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MacCallum, Chairman of the Ontario Fish and Game Commiasion. Sir, — I have the honour to transmit herewith a Preliminary Report on the Fish and Fisheries of Ontario. y^our Commission had originally intended to collate the information recfdved ia answer to a series of questions distributed to persons interested in the subject throughout the Province. The answers, however, appeared to indicate that a Preliminary Report containing a synopsis of what har already been published iu regard to it, with descriptions and figures of the species of fish occurring in Ontario, would tend not only to render more precise the replies to future investigations of 3'our Commission, but also to awaken a widespread interest in the whole matter In preparing this synopsis I have been chiefly indebted to the publications of the U. S. Fish Commission, which has with great liberality furnished the illustrative plates, but I have consulted, where necessary, the Dominion Fishery Reports and the Reports of the Ontario Crown Lands Department, as well as other available sources of information. The first section of the Report deals with geographical considerations likely to aflect the distribution of the various species of fish occurring within the waters of the Province, the heights above sea-level, depths and temperatures being indicated where possible. This is followed by a short account of the natural history of fish sufficient to explain the technical terms used by Ichthyologists in distinguishing the various species. Attention is called to the desirability of the extension of our knowledge as to the conditions of life of our food-fishes. The third section furnishes a detailed account of the natural history of the species of fi.sh reported from the Province, .special attention being given to those of economic importance. Thereafter the statistics contained in Dominion Reports and the legislative enactments of the Dominion Government as far as these affect Ontario are summarized, and the adequacy of the close seasons fixed considered. A short account of the apparatus employed in catching fish and the methods of preparing them for the market follows, succeeded by a discussion of the causes of and remedies for reported decreases in the catch of fish. Finally the problems are indicated which would occupy the attention of a Permanent Fish Commission for the Province of Ontario. I have the honour to be. Sir, Yours respectfully, R. RAMSAY WRIGHT. I t ,1 ^v GEOGRAPHICAL CONSIDERATIONS. .: [ The Province of Ontario, it is said, owes its poetic Indian name to its ' beautiful prospect of hills and waters." It is with the inhabitants of the latter that the present section of this Report deals, and it appears therefore to be an indispensable preliminary that some j^eneral account of the geographical disposi- tion of tho numerous lakes and rivers of the Province should be given. The most important of these furnish the boundaries which separate Ontario from the United States on the south and from the neighbouring parts of tho Dominion of Canada on the east and north-west. Thus the international boundary line between the Province and the States of New York, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Michigan, Wisconsin and Minnesota passes through the River St. Lawrence and the chain of the Great Lakes, then by Pigeon River and the head- waters of Rainy I^ake and River to the Lake of the Woods, a distance of some 1,000 miles, while the north-west boundary line, which separates it from Manitoba and Keewatin, stretches for some SOO miles through English River, Lac Seul, Lake Joseph and the Albany River to the mouth of the latter in Hudson's Bay. From this point, the northern boundary — the Ontario sea- coast — extends for 250 miles along James' Ray to a point midway between Hannah Ray House and the mouth of the Nottawa River and due north of the head of Lake Temiscaming. The meridian which joins this point and the head of the lake forms an artificial boundary line of 275 miles in length between this part of Ontario and the North-Eastern Territory on the east, which is completed further south and east through a stretch of another 500 miles by the natural boundary, separating it from the Province of Quebec, formed by the lake above named and the magnificent Ottawa River which issues from it. The territory so bounded contains upward of 200,000 square miles, and its most distant points from east to west and from north to south are respectively upwards of 1,000 and 700 miles apart. AH the wateirs named, and others included within the area of the Province belong to two great water-systems, the Hudson's Bay system in the north, and the St. Lawrence system in the south. The water- shed separating these — the so-called " Height of Land " — extends, so far as it lies within the Province, south and west from Lake Abittibe to within 100 miles of the north channel of Lake Huron, and then runs parallel therewith, and with the •coast line of Lake Superior, occasionally approaching within 50 miles of the coast or receding, as, for example, rcund Lake Neepigon, to a distance of 150 miles. West of Lake Neepigon, the height of land approaches Thunder Bay between Dog Lake and Lake Shebandowan wfiijh belong to the St. Lawrence system on the one hand, arid Lac des Milles Lacs, which is tributary to the Hudson's Bay system on the other. It then crosses the international boundary at a point immediately west of Arrow Lake. At no point does the height of land attain any great elevation above the sea ; the highest levels la fact are reached comparatively abruptly from the shores of the Great Lakes, and the height of land is therefore constituted by the most elevated tracts of a great plateau extending between the Great Lakes and J ames' Bay. 424 The gdoloofical cliaracter of this plateau, which forms by far the greater part of the Province of Ontario, affords ho complete an explanation of the very charac- teristic inland waters of the Province, that some reference thereto will assist the reader in forming a conception of their arrangement. A line drawn from the outlet of Lake Ontario, (near Kingston) to Matche- dash Bay in the Georgian Bay, (near Midk.nd in the accompanying map), divides Ontario into two very unequal parts. The northern part is almost entirely formed of rocks of the Laurentian and Huronian series, consisting largely of gneiss and crystalline limestones, which, although apparently altered in their structure, present evidence of being the most ancient sedimentary rocks, and have on this account been termed Archiean. They offer, however, a very different degree of resistance to the eroding and transporting powers of water than do the more rycent sedimentary rocks which have not undergone metamorphosis, and thus, insteid of continuous river channels, we have series of irregular depressions and clefts converted into lakes by the accumulation of rain and melted snow, and connected with each other by st)ort rapid rivers and falls. This country is generally tlensely wooded, and in many places, owing to th' protrusion of the crystalline rocks through the surface clays, unfitted for agriculture, but neverthe- less there are largo areas, especially north of the height of land, where the rocks are not exposed and which consequently furnish large tracts of arable land. Only two regions north of the line referred to are underlaid by rocks of more recent origin than the Huronian and Laurentian series. These are firstly, the triangular tongue between the Ottawa and St. Lawrence Rivers as far west as a line drawn from Brockvil'e to Arnprior, which is underlaid \}y Cambrian and Lower Silurian strata ; and secondly, the northern Paheozoic area of James' Bay, a low, level and swampy region, free from rocks and lakes, extendiiif4 from the south-west shore of the bay towards the height of land, and involving a consider- able part of the area traversed by the Albany and Moose Rivers. This region, whose steadily flowing rivers, uninterrupted by lakes, present a difference batween high and low water mark of about ten feet, necessarily offers somewhat different conditions of life to the finny tribe than the Laurentian region. It is surrounded by a curved rim of Archaean rocks, the unyielding nature of which brings it about that the rivers flowing towards James' Bay meet with a great and rapid descent at the point where they pour over it. The Long Portage of the Abittibe River, marked in the accompanying map, indicates the position of this rim at the point in question. It is similary situated in the Moose and Albany Rivers, but the sides of the rim converge northward to the shores of James' Bay. The second and very much smaller part of Ontario is that south of the line described above. It is underlaid by Silurian and Devonian strata in ascending geological order from north to south and west, and is crossed by the great Niagara escarpment, an abrupt rise which extends from the Niagara River by Hamilton, Georgetown, etc., to Cabot's Head in the Georgian Bay. Both east and west of this rise, the country, which forms a continuous tract of fertile farming land, presents a very different aspect from the rugged landscape of the northern Archaean region. On the east the surface is more undulating, the ground gradually rising from Lake Ontario in a series of ridges composed of dri*'t materials to a height of some 700 feet. Soine lakes, like Rice Lake and Lake Scugog, are situated in the midst of these drift ridges, others are situated along the line of junction with the Archaean regitn to the north. To the west of the escarpment on the other hand, the land slopes away gently towards Lake Huron and LaVe Erie, and although, as we shall see, important rivers find their way into both these lakes, yet it differs from the country to the east in the absence of small Inland lakes. f d t d 8 « 1 T . T 425 Aftct this short preliminary sketch of the geography of the Pr3vineo, some further details are necessary as to the waters bounding and inclosed by the sub- divisions described. Most important, of course, are the Great Lakes, indeed, it is thev alone which are at present important from an economic standpoint, but it is desirable from a scientihc point ot view that both of the great water-systems should be considered with the view of eliciting information as to the differences in the fish-fauna of each, THE GREAT LAKES. These magnificent expanses of fresh water form part of a semicircle of lakes stretching from the Pacific ocean to the Atlantic concentrically with Hudson's Bay, viz. — Great Bear Lake, Slave Lake, Athabasca, WoUaston, Deer Lake, Lake Winnipeg, Lake Manitoba, T^ke ot the Woods, Superior, Huron. Erie, Ontario and the St. Lawrence. They are considered to represent the ancient shore of the ocean retiring before a rising continent. Many curious facts as to the inhabi- tants of the.se lakes are intelligible if we bear in mind the physical changes which geologists tell us they have undergone in the past. :-\> \ i Lake Superior, the largest expanse of fresh water on the globe, forms an in- exhaustible reservoir for the St. Lawrence system, containing, as it has been bs- timated to do, some 4,000 cubic miles of water. Its north shore is bold and picturesque, varying in height from 300 to 1,300 feet, and deeply indented in some parts, where innumerable harbours facilitating commerce and fisheries are formed. Its greatest length is some 420 miles, measured on a curve from east to west ; its greatest breadth is 160, while its area has been calculated at 32,000 square miles. Taking into consideration its great depth (in some places it reaches 1,200 feet), it is not wonderful that such a large body of water should materially in- fluence the temperature of its shores, and should not be easily affected by sea- sonal alteration.s. The temperature of its surface waters in July has been ob- served to be aO'^F (= 4*^ C), that of the atmosphere being 51*. (10.5* C), while the thermometer at .some distance in the interior registered TO*-' and 80* (=25*- 26° 0). The waters of the lake are derived from a basin drained by more than two hundred streams ; several of these are of considerable size, but almost all are im- petuous torrents, descending from the height of land for 50 to 150 miles. Pro- ceeding from the head of the lake eastwards, the most considerable are the Kam- inistiquia, the Neepigon, the Pic rn the north, the Michipicoten, the Agawa, the Montreal, the Batchawaung and the Goulais on the east side. Of these, the Kam- inistiquia is the only one navigable for large vessels for any distance from its mouth ; it flows into Thunder Bay at Fort William. The Kakabeka Falls^ situated near the fork of the branches draining Lake Shebandowan and Dog Lake, are said to be scarcely inferior in grandeur to the Falls of Niagara. The Neepigon River, the largest on the north shore, takes its origin in Lake Neepigon, an oval sheet of water 30 miles north-west of Lake Superior, and 313 feet higher than that lak<^ ; it discharges itself through several small lakes and a wide deep channel into Neepigon Bay. The water of this river and lake, so celebrated for the large speckled trout with which they swarm, has earned for the lake its Indian name, which signifies " Deep Clearwater Lake." The lake» 426 whicli measures 120 miles in l(!n;,'th l»y OO in liroadtlj, is xtremity, that the i^roat fall occurs over the Niagara escarpment, so that in its stn.'tch of .'{(I nnlea from Lake Krie to Lake Ontario a difference of levels of 2.'i0 feet is achieved, two-thirds of which is accomplished at the Falls. Lake Ontario is iSo miles wide, 40 hroad, and has a maximum depth of fiOO-700 feet. Few rivers of im[)ortance fall in on the North Shore ; of these the Trent, which, with the aid of its trihutary, the Otonabee River, drains several small lakes before fallinj^ into the Hay of Quinte, may be men- tioned. At its eastern end the outlet of the lake into the St. Lawrence River, which here first attains its name, is studded with the " Thousand Islands," and before the river is augmented by the Ottawa at Vaudreuil it expands into several quiet lake-like reaches and plunges down in long and picturesque intervening rapids. To complete the account of the St. Lawrence .system, a .short reference to the affluents of the Ottawa River, situated within the Province of Ontario is neces- sary, ^ake Temiscaming, the largest and deepest expansion of che Ottawa, re- ceives the most northerly of these ; it is a magnificent stretch of navigable water, 67 miles in length, and varying in breadth from 6 to 8 miles. The ascertained height is 012 feet. The River Blanche, which drains a clayey region of the Height of Land, and the Montreal River which comes from the north-west, and in its course receives one of the outlets of Lake Tamagaming, are the chief tri- butaries. Immediately to the east of Lake Nipissing is the watershed between the Georgian Bay and an important affluent of the Ottawa, the river Matawan. Between the mouth of this river and the City of Ottawa, several important streams, which drain the lakes of the south-eastern tract of the Archiean region, fall into the Ottawa on its right bank, viz., the Petewawa, 140 miles long, with a drainage area of 2,200 square miles. Black River, 120 miles long, with an area of 1,120 square miles, and Lhe Madawaska, 240 miles long, and an area of 4,100 square miles. Geologists, it is indicated above, have found evidence of many changes in the outlines of the St. Lawrence Basin. At one time the Great Lakes must have been salt water, their northern shores forming the coast line of the high Archaean land to the north. Maritime plants on the north shore of Lake Superior, and marine shrimps in its depths which were able to accommodate themselves gradually to the change in salinity of the water as the laiid rose, are still found aa evidence of this. But, even since their conversion into inland seas, the out- lines of the modem lakes by no means agree with what they must have been in the past. Lake Erie, for example, is a comparatively modern way for the waters of the Upper Lakes to escape to the sea, and it is probab'ie that Lake Nipissing 428 and the Ottawa valley formed at one time the chief outlet, although Lake Simcoe and the chain of lakes connecting with the Trent Valley may also have formed a similar outlet. It is probable that further research may prove the different char- acter of the fauna of this lake to be due to its geological history, THE HUDSON'S BAY SYSTEM. With the exception of the great rivers flowin, from the Height of Land to James' Bay, their immediate neighbourhood and the larger lakes in their course^ comparatively little is known of the part of Ontario belonging to this system. A rapid survey of these with reference to the map will therefore suffice. Lake Abittibe is situated seventy miles north of Lake leiniscaming, and just on the other side of the watershed from the head waters of the River Blanche. It is situated in a northward continuation of the clay plain in which that river arises, and is 245 feet higher than Lake Temiscaming, being only 60 feet lower than the Height of I/and portage. The other branches of the Moose River similarly originate in lakes, often of considerable size, near the Height f»f Land, and the same is true of the Kenogami and other rivers flowing northward into the Albany. The latter river, from its origin in Lake St. Joseph, flows east and north through upwards of 500 miles on its way to the sea. Between Lake Joseph and l Antkkiou Vektkbr.k OF C.\TFISH FKOSl ABOVE. M, meaethmoid ; pm, premaxilla ; a, antorbital ; n, nasal ; e, {^arethmoid ; fr, frontal ; », spheno- tic ; p, pterotic ; ep, epioiic ; t, supraclavicle ; ao, 8U|)raoccipital spine ; 4, transverse process of fourth vertebra. Fig. 3 B.— Cranium and Anterior Vertebe.e or Catfish, from hki,o\v. Pm, premaxila ; m, mesethmoid ; v, vomer ; pa. parethmoid : o, orbitosphenoid ; f, frontal ; ps» parasphenoiJ ; a, alisphenoid ; pr, prootic ; li, arti- cular surface for hyoraandibular on sphen^ and ()terotic8 ; b, basioccipital with exoccipitala on either side ; s, supraclavicle; m, "ma'leus;" 4, 5 and 6, transverse process of 4th, 5th and 6th vertebrte. gristle or cartilage being only partly replaced by bones. In the CatGdh, however, there is little of this left in the adult fish. Attention is called to the position of the vomer the teeth on which sometimes furnish easily accessible characters to the syste- matic zoologist. It is applied to the under surface of bones formed in cartilage, the foremost of which, the middle ethmoid, carries in front the premaxillse, tx)oth bearing plates which form a considerable part of the margin of the upper jaw on each side and which ctin in some fish be thrust out from their support or " protracted." The rest of the margin of the gape above is usually formed of the : i 43.') A maxillae, but these are small in the Catfish and merely serve to support the large barbels. Fig. 4 illustrates how closely the jaws are related to the hyoid arcn, Fig. 4.— Jaws and Hyoid Auch uv Catfish, kuom thk sidk. Mx, maxilla ; pmx, premaxilla ; pi, palatine ; hmd, hyomandibular ; op, operculum ; mpt, metapter goid ; qu, quadrate ; pr, preoparculum ; sop, interoparculum ; d, dentary ; ar, articuli^r ; ii, hypohyal ; gh, glossohyal ; ch, eratohyal; en, epihyal ; br, branchiostegal rays. which is similar in general character to the following gill-arches, but which is altered in form by reason oFits carrying the jaws and the skeleton of the gill-cover. Indeed the jaws are regarded as another similar arch in front of that, formed of an upper palato-quadrate and a lower mandibular segment, part of the latter carrying teeth (dentary) and part forming a joint with the quadrate, but all suspended to the skull by tlie hyomandibular, the upper part of the hyoid arch. The lower part of this arch is sub-divided as shown in the tifjure, and forms a bony support for the tongue, while its hinder margin performs, with the attached branchiostegal rays, a similar function for the free part of the gill-cover, these rays being related to it in a manner somewhat similar to that in which the bones of the gill-cover — pre- operculum, operculum proper, and interoperculum (there is no suboperculum in the Cattish) — are related to the hyomandibular part of the arch. Fig. 5.— VisiiERAL Skklkton ov Catfish. H, hyiK)hyal ; ch, ceratohyal ; eh, epihyal ; i, iaterhyal ; b', first basibranchial ; hb\ cb', eb*, hypo-cerato- and epibranchials of first arch ; o, u;so;^hagus ; ep and hp, epi- and hypopharyngeal tooth plates. The mode in which the skeleton of the gill-arches proper is sub-divided and the relationship to the superior and inferior pharyngecl (epipharyngeal and hypopharyngeal) tooth-plates, may be gathered from fig. 5, 434 if Tlie vertebra) column is formed of vertebrce, each of which has a rounded body hollowed out oi^ both faces (amphicoelous), from which there projects an upper arch protecting the spinal cord and terminating above in an upper or neural spinous process (fig. 6). Between the neural spines are intcr-spinous bones which Fig. 6.— Cai'pal Vkrtkbra anu Calual knd ok Vkktkiiual Column in thk Catfish. Ns, neural upine ; c, vertebriil centre ; he, htemal spine : nsh, bony sheath of the notochord ; cr, caudal rays. carry the fin-rays of the unpaired fins. In the tail region there are also ventral arches and spines which protect the blood-vessels running to the tail, and the ribs further forward in the trunk region correspond to these, although they do not meet m the middle line below. The caudal fin of the catfish appears quite symmetrical, and in some species (plate 5), is equally forked ; a close inspection of the skeleton, however, shows that it is chiefly situated on the lower surface of its axis, which is here abruptly turned up. This apparent symmetry (homocercal condition) is absent in some fish like the Sturgeon, (plate 1), where the vertebral column turns up, sub-dividing the tail very plainly into two unequal lobes (heterocercal condition). In the catfish some anterior vertebrre are united very intimately to each other, and to the skull and pectoral arch, in consequence of certain peculiar connections between the ears and the air-bladder, but this is not usual in fish. I'ljf. 7. — i'ECTOPAL GiBDLK OK CaTFISH FROM BEHIND. Co, coiacoidal, a, scapular portion of primary shoulder-girdle ; cl, clavicular, sc, supra-clavicular portions of secondary shoulder-girdle ; b, basal elements, r, rays of the fin-skeleton. On the other hand the union of the pectoral arch to the skull is not un- common, and is eflfected by a three-pronged bont, the supraclavicle or supra- scapula (fig. 7). The arch is formed of right and left halves which iuse with 435 i each other in the middle line below, but each half at an early date is formed Jof two elements, a primary element formed in cartilage, and a secondary larger one tormed beneath ths skin. The so-called basal elements of the pectoral fin corres- pond in part to the limb bones of higher animals, but they are unimportant in size as compared with the fin-rays, the foremost of which can be set and used as an effective weapon by the catfish. Systematic zoologists rarely employ the form of the viscera to any extent in framing comparative descriptions of different species. The following points as to the arrangement of the viscera should, however, be noted. The intestinal canal is a comparatively short tube which is marked off" into three regions, the stomach, small intestine and large intestine. All these parts are supported to the wall of the body -cavity in which they lie by the mesentery, and another part of the same membrane the " peritoneum " also lines the body-cavity. Its colour may vary from black to silvery. Connected either permanently, or in the young tish merely temporarily; with the gullet is the air-bladder, a part of the intestine which serves as a float, and may have other subsidiary functions. The stomach may merely be a slightly enlarged part of the intestinal tube, but may have a blind projection as in the catfish, '" coecal type," or be bent into TJ-shaped form, "siphonal type.' It is separated from the fir.st part of the small intestine by a muscular valve, the pyloras, from which a number of blind tubes attached to this part of the intestine in many fishes (but not the catfish) derive the name of pyloric c(£ca. Opening into this part of the intestine also is the bulky liver, which is provided with a large gall-bladder. The heart in the catfish is situated far forwards in the region of the throat. It collects the blood from the veins and drives it up the gill-arches, from which it flows out at the top into the dorsal aorta as arterial blood. Behind the air-bladder is the kidney, formed of right and left halves intimately united, and connected by folds of mesentery with the dorsal surface of the body-cavity are the ovaries in the female (the roe) and the testes (the milt or soft roe) of the male. As a general rule the eggci of fish are fertilised after they have been deposited by the female, and it may be observed that the fewer the eggs are in number the more anxiously are they looked after by one or both parents. The various species, of catfish all appear to be attentive to the fry for some time. Some notions as to the development from the egg may be gathered from fig. 8. While still within the body of the mother, the egg measures about one-eighth of an inch in diameter ;. it has two coats, the outer of which is penetrated by minute canals through which the necessary nourishment for the growth of the egg passes inwards. When the egg is laid, the space between the two coats increases in size and the two con- stituents of the yolk) the formative yolk, which gives rise directly to the body of the embryo, and the large food-yolk which is utilized as food by the embryo) formerly evenly distributed, now tend to accumulate at opposite poles. The forma- tive yolk with its contained nucleus begins to divide, the result being a disc of small cells lying on the surface of the food-yolk. The cells gradually extend over the whole of the egg, those at the formative pole arranging themselves into the three layers of the embryo, which already during the second day assumes a fish-likfr form. It is from these three layers that all the organs of the fish are de eloped. The embryo does not escape from its shell till the sixth day, when, although only one-third of an inch in length, development has already advanced to a con- siderable extent. Thus the heart is seen in front of the yolk-sac, from the vessels, of which it collects the blood enriched by contact with the yolk, and propels it by way of the gill-arches throughout the entire system. After all the food i& 36 (c.) 43G m extracted from the yolk-sac, the latter is absorbed, and the young fish begins to feed for itself. At the end of three months the adult form is attained, the fish being then hardly an inch in length. The length of time which the hatching process takes, and the rapidity with which the developmental ))rocess runs vary much in ditt'erent species of Tehosts, -and is largely dependent on the tomporatnre of the water, spawn deposited in Fipr. 8.— Diagram ok skvkual stauics in Dkvklopmknt of Catkish. (Modified from Ryder). 1, ovarian egg ; 2, egg in whicli foniiativH yoke him seiiarated to upper pole ; 3, embryo of second day ; 4, section through such un 'nihryo, showinj^ »'pil)ln8t with nervous system above, hypoblast below, and between them the mniioblaHt and tlie notochurd ; 5 embryo of sixth day, the cold water of October and November not hatching till the following spring in contrast with the )ai)itl pri>ccss depicted above, which occurs in the early sum- mer. The great diHerence in size which is to be observed between the eggs of different, species is not merely proportional to the size of the species, although, as we shp~ll tind, large vaiieties of biO'>l< trout lay larger egi^s than small varieties ; it is largely a question of the relative aui'iunt of food-yolk provided for the embryo, and may be therefore also attiibutfd to tlie hatf^hing habit of the species, the longer or shorter time which the emuryo takes to burst the egg-shell and to begin to feed for itself. The following table gives the number of eggs that have been counted to A quart iu diHereiit species : — Mack.'rel 1,267,728 Pickt-rel (Stlzosledlum v'ltreum) 120,000 Whitetish 36,000 Striped Bass 24.,363 Brook Trout 11,000 Lake Trout 8,720 Atlantic Salmon 4,272 ^Yinuinish 3,800 -, •s 437 Teleosts ditfer very much in the nature of their food and in their manner of securin;:^ it. Some, like the Catfish, Sturgeon and Suckers, are bottom feeders, and such are often furnished with protractile lips, the better to secure the mol- luscs, wcrms, aquatic insect-larvas or fish-spawn on which they live. Others, like the Whitefish, are dependent on the crustacean life with which our fresh waters swarm, (fig. 9), tho young living on the minute Entomostvaca, the adult on the Fio. 9. Aicllus communis, x 2. Gammarus sp, x 3. Branchipus vcrnalis, Bwimuiing on its back, x 3. ^ Daphnia pulcx. Cyprii Candida. x 16. ^^■^C3 Cyclops sp. X. 12. larger shrimp-like forms. Others again, more agile, leap to secure the insects on which they t'c'ed, while many are carnivorous, feeding on other smaller species of tish. Unquestionably the microscopic life of the fresh waters is the prime .source of much of the food of our fresh water fishes, and mo^t comprehensive investi- gations are therefore being carried on in regard to the life of the larger bodies of fresli water in Europe with the object of ascertaining the conditions which appear favourable to the abundance of food-material of this character, and the species which appear to contribute most to the sustenance of the tish. As the smaller species of fish serve as food for the larger rapacious forms, which may thus be regarded as inimical to them, so also the various fish-eating bird^ and reptiles may be regarded as enemies of the class. There are, however, some more insidious enemies which are deserving of mention — the various fish- eating insects, and the various parasites, animal and vegetal, which afiiict fish. Amongst the former are specially to be noted the larger water-beetles, Dytisoua and Ac'Uiti^, which may completely devour small fish by the aid of their rapa- cious jaws; the larger and smaller water-bugs and water-boatmen, Belostoma, N'dotiecta and Ranatra, which attack fish by grasping them with their power- ful front legs and then sting them and suck their blood by their sucking proboscis. , 488 I • Anioiijj; the latter are to be distinguished the crustacean parasites of the j^ills (tig. 10) or of the Hurliice of the body, which may become so numerous us to cause death (p. 44G). Again there are various worm parasites (no species of tish is exempt from its share) which, however, appear rarely to cause any serious mortality. In many cases unripe stages of such worm parasites occur in fish, which (mly reach their full development in fish-eating birds, but one Fig. 10.— Eryaiilux with egg-sacs' from gills of sunfish. x 10. Achtheren from gills of catfish >; 6. species of such immature forms occurring in the Pike, and possibly also.in- some Salmonoids, is the larva of Bothriocephalua latus, the broad tape-worm of man. It is only found abundantly in those northern countries where fish are eaten raw. Among the worm parasites may be mentioned certain thread-worms which (like the guinea worm) live in the skin of their host, and may often cause .serious abscesses in the fins of affected fish. Certain leeches (Piscicola) also may attach themselves to the skin and suck the blood of theii- victims with fatal results. Obscure diseases of fish of epidemic character have not been properly investigated yet. Some are no doubt attributable to bacteria, others, like the salmon disease, to more visible fungus-growths such as Saprolegnia, but the subject of the wholesale dying-off of fish is one which requires further looking into. . ,i Preservation of Fish. Should any reader of this report desire information as to any particular variety occurring in his locality, he is invited to send specimens to the author at the University of Toronto. These ought to be suitably preserved before ship- ment, either by putting on ice when caught and shipping promptly, or by immer- sion in a strong pickle formed of 1 J lbs. salt, \ lb. saltpetre and ^ lb. boracic acid to the gallon of water, or in strong spirits of wine. The preservative fluid used should be poured into the mouth, and if possible injected into the vent and through a small slit into the body-cavity. When alcohol is used as a preservative fluid it should be diluted with one-third water, so as to obviat shrinkage of the tissues, and changed once or twice before shipment. The lab^i accompanying a. specimen should always give the exact place and date of capture, and any other information which occurs to the collector, such as colouration when fresh, whichi is especially desirable if alcohol is used as the preservative fluid. NATURAL HISTORY OF ONTARIO FISH. t The Class of the Fishes is divided by zoolo/i^fists into six sub-classes, con- taining : — I. Tlie Lancelet or Ampliioxus. II. The Lampreys and Hag-fishes. III. The Sharks and Kays. IV. The Ganoid Fishes. V. The Teleost or Bony Fishes. Yl. The Dipnoi or Lung-Fishes. Of .'ihese the 1st and 3rd are not represented in fresh waters, and need not concern us here. With few exceptions our fish belong to the fifth sub-class. Sub-class II. — Cyclostomi, The fishes that belong to this group ore eel-like forms of parasitic habits, attaching themselves by means of their circular mouths to larger fish, of which they suck the blood. Their skeleton differs very much from that of other fish : it consists of a brain-case formed of cartilage, supports for the gills of the same material, and a notochord running underneath the spinal cord. There are no true jaws, nor limbs, nor ribs as in other fish. One of the families — the Myxinidae — is entirely marine, the other— the Petromyzontidse — has some fresh-water species. They are at once recognized by the circular sucking-mouth (fig. 11), the horny teeth within it, the single nostril on the t

t>* in which tiie air-bladder is closed are regarded as further removed from the Bony Ganoids than the others, and it is therefore desirable to treat of the latter first Physostomi. In this division the scales are usually cycloid, and the fin-rays (with the exception of one or more anterior ones, modified into defensive spines) soft. The most primitive families are undoubtedly the Catfishes, Suckers and Minnows, and they all agree in possessing the connection between the au-bladder and the ear referred to at p. 434, besides other anatomical features which it u impossible to describe. A sufficient account has been given above of the structure of a typical representative of the family Silurid^, and it only remains to make a brief refer- .ence to the other species of the family that occur in Ontario. In addition to the ordinary Catfish (Amiurus nebulonvs), (wo other species occur within the Province — A. vulgaris, which differs 'n being some- what slenderer and in having the lower jaw projecting beyond the upper, and (Plati 4.11 **. i' [Pl.ATK 6. J .* ' S a «9 0] o s Hi ▼ y [Plati ia> : •5 4 -s H h ^^ is u a >!; •«! •J a; I— ( P4 B 1!" > nj.f-i t«-"J*- »,«T(» '^^'^7VfS\i.'^ -"i'tft i "if (' -W f- ' '-^ iBTij " J^ ■ .,.> •«^ --'^J','''- ■■.*.';^'S^'*'fA\*,' ''■■■'" r - ■. -■ 1 ' il J ; f, if. < ':: ^- v.- -.'s^ -? -i .4, ^_«-kf ■*;-.■• V^-..' r [Plate 14. 1i ifd-jrw^k-ir ftrfi-T^f' \ \ f t . T 445 m 1 The commonest species is the Moon-eye or Toothed Herring of the Lakes {Hyodon tergisus^ : it frequently is taken in pound-nets, but is not regarded as a valuable food-fish. On the other hand the Gold-Eye, H. aloaoides (so-called on account of the belly coming to a sharp keel as in the Shad) is a fish of some import- ance in the North-west both commercially and to the sportsman. It is common in the Saskatchewan valley, but is probably confined to that part ot Ontario which drain? into Lake Winnipeg, p. 428. The CLUPEiDiE or Herring tamily differ from the Moon-eyes in having an almost toothless mouth, but very long gill-rakers ; they are all gregarious fish swimming in immense schools, but although many are marine, others, like the salmon, ascend fresh-water streams to spawn, and of these some may become permanently land-locked. The sea-herring (Clupea harengus) is of course one of the most valuable and abundant of food-fish, but it is entirely confined to the sea ; the Shad on the other hand (0. sapidissiina) ascends rivers to spawn and was formerly abundant even in the Lower Ottawa. The only member of the genus, however, which can now be said to be common within the Province is the Gaspereau or -Alewife {G. pseudoharengus or vernalis), introduced into Lake Ontario since 1873 and now very abundant. Another species, the Ohio Shad (0. c/ir^socWoWs), has been in- troduced into Lake Erie, but is not valued for food. One of the marked features of the herrings is the keeled abdomen with its saw-like edge. Teeth may be present on the vomer as in the sea-herring, or on the jaws as in the Shad, or may be absent in the adult as in the Alewife and Shad proper. The latter species is distinguished by the gill-cover being deeper than it is long, also by its finer and more numerous gill-rakers. The Gaspereau appears to have been accidentally introduced into Lake Ontario when the intention was to plant shad. At least it was formerly very uncommon in the lower St. Lawrence, rarely straggling up higher than Metis. It is still uncertain whether the fish, which appear abundantly every spring toward the end of April, and disappear just as suddenly in September or October, go down to the ocean in the fall and return thence in the spring or whether they merely retire to the deep waters of the lake. The time of their movement is very probably a matter of temperature. The}'- come in towards the shores in immense schools at the spawning season, rising to the surface and rippling it as mackerel do. The schools are composed of adult fish of 8 to 9 1 inches in length, and are regarded as a nuisance in the Thousand Island region where they fill the pound and trap nets to the exclusion of other fish. They are, however, valuable from their quantity if not for their quality, and besides furnishing a cheap food the surplus catch can be employed in the manufacture of fertilisers. Obstacles in the way of river dams, etc., preventing the Alewives reaching their natural spawning grounds and thus diminishing their number, have been regarded by the late Professor Baird as a cause of the decrease of the inshore <5od and other fisheries, the Alewives being a favourite food of the carnivorous fish. It is probable that the presence of Alewives in Lake Ontario may re-act favourably on its fisheries by furnishing an abundant food for the larger lake fish. Little is known with regard to the spawning of the Alewife in Lake Ontario : it is said to occur in shoal water in June. The eggs number from 60,000 to 100,000, and are somewhat adhesive ; three or four days suffice to hatch them, and the young fish obtain a length of tw^o or three inches before the winter. Immense numbers of dead Alewives are found on the surface of the lake in the early summer; the cause of 7"^ t" T^r ■rv»^tr^ "TN '"l^ 446 111 their death is obscure, it being hardly possible that the explanation offered as to some of the smaller lakes of New York State — the use of explosives for wholesale killing of food-fish — is the true one. The shad (C. sapidiasima) is undoubtedly one of the most important of Am- erican food fishes. It used to be abundant in the Lower Ottawa, but the pollution of the river, by sawdust etc., appears to have rendered its former spawning grounds rmavailable. Its spawning habits resemble those of the Alewife; the eggs are spun out by the female on to a sandy bar while in rapid motion, and the male scatters the milt at the same time, both sinking slowly to the bottom. Three to eight days suffice for hatching, after which the young escape and are able to swim freely. A ripe shad contains from twenty to forty thousand eggs. The males are smaller (1^-Glb.) than the females (3i-8) and are earlier mature. The same apparent local instinct is said to be exhibited by the shad as by the sahnon ; the young hatched in any particular stream returning to it after an interval of two to three years when adult. It is possible that this is to be interpreted by their not going far from the mouths of the rivers in which they have been bred. Allied to the shad is a fish of similar form recently introduced into Lake Ontario and Erie, but of no value economically. It is known as the Gizzard- sLad {Dorosoma cepedianuni) on account of its muscular stomach and is further distinguished by the last ray of the dorsal being produced into a long thread. It has occasionally been found dead at the surface in considerable numbers. By far the most important family of the fresh- water Teleosts, as regards economical value and the number of species, is undoubtedly that of the SALMONiDiE. Like the foregoing, many of the members are anadromous, living a part of their life in the sea but ascending rivers to spawn. Other forms which are confined to large bodies of fresh water often congregate about the mouths of the rivers fall- ing into them or ascend these for the same purpose. The Capelin {Mallotus vUlosaa) and Smelt (Osmerus eperlanus) are exclusively marine forms; the Salmon and Trout are found in both salt nd fresh water, while the Whitefish, Grayling and Lake Trout are confined to ii and waters. In all of the forms that concern us here, the intestine is furnished with numerous pyloric ca3ca, which serve to increase its surface. Unlike the shad the abdomen is rounded, and there is present an adipose fin. The Whitefi.sh {Coregonus) are distinguished by an entire absence of teeth, and by the large size of the scales. Of the toothed genera, the Grayling (Thymallus) is at once char- acterized by its long and high dorsal fin, while the Salmon (Salmo) and Brook and Lake Trout (Salvelinus) agree in having teeth on the jaws and tongue, but differ in that the vomer in the latter genus is destitute of teeth. The genus Coregonus is not confined to North America but is also found in large inland waters — such for example as 'the Swiss Lakes — in Europe and A.sia. The species are somewhat difticult to distinguish, innumerable local varieties being recognized by fishermen, which probably do not deserve to rank as distinct species. The body is compressed in all and the air-bladder very large, the pyloric coeca very numerous, and the eggs numerous and of small size. Six species occur within the Province, which may be arranged iu two groups according as the lower jaw is included within or projects beyond the upper. To the former belongs the common Whitefish {G. clupeiformia), and with it G. quadrila- teralia, C. lahradoricus and C. hoyi, while to the latter belong the Lake Herring {C. artedi) and the TuUibee of Manitoba, ((/. tuUihee). u^l [Plate 16.] 6k if mmmmimm^mi'mm ii ■^-' t-T~ I JL i ■•■i:f-'> - ».'!™*.'- - '^f.- 1 b-^r*^ "■.^■^-^ -^» [PliAtR 1/. ' i ; J I a ■■:i-r J 447 The common Whitefish is the most important, abundant and widely distri- buted of these. It is distinguished by its compressed body, its elevated back — a peculiarity especially marked in the adult — and its small short head with obliquely truncated snout. C. quadrilaUralvi is rounder in body,(it is the RoundHsh of Richardson) and further differs in having a larger head, stouter gill-rakers and a dark-blue colour of the back from the foregoing species, to the size of which it does not reach. It is commoner northward than in the Great Lakes. 6'. lahradoricu8 is commoner towards the north-east, as its name suggests, but it iH also found in Lake Superior and northward ; it has the compressed body of the common whitefish, but the length of head of the Round fish. It only attains a length of one foot, and has some teeth on the tongue which the white- fish lacks. A whitefish of similar size occurring in the deeper waters of Lakes Michi- gan and Ontario is known as the Cisco in the former and as the " long-jaw " in the latter ; it is distinguished by the bright silvery color of the under parts, but also by the smaller number of fin-rays (D 10, A 10.) and of the scales in a vertical row. . In its larger mouth it approaches the Lake Herring (C. artedi), which occurs in' immense shoals in the lakes and especially in Lakes Erie and Ontario, and is, next to the Whitefish, the most important member of the group. The variety known in commerce as the Cisco of Lake Ontario, is a deep water form, much fatter than the ordinary Lake Herring, and bringing as much as one- third higher price on account of its making better kippers than the other. Lastly the Tullibee, which is commoner in Manitoba than in Ontario, is intermediateiitident that Whitefish taken in different localities can be easily recognized, that those €.(j. taken in the upper end of Lake Ontario are differenli from those in the lower end of Lake Erie; and that the fish e.g. taken in Batchewaung Bay, Lake Superior, are peculiar to that bay. Indians at the Sault say that the Whitefish of the lake above never descend the rapids, while those of the river never ascend to the lake. In Lake Ontario and also in the upper lakes, but not in Lake Erie, v^here the water is too warm, two shoreward movements are observed ; the first occurs in June with the approach of warm weather and its object would appear to be the larvaa of the various aquatic insects which are then abundant. When the shallow water becomes too warm they retreat again into the deeper waters of the lake, where the shrimp-like erustaceaof these depths (Mysis relida and Pontoporeia. ajfflnis) furnish them with abundant food. After a stay of two or three months^, that is to say till about the middle of October, there begins the second shoreward movement, this time for the purpose of spawning, the spawning grounds being slowly reached towards the middle of November or the beginning of December. After this function has been successfully accomplished they retreat again inta the deep waters of the lakes. In the fall, and just Vieforo the spawning season, various minute shell-fish would appear to constituti; the bulk of their food. The places selected for spawning grounds are honey-comhed rocks or gravelly bottoms, in water of 30 to 50 feet depth, the crevices in which afford a safe place of lodgment for the eggs and protect thetn to a certain extent from tile watchful spawn-eaters, the suckers, lake herring at)d lake lizards or Meno- Fig. 12. — Canadian Lakk Lizakd, ok Mknoiihanch. (Ncctuni.t iiMculatu,i.) branchs (fig. 12). Oa the north sliore of Lake Superior the mouths of the groat rivers, like the Michipicoten and Neepigon, are favourite places ; possibly a relic of a former anadromous Imbit, such as characterises other Salmonoids. To cope suceessfuilv witii the destructive spawn-eaters large numbers of eggs are deposited, although many of them an^ destined to destruction. It has been calculated that a female Whitefish sheds 10,000 for every pound of her weight It is possible that the spawning habits in the rivers and lakes differ, the fish exhibiting greater activity in the former than in the latter. In both, how- ever, they pair, the male being unifoi'udy much suialler than the female. In the Detroit River tlie tish are described as jumping in i Irs at night, the male swim- ming along beside the female with his snout up i./wards the pectoral fii;, and both sudileidy leaping from the water, spawn and milt luiming from them the while. In Lake Ontario, on the other hand, the female has lieen described as ploughing a nest in the gravelly bottom, where she remains for two or three days until all the eggs are deposited. I'ossibly the spawning habits of the vari- ous species differ, but sufficient a*tention has not been given to the subject. In contrast with the siiort period of development described for the Clupeoids (p 44'5) the Whitefi.sh eggs require about 100 days to hatch out at the natural temperature of the water. They thus escape from the egg about the beginning of April, and have entirely absorbed the yolk-.sac by the end of that month, when they have reached the length of half an inch. The little minnows thereafter make for deeper water, but it is stated that the fish do not seek the greater depths until they Imve attained a weight of over «, pound ; many of these immature fish are therefore caught in pound-nets, while the gill-nets secure no fish under a pound in weight. The principal enemy of the Whitefish after it has attained maturity is the Lake Trout, but the small fry are undoubtedly eagerly eaten by the Bass and -Percoid fishes, as long as they remain within their reach. Occasionally Whitefish have been observed to die in large numbers. Prof. A. 0. Lawson brought me specimens of a parasitic crustacean {Argalus coregoni ?) some years ago which was obviously the cause of death of immense numbers of whitefish in the Lake of the Woods, and a sinvilar phenomenoh is recorded from lakes in Minnesota. Whether this is a frequent cause of such e|>ideruics remains still to be investigated. 4 IPlatk 18. 1 39 (o> isMi 1 I I V JU: IPl.ATK 1!).] I -Aj: raJj^ '■r, -9 I -«^ 449 ■^c A passing notice is due to a beautiful and brilliantly coloured fish, the Ameri- can grayling {Thymallus signifer), which is found in streams in the southern peninsula of Michigan and in cold clear streams in suitable places north-westerly from that towards the Arctic ocean. It is possible that this species (which, it has been suggested, is a relic ol the glacial period) may yet be found in the north- westerly part of the Province. Sl^attains a length of 12-18 inches, and is marked by its long and high dorsal fia. Unlike the other Salmonoids it spawns in April. Our remaining Salmonoids are referable either to the genus Salmo, including the Atlantic Salmon (Salmon solar), and its landlocked variety the Winninish, and the genus Salvelinus, including the various varieties of Lake Trout {S. namaycush) and of Brook Trout (S. fontinalia). The extreme variability of this tribe has always offered great difficulties to the ichthyologist and is attributable to differences of. age, sex, breeding habits, and the surroundings of the fish generally. The young, for example, of the Atlantic Salmon are barred, the immature males silvery, while the breeding dress of the male is brilliant and the shape of the jaw different at that time. Again, Brook Trout in rapid streams are brilliantly coloured, in dark lakes, uniformly sombre, while sea-run individuals (Sea-Trout) have a bright silvery coat without any of the ocellated spots generally so characteristic. Similarly, the same species which never attains a pound weight in a small stream may through abundance of food in a large body of water reach a weight of five pounds and upwards. Thus innumer- able species have been made out of these local and other variations, which, how- ever, may all be relegated to the three species named above. Apart from the vomerine teeth which mark out the Salmon proper from the Charrs, the Atlantic Salmon (Salmo solar) presents many differences from the Lake Salmon Trout. Among these may be noted the larger scales (there are only 120 to the lateral line instead of 180 to 200), and the black in place of the gray spots. The Sea Salmon can hardly be said now-a-days to be an Ontario fish. Mr. Samuei Wilmot, of the Dominion Fishery Service, has recorded its disappearance within the last fif ' een years from Lake Ontario, the streams and creeks flowing into which used to be crowded at spawning time with salmon. The disappearance is unquestionably due to the drying-up of these streams consequent on the altered cond) 'ons of the land drained by them, to obstacles like mill-dams preventing the asceni >f the fish toward the head-waters, and to the pollution of the streams by sawdu^ and other refuse. It IS probable that these salmon visited the sea like the sa'mon of the GuU, but ii. has been suggested, in view of the existence of the land-locked variety in the lakes of Quebec (the Winninish), and of Maine (the Sebago Salmon), that pos- sibly they only retired to the deep waters of the lake. The Sea-Salraon feeds largely on herring, but fasts for the most part during its fresh-water rui,. This begins for the earliest arrivals two months before the spawning time (the middle of October for the Gulf Salmon). The fish pair, and both parents assist in ploughing out a series of nests in the gravei of the river- bottom into which tin- spawn and milt are deposited, and s-oon covered up by the sand swept down from the nest ploughed out next above. < -^tThe eggs of the salmon are of large size, a quarter of an inch in diameter, and a 40 lb, fis^h produces about lo,000 of these. After impregnation they mature in 100 to 140 days in the Scotch rivers, but here the hatching is post- poned by the colder water till May. , "iWhji. hatched the young Salmon is three-quarters of an inch in length, and still shows its yolk-sac for four to six weeks. After this is absorbed the fry begin 4.i0 IE to feed, and ineasuro an inch and a half in two nnnths, when they bepjin to show the spots and bars of the " Parr." This stage persists till the second or third spring, when the Parr has become seven to eight inches in length, and then it makes its way towards the sea as a " Smolt," exchanging its bright colours for the uniform silvery coat of the new stage. The length of time which the smolt lives in the sea varies fiom four to twenty-eight months; it returns to its native river as a "Grilse," and in the case of the male has by this time attain.^d sexual maturity. The grilse phase is nmrkod by a slenderer body, smaller head, more forked tail, and oluish spots, wliilo the weight may vary from two to six pounds. The land-locked Salmon above referred to — the Winninish or Ouananiohe of the Indian — so abundant in Lake St. John, probably also occurs in suitab'e pla3es in Ontario. Hallock in the Sportsman's Gazetteer speaks of the so-called Salmon Trout of the Stony Lake region as landdocked salmon and as identical with ihose of Lake St. John. Mr. H. T. Strickland, writinj; throusjh Mr, Justice Falconhridge, observes that these tish were first leconcnized as land-locked Salmon by Seth Green. They live in the deeper parts of the lakes only coming into shallow water at the end of October or the boginningof November to their spawn- ing beds. They fro ^uent swift currents when the ice breaks up in spring and may then be taken by rod and line with live bait. lo is possible that in certain instances these larger trout from the inland lakes may be varieties of the next species. The Lake Trout or Lake Salmon Trout and the Brook Trout both belong to the genus Salvelinus, but the larger species {S. namaycush) has a distinct toothed crest on the vomer. Its colouration is for the most part dark grey, with paler grey spots, the dorsal and caudal fins being reticulated with darker markings. There is considerable colour variation recognized by the fishermen : thus the Truites de Greve are those dull coloured ones from muddy bottoms; the Truites des Battures are prettily mottled ones from rocky shores, while the Truites du Large are silvery-coated individuals from deep water. The Namaycush (its Indian name) attains a length of over three feet and a weight of 20 to 30 lbs, and upwards, which it undoubtedly owes to the succulent whitefish and herring on which it preys. It is by no means confined to the chain of great lakes, but is found in all large bodies of fresh water. A variety from the deeper waters of Lake Superior, the Siscowet, is said to be a very superior food fish, at least in its salted condition, to the Namaycush and differs irom it in its smaller size ("h^ to 5 lbs ), its less frequency, more silvery colouring, as well as in its shorter and broader head, the eyes being near the end of the nose and further apai-t than in the Nama^-^cush. The flesh is extremely fat, to which circumstance its Indian name is due. The Lake Trout spawn late in October, before the Whitefish, coming into comparativelyshallow water,and depositing their large eggs in the crevices of rocky reefs, where they remain till hatched early in spring. The average weight of the fish taken in the gill nets is 5 to 15 lbs., but indi- viduals may attain dimensions second only to those of the Sturgeon. A 20 lb. trout has been found with L3 herrings in its stomach, an indication of the voracity to which they owe their rapid giowth. Accessibility to an abundant supply of food appears to have a similar effect on the size of the Brook Trout (S, fontinalis), for in the Neepigon, fish up to seventeen pounds in weight have been secured, and sea- run individuals (Sea-Trout) frequently weigh C and 8 lbs. Generally speaking, however, in small streams and ponds the trout rarely attain more than a pound in weight. StJC jit- [Plate 20. ^JC 3 2 z; O H O » ^f [Plate 21.] ^ 1 ^f i i ' IP t '-si f m 1. .tm. ■II , ^f [Piaik22.1 '11 4i £3 U'tATE 28.1 451 Variation in colour and form as well as sizo is to lit* obsorved. From rapid streams tlio trout aro litho and long-finnod, from (juiet lakes rounder and short- finned, wliilo from cool brooks the most vividly coloured individuals are obtained, and from dark pools those with sombre hues. The food of tbe brook trout is chiefly formed of insects and insect larvte (mos(|uito and black -tiy larvio amon^ the number) it is therefore not surpriainp that, with the cultivation of the country and the constxiuent reduction of breed- ing places for flies, the trout should have become scarcer as well as the food. Like th(! salmon, the Brook Trout seek.s ecies, S. canadense, known as the " Sanger" in Lake Erie, is much smaller, rarely exceeding fifteen inches in length, and has a rounder body. It has four to seven instead of three pyloric C(Bca, and a distinctive black blotch at the base of the pectorals, while the larger species has a similar Idotch on the hinder part of the spinous dorsal fin. The Sanger also has a rougher head, smaller scales, and a greater number of spines on the gill-cover. The Pickerel or Sandre is undoubtedly one of the most valuable food-fish we po.ssess, and is only inferior economically to the Lake Trout on account of its inferior numbers. It shares the habit of the other lar^e lacustrine species in retreating to the deep water in the heat of summer. It is, therefore, taken then only in gill-nets ; but, when in shallow water, as for example in tlu? 8|)ring when it spawns, it not infrequently is taken in considerable numbers from the pounds. In winter many are speared through the ice with tho aid of a decoy fish. Further information is desirable with regard to the distriljiition in the Province of the two species, as to their spawning habits, and as to the increase or decrease in their numbers. The impression prevails in the lower lakes that the Pickerel have increased of recent years, and this is attributed, in Lake Ontario, to the introduction of alewivos into the lake. ■^'"^ 'fff the family (JfcKTRARCHiDiE belong the various species of Bass and Sun- fish- Hp«'cies which, with Mm* exception of the Black Bass, do not attain to any size, but which are all regarded as excellent food-fijh. From an economical point of 454 view the Black Bass must be reijarded as ainon<:f the more valuable fish, as although not swelling the lists of market fish as do the Whitefish, Lake Trout, and Pickerel, it is, nevertheless, as much sought after by sportsmen as the Brook Trout and the Maskinonge. The two species of Black Bass, the small-mouthed and the large-mouthed, both belong to the genus Micropteriis, and are distinguished as M. dolomleu and M. salmoideH. Both agree in the elongated oval compressed form of the body, the deep division in the course of the dorsal fin, which is much larger than the anal, and the fin-formula which is T). X, IM ; A. Ill, 11 ; but the species difTer in that the maxillary bone in the small-juouthed species does not extend beyond the orbit, whereas it does in the large-mouthed form. Again, the scales are some- what larger in the latter, so that they are only 7 to 8 rows above the lateral line and G;") to 70 scales in its course, while in the small-mouthed species 70 to 80 scales occur in the lateral line, and there are 10 to 12 rows above it. further, the dorsal fin has a deeper notsli in the large-mouthed form, which is also thicker through the .shoulders, deeper m the body and less agile than the small-mouthed form. No dependence is to be placed on ditferences of colouration, for the variability in this regard resulting fiom surnnnidings is extreme. Mr. Henshaw in his Book of the Black Bass states that it would be possible to recognize from which of twenty .small lakes a ithin a radius of eight miles, in a district of Wi-consin known to him, any particular specimen of ba.ss came. Where, however, the species co-exist, the tendency is for the small-mouthed species to incline to sombre hues, the large-mouthed to pale green, although the small-mouthed form is often yellowish in places. In the young, the colouration of the two species is more distinct, M. salmoliles having a distinct dark lateral band ami three dark cheek- stripes, while i/. (Jo/uiiiieii has interrupted lateral blotches but no band, and three distinct olive cheek-stripes. The geographical range of both species is very wide, but ic is probable that it will be found that M. ■•<(dmo'i(les occurs farther to the north than does M. dolomleu. They ati'ect different surroundings, the large-mouthed species being especially found in deep pools around sunken logs, while the small-mouthed occurs in rocky streams and about gravelly shoi'es. Their respective vigour and gaminess is said to depend on the water in which they occur. Both species have a musky odour when caught, the source of which is not understood. The food of the Black Bass varies with its age. the fry eating various minute larv«e, the young iish, worms and tadpoles, and the adults, crayfish, frogs, mussels and watersnakes. Unlike Pickerel, Pike and Perch, the Black Bass hibernate (except in the extr^ne south) burying themselves in mud and weeds, often under the shelter of a sunken Jog. They leave their winter quarters a month or six weeks before spawning time, when they run in the streams and shallower parts of the lakes, possibly on account of the greater percentage of oxygen in the water there. Thereafter they pair and form their nests on a grj^velly or sandy bottom, or on a rcjeky ledge in from eighteen inches to three feet v^ water in streams, but in some- what deeper water in lakes. The nests are circular m form, twice the length of the fish, are o'ften placed quite close to each other and, whe-re pi.>ssible, adjacent to deep water or to patches of weeds, to which the part^ats can retire if disturbed. The spawning time \ aries with the temperature of the i-egion, from early spring to midsummer, >>ut )t also vaties m the same region from two to three weeks, shallower waters reaching more rapidly the suitable temperature than do deeper waters. I '-jU -f ■U-A.'-X h^:rii-.- [PlATB 37.] ■ I <-»W«SW*.«iiM*«l t i r^ r (Plate 28 \n .■■„• IMAGE EVALUATION TEST TARGET (MT-3) 1.0 I.I lit 1^ 32.2 ^ 1^ 12.0 liil P' V' ^ < 6" ». 7] >> o« ■^r Hiotographic Sciences Coiporation 23 WIST MAIN STREIT WSKTH.N.Y. USSO {716)t72-4S03 %^ t If • l [Platr 29.] T The Grass Bass {Pumoxys sparolde ). I. 4 The Rock Bass {AmUoplites rupeatrU). •s^ [Platk 30.] I •s^ The PuMrKiN-SEED or Sunfish {Lepomia (jibboaua). The Lono-Eakeu Sunfish {Lepomis atiritns). The Blue Sunfish (Lepomis paUidtM). ii ll'f.ATK 31. ir ., 41 (c.) mmmmf. •?sst; [Plati 32. f 4. : d^ TSStr I>' TBQtr T TMf »r 4.") 5 The nestH are fiisliKjiied with great care \ty the female, sand and silt Iteing faniiespecies of Sunfish (Lepomis) v/ithin the Province, but their distribution is not well understood. Unlike the preceding families the SERRANiDiE constitute a characteristically marine group, and there are only a few forms which live in brackisli or fresh water. Both of ihe species which have been reported from Ontario belong to the genus Roccus, viz., the Striped Bass, (rock-fish of the Atlantic coast) Roccus lineaius, and the White Bass, Roccua chrysups, an exclusively fresh-water form. The former can hardly be regarded as a native of the Province ; it ascends the St. Lawrence as far as Quebec, and has been taken at the mouth of the Niagara River, but is essentially a brackish water form, and is regarded as the best marine game-fish. The latter is, on the other hand, common in the Great Lake Region, and attains a weight of from one to three pounds. They were formerly still commoner in Lake Erie, so as to be of commercial value and not only of interest to the sportsman ; their disappearance is probably due to the raullipli- cation of pound-nets, but is not regretted by fishermen as they were very de- structive to whitefish spawn. [PMTt US. I a' '':/.r ■A i m i 456 t •aretr Another marine family represented in our fresh waters is that of the S<"LKN'ii).i;, fisli of compressed and elevated body with a long dorsal fin, thoracic ventrals, and a complicated air-bladder. The Lake Sheepshead (Aplodinotus griinn'u'n.s) is the only fresh-water species ; it is sometimes spoken of as the Lake Huron Drum, from a peculiar gruntingr noise which it produces, and which is attrilnited Ijy some to movements of the air in the air-bladder, and by others, with more probability, to the crunching up of the crayfish on which it lives, by the broad grinding teeth of the lower pharyngeal bones, which are most characteristic of the species. The fish attains a length of four feet and a weight of tiVty to sixty pounds, but is not valued for food, at least not from the Great Lakes. Before leaving the spiny-rayed fishes reference may be made to two families of minute fishes which differ conspicuously in their appearance and habits, but which have one or two fresh-water species. The first of these is the GASTEROSTElDiE (Sticklebacks), distinguished by the absence of .scales and the presence of bony plates, which clothe the sides. Two species are common in the Great Lake Region, G. imiKjitun^, the nine-spined Stickleback, and G. (Eitcalia) incnnstans, the five-spined species. Both are spawn-eaters, and are characterized by the elaborate nest built out of glandular .secretions of the males, and defended by them with great vigour. The second family is that of the CoTTiDiE or Sculpins, repreaoated in our fresh waters by several species of Miller's Tliumbs, Gottas richardsonl and others, and characterized by the high position of the eyes, smooth skin, spiny head, and long dorsal fin, (D, Vlil, 17 ; A. 12.) They are alway.s of small size and appear often to be confined to the deep waters of the lakes. The only other family of Teleosts represented m the fresh waters of the Province is that of the Gadid^e or Codfishes, a characteristically marine group embracing some of the most important of food-fishes ; but, in as far as the one genus confined to fresh water (Lota) is concerned, entirelyunimportant economically. This genus is also representee in Europe by a closely allied species, and is known as Uie Burbot ; it is therefore convenient to use the name American Burbot for our form, L. maculosa, which is common in the deep waters of the lakes, although its nomenclature is verv varied. It is abundant northward and westward, where it is known as the Mathemeg of the Indians and " La Loche " of the vo3'ageurs. It hardly reaches the markets from the Great Lakes, being considered a very poor fish, but in the fur countries it would appear to be more appreciated, the liver and roe especially being regarded as delicacies. It sp ;/ns in March, and is very prolific; as it is a carnivorous and voracious fish it is probably to be regarded as an enemy at least to the young of more edible fishes. It attains a considerable size and weight, up to forty-five pounds, and is heavier in the more northern waters. As in all the Gadidse, the dorsal and anal fins are long and contain oidy soft rays, (The formula is D. 14 — 76, A, 68). The body is long and com- pressed behind, the head small and broad, provided with barbels, the skin thick and mucous with jmall imbedded scales and the general colouration dark olive marbled with black, but paler beneath. Like so many fresh-water fish common to rivers and lakes, it attains to comparatively insignificant dimensions in the former. >v i T ■*i ^ n -sdtr ■I ini ■■■ [Platk Si.] :: ■*i ^ 'zMtr m T i*ifi 467 -' t «• THE FISHERIES OP ONTARIO. In the preceding section tVe natural liistoiy of the species of fish which are important from an economical point ol view lias been treated at considerable length. We must now proceed to consider their absolute and relative economic importance, their relative frequency in different parts of tlie Province, the nature and value •f the apparatus employed in the fisheries, and the number of men who find occupation in connection therewitli. In discussing the subject it is necessary to remember that so far it is only the Great Lakes which have become of great economical importance, and that the possibilities as important sources of a cheap food supply of the inland waters c? the Province have not yet attracted public attention. The following Tables extracted from the last Dominion Fi.shery Report give valuable information on the points in (juestion. It appears from Table I. that of 8,045 men employed in the Fisheries of the Province about one-fifth are from Lake Ontario. Lake Erie (!omes next with 526, Georgian Bay with 430, Lake Huron with 427, Manitoulin division with 387 and Lake Superior with 119. It also appears that the Georgian Bay heads the list with regard to the number of fathoms of gill-nets in use, Lake and River St. Clair by the seinej in use, and the lower part of Lake Ontario by the smaller hoop-nets, while Lake . Erie is distinguished by its number of pound-nets. Table 11. informs us of the relative value of the fisheries, tlu- GiH)rgian Bay being at the head of the list with $530,498, out of a total $2,009,037, Liike Erie n»jxt, followed by the Manitoulin division, Lake Huron, Lake Superior and Lake Ontario. We also learn from it that the Georgian Uay stands at the head of the list in both Whitefish and Lake Tx-out fisheries, that Lake Erie on the other hand comes first in the Herring, Sturgeon, Bass. Pickerel and coarse-fish fisheries, that Lake Scugog is the headquarters of the Maskinonge fishery, that the greater pro- portion of Pike come from the River St. Lawrence, and of Eels from \Vellini>-fcoii county, including the Credit River. From Table III. we learn that the following is the relative economic value of the various species of f ood-rfshes, not classified as mi.scellaneous or coarse fish t 1. Whitefish. 2. Lake Trout. 3. Lake Herring. 4. Pickerel. 5. Sturgeon. G. Bass. 7. Maskinonge. 8. Pike. 9. Eels. 458 I PQ •I I i g- •H. § c c '-' a ^ §^ 2 - ^^ be ® .5 o '^ o (/; -= "^:: o a - f- ^ a? CO > o C ^ 3 g ■-3 C3 S3 3 >oo >»< • "J" t w fl ■3 •8"I«A «» •BlUOm«J <0 S5 O •aniBA PS O •- (M T <>' iC O Ci OS r-i ^ ^* CO ) IC T ir O iC => C 10 > !r — o iM t^ ift o e^ I »j< -f 01 1^ a: ?^ t^ I NOO WW'* SitJO o o S'l (M M JO ?£ lO « ^ CO • siuom'Bj[ ■ -r S 5x I- ■ CO oe •« c; in ■ c>) loeo :8S8Si£ • -T W »ft O "1" ■ PI c; ■«• i-i o Hi s W H o pa a 'A < to Ml u M > •U9J(J Ncseowr-i'^e'jco •aniisA So o o rs -Tin o o o o o -«• ^ in n I- 00 C.I t- Ji 1-1 -r o — ' — t- 1^ «o i-i — < o 1— «M rl i-l OM •>!toiN»o>-i<*i IH l-l rH W i-» iH 0 to 9 H o •aaj^ •aniBA CC lO 30 *-^ 8SS8 : (M .»r i> '."C • 05 — C5 t^ • NCOrl • •agBauoj^ •ON 'T 00 tS Q • C^tMCOiA ■ ocoino > hi 0.2 10 888 «0 rHCC CClOO ^ f-i CO INrHCO ^ SO 1-1 tN 00 A CO o !* - '> • Q fc4 rfe o c4 is a o a '« »i '5' a 2 * -. "5 t^-e- p a r T * «« a 5f a'-'^S PQS.S «-ci-^ »§ o -2 :i'SQ - r; " >^ ' ^ *T u V o If- "^ c s CO 00 N S5 CO ^ ^ ^ 00 04 CO SJ t s.-^ CS3 o* -a a S a a ■oaj. ^:5j»c2 S 1 3-S«o S2 xtf. ' a M^J :0 CD .1^ ?« o, *. P V he '5.3 5 a I ■ - o « S a .2 fl a ho3 ? ® S5.® frS «.*- -, t».-a .. „ oi: iH •i3 4) b^ o^ S-5^J4.S c-oSJaiia^C £-"3 S 2S o h h:: ^ c h3 pi^ ;=i iJ I-; On i4 ^ 04 a< H? K H? Ah ^ h9 *-3 > (^ ««!•-<' 459 t ■ 460 RECAPITULATION ^i Of the Yield and Value of the Fisheries in the Province of Onta'io, timing the vear 1890. I:- h: Ir t I. , i-: ■ «(w V-i Kinds of Fifth. Whitefish brls. lbs. Trout " " brls. Quantity. Herring, salted . fresh Eelb " Sturgeon " Maskinongd * Bans " Pickerel " Pike " Coarse fish " Uonie consumption, not included in the above " Total for 1890 1889 Increase. 4,067 «,782,292 6,074,050 3,95U 6,425 8,43.5,960 125,2:'..: 1,132,970 (i5t.40t! 778,795 2,216,520 637,420 2,556,515 !)65,»i50 Pricen. 9 c. 10 00 0 08 0 10 10 00 00 05 0,(i37~37 •«3,]22 SO 46,514 57 While these tables give some information as to the geographical distribution of the principal fcod-fishes, further details are required in regard to the more remote bodies of water. It is known t..at the Lako-of- the- Woods is chiefly eh-iracterized by its abundant Sturgeon, the principal food of the numerous Canadian Indians (1,000) living near its borders, and the proposition has recently becA made that these waters should be closed to commercial enterjjrise and be reserved for the Indians, as has been done by the United States Government for the portion under its con- trol, pound-nets being prohibited to prevent wasteful fishing. In one year 46 tons of Sturgeon, 29 of Whitefish, 12 of Pickerel and 1 of Trout have been taken from these waters, which, therefore, if properly taken care of, should form a neverfaiiing source of food-supply for the population on their borders. 3, etc. ilue. •J o. 000 00 131 00 462 00 312 00 300 OO r^H 00 i43~00 42 (c). 462 FISHERY LEGISLATION. The following are the chief provisions of the Dominion Fishery Laws which affect this Province : CLOSE SEASONS. Brook Trout (Salvelinus fo}itlnalia)SG^t. 15 to May 1, inclusive. Pickerel April 15 to May 15, " Bass and Maskinong^ April 1.5 to June 15, " Whitefish Nov. 1 to Nov. SO, Lake Trout .Oct. 15 to Nov. 30, There is no close season for Sturgeon or for Lake Herring. Net fishing is prohibited in public waters, except to holders of a purchasable license. The size of the nets is submissible to regulation, and the nets must not be set nor seines used so as to intercept channels or bays. Explosives and poisons for killing fish are illegal, mill-dams must have passes, and mill-refuse must be destroyed. It is desirable that enquiry should be made as to the adequacy of the pro- tection afforded by the close seasons at present prescribed. It is pcsg'ble that in certain waters an extension is required. In Lake Megantic, e.g., it is reported that the Lake Trout have finished spawning by the 1st of October, while Mr. . John H, Willmott, of Beaumaris, Ontario, Fishery Overseer for the Muskoka District, reports in 1890 their spawning season as from October 8th to 20th for this region. Again in the North-west it is reported that the Whitefish spawn eai'lier than is the case in the Georgian Bay, so that if the close seas )n were assimilated to that of Lake Trout, the change would have more to recommend it than the mere simplification of the law and its efficient carr^ ing-out. It is even reported that the ran of Whitefish may occur within our wtiters after the 30th of November, so that an extension in the other direction might also be considered.* Such differences indicate that further information is required as to the spawning habits of our food-fish from all parts of the Province, so that future legislation may provide for the protection of waters lying at a distance from the present commercial centres. Although the absence of a close season for Lake Herring does not appear to have so far affected the results of the Fisheries in Lake Ontario, complaints are being made that the Lake is being depleted of the more valued Cisco (p. 447), and thut consequently some measure should be taken to protect this variety. A close season during July and August has been suggested. * Brook Trout have been observed to spawn in Central Ontario three weeks earlier than the beginnings of the close season. I"^^m" 463 Again, the incre»isinj» commercial value of the Sturgeon is likely to lead to a more systematic pursuit of this fish, and it appears to be advisable thiit it should bo spared duriiij^ its spawning season (May Ist to .Juno loth), and possibly that efforts should bo nindu to increase the numbers by breeding. The revenue derived by the Dominion Government, under the laws at present in force, from rents, license-f'jes and fines witliin the Province amounts to $23,6G6 out of a total $56,97(5, vdille the expenditure within the Province on Inspection amounts to $14,589 out of a total $05,873, and on Fish-breeding (to which refer- ence is made hereafter) ^o $11,492, out of a total $39,120. Ninety-five Fishery Overseers and six Wardens are employed by the Domin- ion Government for purposes of protection. As pay is often merely nominal, the inspection can hardly be regarded as satisfactor}', especially in view of the enormous length of coast line to be protected. The overseers therefore complain that poachers with fyke-rets or spears are at work as soon as their backs are turned. 4(!4 :: APPARATUS EMPLOYED IN OATOHING FISH. Of these there are two important nuxlitications : — " Pouiul-ncts " (in various forms) for nhallow-water H.sherie«, and "j^ill-nets" for deep-water. Tlio pound- net essentially consists of a long net, the so-culled " leader " pro- jecting^ at ii<»ht angles to the shore for from IlOO to GOO yards, and supported hy 8troni to rt inches, of the funnel 3, and of the pot frecjuently only 2 to 2k, to the destruction of immense numbers of inunature VVhitetish. ]k^yond the first crib a second leader, terminating in the same waj', and a third — indeed, as many as twenty have been arranged in "strings," if the shallowness of the water admit of it. Lake Erie obviously permits of such rlestructive use of this kind of apparatus more extensively than any of the other lakes, so that as many as 900 pounds exist on its American side. The average value of a pound-net is from I" LCAOER OfollO rodi lona' ;.i-.lf>:..^-xzjikLv;.^....^>^:| • t H w Co* cma ar*Mi. J fUNNiL nuT HAUL MAXl N t.COR C«tB ST*K. 9 ftACASTRtKRI STAKL Pound-Net. ^250 to S.500, and five men are re.juired to wcrk three nets. A boat of peculiar form is generally u.sed, .schooner-rigged with wide square stern, and plenty of beam so as to permit of lifting the pockets or cribs of the pound. 1'hoy must be able to take a large load of fish and yet have little draught. A special scow is used for driving and pulling stakes, in the spring and winter respectively. The Fyke-net is essentially a miniature pound, the crib being replaced by two funnels of netting, one opening into the other, and the heart by wings leadino- to the door of the outer funnel at an angle of 45 degrees. They are used^for <;atching Perch, Catfish, etc. A similar device is the trap-net which is simply a miniature movable pound, the crib of which is held in position by weights and floats. .Pound-nets have largely superseded seines for inshore fishing, but in some favorable places with sandy bottom the latter are still used, as in the Detroit and St. Clair Rivers. They may be 1,000 feet long by 12 feet deep in the middle, where the mesh is narrowest, but shallower and with larger mesh in the wino-s! Horse-power is sometimes used for hauling the seines. The second important variety of net used is the gill -net, so-called as the mesh is arranged of such a size (4^ to 4f inches for Whitefish— 3 J for Herring) as to catch fish striking the net behind the gill-covers. These nets are set vertically at different depths in deep water, often at right angles to the shore, the lower borders being weighted with stones or leads or iron rings (according to the kind " Jk O ^t 465 :: of l)ott()m), till! upper \H}\n > Reference has been made through the body ol this Report to wasteful and destructive methods of securing fish either at ordinary times or at the spawning sea- son. It is very encouraging to learn that in certain inland lakes, such as Scugog, Rice Lake and Lake Simcoe, where illegal fishing has been strictly put down, the improvement iii Bass and Maskinong^, tor which these waters were formerly dis- tinguished, is very great. Large quantities of Bass are peddled by Indians in the country surrounding Rice Lake in exchan(Tf» for flour and pork. Explosives have been frequently employed in American waters — and their use is not unknown in Ontario — for killing fish in a wholesale fashion. It is said that the air-bladder is ruptured in fish killed in this way : obviously only a very small proportion of the fish killed or fatally injured are brought to market. Again the use of pound-nets with a small li or 2 inch mesh in the pot secures countless immature fisli of little or no market value, and the same may be said of the use of seines for herring, many immature Whitefish being captured, the sur- plus catch being used as manure when the market is glutted. Sturgeon were formerly looked upon in Lake Erie as of so little value and were considered to such an extent as intrnders in the pounds, that the fishermen were in the habit of bleeding them and allowing them to escape, the object being to keep the species off the fishing grounds. Spearing and grappling for them at spawning time and indeed spearing of any fish under such circumstances is pro- perly regarded as one of the most destructive methods of fishing. The respecting of a close season has done much to counteract depletion due to taking advantage of the comparatively helpless condition of fish at the spawn- ing seasons. The extent to which the various species expose themselves to capture is dif- ferent, but the accounts we read of Ontario streams formerly blocked by Salmon » at this time, and carted away in immense quantities convince us that the changes in the conditions of the streams are not entirely to blame for their total disap- pearance. '%. With regard to the destruction of spawning and feeding grounds by sawdust etc., and by decayed fish or oflal, it is obvious that this source of injury to our fisheries is largely preventable. The enactments of the Dominion have already done much in puttincr an end to the former condition of afiairs by which a fine river like the Ottonabee River, formerly celebrated for its Bass and Maskinongd, had its depth reduced from twelve feet to a few inches by accumulated sawdust, which is further distributed by spring freshets. It is not only in rivers that damage is done. Deposits of blackened and decomposing sawdust have been found miles out on the floor of the Great Lakes opposite rivers on which there are many saw mills, to the great detriment of favourite spawning and feeding beds of Whitefish. This water-logged sawdust is also objectionable as forming a nucleus for sand- bars, interfering with navigation, but from the fisheries point of view the danger already noted, and the injuries to adult fish by the development of the gases of decomposition and by the floating sawdust getting into the gills of the fish cannot be exaggerated. The consumption of mill-refuse is such an easily accomplished remedy that there is no excuse for the failure to carry it out. The Dominion law appears to be sufficiently explicit on the subject, but, as may be inferred from complaints from various parts of the country, requires to be better enforced. i\, ^A- 470 ■ Nor is there any excuse for the short-sighted policy of fishermen throwing overboard decayed fish or the offal of fish on the grounds ; the occasional damage done by drifted nets and their putrid contents might probably be guarded against by more careful inspection of the nets, and attention to precautions against the floats becoming water-logged. No doubt the presence ot obstacles in streams preventing anadroruous fish from reaching their spawning grounds has done much to divert fish elsewhere, or to prevent them accomplishing the function of reproduction at all. It is known that many fish are extremely sensitive in this way, the Sturgeon, for examine, although ready to spawn, retaining its eggs after captivity. The construction and maintaining of proper fish- ways is therefore absolutely necessary, and this can be effected so cheaply that there is no excuse for neglecting it when a dam is built. Various forms are in use, a recent one which promises well, being fed from the bottom instead of the top of the dam, and consisting of a series of vertical compartments communicating with each other and with i:he dam above and the stream below, by comparatively narrow apertures in a line with each other, the result being the gradual reduction of the height of the water in each com- partment, and a continuouF passage from stream to dam, the velocity of the cur- rent in which is easily overcome by the fish. Close supervision of these various factors that favour the decrease of our food-fish will unquestionably have a most marked beneficial influence on the yield of our fisheries. Apart from such remedies, aiming at preventing decrease of our food- fish sup- plies, there are others which aim at directly increasing them by artificial pond- culture and by fish-breeding. Both have given admirable results where they have been consistently prosecuted. X 4< J^ POND-CULTURE. 1. Under the above heading may be considered the artificial culture of Carp which has been convicted successfully for centuries in Europe, and has met with some favour in the United States. The Carp is originally a native of Asia Mino" and Persia, and has been for centuries before its introduction into Europe (1258 A.D.) a domestic fish, occupying somewhat the position that the pig does among mammals, at least in regard to its capacity for absorbing scraps. Like all animals in a state of domestication it is extremely variable, and three well-marked races occur : — the full-scaled Carp, the Mirror Carp with scat- tered scales of large size, and the Leather Carp destitute of scales. The first men- tioned may be legarded as approaching most nearly the original stock and are the most prolific; the last are the furthest removed from the original as to their coat, they are le ist prolific, but attain the largest size and fatten most rapidly. The Mirror Carp occupy an intermediate position in both respects. They are very prolific, the females of the third and fourth year depositing from one to five hundred thousand eggs, when the water of the pond in which they have hibernated reaches a temperature of 63^ F. [Platk 35.] •^y -^ « * ,V^: .*'■ ", ■(■ : i N t^f ^\ \' '«» 471 !«k J^ I . ^\ While specially adapted for warm climates (they do not grow in weight materially in water of less than 48* F.) on account of their ability to stand warmer water than most Ksh, their culture is nevertheless prosecuted successfully in climates (Sweden for example) not very diiferent from our own. Special shallow ponds are arrano;ed for the fry in which vegetable food is supplied for them by previously sowing clover ; the larger fish, however, are fed •on mixed animal and vegetable food, for example, chopped straw mixed with dried blood, etc. The winter pond is made seven feet deep, and in this no food requires to be provided as the fish neither feed nor grow there. They are in season from October till May. and they are always placed for a week before sale in a pond traversed by a current of running water to remove the muddy taste which all such bottom-feeding fish havo when taken from the water. As they bring high prices in Europe, Id to 20 cents a lb., their culture is attended with consider- able profit ; but the usual verdict of English speaking people on the subject of the Carp is that it is a tasteless fish, only fit to be a vehicle for sauces. Various other foreign fish have been successfully introduced into North America, e.g. the European Brook Trout < r Brown Trout, a fish which in some respects deserves more attention for culture purposes than our own Brook Trout, and again the California Mountain or Rainbow Trout (Salmo irtde?ts), an exceed- ingly handsome species, is successfully hatched and introduced in the east. One of the native fishes most adapted for pond culture is the Catfish (p. 442) which is not only prolific, but looks well after its young, all of which are hatched ; it grows comparatively rapidly, is an omnivorous feeder, and fetches (where properly appreciated) high prices. One experimenter writes from the States that the culture of Cattish pays better than farming land and that peaty soil is very well fitted for it which would be unsuitable for agricultural purposes. The merits of the Catfish as a pond fish have been recognized in California, where it has been introduced, also in various parts of Europe where societies interested have experimented with it. i 472 FISH BREEDING. M" I Although pond-culture may prove a remedy for a deficient supply of food- fish in places distant from natural sources, and although it may also greatly improve the yield of small natural lakes, yet the only eflficient method for pre- venting the exhaustion of the food-supply from our inland waters is Fish-breed- ing on a large scale commensurate with the rate of artificial depletion duo to the fisheries. It has been noted above that great difterences are observable between differ- ent species of fish as to the number of eggs deposited by them. It might be supposed that those species which are characterized by great fertility would eventually crowd out the less fertile species, but observation teaches that the lat- ter are able to hold their own, a greater proportion of eggs arriving at maturity, generally because the young are exposed to fewer dangers. In fact in any body of water there is a certain natural balance of life, liable to slow natural changes, to which the rate of reproduction is in the case of each species closely adjusted. Artificial interference with this balance en a grand scale of the character of our fisheries must inevitably lead to depletion of the species sought after, for the rate of reproduction being already adjusted to natural conditions cannot at once alter to suit the new artificial condition. If, however, the proportion of eggs arriving at maturity can be artificially increased on a scale commensurate with the rate of depletion, then the danger of exhausting the fish-supply will be thereby obviated. This is the object of *he artificial breeding of fish ; it is evi- dently only possible with those species where the natural conditions of the devel- opment of the eggs are such that only a small proportion of them attain maturity and it consists in the artificial hatching out of such eggs, and the care of the fry till such time as they may be safely introduced into the waters to be stocked. Many of the earliest experiments in this direction are due to the energy of Mr. Samuel Wilmott, of Newcastle, Ont., who, stimulated by the rapid disappear- ance of the Atlantic Salmon from Lake Ontario, endeavoured thus to prevent it. Much of the apparatus employed is also due to this gentleman's ingenuity, and has, during his official connection with the Fish-culture operations of the Dominion Government, undergone improvements which have led to highly suc- cessful results. The earlier apparatus consisted of shallow hatching trays, over which a steady current of water was allowed to flow ; these permitted readily the extrac- tion of the dead eggs, the decomposition of which interfered with the development of their neighbours. Now glass incubating jars are in use which allow of an easy inspection of the progress of development, with better aeration by a constant current of water running through them. These are employed successfully for Whitefish, Lake Trout and other Salmonidae, and are also used for the propaga- tion of Shad by the U. S. Government. The jars are cylindrical with a hemi- sphsrical bottom ; a metal cover, with two holes f -inch in diameter for in-and out- flow tubes, is screwed water-tight on the mouth by means of a rubber collar. Half-inch rubber tubing connects the inflow tubes with the constant water-sap- ply, the pressure of which may vary with different kinds of eggs, but for the Salmonidse a fall of six feet from a tank provided with a ball-cock (in the event of the water-pressure being high) suffices. The amount required per diem varies ; for Whitefish eggs 4,000 gallons a day is ample. A. •^. i r *fS » ^ ■■ 473 The number of eg^'s which can be aceonimodated in ajar varies with the par- ticular species — with recently leathered Whitetish eggs 3 (juarts (108,000 eggs) are regarded as sufficient for ajar, but four or five quarts may be accommodated in the same jar when the eggs have become " eyed." The amount of movement of the contained t'gg^ can be readily controlled in such a jar by pushing the inlet tube further out or in ; VVhitefish eggs, e.g., when first taken, are glutinous and require to be worked rapidly under a full current with the inlet tube pushed down. Dead eggs, on the other hand, can be removed by pushing the outlet tube down into the superficial layer of eggs. When the hatching time arrives and the embryos are freed from the egg-membranes, tliey pass out fr )m the outlet tube into a g'.ass receiving tank, the current outward being barely sufficient to induce the fish to swim out. Whitefish embryos when first hatched are light gray in colour; they are dormant for two hours but then become quite active, more so than Salmon or Trout fry. The young may be fed on a paste made of 2| parts meal, ^ blood, & water. Experiments are at present in progress on this phase of fish-breeding operations. It is now very generally conceded that it would be advantageous to reserve the fry of Salmonidae till they have attained to some considerable strength and size before bei-^g turned out. The trouble is to find suitable food as nearly related as possible to their ordinary food. An effort has been made in the South of France to overcome this difficulty by raising water tieas (Daphnia p. 437) in basin* intended for the purpotse. It has been possible by allowing such basins to dry up to kill out noxious insects ; this desiccation, however, appears to be favourable to the winter-eggs of the Daphnias, which hatch out in enormous numbers on the ponds being subsequently flooded. From the last report of Fish-breeding operations in Canada the following statistics relating to Ontario are extracted : — There exi.».t three hatcheries, the oldest one at Newcastle, where Mr. Samuel Wilmott made the first experiments and researches on this subject ; the second at Sandwich ; and a third recently erected at Ottawa as an experimental and educa- tional station. The Newcastle hatchery is chiefly devoted to Lake and Brook Trout. The Lake Trout are secured in two pounds at Wiarton during November ; and in 1890, 11,125,000 eggs were obtained from 3,222 female fish taken in the pounds. It is interesting to note that there were captured at the same time 1,396 males — an indication of the relative abundance of the two sexes. Of the eggs thus obtained 4,700,000 were put out as fry; L.'iOO.OOO in the Georgian Bay, 2,300,000 in Lake Ontario, and 4.50,000 in Lake Simcoe, while of the remainder 5,500,000 were sent elsewhere in the Dominion as semi-hatched or eyed eggs. About 400,000 eggs of Brook Trout were secured, one-fourth of which were distributed as eyed eggs, the remainder placed in various streams and ponds as fry. Of 2,750,000 Whitefish fry hatched out from eggs received from the Sandwich hatcher^' there were distributed to Lake Ontario (1,650,000), Georgian Bay (1,000,000), and Lake Simcoe (100,000). The Sandwich hatchery deals chiefly with Whitefish and Pickerel eggs, the latter being hatched out in the spring after the Whitefish fry have been disposodj of. Ninety million Whitefish eggs were obtained in the Detroit River, which is 474 exclusively rcsciA'ed (lurinfnlly hatched in GOO automatic glass incubators, thirty million being put out ns fry, as follows : — Lake Huron 2 million. River and Luke St. Clair 5 " Detroit River 10 " Lake Erie 10 " Lake Ontario 3 " Of Pickerel eggs (Stizustediuvi vitreum) 32,000,000 were secured frora Lake Huron and 22,000,000 fry placed out as follows : — Lake Huron 2 million. River and Lake St. Clair 4 " Detroit River 10 Lake Erie 5 " 1 Reports amply show that these operations are already meeting with their reward, and indicate that a similar policy pursued by the Ontario Government with regard to the smaller inland waters would be followed by a rapid improve- ment of the.se as valuable sources of food. , 475 36 )ia eir jnt re- . ^ OONOLUDINO REMARKS. It is obvious from many passages throu;jhout this Report that there is abundant work for a permanent Fish Comoiission appointed under the Ontario Government. Not only must our knowlodj^e of the geographical distribution, habits, foo Is and enemies of our food-lishes bo oxtendeJ by a .systematic survey of our waber-*. but a rigid and otfeotivo inspection of the fisheries must bo introduced, an! mea- sures taken to counteract the decline in yield which is otherwise iii-ivi table. The establishment of a Provincial Fish Hitchery is one of the m>sb easily arr.inj;od of these measures, but there are problems of greater iliffiaulty confronting the Commission connected with the control of the fisheries themselves. While there is no difference of opinion as to the desirability of enforcing the laws against spearing and other illegal methods of fishiug, there is considjrable divergence as to the respective merits and demerits of pound-nets and gill-n'its. These have been referred to on p. 464, but it is needless to say that the poun l-net fishermen exaggerate the faults of the apparatus employed by the gill-neb fisher- men and vice versa. Unquestionably the multiplication of pounds has done mujh harm in interfering with the inshore migrations of the fish, an altered habit in this regard bemg noted since pounds were common ; the use of sm dl -meshed pots is also destructive, on account of the habit of immature Whitefish remaining in comparatively shallow water. On the other hand drifted or unlifted nets with decaying fish must inevitably prove harmful to the fishing grounds, and while on the whole larger fish are secured by the gill-nets their condition is not so good as those taken from p junds. It must be noted that the same size of mesh in a pound -net and a gill-net will secure very different sizes of fish, the meshes in the former bjin^ taat, in the latter loose, so that escape from the former is much easier than from the Utter. An impartial consideration of the advantages and disadvantages of both methods of fishing will probably lead to the conclusion that both methods of fishing miy under certain restrictions continue to.be prosecuted without danger to the Fisheries. Apart from rigidly limiting the number of pounds to be permitted, the leaders should be controlled in length, a considerable gap left between them and the shore, and only a single pot allowed. Above all the mesh of the pot should be such that immature whitefish may be able to escape. The general opinion is that this may be secured by employing netting for the pot, the mesh of which, after the tarring proccjss, stretches to three and a-half inches. Experts ann )unce that the number of whitefish to a barrel has been steadily on the incre ise of late years. If measures such as the above are adopted an improvement in this respect would inevitably follow. Finally a strict inspection of pounds is neces.sary, especially during the close season, to prevent fish being pounded until after the season has expired. Again, regulations with regard to the renewal of the seaming and of the stretching lines of gill-nets would go far to prevent damage d)ne by drifted nets. It is probable that an increase in the size of the mesh of the poun l-nets might be ■advantageously accompanied by the use of a five-inch mesh for whitotish i^ill-not-«, and the imposition of a penalty for possessing or selling nets of illegal sizj would asssist the objects of the Commission. . 1 \\ 476 1 The latter regulation would not be complete without ji .similar penalty for posHGHsing or selling immature fish, such as whitefish under two pounds or of black basH under one pound. At present there is no doubt that large quantities of oar game fish are netted or secured by other illegal means and shipped to the States. This is true of the magnificent Nepigon trout on the north shore of Lake Superior. It is asserted also with regard to bass which are caught by poachers in fyke-nets.'and shi[)ped covered over by less valuable fish. It would not be a difficult task for the Commission to devise means^to check suoh shipments. The outlay for adequate inspection to enforce the carrying out of the rules adopted would no doubt be considerable, but would speedily ^bo repaid by the increase of the value of the Fisheries. Tal 7 \ty for 8 or of I netted i of the isserted 4hi{)ped a check ing out 5 repaid 479 Paok. Table ihowing namen and addreii<)i of witneixtcs who antwercd queationi to hotel and itori'- keepen 174 how quMtionii to hotel and Htore-keepera were answered 175 names and addreuew of witneMneii who answered questions to railway managers. . . 176 how questions to railway managi^rs were answered 177 names and addrebtes of persons who answered questions to railway conductors and pursers 178 how queMtions to conductors and pursers were answered 17J) names and addresses of persons who answered questions to dealers in Fish and Oame 180 how questions to dealers in Fish and Game were answered 181 •1H2 names and addresses of iiersons who answered questions to dealers in guns and tackle lg;> how questions to dealers in guns and tackle were answered 184 names and addressee of persona who answtred questions to guides 186 how questions to guides were answered 18ft names and addresses of persons who answered questions to boat and canoe builders. 187 how questions to boat and canoe builders were answered 188 Game Laws in force in Ontario at time Commission was issued 201-206 amendments mode to above laws in 1892 207-213 Fishery Laws in force in Ontario at time Commission was issued 214-226 amendments made to above laws in 1892 227-231 Resolutions adopted at International Conference 294-29& values of various furs and skins found in Ontario 348 do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do \l 480 TREATISE ON THE GAME AND FUR-BEARING ANIMALS OF ONTARIO. Paob. Animals, gamn and fur-bearing, notes on papers relating to 316-316 Moose or European Elk, paper on 317-318 Wapiti or American Elk, paper on 319-320 Woodland Caribou, paper on 3?1 Virginia Deer, paper on 322-323 Black Bear, paper on Wolf, paper on Fox, paper on Oauada Lynx, paper on Otter, paper on Beaver, paper on , Fisher, Black Cat, Fekan, or Pennants Marten, paper on . Sable or Marten, paper on Mink, paper on Wolverine, paper on Skunk, paper on Raccoon, paper on Muskrat, paper on Stoat or Ermine, paper on Weasel, paper on Oanada Porcupine, paper on Ground Hog or Wood Chuck, paper on Northern Hare, White Rabbit, paper on Wood Hare, Gray Rabbit, Cotton Tail, paper on Flying Squirrel, paper on Red Squirrel or Chickaree, paper on Northern Gray Squirrel and Black Squirrel, paper on . . . Chipmunk, Striped Squirrel, paper on 324 326 326 327 328 329-330 331 332 333 334 336 336 337 338 339 340 341 342 343 344 346 346 347 V -;;<^s"'^.' " ;_3^VA^-vi'/.«p'Yr ^M-":>:>^-»T.j'?;" / 481 TREATISE ON THE GAME BIRDS OF ONTARIO. w ActodromuB raaculata Aethyia Americana Aethyia ValliBneria Aix Sponsa Anas Boschas ... Anas obHCura Anatidae Anatinue Anser albifrons Gambelli . Anserinae Baldpate Bartramia longicauda Bartram'a Tattler Bernicia Canadensis Bernicla Brenta Bernicia Canadensis Hutchinsii . Bluebill Paob. 391 380 37» 375 967 368 357 357-366 364 357-360 375 396 396 361 : 366 361 ■ 377 378 378 •• 411 40ft 38? 40&- 404 362- 363 36» 40O 381 382 > 383 397 • •■ 398 399 Cygninae 357 Ducks 367-3'M; Bluebill, Little Bluebill, Marsh Bob-white , Bonasa umbellis, var. umbellis Butterball Canace Canadensis, var. Canadensis Canace obscura, var. Richardsonii . . Chen hyperboreus Chen caerulescens ChaulelasmuB streperus Charadrius Dominicus. .....'. Clangula Glaucion Americana Clangula albeola Coween . . . Curlew, Longbilled Hudsonian, Shortbilled Eskimo Duck, American Golden-eye American Widgeon, Baldpate American Black Scoter Blteck. Black Mallard Blue-winged Teal Buffle-headed, Butterball . .. Canvasback Cadwall, Gray Green-winged Teal Lesser Scaup, Little Bluebill . . Longtailed, Old Squaw 381 371 384 368 373 382 S7»- 374 878 88S. 482 ( ,^ Duck—Continued. Pintail, Sprigtail Redheaded Ruddy, Spi Detailed . . . Scaup, Bluebill Shoveller, Spoonbill . Summer, Wood-duck . Velvet Scot'»r Dafila acuta Dowitcher . Erismatura rubida Fulix Marilla Fulix affiiiis Glossary of technical terma Gadwall Gallinago Wilsoni 389 Geese 357, 360 Godwit, Huddonian Godwit, Marbled Goose, American Whitefronted . Blue-winged , . . . Brant ... Canada Hutchins . .... Laughing Snow , Graes-snipe Grouse, Canada Richardson's Dusky Sharptailed Willow Harelda hyemalis Jack-snipe Lagopus albus Lagopus mutuB, var. rupestris . . Limosa fedua Limosa haemastica Macrorhamphus griseus . Mallard 367 368 371 .:: 385 413 ..".... 374 399 398 897 . 384 383 383 *01or Buccinator 369 Olor Columbianus 368 Ortyx Virginianuj, var. Virginianus 411 Partridge 406-411 Partridge, Spraco 405 Mallard, Black Mareca Americana Melanetta vel vetina Meleagris gallopavo, var. gallopavu Nettion Carolinensis Numenius burealia Numenius Hudsonicus Numenius longirostris Oedemia Americana Old Squaw Old Wife I f « Si •Sc Sc Sc Sh Sh, Sh( Sni Sni; Sni, ■Sou Spai Spir Spoc Sprij Spru Swat Swan Swan Table Table Teal, Teal. Tellta] Tetrao Topogi Totanu Totanu Turkey Upland Wavie, Wevois Widgeo Woodcoi Yellow-1 Yoliow-B Ytiliow-s u i 188 Pediocaetes phasianellus, var. pbaaianellus Pheasant , . Philohela minor Pintail Plover, American Golden. Plover, Field Porzana Carolina PtarnuRau, Rock Ptarmigan, White ijuail 8 391 372 390 390 389 383 372 382 372 370 405 357 359 36S 353 355 374 373 394 403 356 395 394 413 396 362 362 371 388 395 394 391^ "Wi"'WJ*'ig8g "■T^f^^WS?^ 483 REPORT ON FISH. ...y V ' I '"If Letter of Transmittal Geographical Considerations Natural History of Fish in General Natural History of Ontario Fish The Fisheries of Ontario Fishery Legislation Apparatus employed in Catching Fish Methods of preparation of fish for mp.ket Decrease in number of fi«h— causes and remedies Pond culture - Fish breeding Concluding remarks Pagk. 421 M 423 '.('ft 429 439 '^H 457 'iff 4G2 1^1 464 , w 466 468 :m*i 470 ,i^Mi' 472 .^1 m 475 "{ \1 r ^'i '":lF 3 l\