten shore — and we must add to this the destruction wrought by surface- feeding animals. With the liberal allowance of the survival of 2 individuals out of every 10,000 hatched, we would have to hatch 1,000,000 eggs to produce 200 adults, 100,000,000 to get 20,000, and 1,000,000,000 to obtain 200,000 adult animals. To raise 1,000,000 lobsters would involve the hatching of 5,000,000,000 eggs. Since hundreds of thousands of adult lobsters are captured every month during the best of the season, it is evident that the annual supply can not be appreciably affected by this method unless conducted upon an altogether impracticable scale. The greatest number of lobsters artificially hatched and liberated in a single year in Newfoundland, Canada, and the United States, according to the official reports for 1894, was 702,288,000.1 This number of young at the rate of survival of 1 in 5,000 would yield 140,457 adults, while in a single year (1892) 68,000,000 lobsters have been captured in Canada alone. In order to put an equivalent number of lobsters back to make good this loss, not half or three quarters of a billion should have been hatched, but 340,000,000,000, or something less than 500 times as many as were actually liberated. In this case man has attempted by working on a small scale to stem the tide of destruction, which nature working on such a vastly greater scale has been unable to do. The conclusion which we reach . is that too much has been expected from the present method of the artificial propagation of the lobster, and that it is totally inadequate to accomplish the task of restocking the depleted waters. It may properly be asked of one who makes criticisms to suggest remedies, although he is not wholly responsible for the performance of this task. The following suggestions without further discussion seem to me to have a logical basis : (1) That the coasts of those States in which the lobster fishery is of sufficient importance be divided, after careful consideration, into a number of well-marked areas, and that fishing for this animal be closed in each alternate section for a period of five years; at the end of this time the open areas to be closed, and so on alternately. (2) That the legal limit be fixed at 10£ inches for all purposes and under all conditions. (3) That all traps be registered and marked, and that their construction be regu- lated by law so that the space between the two lower slats be sufficient to allow free passage to all lobsters under 10| inches in length. 1 Tbe number of young lobsters batched and liberated on the Atlantic coast since 1893 is given by the official reports as follows : Fiscal year. United States. Canada. Newfoundland. 1893 8,8.18, 000 78, 398, 000 72, 253, 000 97, 079, 000 115, 606, 000 153, 600, 000 160,000,000 168,200,000 100, 000, 000 517, 353, 000 463, 890, 000 174, 840, 000 1894 1895 1896 1897 224 BULLETIN OF THE UNITED STATES FISH COMMISSION. (4) That the capture of berried lobsters be prohibited at all times. Though a law of this kind is sure to be more or less evaded, it is not expedient to encourage the destruction of eggs under any circumstances. A series of experiments should be tried in raising the young in spacious inclosures, where crowding in vertical and horizontal limits could be avoided, and where a natural supply of food could be provided, the object being to determine whether it is practi- cable to raise the young up to the fifth and sixth stages, when they go to the bottom and are able to protect themselves. If then set free, the chances of survival would be many hundred times greater than in the first stages. If we could save 100 instead of 2 out of every 10,000 hatched, every 1,000,000 would give us 10,000 adults, and every 1,000,000,000 would yield 10,000,000 lobsters capable of reproduction. In such attempts to rear the lobster there are serious obstacles to be overcome in isolating the young, and giving them an abundant supply of pure water which shall at the same time yield the proper food, but we can not enter into the discussion of these subjects in this paper. The close period referred to above should begin about June 20, and extend five years and two months from that time to August 20. To illustrate it, we will say that it begins June 20, 1900, and extends to August 20, 1905. During this period 6 sets of lobsters would spawn; 2 of these sets would spawn three times, 2 sets would spawn twice, and 2 once. Thus the set spawning in 1900 would lay eggs again in 1902, and again in 1904, and so on. Furthermore, the survivors of the broods of 1900 and 1901 would be mature, or nearly so, at the end of this period in 1905. Cleveland, Ohio. Bull. U. S. F. C. 1897. (To face page 225.) Plate 12. Matecumbe Key, 1895. Diameter of SHEEPSWOOL SPONGE. i, 30 inches; width of sponge proper, 7 inches; weight (dry), 1 pound 7 ounces. THE FLORIDA COMMERCIAL SPONGES. By HUGH M. SMITH, M. D., Assistant in Charge of Inquiry respecting Food-Fishes, United States Fish Commission. The sponge fishery of the United States presents the interesting antithesis of an industry restricted to a single State and a product perhaps more generally employed and having a wider range of usefulness than any other article yielded by the American fisheries. There is scarcely a civilized habitation in the country in which the sponge is not in almost daily use. Besides its very general employment for toilet purposes, it is utilized in many other ways — in the arts, trades, and professions, and in domestic life — the mention of which would prove tedious. In this paper it is not expected that much new or original information concerning sponges will be presented. All that is contemplated is to direct attention to certain aspects of the sponge industry, with a view to place it on a sounder basis. The special topics considered are the distribution, form, and peculiarities of the different species ; their present and past abundance; the extent and causes of the decrease in the supply, as evidenced by a diminished annual catch ; the protection of sponge- grounds; the cultivation of sponges on grounds now barren; and the increase of the productiveness of the industry by the introduction of some of the best grades of European sponges. In order to make the discussion of these subjects clearer to the sponge interests, it is desirable to briefly notice the zoological status of sponges and their methods of reproduction and growth. Beference is also made to the sponge legislation of Florida. Illustrations of the leading grades of marketable sponges are presented; these are based on specimens collected in Florida by the writer. THE NATURE AND STRUCTURE OF SPONGES. Although for many years the status of sponges — whether animal or vegetable — was in dispute, the time has long since passed when the right of the sponges to be placed in the animal kingdom was established. Even the propriety of assigning the sponges to a position higher than the lowest animals — the protozoa — is now conceded, and they are put either in a subkingdom of their own (Porifera) or in a subkingdom (Coelenterata) with the corals, gorgonians, sea-feathers, jelly-fishes, etc. The sponge in a natural state is a very different-looking object from what we see in commerce. The entire surface is covered with a thin, slimy skin, usually of a dark color, perforated to correspond with the apertures of the canals. The sponge of commerce is in reality only the home or the skeleton of a sponge. The composition of this skeleton varies in the different kinds of sponges, but in the commercial grades it consists of interwoven horny fibers, among and supporting which are spiculse of 225 F. C. B. 1897—15 226 BULLETIN OF THE UNITED STATES FISH COMMISSION. siliceous matter in greater or less numbers and having a variety of forms. The fibers consist of a network of fibrils whose softness and elasticity determine the commercial quality of a given sponge. The horny framework is perforated externally by very many minute pores and by a less number of larger openings. These are parts of an interesting double-canal system, an external and an internal, or a centripetal and a centrifugal. At the smaller openings on the sponge surface, channels begin which lead into dilated spaces (sacs or ampullae); in these, in turn, channels arise which eventually terminate in the large openings (craters or oscula). Through these channels or canals definite currents are constantly maintained which are essential to the existence of the sponge. The currents enter through the small apertures and emerge through the large ones. The active part of the sponge — that is, the part concerned in nutrition and growth — is a soft, fleshy mass partly filling the meshes and lining the canals. It consists largely of cells having different functions — some concerned in the formation of the framework, some in digestion, some in reproduction. Lining the dilated spaces into which the afferent canals lead are cells surmounted by whip-like processes (cilia) ; the motion of these processes produces and maintains the water currents, which carry the minute food products to the digestive cells in the same cavities. Sponges multiply by the union of sexual products, certain cells of the fleshy pulp assuming the character of ova and others that of spermatozoa. Fertilization takes place within the sponge. The fertilized eggs, which should now be called larvae, pass out with the currents of water; and, being provided with cilia, swim actively for a while, like larval oysters. In a comparatively short time, probably in 24 to 48 hours, they settle and become attached to some suitable surface, where they in time develop into mature sponges. THE FLORIDA COMMERCIAL SPONGES. The merchantable sponges of the waters of Florida fall under five heads — the sheepswool or “wool” sponge, the velvet sponge, the grass sponges (two species), the yellow sponge, and the glove sponge. Numerous varieties have been described by naturalists and many grades are recognized by dealers, but all are included in the foregoing designations. The principal center of the industry is Key West, where more than seven-eighths of the business is carried on. Other places at which sponges are landed are Apalachi- cola, St. Marks, and Tarpon Springs. About 100 registered vessels and 200 unreg- istered vessels and boats are employed in the fishery, which, with their outfit, are worth about 8260,000, and are manned by upward of 1,400 fishermen. Sponges are by far the most important of the fishery products of Florida, repre- senting about one-third of the annual value of the fishing industry. In the calendar year 1895 the Florida sponge fishery yielded 306,070 pounds of sponges, of which the first value was $386,871. In 1896 the catch, as represented by the purchases of the wholesale buyers, who handled practically the entire output, was 234,111 pounds, having a value of $273,012. In 1897 the product was 331,546 pounds, valued at $28 1, 640. The quantity and value of the yield of the different grades in each of the three years named are shown in the following table. This information is compiled from the NATIONAL FISHERY CONGRESS. 227 records of the sponge-buyers. The figures represent the actual purchases of the local dealers, with the exception of the business of one buyer, the details of which have been estimated. Kinds. 1895. 1896. 1897. Pounds. Value. Pounds. V alue. Pounds. Value. Sheepswool 231, 272 $363, 107 149, 724 $248, 196 157, 476' $240, 599 Yellow 29, 509 11, 798 23, 655 9,318 32,362 13,082 Grass 21, 387 5, 464 44, 617 11, 508 128, 622 1 29, 188 Glove 14, 857 2, 882 15, 365 2, 263 9,292 1,301 Others * 9, 095 3, 620 2, 950 1,727 3,794 j 1,870 Total 306, 120 386, 871 234, 111 273, 012 331,546 284,640 * Includes, besides velvet sponges, “■wire” sponges, “hardhead” sponges, and other miscellaneous grades having little value. THE SHEEPSWOOL SPONGE. The sheepswool is the best sponge found on the shores of the western Atlantic, and for most purposes has no superior anywhere. While the texture is coarser than that of the best Mediterranean sponges, this sponge is more durable — a quality of leading importance for most purposes. Belonging to the same species as the native sheepswool are the well-known eastern horse sponge, Venetian bath sponge, and Gfherbis sponge. The sheepswool sponge is taken on all the important spongiug-grounds on the Florida coast. Its distribution may be said to be from Apalachicola on the west coast to Cape Florida on the east coast, although between Charlotte Harbor and Key West but few known grounds exist. The most productive are in the vicinity of Anclote Keys and Rock Island, and from these regions the best quality of sheepswool sponges comes. Between Key West and Cape Florida valuable grounds also exist, those in the vicinity of Matecumbe Key, Knight Key, Bahia Honda, and Biscayne Bay being especially important. This species usually grows on the bare coralline rock which underlies a large part of Florida and is exposed over large areas of the contiguous bottom. On sandy or muddy bottom it is rarely found. It is at present taken in water from 10 to 50 feet deep, but the largest quantities are obtained in depths of 20 to 35 feet. In the early days of the fishery, before the depletion of the grounds had begun, the principal part of the catch was from a depth of less than 12 feet. With the methods in use in Florida sponges can not be profitably gathered in water more than 50 feet deep, and a question of considerable interest and importance is whether sponges grow in noteworthy quantities at a greater depth. Most spongers think that there are important grounds now beyond their reach, but others think that 50 or 60 feet is the maximum depth at which sponges grow. It is claimed by a few persons that beyond this depth the bottom is not adapted to the growth of sponges, the coralline rock being absent aud sand predominating. Definite information on this point is, however, lacking, and a careful survey would be required to settle the matter. The probabilities are that in certain localities there are productive grounds beyond the present limits of operation, as there is nothing in the nature of sponges to prevent their inhabiting deeper water, and it seems improbable that the rocky bottoms should cease to exist beyond 50 feet. Should future inquiry show the presence of sponge-grounds in water from 50 to 80 feet deep, the discovery of a method of utilizing them would be the first considera- 228 BULLETIN OF THE UNITED STATES FISH COMMISSION. tiou and would prove a great boon to tlie sponge fishery. Not the least important outcome of such a discovery would be the opportunity afforded the shallower grounds to recuperate by the diversion of the spongers’ operations. Attention may be drawn to the advisability of experimenting with an apparatus constructed on the principle of the so called “ deep-water oyster-tongs,” by means of which oyster-beds beyond the reach of ordinary tongs become readily accessible. The tongs in question, of which there are several types, consist essentially of two curved iron bars, riveted together near the middle to permit free motion. These are attached on one extremity to the teeth and cradles, and on the other to the ropes by means of which the apparatus is lowered and raised. Beneath the crossing- point of the two arms a weight is suspended. To the upper bar of one side an iron link or loop is attached by means of a staple, and on the lower bar, just below the link, is a small iron peg or stud over which the link fits when the teeth are separated to their widest extent. When oystering begins, the arms are locked by means of the loop and peg and the tongs lowered to the bottom. By suddenly dropping the tongs from the height of a few feet from the bottom the loop slips off the pin, by virtue of the weight referred to, and the teeth will then approach each other when the ropes are hauled taut. The weight and the loop and peg may, however, if desired, be dispensed with by attaching a line to the crossing-point of the two arms and placing weights at the upper ends of the latter, the tongs being lowered by means of the middle line and kept open by the weights mentioned. The extreme simplicity of this apparatus is a great recommendation for its use in the oyster fishery, and suggests its employment in the sponge fishery. It is open to the objection of being somewhat heavier than the ordinary oyster-tongs, and in deep water a small windlass must be attached to the mast or elsewhere on the boat, by which it can be raised and lowered. The cost, complete, is about $15. If the principle embodied in this apparatus is found to be adapted to the sponge fishery a modification in the line of lightness and cheapness could doubtless be made. The number of teeth and the carrying capacity of the tongs required in the oyster fishery might be reduced and the apparatus made to consist practically of two opposing hooks, such as are now used in the sponge fishery. The sheepswool is probably the most abundant of the Florida sponges, although it is not relatively so abundant as the catch of it and other species would indicate, owing to the fact that its greater value makes it more eagerly sought. The decrease in the abundauce of this species has been marked in many places. In the vicinity of Anclote Keys the grounds in 10 to 12 feet of water were exhausted before the civil war; but during the war the sponge-beds had a chance to recuperate, and later afforded some good fishing. They were very soon depleted, however, and have not since borne sponges in any noteworthy quantities. This is the general history of the “bay grounds.” Deeper and deeper bottom has had to be resorted to in order to make the fishery profitable, until now some fishing is done in water as deep as 50 feet. Occasionally good fares are taken on the inshore and key grounds. The latter, in depths of 10 to 20 feet, seem to recuperate more rapidly than the bay grounds, and produce excellent crops some seasons; but they have in general shown the same deple- tion as other grounds, and the spougers have to work over a larger area and more assiduously than was necessary a few years ago. Even the deepest grounds now frequented are showing the effects of overfishing, and would doubtless soon prove NATIONAL FISHERY CONGRESS. 229 nonproductive of marketable sponges if the weather and water were always favorable to the spongers, the preservation of the beds largely depending on the prevalence of storms or turbid water during some seasons or parts of seasons. The slieepswool is believed by many observers to grow the most rapidly of any of the sponges, but information on this point is not as complete or accurate as might be desired. Some experiments performed and observations made by gentlemen of Key West lead them to believe that this species may, under favorable conditions, grow from the beginning to one-tenth of a pound weight in six months. The opinion that this sponge will grow from the spat to good commercial size in one year is practically unanimous and seems to be verified by the sponging operations. The spongers all testify that grounds which were thoroughly fished out one year are found to yield large numbers of commercial sponges twelve months thereafter. The catch of the sheepswool in 1895 was fifteen times and in 1897 six times as valuable as that of all other species combined, and is thus sufficiently important to give prominence to the sponge industry, even if no other kinds were taken. The aver- age prices per pound brought by sheepswool sponges were $1.57 in 1895, $1.60 in 1896, and $1.53 in 1897. Of late, owing to a diminished supply, the relative catch of sheepswool sponges has been decreasing, cheaper varieties entering more largely into the receipts. In 1895 the percentage of sheepswool sponges in the total catch was 76; in 1896 it fell to 04, and in 1897 was only 47. THE VELVET SPONGE. This is an uncommon form, with a very limited distribution. Along the west coast of Florida it is rarely found, the yield coming almost entirely from certain grounds among the keys. It resembles the sheepswool in general structure, but has a smoother surface and finer fibers. The characteristic feature is the presence of soft protruding cushions, whence the name. It is also known as the boat sponge. Its shape is very irregular. Its average size is 7 or 8 inches in diameter, but the diameter of some is a foot or a little over. Its principal source of supply is the region adjacent to the Matecumb'e Keys, where it is taken on coral bottom in water from 15 to 20 feet deep. The grounds have undergone serious depletion, and smaller cargoes are landed each year. Velvet sponges are taken in smaller quantities than any other Florida sponges. In 1897 many dealers did not handle any, and the receipts in recent years have never exceeded a few thousand pounds per annum. The usual price paid by dealers is 50 cents a pound. THE GRASS SPONGES. There are at least two species comprehended under the trade name of grass sponge, and the individual variations are numerous. One species (called Spongia graminea by Hyatt) has a coarse, open structure, with deep furrows on the sides, in which the afferent channels always begin. The general shape is that of a truucated cone, with the larger openings always on top. The other grass sponge ( Euspongia equina cerebriformis) resembles one form of the yellow sponge, but differs in having its surface marked by parallel longitudinal ridges surmounted by two or three lines of tufts. In the depressions between the ridges the large efferent canals open, their orifices being in rows. Many forms of this species exist. The cup shape predominates. 230 BULLETIN OF THE UNITED STATES FISH COMMISSION. Grass sponges are of relatively inferior quality, although largely consumed for special purposes. They are found in all parts of the sponge region, and are probably the most abundant of the Florida sponges, the annual yield not being pioportional to the abundance. Large cargoes are obtained on the Eock Island, Anclote, and Key grounds. The Anclote region of late has produced the largest part of the catch, and the sponges there are of relatively good quality. The recent increase in the production of grass sponges, especially from grounds in the Gulf of Mexico, has been noteworthy, as shown by the preceding table. In 1895 grass sponges constituted less than 7 per cent of the total yield; in 1896 the out- put rose to 19 per cent, and in 1897 was nearly 39 per cent. This utilization of larger quantities of a relatively cheap sponge is a strong indication of the decrease in the supply of the best quality of sponges. THE YELLOW SPONGE. This ranks next to the sheepswool in quality. It corresponds with the Zimocca sponge of the Mediterranean. The dealers classify the “hard head” sponge in this grade — a form having a darker color, harder texture, and less value than the yellow proper. The distribution of the yellow sponge is coextensive with that of the sheeps- wool, both growing together among the keys and on the west coast of Florida. The yellow sponge is most commonly found on rocky bottom, at depths of a few feet to over 30 feet. Those taken for market are from 4 to 10 inches in diameter, 6 to 8 inches being the average. The yellow sponge is very abundant, but less so than formerly, especially among the keys, whence most of the supply comes, and where the grounds, being more acces- sible, are more assiduously fished. The key sponges are of much finer quality than those from the “bay grounds,” being softer in texture and more durable. The grounds about Matecumbe Key yield an especially good grade of yellow sponge, characterized by a rich yellow color, regular shape, and superior quality. Biscayne Bay and other grounds on the east coast also produce a fine class of yellow sponges. This species ranks next to sheepswool in the commercial scale, although it com- mands a less price per pound than the velvet sponge. In the aggregate the value of the catch of yellow sponges was formerly more than that of all the remaining grades except the sheepswool, but of late the grass sponge has surpassed the yellow in this respect. The average price received by sponge fishermen is about 40 cents a pound. THE GLOVE SPONGE. This is the least valuable of our commercial sponges. Its fibers have a tendency to become brittle with age, it lacks elasticity, and it has very little market value. The skeleton is dense and the surface is much smoother than in the other sponges. It does not attain a large size, not often exceeding 8 inches in diameter and averaging- less than 5 or 6 inches. It is a singular and suggestive fact that this, the very poorest of our sponges, is of the same species as the very finest and best of the Mediterranean sponges, namely, the Levant toilet sponges and the Turkish cup sponges; even some of these, however, are of inferior quality. The fact is thus strikingly emphasized that the quality of sponges is to a considerable extent independent of their specific characters and depends on physical conditions. NATIONAL FISHERY CONGRESS. 231 The glove sponge has a more limited distribution than any other Florida species. It is found from Biscayne Bay to Key West, but appears to be either very rare or entirely absent on the grounds along the west coast. It grows on rocky bottom in comparatively shallow water, in company with other commercial sponges. Most of the catch is from a depth of less than 10 feet, although the species inhabits somewhat deeper water. It is taken in smaller quantities than any other standard species except the velvet sponge. This, however, is not an accurate criterion of its abund- ance, as it is less sought for, owing to its poor quality and small market value. It brings the spongers only about 10 to 15 cents a pound, a price so low as to discourage its gathering. SPONGE LEGISLATION IN FLORIDA. The sponge laws of Florida now in force relate to the gathering of small sponges, the use of dredges, the taking of sponges by diving, and the artificial propagation of sponges, the legislation covering the last-named item having been enacted in 1897. The full texts of the laws are as follows : Whoever dredges or uses a dredge for the catching or gathering of sponge in or upon the waters of the Gulf of Mexico within three marine leagues of the shore, or upon any of the grounds known as sponging- ground along the coast line of Florida from Pensacola to Cape Florida, or whoever gathers sponge less than 4 inches in diameter, shall he punished for each offense by fine not exceeding $500, and by confiscation of the boat, tackle, and machinery, and in default of the payment of the said fine the offender shall be imprisoned not exceeding one year. (Revised Statutes of Florida, section 2772, chapter 3615, act of 1883.) Whoever gathers or catches sponge in or upon any of the grounds known as sponging-grounds, along the coast of Florida, from Pensacola to Cape Florida, by diving either with or without a diving suit or armor, shall be punished by fine not exceeding $2,000, and by confiscation of all diving suits or armor, boats, and vessels used in such unlawful gathering of sponge, and in default of the payment of said fine the offender shall be imprisoned not exceeding one year. The fact of having- one or more diving suits or armors on board of any vessel or boat in and upon any of the grounds known as sponging-grounds along the coast of Florida, shall be prima facie evidence of the violation of the preceding section. Whenever an officer arrests any person charged with an offense which, by the provisions of this article, may be punished by the confiscation of the vessel, boats, crafts, nets, seines, tackle, or other appliances used in such unlawful act, it shall be his duty to seize the same and take them into his custody to await the sentence of the court upon the trial of the offender. If the offender be convicted, the court in awarding sentence shall make an order confiscating the said vessels and implements, and authorizing the executive officer of the court to sell them, after due notice, at public auction to the highest bidder. If the accused be acquitted, the said vessels and implements shall be returned to him. (Revised Statutes of Florida, sections 2773, 2774, 2775, 2776 ; chapter 3913, act of 1889.) An act to protect and encourage the artificial growth of sponges within the waters of the State of Florida, and conceding certain riparian rights to those engaged therein, and to prescribe a license in certain cases. Be it enacted by the legislature and State of Florida: It shall be lawful for any person or persons owning lands bordering upon the waters of the State to propagate and grow sponges in the waters in front of such lands, to depth not exceeding 1 fathom at low tide, and they shall have the exclusive right to sponge or propagate and grow sponges within such limits : Provided, That in no case shall this right extend beyond 300 yards from the shore line. Sec. 2. Any person or persons owning lauds bordering upon the waters of any bay, lagoon, sound, or strait, shall, within their headline, have the exclusive right to sponge, propagate, or grow sponges 232 BULLETIN OF THE UNITED STATES FISH COMMISSION. within such waters to a depth not exceeding 1 fathom at low tide : Provided, That this exclusive right to grow and propagate sponges shall not extend beyond the distance of 300 yards from the shore line. And when different persons own lauds upon the opposite sides of such waters, and the depth thereof does not exceed 1 fathom, then the lines shall extend from lines drawn across their respective headlines to another line equidistant from the lines drawn across such headlines. Sec. 3. It shall he lawful for any person or persons owning lands as described in the preceding sections, or surrounding any basin, hay, or lagoon not exceeding 1 fathom in depth at low tide, to inclose or stake off the waters in front of such land, not exceeding the distance of 300 yards from the shore line, for the purpose of protecting and marking the waters to which they are entitled, and they shall have the sole and exclusive right to sponge, propagate, and grow sponges within such limits out to a depth in front of such lines drawn through the headlines of their respective lines, and they shall have the right to post such inclosures and warn off trespassers : Provided, That no one shall obstruct the waterways necessary for the purposes of navigation, and that no right or privilege shall extend across or beyond any waters used for navigable purposes: Provided further, That the rights and privileges mentioned in this act shall only extend to those persons who are actually engaged in the business of raising and propagating sponges. Sec. 4. That nothing in this act shall he construed as interfering with the rights of any person or persons to fish for fish or oysters in or upon said lands. Sec. 5. Any person or persons who shall willfully and maliciously destroy, deface, or break down any sign, fence, gate, inclosure, or staked place for the purpose of defining and protection of waters used for sponge-culture shall, upon conviction, he punished hy imprisonment in the county jail for a period not to exceed six months, or hy fine not to exceed $500. Sec. 6. It shall be lawful for any person or persons engaged in the business of artificial growth of sponge to gather sponges of any size to he used solely and exclusively for the purpose of transplanting. Sec. 7. That any person not a citizen of the United States who shall engage in the business of sponge fishing, either for himself or any other person, shall, before entering into said business, pay an annual State license of $25. Any person violating the provisions of this section shall, upon conviction, he fined in a sum not to exceed $50, or be imprisoned in the county jail for a period not to exceed sixty days. (Act of May 12, 1897, chapter 4564.) EVIDENCES AND CAUSES OF A DECREASE IN THE SPONGE SUPPLY. Although the sponge fishery of Florida is only forty-five years old, the sponge- grounds are on the whole much less productive than formerly, as is acknowledged by practically everyone who is in a position to express an intelligent opinion. Of course there are still very important grounds among the keys and on the west coast of the State, and sponges still exist and are taken in very large quantities; but the efforts now made would result in a vastly increased catch if the sponges were found in any- thing like their original abundance. There are many points of similarity between the history of the Florida sponge-grounds and that of the oyster-grounds of some States in which dependence has been chiefly placed in the natural beds for supplying the demand. In confirmation of the diminution of the sponge supply, the following facts may be cited : 1. There has been a complete abandonment of some grounds formerly productive, especially the inshore grounds, which were the only ones resorted to in the early days of the fishery. The depletion naturally began in the shoaler waters, where sponges could be more easily gathered, and has gradually extended so as to embrace, to some degree, all available grounds. 2. The fishery has had to be prosecuted in deeper and deeper water in order to maintain the catch, until the maximum depth iu which sponging is possible with present methods has been reached. Beyond 50 or 52 feet it is practically impossible to pull sponges with appliances now in use, although in the Mediterranean sponging is done in water as deep as 70 feet by using improved poles. NATIONAL FISHERY CONGRESS. 233 3. In general there has been a smaller catch per man and per vessel. Very many trips result in a loss to the owners or outfitters of the vessels, and it is now the exception for a vessel to bring in the average catch of earlier years. 4. The catch is very noticeably made up of small sponges, those under the legal size constituting a too prominent proportion. The causes for the decrease are readily determined and are almost unanimously recognized by spongers and buyers. They are directly traceable to indiscriminate fishing, although stress is laid on natural agencies by some of those interested. TAKING OF SMALL SPONGES. This is undoubtedly the principal cause of the decrease in the supply of Florida sponges. While the State law, which has now been in force fifteen years, expressly forbids the sale of sponges less than 4 inches in diameter across the top, the law has never been seriously regarded by fishermen, dealers, or sheriffs, and the occasional spasmodic efforts made to enforce it have only added to the disrepute in which the statute is held. It is extremely doubtful if tlie law has resulted in the saving of a single undersized sponge or the slightest protection of the grounds. The attempt to remind the spongers of the existence of the law has usually been on the arrival of the fleet, when the damage has been done, and by the time vessels have returned to the grounds the law has been conveniently forgotten by law officers and law breakers alike. Some figures are available which illustrate the great damage done to the industry by the gathering of small sponges, and show how short-sighted the fishermen are in this respect, and emphasize the necessity for a change in the present status. The very small sheepswool sponges which the fisherman bring in, many of them only half the legal size, have little market value. When a sponge-buyer purchases a cargo these small sponges receive scant consideration and are often entirely discarded in determining the value of the lot. When undersized sponges are sold independ- ently it has not infrequently happened that 20 bunches or strings, each holding 25 sponges, have brought the fishermen only $1 or $2. The same sponges if left on the grounds six months longer would have been worth $150 to $175. A case is cited in which 1,250 sheepswool sponges were sold in Key West for $5. Conservative esti- mates indicated that if left down six months longer these would have brought at least $390. It is a very small sponge which the average sponge fishermen will now discard, and yet, on the authority of reputable dealers, it may be stated every season there are many thousands of sponges gathered which never reach the markets, but are thrown away. It may be safely asserted that each year the small sponges taken from the Florida grounds would add $100,000, or 30 per cent, to the value of the product if they could be left growing for six months. EXCESSIVE FISHING. Coincident with the gathering of small sponges has been the excessive sponging on grounds, season after season, without any regard whatever for the preservation of enough stock to secure the repopulation of the beds. A sponge fisherman will rarely willingly or knowingly leave any sponges of value on a ground; and the entire history of the sponge industry shows a flagrant disregard for the preservation of the supply. 234 BULLETIN OF THE UNITED STATES FISH COMMISSION. It can scarcely be wondered at, therefore, that there is more difficulty each year in obtaining good cargoes, and that the output is decreasing. An average cargo now is only a half or a third what it was ten or fifteen years ago. POISONOUS WATER. A factor in the decrease in the sponge supply to which many of the spongers attach much importance is the so-called “black” or “poisonous” water. Its nature is not definitely established. Some think it is water from the Everglades, discharged into the Gulf in unusual quantities; others that it is due to submarine volcanic disturbances, resulting in the liberation of noxious gases. Whatever the cause, it is certainly destructive to all forms of life, and it is known to have depleted some very productive grounds. Fortunately this kind of injury is of infrequent occurrence, seldom coming in serious form oftener than once in a decade. Of the very disastrous poisonous water plague in 1878, the following account has been given: The earliest indication of it was the floating up of vast quantities of dead sponges, chiefly loggerheads. The dead sponges were first noticed less than 40 miles north of Key West, but it was soon discovered that all the hitherto profitable sponging-grounds lying off the coast, as far north nearly as Cedar Keys, and particularly off the Anclotes, had been ruined. These grounds had only begun to show signs of recuperation as late as 1882; their abandonment from the reefs to Cedar Keys, during the three or four years which followed the occurrence, entailed a loss estimated at $100,000. Gad it not been for the fortunate discovery, just at that time, of sponge tracts off Eock Island, northward of the Suwanee Eiver, almost a famine in this article would have ensued.1 Too much stress, however, is now laid on this condition as a factor in the dimin ished supply during recent years. REMEDIAL MEASURES. With anything like fair treatment there is no reason why the Florida sponge- grounds should not only support the present drains, but permit much more extensive fishing than is now possible. The area of the grounds is so large, estimated to be over 3,000 squar e miles, and the growth of the sponges is so rapid that with proper precautions there is hardly a limit to the productive capacity of the beds. Foremost among the remedial measures that are demanded I place the enforce- ment of the law relative to the gathering of small sponges. It is probable that the statute should be slightly modified, so as to make it more readily executed; it would doubtless be improved by having it prevent the landing or sale of undersized sponges. It is said that there is some question as to the State’s jurisdiction over grounds lying beyond a marine league; if so, it is an additional reason for amending the law as indicated. It is claimed by some that such a law is difficult to enforce, especially after years of flagrant violation. To this I take exception, and believe that the law will almost enforce itself if the State will show any disposition to encourage its observance. The sentiment in favor of the law and its impartial enforcement is remarkably strong. Dealers and vessel-owners, and others having pecuniary interests at stake, are unani 1 Tlie Fishery Industries of the United States, sec. v, p. 831. NATIONAL FISHERY CONGRESS. 235 mous in the belief that the law is wise and beneficial in principle and that it should be enforced; and very many of the sponge fishermen entertain the same opinion. With this feeling prevailing among the sponge interests, the question very natu- rally arises, Why do not the buyers and outfitters observe the law even if the State regards it as a dead letter? The answer is that as long as such small sponges have any market value the fishermen will take them to fill out their cargoes, especially when large sponges are scarce. When sponges are once landed there is no reason for buyers to refuse to take them, especially as they pay very little for them. The statement is confidently made that if the State officers in each sponging center should annouuce that the law would be enforced against all vessels and boats which sailed after the date of the notice, within six months a new order of things would be firmly established, to the benefit of all concerned. The opinions of the fishermen themselves as to remedial measures should not be given too much weight. Very many of them are aliens (Bahama negroes), and few of them have any pecuniary interests at stake. The men owning vessels and having capital invested in the sponge trade are those whose views are entitled to consideration. The present legal minimum size of sponge is almost unanimously regarded as too low by those pecuniarily interested. A sponge 4 inches in diameter across the top is very small and has little market value. There is a general sentiment favorable to an increase of the legal size to o inches, and some persons favor even a larger standard. In order to permit the recuperation of the exhausted grounds and prevent the absolute depletion of beds, the prohibition of sponging on certain grounds for definite periods has been suggested, and meets with general approbation. A sponge merchant of Key West, who has devoted much atteutiou to the subject, writes as follows regarding this matter: Let nature do its work by allowing it sufficient time. This can be done by dividing the area of the sponge-grounds at sea into squares each of 100 miles, more or less, and then allowing the fishermen to gather sponges only in certain squares each season of the year. According to all reports, on some grounds sponges grow much faster than on others. They have been noticed to grow to full size inside of four months in certain localities along this coast, while at other localities it takes young sponges at least six months to grow to full size. This fact can be put to advantage by restricting sponge gathering during several months on certain grounds, during which time the sponge fisherman can gather sponges on the other parts of this coast. However, as it is necessary to the sponge fishermen to have not only good weather, but also clear water, so as to enable them to see the bottom and to locate the sponges, it may happen that when they are out on their expeditions they may meet with muddy water on the unrestricted sponge-grounds of the season, while on the restricted grounds during that season the water may be clear and just in condition to allow them to locate and to gather the sponges. As the benefit that sponge fishermen could derive from the above restriction of certain grounds during certain seasons of the year would soon be important and lasting, it seems to me that no proper objections could be offered to the method. In a report1 on “The Fish and Fisheries of the Coastal Waters of Florida,” the United States Fish Commissioner suggests that sponging on the grounds of Biscayne Bay and the Florida Keys be permitted only during a specified part of any period of twelve months, and that fishing on either the Anclote or Bock Island grounds be allowed only once in any period of twenty-four months, so arranged that the Anclote 'Senate Document No. 100, Fifty-fourth Congress, second session; also Report U. S. Fish Commis- sion for 1896, pp. 263-342. 236 BULLETIN OF THE UNITED STATES FISH COMMISSION. region may be open to unrestricted fishing one year and the Rock Island grounds the next. Whatever action is finally taken by the State in this matter, there should be a careful preliminary investigation by a competent board, which should inquire into the special conditions in the different parts of the sponge region and determine the boundaries of the areas to be successively brought under restrictive provisions. A final remedy for arresting the decrease in the sponge supply is the cultivation of sponges, the necessity for which depends to a large degree on the carrying out of the foregoing measures. CULTIVATION OF SPONGES FROM CUTTINGS. The growing of sponges from clippings may be said to have almost passed beyond the experimental stage, since the possibility of the procedure has been amply demon- strated. At the same time, the business of producing marketable sponges from clip- pings has not been engaged in, although there seem to be no insurmountable difficulties in this country at least; and the present indications are that before five years have elapsed private sponge-farms will have become established on parts of the Florida coast. There are various reasons why the artificial growing of sponges should receive attention. In the first place, sponge-culture should partly arrest the further deple- tion of the natural grounds by diverting the energies of some of the spongers in the direction of the j>ossibilities of the now barren grounds. If the cultivation of sponges becomes established along the many hundreds of miles of suitable coast, it will cer- tainly prove a profitable employment to a large number of people, either independently or in connection with other branches of industry. Furthermore, the increase in the output which must follow the successful inauguration of sponge-culture will reduce the dependence of the United States on foreign sponges. Finally, the State may with great propriety obtain a revenue from this source. The lines along which the planting of sponges must be conducted have been indi- cated in the different experiments already made, to the printed accounts of which those especially interested are referred.1 No detailed statement of the methods employed by various experimenters is necessary for the purpose in view in the present paper. It may be stated, however, that thirty-five years ago the question of artificial propagation of sponges received attention in Europe and was under consideration for ten years; that nearly twenty years ago limited experiments were conducted at Key West; that in 1889, 1890, and 1891 some very interesting trials were made in Biscayne Bay; and that at present the matter is receiving serious attention in the vicinity of Key West, where planting has begun on a commercial basis. While the work of Mediterranean experimenters was of a more systematic and 1 Reference is especially made to the following articles : (1) Experiments in sponge-culture at Key West about 1880: The Fishery Industries of the United States, sec. v, vol. 2, p. 832. Reprinted in Senate Document No. 100, second session, Fifty-fourth Congress, being a report of the United States Fish Commission on the coast fisheries of Florida. (2) Sponge-cultural experiments in the Adriatic Sea, 1863-1872 : Die Aufzucht des Badenschwammes aus Theilstiicken, by Dr. Emil von Marenzeller, Vienna, 1878. An abridged translation appears in the Fishery Industries of the United States, sec. v, vol. 2, pp. 833-836; the latter is also reprinted in the Senate document named. (3) Account of Sponge- cultural experiments in Biscayne Bay, 1889-1891, by Ralph M. Munroe. Contained in Rep. U. S. Fish Com. 1895, pp. 187, 188. NATIONAL FISHERY CONGRESS. 23? prolonged nature than that of our own countrymen, it can not be said that their results were as striking or encouraging. Their studies, which were supported by the Austrian Government and merchants of Trieste, were finally abandoned, owing to the hostile attitude and depredations of the fishing population. The following are some of the special facts that have been established by the experiments in this country and abroad: (1) Sponges may be cut into small pieces, which will live and grow if properly attached in suitable water. They may be cut in water or on a moistened board with a knife or fine saw. Care must be exercised not to express the soft matter. The preferred size of the cuttings is about an inch broad and a little more in height. The outer skin is to be retained as far as practicable. In cutting, the lines of the circulating canals should probably be considered, although pieces cut without any reference to the direction of the canals have lived and grown. (2) Exposure of the sponge to the air in making and fixing the cuttings is not injurious, unless prolonged or in very warm weather. This is contrary to a prevalent impression, but seems to be amply proved. Mr. Munroe, in his experiments in Biscayne Bay, found that clippings from sponges that had been exposed several hours lived and grew; and in the Adriatic Sea sponge cuttings kept out of water, in a shady place, for eight hours in February, the air temperature being 48° F., took root when planted. It is probable, however, that in the case of larger sponges, when removed from their element, the weight of the contained water may have a crushing effect on the soft parts concerned in nutrition and thus retard growth in the clippings subse- quently made therefrom. In a high temperature the sponges have a tendency to rot? hence the winter is regarded as the best time for planting. (3) Clippings may be made from distorted sponges having little market value, and will assume a symmetrical shape during growth. A healthy cutting will become firmly attached to a surface comparatively soon if it does not move. Even as short a time as 24 hours has been sufficient, in the European experiments, to secure attach- ment during the prevalence of warm weather. (4) The possible methods of attachment are various. This is a very important step, and probably the ideal practice is still to be determined. The things to be accomplished are: (a) to make the clipping fast pending the time when it will naturally take root; ( b ) to employ for this purpose some material that is not injurious to the sponge and will not distort its growth; (c) to place the attached clippings on the bottom in such a way that they will maintain the upright position and not be smothered by mud, sand, or sediment. The sponge clippings have been attached to boards, frames, poles, and different kinds of wire. The wooden parts are liable to attacks of worms, and some kinds of wire are injurious because of the chemical decomposition that ensues in salt water. The use of bamboo pegs seems to have given much satisfaction. In Europe, the cuttings appear to have been placed at depths of 1G or 23 feet, light being considered an objection, but in Florida the experiments have been conducted in water from 8 feet to less than 1 foot deep at low tide, and good results have been had at the shallowest depths. (5) The rate of growth in Florida waters is comparatively rapid. It is a common experience of spongers to find marketable sponges on grounds that had been thoroughly depleted of all salable sponges in the previous year, and the results of 238 BULLETIN OF THE UNITED STATES FISH COMMISSION. experiments bear out this point. In as short a time as one year, under favorable conditions, the cuttings will attain a marketable size, and certainly within sixteen or eighteen months the harvesting of relatively large sponges may be depended on. These results are in marked contrast to those in the Adriatic, where the rate of growth was so exceedingly slow as to seriously militate against the feasibility of sponge propagation in those waters. The person in charge of the experiments states that “the clippings grow two or three times their original size during the first year,” and that, “although some pieces will grow to a considerable size in five years, it will require seven years to raise completely matured sponges which are fit to become an article of merchandise.” A writer who reviewed the experiments very pertinently remarked: The profitableness of sponge-culture would be far more evident if there was not such a long interval between planting and harvesting; in other words, if the sponges would grow more rapidly. This was certainly looked for when the enterprise was started; but it is dispiriting to have to wait for your crop for seven long years. The attitude of the State toward the project to increase the supply of sponges by artificial means must necessarily exert considerable influence on its success. Adequate encouragement and authority should be given by the Commonwealth to those desiring to engage in this enterprise, to be supplemented by ample protection from poachers after grounds have been planted. Artificial sponge-grounds are susceptible of the same methods of regulation that have proved of value in the case of the oyster. The State might levy a tax, which would defray the expenses incurred in protecting the growers, but if such action is calculated to discourage the business it should not be broached until the industry has been placed on a substantial footing. The area of barren bottom which one person may be allowed to appropriate should be limited, so that no monoply will be created and the undertaking of the enterprise by numerous small planters be encouraged. The project is popular with many of the persons already interested in the sponge industry. Some, however, have expressed the fear that the best planting-grounds will fall into the hands of a few persons, who may in time secure control of the industry. The fear also exists among some of the sponge fishermen that extensive planting may deprive them of a livelihood, but there is little or no basis for such apprehension. Sponge-planting will give employment to many additional persons, aud probably will indirectly prove of benefit to those who sponge on the natural grounds, by diverting some attentiou therefrom and permitting a larger growth thereon. PROPOSED INTRODUCTION OF MEDITERRANEAN SPONGES. While for general purposes there is no better sponge than the Florida sheepswool, some of the foreign sponges, used in surgical practice and in other special branches, are more delicate, and yield a much higher price per pound than any native species. Some of the small Levant toilet sponges bring as much as $50 a pound, and the con- sumption of these high priced sponges in the United States is quite large. The possibility of transplanting in our own waters some of the best of the foreign sponges, in order that our own fishermen may reap the benefits of the high prices, opens up a very interesting subject. It has been thought that a very small colony, properly nurtured, would, under favorable conditions, form a nucleus from which a NATIONAL FISHERY CONGRESS. 239 large area might eventually be stocked. This subject has been discussed to some extent by those interested in the sponge industry, and the United States Fish Com- mission has been urged to make the experiment. The transplanting of Mediterranean sponges to the Bahamas has also been under consideration in Great Britain.1 The transportation of Mediterranean sponges to this country would involve difficulties which readily suggest themselves. There seems little doubt, however, that the project would be practicable by the use on the transporting vessel of tanks in which water could be kept aerated and of a suitable temperature. If the acclimatization of Mediterranean sponges in Florida waters were accom- plished the ultimate results of the experiment would still be problematical. It is a question whether, under the changed and less favorable environment, the introduced sponges would retain their superiority, or at least exhibit it in their offspring. Mr. Bidder states that the calcareous sponges exhibit a remarkable susceptibility to changes in environment, and thinks it not impossible that the progeny of the imported sponges would be similar in quality to the native sponges. The experiment is, however, worthy of the attempt. There is a remarkable similarity between the marketable sponges of Europe and those of America. Hyatt thinks it evident that the Mediterranean sponges originated in the Caribbean Sea. The three leading American species (sheepswool, yellow, and glove) correspond respectively with the leading sponges of Europe (horse, Zimocca, and bath). As to the cause of the superiority of the best Mediterranean sponges over our native sponges, there is some diversity of opinion, and different factors probably have their influence. An eminent American authority in considering this question expresses the opinion that the superiority may be due in part to the greater depth at which the Mediterranean sponges are taken, the deeper water being of better quality than the shallower, because freer from sediment, which is detrimental to the growth of the finest grades of sponge. Milky water (i. e., water made opaque by sediment) is incompatible with the best quality of sponge. While the coral reefs of the Florida coast, as in the Mediterranean, furnish excellent material for the attachment of sponges, the reefs in our own country are more exposed than in the Mediterranean, and large quantities of limy sediment are washed from them by the waves, a condition which does not exist to a conspicuous degree in the Mediterranean, where the coarsest species of sponges are found at those depths and in those situations exposed to the injurious influence of suspended matter. In the case of different grades of the same sponge the coarsest are in the shallower water. Coarseness consists in the greater stiffness and harshness of the skeleton, and is usually associated with a looser or more open structure — that is, a greater number of canals. It is this latter feature that is perhaps the most constant difference between the best Mediterranean sponges and the best Florida sponges. The finest Mediterranean sponges grow in water having a surface temperature in winter of 50° to 57°, the mean air temperature at that season being from 63° to 70°. The sponges which occur in deeper water off' the coast probably are not exposed to a colder temperature than 60° or perhaps 50° in January.1 This differs considerably from the conditions on the southern coast of Florida, as shown by the following table, ‘Note on projects for the improvement of sponge fisheries, by George Bidder. Journal Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom, iv, No. 2, Feb., 1896. 240 BULLETIN OF THE UNITED STATES FISH COMMISSION. which gives the temperature of the air and surface water as observed at three light- houses iu the sponging region. It is stated by Bidder (loc. cit.) that u the Levant variety lives where the atlas shows a mean annual [air?] temperature of about 7° F. below that of Florida, and the Adriatic variety at a mean temperature of about 7° F. lower still.” Statement of the mean air and surface water temperatures at points on the coast of Florida in the vicinity of the sponge- (/rounds. [Depths of water where observations are made: Fowey Kooks. 5 feet; Carysfort Reef, 3J feet; Dry Tortugas, 4 feet.] 1895. Fowey Kocks. Carysfort Reef. Dry Tortu- gas. 1896. Fowey Rocks. Carysfort Reef. Dry Tortu- gas. Air. Water. Air. Water. Air. Water. Air. Water. Air. Water. Air. Water. January February . . . March April May June July August September.. October November . . December . . . Annual o F . 70.41 68. 87 73. 23 75. 50 78. 40 80. 35 82.83 83. 93 84. 47 79. 47 75. 82 74. 58 ° F. 72. 98 68.71 73. 45 74.78 78.18 79.38 82.70 83. 75 84. 70 78.88 1 75.88 71.64 ° F. 70. 95 64.17 72. 32 75. 35 79. 85 83. 22 86. 60 84. 42 84. 13 82. 75 77.50 69. 75 oF. 71.98 70. 45 72. 16 73. 53 78. 45 81.73 85.40 84. 30 84.31 81.38 77. 48 73. 54 oF. 71. 47 66. 48 73.87 76.20 81.27 83. 25 84. 32 85. 05 84. 33 81. 27 77.87 70.75 op. 73.03 67. 93 73.41 74 98 80.07 81.01 84. 01 84 97 84. 60 80. 97 78. 13 73. 45 January . . February . March April May June.* July August. . . September October . . . November December. °F. 74.60 72. 38 76. 85 76. 40 83.77 85. 85 86. 48 88. 58 87. 53 83. 15 83.45 77.11 81.32 op. 69. 18 70.47 72. 13 75.10 79. 60 82.66 85. 23 86.58 86.16 82. 18 82.00 o f. 69.20 69. 38 72. 37 77.37 80. 50 83. 47 84. 80 85.88 85. 03 82. 62 80. 90 72.63 o f. 72. 20 72. 31 72. 05 76.45 78. 31 81.90 83. 90 87.74 83. 73 81.15 79. 51 o f. 68. 93 68. 87 71.22 76. 41 81. 02 82. 82 83.25 85. 92 84.13 81.98 77. 75 71.95 o F. 70. 17 70. 15 70. 43 75.61 79.41 82. 01 82. 60 85.73 84.88 81.08 74! 60 77. 31 77. 08 77. 58 77. 89 78.01 78.04 Annual mean . 78.66 78.68 78.49 77. 86 77. 99 Washington, D. C. U. S. F. C. 1897. (To face page 240.) Plate SHEEPSWOOL SPONGE. From Florida Keys. Diameter, 7 inches; weight (dry). 1 jounces. SHEEPSWOOL SPONGE. From Matecumbe Key. Diameter, 8| inches; weight (dry), 2£ ounces. Bull. U. S. F. C. 1897. (To face page 240.) Plate 14. jgr vsT'ij | CLUSTER OF CONNECTED SHEEPSWOOL SPONGES. Taken near Cedar Keys, Florida, 1896, in 34 feet of water. Circumference, 6 feet 2 inches. Bull. U. S. F. C. 1897. (To face page 240.) Plate 15. “WIRE” OR “BASTARD SHEEPSWOOL” SPONGE. Diameter, 9^ inches ; weight, 44- ounces. Bull. U. S. F. C- 1897. (To face page 240.) Plate 16. , U. $. F. C. 1897. (To face page 240.) SHEEPSWOOL SPONGES. (Natural size.) Artificially grown from clippings. Larger sponge planted in May or June, 1897, and taken up in January, 1898. Smaller sponge planted in August, 1897, and taken up in January, 1898. Grown in 4 feet of water >n sound near Key West. Bull. U. S. F. C. 1897. (To (ace page 240.) Plate 18. VELVET SPONGE. From Florida Keys. Diameter, 1 1 inches; weight (dry), 5f ounces. Bull. U. S. F. C. 1897. (To face page 240.) Plate 1 9. YELLOW SPONGE From Matecumbe Key. Height, 10 inches; greatest width, 9f inches; weight (dry), 4;}- ounces. Bull, U. S. F, C. 1897. (To face page 240.) Plate 20. Bull. U. S. F. C. 1897. (To face page 240.) Plate 21. YELLOW SPONGE. From Florida Keys. Length, 27 inches; weight (dry), 16 ounces. Bull. U. S. F. C. 1897. (To face page 240.) Plate 22. YELLOW SPONGE. (Locally called “ Hardhead.”) From Florida Keys. Diameter, inches. YELLOW SPONGE. From Biscayne Bay. Diameter, 8 inches; weight, 3 ounces. This form is known as a " roller," or " rolling John,” having been detached from the bottom and moved about by the currents. Bull. U. S. F. C. 1897. (To face page 240.) Plate 23. GRASS SPONGE. From Matecumbe Key. Diameter, 9| inches. Plate 24. Bull. U. S. F. C. 1897. (To face page 240.) GRASS SPONGE. From Matecumbe Key. Diameter across top, 7| inches. Bull. U. S. F. C. 1897. (To face page 240.) Plate 25. GRASS SPONGE. From Florida Keys. Side view. Diameter, 8^- inches. GRASS SPONGE. Same as above. Top Bull. U. S. F. C. 1897. (To face page 240.) Plate 26. GRASS SPONGE. Same as above, viewed from side. Bull. U. S. F. C. 1897. (To face page 240.) Plate 27. From Anclote Keys. GRASS SPONGE. Height, 13^- inches; depression.) From Anclote Keys. Two Bull. U. S. F. C. 1897. (To face page 240.) Plate 28. Plate 29. Bull. U. S. F. C. 1897. (To face page 240.) Plate 30. GLOVE SPONGE. From Florida Keys. Diameter, 7 inches GLOVE SPONGE. From Florida Keys. Greatest diameter, 6f inches. Bull. U. S. F. C. 1897. (To page 240.; Plate 31. GLOVE SPONGE. From Florida Keys. Diameter, 8 inches. ON THE FEASIBILITY OF RAISING SPONGES FROM THE EGG. By. H. V. WILSON, Ph. D., Professor of Biology, University of North Carolina . For the purposes of scientific investigation the problem suggested in the title of this paper presents no difficulties to the zoologist. Whether on the other hand it is practicable or even desirable to rear sponges from the egg for the purposes of the sponge-grower, is a question which can only be decided by experiments carried on continuously for some years. From the standpoint of the scientific breeder such experiments seem eminently desirable, and the probability that they would result in economic discoveries of importance is very great. It is my purpose to poiut out toward the end of this paper some of the advantages attainable, as I believe, by this method of breeding. I shall preface my remarks on the rearing of sponges with a brief account of the manner in which the egg development goes on. Some sponges are known to be hermaphrodite, others have been described as of separate sexes. The probability is that sponges are in general hermaphrodite, but that the individual at one period produces chiefly male elements, and later chiefly female elements. Fertilization takes place in the body of the mother and the egg here undergoes its early development. The embryo eventually bursts the maternal tissue, and, passing into one of the canals, is caught by the current sweeping through the canal system and is discharged into the surrounding water through one of the large apertures (oscula) on the surface of the sponge. In the great majority of sponges (horny and silicious forms) the embryo, or larva as it now should properly be called, since it leads a free life, is an oval, solid body, covered with slender hair-like processes of protoplasm, the so-called cilia. The cilia strike rhythmically to and fro, like so many minute and flexible paddles, and the sponge larva is by their means whorled through the water. Sponge larvae, of course, vary in size, but frequently have a length in the neighborhood of 1 mm. inch). The surface layer contains more or less pigment. Thus, in the commercial sponge, Euspongia, the larva is whitish, with a brown spot at one end. In Tedania brucei, a large red sponge, growing especially on the mangroves in parts of the Bahamas, the larva is a beautiful red. The free-swimming life of the sponge larva is short, lasting, when bred in the laboratory, only a day or two. During this period the larva is moved along not only by its own relatively feeble motion, but, being subject to the action of currents, it may be carried a considerable distance, from the spot where it was born. It eventually settles down on some firm basis and transforms. The cilia are lost, and the oval body flattens out into a disk so thin that it has the appearance of a minute incrusta- 241 E\ c. B. 1897— 16 242 BULLETIN OF THE UNITED STATES FISH COMMISSION. tion. The circular outline of the disk is soon lost, the little sponge spreading in an irregular fashion over the surface to which it is now firmly attached. In two or three days the metamorphosis is complete, and we have a sponge, very small, to be sure, and without reproductive elements, but like the adult in fundamental structure. Its surface is perforated by minute apertures, the pores, through which water enters the body, and by a few larger apertures, the oscula, through which the water leaves the body. Ramifying through the interior is a system of spaces or cauals which connect the pores with the oscula. Portions of this canal system form small spheroidal chambers, the walls of which are studded with cilia. It is owing to the motion of these internal unseen cilia that a current of water is constantly circulating through the sponge body, carrying to its tissues the oxygen aud food (minute particles of animal and vegetable organisms) necessary for their life. How long it takes for a sponge developed in this way to reach adult size and begin breeding is unknown. I have kept young sponges that have transformed aud attached to the walls of my laboratory aquaria for days and weeks. After the first few days the increase in size has generally been imperceptible. But the unfavor- able conditions incidental to such an unnatural habitat were doubtless responsible for this lack of success. PRACTICAL SUGGESTIONS ON REARING SPONGES. More species of sponges breed during the warm season than at other times. Yet in the Mediterranean (Naples) some sponges are found breeding at all times of the year. In the Bahama Islands and on our own coast, I have found the breeding time of many sponges to fall within the period from midsummer on through early autumn. For the inauguration of experiments I should recommend the months of July, August, and September. It is easy to determine when one of the horny or silicious sponges is breeding. On cutting out a piece of the sponge, the developing eggs scattered through the tissues can be seen without the help of a lens. They are minute, rounded bodies, often very uutnerous, and sufficiently conspicuous to catch an observant eye. The means employed for getting young sponges must always be different from those made use of in the case of animals like fish, oysters, etc., in which artificial fertilization is practicable. Since the sponge egg is fertilized and undergoes its early development in the body of the mother, artificial fertilization is here of course out of the question. The young in numbers ample for study can, however, be obtained in the following easy manner. The sponge being raised to near the surface of the water is then dipped up in a glass aquarium or bucket, in such a way as not to expose the animal to the air. In a few minutes time the ciliated larvae will begin to be discharged. In the study of some Bahama sponges I found it convenient to take to the sponge- grounds, in a boat, a couple of good-sized tubs. In one of these some sponges would be placed for about half an hour. At the end of that time they were transferred to the second tub. The water of the first tub was meanwhile examined for the sponge larvae. In this I was aided by negro boys, who soon became expert. We bailed out the water in 2-gallon glass vessels in which the little larvae could readily be seen. The latter were then picked out with glass tubes and placed in a special dish. By the time the examination of the first tub was completed, the second would be found to NATIONAL FISHERY CONGRESS. 243 contain numbers of larvae. These were collected in the same way, the sponges being thrown overboard. It would seem in the case of sponges, as in so many marine animals, that the stimuli arising from confinement in a limited volume of water lead to the rather sudden discharge of those embryos (or in certain forms, eggs) that have reached the proper stage for birth. 1 have no doubt that if the sponge were handled carefully, it would be possible to get from the same individual, day after day during the breeding season, numbers of larvae, precisely as several batches of eggs are got from one codfish, for example. The swimming larvrn thus obtained may be made to attach, during the next day or two, to the walls of the dishes in which they are kept, or to pieces of wood or small stones. After attachment the young, or, as we might say, the sponge “spat,” are easy to handle. In this connection, however, it will be well to bear in mind that the cir- culating pipe water of aquaria, even large and elaborate ones such as those at Naples and Woods Hole, has been found to be unsatisfactory for the rearing of young sponges, as indeed it is for the young stages of many marine organisms. The sponges become covered with sediment, and bacteria develop. Changing the water in the dishes twice a day is, on the whole, a better method. But this is far from an ideal environ- ment. It will probably be much better, after the attachment of the spat to pieces of wood, shells, etc., at once to transfer the latter to some natural site known to be adapted to the growth of sponges. I hardly think that the method of getting young sponges which I have just described can ever be adapted to the needs of the sponge- grower. And yet, for the purposes of experiment, where a few hundreds or a thousand young sponges would suffice, the method is adequate. I believe, however, that live boxes may be devised in which the sponge may be kept imprisoned in its natural koine, though at some con- venient depth, and in which the discharge of larvae may go on normally day after day. Such a box must have fine metal gauze windows on the sides and above, through which the water may pass freely, and yet with meshes sufficiently fine at any rate to hinder the passage of the larvae through them. Projecting shelves, which must be easily removable, might be arranged one above the other. The sides and bottom of the box should, moreover, be covered with removable pieces — tiles, for instance. The larvae settling down on the removable shelves or other pieces would attach to them, and might from time to time be taken out with as much ease as the honey stored up in the modern manufactured comb is removed from the hive. The precise form of live-box to be used will naturally only be determined after proper experiments. To prevent as far as possible the settling of the larvae on the body of the mother, a phenomenon very apt to occur, it will perhaps be found well to place the adult on a perforated tray near the top of the box, and a series of such trays, one above the other, may be found a good device. In planning experimental boxes of this sort, the character of the motion of the sponge larva should be borne in mind. The larva not only swims, frequently making long, shallow dives, but also creeps about over the sides and bottom of the vessel in which it is kept. The live-box has proved itself of great use to the naturalist desirous of obtaining the young stages of auimals, which are difficult to keep or breed in the laboratory. In this connection I well remember the experiences of a companion (Prof. C. L. Edwards), engaged in the study of the development of the large holotliurian or sea-cucumber 244 BULLETIN OE THE UNITED STATES FISH COMMISSION. (Miilleria), so common in parts of the Bahama Islands. It was with the greatest difficulty that a few embryos of this form could be got in the laboratory. When, how- ever, the animals were confined in a large box anchored in about a fathom of water, quantities of developing eggs could be had by drawing up with a tube some of the sediment in the bottom of the box. The “spat” once obtained in abundance, success will next depend largely on the selection of the locality in which the young sponges are to be set out. A careful study of the Florida grounds should be undertaken, with the view of investigating, among other points, this very matter of the kinds of locality best adapted to the growth of the various grades of sponges. Quiet water, a firm bottom, and an absence of muddy sediment seem essential desiderata. The question of enemies is probably of minor importance, and yet the well known student of sponges, Vosmaer, mentions that he has several times seen the European hermit-crab ( Pagurus ) greedily eat a common silicious sponge ( Suberites ), certainly quite as unappetizing a morsel as the coarsest commercial sponge. When it has once been accurately determined what are the physicial and biolog- ical characteristics of the Florida grounds, which produce the finest sponges— and it may be mentioned here that sponges are among the most variable of animals and seem to be peculiarly affected by their surroundings — a detailed comparison should be made between these grounds and those parts of the Mediterranean producing the finest grades. The purpose of such a comparison would be to discover whether we rerally lack any of the natural advantages necessary for the production of the finest sponges and, if so, whether these can be artificially reproduced — whether, for instance, it would be possible or desirable to imitate on this side a particular kind of bottom found in the Mediterranean. Following on the investigation of the sponge- grounds, I believe it to be eminently desirable to start a series of experiments, the purpose of which shall be to discover how far, along what lines, and by what means sponges may be artificially altered by breeding. The great variability of sponges in nature leads one to believe that they would quickly respond as individuals to a change in the environment, and thus, simply by growing the animals in a superior locality, an improved variety, constant, as long as the sponges continue to grow in that locality, might be produced. It is quite likely that such improvements could be carried out on sponges propagated by cuttings as well as on those grown from eggs. In improving races, however, it has always been found that the two important means are sexual breeding from selected specimens and grafting, the latter method being commonly regarded as only applicable to plants. In sponges, as in other organisms, increase of knowledge will in all probability confirm the belief', already fairly well grounded, that individuals developed from the fertilized eggs vary more, i. e., exhibit more differences one from the other, than indi- viduals grown from buds or cuttings. Herein, to my mind, lies the advisability of growing sponges from eggs as well as from cuttings. The latter method, being quick, sure, and simple, can at once be made of great practical use. Breeding from the egg is more complex, and must be carefully tried by competent experimenters. In the end, however, I believe that it will lead to great improvements in the quality of our sponges. I would suggest that, after selection of a proper locality, a small plantation of sponges developed from eggs be started and carefully watched. As the sponges grow, it would be a simple matter to pick out those individuals in which the fiber varied in NATIONAL FISHERY CONGRESS 245 the desired direction. A small piece cut out would not seriously injure the sponge and would show the quality of fiber as well as the entire body. Selected individuals might be removed from the general ground and during the breeding season placed together in large live boxes. The “spat” collected from such individuals would doubtless develop into superior sponges. I do not know any marine animals which would seem to be so adapted to continuous rearing, with constant improvement of breed, as sponges. Their plant-like habit of growth makes it easy to handle and experiment upon them. Their variability, especially in the matter of the skeleton, would seem to insure success to selective breeding; and the very simplicity of what is desired, namely, improvement in the quality of the skeletal fiber, would at once lend a directness to the efforts of the cultivator, which should lead to comparatively early results. In closing, I may direct your attention to a method of race improvement, so far practiced only in the cultivation of plants, but to which the vegetative character of sponges will readily lend itself. I refer to the method of grafting. The ease with which two or more individuals of the same species of sponge, irrespective of age, may be made to fuse, and become henceforth a single individual, is well known. Dr. Grant records observations on this head as far back as 1826. Among later experimenters I will only mention Vosmaer. This fusion of individuals goes on commonly in nature. An interesting account of a number of cases may be read in Johnston’s British Sponges and Corallines, published 1842, page 11. The natural tendency of sponges to grow together, coupled with the ease with which they may be propagated by cuttings, would make artificial grafting in these animals a simple matter. With a small plantation of very superior sponges at hand, the result of careful breeding from selected individuals, and other plantations con- sisting of sponges grown from cuttings, grafting ought to be not only a scientific but an economic success. At slight expense, large numbers of common sponges might be improved simply by pinning to the common cutting a piece of the improved variety. Chapel- Hill, North Carolina. THE HUDSON RIVER AS A SALMON STREAM. By A. NELSON CHENEY, State Fish-Cu/turist, New York Fisheries, Game, and Forest Commission. During the past twenty five years to my personal knowledge, and probably for a longer period, there have appeared in various publications, from time to time, articles describing the Hudson River as an original salmon stream. Some have merely made the broad statement that the river once contained Sahno salar , and others in more explicit language have described the great quantities of salmon that once inhabited the stream, and deplored the fact that they had become extinct in the river. Almost without exception the sole foundation for the statement that the Hudson was once a natural salmon river rests upon an extract from the log of Henry Hudson, of the Halfmoon , who records that in 1609 he saw a “great store of salmons in the river” which now bears his name. Within the past fifteen years a gentleman wrote to a newspaper published iu a city on the bank of the Hudson declaring that his grandfather formerly caught large numbers of salmon in the Hudson, and for this reason it was a proper water to be restocked with the king of fresh- water fishes. That old, old story, which originated in England or Scotland one or two hundred years ago, that apprentices and servants provided, when indentured to their masters, that they should not be required to eat sain. on oftener than twice a week, has been transplanted to the banks of the Connecticut and has even been applied to the Hudson and its alleged salmon. Nevertheless I maintain, and will show in this paper — as I believe, conclusively — that the Hudson was not originally a salmon stream, and that no salmon were ever found in it except possibly an estray from the Connecticut, until planted by the United States Fish Commission and the Fisheries Commission of the State of New York. As to Hudson’s declaration, or to be exact the declaration of Robert Juet, the master’s mate of the Halfmoon, for he it was who wrote the journal — under date of September 3, 1609, he writes: “So wee weighed and went in and rode in five fathoms, oze ground, and saw many Salmons, and Mullets and Rays very great. The hight is 40 degrees 30 minutes.” Under date of the 15th : “ Wee ran up into the river, twentie leagues, passing by high mountains. Wee had a very good depth as thirteene fathoms, and great store of salmons in the river.” A boat was sent out and with a net “ten great mullets of a foot and a half long apiece, and a ray as great as four men could hale into the ship” were taken. 247 248 BULLETIN OF THE UNITED STATES FISH COMMISSION. Not a single salmon was captured at any time while the ship was in the river. The Halfmoon entered the mouth of the river September 3 and anchored inside Sandy Hook, and the next day, the 4th, the fishing was done. The ship ascended to the present site of the city of Hudson, and a boat’s crew was sent up the stream to about where Waterford now stands, or a little north of the present city of Albany. The ship and its master returned and set sail for Europe on the 23d of September, so that all told Hudson was in the river twenty days in the month of September. Had there been salmon in the river he must have seen them between Sandy Hook and Water- ford, and they would not have been in that portion of the river at that time, as their spawning habits would have taken them 50 miles farther up the river than Waterford, to Bakers Falls, to which point shad ran until stopped by the building of the Troy dam in 1825. In some of the Canadian rivers there is a late run of salmon, the fish running as late as October, but this was not true of the Connecticut or of other New England salmon streams, nor has it proven true of the Hudson since it was stocked by artificial means. Hudson being an Englishman, and possibly more or less familiar with salmon in the rivers of his own country, and Juet being born at Limehouse, on the river Thames, where salmon were then common, it is perhaps fair to assume that seeing schools of large fish of some sort, one or the other associated them with the fish of his home waters and called them salmon in the log. In a description of New Netherland, printed in Amsterdam, Holland, in 1671, occurs this sentence: “The streams and lakes, rich with fishes, furnish sturgeon, salmon, carp, bass, pike, roach, bleak, all sorts of eel, sunfish which resemble the bullhead in taste, and codfish which are caught near waterfalls.” It will be observed that European common names are applied to the fishes, and doubtless the writer was familiar with the fishes of the old country and applied their names to the fishes in the new country that to him resembled those of the old. To this day codfish are not caught near waterfalls, and it is more than doubtful if salmon existed in the lakes and streams any more than bleak and roach. New Netherland is bounded “ on the south by Virginia, northeast by New England, north washed by the river Canada, and on the coast by the ocean.” Besides codfish at the waterfalls and salmon in the streams and lakes, the writer found that “New Netherland hath, moreover, a wonderful little bird scarcely an inch long, quite bril- liant in plumage, and sucking flowers like the bee; it is so delicate that a dash of water instantly kills it. When dried it is preserved as a curiosity.” The humming- bird is a little larger now and more hardy, but the description is perhaps as accurate as the statement that codfish are taken at waterfalls and salmon in lakes within the boundaries as given of New Netherland. In 1680 Jasper Danker and Peter Sluyter, members of the society of Labadists in Holland, visited this country, and they record of the Mohawk, a tributary of the Hudson: “ There are no fish in it, except trout, sunfish and other kinds peculiar to rivers, because the Cahoos stop the ascent of others.” They dined in state “with Madam Rensselaer, at Albany, and had to eat exceedingly good pike, perch and other fish,” but no salmon. New York had salmon streams on the north, flowing into the St. Lawrence, Lake Champlain, and Lake Ontario, for I have found laws for their protection enacted in L801 and later, and mentioning the Oswego, Grass, Racket, St. Regis rivers, and Fish NATIONAL FISHERY CONGRESS. 249 and Wood creeks, as well as other streams. A law enacted in 1801 provided that no dams should be erected on streams flowing into Lakes Ontario, Erie, or Champlain to prevent salmon from following their usual course up said streams, and when dams were erected they should be provided with what are now called flshways, to enable the fish to pass over the obstruction. There is every indication that the lawmakers of the last of the last century and the first of this understood fully the value of the fish in the waters of the State as food and threw every possible safeguard around them, but there is no record of a law protecting salmon in the Hudson until 1771, when it was enacted : Whereas it is thought that [if] the fish called salmon, which are very plenty in some of the rivers and lakes in this and the neighboring colonies, were brought into Hudson’s River, they would, by spawning there, soon become numerous, to the great advantage of the public. And whereas a number of persons in the county of Albany propose to make the experiment and defray the expense attending the same : In order that the good design may be more effectually carried into execution, it is conceived necessary that a law should be passed for prohibiting the taking and destroying the fish for a term of years. This act was signed by John, Earl of Dunmore, and in less than a month after, viz, April 2, 1771, the common council of Albany passed the following resolution : “Resolved by this board, that a letter be sent to William Peiiturp for to come down and agree with the corporation, if he can undertake to bring live salmons into Hudson’s River.” There is no record, however, that anything was actually done under this resolution to stock the Hudson with salmon. Samuel Latham Mitchill, professor of natural history in Columbia College, New York, wrote in the Transactions of the Literary and Philosophical Society of New York, in 1815: “There is no steady migration of salmon to this river. Though pains have been taken to cherish the breed, salmon has never frequented the Hudson in any other manner than as a stray.” In 1857 Robert L. Pell, of Pelham, Ulster County, petitioned the legislature to construct flshways in the Hudson, and offered .to stock the river with salmon without expense to the State. There is no evidence that the State accepted the proposal of Mr. Pell, and certainly the fishways were not built. I believe it unnecessary to quote further from old records and laws to prove that the Hudson River was not originally a natural salmon stream. The evidence is chiefly of a negative character, but I am of the opinion that it is conclusive. What lias been done to make the Hudson a salmon stream has been done within the past twenty-five years, and I will rehearse the operations of the national and State fish commissions to this end as briefly as possible. Beginning with 1873, and continuing for three years after, the Fish Commission of New York planted in the tributaries of the Hudson a quantity of fry of the Pacific salmon, hatched from eggs furnished by the United States Fish Commission. Several hundred thousand fry were planted, but so far as known, after going to sea as smolts, not a single fish returned to the river, and this is true also of other plantings of this species of salmon in other Atlantic coast rivers. In 1891 the late Col. Marshall McDonald, then United States Commissioner of Fisheries, requested me to make an examination of some tributaries of the Upper Hudson with a view to making a plant of yearling quinnat salmon. He was thoroughly convinced that the attempt to stock the Atlantic rivers with the fry of this fish was an abject failure, but at the Wytheville station of the Commission in 250 BULLETIN OF THE UNITED STATES FISH COMMISSION. Virginia rainbow trout from California bad been established in the hatchery stream by planting; fingerling fish after plantings of fry of this species of fish had failed, and he desired to try a like experiment with the salmon also from the Pacific coast. I selected several streams in Vermont, tributary to the Battenkill Eiver, which in turn flows into the Hudson. The streams were free from everything injurious to young salmon and there were no natural or artificial obstructions in them. Later, I went to Vermont with one of the United States Pish Commission cars and planted several thousand yearling (California) salmon in the streams selected for the purpose. Not one of them has ever been heard of since they went down to the sea. The experiment of stocking the Hudson with Atlantic salmon ( Salmo salar ) was begun in 1882, at which time 225,000 fry were planted in small streams tributary to the head of the river about 260 miles above Sandy Hook. Nothing was heard from this plant until 1886, or four years after, when adult fish returned to the river weighing from 9 to 16 pounds, and ascended to Troy, where they were stopped by the State dam. Every year since, with one exception, plants of salmon fry or yearlings have been made in the river, and every year adult fish have been captured in the lower river by the nets of fishermen. One thing has been proven to my satisfaction beyond perad venture by these experiments. The young of the Salmo salar when planted in the Hudson do not go to the sea until they are two years old, and they return from the sea when they are four years old. If I should make this statement before a European audience I would be accused of rank heresy, and possibly right here in Tampa delegates to the National Fisheries Congress will desire to know what proof I have of this assertion. T planted salmon fry in a trout stream tributary to the Hudson which had never contained salmon, and it was two years before they arrived at the smolt stage and took their departure for the sea in silvery livery. Selecting another stream I made a like plant, and it was two years before the parr put on the smolt dress and turning their tails to the sea drifted down with the current. During the past fourteen years I have planted salar fry in various streams, and always, when in a new stream where they could be watched that no mistake would be made, they have remained for two years before going to sea. Since the first plant of salar fry a total of 3,486,000 have been planted in the Hudson Eiver, this number including 12,000 yearlings. All the eggs were furnished by the United States Fish Commission and came from the Peuobscot Eiver in Maine. For a number of years after the initial plant the United States paid all the expenses of hatching and distributing the young fish, but later the Government furnished the eggs and the Fisheries, Game, and Forest Commission of New York hatched and planted the fish at the expense of the State. It is of record that in one year over 300 adult salmon, from 10 to 38 pounds each, were taken in nets in the Lower Hudson, every fish taken contrary to law. It is true that some salmon taken in nets are released by the fisherman, but the high price offered for Hudson Eiver salmon in the New York markets sorely tempts a fisherman to kill such salmon as may be taken in his net, instead of releasing them uninjured, as the law directs. Fishways have been erected in the Hudson by the State at Troy, Mechanicsville, and Thomsons Mills, but other fishways must be built before the river is open to the fish from the sea to the pure water of the upper river where the salmon would naturally go to tind spawning-grounds. Tlie Cohoes Falls on the Mohawk is NATIONAL FISHERY CONGRESS. 251 to-day as much of a bar to the upward migration of salmon as when Jasper Danker made the entry in his journal in 1680, which I have quoted. Baker Falls, on the main river, has been supposed to be one of the causes why salmon never frequented the river at the time they ran into the Connecticut. These falls stopped the shad and and it has been said that they would stop salmon. Possibly they would, but I visited the falls with the late Commissioner McDonald and we were both of the opinion that it was possible for salmon to surmount them on the proper stage of water. Why the Hudson was not originally a salmon stream when the Connecticut, a neighboring river, was, I shall not attempt to explain. It may have been that Cohoes and other falls on the main river and its tributaries operated as a bar to keep them from their proper spawning-grounds, but one thing has been fully demonstrated: The Hudson River of to-day, with its sewage from towns and poisons from mills and factories, does not deter salmon from entering from the sea once the fry are planted in its headwaters, and with fishways in all the obstructions, natural and artificial, it could be made a self-sustaining salmon river if the netters would obey the law, while the State fisheries commission aided nature in keeping up the supply of young fish by artificially hatching the eggs. Colonel McDonald told me on more than one occasion that if the Hudson were open to salmon, and proper efforts were made to keep up the supply of young fish, and netting regulations were enforced, the river would from its salmon add $100,000 a year of profit to the State financially, while largely augmenting the food supply. Glens Falls, New York. A FLEA FOR THE DEVELOPMENT AND PROTECTION OF FLORIDA FISH AND FISHERIES. By JAMES A. HENSHALL, M. D., Superintendent of United States Fish Commission Station, Bozeman, Monatna. The principal fishing industries of Florida are prosecuted on the Gulf coast, at Pensacola, Tampa, Punta Gorda, and Key West. The shad fishery of the St. Johns Eiver is also very important, and considerable business in this direction is done at various places on the east coast. At Pensacola the principal fish product is the red snapper, a fish of good size and with firm flesh of fine quality, which bears trans- portation well. It is taken with hook and line on the snapper banks in from 10 to 50 fathoms and from 10 to 50 miles offshore. At Cedar Key, Tampa, and Punta Gorda the bay and brackish-water fishes are taken by haul seines on the shores of the bays and inlets; the varieties mostly handled are mullet, redfish, or “bass,” as it is known commercially, sea trout, pompano (the best of all fishes for the table), Spanish mackerel, jackfish, etc. The mullet is, perhaps, the most important, as it is shipped fresh, on ice, while large quantities are cured by salt. At Key West many of the fishes are entirely different from those of the other waters of the State, and belong rather to the West Indian fauna. They comprise the coral fishes, salt-water fishes par excellence. All are taken with hook and line, as the various seines and nets can not be utilized owing to the ragged coral formation of the shores and reefs. The principal fish are kiugfish, mackerel, groupers, snappers, grunts, jewfish, etc., which exist in great variety. The catch is almost entirely con- sumed at Key West. Formerly a fleet of smacks carried live fish in wells to Havana until a prohibitory import duty was imposed by the captain-general upon fishermen from the United States, which compelled the abandonment of the industry and the sale of the smacks to Spanish fishermen, who, besides taking fish contrary to law in Florida waters, carry on a nefarious trade in smuggling vile rum and poor cigars. The Gulf coast line of Florida, Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, and Texas is more than 6,000 miles in length, being about 1,000 miles longer than that of the Middle Atlantic States. Of this extent Florida has nearly 3,000 miles, or about one-half. A statistical review of the U. S. Fish Commission, published some ten years ago, says: The Gulf States occupy a favorable location for supplying a large part of the country with marine products. A dozen or more States in the Lower Mississippi Valley have their nearest coastal connections through these States, and it will probably be in response to this section’s demand for marine food products that the Gulf fisheries will reach their highest development. The fulfillment of this prediction has been realized, for at present a large demand exists for the food-fishes of Florida in all the South Atlantic States, while the choicer varieties, as red snapper, pompano, Spanish mackerel, etc., are shipped to all the principal northern cities. The same report says : This region is favored with many highly esteemed food-fishes, which occur here in greater abun- dance than elsewhere on the coasts of the United States. The undeveloped resources of the Gulf States invite outside attention and afford a promising outlook for future increase. The possibilities of the region in the matter of oyster production and cultivation are believed to be great. 253 254 BULLETIN OF THE UNITED STATES FISH COMMISSION. Few sections of the United States are better supplied with desirable and important marine-fishery products, including fish, reptiles, and invertebrates, than the Gulf States. Among the invertebrates the oyster ranks first in commercial importance. It is extremely abundant throughout the entire section and constitutes the most prominent fishery product. No other mollusks have as yet attained economic prominence, though in Florida the round clam or quahog is taken in small quantities, and the meat of the conch is used for bait and eaten locally. A number of species and varieties of sponge occur oif the Florida coast, and are objects of an important fishery, the only one of the kind prosecuted from the United States. Among crustaceans the shrimp is the most prominent. Crabs are abundant in this region; in addition to the common blue crab of the Atlantic coast, there occur the shore crab, the lady or sand crab, and others of less importance. The stone crab, which reaches a large size and is very palatable, is probably most abundant on the coast of Florida. The economic value of the reptiles inhabiting the Gulf States is greater than in any other section. Foremost among them is the alligator. There are at least five species of terrapins in this section which are valuable as food. Four of these occur in fresh water. The salt-water or diamond-back terrapin is also found in the salt marshes from Florida to Texas, and is a valuable article of fishery. This region is included within the range of three soft-shell tortoises. Two species of snapping turtle also inhabit the fresh waters of these States. Three important marine turtles frequent the Gulf of Mexico and are sought by the fishermen ; these are the green turtle, the loggerhead, and the hawkbill or tortoise-shell turtle. From the foregoing brief account of the fishery resources and kindred industries of Florida, it is evident that the present active demand for fish, oysters, etc., will be largely augmented in the future, especially in view of the fact that there is a material decrease in the supply of these products in northern waters ; indeed, there are already many northern fishing smacks in Florida waters every winter, and lately there have been oyster-grounds located and taken up by northern parties with a view to an increased cultivation of oysters. The granting of these privileges should be paid for by the parties interested and made a permanent source of revenue to the State, the same as is done in the States of Virginia, Maryland, New Jersey, New York, etc. This is very important and should be attended to before the best grounds are disposed of gratuitously. A State fish commission could be supported by the revenue derived from the rental of oyster-grounds alone, and there should be an intelligent supervision of this branch of the fisheries, in order that those interested may keep pace with the improvements and discoveries that are yearly being made in the cultivation of oysters and be better enabled to foster this important industry. The same necessity exists for an able and competent supervision of the sponge interests, in which Florida alone is concerned, for in the waters of that State are the only sponge-beds in the United States. It is of vital importance, then, that those beds should be properly protected, the taking of the sponges subjected to wise and judicious surveillance, and their cultivation prosecuted with vigor and intelligence in order that the supply may be maintained and increased, and the revenue to the State consequently enhanced. The shad fishery of the St. Johns River constitutes one of the most important branches of Florida fishing industries, as the first shad of the season are shipped thence to northern markets at a time when they command the highest price. As the supply has lately been seriously decreasing, it is of paramount importance that the yield should be increased by artificial means. The artificial propagation of shad has been attended by more pronounced success, perhaps, than that of any other fish, a most convincing example being that inaugurated by the United States Fish Com- mission in California, where, by the planting of less than a million shad fry in the Sacramento River a few years ago, shad have become so numerous that they are now sold for a less price than in eastern markets. When it is considered that prior to national fishery congress. 255 this experiment there were no shad whatever on the Pacific coast, the argument in favor of the artificial culture of the shad is incontrovertible. The State of Florida should have at least one hatchery on the St. Johns River, and as the shad-hatching season lasts but a couple of months, the expense is trifling, while the results are all important, far-reaching, and most bountiful. There has been also a considerable decrease in some of the coast fishes, while a complaint of the scarcity of the best food-fishes in the inland waters of the State is universal. Now is the time to do something toward a restoration of the fisb supply to these waters, or at least to prevent a further depletion by the proper and fostering care of a competent fish commission — one that is able to cope with the situation and to apply the proper remedy, whether it be by artificial cultivation or by increased protection, and by so doing to increase the food supply of the people. In the Northern States the fishes of many of the interior streams have either been totally destroyed or very materially decreased by the pollution of the streams through the refuse and offal from manufacturing establishments. It would be the pait of wisdom for the Florida authorities to be forehanded in this matter, on the principle that u an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure,” and to enact such laws as will prevent a like decrease of the fish supply from similar causes. The United States Fish Commission has done considerable work in Florida, and will do a great deal more; and it is also contemplated to establish a station for the cultivation of fish, oysters, sponges, etc., at no distant day. In view of such an event, therefore, it is all the more important that good protective laws and their effective enforcement by a competent State fish commission should be provided for, otherwise the work of the National Commission would be to a great extent rendered useless. It will be readily seen, from what has been said, that it is of the utmost importance that the fishery industries of the State should be looked after by an efficient and com- petent commission. It has been thoroughly demonstrated in the many States, and particularly in Florida, that the plan of a complimentary fish commission, composed of several persons who receive no compensation, has not worked advantageously, although liberal appropriations were annually made in the older States. Too often such commissions degenerate into mere political machines for the securing of votes, while the legitimate work of the commission is neglected or frustrated. It can not be expected that men will give much time or attention to duties for which they receive no compensation, so it follows, as a matter of course, that if they can not command dollars they will command votes, if possible. The fish commission of Florida is virtually obsolete at present, for, notwithstand- ing the appointment of three commissioners several years ago, as provided by law, I have learned on good authority that nothing has been done by them and that to all intents and purposes the commission has ceased to exist. What is needed is the enactment of a law that provides for the appointment of a single commissioner of fish and fisheries at a fair salary, one who has a scientific and practical knowledge of fish and fisheries and is fully competent to deal with the subject in all of its bearings. Such a person would be able to materially augment the revenue of the State by an increased development and a more abundant yield of the various fisheries. If thought best, he might also have supervision of the game birds and mammals and see that the laws for their protection were enforced. Bozeman, Montana. INTERNATIONAL PROTECTION FOR THE DENIZENS OF THE SEA ANT) WATERWAYS. By BUSHROD W. JAMES, A. M„ M. D. It is clear to the thoughtful miud that there is a yearly increasing necessity for economy in several directions, none of which is more decidedly marked than that concerning the denizens of the sea. That a deplorable mistake has been made by men and corporations in hunting the whale, walrus, and seal, until the first two are almost exterminated, while the like danger regarding the other is now agitating a great part of two continents, is sufficient apology for the reiteration of the theme selected for this paper. Impelled with a keen desire for wealth, men will not pause to think that there is a serious menace to human existence in the wholesale destruction of any animal upon which it has relied for sustenance and clothing, not to mention warmth and shelter. Nor can they realize, when vessels return from whaling voyages with cargoes insuffi- cient to meet expenses, that the decreasing animal population of coast and island on their routes is due to the same cause. The animals have been hunted too greedily and have either been destroyed or driven from their haunts, leaving men destitute who have always depended upon their annual return for nearly every life necessity. No one can accurately estimate the sufferings that have resulted in times past in diminishing numbers of Indians and Esquimaux along these seaboards; and common justice questions, is it right to take for one man’s gain the food supply of inhabitants of American soil, bringing helpless fellow creatures to starvation and death. Careful study will show that however valuable oil, whalebone, or ivory may be to commerce, a judicious economy in their production must be more advantageous to a steadily lucrative business than could be a few years of surprising overproduction and an aftermath of no returns for expensive, expeditions. Such reports have come from the whaling fleet sent out from San Francisco in the last two years at least. It was due to want of success that the whalers are now ice-bound and in danger of death in the great frozen Arctic Ocean. Possibly if whaling and walrus hunting (or, as it is called, ivory hunting) are legally forbidden by the United States Government and Russia and Canada for a time, the great mammals will return to their old foraging and breeding grounds. If not, the dealers in such articles and the men heretofore engaged in the capture of the animals may look upon their occupations as practically discontinued for all time. In support of this we need only point to the western plains, over which once roamed buffalos and antelopes by the million. So plentiful were the herds that the sportsmen of the world came to aid us in their extermination. Even if the plan for the protection and reproduction of the buffalo succeeds, which is doubtful, neither r. 0. Ii. 1897—17 257 258 BULLETIN OF THE UNITED STATES FISH COMMISSION. this generation nor the next will live to see its consummation. So with the sea mammals of which we have spoken. If to-day legislation stepped forth with its utmost power to protect, there will yet be years of unprofitable voyaging in the northern seas before they once more become plentiful. The belated arrangements relative to fur-seals in Bering Sea must be carefully carried out to insure any great commercial advantage from them in the future. The seal, whale, and walrus produce but one at a birth, the exception never being met in the seal, and if the others ever bear more there are but two, and these events happen but once in a year. Therefore, provided that a million seals are spared, and each cow is productive, the increase could be at the very utmost but one to every ten animals, and this, allowing a great percentage of the million to be females, the number of which never predominates to so great an extent. It is plain, therefore, that the larger animals upon which whole populations have depended for food and other life necessities, i. e., the three most valuable denizens of the sea, must at once receive adequate protection or they will be destroyed beyond remedy in a very short time. Cooperative international agreements are necessary whereby the creatures will be safe from molestation, not only on their breeding- grounds but wherever they gather. We maintain that they belong to the countries upon whose territory they congregate for the purpose of carrying out nature’s great design, and that there each government should execute the utmost prerogatives to secure safety for its property without any outside assistance, but only by peaceful international legislation can deterioration and future extinction be avoided. By no means do we mean to insure these animals alone from injudicious hunting, nor indeed do we desire to express belief that ttiey are tbe most important denizens of the water. For only commensurate to their value to certain inhabitants can their true usefulness be adjudicated, as likewise that of the salmon, cod, halibut, shad, herring or any other fish equally important for commerce and for food. Except that the inhabitants of the northeastern part of the United States, as also those of Nova Scotia, New- foundland, etc., are within reasonable distance of inland towns, their dependence upon the numbers and condition of the returns of their fishing fleets is almost as great as that of the Esquimaux upon the seal, whale, and walrus hunting. If then those fisheries have become of national and international importance the people of the eastern districts should have their fishing interests equally well guarded from injury. Left to their own devices, the true fisherman — one born to the trade and i-elyiug upon its success — will be careful not to injure his future prospects by endeavoring to catch all the fish at one great sweep. Nor will he waste the other fish that enter his net among the more valuable kinds. Instead, he will cast the flapping, gasping, wide-eyed strangers back into the water, there to perform their part in the world of nature. Therefore, it is not among the life hunters and fishermen that we must look for the destroyers of the fish or mammals, but to men or companies who take spasmodic interest in them for a time, simply as a money-making scheme. The protection and propagation of the more desirable food-fishes seem to have become established sufficiently to remedy many of the evils heretofore existing, but trouble still exists and will continue so long as indiscriminate catching is permitted. The reasons for this are obvious. Some years ago there was a company (or com- panies) formed called the “ Menhaden Fisheries,” ostensibly for taking menhaden, a comparatively useless fish, whose reputation was to be redeemed by making oil and NATIONAL FISHERY CONGRESS. 259 compost of the enormous catches of this fish off the Atlantic coast particularly. Admitting that the important fish, such as shad, leave the waters of the Atlantic rivers and are consequently safe during their absence, how can it be credited that the great nets full of menhaden are not very largely mixed with young food-fishes? Or, even if that is not so, must we not concede that menhaden, though unfit for human food, are in some shape the chief food for edible fishes — if not as full-grown animals, possibly in the form of spawn and quite young fish. It must be thus that they are useful, and consequently their wholesale and relatively useless destruction is a great wrong, which should be suspended at once by international agreement. Besides, there is a touch of extreme cruelty in hunting them simply for the sake of pressing them into the service of the farmer, for whom, indeed, they may be a cheap, but not altogether desirable, compost. There is another danger, of which the fisherman may not be conscious, and that is the destruction of the young of salmon, trout, and other very desirable fishes which have been placed in the Delaware and its tributaries, as well as in other great rivers near the coast. It was a known fact that the fry were deposited therein, but their non-appearance after reasonable time led to the belief that the enterprise was not a success. But recently the beautiful swimmers have been seen, having returned after a long absence, or else after having lingered in other streams or ocean haunts. More probably they went out to sea while developing into full growth, and they now return to spawn upon the grounds wherein they found their first home from the hatcheries. It is not for us to say whether they remembered their home or whether only the impulses of nature drove them up toward shallower waters. Suffice it that we are safe to claim that they belong to the society which so carefully propagated and deposited them or to the country for which it acts, and thus they become, as it were, wards of the government and subject to its protective legislation. This shows that national laws are absolutely requisite to their preservation from local fishing enterprises or from even individual fishermen. Further, we are assured that the many valuable food-fishes are daring wanderers, roaming far out to sea, while they are not impelled toward the spawning-grounds. Thus the herring, mackerel, or cod of British Columbia may later become the supply for Maine and Massachusetts. Consequently both countries interested should make complementary rules regarding the protection of these fisheries, having unquestionable legal rights in the matter. That such is truly and reasonably requisite is evident in the lesser quantity and smaller size of the product of these fisheries. So, too, has the lobster deteriorated, until a large specimen is rather the exception than the rule, as it used to be. To-day salmon, cod, and other fish are wonderfully abundant, but unless Canada joins with the United States toward making strict laws regarding the time of fishing, the numbers taken, and economy of sparing the young and returning the living but undesirable fishes to the waters, there will come disastrous days for the salmon canneries of the Northwest, as well as for the fisheries of the Northeast. Just international protection is the only mode of preventing depletion. Indiscriminate fishing should not be allowed at any time, and no corporation should use means by which great numbers of the denizens of the water may be captured for other purposes than to supply food to human beings. Fish laws, both national, State, and international, should insert warning clauses regarding wasteful destruction of the denizens of the sea, lake, or river. The public should be given to 260 BULLETIN OF THE UNITED STATES FISH COMMISSION. understand that the propagation of food-fishes is but in its infancy, and that it will take some years to attain great results, and strict care is necessary to insure success; but when the different species are established legal permission ought to be given for fishing in different streams and for different fish. We are confident that when pelagic sealing has become amenable to international laws the business will cease; and as surely when salmon, cod, herring, mackerel, shad, and all other far- wandering fish are protected by the same union of nations for their safety none but legalized fishing will be attempted, and thus the continuous success of all such fisheries will be secured and revenue for country and individual will grow proportionately. Justice and right grant that man is the owner of all inferior animals and that for his food, clothing, and other necessities he has the unequivocal right to slaughter either animals or fish sufficient to supply his needs, but there is something repulsively cruel in the wholesale destruction of either one or the other for imaginary or artificial requirements. It is against this particularly we would lend both pen and voice, for truly nothing was created to be so ruthlessly demolished. That we have not discov- ered the use of every living thing does not prove that aught was given life in vain. Therefore let the Fish Commission raise its voice against the cruel destruction of any living thing over which its prerogatives may reach, thus securing safety not only for the wards of their hatcheries but for the food supply for them and other creatures. That the waters of the partially settled Northwest teem with the most desirable food-fish does not insure their perpetuity against waste nor prove that they will not diminish in numbers when increasing population conjoins with the industries devoted to canning, salting, or drying, even if the business should be operated with economy. The swarming millions are the natural accumulation of centuries of almost uninter rupted reproduction, natives of the country catching only sufficient for their own needs and for the comparatively small trade with the outside world. As the settlement of the country increases there will be gradual diminution of numbers, however carefully the fishing interests are guarded. But if the plan of systematic economy begins at once, there will be no very disadvantageous falling off of the most valuable kinds. We have used the Northwest as an example of the plenitude of nature’s food supply only because the trend of business and commerce leads in that direction, but we could as readily use the Northeast with its former millions of valuable denizens of the bays and rivers and seacoast. Now the cod fisheries are disappointing, some- times the mackerel and herring fail to appear in great numbers, and the fishing villages suffer in proportion. Once, too, the great Chesapeake became choked at seasons when many noble fish swarmed toward their breeding-grounds. It has been written that bushel baskets were filled and sold for no more than one fine shad would cost to-day. The stories of the abundance and cheapness of terrapin compare oddly with the enormous prices to which they have risen, making an expensive luxury of what was once a drug in the markets of Maryland. Bearing these authentic assertions in mind it is safe to say that the Fish Commission has not begun its work too soon unless the people were willing to have the best of all fish become extinct, for neither shad nor salmon, nor any other fish, could hold out against the enormous catches once permitted on the Delaware and Chesapeake, as they are now on the Columbia and Willamette. The idea ought to be suggested that, though the interests of more than one or two nations might make international unity relating to the safety of the seal from destruc- tion very necessary, it could not well include the true fish within that jurisdiction. A NATIONAL FISHERY CONGRESS. 261 moment’s consideration will show the mistake in this. The true fish are nearly as uomadic as the whale or seal and personal property is as readily assured in the one as in the other, in proof of which we may note the salmon before mentioned, the fry of which was placed in the Delaware and other rivers, whose total disappearance for about five years caused the belief that the planting had been a failure, when the discovery of well-grown healthy salmon in those rivers proves that they wandered out to sea, returning when nature directed them to the shallower and less tempestuous waters, presumably for the sake of reproducing their kind. The same can certainly be said of other fish, and doubtless the assertion is true that the mackerel, herring, cod, and halibut of the lower shores belong to the same shoals or schools as those that later swarm to the nets of the Canadian fishermen. Only international protection can secure immunity from future depletion if this be so; and this must not be a threatening attitude of one nation toward another, but a mutually amicable agree- ment, providing that a given number of vessels shall be permitted to fish during fixed legal seasons. At first this may look like a tyrannical blow to the men who depend upon these fisheries for a livelihood, but the result will soon show that such legislation would secure successful catches every season. History will show that the times of disaster, when but few returns are obtained, have in nearly every case succeeded phenomenally enormous catches. Perhaps the bad season does not come directly after the good one; but examine the reports and they will show that large returns have induced a great number of vessels and men to engage in the business, prospect of gain being the incentive to the industry, until in a few years the overproduction results in a falling off, bringing trouble and distress to the towns and villages to which the enterprise naturally belongs. Since the fisher- men of Galilee deplored their long nights of useless toil and waiting for nets to fill there have been men disheartened by failure and consequent distress. The days of miracles have passed away long since, but the increase of intelligence in late genera- tions and the development of talent and genius were, no doubt, intended to supply their place. The law of humane justice must come to the relief and encouragement of our fellow-men, and in no way can this be secured with regard to the fisheries except through an agreement between countries whose contiguous possessions give them equal interests in the inhabitants of the sea or its tributaries. There must not only be laws limiting seasons, but vessels and men, so that no one nation possessing greater facilities for hunting shall take all the fish and leave little or none for their neighbors. International consideration should have been directed to the seal fisheries as soon as the United States made the Territory of Alaska its own. Had that been done the animals would not now be so near extinction. It is sincerely to be hoped that the Fish Commission will not only take these universal protective measures into consider- ation, but that it will urge such legislation upon the intelligence of the proper authorities, else the efforts now made to propagate and greatly increase the number of desirable fish will be eventually futile, as the augmenting quantities will only rempt capital to hurry a war of extermination in the effort to secure all that skill can obtain in a given period. Neither threat nor watchfulness can secure protection half so easily as a friendly understanding upon the subject, which would unquestionably result in an international arrangement tending with equal favor toward the good of everyone engaged in any and every branch of the fisheries. But the protection of fish and other useful water animals must extend farther 262 BULLETIN OF THE UNITED STATES FISH COMMISSION. than a legalized regulation of the fishing season or of the numbers taken; nor will returning unsalable fish to the water quite answer the purpose. Wise protective laws should also be made and enforced by neighboring nations against the pollution of bays, rivers, inlets, ponds, or streams by offal, garbage, chemicals, oil, or any kind of rubbish. Mills in which dye is used should not be allowed to discharge the refuse water into rivers or even small tributary streams containing food-fish, nor should any manufacturing enterprise use the waterways as waste receivers. I note that the laws make mention of the northern logging season, when millions of logs float on fishing waters in Canada and in our own extreme Northeast and Northwest. This seems to be requisite, but it will not do to toss slabs of bark, decaying logs, or broken lumber, or sulphur-charged coal dust on neighboring shores to accumulate as rubbish until storms sweep them again into the streams with augmented power to annoy and sometimes destroy the fish, otter, beaver, or whatever may inhabit the waterways. Nearly all safeguards for the inhabitants of the sea or river will be found to conduce to the general public good as well. Decomposing refuse, whether of animal or vegetable growth, is usually poisonous, working with subtle force upon humanity and breeding pestilential fevers. Dyes are often composed of poisonous material, and they may injure the water used for drinking without marring its transparency. Thus the thoughtful observer readily sees that the requirements of the Fish Commission and the boards of health conjoin, although one protects human health and the other the production of edible or otherwise useful animal life. As for interfering with manufacturers by legislating against dams, they could in every case be so constructed as to allow of a broad waterway for the fish when they enter the inland streams; but this needs vigilant watching. There can be no doubt that the plentiful supply of salmon and other wandering species is largely due to perfect freedom of action in their native haunts. They have spawned when they would, they have roamed dt their will, and with little destruction except that resorted to by man. No nets, no weirs, no dams, no vast heaps of polluted debris have prevailed against their freedom in the northwest streams. Time was when Canadian and northeastern waters were equally prolific. The contrast shows plainly how carefully British Columbia, the United States, and South America should join in the preservation of a most valuable product of every nation with rivers and a seacoast. To-day I would suggest legislation that would preclude the possibility of the beautiful and prolific waterways of our territory, no matter where, from being clogged with rubbish, poisoned with refuse, or blocked by dams and traps. A short time spent in selecting sites for manufacturing towns would secure the proper requirements without wholesale destruction to inferior life. If the effect of perfect protection can not be obtained, the next best thing would be to forbid the use of water polluted by factories as well as the fish therein. But the disastrous drawback to that would be a neighborhood poisoned with effete matter accumulating for years. There will always be fishermen, and there will also be people to consume the fish found by the sports- man; therefore the best way is to keep the waters pure and continue the hatcheries. Legislation will be of no avail, so far as a great part of the United States is concerned, if not agreed to by all States and contiguous countries. In fact the fishing, fur, ivory, whalebone, and oil interests of the whole continent demand international cooperation for the successful protection of the denizens of the sea and other waters extending into it from the shores. With this continental agreement and an American alliance NATIONAL FISHERY CONGRESS. 263 with Russia, Great Britain, Japau, and China for the protection of the great animals of the Pacific, on the west and north, with a like agreement with the owners of Green- land and its island borders and Newfoundland and its neighborhood on the northeast, it would yet be possible to have abundance of all valuable products from the oceans and their tributaries which sparkle in a beautiful, silver network throughout the length and breadth of the lands adjacent. Many wise individuals to day deplore the dilatory attention to national interest that has resulted iu comparative extinction of many really valuable creatures, whose abundance seemed but a few years ago to be inexhaustible. Should not everyone energetically lend his voice and influence to prevent further loss to both individual and Government? A war of extermination of the human inhabitants of remote corners of the country would justly be considered a heathenish, cruel outrage; but is not the destruction of lower animal life in vast multitudes equally cruel? If mankind has its sources of life necessities cut off, they pine and die. Thus we, as a congress, should urge full legal protection, through both home and international laws, for the food-fish upon which a vast number of human beings depend for all that makes life comfortable; while in some places, neglect to pass such laws actually results in suffer- ing and death. We do not deem it right to propose the protection only, but should follow the proposition up by active, earnest work for the desired and needed results. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. THE RESTRICTED INLAND RANGE OF SHAD DUE TO ARTIFICIAL OBSTRUC- TIONS AND ITS EFFECT ON NATURAL REPRODUCTION. By CHARLES H. STEVENSON, Of the United States Fish Commission. There is no species of fish more important to residents of the Atlantic seaboard than the shad, and none whose preservation so immediately concerns a larger number of persons — 24,768 men being actively engaged in this fishery in 1896. True, the yield of codfish is heavier and sells for a greater value, but the fishery for that species is confined to one section of the coast, gives employment to less than half as many men, and its prosecution requires costly vessels and appliances, necessitating lengthy trips from port, with much exposure and loss; whereas, shad occur more or less abun- dantly along the entire coast, ascending the rivers as far as they permit, almost to the very doors of fishermen and consumers, several hundred miles from the sea, and are caught by all forms of apparatus, from the costly pound nets and seines near the coast to the roughly constructed bownets and falltraps in the headwaters. Yet, there are few species whose geographical range and local abundauce are more easily affected by artificial agencies or which require greater attention for their maintenance, and as most of the important shad streams border or traverse two or more States and are thus subject to more than one jurisdiction, the agencies affecting their range and abundance present an appropriate subject for consideration in a gathering of repre seutatives from the different States. No river on the Atlantic seaboard appears too long for shad to ascend to its head- waters, provided they meet with nothing to bar their progress. They ascend the St. Johns in Florida a distance approximating 375 miles; the Altamaha, 300 miles; the Edisto, 281 miles; the Santee, 272 miles; the Neuse, 300 miles, and the Delaware River a distance of 240 miles from the sea. However, these distances do not equal the extreme ranges in the early part of the present century. Then shad ascended the Savannah to Tallulah Falls, a distance of 384 miles, instead of 209 miles as at present. They ran up the Pee Dee to Wilkesboro, a distance of 451 miles, whereas the present limit on that river is Grassy Island, 242 miles from the sea, and only one shad was reported from that point in 1896. On the James Eiver the former run was 350 miles in length, while the present limit is Boshers Dam, 120 miles. The greatest decrease exists in Susquehanna River, in which shad formerly ascended to Binghamton, 318 miles from the mouth and 513 miles by water-course from the sea, whereas at present they do not appear to pass beyond Clarks Ferry, 84 miles from the mouth of the river. From Table A, on page 270, it appears that in 23 of the principal Atlantic coast rivers, aggregating 8,113 miles in length, shad formerly existed throughout 6,052 miles, 265 266 BULLETIN OF THE UNITED STATES FISH COMMISSION. or 74 per cent of the length; whereas at present they are to be found in only 4,107 miles, a decrease of nearly 2,000 miles. This summary comprises ouly the principal rivers, and if minor streams and tributaries were included, the total length from which shad have been excluded would doubtless appear more than twice as great. In much of that length shad were quite numerous, the catch in many instances exceeding the yield in the portion to which the fisheries are now confined. The upper section of the Pee Dee is supposed to have yielded over 100,000 annually. In the James Eiver, according to the late Colonel McDonald, the annual catch of shad in the 230 miles from which they are now excluded “was at one time far in excess of the now (1880) entire catch for the whole river.” The present excluded length of the Susquehanna formerly yielded several hundred thousand annually. In a report of the special commissioners of Massachusetts appointed in 1865 to investigate the fisheries of that State, it was estimated that at the beginning of the present century the annual shad yield in the Merrimac River ranged from 500,000 to 1,000,000 in number, whereas none ascend that river at present. The limitation in the range of shad in the rivers is the result of several agencies in addition to the size of the stream, the most important of which are (1) natural falls, (2) artificial dams, (3) pollution of water, (4) agricultural operations, and (5) extensive fisheries. Natural falls exist at the escarpment line in all of the rivers having their sources above the coastal plane, but in only a few instances are they of sufficient height to form insurmountable obstacles to the range of the shad, among these being Great Falls on the Potomac and Bellows Falls on the Connecticut, which form absolute barriers to the further progress of shad that may reach these points, excluding them from the whole of the river above. Most of the other Atlantic coast streams having their sources above the coastal plane have been made impassable at a short distance above the escarpment line by means of artificial dams for developing water-power or for navigation improvements. In this class are the Savannah, the Santee, the Cape Fear, the James, the Susquehanna, the Housatonic, the Connecticut, the Merrimac, the Kennebec, and the Penobscot. The lengths from which shad are excluded appear in Table A on page 270. Access to suitable spawning areas being a physiological necessity for the main- tenance of the fisheries if natural reproduction is depended on, and as many of the spawning-groundS are located in the headwaters of the rivers, it follows that while the exclusion of shad from the upper sections is the immediate it is not the most important effect of those obstructions. It has been the common experience in all the shad rivers that whenever a high dam or other obstruction has been erected across the stream the fisheries above that point have at once ceased, and those immediately below have for a year or two flourished on the large number whose ascent has been stopped by the barrier and then they, too, have declined. It also appears that the extent of this decrease below the dam is largely dependent on the distance of the obstruction from the mouth of the river and the proportion of the spawning-grounds to which they are denied access, and if all the breeding-grounds have been cut off in a definite coastal regiou the shad have almost entirely disappeared. This is clearly illustrated by the conditions on the Connecticut River. The erection of the Holyoke dam in 1849 prevented the fish from ascending above that point and as they strayed about in the river below the obstruction they were taken in greater abundance than formerly. At the Parsonage fishery near the mouth of the NATIONAL FISHERY CONGRESS. 267 river and 40 miles below the dam, the average shad yield during the 20 years preceding the erection of the obstruction was 9,854 annually; during the 5 years following 1849 the annual catch averaged 19,490; during the next 10 years it was but 8,364, and for the following 6 years, 1864-1870, the annual average was but 4,482 shad, less than one-half the former yield. The record of the total catch on the Connecticut from 1853 to 1896 shows that the yield below the dam decreased from nearly half a million annually to an average of less than one-tenth of that number. In a few rivers the development of water-power has resulted in completely exterminating the anadromous fishes, this being the case in the Thames, the Blackstone, the Merrimac, the Saco, and other rivers. However, instead of the employment of a few hundred persons in taking fish each spring, the water-power on those streams affords employment to thousands of mill operatives. Numerous attempts have been made by the erection of fishways to enable shad to pass above these obstructions, among the costly contrivances being those in the Savannah at Augusta, the Santee at Columbia, the Potomac at Great Falls, the Susquehanna at Clarks Ferry, the Housatonic at Birmingham, the Connecticut at Holyoke, the Merrimac at Lawrence, and the Kennebec at Augusta. The fishway in the dam across the Santee at Columbia, built in 1883, consists of 3£ sections, 36 feet long, with a total rise of 9 feet, and is of the type known as the McDonald fishway, consisting of two sets of buckets, straight wooden buckets to receive the water in its downward flow and curved iron buckets to direct this water back upstream, thus affording a comparatively quiet waterway. It is fairly efficient for certain species when kept free from trash, but shad do not appear to use it. In 1882 an appropriation of $50,000 was made by Congress for the erection of suit- able fishways at Great Falls in the Potomac where the river descends almost abruptly 35 or 40 feet. In 1885 the work of construction was begun, but it was soon abandoned, it being decided that “the fishways were not found sufficiently strong to withstand the effects of the violent floods of the locality in which they were placed.” The fishway over the Holyoke dam on the Connecticut River, one of the largest and most expensive in the country, was built in 1873 after the Brackett plan, a modifi- cation of the Foster fishway. It is 440 feet in length, so divided into compartments or bays, by means of T-shaped partitions extending at right angles to the sides, that the water winds through a long, circuitous course, running about 1,500 feet before it emerges at the lower end. As the height of the dam is 30 feet, the fall of the water averages about 1 foot in 50, with little momentum. But it does not appear that shad have ever passed through this fishway in any numbers. An account of the construction of fishways in the Columbia dam on the Susque- hanna River illustrates the difficulties of making these obstructions passable. This dam is only 7 or 8 feet high, and its disastrous effect on the shad fisheries of the Susquehanna has attracted very general attention to it. The original charter required that a rafting channel should be left in the obstruction. In 1865, in accordance with an act of the Pennsylvania legislature, the company removed a 40-foot section of the dam, and in that space built a new subdam, the top of which was about level with the water below. The lower slope of the subdam was placed at an inclination of 1 in 15, and the sides of the aperture in the main dam were dentated, so as to promote the formation of eddies in the current. This construction did not appear to answer its purposes, and in 1873 the State made an appropriation for another fishway at that point after plans modified from numerous designs submitted in competition. That also 268 BULLETIN OF THE UNITED STATES FISH COMMISSION. proved ineffectual, and in 1880 a fourth passageway was placed iu the darn, this one consisting simply of an opening 125 feet wide, this plan being chosen because it conformed to a natural break, experience having shown that shad passed through such an opening more readily than through any regular fishway that had been constructed. But it is only in very low and little-used dams that such breaks can be made without injury to the original purpose. Although the above-described fishways are modern constructions, designed by engineers of ability, familiar with the principles of hydraulics and the habits of fisli, yet none of them appears to be successful for shad, this fish being so timid that it will not enter fishways readily used by salmon, alewives, and other species. True, a few individuals may pass through some of the fishways, but the number is not sufficiently large to be of any practical value, and in a majority of instances where shad are reported above a dam they have swum over the crest during freshets or have passed through breaks iu the obstruction. The utility of the spawning areas below the dams has also been impaired by chemical, sawdust, and other refuse from mills and towns on the river banks. In a number of small streams these have almost completely destroyed the spawning and feeding areas, but regulations against this practice now exist in most States. Increased agricultural operations have also had some effect on limiting the range of shad up the rivers. At the time of the settlement of the river valleys most of those areas were covered with forests and the ground was carpeted with leaves and moss, which checked the surface flow of water and restricted its evaporation, thus tending to constancy in the flow of rivers; and freshets were rare and of insignificant proportions. With increase of population the forests were cleared away and large areas of laud brought under cultivation, causing injurious meteorological changes and more numerous and destructive floods. During heavy rains the plowed soil upon the hillsides is easily washed into gullies, through which the water is quickly conveyed to the rivers, filling them beyond their capacity and bringing into them masses of earth and other debris, thus covering the spawning-grounds. The freshets are soon over, and the flow of water in the streams becomes so small that shad are not induced to proceed so far up as formerly. On some of the southern streams decreased navigation has resulted in reducing the length of shad range. This is especially true of the Oombahee, the Ashepoo, the Edisto, the Ohickahominy, the Mattaponi, and the Pamunkey, the channels of which are now much encumbered with drifting logs, overhanging trees, brushwood, and shoals of loose, shifting sand, through which a passageway for the ascent of fish was formerly maintained by navigation and the rafting of timber. The most important factor in reducing the inland range is the extensive fisheries near the coast. In the first half of the present century shad were caught all along the river course, every point yielding its quota for local use and the limited demand not warranting the prosecution of the fisheries so vigorously as to cut off the “run” at points above. But the profits derived from shipping shad to populous centers resulted in a concentration of the fisheries at points near the mouths of the rivers where most convenient shipping facilities exist, resulting in certain narrow streams in practically excluding shad from the middle and upper sections where the spawning- grounds are located. The effect is not so apparent as in the case of impassable NATIONAL FISHERY CONGRESS. 269 darns and natural falls, for tlie latter form absolute barriers, whereas extensive fisheries merely limit the number of fish ascending to the extreme range of the river and not the length of that range; yet in many cases they atfect the future abundance of the species even more than the dams and natural falls. This is particularly noticeable in those narrow streams whose fluvial characteristics extend nearly or quite to the sea, as in most of the rivers between the St. Johns and the Neuse, and to some extent in the Susquehanna, the Hudson, the Connecticut, etc. In the Ogeechee, Savannah, Edisto, Pee Dee, and Cape Fear, the great bulk of the catch is obtained in the extreme lower end within 30 or 40 miles of the sea, and comparatively few shad ascend as far as the spawning- grounds. In the Connecticut nearly all the shad are caught within 20 miles of the mouth. The dams in those rivers perform a very unim- portant part in limiting the run of fish, for few shad ever reach those obstructions. In the broad estuaries tributary to the sounds of North Carolina and to the Chesapeake and Delaware bays the effect of netting is not so apparent, yet even in those waters only a small percentage of the shad ever reach the spawning-grounds. Formerly the great bulk of the yield was obtained from the middle and upper sections of the rivers, while at present nearly all the catch is obtained in the lower section and in the salt water of the estuaries. The extension of the fisheries into the estuaries is of recent origin, dating only from the middle of the present century, and their development has been principally during the past twenty years. It requires large and costly apparatus to prosecute the fisheries there, and forms suitable have come into use only quite recently. With the exception of drift nets in Delaware Bay, New York Bay, and one or two less important places, and the mackerel purse-seines, which take a few shad on the New England coast, pound nets and stake nets are the only forms of apparatus employed in catching shad in salt water. Over 90 per cent of the shad caught in the salt water of the Chesapeake region are taken in pound nets, yet the use of that apparatus there dates only from 1865, and not until 1875 were they extensively employed. Stake nets and pound nets, which catch practically all the shad taken in the salt water of North Carolina, have been used in that region only since 1865. At present nearly one-half of the total shad yield on the Atlantic seaboard is obtained in salt water, and those fisheries are becoming more extensive each year. Table B, on page 271, shows that in 1896, 6,252,464 shad, over 47 per cent of the total yield, were caught in regions which half a century ago yielded none whatever; this in some measure compensating for the 4,000 miles of river-course from which they are now wholly excluded and the lengths from which the exclusion is partial. It thus appears that the principal change in the fisheries during the past fifty years has been one of location rather than extent of the total yield, the great increase in the estuaries compensating for the decrease in the headwaters. This change in the fishing-grounds results in a large portion of the fish being taken before they reach the spawning areas in fresh water, thereby preventing them from adding their quota to future supply almost as effectually as though they were excluded therefrom by means of dams or otherwise. But the same result is accomplished when the fish are caught after they have reached those areas and before they have spawned. Furthermore, moving the seines and other apparatus of capture over the spawning-grounds disturbs and drives away the fish from those areas, and also destroys many of the eggs and young shad already there. 270 BULLETIN OF THE UNITED STATES FISH COMMISSION. Access to suitable spawuing-grouuds iu sufficient numbers to compensate for loss by capture and natural causes is a physiological necessity for the maintenance of the fisheries if dependence is placed on natural reproduction. But from the foregoing it appears that the construction of dams has excluded shad from a large portion of the spawning-grounds, notwithstanding the erection of fishways in those obstructions; sawdust, chemicals and other refuse and agricultural operations have greatly impaired the utility of the spawning areas even now available, and the extensive fisheries have very largely decreased the number of the shad reaching those areas. These adverse agencies have reduced natural reproduction to almost an insignificant factor in the maintenance of the present fisheries and have rendered artificial propagation essen- tial to their prosperity. During the seventies the returns of the fisheries reached a minimum ; then the results of artificial propagation began to appear, not only restor- ing the former abundance of shad, but even increasing the catch. The total shad yield on the Atlantic coast and rivers in 1880 numbered 5,162,315; in 1888 it was increased to 10,181,605; in 1896 it was further increased to 13,067,469, 29 per cent greater than in 1888 and nearly three times as great as in 1880. While this increased yield was preceded by an increase in the quantity of apparatus used, yet it was made possible by the greater abundance of shad, due to artificial propaga- tion. Comparing 1880 with 1896, it is observed that the increase in the yield numbered 7,905,154. At 20 cents each, which is the average price paid by consumers, this rep- resents an increase of $1,581,030 in the value, over 50 times the expenditures for shad propagation; a result probably unsurpassed in any other line of public appropriation. The large number of persons employed in this fishery and the present inability of natural reproduction to maintain the supply make it essential that no decrease be made in this important branch of fish-culture. A. — Summary of the original and of the present limit of shad range in twenty-three of the principal rivers of the Atlantic seaboard. St. Johns Altamaha Ogeechee Savannah Edisto Pee Deo Cape Fear Neuse Pamlico-Tar Roanoke James Rappahannock . . . Potomac Susquehanna Delaware Hudson Housatonic Connecticut Morrimac Kennebec Penobscot Distance of sources above coast line. Original limit of shad run. Sources Macon Ogeechee Shoals Tallulah Falls . . Sources Great Falls Green River Wilkesboro Haywood Sources Rocky Mount . . . Weldon Falmoutli Fa'lis . Great Falls Binghamton Deposit Glens Falls Falls Village . . . Bellows Falls... Winnepesaukee Caralunk Falls . Distance from coast line. Present limit of shad run. Distance Locality. from coast line. Miles. Sources 375 Hawkinsville 300 Millen 100 Augusta Dam 209 Jones Bridge 281 Great Falls 272 Columbia 233 Grassy Island 242 Stanley Falls 181 Fish dam 300 Rocky Mount 157 Weldon 249 Boshers Dam 140 Falmouth Falls . . . 155 Great Falls 190 Clarks Ferry 279 Burrows Bam .... Troy 164 Birmingham 92 Windsor Locks. - 89 Lawrence 20 Augusta 44 Verona 35 NATIONAL FISHEKY CONGRESS. ‘271 B. — Comparative statement of the total yield and of the salt-water yield of shad on the Atlantic seaboard during 1896. Water areas. Total yield. Yield in salt water. Number. Value. Number. Per cent. St. Johns River 456, 281 $61, 924 291, 116 63. 59 St. Marys River 10, 193 1,754 0. 00 1,500 240 0. 00 Altamaha River 29, 377 10, 096 0. 00 Ogeechee River 55, 425 19, 514 12, 054 21.75 Savannah River 54, 406 19, 236 7, 480 13.54 Combahea River 3,090 622 0.00 Ashepoo River 6, 880 1, 381 0. 00 28, 273 5, 843 0. 00 Cooper River 396 126 0. 00 7, 309 1, 547 0. 00 Winyah Bay and tributaries 97, 685 23, 031 53, 379 54. 95 Cape Fear River 75, 315 18, 964 29, 151 38. 71 Pamlico Sound 448, 089 109, 727 448, 089 100. 00 Neuse River 207, 052 39, 067 82, 238 39. 72 Pamlico-Tar River 67, 082 13,316 18, 873 28. 13 Croatan and Roanoke Sounds 169. 541 33, 201 169, 541 100. 00 Albemarle Sound 735, 192 140, 159 186,290 25. 34 Roanoke River 169, 409 20, 489 0. 00 Chowan River 183, 545 34, 422 0. 00 Pasquotank and Perquimans rivers. 41, 579 7, 898 0. 00 Chesapeake Bay 1, 638, 844 167, 929 1, 428, 327 87.15 James River and tributaries 495, 762 51, 247 100, 379 20.25 York River and tributaries 546, 548 50, 361 182, 375 33. 69 Mobjack Bay 140, 777 13, 874 140, 777 100. 00 Rappahannock River 417, 789 35, 371 194, 067 46.45 Potomac River 684, 013 63, 608 210, 480 30. 76 Nanticoke River and tributaries 216, 288 20, 667 42, 405 19. 60 Choptank River and tributaries 338,420 35, 810 136, 972 40. 44 Susquehanna River 140, 087 20, 153 0. 00 Miscellaneous 249, 021 31, 736 29, 851 13. 59 Delaware Bay 1, 103, 821 104, 761 1, 103, 821 100. 00 Delaware River 2, 778, 803 300, 598 976, 669 35.13 Miscellaneous rivers .... 134, 838 21, 147 0. 00 Ocean Shore of New Jersey 16, 240 3, 518 13, 765 84. 75 New York Bay 216, 425 30, 941 213, 925 98. 89 Hudson River 602, 858 83, 237 0. 00 Great South Bay and Gardner Bay 4, 755 1, 092 4, 755 100. 00 Long Island Sound 9,427 2,399 9, 427 100. 00 Connecticut River 51, 690 9, 508 0. 00 Miscellaneous Rivers 13, 202 3, 324 0. 00 Ocean Shore of Rhode Island 1,151 287 1, 151 100. 00 Narragansett Bay and tributaries 15, 836 4, 071 2, 163 12. 17 Buzzards Bay and Yineyard Sound 3, 385 834 3, 385 100. 00 Cape Cod anti Massachusetts hays 33, 082 1, 468 33, 082 100. 00 Casco Bay 64, 490 3,580 64, 490 100. 00 Kennebec River and tributaries 290, 122 26, 357 55, 9,87 19. 30 Penobscot and other Maine rivers 12, 126 941 6, 000 49. 48 Total 13, 067, 469 1, 651, 376 6, 252, 464 47.85 Washington, D. C. THE GREEN TURTLE, AND THE POSSIBILITIES OF ITS PROTECTION AND CONSEQUENT INCREASE ON THE FLORIDA COAST. By RALPH M. MUNROE. Early travelers on the tropical coasts of America made much mention of the abun- dance of turtles which were to be seen in the waters at all times and on the beaches in the spring season engaged in laying their eggs. How many of these belonged to the species Clielonia mydas is mere conjecture, for, aside from the tables of the rich and the cabins of the mariner, to the latter of which it often came as a Godsend in times of hunger and scurvy, it was comparatively unknown, and as other species were edible and somewhat similar in appearance, the old chroniclers put them all under the one head of turtle. As a matter of fact, the loggerhead ( Thalassochelys caretta ), common now on our coast, when not oversized and when properly butchered and cooked, is not to be despised by a man even not hungry, and so also the hawksbill ( Eretmoclielys inibricata ), from which comes the tortoise shell of commerce. With the advent of steam vessels, penetrating as they do the labyrinths of the West Indian islands and adjacent coasts, enabling the perishable tropical products to be transported in safety, the green turtle has become a more common food and less of a luxury in our seaboard cities, and, as most people take kindly to it, the demand has increased with the usual result in connection with natural products, a growing scarcity and higher prices. Being, as it is, a nutritious delicacy, it is quite time that its habits, reproduction, and methods of capture should be looked into before its enforced classi- fication with the extinct reptiles, even if this should be an event far distant; and it might be well worth our time and attention to reduce, by cultivation and protection, the present rather prohibitive price of a valuable food. As is the case with very much of marine life, but little is known as to the habits of the green turtle. Its food is a marine grass growing on the bottoms of lagoons and bays more or less shallow. It mates on the Florida coast in the month of May, or thereabouts, the females with eggs, except in rare cases, at once disappearing from these waters, and, uutil recently, going no one knew where, but it may now be asserted that their hatching-grounds are the beaches of various isolated islands off Central America or the Bahama banks. How this migration is accomplished across the Gulf Stream for hundreds of miles is past comprehension. As high as four hatches of eggs, containing from 130 to 180 each, are believed to be laid by one female during the months of June, July, and August, and the process is not repeated until an interval of one or two years has elapsed. Incubation takes from ten to twelve weeks. We have little information as to where the young that escape the gulls and other birds on the beach, the fish and sharks, pass their time on entering the water again like their F.C.B.1897— 18 273 274 BULLETIN OF THE UNITED STATES FISH COMMISSION. elders, until we occasionally see them in what is called the chicken stage of growth, so called from the resemblance of their flesh to that of the feathered barnyard favorite. The foregoing few items are about all that is known as to habits, but sufficient seems to be established to form a reasonable hypothesis that much might be done toward protecting the young and possibly caring for them until of marketable size. At present the probabilities are that but an exceedingly small number survive the first week of existence, as low, perhaps, as 2 to 3 per cent. To prevent this loss may or may not be an extremely simple problem, depending on whether turtles will mate and deposit eggs in suitably inclosed feeding-grounds, or if the female alone, in a con- dition to lay (these average about 20 per cent of the catch in May and June on one reef at present), will carry out her maternal functions in captivity. If these two points are negative, then is it feasible to import the eggs from the foreign depositories, consider- ing the expense and possible complications as to ownership! And, lastly, would our supposed food areas prove sufficient and suitable? The latter point, I think, can be favorably answered, as our lagoons have long been known as feeding-places for the smaller turtles, and it is fair to suppose that the younger ones could find, in the same localities, a diet congenial to them; therefore, if no serious obstacles were found in their production, the subsequent existence up to the age of taking care of themselves seems assured, and at a trifling cost, after once hatched. The statistics in regard to this branch of our fisheries are meager and of little value. The few at hand seem to show that the average catch of mature turtles along the reef by nets in the past twenty years seems to be but slightly diminished. When the fleet is augmented by boats and men, the catch per boat decreases and vice versa, but it is very evident, from personal observation covering the same period, that our feeding-grounds or inshore resorts for the smaller and more valuable sizes have become almost depleted. This results apparently not from excessive fishing, but probably from the gradual capture on the outer grounds of females which occasionally depart from the instinct of going to remote places for incubation and lay their eggs on home shores; for it is hardly possible that the young from the distant hatcheries across the Gulf Stream should find their way back until fully matured and able to cope with their natural enemies in transit. For verification of some mooted points, and for additional information on others, I am indebted to Mr. B. Vincent Archer, a lifelong fisher and close observer of the green turtle in these waters. Cocoanut Grove, Florida. SOME FACTORS IN THE OYSTER PROBLEM. By H. F. MOORE, Assistant , United States Fish Commission. The annual product of the oyster-beds of the United States is estimated to be worth $L7,000,000, approximately one- third of the entire yearly value of our fisheries. Geographically this income is very unequally distributed, the eight maritime States between Cape Cod and Cape Henry receiving 90 per cent and the same number of States south of Cape Henry, notwithstanding their greater coast line, but 7 per cent. While there are good economic reasons why the oyster yield from Virginia north- ward should be greater than from North Carolina southward, it may well be doubted if there be sufficient reason for the great discrepancy that now exists in the produc- tion of the two regions. The northern beds are, generally speaking, in the midst of our densest population and in the vicinity of our greatest cities. About GO per cent of our population dwells in the compact area lying north of North Carolina and Tennessee and east of the Mississippi River. Such populous cities as Boston, New York, Philadelphia, Baltimore, and Washington are within a few hours travel of ihe beds, and the cities on the Great Lakes and in the interior of the middle West are scarcely a day’s journey removed. Oysters are more commonly consumed in such places rather than in more sparsely settled regions. In rural districts the oyster is looked upon as a luxury rarely to be enjoyed, but in the cities and towns of the East they are a familiar article of diet even among the poor. So far, then, as the near-by demand is concerned, the Northern oystermen are incom parably more favored than their Southern brethren, but certain advantages which the South possesses should to some exteut offset this and enable the Southern growers to obtain more equitable distribution of the business and its accruing profits. It has been to some extent demonstrated that the distance of the Southern beds from the Northern market is not an insuperable bar to profitable competition, but, granting that the oysters from the Gulf coast can not compete in the markets of the Atlantic sea- board north of the Chesapeake, there still remains a large field which may be entered upon with advantage. Dealing with air line distances, Baltimore is nearly 400 miles nearer Chicago than is Mobile, the nearest important city on the Gulf coast; but westward of the Mississippi the Gulf States can compete on equal or superior terms, so far as distance is concerned, with any of the great oyster markets of the East. Geographically, there- fore, they are more favorably situated with regard to 80 per cent of our territory and 40 per cent of our population than are the States of the North Atlantic coast. As many of you are aware, oysters have for some years been shipped from Gulf ports to Chicago and other trans- Appalachian cities, and dealers in several places are carrying on trade with the entire region west of the Mississippi, even as far as the shores of the Pacific, and there appears to be no sufficient economic reason why this trade should not be vastly increased. 275 276 BULLETIN OF THE UNITED STATES FISH COMMISSION. After speaking of the arrest in the development of the canning industry at Apalachicola, Lieutenant Swift, in his excellent report upon that region, comments as follows: That the canning business can not be carried on to any great extent for any length of time is due to the fact that the supply of oysters is insufficient to supply the demand, notwithstanding that the packers have used every means they could to preserve the oyster-beds by refusing to take oysters under proper size, or out of season, or not properly culled, as well as alternating the use of different beds each season. This is perhaps an extreme case, yet sooner or later, corresponding with the wisdom with which the oyster question is administered, there must result a similar depreciation Of the natural beds along the entire coast. I can see no hope of the continued productiveness of our natural beds if they are made to bear the brunt of the yearly increasing demand. How to forestall the destruction of the natural oyster-reefs and how in a measure to prevent it by lessening the demands made upon them are the questions with which this paper sets out to deal. Those who have studied the problem are a unit in the belief that the solution lies in the general adoption of oyster-culture under private ownership and as a result of private enterprise. Government can do but little. Wise laws rigidly and judiciously enforced can stimulate private ventures and retard reck- less waste of the public possessions, but our oyster-beds can never be repopulated by the methods which have in many cases proven so beneficial in restocking our streams with food and game fish. It is not my purpose to deal here with the methods and details of oyster-culture, as these subjects have been recently treated of in the publi- cations of the U. S. Fish Commission,1 but rather in a general way to point out the conditions which make for success and to consider in an equally general manner the extent to which those conditions are fulfilled on the Gulf coast from Florida to Texas. The Gulf States present many physical and biological characters which render them especially favorable to oyster-culture, and they also present some serious draw- backs. In determining the qualifications of any given region six important factors have to be considered — (1) density of the water, (2) temperature of the water, (3) char- acter and consistency of the bottom, (4) the quantity of oyster food, (5) the presence or absence of enemies, and (6) the character of the legislation and the success with which it is enforced. Each of these factors with its cognates will be considered in turn. DENSITY OF WATER. If a chart of the oyster-grounds of the Atlantic and Gulf seaboards were prepared it would show that the oyster is confined almost exclusively to bays, sounds, and estuaries, and that it is never found in places remote from inflowing streams. On the other hand, it is sooner or later killed when exposed to the fresh water or that which is nearly fresh, and it is therefore only where the fresh and saltwaters blend that it is able to establish itself and thrive. It is customary to measure the salinity of sea water by weight, an equivalent bulk of distilled water being accepted as the unit of compari- son. So expressed, the best conditions of salinity for our eastern oysters are met when the density measures between 1.009 and 1.020. Oysters will live indefinitely in a density 4 degrees below or 2 degrees above the limit stated, but Ihey then rarely or never attain their best conditions of shape, flavor, and general excellence. Prolonged See Report U. S. Fish Commission 1897, pp. 263-340. NATIONAL FISHERY CONGRESS. 277 exposure to a density of less than 1.005 or more than 1.022, if not fatal to the individ- uals, is at least fatal to the species, as young are not produced to take the place of the old ones which are dying off. In many places where the salinity is favorable during a large part of the year it happens that at certain seasons a heavy influx of fresh water produces a temporary reduction below the desired minimum. This appears to be particularly liable to occur on the Gulf coast, where many great streams and innumerable small ones become swollen by the rains and discharge large quantities of fresh water close to the oyster- beds. Two facts, however, tend to mitigate the evil which might result. In the first place the oyster is able to tightly close its shell when subjected to objectionable conditions, and thereby the fresh water may be for a time excluded, anti Professor Washburn has recently shown that they will live for upward of ten days in the water of running brooks. Then, too, the fresh water, being lighter than the salt or brackish, tends to spread over the surface of the bays into which it is discharged, and it is usually found that the bottom density is greater than the surface density, even after long-continued freshets. The changes are therefore more gradual and less radical than if the salt water were driven, out before the fresh, and the oyster finds conditions more favorable at bottom than it would be subjected to if it were a surface-dwelling organism. In selecting planting grounds the question of liability to the influence of freshets should always be given consideration, as disaster may result from its neglect. TEMPERATURE OF THE WATER. Adult oysters are not ordinarily adversely affected by temperatures ranging between the freezing point and 90° F. Those upon flats exposed at low water are olten frozen during the winter and subjected to the high temperatures of the direct rays of the summer sun, and yet many of them live to a ripe old age measured by the span of an oyster’s life. During the spawning season, however, a temperature too low or too high, or changes too sudden and too violent, will either kill the spat or prevent spawning altogether. In the Long Island and Chesapeake regions cold rains and periods of low thermometer are not infrequent in summer, and multitudes of oysters iu their swimming stage end their career in sudden adversity. On the Gulf coast such fatalities are of less frequent occurrence, and the probabilities of obtaining a set, other things being equal, is correspondingly enhanced. CHARACTER OF THE BOTTOM. To be suitable for oyster-culture the bottom should be of such consistency as will prevent the oysters becoming engulfed iu the mud or covered by shifting sands or ooze. The several surveys that have beeu made of the Gulf coast by the Fish Commission indicate that suitable bottom, unoccupied by a natural growth of oysters, may be found with but little eflort. These sections of our coast, however, appear to be rather more liable than the northern oyster-grounds to shiftiugs of the bottom by stormy seas, and the prospective oyster- grower should not be misled by deceptive appearances, as a loose sand in shallow water exposed to heavy or even moderate wave action may in a short time change its location in a manner disastrous to the planter. With large areas of suitable bottom open to occupation, it is not necessary to point out to the Gulf coast oyster-grower the means by which his Connecticut brother has made available to his purposes many thousand acres of bottom by nature wholly unadapted to the oyster. 278 BULLETIN OF THE UNITED STATES FISH COMMISSION. ABUNDANCE OF FOOD. That the nature of the food supply is a consideration of the utmost importance requires no demonstration. The conditions which make an abundant food supply are complex, depending upon density, temperature, and especially the supply of inorganic materials in solution in the water. The bulk of the oyster food consists of diatoms, which, although endowed with powers of locomotion, are nevertheless plants, and acquire their nourishment from the same class of substances as do the common plants about us. It is true that they have no roots penetrating the soil in search of saline solutions, aud they spread no broad foliage in quest of atmospheric oxygen and carbon dioxide, but the whole plant is bathed in the nutritive sea water, from which they receive their supply of liquid aud gaseous food. If the water be impoverished of salts the same adverse conditions obtain as in barren and exhausted fields and the growth of plaut life is in the same manner diminished. Now, how is the Gulf coast situated as regards this inorganic material, indirectly, but no less imperatively, neces- sary to the growth of the oyster? Along the entire shore line there are numerous streams of all sizes which bring down mineral matter derived from the soil and nitro- genous substances from the decomposition of the rank vegetation of marshes, swamps, and fertile fields. Some of these materials are in solution, and at once avail- able for conversion into oyster food through the medium of the microscopic plants already mentioned, but a large quantity is held merely in suspension, to be deposited on contact with salt water and slowly passed into solution through the lapse of time. With the abundance of food thus furnished, and nurtured by the warmth of semi- tropical waters, it is not surprising that microscopic plant life should flourish. The rate of growth of the oj-ster depends upon the rate with which it is supplied with food. When well fed its growth is rapid; when poorly fed its increase is slow. In one locality an oyster may reach a growth of 6 inches in two years, and in another place the same size is not attained under four or five years. On some of the more profitable beds in Long Island Sound the latter is the case, while last summer, in Plaquemines Parish, Louisiana, I saw oysters 6 inches long which, from known data, could not have been over 23 months old and may have been slightly less, and there are doubtless many places on the Gulf coast where the growth is equally rapid. This rapidity of maturation is an important matter to the oyster culturist. He is able to receive quicker and greater returns for a given area and a given investment of capi- tal, and his beds are less liable to disaster and recuperate more rapidly than if the growth be slow. Large oysters are less readily covered by deposits of mud and sand than smaller ones, and are more rarely destroyed by enemies, the latter usually proving more destructive before the shells have become thick and the adductor muscle strong. The drill is comparatively harmless to an oyster after it reaches a length of 3 inches, and the starfish opens and the drumfish crushes large oysters with much less facility than small ones. It follows that the mortality on a bed of well grown oysters is less than when they are small, and the more rapid the growth the less the death rate from extrinsic agencies. The value which an oyster possesses in the market is dependent largely upon its fatness and flavor, and both of these are principally and primarily dependent upon its food. Oysters may reach a large size, yet not become fit for the market, and in certain parts of the Atlantic coast the difficulty has been keenly felt by those engaged in oyster-culture. The United States Fish Commission is now experimenting with a view to enable plauters to fatten their oysters at will, but deli NATIONAL FISHERY CONGRESS. 279 nite results have not yet been reached. It may be stated, in passing, that these experiments have nothing in common with the pernicious process of plumping through the osmotic influences of fresh or brackish water. ENEMIES. The Gulf coast is fortunate in its comparative immunity from enemies of the oyster. Two of the most destructive inhabitants of oyster-beds in the North, the starfish and drill, are practically harmless in the South, and to those familiar with the vast amount of money and energy annually expended in protecting the beds of Long Island this fact is very significant. In six years the vessels of one deep-water planter caught nearly 10,000 bushels of starfish, and another in a single year is said to have expended $90,000 in protecting his beds from the same pest. There are, however, certain enemies on the Gulf coast which do more or less harm. The drum fisli is apparently more destructive than in the North, and the sheepshead is said to also do considerable harm. Should either of these fish prove troublesome it would be quite feasible, as has been demonstrated on the Pacific coast, to protect many of the planted beds by stockades or fences. The economic practicability of the plan, however, would be conditioned by the price of oysters and the location of the beds which it is sought to protect. The conch and a somewhat allied gasteropod, the crown shell, known to naturalists as Melongena corona , are said to cause more or less harm to oysters in the Gulf. Mr. Joseph Wilcox, of Philadelphia, says in regard to the latter that they are able to insert their long tongues or proboscides between the valves of the oyster and then leisurely destroy it. He further says that upon one occasion he picked up on the west coast of Florida a cluster of oysters with 20 Melongenas attached. Owing to the comparatively large size of these forms it is probable that by exercising care to destroy the animals and their egg capsules whenever found much could be done toward securing some immunity from their inroads. Summing up, we find that the Gulf coast possesses both advantageous and dis- advantageous features from the oyster- grower’s point of view. The advantages are principally biological; the disadvantages, economical. The physical conditions are mainly favorable, but occasionally disastrous. The temperature and density are both suitable over a large part of the region, enemies are comparatively few, food is abundant, and the growth and recuperation of the beds rapid; labor is cheap and the weather is less likely to interfere with operations than in the North, where oystermen are often compelled to work in intense cold and on boisterous seas. The disadvantages have principally to do with the freshets and crevasses which at certain seasons are liable to lower the density and deposit sediment upon the oysters, the occasional severe storms and tidal wav