MARINE BIOLOGICAL LABORATORY. Received -.r^.h^^ /..0^^^..../..J..I..'l Accession No. %J i ^ Given by cZ7\r'^r%rJL Aq^ Place, nOTK-' *;^*flo book OP pamphlet is to be removed fpom the Iiab- oPQtopy uuithout the pepmission of the Tpustees. BULLETI]^ CM. J 4 ^ |e-c_ >3L ^ OF THE UNITED STATES FISH COMMISSION. VOL. I, VOli 18 8 1 WASHINGTON: govern:ment printing office. 1882. 3 (r^ ^ ADVERTISEMENT. United States Commission of Fish and Fisheries, Washington, D. C. For the purpose of utilizing and of promptly publishing the large amount of interesting correspondence of the Fish Commission in refer- ence to matters pertaining to fish culture and to the apparatus, methods, and results of the fisheries. Congress, on the 14th day of February, 1881, by joint resolution (H. Res. 372), authorized the publication annually of a Bulletin, a portion of the edition to be distributed signature by signa- ture, and the remainder in bound volumes. The present volume is the first of this series, and contains many announcements which are be- lieved to be of great importance in relation to the subject in question. SPENCER F. BAIRD, Comm.issioner. Ill TABLE OF CONTENTS. Page. Ariiii«it«^>nci, A. Wilson. A transfer of Leather Carp (Vi/prinnn carp'w) from the govern- ment ponds at Washington, U. S. A., to Scotland 341 Baiiditten, Ebrn. Recent contributions to pond cultivation .. 385 Bariif s, A. O. (Growth and Spawning of German Carp in Alabama 424 Bean, Tarlcton H. Movements of Young Alewives (?) {Pomolobus, sp.) in Colorado River, Texas 6ft Notes on a Shipment, by the United States Fish Commission, of California Salmon {Oncorhynchus cliouicha) to Tanner's Creek, Indiana, in 1876 204 Account of a Shipment, by the United States Fish Commission, of California Salmon-Fry {Oneorhynehus chouicha) to Southern Louisiana, with a Xote on Some Collections Made at Tickfaw 205 Behr, tou. Treatment of F^sh Eggs at Sea 346 Borne, Max von deni. Dry transmission of Fish Eggs 345 Campbell, J. B. Notes on McCloud River, California, and Some of its Fishes 44 Chad^viek, B. P. The Destruction of Young Fish by Unsuitable Fishing In^lements . . . 339 <.'lark, Frank iV. The Self-Picker 62 On the Rearing of Whitetisli in Spring Water, and its Rfdation to their Subsequent Dis- tribution 381 Collins, Capl. J. W. Gill-Nets in the Cod-fishery: A Description of the Norweg'an Cod- Nets, with Direclious foi their Use. and a History of their Introduction into tlie United States 1 An In(piiry as to the Capture of Young Codfish in Che.iapeake Bay 401 First Arrival of Mackerel in N e w York in the Spring of 1882 402 Creighton, B. J. Fish-Culture in New Zealand 51 Ueblois, Capt. E. T. The Origin of thfijilenhaden Industry 40 Erkardt, Herr. The Peculiarities of Blue Carp 389 FinHch, Dr. O. Rejwrt on a Trip in (iermauy to Secure Carp for the United States Fish Commi.ssiou • 220 Fi»4ber, F. B. Fishing and Fish-Culture in Florida 251 Forbes, Prof. S. A. The Food of Young Whitefish (Coregonus clupeiformis) 19 On the Food of Young Whitefish ( Coregonus) 269 An Inquiry into the First Food of Young Lake Whitefish (Coregonus clupeiforinis) .... 402 Oilbert, W. li. Growth of the Siilbling (Salmo salvelinvs) in the Old Colony Trout-Ponds at Plymouth, Mass 427 Cioode, O.Brown. The Carangoid Fishes of the United States — Pompanoes, Crevall6s, Amber-Fish, &:c 30 Notes on the Life-History of the Eel, Chiefly Derived from a Study of Recent European Authorities 71 Ooode, a. Brown, and Capt. J. W. Collina. The Winter Haddock Fishery of New England 226 <>reen, Seth. Rearing of California Mountain Trout (iSoJmo mdetw) 23 Salmon Caught in Genesee River, New York 23 The Introduction of Land-Locked Salmon into Woodhull Lake, New York, and the Sub- sequent Capture of Some of Them 421 Haack, Director. A Geiinan View of the American Section in the Berlin Fishery Ex- hibition 57 Harding, Cbarles W. Inquiries Concerning the Propagation of American Smelt and Shad, and Notes on the Fisheries of the Wash in England 428 VI TABLE OF CONTENTS. Page. Elarding, Oarrick M. Susrsestions to Fish Culturists 55 llavrkius, J. W. An Opinion Eegiirding the Influence upon the Coast Fisheries of the Steamers used in the Menhaden Fishery 266 llcinphill, Henry. On the Habits and Distribution of the Geoduck, a Clam of the Pacific (Gbjcrmeris generosa, Gld.), with Sucgestions as to its Introduction into the Atlantic Coast of the United States 200 Ileriiics, l>r. Otto. On the Mature Male Sexual Organs of the Conger-Eel {Conger vulgaris), with some Observations on the Male of the Common Eel {Anguilla vulgaris, Fleming) 126 Ilessel, Rudolph. Artificial Culture of Medicinal Leeches and of Species of Helix 264 lliester, Charles £. Fish Culture for Profit 382 Sliiickley, Isaac. The Fish-Eating Cows of Provincetown, Mass 134 Blobbs, Orlando. A List of Ohio Eivcr Fishes Sold in the Markets 124 Hughes, Suiiih E. Live Ponds for Fish in New Jersey 349 Huxley, Prof. T. H. Sec S. Walpole. Jordan, Darid S., and Charles H. Oilbert. Descriptions of Nineteen New Species of Fishes from the Bay of Panama 306 Ivrause, Dr. Cod and Halibut Fisheries near the Shumagin Islands 259 liaighton, Cedric. The Capture of Shad at Isles of Shoals, New Hampshire 421 L.eonard, J. A. Plan of the International Fisheries Exhibition to be held at Edinburgh, Scotland, and a List of Prizes to be Awarded 390 lUcOonald, ITIarshall. Experiments in the Transportation of the German Carp in a Lim- ited Supply of Water 215 ITIarquette, Oeorge R. Extraordinary Floods in the Potomac River 258 ITIartin, S. J. Coal Ashes as a Means of Raising Mackerel in Purse-Seines 65 Methods of Using "Willard's Piitent Pocket for Mackerel 65 First Appearance of Fish at Gloucester, 1881 66 Notes on the Mackerel Fishery of 1881 132 Notes on New England Fisheries 133 Notes on New England Food-Fishes • 202 Notes on the Gloucester Fishery 263 Cod-Fisbing with Gill-Nets in Ipswich Bay, Massachusetts 264 Fishery News from Gloucester, Massachusetts 265 Notes on the Gloucester Fisheries 268 Pollock-Fishing in Boston Bay 342 Cod Gill-Nets in Ipswich Bay, Massachusetts 343 Fi.shery Notes from Gloucester, Massachusetts 381 (Jodfishing Avith Gill-Nets from Gloucester, Massachusetts 384 Fishery Notes from Gloucester, Massachusetts, Concerning Cod, Haddock, Herring, Hali- but, and Mackerel 394 Notes on the Fisheries of Gloucester, Massachusetts 419 Notes on the Fishej-ies of Gloucester, Massachusetts ^ 425 iTIilncr, J. W. Summary of Fishing Records, for Shad and Alewives, kept at Willow Branch Fishery, North Carolina, from 1835 to 1874 396 Mordecai, M. !>., E. R. Food of the Shad of the Atlantic Coast of the United States (Alosa prcestabilis De Kay), and the Functions of the Pyloric ccBca 277 IVoi-ny. E . R. On the Propagation of the Striped Bass 67 A Proposed Pond for Rearing Striped Bass (Roccus lineatus) in Delaware Bay 260 0»>boi-u. J. H. Notes and Suggestions Concerning the Florida Shad Fishery 351 Pasco. I. 1>. A Call for Carp from Nevada 29 Ryder, Francis W. Codfish caught near Cape Charles, Mouth of Chesapeake Bay, in 1834. 384 Ryder. .John A. A Valuable Edible MoUusk of the West Coast 21 Preliminary Notice of the More Important Scientific Results Obtained from a Study of the Embryology of Fishes 22 >'ote8 on the Development, Spinning Habits, and Structure of the Four-Spined Stickle- back (Apeltes qtiadracus) 24 Development of the Spanish Mackerel (Cybium maculatum) 135 On the Retardation of the Development of the Ova of the Shad (Alosa sapidissima), with Observations on the Egg-Fungus and Bacteria 177 A Contribution to the Development and Morphology of the Lophobranchiates {Hippo- campus aniiqvoruni, the seahorse) 191 'J'ABLK OF CONTENTS. VII Page. — The Protozoa auil Frotopbytes Cousiileied as the, Piiinary or Imlircct Source, of the Food of Fishes 236 — The Micropyleof the Egg of the White Perch 282 — Development of the Silver Gar (Belone longirostriis), with Observations ou the Genesis of the IJlood in Embryo Fishes, and a Comparison of Fish Ova with those of other Verte- brates 283 — On the Nuclear Cleavage-Figures Developi. Ijiviiig»«ton. Mortality of McCloud River Salmon in 1881 134 !<^v4-iits<-h, Joseph. A Depot for Embryonated Eggs of all the Valuable Kinds of Fish. . . 345 Throckmorton, S. K. The Introduction of Striped Bass into California 61 Description of the Fish- Way in Pitt River, California 202 Walpole, S., and Prof. T. H. Huxley. Disease Among the Salmon of Many Rivers of England and Wales 429 Weddige, Herr. Castrating Fish 59 WigS' Dr« Oeorge. On the Insensibility of the German Carp to Freezing 402 Willis, H. Shad Fisheries of the Susijuehanna River Fifty-Six Tears Ago 261 Wilmot, Saninel. Introduction of California Salmon into Ontario, with Remarks on the Disappearance of Maine Salmon from that Province 347 — Remarks on the Scarcity of Male and Grilse Salmon in the Rivers of Ontario, Canada .. 379 Wilson, Thomas. The Proposed Introdnction of Catfish into Ghent 340 ^Vorth, S. Cr. The Artificial Propfigation of the Striped Bass {Eoeeus Uneatus) in Albemarle Sound - 174 Wright, Abel A. A Georgia Carp Pond 08 Wright, Harrison, Chairman of the Committee. Report of a Committee of tlie "Wyoming Historical and Geological Society on the Earlj^ Shad Fisheries of the Nortli Branch of the Susquehanna River 352 Zentz, F, On the Races or Varieties of Carp, Denying the Existence of Blue Carp and Gold Carp 387 MiSCEI.LA-NF.OrS AND REPRINTS. Protection of Whales 17 American Birds, Animals, and Fishes f ir New Zealanders 53 Peat-Bogs as FishPonds 58 Official Papers Relating to the Projjosed International Fisheries Exhibition at Edinburgh in 1882 130 Pachaly's Car for Transporting Fish , 207 Memorandum of some Results of the Artifical Propagation and Planting of Fish, dne mainly to the Efforts of the United States Fish Commission 208 Introduction of the Aland, or Orfe, into England 218 Some Results of the Artificial Propagation of Maine and California Salmon in New England and Canada, Recorded in the years 1879 and 1880 270 Progress and Result.': of Fisli-Culture 396 LLST OF PLATES con CII-LNETS. Page. Platk T. — Method of hauging cod j;ill-nets iu Norway 16 Plate II. — Manner in which the glass floats are attached to tlie tops of the nets 16 Plate III. — "Way in which the sinkers are fastened to the bottom of the nets 16 Plate IV. — Size of twine of which the American nets are made 16 Plate V. — Norwegian method of setting the nets at the bottom 16 Plate VI. — Way in which nets are set at different depths to ascertain the position of the fish ... 16 Plate VII. — Manner in which the ends of a gang of nets are attached to the stone anchors and buoy -line in Xorway ; also showing the position of the glass floats and sinkers 16 Plate VIII. — Way in which cod gill-nets are set at the bottom on the east coast of Newfoundland . 16 Plate IX. — The ordinary way in which cod gill-nets iiie .set floating at Newfoundland 16 Plate X. — Norwegian net and trawl buoy made of gla.ss floats 16 Plate XI. — Way in which cod gill-nets are set for underrunning in Ipswich Bay 16 Plate XII.— Manner in which the nets are underrun 16 SPANISH mackerel. Plate XIII.— ( I.) Fig. 1. Micropyle and micropylar area of egg 166 2. Fninipregnated egg 166 3. Morula stage of cleavage of the germinal disk 166 4. Genninal disk of egg 166 .5. Incipient blastoderm of the egg 166 6. Developing blastoderm of the egg 166 7. Blastoderm of the egg 7 hours after impregnation 166 8. Embryo 11 hours after impregnation 166 Plate XIV. -( II. i Fig. 9. Caudal view of embryo 168 10. Embryo 14 hours after impregnation 168 11. Transverse section of caudal view of embryo 168 12. Embryo 18 hours after impregnation 168 13. Young Spanish mackei-el 24 hours from impregnation 168 Plate XV. — (III.) Fig. 14. Young Spaui.sh mackerel 30 hours from impregnation 170 io. Young Spanish mackerel 45 hours from impregnation 170 Pl.VIE XVI.— (IV.) Fig. 16. Spanish mackerel three days after it left the egg 172 17. Head of Spanish mackerel six days after hatching 172 sea-horse. Plate XVII. Fig. ] . Young sea-horse (Hlppocatnpu.s antiquvruin) i. . . . 199 SILVER (iAR. Plate XVIII. Fig. 1. Egg of the silver giir {Ttjlosurus limgirostris) 300 2. Gerniiual disk 45 hours after impregnation 300 3. Germinal disk 10 hours after inipieguation ,- 300 4. Blastoderm of silver gar 24 hours :\ Iter impregnation 300 5. Blastoderm of silver gar 31-J- hours after impregnation '. ... 300 C. Blastoderm of silver gar 43f hours after impregnation 300 7. Head of embryo of silver gar 51 hours after impregnation 300 8. Tail of embryo of silver gar 51 hours after impregnation 3fio BULLETIN OF THE UNITED STATES FISH COMMISSION. 1881. OIIil^-NETS IIV THE COD-FISIIERV : A I>EI«$CRIPTIOX OF TBE NOR- ITEOIAIV €OD-IVETS, ^VITII DIRECTIONS FOR THFIR IJ8F, AND A HISTORY OF THEIR INTRODUCTION INTO THE UNITED STATES. By CAPT. J. W. COLLINS. [twelve plates.] SYNOr'SIS. A.— INTRODUCTION. Page. Cod gill-nets introduced by United States Fisli Commission in 1878 3 Information obtained at International Fishery Exhibition 4 Preparation of report 4 Acknowledgments due 4 B.— CONSTEUCTION AND EIG OF THE NETS. 1. — Norwegian methods. Twine 4 Size of mesh 4 Size of nets 4 Method of hanging 4 Methods of j)reserving the nets by tanning, &c 5 Floats 5 Sinkers 5 Anchors ; 6 Buoys 6 2. — Newfoundland methods. Twine 6 Size of mesh 6 Size of nets , 6 Method of hanging 6 Methods of tanning, «fec 7 Floats 7 Sinkers 7 Anchors , 7 Bnoys 7 Bull. U. S. F. C, 81 1 April 13,1881. 2 BULLETIN OF THE UNITED STATES FISH COMMISSION. 3. — American methods. Twine ''--V '' Size of mesli 7 Size of tlie nets 8 Method, of hanging and tanning 8 Dutch method of tanning cotton nets 8 Floats - 8 Sinkers 8 Anchors 8 Buoys 8 C— THE FISHEKIES. 1.— The Norwegian fisheries. Date of introduction of cod gill-nets 9 Where nets are most extensively used 9 Season when nets are mostly used 9 Boats used in the net-fisheries 9 Number of men to a boat 9 Number of nets to a boat 9 Methods of setting the nets 9 How and when the nets are hauled 10 Results of the fisheries 10 Statistics of the Lofoten Island fisheries 11 Comparative earnings of the net-fishermen 11 Increase of the net-fishery 11 Quality of the netted fish 11 2. — The Newfoundland fisheries. Where the nets are mostly used 11 When and how the nets are used 12 The catch 12 3. — The American fisheries. Introduction of cod gill-nets 12 Causes which led to the use of nets in the cod-fisheries 12 The method of underrunning nets introduced 13 Where the nets have been used 13 Kind of boats employed , 13 Number of men to a boat 13 Number of nets to a boat 13 Methods of setting the nets 14 How and when the nets are undeiTun 14 Eesults of the net-fishery for cod 14 Quality of cod taken in nets 15 Advantages that may result from the use of nets by bank cod-fishermen.. ..... 15 D.— EXPLANATION OF PLATES. BULLETIN OF THE UNITED STATES FISH COMMISSION. A.— INTEODUCTIOX. Although gill-nets have long been used in Norway as an apparatus for the capture of cod, and are considered quite indispensable by the fishermen of that country, they have never until recently been intro- duced into the United States. In 1878 Prof. Spencer F. Baird, Com- missioner of Fisheries, knowing how profitably these were employed by the Norwegian fishermen, decided to make exi)eriments with them at Cape Ann, with a view to their introduction among the cod-fishermen of this country. He accordingly secured a set of the Norwegian nets, which were sent to Gloucester and there tested by the employes of the Commission. Experiments were made when the winter school of cod were on the shore grounds, but the results obtained were not entirely satisfactory, owing chiefly to the fact that the nets were found far too frail for the large cod which frequent our coast in winter. This was apparent from the numerous holes in the nets, which indicated plainly that large fish had torn their way through, none being retained excepting those that had become completely rolled up in the twine. The current also swept them afoul of the rocky bottom, which injured them still more, so that they were soon rendered nearly unfit for use. The nets were invariably in bad order when hauled from the water, but even under such unfavor- able circumstances nearly a thousand pounds were caught on one occa- sion. This seemed to indicate that nets of sufiicient strength might be used to good advantage, at least on some of the smoother fishing grounds, along the coast and on the outer banks. These preliminary trials, therefore, having demonstrated that nets could be used to good advantage in the American cod-fisheries, Professor Baird availed himself of the first chance that offered for obtaining definite knowledge of the methods of netting cod in Norway, with the intention of disseminating this information among American cod-fishermen. The opening of the International Fishery Exhibition at Berlin, Ger- many, in the spring of 1880, presented a favorable opportunity for ac- complishing this purpose. Professor Baird having appointed the writer as one of the commission to attend the exhibition on the staff of Prof. G. Brown Goode, desired that a careful study should be made by him of the foreign methods of deep-sea fishery as represented at the exhibi- tion. The method of capturing cod with gill-nets, as practiced by the Norwegian fishermen, was mentioned as a subject which should receive especial consideration, and it was suggested that it might even be de- sirable to visit Norway, so that the practical operation of this fishery might be observed. 4 BULLETIN OF THE UNITED STATES FISH COMMISSION. It is probable, however, that the information on this subject that has been obtained at the exhibition and elsewhere will be sufiQcient to en- able our fishermen to use gill-nets for cod with success. It was the original intention of Professor Baird that a report of the observations made at the Berlin exhibition should be published as soon after the return of the commissioners as possible, but circumstances delayed for a time its preparation. The use of gill-nets in the cod-fisheries at Ipswich Bay the present winter — an account of which will be given — has resulted in complete success, and there is strong probability that they will be introduced into the bank-fisheries, as well as those along the coast ; therefore. Pro- fessor Baird has suggested the prepara.tion of this pamphlet by the writer, and it is hoped that it may serve the purpose for which it is in- tended, by supplying information that may lead to the more profitable prosecution of the American cod- fisheries. Acknowledgments are due to Mr. Frederik M. Wallem, the !N"orwegian Commissioner to the Berlin exhibition, for information furnished con- cerning the gill-nets and their use in the Norwegian cod -fisheries. The account of the Newfoundland cod gill-nets, methods of fishing, t&c, is given largely on the authority of Capt. Solomon Jacobs, of Gloucester, Mass., who is a native of Newfoundland, and has had considerable ex- perience in the cod-fisheries along the east coast of that island. B.— CONSTRUCTION AND RIG OF THE NETS. 1. — Norwegian JiETnoDS. The nets used in the Norwegian cod-fisheries are usually made of hemp twine, of two, three, or four threads, but occasionally of flax or cotton. The three-layed hemp twine, which is the most common size, weighs a pound to 400 or 120 fathoms. It is mostly spun on the spinning wheel by the fishermen's families, and the nets are almost exclusively made by the fishermen and their wives and children. Some of the hemp twine, however, is furnished by the factories of Norway and Great Britain, which also supply all of the cotton and linen twine. The size of the mesh varies some w hat, according to the locality where the nets are to be used, as it is necessary to make the mesh correspond to the size of the fish that frequent different parts of the coast, or make their appearance at different; seasons. The smallest mesh is about 5| inches (2^0 inches square) and the largest 8 inches (I inches square). Those exhibited at Berlin were 7 and 8 inch mesh. The length of the nets varies from 10 to 20 fathoms, the average length of those used at the Lofoten Islands being 15J fathoms, when hung, and they are from twenty-five to sixty meshes deep. Nets about thirty meshes deep are generally used, while those of sixty meshes are em- ployed only where there is little or no current. The nets are hung both to single and double lines, and these vary somewhat in size. Those ex- BUX^LETIN OF THE UNITED STATES FISH COMMISSION. 5 hibited were liiing to double lines, each being ^ of an inch in circum- ference, while Mr. Walleui says that 2-inch rope when single, and 1-inch rope when double, is the size commonly used at the Lofoten Islands. Some of the nets are hung to lines only at the top and bottom, having none across the end, while others have them on the ends as elsewhere. This last method is said to have been recently introduced, and is con- sidered an improvement when the line is a little short, so that the net will be a trifle slack or baggy. About one-third of the net is taken up in hanging; that is, if a net is 30 fathoms long, stretched out, before it is hung, it will be about 20 fathoms long afterwards. They are hung with twine about the same size as that of which they are made. The end of the twine is first made fast to the hanging line, then hitched to the upper part of one of the meshes, the distance between the line and mesh being equal to one side of the mesh ; then back to the line again, around which a clove-hitch is taken, thus forming one-half of a mesh, as shown in Plate I. This method of hanging is thought by the IS^or- wegian fishermen to be superior to an^' other for large-mesh nets. They are generally prepared for use in Norway by tanning, and will last, when so prepared, from one to five seasons. The nets are supported upright in the water by floats of wood, cork, or hollow glass. At the Lofoten Islands, where nets are more exten- sively used than elsewhere, the glass floats are preferred, it being said that they replace to great advantage the old wooden ones, which failed to prevent the nets from settling on the bottom. The fishermen from Sondmor, however, who fish on banks where there is a strong current, prefer wooden to glass floats, since, it is said, the latter are so much more easily carried nway by the tide, causing the loss of many nets ; while the principal objection to wooden floats is that they are so easily waterlogged. But this is thought to be the lesser evil of the two, since they can, at the worst, only sink to the bottom with the nets, whence they may easily be recovered. From this experience of the Nor- wegian fishermen, it maybe inferred that while glass floats are preferable for general use, they are not so suitable as either wood or cork buoys where there is a strong tide. Tlie glass floats are about 5 inches in diameter, with a covering of tarred marlin or spun-yarn hitched over them, to which is attached an eye. In this eye is bent the small rope that holds them to the net. When so prepared for use these floats are quite strong, and break far less frequently than might be supposed. They withstand the pressure of water when submerged better than any- thing that has been tried, but are sometimes filled with water — " drunken," it is called — when set in deep water. Plate II is intended to show the glass float and the way in which it is attached to the net. The small ropes with which these are held vary in length fi'om 1^ to 6 feet. Oblong-shai)ed stones, from 3 to 5 inches in lengtli, are used for sinkers. By exijerieuce the fishermen learn how large these should be to sink the nets to the desired depth. From ten to twelve are fas- 6 BULLETIN OF THE UNITED STATES FISH COMMISSION. tened to the bottom of the net at equal distances apart, being held in a double string, as shown in Plate III. Large stones are used instead of anchors to hold the nets to the bot- tom. These weigh from 72 to 144 pounds, the heavier one heading the current, and the smaller being on the other end of the gang, containing twenty to thirty-five nets. Besides these " mooring rocks," there are others of smaller size that are held to the nets by a foot-line, one end of which is fastened to the stone which lies on the bottom, and the other to the rope that connects the lower part of the nets together. The larger stones are generally slung with rope, but sometimes with a band of iron around them, with an eye or ring to which the foot-line can be fastened. Iron anchors are not used, as the nets are liable to be torn on them should they settle on the bottom. Plates VI and VII show how the mooring rocks and the other stones are attached to the nets. Buoys of different kinds are used by the Norwegian fishermen, but, according to Mr. Wallem, at the Lofoten Islands glass buoys, having a capacity of about three to five gallons, are the most common. These are generally egg-shape and are covered in the same manner as the glass floats. Sometimes a buoy is made by fastening several of the latter around a staff, as shown in Plate X. The glass buoys, of both kinds, are employed in the trawl as well as the net-fishery; they will rise to the surface again after having been under water for several days, an advantage not possessed by other kinds, and it seems that buoys of this description might be profitably used by our bank-fishermen, who frequently lose large quantities of gear on account of the wooden ones bursting and filling with water when they are submerged to any con- siderable depth. Hard- wood, iron-bound kegs are used by some of the Norwegian net-fishermen. From two to four glass floats, such as are on the nets, are fastened to the bight of the buoy-line, at different dis- tances from the buoy, for the purpose of keeping the slack or scope from going on the bottom when there is no current. Where there is a strong tide, and a probability of the large buoy being drawn under the surface of the water, a number of the glass balls are attached to it with a line, these serving as "watch-buoys" for the other. Plate V shows how the glass floats are fastened to the buoy-line and buoy. 2. — Newfoundland methods. The nets employed in the Newfoundland cod-fisheries are usually made of hemp twine one size smaller than salmon-twine, which is also occasionally used. The size of the mesh is generally about 6 inches (3 inches square), a large mesh not being required for the small fish that frequent that coast. The nets vary in length from 50 to 80 fathoms, and in depth from 3 to 4 fathoms. They are hung to the lines in the same way that the Norwegian nets are, tlie foot-line being l:|-inch rope, while small-sized double lines, of opposite lays, are the hangings for the top and ends. Eope is used on the lower part of the net, because, BULLETIN OF THE UNITED STATES FISH COMMISSION. 7 when set close to the bottom, small line would probably be bitten off by ground-sharks, thereby causing the loss of a portion of the net. To preserve the nets the I^Iewfoundlaud fishermen make a mixture of tan and tar, which is thought better than either used separately. The tan is commonly made from spruce buds, fir bark, and bu-ch bark (hem- lock bark is not used), which are boiled together until it is sufficiently strong, when the bark is removed, and tar added in the proportion of five gallons of tar to two hundred gallons of tan, the whole being stirred well together. Some care is necessary in api)lying this, or else it will not be evenly distributed on the net. The custom of mixing tan and tar has doubtless been introduced from England, as it is known that the Cornish fishermen do this, pouring out their tanning liquor into large vats with coal tar, and this mixture is found to iireseive the nets much longer than simple tanning. The Xewibundland nets, when pre- pared in this manner, generally last about four seasons. The floats are made of the best bottle-cork, when obtainable. Before being used they are di^jped in hot pitch or tar, after which it is said they will stand for four weeks at the bottom in 50 fathoms before getting water-soaked. The fishermen have two sets of floats — one, when soaked, being replaced by the other. The sinkers most generally in use by the Newfoundland fishermen are made by tying small rocks in a bag of old netting or cloth; but lead sinkers, similar to those on seines, are occasionally attached to the nets. The sinkers weigh from 1 to 2 j)ounds, are about 13 feet apart, and are fastened close to the bottom of the net. Anchors, rocks, and stone killicks are used for moorings to the nets. The former weigh from 20 to 25 i)ounds each, while the killicks and rocks vary from 25 to 60 j)ounfls, the heavier heading the current, and the lighter being on the opposite end of the net or gang. The buoys are generally made of dry fir poles, 6 to 8 inches in diame- ter, are usually from 3 to 4 feet long, and sharpened at one end, through which is a hole for the strap that the buoy-line bends to. Kegs are also used for buoys. 3. — AlVIERICAN METHODS. The nets that were first tried in Ipswich Bay were made of twine about the same size as that used in Norway ; indeed, part of them were Norwegian nets that had been lent to Captain Martin by the United States Fish Commission. These were found, as in the previous trials made by the Commission, entirely too weak for the purpose, and were soon badly torn, not, however, before it had been proved that suitable nets could be very successfully used. The nets that have since been constructed for this fishery are made of Scotch flax twine, twelve-thread, of the size represented in Plate lY. The twine is very strong, and is found to be well adapted for the capture of large cod. The nets are 9 inch mesh (4J inches square), that size having been found well adapted 8 BULLETIN OF THE UNITED STATES FISH COMMISSION. for taking the large winter cod iu that locality. Smaller- meshed nets are, however, being prepared for the bank and summer shore-fisheries. The size of the nets depends somewhat on the locality where they are used, and also on the movements or habits of the fish. In some places where the cod keep close to the bottom, long shoal-nets are probably the most suitable, while at other points, as at the Lofoten Islands, where they are often found in the greatest numbers some distance from the bottom, deeper nets are required. The nets made for Captain Martin were 50 fathoms long and 3 fath- oms deep, but as nearly all the fish were caught near the bottom, other I)arties have since had shoaler and longer nets ; the most of those lately made for the shore-fleet are 100 fathoms long and 2 deep.* These are hung to small double lines of opposite lays, and they are tanned before being used. It may be well to mention here the Dutch method of tan- ning cotton herring-nets, which is thought better than any other by those foreign fishermen, and may, perhaps, be applied with equal advantage to other nets, when made of that material. The tan is made by boiling catechu in water in the proportion of one liound of the former to two and a half gallons of the latter. When it is sufficiently strong the nets are soaked in it for twenty-four hours, after which they are dried. They are tanned and dried three times, and then soaked iu linseed oil. A pound of oil is provided for each i^ound of net, and they are allowed to remain in it as long as any will be absorbed. They are then well drained and spread out on the ground to dry, after which the process is com- X^leted by tanning them once more. Glass floats, similar to those of Norway, have been used on the Amer- ican nets.t These cost about 30 cents each, when covered, and twenty- fi.ve of them are attached to a 50-fathom net. Bricks are used for sink- ers, one of which is fastened to the foot of the net directly beneath each of the floats, they being held iu the same manner that the stone sinkers are, as shown in Plate III. It is probable that suitable metal sinkers may soonj^e devised, and perhaps desirable improvements may be made in the floats as well. The cost of nets 50, fathoms long, with floats at- tached, is about $18. Fourteen-pound trawl-anchors have been found quite suitable for Ips- wich Bay, one being attached to each end of a gang of three nets, but it is quite i^robable that heavier ones will be required where there is deeper water and more current. The buoys are common quarter-barrels, rigged in the same manner as for trawling. * These nets liave beeu princii^ally made by tlie American Net and Twine Company, and H. & G. W. Lord, Boston, Mass. t These are made at the glass factories in Boston. BULLETIN OF THE UNITED STATES FISH COMMISSION. 9 C— THE FISHEEIES. I. — The Norwegian fisheries. The method of taking cod with gill-nets is said to have been intro- duced into Xorway about 1685, and nets are now employed extensively at the principal fishing stations along the coast of that country, but more than anywhere else in the great winter cod-fisheries that are car- ried on at the Lofoten Islands. These islands are situated on the west coast of Norway, north of the Arctic circle, and the banks in their vicin- ity are the favorite resort of immense schools of cod that gather there to spawn. Toward the latter part of December the first schools appear upon the grounds along the outer side of the Lofoten group, and soon the "coming-in" fish are taken on those banks lying inside, in the West- fiord. The arrival of these fish, which are the forerunners of the count- less millions that invariably follow, is hailed with great delight by the fishermen, many of whom resort hither from other parts of the country to engage in these fisheries, so many often being congregated here in the winter that at some points they are quite crowded. The bank which is the iJrincipal resort of the fishermen from Xord- land extends along the coast of Lofoten from the island of Eost to the Strait of Raft. This is from three to twelve miles from the land, and has a depth varying from 40 to 80 fathoms. The fishing is at its height in Februarj^ and March, while the fish are spawning. At this period, especially during the latter month, the cod are said to be very restless and disinclined to take the hook, and are usually caught in nets, the catch being increased and a better quality of fish obtained by using them. The experience of the Norwegian fish- ermen shows that the fatter the fish the less it is inclined to take the bait ; therefore the most skillful fishermen are provided with nets as well as trawls. The fishing is carried on in open boats. The net-boats, which, as a rule, are larger than those used for trawling, are from 35 to 40 feet long, 9 to 10 feet wide, and 3 feet deep. These are provided with a single mast, on which is set a large quadrangular sail, and each boat has also ten or twelve oars, by means of which the crew can row rapidly even against the wind. The crew of a boat fitted for the net-fishery varies from six to eight men, and the number of nets from sixty to a hundred. These are not all in use at the same time, but the greater part are kept in reserve to supply the place of such as may need repairs or drying, or that may be lost. From twenty to thirty-five nets are fastened together and set in a gang by each boat on a specified part of the fishing ground. Where so many are fishing at one place they are obliged to adopt some rule for setting the gear to prevent its fouling, since that would result in loss to all and soon render a valuable fishery practically worthless. A certain part of the fishing ground is therefore assigned for the nets, and an- 10 BULLETFN OF THE UNITED STATES FISH COMMISSION. other part for the trawls, as it is evident they should not be set together. The nets are prepared for setting by fastening them together at top and bottom, attaching the sinkers, and bending on the large anchor-stones in the manner already alluded to, and which is shown in Plates V, VI, and VII. The nets are so arranged that they will set close to the bot- tom or some distance above it, according to the position of the fish. The cod in the vicinitv of the Lofoten Islands are said to be some- what erratic in their movements, and it frequently happens that they are found in the greatest numbers quite a distance from the bottom. The fishermen therefore set their nets at a depth where they think the fish are most plentiful, and several expedients are resorted to to find this out, such as trying with a hand-line, and setting a gang of nets with one end at the bottom and the other some distance from it, as re- presented in Plate VI. ISTets are occasionally set floating, but this method of setting is prac- ticed but little except at the stations east of Sorvaagen. One experi- enced in fishing soon learns at what depth the most fish can be taken, and places his apparatus accordingly. The fishermen all start in the afternoon at a given signal to set their gear, both nets and trawls being thrown out simultaneously to x)revent them from becoming tangled, though this is sometimes unavoidable on account of the stron g winds and tides. The nets are set with or across the current. As soon as they are out the boats return to the shore.* At the Lofoten Islands the fishermen start out together in the morn- ing to haul their nets ; in the darkness of the long nights they enter their boats, for the brief daytime, often shortened by gloomy skies, would be far too sHort for the work which has to be accomplished. They regard neither cold nor storm as long as the waves are not too high, so as to make fishing impossible. Hauling the heavily weighted nets, sometimes from a depth of 80 to 100 fathoms, is a task requiring the united strength of the boat's crew. The nets are hauled into the boats and taken on shore, where they are cleaned and put in readiness to be set again. But it must be remembered that in this region stormy weather often continues for weeks at a time during the winter months, making it imj)ossible for the fishermen to go out to the banks, and as a rule fishing cannot be carried on more than two days in the week. The daily fishing varies from a few scattering cod to several hundreds. A catch of four to five hundred to a boat is considered very satisfactory, although six hundred are often taken when everything is favorable, even when they will not bite, and lines or trawls cannot be used. If more than six or eight hundred are caught, the fishermen are obliged to leave a i)art of the nets out until afternoon, as the boats can rarely carry any more, especially in rough weather. *At Sondmoi', where the banks lie some distance from the coast, the fishermen some- times stfiy out over night during the month of April, when the nights have already become quite clear. Usually, however, these men haul their nets and return them again to the water, while they start for the shore to dispose of their catch. BULLETIN OF THE UNITED STATES FISH COMMISSION. 11 The total catch of cod at the Lofoten Islands in 1878, according to the report of the superintendent, was 24,000,000 in number. Of these, upwards of 14,000,000 fish were caught with nets, 9,250,000 with lines, and 1,250,000 with deep bait.* divided as follows: The men and boats engaged were !N"et-fishmg Line-fishing Deep-bait fishing. Hired men Total Fisher- men. 13, 168 7,258 2,297 3,311 23, 034 Crews. 2,154 1,689 844 4,687 Boats. *2, 430 1,977 t844 5,251 * 269 of these also occasionally used lines. 1 701 of these used no lines, and 143 used lines. There was an increase from the year before of 2,542 in the number of net-fishermen, an increase of 417 in the number of deep-bait fishermen, and a decrease of 1,504 in the number of line-fishermen. Highest total sum earned by net-fisherman $214 40 Lowest total sum earned by net-fisherman 48 24 Highest total sum earned by line-fisherman 120 60 Lowest total sum earned by line-fisherman 32 16 Highest total sum earned by deep-bait fisherman 85 76 Lowest total sum earned by deep-bait fisherman 42 88 The superiority of the nets over lines and trawls, as shown by the respective earnings of the fishermen, has, as might be exi)ected, led to an additional increase in that branch of the fishery, and in 1879 it is stated that 2,532 boats, with crews numbering 14,322 men, fitted out for the net-fishery. The larger amount earned by the net fishermen is due to the better quality of fish taken by them more than to the increased catch, though this is also generally obtained. It has been found that the largest and fattest cod do not bite at the hook, but must be sought after with gill-nets, and it therefore follows that netted fish furnish a very superior article of merchandise. It sometimes requires but 210 cod caught in a net against 300 taken on a hook to furnish the same amount of liver, about 26 J gallons, and the livers of the netted fish, yield much more oil to the gallon than those of the trawl or line fish. In con- clusion, it may be added that pollock are taken in gill-nets as well as cod. During the winter season large schools of these fish visit the coast be- tween the sixtieth and sixty- second parallels of latitude, and in the summer and fall are found on the coasts of Nordland and Finmark, where enormous quantities of them are taken by nets, trawls, and hand- lines. 2. — The Newfoundland fisheries. Gill-nets have long been used in the Newfoundland cod-fisheries, es- pecially on the east and south coasts of the island, but the exact date of ^ Trawls are probably meant by lines, and hand-lines by deep bait. 12 BULLETIN OF THE UNITED STATES FISH COMMISSION. their iutrodiiction is unknown. It is asserted, however, that this method of fishing- has been pursued since early in the present century, and is st'ill carried on to some extent. The coast of Newfoundland is indented with many large bays, which are favorite feeding grounds for the cod. In the early summer they make their appearance in pursuit of the capelin that gather in immense numbers along the shores to spawn, and generally remain from three to five weeks. During this time the cod usually keep near the surface of the water and the nets are set floating, but later they are set at the bottom, for when the capelin leave the shores the cod move into deeper water. Plates VIII and IX show the methods of setting at the surface and bot- tom. The nets are set singly or in gangs of three to seven. Two an- chors are generally attached to a gang of floating nets, as represented in the i)late, but where there is a current one is sometimes found suffi- cient. They are usually set in the afternoon and hauled in the morning. Owing to the comparative lightness of the anchors, fewer men are re- quired to haul these than in Norway, as a single fisherman will some- times take in one or more nets, though in most cases two or three go in a boat. The net-fishing is far less productive than that of Norway, but sometimes a large catch is made. Captain Jacobs states tiiat on one occasion he took from four nets 2,000 cod, but says that this is rarely equaled. These fish are what are known in the American markets as • medium cod. 3. — The American fisheries. Mention has been made of the introduction and trial of cod gill-nets by the United States Fish Commission in 1878, but no attempt was made by the fishermen to use them until the fall of 1880, when Capt. George H. Martin, of Gloucester, Mass., master of the schooner Northern Eagle, fitted out with them for the winter cod-fisheries ofl" Cape Ann and in Ipswich Bay. The immediate cause which led to this trial was the difficulty of procuring a supply of bait, which is a source of consid- erable trouble to our shore-fishermen, and its cost, even when obtainable, is such a heavy tax on this branch of the fishing industry that often the fishermen hesitate to engage in it, fearing that it may result in loss rather than gain. It was to obviate this difficulty about bait, and to render our cod-fisheries more valuable in consequence, that led Professor Baird to bring the cod gill-nets to the notice of the American fishermen. The bait principally depended on by the shore-fishermen in the vicinity of Cape Ann, during the fall and earlj^ winter, is young herring {Clupea harengiis), known as the "spirling." The appearance of these fish about the cajje is somewhat uncertain ; sometimes large schools remain for sev- eral weeks, and at other times but few can be taken. There was so little probability of getting a supply of bait in the fall of 1880 that CaiJtain Martin hesitated about fitting out, fearing that the cost and difficulty of securing a sux)i)ly of this article, which is indisi)ensable to the trawl- i BULLETIN OF THE UNITED STATES FISH COMMISSION. 13 fishery, would render the undertaking i)rofitless. While the matter of fitting out was under consideration, gill-nets were suggested by the father of Captain Martin, an employe of the Fish Commission, as a means to solve the perplexities of the bait question. He thought the idea a good one, and, together with several of his crew, visited the station of the Commission at Gloucester, looked at the Norwegian nets tbat were there, and consulted with the agent in charge as to the j)robabilities of success and the methods of fishing with them. The result of this interview was that he decided to fit out and give them a thorough trial, and nets were therefore obtained for this purj^ose, part of them being supplied by the Fish Commission. Before the trial trip was made, the writer met him in Gloucester, and briefly explained the Xorwegian methods of using the nets. It was thought, however, by Captain Martin, that they might be '^ underrun," as trawls are sometimes, which would enable one man to handle a gang of nets for which an entire boat's crew, six to eight men,' is required in Norway. Ipswich Bay, where the nets have been tried the present winter (1880-'81), lies north of the prominent headland of Cape Ann, which divides it from the waters of Massachusetts Bay on the south. A sandy beach extends along the northern and western sides of the bay, and the bottom sinks gradually from this, only reaching a depth of 25 to 30 fathoms at a distance of several miles from the land. The bottom of the bay is a vast sandy waste, with only here and there small patches of rocks or clay, supiiorting but a small amount of animal life that may serve as food for the cod. It is therefore a spawning rather than a feed- ing ground for these fish, and large schools visit the bay for this purpose during the winter, generally remaining until late in the spring. The nets are usually set along the northern part of the bay, but a few miles from the shore, in about 15 fathoms of water, where there is less current than at some points along the coast. They have been found much less liable to chafe than trawls, the latter being badly damaged during a storm, while the former, which were suspended by the floats, were not injured. The common dory has been used for fishing the nets, each vessel hav- ing from seven to nine of them, according to the number of the crew. The men go singly, one in each dory, and, while out, either setting or underrunning, the vessel is kept under way, the captain and cook man- aging her and i:>icking up the crew when the work is completed. Each one of the Northern Eagle's crew, except the captain and cook, is pro- vided with a gang of three nets, which are fastened together at top and bottom when set, these forming a wall at the bottom of the sea 150 fathoms long and 3 fathoms deep, being held in position by an anchor at either end. The anchor-lines are 50 fathoms in length, and one end of each is bent to the upper corner of the nets, as represented in Plate XI. Under favorable circumstances one man can set a gang of nets, by 14 BULLETIN OF THE UNITED STATES FISH COMMISSION. letting the boat drift with the wind or tide and throwing them over as it moves along, but, as a general rule, two men can accomplish this much better. When setting for underrunning, the anchor is first thrown over, and 25 fathoms of the line paid out, when the buoy -line is bent to it.* The buoy and line are then thrown over, and the remainder of the an- chor-line, the end of the latter being made fast to the nets, which are the next to follow. A middle buoy is attached to the center of the gang. When the nets are all out, the other anchor-line, with the buoy-line at- tached, is veered out, and last of all the anchor is thrown over, which finishes the work. The nets are usually set in the afternoon, and allowed to remain setting for several days, unless for some reason the vessel leaves the fishing ground. Even then, when forced to seek the shelter of a harbor during a storm, they have sometimes been left out. The distance at which the gangs of nets are set apart is said to be about 40 fathoms, but this is a matter to which no rule can be applied, as sur- rounding circumstances will cause many variations. But few fish are caught except at night, and, consequently, the nets are underrun only in the morning, unless the men are detained by the weather until later in the day. In underrunning, the fisherman goes to one of the buoys on the end of his gang of nets, takes it in the dory, and hauls away on the buoy-line, the buoy being thrown out on the other side and the line allowed to run out on one side as fast as it is hauled in on the other. When the anchor-line (underrunning line, as it is sometimes called) is up, it is taken across the dory, and the fisherman hauls along towards the nets. These are underrwn by pulling them in one siTS ORTAIi\CD FROM A STUDY OF THE E.TIRRVOLOOV OP FISHES. By J. A. K¥I>JBR. At the last meeting of the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadel- phia (April 10), Mr. Ryder remarked that, as a result of his studies with the United States Fish Commission on the development of the bony or Teleostean fishes, he had learned that they differ in their mode of development from all other groups of vertebrates and fish-like animals, except the sturgeons, in having a cavity, the segmentation cav- ity, which persists and ultimately extends around the entire yelk as a paravitelline space between the epiblast and hypoblast layers of the embryo ; this cavity in these fishes not being evanescent, as it appears to be in the embryos of the other sub-classes. The paravitelline space does not wholly disappear in the young fish until as much as two weeks after it leaves the egg. The segmentation cavity probably does not l)ersist as long in fish embryos with a vitelline system of vessels as in the pike and stickleback for example. An annulus or thickened ring of cells all round the edge of the blas- toderm, continuous at one point with the tail of. the embryo, limits the cavity alluded to above ; the ring of cells the speaker called the peri- blastodermic annulus, and is characteristic of the embryos of true fishes and sturgeons. This feature characterizes these types, as far as is now known, as sharply from their relatives as does the anatomy of the adults. The cleavage of the germ disk in bony fishes and sturgeons is regu- lar, which further distinguishes them from other types, but they resem- ble the sharks in that the germ of the young fish is developed at the edge of the disk, and not in its center as in birds and reptiles. A vesicle appears at the tail of the embryo when the blastoderm has covered rather more than half of the vitellus. This structure, which has been called Kuj)fier's vesicle, has not yet been proved to be an allan- tois, as was at first supposed, but is almost certainly a result of the in- vagination of the gastrula mouth or blastopore at the tail. The canal passing from it may be called Kupffer's canal, and opens on the dorsal face of the embryo. It may be continuous with the medullary canal. The true nature of the gastruLi was pointed out on homological grounds. The true gastrula of Teleosts appears to originate as an in- vagination at the tail of the embryo, represented by Kupfier's canal, essentially the same as in AmpMoxus, and is not homologous with the gastrula regarded as such by Haeckel. The paired fins originate from lateral folds, and the first skeletal ele- ments of the breast tins in the cod are a pair of curved cartilaginous BULLETIN OF THE UNITED STATES FISH COMMISSION. 23 arcs or rods which are not disposed radially, butjconceutrically to the base of the flu. These folds appear so far back on the embryo that their genetic relation to the gill arches appears imi^robable. The fin is dis- placed forwards with the growth of the young fish, and its base rotates through an angle of ninety degrees in acquiring the upright position. Philadelphia, April 20, 1881. REARIiVO OF CAI.IFORIVIA MOUNTAIIV TROUT (SAliITIO IRIDEtJS). By SETH €}BE£]\. (Extract from a letter to Prof. S. F. Baird, May 3, 1881. ) I have 220 six-year old California mountain trout, some of them weigh- ing 3 pounds, and 10,000 three-year old that we are taking the spawn from now. One day last week we took 88,000 spawn. We shall have next year 30,000 more three years old. We have orders for all we shall take this year. But next year we shall have many millions. They are a hardy game fish. They spawn in the spring, and hatch in streams a much larger i)ercentage than our trout. They will live in any streams that our trout will, and in many warmer streams that our trout will not live in. This is the fourth season that we have taken the spawn, and every year a good many have hatched in our spawning-races. We never saw one of our trout or salmon-trout hatched in the races. Seven years ago I got 300 of their eggs ; we hatched and raised 275; when they were three years old we took 64,000 eggs and raised 10,000 for breeders. The next year we had 260 of the old stock, and took 90,000, and raised 30,000 for breeders and distributed the rest. Last year we had 220 of the old stock; we took 80,000 eggs and are raising 12,000. SAIiMOIV CAUOHT IIV GE:VESEE RIVER, IVE^V VORK. By SETH OREEIV. New York State Fishery Commission, Office of the Superintendent, Rochester, N. Y., 2Iay 3, 1881. * * * : Last week five salmon were caught in the Genesee River, weighing from 3 to 10 pounds. They were caught in small scoop-nets. The falls are seven miles from Lake Ontario. They are 87 feet in per- pendicular height. Eighty rods above is another fall of 90 feet. Then the river, 90 miles to its head in the Allegheny Mountains, is a clear stream for 40 miles. Then it comes on large flats with clay banks, and becomes very roily during floods. The young salmon were put in the tributaries above the falls. They have gone over the falls and 24 BULLETIN OF THE UNITED STATES FISH COMMISSION. come back to them a^ain tliinkiug they could get back to the streams to spawn where they spent their chiklhood days, but the leaps are too much for them. There never were any salmon caught in the Genesee before last year. I have fished the river for fifty years. I do not know whether they were California or Kennebec salmon; I did not see them. The fishermen think we do not want them caught, and have kept shy of me. I have spent some days on the river since to let them know that we did want them caught in the spring of the year, and to let me know if they catch any more. NOTES OIV THE DEVEI^OPMENT, SPIIVIVIIVCJ HABITS, AND STRUC- TURE OF THE FOUR-SPIIVEO STICKI^ERAC'K, APEr.TES QUADRA- cus. BY JOHI¥ A. RYDER. Nests and ova of this species were recently brought to me for investi- gation by Mr. W. P. Seal, who obtained them in the ditches along the Delaware, below Philadelphia. More recently (April 27), the same gen- tleman had the kindness to bring me a pair of adults about to spawn, the male very industriously completing the nest under my observation in an aquarium extemi)orized for the purj)ose. The early stages of development I did not witness, as the first lot of eggs had the blastoderm already formed, and inclosing tbe vitellus, and those laid by the pair in confinement were unluckily not impregnated. The egg-membrane is a true zona radiata, being perforated by numerous pore canals, and is covered by an adhesive material, which aggluti- nates the eggs together into a mass to the number of 15 to 20, the number laid at one time. The ova sink to the bottom, and must be taken charge of by the male, as the female after having ridden herself of them takes no farther interest in their welfare. They measure one-twelfth of an inch in diameter, and are of an amber color. I was not able to discover a micropyle, but believe that one exists, nevertheless ; at one pole of the egg a large number of button-shaped appendages are attached to the surface of the egg-membrane by means of i^edicels, and it is in the midst of these that the micropyle is found in the European species, Gaster- osteus leiurus, according to Ransom. Kot having witnessed the early stages of development, I will only describe the structure of the ovum. There is no germinal disk developed when the egg first leaves the ovary, and the germinal layer is uniformly distributed as a thin uniform granular envelope, inclosing the clearer vitelline i^rotoplasm, which itself incloses a number of very refringent oil spheres of very variable size. Later, it appears that a germinal disk is developed without the influence of impregnation. The formation of the. segmentation cavity I have not witnessed, but I have a belief that it is present, inasmuch as there is a space developed BULLETIN OF THE UNITED STATES FISH COMMISSION. 25 ou either side of the embryo and in front of the head, which answers to it. It is, however, greatly obscured afterwards, if not obliterated at a comparatively early period, by the remarkable way in which the blood vascular system of the embryo is formed. On the fourth or fifth day after impregnation, the primary divisions of the brain are marked off, one of the most striking characters being the extraordinary dimensions of the cerebral vesicles, the walls of the brain cavity being thinner proportionately than I have ever found them in other forms. The optic cups also differ in their structure from those found in other fishes, in that there is a great space between the floor of the cup and the lens, the origin of which from an indui^lication of the epiblast may be very readily traced. Immediately behind the auditory vesicles, and shortly after their invagination, the rudiments of the breast fins appear as a pair of longitudinal folds. These therefore origmate closer to the branchial arches than those of any other species studied by me. As thej' often are found to originate on either side of the embryo above the posterior end of the yelk-sack, and near a vertical from the point where the vent appears. This latter is their mode of development in the cases of the young of the moon-fish [ParepMppus) and the Spanish mackerel {Gyhium maculatum). In the stickleback, however, there is an extraordinary acceleration in the develoj^ment of the breast fin, so much so that by the time the young fish leaves the egg, the breast fins are as greatly developed as in a mackerel four days old. The pig- mentation of the young stickleback is also accomplished at a very early period, so rapidly, indeed, that it soon becomes impossible to see the viscera through the mantle of pigment cells. There is another com- plication which needs mentioning here, and that is the fact that a second kind of brown i)igment cell, much larger than the black ones api^ears on the skin before the young slips out of the egg. These brown cells blotch the embryo on the sides and back somewhat symmetrically, and foreshadow the style of pigmentation of the adult. The heart appears about the fourth day as a heap of mesoblast cells just l>elow and behind the head, and is at first a simple spherical sinus. It does not begin to contract vigorously until the seventh day, when its pulsations are nearly if not quite 100 per minute. Its venous end rap- idly elongates until it extends fully the diameter of the body beyond the right side of the embryo, a large pericardial space being developed below the head at this point for its lodgment, which space dips down deep into the amber-colored vitellus. It keeps contracting from this time onwards, but there are as yet no blood corpuscles. A large space now appears on the right side of the embryo and underneath the latter. This we may consider a venous sinus or channel of indefinite outline. The floor of this space is, as far as I have been able to convince myself, formed of the hypoblast from which knobbed cells project uj) wards, which appear to be budding off portions of themselves which will be- come blood corpuscles. Now follow amoeboid contractions of the yelk 26 BULLETIN OF THE UNITED STATES FISH COMMISSION. by means of which it ai^pears that this sinus is pushed out more to the right and subdivided into minor channels, the corpuscular contents of which flow towards the heart, pouring their contents into i' s venous end. At 'lirst ic can scarcely be said that there is a circulation ; the cor- puscles appear and the pulsation or pumping action of the heart causes an oscillation or swaying back and forth of these corpuscles. As soon as the aortic channel underneath the chorda dorsalis is broken through the blood commences to j)our through the sinus from the tail end head- wards, as the cycle is now complete. The cardinal vein is formed about the same time. From it the feeders of the sinus, now the vitelline ves- sels, are soon developed and they now spread out over the yelk as nar- row channels, becoming more and more numerous. They at first spread out over the aboral pole of the yelk, and a great common venous chan- nel begins on the left side of the embryo and goes round to the right side over the yelk like a girdle, to feed the heart. Into this equatorial vascular girdle the blood pours from the hemi-meridioual, aboral chan- nels. This asymmetrical or right-hand side channel is gradually pushed forward until it encircles the head below and in^frout of the point where the mouth will ajjpear. The yelk is now becoming less in bulk, and finally the vessels arrange themselves so that the main venous channel lies in the middle line, while the feeders which get their supply from under the body of the embryo trend outwards and somewhat back- wards, but as they turn to traverse the lower face of the yelk they one and all trend forward to converge and join the great venous channel. The above arrangement may be described as a difluse omphalomeseraic system, and differs from that of Zoarces described by Eathke, in being asymmetrical, and from that of the pike as described by Truman, in the disposition of the vessels, their more meridional course, and in their being fed from the under side of the body in a diffuse manner. It differs widely from that of birds and reptiles and sharks in there not being any differentiation of venous and arterial trunks over the blasto- derm. Also from the system described by Yogt in Coregonus pakm, in that the latter is comparatively rudimentary, while as compared with the cod, smelt, moon-fish, and Spanish mackerel, there is the broadest and most fundamental difference of all, in that in every one of the latter there is nothing whatever which can be considered as representing an omphalomeseraic or vitelline system of vessels. Gensch* has lately studied the development of the blood in Zoarces and Esox by means of sections, and has reached the conclusion that the blood corpuscles in these forms are developed by budding oft' from the hyi^oblast as it has appeared to me in the case of the stickleback. This announcement at first appeared almost incredible to the writer, but upon investigating the form above described it appeared perfectly reasonable, but it must be borne in mind that there are no less than four or five dis- *Die Blutbildung auf dem Dottersack bei Knoclienfisclien. Arcli. fiir Mik. Anat., xis, pp. 144-136. BULLETIN OF THE UNITED STATES FISH COMMISSION. 27 tiuct hypotheses as to the origin of the blood in embryos, besides this one, so that the matter cannot be considered as settled. In all cases j where there was no vitelline circnlation I have not been able to arrive. ' at a satisfactory conclusion in regard to the manner in which the matter in the yelk sack was absorbed; whether by transudation, amoeboid migra- tion, or gemmation, and it therefore still remains an unsettled problem. It will not, it appears to me, satisfy the facts in the case, that because the blood originates by gemmation from the hypoblast in those cases where there is a vitelline circulation, it should so originate where such a circulation is absent. The corpuscles of the stickleback are at first irregular and amoeboid in outline, and do not acquire their oval shape for some time, or till about the tenth or twelfth day, when the young fish is ready to leave the egg, which is strong evidence in confirmation of Geusch's view as to the manner of origin of the blood of types with a vitelline or omphalomeseraic circulation. In other forms it has always appeared to me that there was strong ground for believiug that the blood had its origin, in part at least, in the lacunjB which make their ap- pearance in the mesoblast of the body late in embryonic life. The heart retains its horizontal position in the stickleback for a longer time than in any other form which I have studied, and is an instance of what Professor Cope would call retardation in the development of a part; indeed, the comparative histories of the several si^ecies investi- gated by the writer afford most beautiful illustrations of both i^rinciples enunciated by the learned biologist just referred to, namely, accelera- tion and retardation of development, both synchronous and heterochro- nous. This long retention of an embryonic character is, however, to be considered as caused to some extent by the development of an omphal- omeseraic system, and as in some degree dependent upon the correlative interdependence of parts serving a common purpose. Kupfier's vesicle was found to be present, and at one time I believed that it became the allantoid vesicle, but owing to the opacity of the eggs I failed to trace it satisfactorily to myself. The allantoid, however, occu- pies the usual position, and is large and inclosed by a proper cellular wall. The course of the intestine when the embryo is nearly ready to hatch is marked by a greenish color. The blood very soon becomes reddish in color before the fish leaves the egg, a character which it has in common with no other form studied by me, except perhaps the sculpin. In all other cases investigated by me, the blood is developed after the embryos leave the egg. There is also a well-developed system of vascular loops existing in the natatory folds along the back and belly before the fish is ready to leave the egg, while the branchial vessels, arches, and oper- cula are already in an advanced condition at this period, all of which are accelerated conditions of development as compared with other forms. When the embryo leaves the egg there are already lateral sensory organs developed on the skin. If the young fish is allowed to assume its normal position in a cell, and the microscope is applied, looking down 28 BULLETIN OF THE UNITED STATES FISH COMMISSION. past the sides of the body from above, certain thickeuings of the epiblast or skiu layer will be noticed. These thickenings are surmounted by trans- parent cells which project freely for a little distance from the general level of the surface. The cells to the number of ten or twelve are some- what separated from each other, and have blunt truncated tips which are not surmounted with sensory hairs or filaments. As compared with the similar structures in the young cod, which have sensory hairs sur- mounting them, they differ in having the i^eculiar, somewhat separated truncated transparent cells clothing their surface externally, while in the former nothing is seen from above but a smooth rounded elevation. Spinning habits and structure of the male. — The male binds the nest together by means of a compound thread which he spins from a pore or pores behind the vent, while he uses his bobbin-shaped body to insin- uate himself through the interstices through which he carries his thread with wliich he binds a few stalks of Anacharis or other water- weeds together, bringing in his mouth every now and then a contribution of some sort in the shape of a bit of a dead plant or other object, which he binds into the little cratUe iu which the young are to be hatched. The thread is spun fitfully, not continuously. He will go round and round the nest for iDcrhaps a dozen times, when he will rest awhile and begin again, or turn suddenly round and force his snout into its top with a vigorous, plunging motion as if to get it into the proper shape. Its shape is somewhat conical before completion, an oi^ening remaining at the top through which it is suj^posed he introduces the eggs. The thread is wound round and round the nest in a horizontal direction in the case we are describing, and if this thread is placed under the microscope when freshly spun, it is found to be composed of ver.y thin transparent fibers to the number of six or eight ; where they are broken off they have attenuated tapering ends as though the material of which they were made had been exhausted when the spinning ceased. Very soon after the thread is spun jjarticles of dirt adhere to it and render it diifi- cult to interpret its character. I have seen the thread being drawn out from the abdomen repeatedly, but not from the vent ; it appeared to me more probable that it came from the openings of a special spinniijg gland. Its glass-like transparency shows that it is not made uj) of in- gested food, the particles which would exhibit themselves were that the case. The nest measures half an inch in height and three-eighths in diameter. Upon opening the male I find a large vesicle filled with a clear secre- tion which coagulates into threads upon contact with water. This vesicle appears to open directly in front of the vent, separately from the latter. It measures one-fifth inch in length and an eighth iu diameter. As soon as it is ruptured it loses its transparency, and whatever secretion escapes becomes whitish after being in contact with water for a short time. This has the same tough, elastic qualities as when spun by the animal itself, and is also composed of numerous fibers, as when a portion is taken BULLETIN OF THE UNITED STATES FISH COMMISSION. 29 which has been recently spun npon the nest. The nature of the open- ing was not learned with precision as I possessed only a single specimen. Tlie vesicle lies to the right side of the intestine, and there is very little doubt but that it opens in front of the anus. The testes are two ovoid glands, the ducts ot which unite into a common canal, both glands and ducts being covered with black pigment cells; they measure something less than an eighth of an inch. As to the origin of the secretion I have no suggestion to make, but there are certain glandular structures lying close by, the significance of which I was at a loss to understand. This spinning habit of Apeltes was first noticed by my friend Mr. Seal, who has watched the breeding and nursing habits of these interesting fishes very closely, and it is my hope that I may some time be able to deal more at length with this part of the subject with the help of his notes and beautiful sketches. Philadelphia, April 29, 1881. A CAI.l, FOR CARP FR07I NEVADA. BY I. D. PASCO. This country is the most God-forsaken country in the world — a min- ing camp (silver), and the water small streams from the mountains. The nearest fish are in the Reese Eiver, 30 miles distant. Eeese Eiver would not be called a creek in Pennsylvania; it would be a brook. When I tell you that last winter trout came from Truckee and Walker Rivers em- balmed in snow and ice, and sold for 37i cents per pound, you will see that we have reason to be anxious about the matter. The big thing is to get a good start (to get the fish), get them to breeding and we wiU supply and stock the country. I would give 15 for a pair that are big enough to spawn now. Our waters teem with insect life but not a fish, and I know that fish would live in them although our springs are all warm, and some boiling hot. The water in the streams from the mount- ain, consisting of snow water, sinks sooner or later. I have as a jilace to begin, with a pond — an old channel of this stream (Meadow Creek) 16 feet wide, 40 rods long, and 2 feet deep, of i3ure water. I will give you a descrii)tion of a place Mrs. Hathaway, a widow, owns : There are as many as twenty springs rising in a half circle and running a stream about 3 miles, a good step across the stream ; there are fish that never get longer than 3 inches, too small for use. How they ever got there is unknown, for the water does not connect with any place. Here a 3-foot dam, 50 yards long, would cover 50 acres. Give us the fish, and we will build reservoirs to hold the snow water, and use for irrigation and fish ponds. The two will work well together. I cultivate the water cress for sale in Belmont; it does well, but the algce (frog spittle) is a great bother in the cress beds. Here are two articles that the cari) would eat; and I believe in the warm springs they would not in the winter be dormant in the mud, but grow all winter. 30 BULLETIN OF THE UNITED STATES FISH COMMISSION, I am tlie first man that broached the fish business, but rest assured that all having streams want them. Once fairly established in the country we will sell to one another, because any person will be able to pay a higher price for breeding than for eating. If necessary we will meet the thing with cash, according to our wants and means. Now, if possible, do not neglect us. We are all Uncle Sam's boys, and will appreciate the fish beyond any other section, and for the very reason that they will be a luxury for our own tables and nothing will sell better. It cannot be over done. Our greatest obstacle would lie in the Indians ; a mean, stupid pack, that only think of stealing as a virtue ; but once fairly started we can manage them. The best route would be the Pacific Eailroad to Battle Mountain, then a narrow gauge to Austin, and from Austain to Belmont 68 miles. You will find applicants at Austin, and on the road from Austin to Belmont. If you can send spawn by express or mail, it would be the best way. We have a stage three times a week from Austin. Last season I persuaded the man above me on my stream not to go to Eeese Eiver after trout, because I hoped sooner or later to get carp, and I did not want trout in the stream to eat the young. I repeat, stock us at once if possible. Eest assured we will meet you with all assistance in our power, and appreciate your efforts beyond any other section. I have had worms an inch and a half long in my irrigating ditch, and could gather them by the handful. Tours truly, I. D, PASCO, Belmont, Nye County, Nevada. THE €ARAIVGOID FISHES OF THE CIVITED STATES— POMPANOES, CREVAr,t,ES. AMBER-FISH, Etc, By O. BROWIV OOODE. The members of the family Carangidw are distinguished chiefly from the mackerels, to which they are closely allied, by the absence of flnlets and by the fact that they have uniformly but 24 vertebrre, 10 abdominal and 14 caudal, while the mackerels have uniformly more, both abdomi- nal and caudal. They are carnivorous fishes, abounding everywhere in temperate and tropical seas. On our own eastern coast there are at least 2.5 species, all of them eatable but none except the Pompanoes of much importance ; on the California coast there are two or three species of this family of small commercial importance. The Blunt-nosed Shiner. {Argyriosus setipinnis. ) This fish, known on some parts of the coast as the "Horse-fish," in North Carolina as the "Moon-fish" or "Sun-fish," and in Cuba by the BULLETIN OF THE UNITED STATES FISH COMMISSION. 31 name "Jorobado," was called by Dekaj^ "Blunt-nosed Shiner," and since this name, sometimes varied to "Pug-nosed Shiner," is in common use in New York market and in iTarragansett Bay, while the other names are shared by other species similar and dissimilar, it seems the most suitable for general adoption. The fish is found everywhere throughout the West Indies as well as in Korthern Brazil and in the Gulf of Guinea, but has not been found in Europe, nor, as yet, has it been recorded from the Gulf of Mexico. In Eastern Florida it is not very unusual, being frequently taken in the lower Saint John's and sometimes driven up as far as Jacksonville by easterly storms. Here and in the Indian River it is known as the " Moon-fish." It is a frequent summer visitor all along the coast as far north as Wood's Holl, Massa- chusetts, where it has a peculiar name, the people there calling it the "Hump-backed Butter-fish." The species attains the length of 10 or 12 inches and is esteemed an excellent article of food. Considerable num- bers are brought yearly to Xew York, but elsewhere it rarely appears in the markets. Young, from 3 inches in length upwards, are found, but we have no definite knowledge as to its breeding habits. The Silver Moon-fish. {Selene argentea.) The Silver Moon-fish, which much resembles the one just described, is often spoken of under the same names, and is not likely to be dis- tinguished from it by casual observers. On the Carolina coast, accord- ing to Mr. Earll, it bears the expressive name of " Look-down." It oc- curs sparingly on our coast as far north as Wood's Holl, and is found in the West Indies, in Brazil, and in the Gulf of Mexico. Its body is thinner, and it is consequently less desirable for food. The Dollae-fish. [Argyriosus vomer.) This species, which has by many authors been considered to be the young of the Silver Moon-fish, is a small fish quite abundant in our waters, frequently taken in Massachusetts Bay, and, in one or two in- stances, as far north as Halifax, Xova Scotia. Its range coincides closely with that of the species last mentioned. Its body is so thin that it can be dried in the sun without the use of any preservatives, retaining its shape and color. It is consequently of no importance as a food-fish. The Eound Robins. [Decapteriis 'punctatus and D. macarellus.) The Round Robin, Decapterus punctatus, or, as it is called at Pensacola, the " Cigar-fish," occurs in the Bermudas, where it is an important food- 32 BULLETIN OF THE UNITED STATES FISH COMMISSION. fish ; it is found also in the West Indies and along the coast of the United States north as far as Wood's Holl. A closely related species, Decapterus macareUus, is found also in the West Indies and along the eastern coast of the United States. Accord- ing to Stearns, individuals of this species are rather rare in the northern part of the Gulf, but more common along the South Florida coast. They live in shallow water and in harbors, usually moving about in small schools. At Key West they are caught in seines and are eaten. The Jurel. {Paratractus pisquetiis.) This fish, known about Peusacola as the "Jurel," "Cojinua," and "Hard-tail," along the Florida coast as "Jack-fish" and "Ski[)jack," in the Bermudas as the "Jack" or "Buffalo Jack," in South Carolina as the "Horse Crevalle," at Fort Macon as the "Horse Mackerel," about New York and on the coast of New Jersey as the "Yellow Mackerel," is found in the Western Atlantic from Brazil, Cuba, and Hayti, to Hali- fax, Nova Scotia, where specimens were secured by the United States Fish Commission in 1877. It is one of the commonest summer visi- tants of the West India fauna along the whole coast of Southern New England and the Middle States, and is especially abundant in the Gulf of Mexico, and is one of the commonest fishes in the Bermudas. This fish is occasionally brought to the New York market; but is of no special importance as an article of food north of the Gulf of Mexico. Concerning its habits in those waters, Mr. Stearns has contributed a very interesting series of notes. His observations are especially in- structive since nothing has previously been known of its life history. "It is extensively abundant everywhere on the Gulf coast of Florida, Alabama, and Mississippi. At Pensacola it is one of the important fishes of trade and is highly prized for food. It is one of the class of migratory fishes of this coast, like the Parapano, Mullet, Spanish Mack- erel, and Eedfish, liaving certain seasons for appearing and disappear- ing on the coast and also has habits during these seasons that are l^eculiar to tliemselves or their class. It appears on the coast in April in small scliools that swim in shoal water near the beach during pleas- ant weather, when there is little or no surf, in 8 or 10 feet of water, and in stormy weather some little distance from the breakers. Their move- ment is from the eastward to the westward. As they seldom swim at the surface their movements can be watched only when in shoal water. The schools 'running' in April and first of May are usually smaller than those of a few weeks later; but the individuals of the first are somewhat larger. The mass or largest ' run' comes in May, and it is on the arrival of these that schools are first seen coming in the inlets. "A noticeable peculiarity of the Hard-tail comj)ared with some other common migratory fishes, is that the first schools do not stay about the BULLETIN OF THE UNITED STATES FISH COMMISSION. 33 mouths of an inlet and along the beach weeks before coming inside as those of the latter do, but continue their westward movement without seeming to stop to feed or play until the time has come for a general movement towards the bays. In this way they must be distributed along tlie coast with no unequal accumulation at any one point. When once inside, the numerous schools break up into smaller ones of a dozen or two fish, which are found in all parts of the bay during the summer. On their arrival the larger fish contain spawn, which in July and Au- gust becomes quite full, after which none are seen but the young fish of about 10 inches in length, until there is a general movement towards the sea. It is believed that the adult fish spawn in the bays, but the only evidence to support that belief is that they come inside with spawn, go away without it, and that very young fish are found there. In Oc- tober and November small Hard-tails are caught in Santa Eosa Sound measuring 5 and 6 inches in length. "The smallest of the spring run are 9 or 10 inches long. Adult fish measure 12, 11, and 15 inches in length, very rarely more than the last. During the months of October and November Hard-tails leave the bays formed in small schools, and swimming below the surface in deep water. The only time that they can then be seen is when they cross the 'bars' at the inlet or sandy shoals in the bay. A few stragglers remain iu Pensacola Bay and Santa Rosa Sound all winter, which are taken now and then with hook and line. I have found them in abundance iu win- ter on the South Florida coast, where, owing to less variable conditions of the water, their habits are decidedly different. The Hard-tail is a most voracious fish, waging active war upon the schools of small fish. Its movements are rapid, and sometimes in its eagerness it will jumj) high out of the water. It has its enemies also, for I have seen whole schools driven ashore by sharks and porpoises; a great many are de- stroyed in this way. Hard-tails are caught for the market in seines." The Goggler. ( Carangus crumeuopthalmus.) This fish, called in the Bermudas, where it is of some importance as a food-fish, the "Goggler," or "Goggle-eyed Jack," and in Cuba the "Cicharra," occurs in the West Indies and along the Atlantic coast of the United States north to the Vineyard Sound. It is also found at Mauritius, and in the Pacific, Atlantic, and Indian Oceans, the Red Sea, and off the coast of Guinea, while, as has been remarked, it is abundant in the Bermudas. Its large, protruding eyes are very noticeable fea- tures, and the Bermuda name seems appropriate for adoption, since the fish has with us never received a distinctive name. In form it some- what resembles the species last discussed, with which, also, it is prob- ably often confused. Stearns speaks of a fish, common at Key West, which is known as the "Horse-eyed Jack," and this may prove to be the same species. Bull. U. S. F. C., 81 3 34 BULLETIN OF THE UNITED STATES FISH COMMISSION. The Cavally. {Carangiis hippos.) The Cavally of the Gulf of Mexico and Eastern Florida — the Horse- crevalle of South Carolina — occurs abundantly on our southern coast, and has been recorded by Professor Poey from Cuba, and by Cope from St. Christopher and St. Croix. It has been so confused with other species of the same genus that at present it is impossible to state its distribution throughout the West Indies. The species was originally described from specimens sent from South Carolina by Garden to Lin- naeus. The name of this fish is usually written and printed " Crevalle," but the form in common use among the fishermen of the South, Cavally, is much nearer to the original Spanish name, Cavalha, or Cavalla, mean- ing "horse." The name as used in South Carolina is a curious redu- plication, being a combination of the English and Spanish names for "horse." It should be carefully remembered that in South Carolina the name Crevalle is most generally applied to quite another fish, the Pom- pano. The Cavally, as it seems most aj^propriate to call Carangus hippos., though in individual cases occurring as far north as Cape Cod, and even, in one instance, at Lynn, Mass., is not commonly known in the United States north of Florida. Storer remarks : "This fish is so seldom seen in the waters of South Carolina that we are unacquainted with its habits." I observed a specimen in the Jacksonville market in April, 1874. Concerning the Cavally of Southern Florida, which is either this or a closely allied species, Mr. H. S. Williams remarks : "In the Indian Eiver this is one of the best of the larger varieties. Its season is from the 1st of May to November. It ranges in weight from three to twenty pounds, being larger and more numerous to the southward toward the Mosquito Inlet. The south end of Merritt's Island and the inlets opposite old Fort C apron seem to be a sort of headquarters for the Cavalli. When in pursuit of prey they are very ravenous, and move with the rapidity of lightning. They readily take a troll either with bait or rag. The favorite mode of capturing them, as well as all other large fish that feed in shallow water or near the shore, is with a rifle. The high rocky shores afford an excellent opportunity for this sport, though the rapid movements of the fish render them very difiicult targets." Mr. Stearns writes: "The Crevalle is common on the Gulf coast. In West Florida it ai)pears in May and remains until late in the fall. Is equallj' abundant in the bays and at sea. In the bays it is noticeable from the manner in which it preys upon fish smaller than itself, the Gulf Menhaden and Mullet being the most common victims. On arrival it contains spawn, which it probably deposits in the salt-water bayous, for in the fall schools of young are seen coming out of those places on their BULLETIN OF THE UNITED STATES FISH COMMISSION. 35 way to the sea. These young are tlien of about one pound weight, ap- pearing to the casual observer like Pampano, and I am told that they equal it for edible purposes. They are caught accidentally by seines and trolling-lines. Large ones are not considered choice food, the flesh being dark and almost tasteless. The average weight is twelve pounds ; oc- casionally they attain the size of twenty pounds." The Golden Mackerel. ( Carangus cli rysos.) The Golden Mackerel, called "Yellow Mackerel" at Xew York, and " Sun-fish," in Xorth Carolina, is said to be somewhat abundant in Beau- fort Harbor. It has also been obtained at Wood's Holl, Mass. It has been confused with the other related forms and but little is known of it. The species called by Girard Carangus esculentus, and identified by Gill with this species, was found on the coast of Texas. I obtained a single specimen in the Saint John's Eiver in the spring of 1878. The Cuba Jurel. {Carangus fallax.) The occurrence of this species on our coast is vouched for only by a drawing, made by Mr. J. H. Eichard, of a fish taken in South Carolina. Upon this drawing Holbrook founded his species C. Ricliardii. Caran- gus fallax occurs at various points in the West Indies, and it would be by no means imi^ossible that a straggler should have found its way to Charleston. According to Professor Poey this fish has been prohibited fiom sale in Cuba from time immemorial, and Avith good reason, since many disastrous cases have followed its use as food. The Scad. ( Trachurus Phimierianns.) The Scad, known in Kew England as the Horse Mackerel, appears to occur in all temperate and tropical waters. Its distribution is given by Giinther as extending "from the coasts of the temperate parts of Eu- rope, along the coasts of Africa, round the Cape of Good Hope, into the East Indian seas, to the coasts of aSTew Zealand and West America." In Europe the Scad ranges north to the Drontjem's Fjord, latitude 65°, occurring also in abundance in the Mediterranean. On the coast of Holland it is known as the "Marse Banker" or "Hors." It is inter- esting to American ichthyologists, since the similarity of its habits to those of the Menhaden, so important in our waters, caused the latter fish to be called, among the early Dutch colonists of Xew York, by the same name. European writers describe them as occurring uj)on those coasts in schools of immense numbers, and it would seem that, although 36 BULLETIN OF THE UNITED STATES FISH COMMISSION. tbeir manuer of swimming resembles that of the Menhaden, in their other habits they more closely resemble our own Bluefish. They are considered to be food-fishes of fair quality, and attain the length of about 12 inches. They are supposed to spawn about the same time as the Mackerel. Only a single specimen of this species has ever been taken on the east coast of the United States, this having been obtained by the Fish Commission from Southern New England in 1878. In Cali- fornia, according to Jordan, it is an abundant species, and is there com- monly known as the Horse Mackerel. He remarks : " It reaches a length of about a foot and a weight of less than a pound. It ranges from Monterey southward, appearing in the summer, remain- ing in the spawning season, and disappearing before December. It ar- rives at Santa Barbara in July and at Monterey in August. In late summer it is exceedingly abundant. It forms part of the food of larger fishes, and great numbers are salted for bait. As a food-fish it is held in low esteem, but whether this is due entirely to its small size we do not know. A similar species has been described from San Diego, under the name of Caranx hoops Grd. It is unknown to us." The Thread-Fish. {Blepharis crinitus.) This fish, also known as the Shoemaker Fish, is found along our coast from Cape Cod to the Caribbean Sea. In South America and also in California it is of no economic importance, but on account of its strange shape and the long thread-like apj)endages to its fins, which float behind it to the distance of five or six times its own length, it is often brought to the markets as a curiosity. The Pompanoes {Trachynotus carolinus) and other species. There are four species of Pompano in the Western Atlantic, very similar to each other in general appearance, but easily distinguished by differences in x)roportion and in the number of fin rays. The commonest species, the Carolina Pompano, Trachynotus carolinus, has the height of the body contained two to two and two-thirds times in the total length. The length of the head, five to five and one-third times, one of the caudal lobes four times; it has 24 to 25 rays in the sec- ond dorsal, while the anterior rays of the true dorsal and anal fins, if laid backward, reach to the middle of the fin. The Round Pompano ( T. ovatus) has the height of the body contained two to two and one-third times in the total length ; the length of the head, five to five and one-fourth times; one of the caudal lobes, three and a half to four times. In the second dorsal are from 18 to 21 rays, in the second anal from 16 to 19, while in the Carolina Pompano there are 21 to 22. The African Pompano (T. goreensis) resembles in general form the BULLETIN OF THE UNITED STATES FISH COMMISSION. 37 Ronud Pampano, though somewhat more elongate, while the head is larger, being contained four and a half times in the total length. The anterior rays of the dorsal and anal extend beyond the middle of the fin, if laid backward. In the number of the fin rays it corresponds most closely with the Kouud Pompano. The Banner Pompano ( T. glaueus) has a somewhat elongate body and a small head. It is much thinner than either of the other species. Its silvery sides are marked with four blackish vertical streaks ; the best distinguishing mark is in the length of the first rays of the dorsal and anal, which extend back nearly to the tip of the caudal fin. The name Pompano, applied in this country- to all of these fishes, is a Spanish word, meaning "grape leaf." The word in Western Europe is applied to a very different fish. The Common Pompano. The Common, or Carolina, Pompano ( Trachynotus carolinus) occurs in both the Atlantic and Pacific waters of the United States. On our east- ern coast it ranges north to Cape Cod, south to Jamaica, east to the Bermudas, and west to the Gulf of Mexico, at least as far as the mouth of the Mississippi Eiver. In our iSTew England and Middle States it is a summer visitor, ap- pearing in June and July and departing in September. Although it is at present imx)ossible to ascertain the lower limit of its temperature range, it is probable that it corresponds very nearly to that indicated by a har- bor temperature of 60° to 65'^. This species, like the Round Pomjiano, was described by Linnaeus from South Carolina, and never had been observed in any numbers north of Cape Hatteras until the summer of 1854, when Professor Baird dis- covered them near Great Egg Harbor. In his " Report on the Fishes of New Jersey " he states that he had seen them taken by thousands in the sandy coves on the outer beach of Beesley's Point. These, however, were young fish, few of them weighing more than half a pound. In 1863 he obtained both species in Southern Massachusetts, where in subsequent years they have been frequently caj^tured. " My first acquaintance with the Pompano (New England)," writes Professor Baird, "was in 1863, during a residence at Wood's Holl, where I not unfrequently caught young ones of a few inches in length. I was more fortunate in the summer of 1871, which I also spent at Wood's Holl ; then the Pompano was taken occasionally, especially in Captain Spindle's pound, and I received at different times as many as 20 or 30, weighing about IJ pounds or 2 j)ounds each. Quite a number were caught in Buzzard's Bay and Vineyard Sound in 1872." It is a fair question whether the Pompano has recently found its way into northern waters, or whether its presence was unknown because nobody had found the way to capture it. When Mitchell wrote on the 38 BULLETIN OF THE TJNITED STATES FISH COMMISSION. fishes of New York in 1842 he had access to a single specimen which had been taken off Sandy Hook about the year 1820. The spawning-times and breeding-grounds of these fishes are not well known. Mr. S. C. Clarke states that in the Indian Eiver they spawn in March in the open sea, near New Smyrna, Fla. It is supposed that those vis- iting our northern coasts breed at a distance from the shore. The eggs, like those of the Mackerel, being lighter than the water, float at or near the surface. The Pampanoes may, however, be truly migratory, seek- ing the waters near the equator in winter and following along a coast- wise migration, north and south, in summer. They are rapid, powerful swimmers ; their food consists of mullusks, the softer kinds of crusta- ceans, and, probably, the young of other fishes. S. C. Clarke remarks that they have been known to bite at a clam bait. Genio Scott remarks : " It is mullet-mouthed ; never takes a bait except by mistake." Their teeth are very small and are apt to disappear with age. As seen in the New York market they rarely exceed 5 i^ounds or 6 pounds in weight. I quote in full the observations of Mr. Stearns : " The common Pomi^ano is abundant on the Gulf coast from the Mis- sissippi Eiver to Key West, and, as far as I can learn, is rare beyond this western limit until the Yucatan coast is reached, where it is com- mon. It is considered the choicest fish of the Gulf of Mexico, and has great commercial demand, which is fully sui)plied but a few weeks in the year, namely, when it arrives in spring. The Pompano is a migra- tory fish in the Pensacola region, but I think its habits on the South Florida coast are such that it cannot properly be so classed. "At Pensacola it comes in to the coast in spring and goes away from it in fall, while in South Florida it is found throughout the year. In the former section it appears on the coast in March in schools varying in numbers of individuals from fifty to three or four thousand, which continue to 'run' until the latter part of May, when it is supposed that they are all inside. Their movement is from the eastward and they swim as near to the shore as the state of the water will permit, very seldom at the surface, so as to ripple or 'break' the water, although sometimes while playing in shoal water they will jump into the air. "Before any schools enter the bays certain ones will remain for days, or even weeks, in a neighborhood, coming to the beach during the flood- tide to feed on the shell-fish that abound there, and returning again to deeper water on the ebb-tide. The holes or gullies in the sand along the beach are their favorite feeding grounds on these occasions. Sharks and porpoises ])ursue the Pompano incessantly, doubtless destroying- many. The largest numbers come in April, and sometimes during that month the first schools are seen entering the inlets, others following almost every day until about June 1, when the spring 'run' is said to be over. Every year they appear in this way at Pensacola and adjoining bays, although there are many more some years than others. As the BULLETIN OF THE UNITED STATES FISH COMMISSION. 89 abuudauce is judged by the quantity caught, I thiuk that the diifereuce may He more iu the uumber of flshiug days (pleasant ones) than in the real numbers of fish present. The sizes of Pompano that make uj) these schools are large or adult fish averaging 12 or 14 inches in length, and small fish (probably one year old) averaging 8 inches in length. The largest Pompano that I have seen measured 19^ inches in length, and weighed G^ ijouuds, the extremely large fish called Pomi^ano, of two or three times that size, probably being another species. After entering the bays the schools of Pompano break up, and the fish scatter to all parts where the water is salt and there are good feeding-grounds. Ex- cept single individuals that are taken now and then, nothing is seen of Pompano until late in the fall, when they are bound seaward. In regard to its spawning habits nothing very definite has been learned. It has spawn half developed when it arrives and has none when it leaves the bays. Large quantities of the fry are seen in the bays all summer, which is some proof of its spawning inside. In June, 1878, I caught specimens of the fry, varying in size from three-quarters of an inch to 3 inches in length. Very many schools of these sizes were also observed in July and August, of the same and following years of 1879-80. "The schools of fry go to sea in August and September. The older or adult fish leave the coast in September and October in small schools, that are only seen and caught at the inlets where they happen to cross shoals or follow the beach. These Pomjiano of the fall are verj fat and in every way superior to those caught iu the spring. As before men- tioned, the Pompano is found on the South Florida coast all the year. The sea-beach from Tampa Bay to Charlotte's Harbor seems to be its favorite feeding-ground, owing to the quantity of shell-fish that occur there. It does not form in large schools as in the Pensacola region, and therefore is not taken in such large quantities by seine fishermen. " Smacks from Mobile and Pensacola sometimes go to Tampa Bay for them. I have been told that Pompano are caught at Key West iu con- siderable quantities by hook and line, and I have known of a few being taken in that manner at Pensacola. It feeds entirely upon small shell- fish, which are crushed between the bones of its pharyngeal arch." The Pound Pompano. (T. ovatus.) The Pound Pompano (T. ovatus), sometimes called the Shore Pom- pano, is at Pensacola known by the name " Gaff- topsail," and in the Bermudas by the name "Alewife." This fish is very often confused by market -Tuen with the Carolina Pompano, and I have seen them sold together under the same name in the Charleston market, just as I have seen the young of four species of the herring family sold indiscrimi- nately in New York. The Pound Pompano is cosmopolitan in its distribution, occurring in 40 BULLETIN OF THE UNITED STATES FISH COMMISSION. the North and South Atlantic, in various parts of the Indian Ocean, and on the coasts of California and China. The young have been ob. tained in the harbor of Vineyard Haven. Mass. It is probable that the species is far more abundant in our waters than we now suppose it to be. Stearns remarks that it is obtained occasionally at Pensacola with the other species, but is never very common; is seen only in the spring, and is not valued as a food-flsh. About the Bermudas they are some- times very abundant, and in 1875 a school of them, numbering 600 or 700, was seined on the south shore of the islands. They are there con- sidered most delicious fish. The African Pompano. (T. goreensis.) This species was originally described from the island of Gorea, on the west coast of Africa, and was observed by the writer in 1876, and in 1877 was discovered in Florida. It is the largest of the Pomiianoes. Two or three specimens, weighing from 15 pounds to 20 pounds each, have been sent from Florida to the I^ew York market. One of these, taken at Jupiter Inlet, was sent by Mr. Blackford to the National Mu- seum. In the Gulf of Mexico it is not unusual, being known at Key West as the "Permit." Stearns remarks : " This fish is rather common along the lower end of the Florida Penin- sula, specimens being caught quite often in seines at Cedar Keys and at the Mullet fisheries of Sarasota and Charlotte's Harbor, and also at Key West. It is said to attain a considerable size, 15 or 20 j)Ound specimens being common. It is not a choice food-fish when so large, and even smaller ones are comparatively drj' and tasteless. I have not found it north or west of Cedar Keys." The Banner Pompano. (T. glaucus.) This species is a member of the West Indian fauna and occasionally occurs at the Bermudas ; it has lately been noticed on the Pacific side of the Isthmus of Panama. The Pilot-fish. [Naucrates dnctor.) The Pilot-fish, though of little or no economic importance, deserves passing mention, as it is so frequently referred to in literature. It is occasionally taken on our coast. Captain Atwood mentions a specimen which was taken in a mackerel net in Provincetown Harbor in October, 1858. A whale ship had come in a few days before and he supposes the Pilot-fish had followed it into the harbor. BULLETIN OF THE UNITED STATES FISH COMMISSION. 41 " The Pilot-fish {N. ductor) is a truly pelagic flsli, known in all tropical and temperate seas. Its name is derived from its habit of keeping com- pany with ships and large fish, especially Sharks. It is the Pompilusof the ancients, who describe it as pointing out the way to dubious or em- barrassed sailors, and as announcing the vicinity of land by its sudden disappearance. It was therefore regarded as a sacred fish. The con- nection between the Shark and the Pilot-fish has received various inter- j)retations, some observers having perhaps added more sentiment than is warranted by the actual facts. It was stated that the Shark never seized the Pilot-fish, that the latter was of great use to its big companion in conducting it and showing it the way to its food. Dr. Meyen, in his 'Eeise um die Erde,' states : ' The Pilot swims constantly in front of the led by the Pilot. When the Shark neared the ship the Pilot swam close Shark; we ourselves have seen three instances in which the Shark was to the snout or near one of the pectoral fins of the animal. Sometimes he darted rapidly forwards or sidewards as if looking for something, and constantly went back again to the Shark. When we threw overboard a piece of bacon fastened on a great hook the Shark was about twenty paces from the ship. With the quickness of lightning the Pilot came up, smelt at the dainty, and instantly swam back again to the Shark, swimming many times around his snout and splashing, as if to give him exact information as to the bacon. The Shark now began to put himself in motion, the Pilot showing him the way, and in a moment he was fast ujion the hook.* Upon a later occasion we observed two Pilots in sed- ulous attendance on a Blue Shark which we caught in the Chinese Sea. It seems probable that the Pilot feeds on the Shark's excrements, keeps his company for that purpose, and directs his operations solely from this selfish ^^ew.' We believe that Dr. Meyen's opinion, as expressed in his last words, is perfectly correct. The Pilot obtains a great part of his food directly from the Shark in feeding on the parasitic crustaceans with which Sharks and other large fish are infested, and on the smaller pieces of flesh which are left unnoticed by the Shark when it tears its prey. The Pilot also, being a small fish, obtains greater security when in com- pany of a Shark, which would keep at a distance all other fishesof prey that would be likely to prove dangerous to the Pilot. Therefore in ac- companying the Shark the Pilot is led by the same instinct which makes it follow a ship. " With regard to the statement that the Pilot itself is never attacked by the Shark, all observers agree as to its truth ; but this may be ac- counted for in the same way as the imi)unity of the swallow from the hawk, the Pilot-fish being too nimble for the unwieldy Shark. " The Pilot-fish does not always leave the vessels on their approach to land. In summer, when the temperature of the sea-water is several degTees above the average. Pilots will follow ships to the south coast of *Iu this iustance one may eiltertain reasonable doubts as to the usefulness of the Pilot to the Shark. 42 BULLETIN OF THE UNITED STATES FISH COMMISSION. England into the harbor, where they are generally speedily caught. Pilot-fish attain a length of 12 inches only. When very young their ap- pearance differs so much from the mature fish that they have been de- scribed as a distinct genus, Nauclerus. This fry is exceedingly common in the open ocean, and constantly obtained in the tow-net ; therefore the Pilot-fish retain s its pelagic habits also during the spawning season, and some of the spawn found by voyagers floating on the surface is, with- out doubt, derived from this species."* The Medregal. (Zonichthys fasciatus.) This fish, called in Cuba the Medregal and in Bermuda the Bonito, has been observed in South Florida and along the coasts of the Caro- linas. It is apjiareutly exceedingly rare in the waters of the United States. In Bermuda it attains a length of two feet or more and is highly esteemed af a food -fish. The Banded Eudder-fish. {Seriola zonata.) This siiecies, known in South Carolina by the names "Jack-fish" and " Banded Mackerel," has been observed as far north as Salem and Beverly, Mass. Several specimens have been taken north of Cape Cod during the past forty years. It has also been found in South Carolina and Georgia, though rare in that region. It is a small fish, rarely ex- ceeding 6 or 8 inches in length, conspicuous by reason of its brilliant and beautiful colors, and good to eat, though rarely saved by the fishermen who accidentally capture it. It is called the Rudder-fish on account of its resemblance to the Eudder-fish of the ocean. Naucrates ductor. This fish was observed in the Gulf of Mexico by Mr. Silas Stearns, who writes : " The Amber-fish is quite common off the West Florida coast, occur- ring in from 10 to 30 fathoms of water, on or near the 'Snapper Banks' throughout the year. It is a very active fish, swimming just below the water's surface, preying upon schools of small fish. It is rather shy of a baited hook, and but few are caught. It is a good food-fish. It at- tains a size of 40 inches length, and 15 pounds weight. Its average size but little more than half that." The "Eock Salmon" of Pensacola [Seriola honariensis) is recorded by Stearns as occasionally occurring near Pensacola in company with the preceding species, which it resembles in habits. It is caught with hook and line and is eaten. In his opinion, it attains a larg«er size than * Glinther's Study of Fishes, p. 444. BULLETIN OF THE UNITED STATES FISH COMMISSION. 43 the Ainber-fisli. There is a third species of Amber-fish, of which the National Museum has received a single specimen from South Florida. It is closely related to the fish described by Cuvier under the name Seri- oJa Lalandii. This species also occurs on the coast of California, where, according to Jordan, it is known under the names "Yellow- tail," "White Salmon," and "Cavasina." Of the "Yellow-tail" Professor Jordan says: "It reaches a length of 4 to 5 feet, and a weight of 50 to GO pounds, and individuals of less than 15 i^ounds weight are rarely seen. It ranges from the tropical Pacific northward to the Santa Barbara and Corona- dos Islands, where it is found in great abundance in the spawning sea- son, arriving in July and departing in early fall. It spawns about Au- gust 18. It is caught chiefly by trolling. It feeds on Squid and such fish as the anchovy and sardine. As a fresh fish it ranks high, although large individuals are sometimes coarse and tough. When salted and dried it is inferior to none on the coast, ranking with the Whitefish and Barracuda." The Eunnee. {Elagatis pinmdatiis. ) This West Indian fish, known at Key West as " Skipjack" or "Run- ner," and at Pensacola as "Yellow-tail" or "Shoemaker," is, according to Stearns, " abundant on the western and southern coasts of Florida. At Pensacola it spawns in spring; the young fish are seen in July and August. It is found in the bays and along the sea beaches, seeming to prefer clear, salt water, swift currents, and sandy bottoms. It usually moves in small schools of a dozen or two individuals. It feeds upon small fishes and crustaceans. When pursued by larger fish it jumjjs repeatedly from the water, very much in the same manner as the Flying- fish, only its flights are much shorter and oftener repeated. This habit has given it the names of "Skipjack" and "Eunner,"at Key West, where it may be seen at almost any time. It is sometimes eaten at Key West, and at Havana is quite an important fish in the markets, being also exposed for sale at stands on the streets, cooked and ready for use." The Leather-jacket. {OlkjopUtes occidentalis.) This fish, which is found throughout the West Indies and south as far as Bahia, has, since 1875, been several times observed between Florida and Newport, R. I. It is known to fishermen as the " Skii)- jack," sharing this name with a number of other scombroid fishes which leap from the water as they pursue theu" prey. It is one of the most beautiful and graceful fishes in our waters, but at present is of no eco- nomic importance. 44 BULLETIN OF THE UNITED STATES FISH COMMISSION. NOTES ON ITI'CtiOUD KIVER, C'AIvIFORNIA, AND SOME OF ITS FISHES, BASED UPON A I^ETTEB OF J. B. C'AIUPBEL.1., OF THE UNITED STATES FISH COMITIISSION. MoCloud Kiver, Shasta County, California, May 6, 1881. Prof. Spencer F. Baird, U. S. Commissioner of Fish and Fisheries, Washington, D. C. : Sir : The Uuited States Fishery is established, one and one-half miles from the junction of the McCloud with the Pitt, in a rough and moun- tainous country culminating in high limestone peaks on the east. Four miles above the fishery is the trout-rearing establishment, of which Mr. Myron Green is superintendent. East of the trout pond is a small creek or brook, running between limestone j)eaks. Three miles from the trout pond, and on the west side of the river, is a small farm belonging to Henry Mirey. One mile above Mirey's place is the home of the writer, consisting of a nice orchard and garden on the east side of the river, together with a beautiful creek that does not vary more than 4 degrees during the winter, and ranges from 53 to 57 degrees during the summer. For the next 65 or 70 miles there are neither white men nor Indians. There is a mill branch in summer, but none in winter. The entire country is mountainous. The river is very rapid. The temperature of the water at the Uuited States Fisherj^, in the summer, is from 55 to 60 degrees at midday in the hottest weather. From the fishery up, the river gets one degree colder in about every 10 or 12 miles for the distance of 65 or 70 miles. There is a large spring that breaks out in the bed of the river, forming more than two-thirds of its volume. From there up the water becomes very warm, from 60 to 70 degrees. About three miles from the spring begins a series of three falls, each of which has a descent of about 50 to 60 feet, and is about two miles from the next. Under these falls there are a great many trout. I have caught one hundred in less than two hours. They are smaller than those lower down, av- eraging about one- half pound to one pound in weight. From these falls up, the water is quite still and sluggish (with the exception of about half a mile just above the falls, where it is very rapid) for many miles, traversing a lava country. There are plenty of trout above, and they are much larger than those below the falls, averaging about 8 to 10 pounds. Through seven miles of this sluggish water there are few trout, but as the water becomes more rapid small brook trout are plen- tiful. The river is about 130 to 140 miles in length, more or less, I should judge, but it has never been measured. Trout inhabit the river to the head-waters. I will now endeavor to give you a description of some of the McCloud Eiver fish, beginning at the mouth of the stream. The first is known as the " rifle pike." Its color is darkish brown. It BULLETIN OF THE UNITED STATES FISH COMMISSION. 45 has a small month and a com])aratively small head. The flesh is A^ery solid, bnt rather fnll of bones ; yet the fish is considered excellent for the table. The "rifle pike" is found in the river through the last four miles of its course. It becomes very fat, and weighs from 2 to 5 pounds. The second is called " whiteflsh." This splendid fish is so-called because of its white flesh. It prefers sluggish water, although I have seen it in rapid water about twelve miles above the mouth of the river. The " whitefish '' has a large month and a very large head. The examples that I have seen varied from 4 to 28 pounds in weight, but larger ones have been caught. The third is the "dolly varden" or " wye-dardeek-it," a beautiful trout with golden spots on the back and sides, and with scales so small as to be hardly perceptible to the naked eye. The mouth is big and the head is large and not beautiful. The flesh is invariably red — a cherry red. It weighs from 2 to 15 pounds. It frequents the river from the junction to the spring, there being none above the spring and few near the river mouth. If one takes hold of the " dolly varden " it slips away nearly like an eel. The fourth is the sucker, which inhabits the lower twelve or four- teen miles of the river. It reaches as much as 3 to 5 pounds in weight, averaging about 1 pound. The fifth is the red-sided trout,, or, as it is called in New York, the rain- bow trout. I will mention only its habits, as you have undoubtedly seen many of them. It feeds almost entirely on the bottom of the river, but will take a fly through March, April, and part of May, as the river is then literally alive with insects. It also feeds on salmon eggs when the latter begin to spawn, and on old dead salmon, at which time it becomes very fat, and will rarely take a hook. It feeds very little during the spawning season, which is in the winter, from January 10 to Ajiril, and sometimes until May 1. Eainbow trout run ux> the small streams to spawn, sometimes ; but the majority of them spawn in the main river. They spawn invariably on gravel beds, digging a small round hole in the gravel to correspond with their own lengths. The male accompanies the female, and lies close to her side, and when the female deposits her ova the male ejects his milt. They commence feeding immediately after spawning. I have caught them weighing two and one-half pounds. I could give you full details of their spawning, but I have not space. The sixth is a bull-head, from 1 to 3 inches in length. It is very destructive to salmon spawn and the little salmon while they retain the umbilical sac. Any time you should desire further i^articulars, send me a letter and I will answer it with pleasure. I have been writing to Seth Green for over two years, and have given him full i)articnlars concerning the fish of this region and their habits. If you want to know how the McCloud trout thrive in New York you 46 BULLETIN OF THE UNITED STATES FISH COMMISSION. can apply to him, as I have supplied him with all that he has got from that river. He took some spawn from them this season. I omitted to state that the "dolly vardens" are very destructive to other trout, or any kind of fish. They spawn in September and Novem- ber. Their eggs are about one-half the size of those of the common trout. The fish are very difScult to obtain. They will live in a small jilace where the common trout would not. I have kept them in a pond, about 6 feet square, for a month, where the common trout would kill themselves in a short time. They appear to be more hardy. I have watched the salmon and the trout during their spawning more than any other man in this part of the country, as I have fished a great deal, and have been fishing longer than any one who takes any interest in the matter. I came here in 1855 j I have caught hundreds and probably thousands. J. B. CAMPBELL. [Note. — The species referred to in Mr. Campbell's descriptions are the following: "Rifle Pike," Gila s^.', ^^ White&sh,^^ Ptychochilus oregonensis (Eich.) Ag.; " Dolly Varden," Salvelimis malma (Walb.) Jor. & Gilb.; " Sucker," Catostomus occidentalis Ay res; " Red-sided Trout," Salmo iri- deus Gibbons; "Bull Head," Uranidea sp. — Editor.] TBE ORIOIIV OF THE ITIEIVHADKIV INDUSTBV. By CAPT. E. T. DEBLOIS. [Note. — In the foUowiug article, Captain DeBlois has thrown new light upon several long mooted questions, especially the date of the discovery of the value of menhaden oil, the origin of meuhaden oil manufacture; the application of pressure in the manufacture of fish oil, and the invention of the purse seine, besides placing upon record an important series of observations upon the growth of the menhaden fishery within the past half century. — Gr. Brown Goode.] In 1811 two men, one by the name of Christopher Barker, and the other John Tallman, commenced the business of making oil out of men- haden fish, with the use of two iron pots, upon the shore, a few rods south of what was then called the Black Point wharf, near Portsmouth, R. I. They boiled the fish in the pots or kettles, and bailed the fish and contents into hogsheads, putting on top the fish in the hogsheads pieces of board with stones on top, to i)ress the fish down so that the oil would come on top, and also in order that the oil could be skimmed oft. A man by the name of John Hunt was the oil man who skimmed off the oil, and put it u^) in barrels for market. It was sent to New York to market by a house or x^eople that were doing business in Newport, R. L, by the name of Muuroe, who were in the West India trade. Barker & Tallman, it seems, found the oil business to be profitable, for in 1814 they added two more pots to their business, and the same fall two other men commenced the same business, by the name of Muu- roe, very near Barker & Tallman's works. The business was carried on BULLETIN OF THE UNITED STATES FISH COMMISSION. 47 only in the fall, as the fish were too poor in the summer. The notable September gales of 1815, which were so very destructive on the Xew England coast, destroyed the above works, aud washed them some 60 feet up on the land, from where they were located. It is thought that the business did not get started again until 1818. It seems that in 1824: Mr. Barker conceived a new idea of cooking fish, and put his ideas into practice, by building a box 5J feet high and 6 feet wide, and 8 feet long, with a fire-place or furnace in or on one end, and a copper pipe running from the fire furnace through the middle of the box, by which all the smoke and fire had to pass through the box. He usually put 60 pounds of fish in the box at a time, covering the same with water; this was called the "Bit Barker Fish Oil Factory." It was built on skids, and was conveyed from place to place by his oxen, using it most of the time on his farm, which was a mile from the shore, draw- ing the fish from the shore with his oxen. By this method he saved the water, and put it on his land as well as the scrap, which made his farm produce yery large crops. The first factory that was built to cook fish by steam in wooden tanks, as far as I know, was built by John Tallman; the second in the year 1811 on j\['Gay's Point, Portsmouth, E. I. It had eight wooden tanks, holding 60 barrels of fish, and a flue boiler. The boiler was fed by a force-pump worked by hand. The next year Mr, Tallman joined Mr. George Lambert, of East Cambridge, Mass., and built a factory at the mouth of Merrimac Eiver, Mass., and soon after Mr. Daniel Wells got Mr. Tallman's plan of factory and built one on Shelter Island, near Greenport, N. Y. Mr. Charles Tuthill, of Greenport, was the first to express fish, for which we are very much indebted to him, as weU as many other im- provements that have been used by him in the business. The first purse- seine that was made, so far as I know, was made by John Tallman the first, and Jonathan Brownell and Christopher Barker, in the year 1826. It was 281 meshes deep and 65 fathoms long. The purse weight was a 56-pouud weight, and the blocks were the common single blocks, and they had to reeve the end of the purse-line through the blocks, before they put the purse- weight overboard. The first time the seine was set, there were fourteen men to help; they set around what they called a 500-barrel school of menhaden, and, while they were pursing, the fish rushed against the twine so hard, that they twisted and snarled the twine around the purse line and weight to that extent, that the men could not gather the seine up, or get her into the boat again as they were, and, after they had worked six hours, and quarreled over the mat- ter, they decided to tow or warp the seine ashore at high water, and, when the tide left the seine, they would be able to unsnarl it, which they did the next day. It was a number of days before they could muster courage to set her again, and, when they did, they set around a small school with better success. 48 BULLETIN OF THE UNITED STATES FISH COMMISSION. The menhadeu fisheries have been carried on here very extensively, catching them, before the oil factories were using many, expressly for bait and for the farmers, the farmers using them very freely, Mr. Abner Chase using, to my knowledge, 3,000 barrels a year some years (and his son has told me that his father used one year upwards of 4,000 bar- rels of menhaden fish) from 1849 to 1857. There were from 300 to 500 vessels a year after bait in Narragansett Bay, bank fishermen from New London, Conn., and mackerel and cod fishermen from Massachusetts and Maine, taking from 25 barrels to 150 barrels, some of them taking bait two or three times in a season, paying from 25 to 50 cents a barrel for them. There are not nearly as many vessels coming here now after bait, because they can get the bait at their own homes. Capt. Benjamin Tallman, of this place, formerly took the lead in the fishing business, at one time running four gangs, but, at present, the business is carried on more extensively in Tiverton, E. I., Joseph Church & Co. taking the lead. I commenced fishing in the year 1847 and fished with Capt. Nicholas Tallman, the most successful fisherman of his day. We fished twelve springs at Seaconnet Point, with traps and purse-seins, for every kind of fish that came along. It was my duty to be oft' on the water with a small boat with another man, and look down in the water around the trap, and to see if there were any fish that were likely to. go in the trap. I observed that everything and all that came along in the spring always came from the southwest and went northeast invariably. The first fish that usually came along would be herring and shad, next tautog and flounders, and, in a few days, striped bass and sea-robins or wing- flsh. About the same time scup and sea bass, squid, menhaden, and mackerel came, and every kind of fish full of spawn except men- haden. I have taken a fish out of the trap many a time and put it in the water, and headed it up the river, and, as quick as I let go of it, it would turn at once and go down the river northeast, satisfying me that the first run of fish, of every kind, belongs east of Ehode Island. I never knew of a round mackerel to be caught three days after horse mackerel made its first appearance. I have seen a great many horse mackerel and have caught a great many, but never saw any signs of any spawn in them. When menhaden fish first come, they seem to be about G inches to 12 inches or more apart, verj^ thin, not in schools, always going east, and in about a week after their first appearance they come along in large schools. That body of fish would be four weeks or more going by Rhode Island. The next body of menhaden that came along were smaller fish and came very slow and worked in the rivers. Horse mackerel and sharks were with them. We usually left the Seaconnet Point about the 10th of June and went pursing menhaden, and could always catch more than we could sell. In 1858 we had good fishing in the spring, but no menhaden in the summer, anjl, as there were a num- ber of fishing vessels here waiting for bait, we persuaded them to go to New London, Conn, with us, which they did, and we found three schools BULLETIN OF THE UNITED STATES FISH COMMISSION. 49 of menhaden off New London light, caught* them and baited the ves- sels, and that was all that we could find. From there we went to Green- port, L. I., and did not find anj^ there, although we heard of the fisher- men hauling some ashore up at Jamesport and Eiver Head. That I think was the dryest season for my business that I ever saw. Since then, most of the time, there has been plenty of menhaden; although I think it will average about one year in five, since I commenced, tha/t fish are very scarce. In talking with some of the old fishermen, they say by what they hear the menhaden are as plenty now as they were when they first went fishing. They say that they then had seasons when they were very scarce, and also when they were very plenty. The fishermen here are all satisfied that the menhaden spawn in Ehode Island waters, and the little menhaden that we see here are hatched in Narragansett Bay. I went to Maine to build a pogie factory, the first one that was ever built in Maine, in November, 18G3, and had it in run- ning order June 10, 1864. The people of South Bristol, Me. told me that I would not have any trouble catching all the pogies that I should want in John's Bay, that the shores and bays were full of them, and that they plagued and bothered them, while they were fishing for mackerel, so much that they carried stones in their boats to stone or drive them away, but I did not find them so. The fish were very scarce in 1864. I got only 4,000 barrels. I cruised off-shore 20 miles and hailed vessels. They reported that they had not seen any fish. The same year Capt. Albert Grey, of Tiverton, started with four boats and a full gang to fish in Maine. He sailed from Rhode Island to Mount Desert, Me., but did not see a school of menhaden to set at, and returned without wetting his seine. Up to that time there had not been a purse-seine set in the waters of Maine.* Therefore, it is very evident that it was not the purse-seine that drove the pogies off the coast of IMaine at that time. The first part of the fishing season of 1865 was not much better until the 4th of August. At that time a large body of very large and fat pogies came in from off-shore from the southeast. They were not in schools, but in one body. I fished between the islands of Damiscove and Mouhegau. I, as well as my fishermen, thought that body of fish was eight miles wide, and it seemed to completely fill the space between those two islands, which is about ten miles. Capt. Washborn Clifford, of South Bristol, was freighting canned lobsters from the factory at Isle an Haut to Boston that season. He told me that the pogies seemed to be the whole length of the coast, and he did not run out of them until he got to Wood Island, a distance of one hundred miles. He said they made him think of a heavy shower of rain falling on the ocean; the ocean appeared to be alive with them. It may seem like a large story to tell, • . * This statement needs some slight modification. Though menhaden were scarce in Maine in 1864, many thousands of barrels were caught. Purse-seines were used in these waters by Gloucester fishermen in search of menhaden and mackerel as early a8 1857. Bull. U. S. F. C, 81 4 50 BULLETIN OF THE UNITED STATES FISH COMMISSION. but, kuowing the captain and knowing that, where I was fishing, the fish were in one body of about ten miles square, I have every reason to believe Captain Clifford's statement. I honestly believe if the fishermen of Maine had had the exj^erience in using the i^urse-seine in 1865 they have now, they would have taken out of the ocean between one and two millions of dollars' worth of wealth in pogies that season. I caught that summer upwards of forty thousand dollars' worth with one purse-seine. That body of pogies left the 1st of October, and worked gradually to the southeast. Everybody must admit that that large body of fish have lived and passed away long before this, as far as we know, without the least benefit to mankind, and I also believe that while the jDresent fishing law is in force it will be the means of depriving the fishermen of Maine from taking hundreds of thousands of dollars' worth of fish from the ocean, that are about to pass away without being brought into use. There are two schools or families of pogies that usually come on the coast of Maine. The first follows the coast of Virginia along the shores to Maine, generally going into the rivers and bajs. They usually get there about the 1st of June. They are the same kind of menhaden that we catch in the waters west of Cape Cod. They resemble Figure 1 in the Report of 1876-'77. About the middle of July to the 1st of August (and sometimes later) we have a school of pogies come inshore from the ocean, from a southeast direc- tion, and make their first appearance to the east of Monhegan Island. These fish are very large and fat ; resemble Fig. 3 in the Eeport of 1876- '77. They work gradually to the west, sometimes as far as Wood Island. These fish are never found to have any spawn in them. They generally leave the coast of Maine about the 20th of September. After cruising about some two or three days after they leave, and finding no fish, we start at once for Proviucetown, Mass., expecting to fall in with them there ; but we always find the pogies, that we get there, with spawn in them about 3 inches long. It seems that they cannot be the pogies that left the coast of Maine, as we never find the large fat fish in Maine with any sign of spawii, and all the pogies we catch at Proviucetown in the fall have spawn in them. My idea is that the large fat pogies strike off the coast of Maine in the fall and do not make the shore again, unless they make the Carolina shore (if they make any shore), and the men- haden that we have passing along the New England coast in the fall are the same ones that went east in the spring. They always have sjniwn in them when they return in the fall, and it is not an uncommon thing to find spawn in them in Maine. There is one more subject to which attention should be directed : I fished in Gardner's Bay, New York, five years or seasons from the spring of 1851) to the fiill of 1861. On August 17, 1862, a school of very large fat menhaden came into Gardner's Bay, which made 14 gallons of oil to the thousand of fish without exj^ressing. The next season, the 18th of August, the same kind of fish came again, and since that Mr. G. W. BULLETIN OF THE UNITED STATES FISH COMMISSION. 51 Miles and Mr. Henry E. Wells have told me, that the same kind of fish have made their appearance in Long Island Sound, making 18 gallons of oil to the thousand fish. This is much fatter than any that I ever knew iu Maine. PoRTSMOUTHj R. I., January 24, 1880. FISH Crt,TURE IN IVE\r ZEAIiAND. By B. J. CREIGHTOW. San Francisco, Cal., May 13, 1881. Hon. Professor Baird, Washington^ D. C. : Dear Sir : I have to apologize for not returning your circular inqui- ries relative to fish-culture sooner; but, as I was only j)ersonally inter- ested in the colonial work of fish-culture, I was unable to do so satisfac- torily'. I have, however, received some information from iN'ew Zealand by the last mail which may jjrove interesting to you. Mr. J. C. Firth, of Auckland, president of the Acclimatization Society there, writes to me to state that "Salmon have been caught in Wairoa Eiver, about ten miles south of Auckland City. They have also ap- peared in other rivers, notably the Thames, in isolated cases. [The Thames is a large navigable river about fifty miles south of Auckland.] I must confess to some disappointment," he adds, "in not seeing more salmon, and I can only account for the circumstance by supposing that one of our native fish, a most voracious fellow, the ' kawai,' has devoured the young fish on the banks. I am glad to be able to rej)ort that the ' whitefish' from Lake Michigan have been seen in considerable num- bers in Kotorua, Tarawera, and Taupo Lakes." In explanation I may say that the first salmon ova (about 30,000) reached Auckland in 1874 or 1875, I am not sure which. Of these a few were hatched out and placed in the Wairoa. At the close of 1876, I had the honor to open a correspondence with you on the subject of a further shipment of salmon ova through Cross & Co., San Francisco, and this and a third shipment were made, the ova being pretty widely distributed north and south. 1 have had a note from Mr. Farr, secre- tary of the Acclimatization Society, Christ Church, Xew Zealand, in which he states that a salmon had been caught in one of the Canter- bury rivers, and similar reports have come from more southerly dis- tricts. Mr. Farr also reports that 30,000 young whitefish had been hatched out in the society's hatching-house, and placed in a mountain lake, and were doing well. The whitefish deposited in the large lakes of Otago, in the south of Kew Zealand, have not showed themselves, but, as the conditions are favorable, I have no doubt they are doing well. 52 BULLETIN 01- THE UNITED STATES FISH COMMISSION. A small shipmeut of salmon ova was made to Sir S. Wilson, of Vic- toria, I think, and they appear to have succeeded, as I noticed, some months ago, that a 7-pound fish was caught and had been served at a banquet to the Marquis of Normauby, the governor, and other guests. From this you will gather that the acclimatization of United States fish in New Zealand and Australia had been successful. English brook trout. Eastern and California trout, have likewise been introduced with great success in New Zealand ; also English carj). Cat-fish were landed alive in Auckland from San Francisco, but what became of them I cannot say. I fancy that from an ignorant prejudice they were permitted to perish. These were forwarded by Dr. Hugh Craig, agent New Zealand Insurance Company for the Pacific coast. Mr. Craig has also made two attempts to send down edible crabs from this State by mail steamer. The first attemi)t failed ; I have not heard the result of the second. There are several private fish hatcheries in New Zealand ; one owned by Mr. W. Johnson, of Opawa, in Canterbury, being the best known. He has introduced Eastern brook trout, and he wrote to me, that he had been successful in crossing the English and American trout, and that the young cross-breed grew faster and larger than either variety. Whether he has established a new variety of fish I cannot, of course, say. In California, Mr. Redding, and the other gentlemen of the Fish Com- mission, will be able to inform you fully of what is being done by private enterprise. My own idea, however, is that far too little atten- tion is paid to this matter by the State legislature, the appropriation for the fish commission being wholly inadequate, and I don't think very much is done by private individuals. They want to be educated up to the point of appreciating the industiial and economic value of the patriotic work in which you and the subordinate fish commissioners are engaged. I inclose a newspaper clipi)ing bearing upon this subject, which prob- ably you have already seen. I regret very much that I am not able to give you more explicit information on tbis subject, but these general statements will serve to show the importance of the United States Fish Commission to foreign countries. I should add here that, whereas California salmon have succeeded in New Zealand and Australia, the English salmon, introduced much earlier, were a failure. I am, very respectfully, E. J. CEEIGHTON. BULLETIN OF THE UNITED STATES FISH COMMISSION. 53 AITIERICAIV BIRDS, ANlMAIiS, AI¥» FlimiES FOR NEW ZEAI.AIVDERS. [Extract.] The persistent efforts of New Zealand in the work of acclimatization deserves the utmost commendation. Half a century ago there were no domestic animals in that country, except a few herds of cattle and horses introduced by the early missionaries at the Bay of Islands, near the extreme north of the northern island. The celebrated discoverer, Captain Cook, had introduced sheep and swine half a century earlier, but the sheep very soon jierished. The swine, however, increased rapidly, and became a nuisance to sheep-farmers after the colonization of the country, rewards being paid for their destruction as if they were noxious vermin. The colony was founded in 1840, and the natives had then barely abandoned their cannibal practices — desolating- inter- tribal wars having lasted till within a few years of that date. Since then, the progress of the country has been the most remarkable on record. It has succeeded in acclimatizing- nearly all the game birds of the old and new worlds. California quail are more plentiful there than in that State. Pheasants, grouse, partridges, etc., afford excellent sporty the several provinces competing with each other in the work of acclimatizing them. The song-birds of England are fully represented, and these, with the native songsters, make mountain and plain vocal the year round. Prairie chickens and mountain quail have likewise been introduced, sixteen of the latter birds out of twenty-two recently sent to Nelson by Eobert J. Creighton, agent of the colony, having ar- rived there. These birds were forwarded from Emigrant Gap by J. B. Chinn, .who took great interest in the matter. Deer-stalking is now possible in many parts of New Zealand, red and fallow deer having been introduced and increased wonderfully. The rivers are full of English and California trout, eastern trout being likewise represented. In the San Francisco Post particulars were published of a cross between eastern and English trout by Mr. Johnson, of Opawa, in the Canterbury province of New Zealand ; the hybrid growing larger and faster than the pure fish of either variety. California salmon have likewise been acclimatized, and are in almost every river of any volume in the islands. English salmon are established in New Zealand, also salmon trout. The latter fish has increased very fast, and is now purchasable in most of the markets of the colony. But the great interior lakes of the country are comparatively without fish; indeed, in several of them and tributary rivers fish-life can scarcely be said to exist. To remedy this defect two attempts were made to stock the lakes with whitefish from Lake Michi- gan. These attempts failed in the colony from local causes. This year, however, another effort is being made on a much larger scale than formerly. Mr. Creighton has arranged for the shipment of over 54 BULLETIN OF THE UNITED STATES FISH COMMISSION. 20,000,000 whitefish eggs from the fisli-liatching establishment of Frank N. Clark, ITorthville, Mich., by the mail-steamer Australia. The eggs will be packed in mountain ice, and carefully watched during the voyage. On their arrival at Auckland they will be transferred to a colonial steamer, preparations having been made for their reception and distribution throughout the colony. Mr. Clark kindly forwarded to Mr. Creighton models of his patent hatching-boxes, and these are already in the colony, so that no hitch will occur in this regard. Mr. Clark telegraphed from Omaha on the 15th that the eggs had been shii)ped in good condition, and would arrive in San Francisco on the 10th. Mr. Clark came with the shipment from ISTorthville to Omaha, to insure against any damage or accident en route. The friends of acclimatiza- tion in this State will be gratified, no doubt, at the success of the ex- periment. Of the Australian group of colonies !N"ew Zealand is more closely identified with this country than any other. — [Frank Leslie'ii Il- lustrated Newspaper.) CARP IIV THE HUDSOiV RITJGR. By E. E. SHEARS. CoxsACKiE, Greene County, New York, January 26, 1881. Prof. S. F. Baird, U. S. Fish Commissioner^ Washington, D. C. : Dear Sir : Will you please send me your last report. If you have anything special on the carp, please send that also. Are there any carp in the Hudson Eiver f I find in " Transactions of the American Institute," dated 1850, page 397 : " Mr. Meigs. We are pleased to see among us Captain Eobinson, of Newburgh, who brought the car^i from England several years ago, thus conferring a great benefit upon his country by adding a fish before that unknown in our waters. "' Captain Robinson. I brought the carp from France about seven years ago, put them in the Hudson River, and obtained protection for them from our legislature, which passed a law imi^osing a fine of $50 for destroying one of them. I put in gold-fish at the same time. Now some of these carj) will weigh two jjouuds, and some of the gold-fish, which are a species of the carp, are quite large, some of them being pure silvery white. Both kinds are multiplying rapidly." I notice that the gold-fish are quite plenty in the river in this vicinity; also a fish about the size and shape, which is called a silver-fish, but they do not correspond to Captain R.'s description of the silver-fish. These are nearly or quite as dark as a rock -bass. I have seen none that would "weigh over one pound and a half. When ca ught in fykes by the fishermen they are usually pronounced unfit to eat and thrown back in the river^ BULLETIN OF THE UNITED STATES FISH COMMISSION. 55 However, last fall I saw them peddled througli the streets, and the fishermen told me they could catch scarcely any other kind, and they sold as well as perch or bass. I have not had an opportunity to taste any of them, therefore am no judge of their flavor. Respectfully, E. E. SHEARS. SUOOESTIOIVS TO FISH CUL,TURISTS. By OARRICK M. IIARDIIVO. Wilkes-Barre, Pa., January IG, 1880. Prof. Spencer F. Baird, U. 8. Commissioner of Fisheries : My Dear Sir : In reply to your esteemed favor of recent date, per- mit me to say that for ten years past and upwards public attention has been largely directed throughout the Northern States of the Union to the subject of fish-culture. Formerly the interest felt in this matter was mostly confined to sportsmen, bat the rapid increase of population, the growing necessities for food, added to the fact that our forests were fast i^assing away, our mountain streams and wooded lakes denuded of their shade and converted into other than purely nature's uses, have, alto- gether, awakened a general interest in the subject. While the actual number of those personally engaged in fish-culture is limited, yet the whole mass of our peojile may be said to be looking now with encour- aging favor upon the enterprise. Indi^iduals associate together in a sort of quasi corporation and -pur- chase ponds and inland lakes, rent creeks and even small rivers, stock them with fish of various kinds, always observing, however, adaptabili- ties both as respects the waters and the fish. Thus sport and supply go hand in hand, i^or are the owners or controllers of such waters alone benefited. These ponds and inland lakes are the sources which make up the rivers that flow, often in large volume and for great dis- tances, through the country to the sea. They too become stocked, teem with choice fish. The public at large thus have brought within their reach, without cost, the sport and supply which, in the beginning, seemed designed only for the few. In order to have the most satisfiictory results from this system of buying or controlling ponds and inland lakes, experience has shown that the outlets should be secured by a galvanized-wire screen of a mesh not greater than three-quarters of an inch in size. If brook trout, black bass, or pickerel be the fish with which any such water is stocked, the small fry, appearing generally the first year but surely after the second, will find their way through the meshes of the screen in numbers suffi- ciently great to stock abundantly in three or four years every comming- ling and suitable water below. Brook trout, however, should never be 56 BULLETIN OF THE UNITED STATES FISH COMMISSION. placed in a pond or small inland lake along with either black bass or pickerel. They are the fish of fishes, and deserve to have a domain ex- clusively to themselves, always excepting the minnow and possibly the shiner. These latter are the natural if not necessary food for brook trout. Indeed, the culture of all three together is always advisable. Black bass and pickerel may be placed together in any natural or artificial reservoir large enough to be dignified as a i^ond, though the former will thrive much better where the water is not less than from 12 to 30 feet deep, with rocky shores and a rocky or gravel bottom ; tlie latter will thrive in a less depth with mud for a bottom and marshes for surroundings. Cultivated together, each will prey upon the other, but the black bass will get ahead at last. The easiest and of course the best, indeed the only, fish to cultivate in rapid and mountain streams is the brook trout. And 3'et in the States of Pennsylvania and Kew York, or at least in the newer portions of them, the streams best aday^ted for this purpose are absolutely valueless for the cultivation of any sort of fish whatever. Most of the creeks and small rivers rise and flow through forests of pine and hemlock. They are dammed up at intervals and set back in some instances for distances .varying from one to four miles. Great bodies of water are thus accu- mulated, and into these, especially in the winter time, millions of logs are thrown, some 12 feet in length with a diameter from 8 to 40 inches, and some anywhere from 12 to 40 feet in length with diameters correspond- ing. Spring time comes, and in addition to the melting snows and the usual rains of the season, which of themselves commonly swell these streams into torrents, the gates of the dams are hoisted and these logs plunge along through gorges at a frightful rate down toAvards the jilaces of lumber manufacture, tearing away banks and overhanging shade, filling np natural holes for fish rest and hiding, and destroying in one way and another all fish-life outright. Even with such floods of natiu-al and stored waters the weight of lumber is often so great that a "drive" of only a few miles is attained. The dams are closed again, myriads of little fish that have taken refuge in overflows or pools formed for the moment outside of the main channels, die as the waters recede. The logs jam, as it is called, and, piling one ujion another from shore to shore for miles, they sink down crushing to death the large fish in great num- bers. This work of incidental fish-destruction is repeated from day to day, and will continue to go on until lumbering of this sort shall be at an end. In the mean time all attem^its at fish-culture in streams of this character may as well be abandoned. Success will be impossible. I have thus, sir^ given you my views and the results of my observa- tions appertaining to the subject which, I nm. rejoiced to see, you have so much at heart. Very respectfully, GAEKICK M. HARDING. BULLETIN OF THE UNITED STATES FISH COMMISSION. 57 A GERMAN TIEW OF THE AMERICAN SECTION IN THE BERIilN FISHERV EXHIBITION. By DIRECTOR HAACK. • [Translation. ] [From ''Eeferat des Herm Direktor Haack iiber die Internationale Fischerei-Aus- steUung zii Berlin." (Keport of Director Haack on the International Fishery-Expo- sition at Berlin). Metz, 1880.] Everytliing whicli America had sent was on a magnificent scale. The American exhibit was distinguished by the enormous number of objects placed on exhibition, giving not merely a faint image of the fisheries, but a complete view of the fresh-water and salt-water fisheries, for the greater part in original representations. The American exhibit was moreover distinguished by the neat workmanship of all the objects and by an exemplary arrangement which in all x)articulars showed the prac- tical man. It is impossible to enter into details, as this would take up our entire space, for the American department was a complete fishery- exposition in itself. We shall, therefore, only cast a rapid glance at the numerous boats, both originals and models, examine a little more closely the "dories," so much admired by all connoisseurs, learn to know the portable canoes of the Indians and trappers made of bark and skins, admire the truly magnificent scientific collection filling several rooms, and finally devote some time to the department of pisciculture. Much of the apparatus on exhibition was already known to us, as for about three years we have imitated the Americans in this respect; thus we know the Holton apparatus, the Wilmot hatching-funnel (really, as we now learn, invented by the well-known American pisciculturist, Fre'd. Mather, who twice already has safely transported eggs of the California salmon to Europe); the Seth Green shad apparatus, &c. But lost in astonishment we stand before the large model of the Fish-hawk, a large steamship specially constructed by the American Government for purposes of pisciculture. This steamshii) contains, both in its interior and on its sides, hundreds of large pieces of apparatus for hatching fish-eggs. The steam-engine partly serves for pumping up the water, thus producing a constant current of water through all the apparatus inside the vessel, and partly for moving to and fro in tbe water the appa;^atus attached to the sides of the vessel, thus vivifying the germs of the eggs. This govern- ment steamer visits the principal fishing-stations during the spawning- season of the shad — a fish closely resembling our " May-fish " {Alosa) — takes up hundreds of millions of impregnated eggs, develops them further in the manner described above, and, when the young fish have been 58 BULLET FN OF THE UNITED STATES FISH COMMISSION. hatched, sets them outin the most suitable phices. This steamer also goes out tosea and hatches millions and millions of the finest salt-water fish. With all our piscicultural efforts we must confess that we felt very small when viewing this grand American exhibit; and the magnificent results obtained in America are a sufficient guarantee that this is no "Ameri- can humbug." For the present we can certainly do no better than to strain every nerve and imitate the example set us by the Americans. PEAT-BOOS AH FISH-PONDS.* [From " Oesterreichisch-Ungarische Fisclierei-Zeitimg," volume IV/ No. 1, Vienna, January 1, 1881. The proi)rietor of the establishment Ficlithof near Stettin has shown how easily and with what little expense fish-ponds can be made, and how well it pays to stock them with young fish; for his pond, with an area of one-fourth acre, not only supplies his large family with food, but also yields him a very fair revenue. ]^ine years ago he commenced to dig peat from a very barren piece of ground. The peat was found to rest on a layer of lime, which he likewise utilized. When the spring- water began to overflow the ground, he got a i^eat-raising machine, with which he took out all the lime and peat. The very first year, this thoroughly exhausted peat-bog and lime-pit was stocked with one-year old pike, i^erch {Perca flitviatilis), bleak, tench, and bastard carps {Cyprinus carassius). During the first five years these fish were well protected; and four years ago he commenced to catch fish which were fully matured and particularly fat. Thus he has, among other fish, caught with a spear a very fat pike weighing 9J pounds, which cer- tainly must have been one of the fish with which the pond was stocked in the beginning, which shows that it had increased about one pound in weight per year. The pond in question has now an area of one-fourth acre and an average depth of 12 feet. The banks are very steep down to the bottom, and the water is spring- water, which, through subterra- nean channels, comes from the neighboring pine forest of Leha. The water flows off' through a draining ditch ; but fish cannot escape in that way, as the outflowing water has not sufficient depth. The pond seems to contain an abundance of fish-food. The water rests on the charac- teristic lake-bottom ; the steep banks, going from bottom to top, show first a layer of marshy peat about 6 inches thick and utterly worthless; on this rests the marsh-line — a mass of sweet- water shells — 3 feet thick ; next comes a layer of very valuable peat, 7 feet thick, and on the top of this a layer of drift sand, 2 feet thick, overgrown with grass. The sides of the pond therefore contain lime, peat, and sand. From these sides, perhaps also from the supply of forest water entering the pond through subterranean channels, the fish obtain their food ; for they are *Torfgruben als Fishteiche.— Translated by Herman Jacobson. BULLETIN OF THE UNITED STATES FISH COMMISSION. 59 not fed, and it is scarcely probable that the excrement of geese, which during summer wander about the banks and swim on the pond, and consequentlj" feed altogether on grass, furnishes any food for the fish. Some water also flows into the pond above ground; along the edges grow Glyceria fluitans and J uncus, and Confervce rest upon the water. Fishing in this pond is carried on by means of bow-nets, a seine, and spears. Large pike and perch do their share to i)revent the over- crowding of the pond. This jjond furnishes another proof that every exhausted peat-bog may be used as a fish-pond, if it contains water. Such bogs, however, must admit of fishing ; no edges of peat should therefore be left, and the refuse should not be thrown into the pond, but carried away and used as manure. Such ponds, which have formerly been j)eat-bogs, are found in many places, and are absolutely useless as long as not stocked with fish. Every farm might have fish- ponds, if people would take more interest in this matter, and would display more energy in transforming these exhausted peat-bogs, over- grown with poisonous weeds and full of parasites, into fish-ponds, yielding a revenue. CASTRATING FISH.* By HERR WEDDIOE. [From "Deutsche Fischerei-Zeitung," volume iv, No. 1, Stettin, January 4, 1881.] The writer of these lines has years ago spoken to fishermen and advised them to make experiments regarding the possibility and jirob- able success of the castrating of fish by removing the roe or the milt. This matter has also been spoken of in the "Deutsche Fischerei-Zei- tung," p. 483, but, as far as known to tbe writer, no such experiments have been made. It is probably not very diflicult to remove the roe or milt from live fish, but of course it will be necessary to exercise great caution in doing it. The belly would have to be ripped open with a very sharp knife, the roe or milt would have to be loosened verj' care- fully without injuring any other organs, and the cut would finally have to be sewed ui) with the greatest care. It is probable that the wound of a fish treated in this manner will heal very soon. The nutricious mat- ter which would otherwise have served for forming roe or milt will cer- tainly cause a more rapid increase of flesh and fat, and therefore an equally rapid increase in the weight of the fish. For such experiments young, but full-grown, fish should be selected (jjerhai^s two or three year old trout) whose generative matter has not yet been fully developed (the time for trout would therefore be April and May). i!s"one should engage in such experiments but those who possess the necessary leisure and knowledge. If such experiments should prove successful, the cas- trating of a large number of fish will possibly prove an advantage to * ^^ Kastrirung von FiscJien." — Translated by Herman Jacobson. 60 BULLETIN OF THE UNITED STATES FISH COMMISSION. tlie owners of closed fish-ponds. It is of course impossible to say in advance whether such advantage would be commensurate to the trouble and probable loss of fish by unsuccessful operations. Only the more valu-. able fish, e. g., trout, and perhaps carp, would be fit subjects for such experiments. Note. — We have received the following letter on the same subject : "Eeferring to the question whether it is possible to castrate fish, in Nos. 52 and 53 of the ' Deutsche Fischerei-Zeitung,' I would observe that the idea is not a recent one. Thus the author of ' Wohlbewahrte Fischgehehnnisse oder deutlicher Unterricht von der grossen N'utzharlieit der Fischerei, wie audi von der FiscJie Natur und Eigenscliaft ; nehst einer Amveisung, ivie sie bequem zufangen, und zu welcher Zeit man solche am Besten halte^ (Well preserved fish-secrets or plain instructions re- garding the great usefulness of fisheries, also regarding the nature and qualitj' of fish ; accomi^anied by hints how to catch fish in the easiest manner, and during what season they can best be kept) ; 2d and im- proved edition, Nuremberg, by George Bauer, 1758, in the chapter entitled ' On the Castrating of Fish ' [von der Verschneidung der Fische), gives the following extract from '■Histoire de VAcademie des Sciences 1742, Observations de physique V : ' Mr. Sloane, the former President of the Eoyal Society of London, has written to Mr. Geofiroy, towards the end of December last, that an unknown person had revealed to him the secret how to castrate fish and make them grow fat thereby. This person, who originally was nothing but a net-maker, and had formerly lived 5 or 6 miles from Mr. Sloane's country place, had built up a considerable trade in fish by his skill in managing them. This strange communication excited the curiosity of the naturalist, and the fish merchant-offered to show him the exj)eriment. He took eight bastard carps {Cyprinus carassius), a species of small carp which had recently been brought to England from Hamburg, and placed them into two large vessels filled with water, which was renewed once or twice during the experiment. He began by opening one of these eight carps with a knife, and showing Mr. Sloane the ovarium which opens into that part which is called ' the cloaca.' He thereupon cut open an- other carx), laid bare the ovarium, and closed the wound with a piece of a black hat. The carp which had been cut were jjlaced with the other six, but did not seem able to swim as well as the rest. They were finally all thrown into a small pond iu Mr. Sloane's garden, which is supplied with water from a neighboring river, and v»here, he thinks, they were still living at the time when he wrote to Mr. Geoffroy. Further infor- mation is not given. This man, whose name is Samuel Tull, promised Mr. Sloane, that in spring he would invite him to a dish of cut fish, which were said to excel other fish in flavor as much as a capon a common rooster, and as a cut ox an uncut one. As there is much similarity between land animals and fish, it is probable that castrating has the BULLETIN OF THE UNITED STATES FISH COMMISSION. 61 same effect upon the latter, aucl Mr. Sloane thinks that this discovery shoukl be further, investigated, and that it may serve to give a finer flavor to fish, and to prevent their too rapid increase in fish-ponds, where their number is too hirge as it is.'" WEDDIGE. OsNABRiJCK, December 15, 1880. THE IIVTKODIJCTION OF STRIPED BASS IIVTO CAL.IFORIVIA. By S. R. THROCKITIORTOjV. San Francisco, Xovemher 12, 1880. Hon. Spencer F. Baird, U. S. Commissioner Fish and Fisheries Smithsonian Institution, Washington, Z>. C, Dear Sir : I have from unavoidable causes been compelled until now to defer addressing you upon the subject of the transporting to, and acclimatizing in, our waters the striped bass of your coast. I have long had the impression, that the great bay of San Francisco, together with the bays of San Pablo and Suisun connecting with it, and the number of creeks running into them, affording a variety of qualities and conditions regarding temperature and saline properties, together with feeding material, would be well adapted to the propaga- tion and growth of the striped bass. Having this in view, I last year opened a correspondence with Mr. Livingston Stone upon the subject of attempting the transfer of some small fish at the time of the bringing on of the lobsters. Many diffi- culties presented themselves in rhe matter of obtaining the small fry of the striped bass, which resulted in my suggesting to Mr, Stone the proba- bility of obtaining them in the extreme headwaters of the ^avesink or Shrewsbury Eiver, in ^N^ew Jersey. Mr. Stone succeeded in obtaining a small number at the place designated by me, and, with his usual skill, brought them safely to this coast and deposited them at the head of the straits of Carquinez, the turning point of the fresh and salt water. Some six or seven months after the time of placing in the water I heard that one of 8 inches in length had been taken in the bay of Mon- terey, which is about one hundred miles south of this, and is an open roadstead on the Pacific Ocean. All of the circumstances were of sa doubtful a character that I gave the rumor but little attention, until about :he 1st of July, eleven months after the planting of the young fry, at the time about 1^ inches in length, in the straits of Carquinez, there was brought to me a very handsome striped bass taken in this harbor, measuring 12J inches in length and weighing one pound. The fish was in the highest condition, the milt full and ripe, and the flavoi fully up to the best specimens of the fish at the East. The exceedingly 62 BULLETIN OF THE UNITED STATES FISH COMMISSION. rapid growth, indicating the adaptability of the waters of this bay to this development, together, with the imaiense amount of shrimps, which abound in this bay and furnish abundant food, have, I must acknowl- edge, infused me with almost an enthusiasm to have this valuable fish brought here in sufficient numbers to insure the breeding of them. I have heard of some experiments having been made in breeding them artificially. If that can be done, we might, of course, bring them out as easily and in as great numbers as we now do shad, and my object in now writing you is to ascertain the probability of such an effort being suc- cessful. If it cannot be done our only course must be to enlarge upon and extend the experiment of last year. The small fry can be obtained in the fresh-water heads of the Navesink, the Raritan, the Passaic, the Hackensack, and, in fact, all of those small rivers which flow from the New Jersey coast into the Atlantic and the bays emptying into it. Will you be so kind as to give the matter some thought and let us have the benefit of it? The shad are a success, and we feel satisfied that so soon as they shall have reached such numbers as to insure contact we shall breed them in abundance. With much respect, I remain, yours truly, S. R. THROCKMORTON, Chairman California Fish Commission. TSE SEIiF-PICKER. By FRANK N. CLARK. NORTHVILLE, MiCH., February 17, 1881. Dear Sir: Responding to your request for my opinion concerning the operations of self-pickers, I submit the following: The name " Self-picker," as applied to any ova hatching apparatus yet devised, claiming the ability within themselves to completely sepa- rate the dead eggs from the living, is a misnomer. All self-pickers, so called, are emf>loyed in hatching eggs by what is known as the bulk method, and the principle on which they are operated is the same in each. This principle is based on the supposition that all ova of confervoid growth, which are, for the most part, lighter than the live eggs, can be driven or separated from the latter by a properly adjusted current of water. But, when we consider that a small i)ercent- age of the dead eggs possess no greater buoyancy than the live ones, and consequently a current of water, strong enough to drive off all of the former, must necessarily take with it some of the latter, the imi^ossi- bility of devising any api)aratus that will be a comi)lete self-picker or separator will be readily seen. Nevertlieless, I consider the method of bringing forward the eggs in bulk far superior to any of the lia'ching- box or tray systems now in use. It is practicable, however, to develop BULLETIN OF THE UNITED STATES FISH COMMISSION. 63 in bulk only such eggs the fry of which are able to swim out of the mass of eggs when hatched, or are light enough to be thrown out by the current of water. Ko objections on this score can be raised to this plan for hatching ova of the whitefish {Coregonus albus), or of the shad {Alosa sajridissima). Of the several appliances which have been invented for hatching eggs by the bulk method, those most prominent, and which are undoubtedly the best, are the Mather & Bell cone, as improved by Major Ferguson, and the Chase hatching-jar. The cone has been used exclusively for hatching the shad, while the jar has been confined to the whitefish work, with the exception of a single experiment wi'oh shad-eggs, where it was found to work very well, but must be tried still further before it can claim equality with the cone for shad work. The cone, too, with the " Clark" gate attachment, would, in all j)rob- abilitj", equal the jar for hatching eggs of the whitefish, but has not been sufiflciently tested in this direction to warrant its introduction without further experiment. The jar, although but recently introduced, has largely displaced the hatching devices for whitefish work hitherto in use, and, when its merits are more fully understood and appreciated, will, I think, entirely super- cede all other appliances for the work in question. With its use one man can take care of 20,000,000 ova, and thus its great economy, as compared with any hatching-box ever invented, will be readily apparent. This great difference in its favor may be credited to the fact of its being so constructed and operated as to collect for the most j)art the eggs of coufervoid growth at or near the surface of the mass of eggs, whence they are easily removed. Thus it will be seen that they are "partial separaters," but not " self-pickers." But this partial separation of the dead eggs is a merit of no small proportions, as but little time is required for their removal when massed together, while the small percentage of dead eggs remaining unseparated is rendered ijowerless to harm the living ones by the constant current of water, which keeps the whole mass of eggs in ever-changing motion, and thus protects the latter from the contaminating influences of the former. It may be stated, as an actual fact, that where water of a tem- perature not exceeding 40° F. is used, in consequence of which the cou- fervoid growth is comparatively slow, a large percentage of dead eggs may be allowed to remain or collect in a jar without jeopardizing the lives of the remainder ; but the practice of removing all extraneous eggs collecting at the surface is to be commended. The method employed by Mr. Chase, inventor of the jar in question, for removing these eggs, is to augment and thereby strengthen the cur- rent of water in the jar to that degree necessary to Ibrce the mass of eggs upward until the surface is on a level with the mouth of the jar, the gate being raised in the mean time to allow the surface eggs to float 64 BULLETIN OF THE UNITED STATES FISH COMMISSION. off.- But the most careful manipulation will fail to prevent tlie escape of many good eggs with the bad ones when this plan is pursued, as the line of separation between the two is not distinctly drawn. I have found that a great saving of time, as well as eggs, can be effected by using a glass siphon to draw off the surface eggs. I have also used the siphon very successfully while operating the cone in shad hatching. No nicety need be observed in this process, as all eggs thus separated can be placed in a separate jar, when, in a few moments, a solid layer of eggs of confervoid growth will collect on top and can be readily siphoned away unattended with the loss of any good eggs, while the latter can remain in the jar to be manipulated as before when necessary. Other ways of assisting the jars to eliminate the extraneous eggs have been tried, but I have found the siphon plan to be by far the most ex- peditious and need not result in the loss of a single good egg by throw- ing away. This plan, then, consists essentially in collecting the surface eggs from the jars as often as may be necessary or desirable and con- densing the same into one or more jars, from whence the most of the dead eggs can be removed without disturbing the good ones ; by thus completing, with the aid of the siphon, the n^itural operations of the jar in separating the bad eggs from the good ones, the tedious and expensive process of picking out the dead eggs with nippers is done away with. In any method of incubating eggs wherein they are stationary, as^ with the hatching boxes and trays, a slimy coating will be found adher- ing to the eggs which must be washed away as often as may be neces- sary; and for the same reason, the trays, boxes, and troughs also will require an occasional cleaning. And again, when the eggs are hatching^ the trays require a daily manij)ulation to dislodge a portion of the fry and shells which will not escape through the meshes. All this work is unnecessary when the jar is used ; the constant motion imijarted to the eggs by the current of water keeps them bright and clean, and when hatching the fry and shells are, by the upward current, drawn out through the mouth of the jar into a tank for their reception, the gate at the mouth of the jar being removed during the hatching season. The following suggestions may be of service in operating the jar :^ It should be full of water, and, with its accessories, in position and in running order before the introduction of the eggs ; but, while they are being introduced, it is better to interrupt the water supply of the jar being filled, which will prevent the eggs frdm flowing^ against and clog- ging the wire gate. The rubber connecting-pipe should extend down inside the glass tube below the levfel of the water in the jar, to keep the water free from air- bubbles. Eggs are sometimes found bunched together on their arrival from the spawning grounds; these should be broken up before their entrance into the jar, as the movement of the water therein is too gentle to accom- Ijlish this end. BULLETIN OF THE UNITED STATES FISH COMMISSION. 65 The little projections or feet at the conical end of the glass tube should be accurately ground so as to compel a uniform current to flow from all points of the base of the tube. The capacity of the jar in question may be stated as 150,000 eggs of the Coregonus albim. At the present writing, I have a jar containing 40,000 eggs of the whitefish, which are hatching very rapidly. These are the oldest eggs on hand, and their speedy development was brought about by an acci- dent. The main conducting pipe sprung a leak, which interrupted the water supply of the jar for a few moments only ; but as soon as the water was turned on again from another pipe, these eggs immediately began hatching by the thousands. This shows that when the eggs are nearly developed, their constant movement in the jar must not be checked if it is thought advisable to detain the appearance of the fry for the longest possible period. These eggs, however, were nearly ma- ture, and the fry therefrom are lively and vigorous. Yours, very truly, FEANK N. CLAEK. Prot. S. F. Baird, U. 8. Commissioner of Fish and Fisheries, Washington, D. G. COAIi ASHES AS A mEANS OF RAISINC} JUACKERELr II\ PURSE SEINES. Bv S. J. MARTIIV. Sometimes, when there is a large school of mackerel in the seine, they are heavy on the bottom of the seine, so that it cannot be easily handled. In such a case heave a bucket of coal ashes in the seine, and that will bring the mackerel to the surface. Captain Coas, of schooner John S. McQuinn, told me he had three hundred barrels of mackerel in his seine and they lay so heavy on the twine that he could not move the seine with twelve men hauling on the twine. He threw a bucket of coal ashes in it, the mackerel came to the surface, and they could then easily haul the seine. All the vessels that have tried it say it works well. The cook saves the coal ashes.* mETHOD OF USIIVC VF1X.I.ARI>'S PATENT POCKET FOR MACKEREL.. By S. J. MARTIN. Capt. S. J. Martin, Gloucester, Mass., writes in his journal, under date of June 30, 1881 : " I will explain how Willard^s Patent Pocket is used for mackerel. In the first place, there are two out-riggers 9 feet long and 4 inches through ; *NOTE. — Ashes have been used, so Mr. Merchant tells me, for several years, but is thrown outside of the seine instead of into it, as Captain Martin thought. The object is to frighten the fish by making the water white, when they rise to the surface. Tlie same result is obtained by the menhaden fishermen by giving a few quick turns of the propeller. The fishermen call it "whirling them up." — J. W. Collins. BuU. U. S. F. C, 81 5 66 BULLETIN OF THE UNITED STATES FISH COMMISSION. one of the out-riggers goes into the rail at the main rigging. There is an iron plate on the rail. What the fishermen call a 'goose neck' is on the inner j)art of the out-rigger that goes down through the iron l^late on the rail. The forward out-rigger is forward of the fore-rigging and is fixed the same as the after one. There is a guy on the end of the outriggers to keep them steady. The guy on the after one leads aft, and the guy on the forward one leads forward. The length, the distance between the out-riggers on board of a ninety-ton vessel, is 32 feet. The mouth of the bag is 33 feet wide; ii^is fastened on the out- rigger to within 4 feet of the end. There are stops on the out-riggers to fasten the ijocket on. The inner part of the pocket is made fast to the rail of the vessel between the two out-riggers. There is a block on the outer part of the out-rigger. A block is made fast to the rigging, half way up the mast, that forms a tackle to the outer end of each out-rigger. When the seine has mackerel in it, the pocket is made fast to the inner part of the seine, the out-riggers are lowered down to the edge of the water and the mackerel are poured into the pocket. The i)ocket will hold two hundred and fifty barrels of mackerel. It is made of stout twine, 1 J-inch mesh. Some of the vessels have dressed a whole trip out of the pocket. When the mackerel are in the pocket, the seine is ready for a new school. All the seiners are having pockets made. All rigged, the pockets cost $80. The size of the pocket is 8 fathoms deep, 32 feet wide, 14 feet long. FIRST APrEARAIVCE OF FI$!)H AT CLOUCESTEB, 1881. By CAPT. S. J. MARTIN. The herring came May 5, and were small. May 6, the large herring came. May 13, the first mackerel caught in trap at Kettle Island, thir- teen in number. The first tautog were caught May 13 in the trap at Kettle Island. The fir§t perch caught May 8. Flounders and sculpin first caught A^jril 21. The small pollock came in the harbor May 2. Alewives first caught May 13. The first menhaden caught off Long Branch May 6, by Gallup & Holmes' steamers, of New London ; 800 barrels taken in one day. Finback whales have been plenty since the first of Ajiril. Schooner Alice, of Swan's Island, was in Boston Monday, with 30,000 mackerel, caught off Block Island. The mackerel are com- ing east fast and are of good size. Pollock are plentiful at Chatham. Two vessels got 35,000 pounds each with seines; they were schooling on top of the water, the same as mackerel. Gloucester, May 18, 1881. BULLETIN OF THE UNITED STATES FISH COMMISSION. 67 ON TOE PROPAOATION OF THE STRIPED BAS8. By E. R. IVORNY. Odessa, Del,, 3Iay 9, 1881. Prof. Spencer F. Baird : I have read with great satisfaction a correspondeut's account in the New York Herald of the 2d instant in regard to your success in the Albemarle Sound ; but I find the propagation of the striped bass or rock is still as much of an enigma as ever. The correspondent says the fisher- men think they have discovered the place where they spawn. Let me here otter a suggestion. Since my last communication to you, I have conversed with a gentleman interested in the striped bass, who informed me that he conversed with a gentleman from Wilmington, Del., who said to him that on one occasion he saw a large female bass cast her spawn on the boulder rocks in the vicinity of Wilmington Creek, Del. This is the location where we supposed those fish spawn from the fact that it is here that the young fry are first numerously seen. The Dela- ware State side of the stream at this point is full of loose boulder rocks, and the gentleman said the fish seemed to remain and defend her spawn. I have tried to verify the truth of this statement, but have been unable to ascertain the gentleman's name. The only doubt is, the general turbid condition of the waters of the Delaware would make it difticult to see any considerable distance below the surface ; but, perhaps, in the dry season of May at low water he may hav^e seen what is here represented, for those large fish venture in very shallow water. If such is the case, then your Albemarle fisherman should look for rocky or bouldery bottom to find the spawning ground of the striped bass. I have not altered my opinion that the true mode to propagate these fish is to pen up the immature fish and retain them until their maturity, both male and female. I now have in captivity a sixty-pound female, which I have had so confined for nearly two weeks under very unfavorable circumstances. The pond contains an area of about half an acre, but is shoal, the greater portion not being over one foot deep; but there are several rods square that contain from three to five feet in depth. The misfortune of this pond is that it takes an extra high tide to put water in it, and the fish has only had fresh water in the pond but once since its capture. If provi- dence favors me with a few tides to fill the pond with a fresh supply of water, I have no doubt I shall carry it over the spawning time, which, I think, will be by the 1st of June. The object is not to propagate the fish, but to prove the feasibility of thus keeping them and to determine the time of their maturity. If they can thus be kept, and I have not 68 BULLETIN OF THE UNITED STATES FISH COMMISSION. the least doubt of it, I could have furnished this season to a pond both male and female fish sufficient, with the same success in hatching as with shad, to have produced 100,000,000 young fish of a species second to no other in our seaboard waters. As it was, all the large fish, after being captured, were turned loose again to propagate in their own natural way. These fish, in confinement, will require a liberal supi^ly of food. I have placed in the pond a supply of live herring, as I found on cut- ting one open, weighing about 35 j)ounds, that its maw contained two large-sized herring, one more than half digested, the other in perfect form. I hope to have the good fortune to capture this fish on the 1st of June^ and find it past maturity, and be able to again return it to the bay. Yours, &c., E. E. NORNY. A. OEORCilA CARP POIVD. By ABEL, A. WRIOHT. Griffin, Ga., 3fay 14, 1881. Prof. Spencer F. Baird : Esteemed Sir : The sketches of my fish pond failed to reach you, and I am sorry, because I wanted you to see them and tell me how you like my plans, &c. This i^ond I built before I ever heard of a carp, or saw a drawing as in Hessel's work, the ideas being my own. The carp are genuine beyond a doubt, because there is no earthly chance for any fish to get into the pond, no fish being in the streams it empties into, and nothing but beautiful clear springs feediug it only a few hundred feet off; and there is a large fall, about one-quarter of a mile below, that no fish can get above, the water falling perpendicularly over a shelving rock. I was extremely particular in regard to this matter. If I go to Florida in the fall, I will superintend getting a fine lot of aquatic plants and send them to you at my own expense. The carp feed ravenoursly on moss that grows in the water ; I had boxes of it shipped to me, and I know what I am talking about. I notice one thing, the carp love to spawn among the thick masses of weeping-willow roots that grow out in the water ; they have great masses of fine fibrous roots. I have seen hundreds of pounds iu the water near the bank where they would spread out in the water for yards around; and another thing, a little black caterpillar about an inch or more long, with yellow spots, comes on the weeping willow and drops into the water. I have seen the large carp lie watching for them, and, when one falls in the water, the carp would take him in out of the wet ; and also grasshoppers and earth-worms thrown into them. I buy damaged crackers from Atlanta by the barrel BULLETIN OF THE UNITED STATES FISH COMMISSION. 69 and feed with them ; I get them at two cents per pound ; I have five barrels now just received. If feeding- well will make them grow they shall have it. It is funny to see the little fellows eating small crumbs ; sometimes a dozen will be around one small crumb and stick to it until it is all gone. I delight in sitting at my pond watching the fish, and they seem to know me and my wife from strangers, judging from their actions. I will make another drawing of my pond and send you if you did not get the one sent. Nothing will please me better than to meet you and talk fish. I have exterminated the bull-frog and snake tribe, and all is quiet on the lake at night now, and not a ripple is made by his snakeship seeking the tempting frog or fish. ABEL A. WEIGHT. MOVEITIEIVrS OF YOIJIVG AL,E\» IVES (?) (POMOtiOBUS SP.) IW COL.O- RADO RIVER, TEXAS. By TARL,ETO]¥ H. BEAN. The United States National Museum has recently received from Mr. J. H. Selkirk, of Matagorda, Texas, two small ale wives, measuring about one inch in length, which are wonderfully like the fry of the common alewives of the Potomac and other northern rivers. They have been compared directly with fry of nearly the same size taken opposite Wash- ington, and, while we cannot say positively that they are identical with the " branch " ale wife or herring, yet we believe that they are the same species. Mr. Selkirk sent the fish to Professor Baird, thinking that they might prove to be shad, which, indeed, they resemble. I quote from his letter to the Commissioner the details of his observations upon them : " Matagorda, Tex., April 20, 1881. " To the Fish Commissioner, " Washington, D. C. : " Dear Sir : I inclose two small fish. Please inform me what species they are. My reason for asking is, that some few years ago there were some shad placed in the Colorado Eiver at Austin, and, as I have never seen any shad, and these were taken out of the same river near its mouth, I thought it possible they were shad. They were all going up stream, and in innumerable quantities. I am not exaggerating when I say, I walked along the bank for a mile, and as far as I went they were in sight as thick as anywhere, and still coming, the school being about two feet wide. " This river emj^ties into Matagorda Bay a short distance from where I saw them." Prom the fact that these young herring were discovered near the mouth of the river ascending the stream in dense masses, one would infer that they were the young of some anadromous species, such as the "branch" 70 BULLETIN OF THE UNITED STATES FISH COMMISSION. or " glut " alewife of the Potomac, rather than of the gohleu shad of the Mississippi Valley, which is essentially a fresh-water species. We are not obliged to depend upon this observation of habits, however, since a comparison of the fry with the young alewives previously mentioned leaves little doubt as to their identity. It is probable that they were hatched in the waters of the Gulf of Mexico adjacent to the Colorado mouth some time in February or March of this year. It is to be hoped that specimens of the adult alewives, and any other herring-like fishes that may be found in the Colorado and other tributaries of the Galf, will be secured and forwarded to Prof. S. F. Baird, United States Com- missioner of Fish and Fisheries, Washington, D. C, in order that the progress of introduction may become known. If those fry observed by Mr. Selkirk are young alewives, it is almost certain that they were in- troduced into Texas with the shad. It is well known that the newly- hatched alewife is small enough to come in through the gauze bottom of a hatching-box, which will not allow the escape of shad eggs or fry. The alewife, moreover, is hatched earlier than the shad, and is always on hand in advance to unite destinies with its larger relative, even to the extent of being carried thousands of miles and deposited in waters never seen by its progenitors. In this way, it seems to me, one of the great lakes, and some of the lakes of Xew York, were stocked with alewives in the effort to introduce shad ; at all events, they first appeared in those waters after the attempts with shad were made. U. S. National Museum, Washington, May 6, 1881. BULLETIN OF THE UNITED STATES FI.SH COMMISSION. 71 NOTEN OIV TIIE TxIFE-mSTORY OF TIIE EEL, €IfIFFL.Y DERIVED FROiTI A STUDY OF RECENT EUROPEAN AUTHORITIES. BY G. BROlirW OOODE. I, Number of species of eels and the method of classification. a. Gunther's views, h. Dareste's views. II. Number of species of eels in America. III. Geographical distribution of the eel. IV. General note on habits. — Professor Baird. V. Introduction of eels into new waters in the United States. VI. Giinther on the life-habits of the eel. VII. Benecke on the general natural history of the eel. VIII. Ancient beliefs concerning the reproduction of the eel. IX. Search for and discovery of the female eel. X. Hunt for the male eel and discovery of Syrski. XI. How to distinguish male and female eels. a. Internal characteristics. — Benecke and Syrski. h. External characteristics. — Jacoby. XII. Questions as to the viviparous nature of eels. — Benecke. XIII. Hunt for young eels. — Jacoby. XIV. Undoubted normal reproductive habits of eels. — Benecke. XV. Do male eels leave the sea and enter fresh water ? XVI. Strange mistatements concerning the breeding of the eel. XVII. Benecke on the movements of young eels. XVIII. Observations of Dr. Hermes in 1881, on the conger. XIX. Jacoby's tour to Comacchio in 1877 and his conclusions. XX. A list of the most important books and papers concerning the eel and its habits of reproduction. I. Number of species of eels. a. gunther's VIEWS. There is no group of fishes concerning- the classification and history of which there is so much doubt as the eel family ; an infinite number have been described, but most are so badly characterized or founded on in- dividual or so trivial characters that the majority of ichthyologists will reject them.* In his Catalogue of the Fishes in the British Museum, Dr. Giinther has claimed to retain those as species which are distinguished by such characters that they may be recognized, tbongh he remarks that he is by no means certain whether really specific value should be attached to them, remarking that the snout, the form of the eyes, the width of the bands of teeth, &c., are evidently subject to much variation. In his more recent work he remarks," Some twenty-five species of eels are known from the coast waters of the temperate and tropical zones." * Giinther, Catalogue of Fishes British Museum, viii, j). 24. 72 BULLETIN OF THE UNITED STATES FISH COMMISSION. T). dareste's views. Other recent writers have cut the knot by combining all of the eels into three or four, or even into one, species, and it seems as if no other course were really practicable, since the different forms merge into one another with almost imjierceptible gradations. In his monograph of the family of Anguilla-formed fishes* M. C. M. Dareste remarks : " Dr. Giinther has recently published a monograph of the apodal fishes in which he begins the work of reducing the number of specific types. The study of the ichthyological collection of the Paris Museum, which contains nearly all of Kaup's types, has given me the opportunity of completing the work begun by Dr. Giinther, and of striking from the catalogue a large number of nominal species which are founded solely upon individual peculiarities. " How are we to distinguish individual peculiarities from the true spe- cific characters ? In this matter I have followed the suggestions made with such great force by M. Siebold in his History of the Freshwater Fishes of Central Europe. This accomplished naturalist has shown that the relative i)roportions of the different parts of the body and the head vary considerably in fishes of the same species, in accord ance with cer- tain i)hysiological conditions, and that consequently they are far from having the importance which has usually been attributed to them in the determination of specific characters. " The study of a very large number of individuals of the genera Conger and AnguiUa has fully convinced me of the justice of this observation of Siebold ; for the extreme variability of proportions forbids us to con- sider them as furnishing true specific characters. " I also think, with Siebold, that albinism and melanism, that is to say, the diminution or augmentation of the number of chromatophores are only individual anomalies and cannot be ranked as specific characters. Eisso long since separated the black congers under the name Murcena nigra. Kaup described as distinct species many black Anguillas. These species should be suppressed. I have elsewhere proved the frequent occurrence of melanism and albinism more or less complete in nearly all the types of fishes belonging to this family, a fact especially interesting since albinism has hitherto been regarded as a very exceptional phe- nomenon in the group of fishes. This also occurs in the SymhrancMdce: I have recently shown it in a specimen of Monopterus from Cochin China presented to the museum by M. Geoffroy St. Hilaire. "I must also signalize a new cause of multiplication of species; it is j)artial or total absence of ossification in certain individuals. This phenomenon, which may be explained as a kind of rachitis (rickets), has not to my knowledge been noticed, yet I have found it in a large number of specimens. I had prepared the skeleton of a Conger of medium size, the bones of which are flexible and have remained in an entirely * Comiites rendus of the Academy of Scieuces, Paris. BULLETIN OF THE UNITED STATES FISH COMMISSION. 73 cartilaginous state. Still it is not necessary to prepare the skeleton to determine tlie absence of ossification, for we can establish this easily in unskinned specimens by the flexibility of the jaws. It is very remark- able that this modification of the skeleton is not incompatible with healthly existence, and that it does not prevent the fish in which it is found from attaining a very large size. "Those fishes in which ossification is absent are remarkable by reason of the great reduction of the number of teeth, which, although the only parts which become hard by the deposit of calcareous salts, remain how- ever much smaller than in individuals whose skeletons are completely ossified. "We can thus understand how such specimens could present char- acters apparently specific, and that they should have been considered by Kaup as types of new species. These considerations have led me to reduce, on an extensive scale, the number of species in the family. "So, in the genus Angiiilla, I find but four species: Angmlla vulgaris occurring throughout the northern hemisphere, in the new world as well as the old. Anguilla marmorata and A. mowa of the Indian Ocean, and Anguilla megalostoma of Oceanica. "There are at least four distinct types, resulting from the combina- tion of a certain number of characters; but the study of a very large number of specimens belsnging to these four specific types has convinced me that each of these characters may vary independently, and that con- sequently certain individuals exhibit a combination of characters belong- ing to two distinct types. It is therefore impossible to establish clearly- defined barriers separating these four types. " The genus AnguUla exhibits, then, a phenomenon which is also found in many other genera, and even in the genus Homo itself, and which can be explained in only two ways: Either these four forms have had a common origin and are merely races, not species, or else they are dis- tinct in origin, and are true species, but have been more or less inter- mingled, and have produced by their mingling intermediate forms which coexist with those which were primitive. Science is not in the position to decide positively between these alternatives." 11. Number op species of eels in Ameri'a. It is the disposition of American ichthyologists, at least, to accept the views of Dareste, and to consider all the eels of the northern hemisiihere as members of one polemori^hic si^ecies. Giinther is inclined to recog- nize three species in i!forth America : one the common eel of Europe, Anguilla vulgaris; one the common American eel, Anguilla. hostoniensis, which he finds also in Japan and China; and the third, Anguilla texana, described and illustrated by Girard, in the Eeport of the United States and Mexican Boundary Survey, under the name of A. texana, which, he remarks, is scarcely specifically' distinct from A. hostoniensis, from which it differs only in the greater development of the lips. The distinction 74 BULLETIN OF THE UNITED STATES FISH COMMISSION. between A. hostoniensis and A. vulgaris, as stated by him, consists chieflj^ in the fact that the dorsal flu is sitnated a Uttle farther back upon the body, so that in the former the distance between the com- mencement of the dorsal and anal fin is shorter than the head, while in the latter it is equal to or somewhat longer than it. This character does not appear to be at all constant. III. Geographical distribution of the eel. "V^ e may therefore provisionally assume the specific identity of the eels of the old and the new world, and define their distribution of the com- mon eel somewhat as follows : In the rivers .and along the ocean shores of Eastern North America, south to Texas and IMexico, and north at least to the Gulf of Saint Lawrence, but absent in the waters tributary to Hudson Bay, the Arctic Sea, and the Pacific ; present in Southern Greenland (?) and Iceland, latitude G5° north ; on the entire coast of Norway, from the North Cape, latitude 71°, southward; abundant in the Baltic and in the rivers of Eussia and Germany, which are its trib- utaries, and along the entire western and Mediterranean coasts of Europe, though not present in the Black Sea, in the Danube or any of its other tributaries, or in the Caspian; occurring also off Japan and China and Formosa ; also in various islands of the Atlantic, Grenada, Dominica, the Bermudas, Madeira, and the Azores. IV. General note on habits. [Professor Baird.] The habits of the eel are very different from those of any other fish, and are as yet but little understood. " This, so far as we know," writes Prof. Baird, '4s the only fish the young of which ascend from the sea to attain maturity, instead of de- scending from the fresh to the salt water. Its natural Li story has been a matter of considerable inquiry within a few years, although even now we are far from having that information concerning it that would be desirable, in view of its enormous abundance and its great value as a food fish. " The eggs of the eel are for the most part laid in the sea, and in the early spring, the period varying with the latitude, the young fish may be seen ascending the rivers in vast numbers, and when arrested by an apparently impassable barrier, natural or artificial, they will leave the water and make their way above the obstruction, in endeavoring to reach the point at which they aim. Here they bury themselves in the mud and feed on any kind of animal substance, the spawn offish, the roes of shad, small fish, &c. At the end of their sojourn in the ponds or streams they return to the sea, and are then captured in immense num- bers in many rivers in what are called fish-baskets. A V-shaped fence is made, with the opening down-stream into the basket, into which the eels fall, and from which they cannot easily escape. This same device, it may be incidentally stated, captures also great numbers of other fish, BULLETIN OF THE UNITED STATES FISH COMMISSION. 75 such as shad, salmon, and other anadroinoiis fish, to their grievous destruction. "As might be expected, however, the Falls of Niagara constitute an impassable barrier to their ascent. The fish is very abundant in Lake Ontario, and until artificiallj" introduced was unknown in Lake Erie. At the present time, in the sirring and summer, the visitor who enters under the sheet of water at the foot of the falls will be astonished at the enormous numbers of young eels crawling over the slippery rocks and squirming in the seething whirlpools. An estimate of hun- dreds of wagon-loads, as seen in the course of the perilous journey re- ferred to, would hardly be considered excessive by those who have vis- ited the si)ot at a suitable season of the year. The economical value of the eel as a lood fish has been well established, and it is now greatly sought after for introduction into the localities where, for some physical or other reason, it is unknown. The advantages, as summed uj) by a German writer, are, first, that an eel will live and grow in any water, however warm, and whatever be the general character of the bottom, though it prefers the latter when muddy and boggy ; second, the eel requires no special food, but devours any thing, living or dead 5 it is an excellent scavenger, feeding upon dead fish, crabs, etc., as well as upon any living prey it can secure ; third, but few conditions can inter- fere with its development, while it grows with very great rapidity, being marketable at the age of three years ; fourth, the young, on account of their hardiness, can be transported in a crowded condition, and to any distance, with very little risk of destruction. These considerations are, in the main, well established, and there is no question but that the eel can be introduced in many waters to advantage, supplementing the earlier inhabitants. It has been planted in the waters of the upper lakes and the Mississippi River ; in the latter they have reached an ad- vanced development. It is, however, a very undesirable inmate of rivers in which fish are taken by means of gill-nets, the destruction of shad and herring in the waters of the Susquehanna and others further south being enormous. It is not unfreqnent that when a gill-net is hauled up, the greater part of the catch consists simply of heads and backbones, the remainder beicg devoured by myriads of eels in the short time the net is left out. The spawning shad are considered by them a special delicacy, and are found emi)tied at the vent and completely gutted of the ovaries. Sometimes a shad, apparently full, is found to contain several eels of considerable size. They do not seem to be very destruc- tive of living fish of any magnitude, although the young fry are devoured with gusto."* y. Introduction of eels into new waters in the United States. In describing the geographical distribution of the eel it was stated that it occurs in the rivers and along the ocean shores of North America. * MS. note by Professor Eaircl. 76 BULLETIN OF THE UNITED STATES FISH COMMISSION. This being the case, as might be supposed, there are many inland lakes and streams of the United States in which this fish does not occur ; for instance, in the chain of the great lakes above Niagara Falls and in the upper waters of other streams in which there are consider- able obstructions. The cutting of canals in various parts of the country has, however, produced a great change in their distribution ; for in- stance, it is stated by Mitchell * that eels were unknown in the Passaic above the Great Falls until a canal was cut at Paterson, since which time they have become plentiful in the upi)er branches of that river. They have also been placed in many new localities by the agency of man. Concerning this Mr. Milner remarks : " The eel {Anguilla hostoniensis), appreciated in some localities and much vilified in others, is another species that has been frequently transplanted. It is iiretty evident that it never existed naturally in the chain of great lakes any higher up than Niagara Falls, although speci- mens have been taken in Lakes Erie and Michigan. Their existence there is with little doubt traceable to artificial transportation. "A captain of a lake vessel informed me that it was quite a common thing some years ago to carry a quantity of live eels in a tub on the deck of a vessel while on Lake Ontario, and they were often taken in this manner through the Welland Canal. He said that it was a fre- quent occurrence on his vessel when they had become tired of them, or had procured better fishes, to turn the remainder alive into the waters of Lake Erie. " In 1871 Mr. A. Booth, a large dealer of Chicago, had an eel of four pounds weight sent him from the south end of Lake Michigan, and a few weeks afterward a fisherman of Ahneepee, Wis., nearly 200 miles to the northward, wrote him that he had taken a few eels at that point. It was a matter of interest to account for their presence, and a long time afterward we learned that some parties at Eaton Rapids, Mich., on a tributary of the lake, had imported a number of eels and put them in the stream at that place, from which they had doubtless made their way to the points where they were taken. The unfortunate aquarium -car in June, 1873, by means of the accident that occurred at Elkhorn River, released a number of eels into that stream, and about four thousand were placed by the United States commission in the Calumet River at South Chicago, 111., two hundred in Dead River, Waukegan, 111., and three thousand eight hundred in Fox River, Wisconsin." t They have since been successfully introduced into California. YI. GUNTHER ON THE LIFE-HABITS OF THE EEL. Concerning the life-history of the eel much has been written, and there have been many disputes even so late as 1880. In the article upon * Transactions Lit. and Phil. Soc. New York, I, p. 48. t Report U. S. Fish Commission, p. 2, 1874, 526. BULLETIN OF THE UNITED STATES FISH COMMISSION. 77 ichthyology, contributed to the Encyclopedia Britaunica, Giiuther ^yl■ites : "Their mode of propagation is still unknown. So much only is certain, that they do not spawn in fresh water; that many full-grown individ- uals, but not all, descend rivers during the winter months, and that some of them at least must spawn in brackish water or in dee]) water in the sea; for in the course of the summer young individuals from 3 to 5 inches long ascend rivers in incredible numbers, overcoming all obstacles, ascending vertical walls or flood-gates, entering every larger and swollen tributary, and making their way even over terra firma to waters shut off from all communication with rivers. Such emigrations have long been known by the name '■Eel-fairs\ The majority of the eels which migrate to the sea appear to return to fresh water, but not in a body, but irregularly, and throughout the warmer part of the year. Xo naturalist has ever observed these fishes in the act of spawning, or found mature ova; and the organs of reproduction in individuals caught in fresk water are so little developed and so much alike, that the female organ can be distinguished from the male only with the aid of a microscope." VII. BeNECKE on the general natural HISTORY OF THE EEL. In attempting to j)resent a review of this subject I am sure I cannot do better than to translate at length a communication just received from mj- friend Dr. Berthold Benecke, professor in the University of Konigs- berg : "The coloration of eels varies greatly not only in different localities, but in the very same places: the back may be dark blue or greenish black ; the sides, lighter blue or green ; the belly, white ; sometimes the back is only slightly darker than the sides ; sometimes there are olive green individuals with a golden-yellow band upon their back, sometimes they are entirely golden-yellow and, very rarely, entirely white. The eel lives in deep quiet waters with muddy bottom; it burrows out holes and tunnels in which it rests quietly during the day, while at night it comes out in search of food. From^the deck of a steamer passing through rivers or canals one may see upon the banks, which are laid bare by the waves produced by the motion of the vessels, numerous eels with half of their bodies projecting from their lurking holes. "The eel feeds upon all kinds of small water-animals, and may be found on the spawning places of other fish in great troops, going there for the purpose of feeding upon the eggs. They feed also upon crabs at the period when they are shedding their shells, and have in many local- ities in Germany completely exterminated them. Since the eel is every- where known as a greedy robber, many accounts have been given of theu' wanderings, in which they have made their way into the pea- patches to feed upon pease. The oldest reference of this kind is that of Albertus Magnus, who remarks in his book of animals, published at Frankfort- on-the-Main in 1545 : ' The eel also comes out of the water iu^ 78 BULLETIN OF THE UNITED STATES FISH COMMISSION the niglit time into tlie fields, where he can find pease, beans, or lentils.' This statement was contradicted in 1666 by Baldner,* who writes con- cerning the eel: 'They eat fish, do not come on the land, and do not eat pease, but remain in the water always, and nre nocturnal animals.' "Forthwith, new statements were made which tended to show the actuality of the wanderings of the eels in the pea-patches. For instance, Bach, in his ' Natural History of East and West Prussia,' published in 1784, maintained that eels frequently were caught in the pea-patches in the vicinity of the water, where they fed upon the leaves or, according to other accounts, ujion the pease themselves, and continues: 'These movements explain the paradoxical fact that in Prussia and Pomerania fish have been caught upon dry land by the use of the plough, for the peasants, in warm nights when the eels are in search of the pease, towards morning when it is not yet day, make furrows with the plough between them and the water, and these are the nets in which the eels are caught. Since the eel moves with ease only upon the grass, its return to the water is cut off by the soil which has been thrown up. The peasants consider it as a sign of approaching stormy weather when the eels come out of the water upon dry land.'t "A person writes to me from Lyck : ' In storms they come out into the pea-patches, and at this time people spread sand or ashes around, and thus prevent their return.' Such tales are even now numerous in the newspai^ers. " The small size of the gill-opening makes it possible for the eel to live for a long time out of the water, and it is possible that in their wanderings over moist meadows they may find places in which there are snails and other desirable food. The explanation of their supposed wanderings over the jjea-patches is, that the eels, wliich have been found at different times in the fields or meadows, have been lost by poachers, who threw them away in their flight. Many times dead eels have been found upon meadows over which they have swam, the mead- ows being flooded, and, in spite of the nearness of the water, have after- wards been unable to return to it. "Although the activity and tendency among young eels to wander is very great, yet we cannot believe in the wandering of adult eels over wide stretches of land. According to Si^allanzani, in Comacchio, where for many centuries an eel fishery of immense extent has been carried on, these fish are found in numerous ponds and lagoons, the fishermen have never yet seen an eel wandering over the laud; and once when, on account of the drying up of the water, the eels died by the thousand, *Kecht natiirliche Beschreibung und Abmahlung cler Wasser-Vogel, Fischen, vier- fussigen Thier, Insecten unci Gewirin, so bey Strassburg in den Wasseru sind, die ich selber gescbossen und die Fisch gefangen, aucb alles in meiner Hand gebabt. Leon- bard Baldner, Fiscber und Hagmeister in Strassburg gefertigt worden 1666. Manu script. (Cited by von Siebold, Siisswasserfische von Mitteleuropa. Leipzig, 1863.) t A live and active eel, a few days since, was dug out from a deptb of five feet in the soil of Exeter, N. H. — Gloucester Telegraph, Oct. 26, 1870. BULLETIN OF THE UNITED STATES FISH COMMISSION. 79 not one oi' them luade the attempt to escape by a short joiiruey over hiud into the neighboring hxke or into the river Po. "The eel occnrs in all our waters, with the exception of small, rapid brooks. The fishermen distinguish many varieties based upon the dif- ferences in the form of the head or color and the varying j)roportions in the length of the body and tail ; and the older ichthyologists have followed their opinions without sufficient reason. " By rapid growth the eel attains the length of 24 to 30 inches, and often a greater size. On account of their fat, which is very highly flavored, and the absence of bones, they are everywhere valued, and are caught in various ^\ ays. The most profitable method of capture is in eel weirs and eel baskets and in traps by the use of nets, and on hooks they are also caught in great quantities. In winter many eels are taken with spears on the shelving shores where they lie buried in the mud in a state of torpidity. In this fishery very often more are wounded than captured, and, in addition to the large eels, great quantities of small ones are taken." VIII. Ancient beliefs concerning the reproduction of the EEL. The reproduction of the eel, continues Benecke, has been an unsolved riddle since the time of Aristotle, and has given rise to the most won- derful conjectures and assertions. Leaving out of question the old theories that the eels are generated from slime, from dew, from horse- hair, from the skins of the old eels, or from those of snakes, and the question as to whether they are produced by the female of the eel or by that of some other species of fish, it has for centuries been a question of dispute whether the eel is an egg-laying animal or whether it produces its young alive ; although the fishermen believe that they can tell the male and female eels by the form of the snout. A hundred years ago no man had ever found the sexual organs in the eel. Jacoby has remarked that the eel was from the earliest times a riddle to the Greeks ; while ages ago it was known by them at what periods all other kinds of fishes laid their eggs, such discoveries were never made with reference to the eel, though thousands upon thousands were yearly applied to culinary uses. The Greek poets, following the usage of their day, which was to attribute to Jupiter all children whose paternity was doubtful, were accustomed to say that Jupiter was also progenitor of the eel. " When we bear in mind," writes Jacobj', " the veneration in which Aristotle was held in ancient times, and still more throughout the mid- dle ages — a period of nearly two thousand years — it could not be other- wise than that this wonderful statement should be believed and that it should be embellished by numerous additional legends and ami>lifica- tions, many of which have held their own in the popular mind until the present day. There is no animal concerning whose origin and existence 80 BULLETIN OF THE UNITED STATES FISH COMMISSION. there is such a number of false beliefs and ridiculous fables. Some of these may be put aside as fabrications ; others were, probably, more or less true, but all the opinions concerning the propagation of the eel may •be grouped together as errors into three classes : " (I.) The beliefs which, in accordance with the description of Aris- totle, account for the origin of the eel not by their development from the mud of the earth, but from slimy masses which are found where the eels rub their bodies against each other. This opinion was advanced by Pliny, by Athenseus, and by Oppian, and in the sixteenth century was again advocated by Rondelet and reiterated by Conrad Gessner. "(II.) Other authorities base their claims upon the occasional dis- covery of worm -like animals in the intestines of the eels, which they described, with more or less zealous belief, as the young eels, claiming that the eel should be considered as an animal which brought forth its young alive, although Aristotle in his day had pronounced this belief erroneous, and very rightly had stated that these objects were probably intestinal worms. Those who discovered them anew had no hesitation in j)ronouncing them young eels which were to be born alive. This opinion was tirst brought up in the middle ages in the writings of Albertus Magnus, and in the following centuries by the zoologists Leu- wenhoek, Eisner, Eedi, and Fahlberg -, even Linnseus assented to this belief and stated that the eel was viviparous. It is but natural that unskilled observers, when they open an eel and find inside of it a greater or smaller number of living creatures with elongated bodies, should be satisfied, without further observation, that these are the young of the eel ; it may be distinctly stated, however, that in all cases where eels of this sort have been scientifically investigated, they have been found to be intestinal worms.* "(III.) The last group of errors includes the various suppositions that eels are born not from eels, but from other fishes, and even from animals which do not belong at all to the class of fishes. Absurd as this sujiijo- sition, which, in fact, was contradicted by Aristotle, may seem, it is found at the present day among the eel-catchers in many parts of the world. " On the coast of Oermany a fish related to the cod, Zoarces vivipariiSy which brings its young living into the world, owes to this circumstance its name Allmuter, or eel mother, and similar names are found on the coast of Scandinavia." " In the lagoon of Comacchio," continues Jacoby, " I have again con- vinced myself of the ineradicable belief among the fishermen that the eel is born of other fishes ; they point to special differences in color, * It is very strange that an observer, so careful as Dr. Jacoby, should denounce in this connection the well-known error of Dr. Eberhard, of Eostock, who mistook a species of zoarces for an eel, and described the young, which he found alive within the body of its mother, as the embryo of the eel. In Jacoby's essay, p. 24, he states that the animal described by Eberhard was simply an intestinal worm, an error which will be manifest to all who will take the pains to examine the figure. BULLETIN OF THE UNITED STATES FISH COMMISSION. 81 and especially in the common mnllett. Mugil cephahis, as the causes of variations in color and form among eels. It is a very ancient belief, widely prevalent to the present day, that eels pair with water snakes. In Sardinia the fishermen cling to the belief that a certain beetle, the so-called water-beetle, JDytiscus Roeselilj is the progenitor of eels, and they therefore call this 'mother of eels.'" IX. — Search for and discovery of the female eel. A scientific investigation into the generation of eels could only begin when, at the end of the middle ages, the prohibition which the venera- tion for Aristolte had thrown over the investigations of learned men was thrown aside. With the revival of the natural sciences in the six- teenth century we find that investigators turned themselves with great zeal to this special question. There are treatises upon the generation of the eel written by the most renowned investigators of that period, such as Kondelet, Sahiani, and Aldrovandi. Nevertheless, this, like the fol- lowing century, was burdened with the memory of the numerous past opinions upon the eel question, and with the supposed finding of young inside the body of the eel. The principal supjjorters of the theory that the eel was viviparous, were Albertus Magnus, Leeuweuhoek, Eisner, Eedi, and Fahlberg. The naturalists, Franz Eedi and Christian Franz Paullini, who lived in the seventeenth century, must be mentioned as the first who were of the opinion, founded, however, upon no special observations, that the gen- eration of the eel was in no respect different from that of other fishes. In the eighteen century it was for the first time maintained that the female organs of the eel could certainly be recognized. It is interesting that the lake of Comacchio was the starting point for this conclusion as well as for many of the errors which had preceded it. The learned surgeon, Sancassiui, of Comacchio, visiting an eel fishery at that place in 1707, found an eel with its belly conspicuously enlarged ; he opened it and found an organ resembling an ovary, and, as it appeared to him, ripe eggs. Thereupon he sent his find, properly preserved, to his friend, the celebrated naturalist, Valisneri, jjrofessor in the university of Padua, who examined it carefully and finally, to his own great delight, became satisfied that he had found the ovaries of the eel. He prepared an elaborate communication upon the subject, which he sent to the Academy at Bologna.* At the very beginning there were grave questions raised as to the correctness of this discovery. The principal anatomical authority at Bologna, Professor Valsalva, appears to have sbared these doubts, especially since shortly after that a second specimen of eel, which pre- * I fail to find any record of the publication of this paper, except that given by Jacoby, who states that it was printed at Venice in 1710 with a plate, and subse- quently, in 1712, under the title " Di ovario Anguillaruui," in the proceedings of the Leopold Academy. Bull. TJ. S. F. C, 81 6 82 BULLETIN OF THE UNITED STATES FISH COMMISSION. sented the same appearance as tliat wliicli was described by Yallisneri, was sent from Comacchio to Bologna. The discussion continued, and it soon came to be regarded by the scientific men of Bologna as a mat- ter of extreme importance to find the true ovaries of the eel. Pietro Molinelli offered to the fishermen of Comacchio a valuable reward if they would bring liim a gravid eel. In 1752 he received from a fisher- man a living eel with its belly much extended, which, when opened in the presence of a friend, he found to be filled with eggs. Unfortunately the joyful hoj)es which had been excited by this fortunate discovery were bitterly disappointed when it was shown that the eel had been cunningly opened by the fisherman and filled with the eggs of another fish. The eel question came up again with somewhat more satisfactory results wheu, in the year 1777, another eel was taken at Comacchio which showed the same appearance as the two which had preceded it. This eel was received by Prof. Cajetan Monti, who, being indisposed and unable to carry on the investigation alone, sent a number of his favorite pupils to a council at his house, among whom was the cele- brated Camillo Galvani, the discoverer of galvanism. This eel was ex- amined by them all and j)ronounced to be precisely similar to the one which had been described by Vallisneri seventy years before. It was unanimously decided that this precious specimen should be sent for ex- haustive examination to the naturalist Mondini, who api)lied himself with great zeal to the task, the results of which were published in May, 1777. The i)aper is entitled "De Anguillne ovariis," and was published six years later in the transactions of the Bologna Academy.* Mondini was satisfied that the supposed fish which Vallisneri described was nothing but the swimming bladder of the eel in a diseased state, and that the bodies supposed to be eggs were simply i^ostules in this dis- eased tissue. In connection with this opiuion, however, Mondini gave, and illustrated by magnificent plates, a good description and demon- stration of the true ovaries of the eel, as found by himself. This work, which in its beautiful i^lates illustrates also the eggs in a magnified fold of the ovary, must be regarded as classical work, and it is an act of historic justice to state that neither O. F. Miiller nor Rathke, but really Carlo Mondini was the fiist discoverer, describer, and demonstrator of the female organs of the eel, which had been sought for so many cen- turies.! * De Bonouien.si Scieutarum et Arterium Institute atque Academia Commentarii. Tomns VI. Bonoui;e, 1783, p. 406, seq. t Prof. G. B. Ercolaui, of Bologua, and also Crivelli and Maggi, iu Llieir essays pub- lished in 1872, have rightly stated that Mondini's priority of discovery has been over- looked in Germany. Neither Rathke nor Hohnbaum-Hornschech nor Schliiser have mentioned his work. S. Nillson, in his Skaudinavisk Fauna, 1855, says nothing of Mondini. He mentioned as the first discoverer of the ovaries O. F. Miiller, while Cuvier, in his "Historie Maurelle do Poissons," assigning the honor rather to Rathke. Th. von Siebold is the first to announce in his work, published iu 1863, Die Susswas- serfischo Von Mitteluropa, page 349, that Mondini, almost contemporaneously with BULLETIN OF THE UNITED STATES FISH COMMISSION. 83 Three years later, entirely independent of Moudini, the celebrated zoologist, Otto Friedrich iMiiller, published his discovery of the ovary of the eel in the "Proceedings of the Society of Xaturalists," at Berlin.* The discovery of Mondini was next specially bronght into prominence through Lazzaro Spallanzani. This renowned investigator, in October, 1792, went from Pavia to the lagoons of the Po, near Comacchio, for the sole purpose of there studying the eel question. He remained at Comacchio through the autumn ; he was, however, unable to find any- thing that was new regarding the question, but in the report upon his journey of investigation he entirely threw aside the discovery of Mon- dini, and announced that the ovaries discovered by this authority were simply fatty folds of the lining of the stomach.t It was without doubt this absolute negative statement of such a skilled investigator as Spallanzani which for a long time discouraged further investigations on the eel question, and allowed what had al- ready been discovered to be regarded as doubtful, as finally to be for- gotten. So when Professor Rathke, of Konigsberg, in his assiduous labors upon the reproductive organs of fishes, in the year 1824, described the ovaries of the eel as two cuff and collar shaped organs on both sides of the backbone, and in the year 1838 described them as new, he was everywhere in Germany (and to a large extent to the present day) regarded as the disco verer.t The first i^icture of the ovary after that of Mondini, and the first microscopical plate of the egg of the eel Hohnbaum-Hornschuch presented in a dissertation published in 1842 — a paper which should be rightly considered as of great importance in the literature of this question. The questions concerning the ovaries of the eel may be regarded as having been brought to a distinct conclu- sion by Rathke, who, in the j ear 1850, published an article describing a gravid female eel, the first and only gravid specimen which had, up to that time, come into the hands of an investigator. O. F. Miiller, and independently from him, discovered the ovaries of the eel. The error, as was discovered by Italian zoologists later than by those of Germany, arose from the fact that the announcement of Miiller's discovery was printed in 1780, while that of Mondini, which was made in 1777, was first printed in 1783. *0. F. Miller, Bemiihungen, bei den Intestinal Wurmern i Bathke, who first, since Mundini, has in detail described (1824, 1838, and 1850) the ovaries of the eel, is considered by some to have recognized them; but this, however, is not true, the additions made by him to Mundini's description being to a great extent erroneous. It is not true that the transverse leaflets are Avauting in the ovaries of the eel, as he asserts in his last work, contrary to his former description, which was probably based on the law of analogy, and that thereby they are distinguished from those of the salmon and sturgeon. It is not true, what Rathke likewise asserts, that the genital opening of the eel consists of two small canals, for I have invariably only found one, which opens in the urethra. Rathke has >ertainly described the eggs quite exactly, distinguishing the larger whitish ones, having a diameter of about one- fifteenth of a line, and the smaller transparent ones, with the germinal vesicle inside ; but Mundini likewise says : '^innumeras sphwnilas minimus, cequales, pellucidas, divisas tamen, qnoe in centra macidam ostendebant, ecc. vidi,"' thus showing the true nature of the ovaries and the eggs, and contrasting them with the fatty formation and with the ovaries and eggs of other osseous fish." (Syrski.) 84 BULLETIN OF THE UNITED STATES FISH COMMISSION. X. Hunt for the male eel and its discovery by Syrski, The history of the search for the female of the eel having been given, for the most part, in a translation of the work of Dr. Jacob.y, it seems appropriate to quote the same author concerning the search for the male eel, which, though much shorter, is none the less interesting. In the dissertation of Hohubaum-Hornschuch, published in 1842, the opinion was expressed that certain cells found by the author in the ovaries which differed from the egg cells by their form and contents, should be regarded as the siiermary cells of the eel, and that the eel should be regarded as hermaphrodite. Six years later Schliiser i>re- sented an interesting dissertation upon the sexes of lampreys and eels in which he pronounced these opinions of Hobnbaum-Hornschuch to be erroneous, and expressed the oi^inion that the male eel must be ex- tremely rare, or that it was dilierent, perhaps, from the female. From this time up to the beginning of 1870 a male eel was never seen, nor do we find any opinions expressed concerning the form of the male of the eel or its reproductive organs.* According to Eobin in 18-46, George Louis Duvernoy (Cuvier, An atomic Comparee, ed. 2, 1848, tome viii, p. 117) described the ruftie-tube tyi^e of the testis of the lampreys and eels, with the free margin fes- tooned in lobules, shorter to the right than to the left, like the ovaries, &c. He added: "At the breeding season, we perceive in it an innumer- able quantity of granulations, or small spermatic capsules, the rounded form of which has often led to their being confounded with the ovules, at least in the eels, in which, in reality, these capsules are nearly of the same size as the ovules, but the latter are distinguished by their oval form." The ovules are spherical, and not oval; but the other facts are fundamentally correct. It is also in error that Duvernoy adds (p. 133) : "The eels and the lampreys have no deferent canal, any more than an oviduct. Like the ova the semen ruptures the capsules in which it has collected and diffuses itself in the abdominal cavity, whence it is ex- pelled in the same way as in the ova." By some droll coincidence the university of Bologna aud, soon after, that of Pavia, were again prominent participants in the eel tournament. At the meeting of the Bologna Academy, December 28, 1871, Prof. G. B. Ercolaui read a pajier ui^on the perfect hermaphroditism in the eel.t Fourteen days later Prof. Balsamo Crivelli and L. Maggi read a detailed and elaborate paper upon the "true organs of generation in * Robin, Comptes Rendus, 1881, p. 383. t Jacoby states that in a paper by Eathke, published in 1838 in the Archivfur naturge- scMchfe, he remarked, " I expect soon to be able to say something concerning the male organs of the eel." It would be very interesting to know whether in the papers left by this skillful in- vestigator there may not have been recorded some valuable observations concerning the male eel. BULLETIN OF THE UNITED STATES FISH COMMISSION. 85 eels." These- investigators, without coucerted action, had all at once brought uj) the celebrated issue of the previous century ; this time, however, having specially in view the male organs of the eel, while all were convinced that they had reached a final result by their investi- gations. The results were certainly very peculiar. In the paper of Ercolaui it was claimed that the snake-like folds of fat, which had formerly been noticed near the ovarium, were nothing else than the spermaries of the eel, and that upon the left side of the animal this organ developed into a true testicle, while the one upon the right side shrank up and became functionless. In the work of Crivelli and Maggi, on the other hand, the folds of fat next to the ovary were also con- sidered to be the male organs of the eel, while the one on the right- hand side of the animal was considered without any doubt to be the male reproductive organ. The last-named authorities described the spermatozoa which they had seen in this stripe of fat upon the right side. Since these stripes of fat were universally found in all eels, and always in connection with the former, the investigators could come to no other conclusion than that the eels were complete hermaphrodites. The male organ of the eel, as described by Ercolani, as also by Crivelli and Maggi, shows how carefully investigations may be ex- pended upon things which are not in the least equivocal, since there was not the slightest trace of structure like that of a spermary. The cells of this body in the lining of the stomach next to the ovary are simply fat cells, with all the characteristic peculiarities, just as they are given in all the manuals of histiology. Professor Eauber, of Leipsic has examined these fat cells carefully, and they have also been investi- gated in many eels by the writer. Dr. Jacoby. Never has anything but fat cells and blood vessels been found in them. The so-called sperma- tozoa, described in the work of Maggi and Crivelli, proved to be micro- scopic fat particles or crystalline bodies, such as are commonly found in fat cells. * In the meantime, at Trieste, the question concerning the male organs of the eel was making a very important advance. Darwin had already expressed the opinion that among nearly all fishes the female was larger than the male. He states that Dr. Giinther had assured him that there was not a single instance among fishes in which the male was naturally larger than the female. This opinion may, perhaps, have induced Dr. Syrski, director of the Museum of National History at Trieste, now i^rofessor in the university of Lemberg, when he undertook, at the request of the marine officials of Trieste, the determination of the spawning time of the fish which were caught in that region, and was obliged to take up the eel question, to devote his attention especially to the smaller eels. Dr. * lu a microscopic investigation of fatty tissnes it is very easy for the so-called Brownian molecular movements to be mistaken for moving spermatozoa, especially in fishes whose spermatozoa, if not very much magnified, show only the head and appear like little bodies globular in form. 86 BULLETIN OF THE UNITED STATES FISH COMMISSION. Hermes, in behalf of Dr. Syrski, protests against this idea, stating, on the authority of the latter, that the i^ublished opinions of Giinther and Darwin were unknown to him prior to the publication of Jacoby's paper. Up to that time every investigator had choseu for investigation the largest and fattest of eels, thinking that the largest and oldest specimens must have the most highly-developed organs of generation. On Xov. vembr eliO, 1873, Syrski found in the second specimen which he investi- gated — an individual 15 inches long, which is now preserved in the museum at Trieste — a completely new organ, which had never before been seen within the eel by any former investigator, although teus of thousands of eels had been zealously studied.* Syrski published his discovery in the April number of the proceedings of the Imperial Academy of Sciences, Vienna, in 1874.t The most important point of the discovery was stated to be that in all the sj)ecimens of eels in which the Syrskian organ was fouDd, the well known collar- and-cuft' shaped ovary, the female organ of generation, was entirely wanting. It was evident from this that eels were not hermaphrodites. The question now arose, is the newly discovered organ in the eel, in its external form, as well as inner structure, so different from the ovary that it could be considered as a partially developed or peculiarly shrunken ovary ? According to all re- searches which have up to this time been made, there is the highest kind of probability that this newly discovered structure is actually the long sought male organ of generation. The investigator cannot, however, answer this question with complete certainty, since the thing which is most necessary to the solution of this question, namely, the huding and the recognition of the spermatozoa, has not yet been accomplished. In February, 1879, Professor Packard announced the discovery of spermatozoa in eels from Wood's Holl, Mass., but soon after declared that this was a mistake, and that he had been deceived by molecular movements among tbe yolk nuclei in the female organs. The discovery of spermatozoa in the spermaries of the conger-eel, recently announced by Dr. Hermes, of Berlin, is, however, suflicient to demonstrate fully the correctness of Syrski's theory. The confirmation in the case of the common eel is solely a matter of time. XI. How TO DISTINGUISH MALE AND FEMALE EELS. a. INTERNAL CHARACTERISTICS. — BENECKE. The differences between the organs of sex in the eel are well described by Benecke. The ovaries of the eel are two yellowish or reddish- white * "I commenced ray investigations," writes Syrski, "on the 29tli November last year (1873), and already in the second eel which I dissected on that day I found the testicles, and therefore a male individual of the eel. I sent in March of the following year (1874) to the Academy of Sciences in Vienna a preliminary communication, which was read at the public session held the I5th April, and printed in the reports of the academy." tin 1875, Professor Von Siebold found male eels in the Baltic at Wismar, although this discovery was not at that time made known to the public. They have siuce been found in the German Ocean, in the Atlantic, and in the Mediterranean. BULLETIN OF THE UNITED STATES FISH COMMISSION. 87 elongate organs as broad as one's finger, situated alongside of the back- bone, arranged in nunierons transverse folds, extending through the entire length of the abdominal cavity. They liave no special opening to the outside of the body, and their contents must be discharged into the abdominal cavity and must find exit through the very small opening situated behind the anus. These two bodies, on account of their great size, are of course not easily overlooked, but they contain such a great quantity of fatty cells and the eggs imbedded in them are so small and delicate that one might easily believe, even after a superficial micro- scopic examination, that the whole organ consists only of fat. AYhile the eggs of other fishes measure from one to three millimeters in diam- eter — and sometimes are much larger^still the eggs in the ovary of the eel have, on an average, a diameter of about .1 millemeter, and are so closely surrounded by fatty cells with outlines mu<;h more strongly marked that it requires great skill to i)repare a microscopic slide in which thej' shall be as plainly visible as they are in the accompanying illustration, in which they are magnified 150 diameters. When a jierson has a microscope which magnifies only 100 diameters, it is best to i)ut a portion of the ovary in water when dissecting it, in order that the eggs may be easily found. It is much easier to find the eggs in young eels, 7 or 8 inches in length, than in the adult fish, since in the former, although the ovaries and the eggs are smaller, the fat cells have not made their appearance, and the eggs are, therefore, plainly visible at the first glance through the microscope. The number of eggs is extra- ordinarily large, amounting to many millions. The eggs of larger size, which sometimes are found in great quantities in eels that have been cut up and have been considered to be eel eggs, have always proved to be the eggs of other fish which they have swallowed, and in the course of cutting them up have been found in the eel's belly. The male eels, which are found only in the sea and in the brackish water, are much smaller than the females, rarely exceeding 15 or 16 inches in length; in them, in the place of the ovaries in the female, are found sperraaries, which differ in appearance in the manner shown in the illustration. These consist of two tubes which stretch the whole length of the body cavity, situated close to each other, and provided with numerous sacculations. Eii)e si^ermatozoa are as rarely found in these organs as eggs ready to be laid have been found in the ovaries of the female. According to many accounts the male eels, which later were found also by Yon Siebold in the Baltic Sea at Wismar, differ from the females in the possession of a proportionally sharper snout, less conspicuous dorsal fins, darker colonation of the back, a more prominent and metallic luster upon the sides, the clean white coloration of the belly, and the larger size of the eyes. I proiiose to reproduce here the original descriptions and figures of Syrski, the discoverer of the male eel. Having met, writes Syrslii, with many errors regarding the female 88 BULLETIN OF THE UNITED STATES FISH COMMISSION. organs of reproduction in the descriptions hitherto given of them, I in- tend to commence by describing these organs, first, with the view of rectifying and completing the details, and also for the purpose of com- parison with the male organs. The ovaries of the eel. — These organs (tig. IG), two in number, are rib- bon-shaped, with leaflets on their outer face, and with transverse folds. In the natural position of the live fish, the one extends to the left and the other to the right of the alimentary tube, following most of its angles nearly the whole length of the abdominal cavity to the place where the dorsal i^arietes is confluent with the lateral. The right ovary commences at a point nearly corresftonding to that ■where on the outside the right pectoral fin ends, and the left ovary com- mences about two centimeters and ends three to four centimeters behind the former. They extend three to six centimeters back of the anus, into the caudal part of the animal's body ; they do not, however, unite in a single body, as some have asserted, but both are toward the end inclosed in a peritoneal membrane, and are separated from each other by the union of these membranes, having each on their inner face an ac- cessory ovary {]^ars recurrens ovarii). In rare cases is such an accessory ovary wanting either on the right or on the left side. The ovaries in fully-grown eels are in the middle about two centimeters larger, and i)osteriorly terminate in a thread-like form. They are not smooth on both sides, but have, as was said above, on their outer side numerous transverse folds (fig. 2) full of eggs (fig. 3). It is another of Eathke's erroneous assertions, likewise maintained by others, that the genital opening through which the eggs pass out from the abdominal cavity is formed by two holes, a right one and a left one. I have invariably found in all specimens examined a simj)le hole, which communicated with the right and left half of the abdominal cav- ity by means of a transverse fissure between the straight intestine and the urinary bladder [fissura recto-vesicalis) and opens in the urethra (fig- 4). It is generally admitted that the eggs, when loosened from the ova- ries, fall indiscriminately into the abdominal cavity, but it is not said which way they take in order to go out through the genital aperture. As I have invariably found that the fully-developed ovaries lean with their outer surface against the side of the abdominal cavity, and approach with their free edges the lower portion of this side, forming, so to speak, a furrow, I must conclude that the loosened eggs descend between the abdominal j)artition and the folds and leaflets of the ovary in the above- mentioned furrow, and from it pass to the genital aperture without scattering in the abdominal cavity. As to the development which the ovaries undergo, I have observed, from the end of November till the beginning of March, in many adult eels, of the length of 530 millimeters and more, that the ovaries were of the breadth of 15 to 25 millimeters, and of a yellowish and sometimes BULLETIN OF THE UNITED STATES FISH COMMISSION. 89 ff^to. v.— .«— m Fig. 2. Piece of the ovary, twiceits natural size, vnthova- rian leaflets arranged in transversal roxvs, on its outer surface. The shorter border attached to the dorsal -wall of the abdominal cavity; the longer being free. ---o> 'T^ — 8 -■« Fig. 3. Piece of a somewhat developed ovary, one hun- dred times the natural size, showin'i the trans- parent eggs loith the germinative vescicles ayid the germinative dots. Fig. 1. Female eel, longitudinal section of the abdomen; natural size. a. Right ovary. b. Lett ovary. c. Accessory part of the right ovary. d. Left accessory part. e. Dividing membrane. /. Anal depres.sion. g. Urinary bladder. h. Fat on the right side, erroneously taten for the testicles by some. h'. Similar fat covering the stomach. i. Fat on the left side. k. Stomach. I. Pylorus. m. Liver. n. Gall-bladder. 00. Pectoral fins. ? / a Fig. 4. Anal part of a female eel, ttvice the natural size. a. Straight intestine. b. Fissura recto -vesicalis. c. Urinary bladder. d. Annus. e. Partition. /. Uro-genital opening. g. Outlet of the genital opening in the uretha. 90 BULLETIN OF THE UNITED STATES FISH COMMISSION. fg- ;^'. (O — I — »-. reddish-white color, i)roduced by the dev^op- ment of adipose tissues and of the blood-ves- sels, and not by the eggs filled with little glob- ules of fat ; the genital aperture and thejissura recto-vesicalis were open. In other eels of a length sometimes of 600 millimeters and more, I found the ovaries less broad, with but little fat, and of a mucous and almost glassy appearance, so that I could dis- cern the so-called vesicles and germinative dots {nuclei and nucleoli) ; the genital aperture and the Jissura recto-vesicalis were closed. The ovaries of young eels, of the length of about 500 millimeters, contained invariably but little fat, and the eggs were without globules. The gradual growth and enlargement of the ovaries go on simultaneously with the opening of the genital orifice. According to the quan- tity of fat contained in the ovaries, they have a mucous and glassy, or more or less opaque or white, aj^pearance, or have small shining white dots. From the end of March till October, I found in the majority of eels which I examined, measuring 600 to 700 millimeters in length, that the ovaries were scarcely white, and that the genital aperture was closed. The number of eggs contained in both developed ovaries reaches, according to my calculation, five mill- ions. The larger eggs measured by me had a diameter of one-fourth to one fifth millimeter, while the eggs of an adult " grougo" {Conger) had, according to my measurements, a diameter of one-third of a millemeter, and those of the " murena " {Murcena lielena) almost one mil- limeter, which explains to me why the ovaries of the two last-mentioned species of fish have long since become known. In an eel measuring 590 millimeters, exam- ined on the 6th July, the left ovary was en- nai pouch, k. Fat on the ^Ib't tlrcly wautiug, aud replaced by a mass of fat. side. k' . SiniiUir fat roverinfj the stomach. I. Fat ou the left side. m. Stomach. n. Pylorus. o. liiver, turned up to show the inner surface adhcriiiir to the cesophagus and the .stomach. p. Gall-bald- der. qq. Pectoral fiua. .1 Fig. 5. Male eel {natural size) . a. Eightteisticle. b. Left testi- cle, c. Right accessorj- part. d. Left accessory part. e. Dividing membrane. /. Deferent canal. g. Seminal pouch. h. Anal de- pression, i. Urinary bladder, cov- ered to a great extent by the semi- Tlie S2)ermatic organs. — The position of these organs (fig. 5), which are not ribbon-shaped like the ovaries, but represent two longi- tudinal rows each with about fifty lobules (fig. 6) of the width at most of three millimeters, and found only in eels not more than 430 millimeters long, corresponds entirely with that BULLETIN OF THE UNITED STATES FISH COMMISSION. 91 of the ovaries. In tliese organs are likewise found, toward the i^osterior end, the spermatic organs {partes recurrentes), which, however, as is the case with the ovaries, are sometimes wanting. The spermatic organs can be distinguished at the first glance from the ovaries of the adult eels and those of the youug eels, not only by their lobular form, but also by their shining glassy appearance, by the surface of the individual lobes, which is smooth and without leaflets, and by the much greater density of the tissue, so that with a pair of pincers one can take ofi' a large portion of the organ, which could not possiblj^ be done svith a more developed ovary whose tissue is as tender as a cob- web, and is composed of small vessels formed of a thin membrane and filled with eggs and fat. The fibrous tissue of the spermatic organs is composed of vascular compartments with thicker partitions, inclosing, according to the devel- opment of the organ, granular globules (fig. 7). Fig. 6. Three lobes of the right testicle, ivith the deferent canal (enlarged ten times.) a. Lobes, seen from their outer surface. h. Lobe, seen from its inner surface. c. Deferent canal. d. Anterior part of the same. • These comjiartments are joined toward the inside and the base of the lobes, which are united to a tube {vas deferens)^ which, cpecal at the com- mencement, runs along the entire length of the abdominal cavity, and opens near the straight intestine {rectum) in a triangular pouch, which likewise contains a vas deferens starting from the caudal part of the spermatic organ. This pouch has its outlet in the general orifice, which opens in the urethra (fig. 8). As regards the development of the spermatic organs, I have observed that the lobes of these organs in young eels, measuring not more than 200 to 300 millimeters in length, are not yet very distinct, forming two thin ribbons differing but little from ovaries of the female in their aver- age size. In eels measuring about 400 millimeters in length, the testi- cles can easily be distinguished from the ovaries. The former, much straighter, and with tissue, as has been already remarked, much more solid, are provided with a much more developed net-work of vessels; their lobes are very distinct and the deferent canals are usually open, while the ovaries present the appearance- of two continuous ribbons, 92 BULLETIN OF THE UNITED STATES FISH COMMISSION. have a more delicate tissue, and an almost mucous appearance, and con- tain the eggs with the germinative vesicles. The deferent canals and the genital orifice are closed in young eels of the male sex, and open simultaneously with the development of the lobes. In the male eels examined by me from March to October, I have found individuals of 400 millimeters and more in length, whose genital orifice and deterent canals were invariably open, while in some of the smaller ones they were closed and in others open. ^'■■■A^.^L v^r- >'^^' ■^''^■' .^ "■■'■/.,>;>; .U^v..." f a h Pig. 7. Piece of the testicle (one hundred and sixty times enlarged), showing the vascular tissue and the bmall granules. Fig. 8. Anal jjart of the male eel, enlarged twice, a. Straight intestine. 6. Fissura recto-vesicalis, covered by the outside wall of the seminal pouch. cc. Outlet of the anterior and posterior part of the deferent canal in the pouch. d. Urinary bladder. Of the 258 eels examined by me, the males and females were in about even proportion; the greatest length of the former was about 430 milli- meters, while the latter were of all sizes up to 1,050 millimeters, which shows that the males are smaller than the females. b. EXTERNAL CHARACTERISTICS. — JACOBY. The external differences presented by living eels (remarks Jacoby), corresponding to the presence of an ovary and the supposed male organ, are very interesting. The most important, writes Jacoby, is (1) the difference in the size and length of the animal. Syrski states that the largest eels found by him with the supi)osed male organ measured about 17 inches, 430'""\ I have, however, found specimens with this organ at Trieste and in Comacchio which measured 17 to 19 inches, 450 to 480^°™. All the eels which ex- ceeded this size, for instance those which were over 3 feet in length, 1™, many of them growing to the thickness of the arm of a strong man, have been hitherto found to be females. The other recognizable ex- ternal character in the female are (2) a much broader tip of the snout in comparison with the small, either attenuated or short and sharply pointed, snout of the eel with the supposed male organ; also (3) a clearer coloration in the female, usually of a greenish hue on the back, and yellowish or yellow upon the belly, while the others have a deep darkish BULLETIN OF THE UNITED STATES FISH COMMISSION 93 green, or often a very deep black upon the back and always a more per- ceptible metallic luster upon the sides (I, once in a while, found eels covered all over with a brownish tint, always possessing the organ of Syrski), usually exhibiting also a white color ui)on the belly. In addition (4) there is an important external character in the height of the dorsal fin ; all females have these fins much higher and broader than the eels of the same size which possess the supposed male organ. Finally (5) there is a character, which is not always a safe one, in the greater diameter of the eye in the eels with the supposed male organ. Eels with quite small eyes are almost always found to be females ; eels with the organ of Syrski usually have comparatively large eyes, yet female eels with quite large eyes are not unusual. The following proportional measurements, the average results of the study of a great number of eels measured by me, will be of general in- terest ; column a gives the total length of the eel ; b the breadth of the snout between the nostrils ; c the breadth of the snout between the eyes; d the length of the snout from the center of the eye to its tip; € the average measurement of the eyes ; / the length of the head to the gill-opening ; g the height of the dorsal fins, all the measurements being given in millimeters. A . Eels with supposed male organ. B. Female eels. a. 6. c. d. e. /• 9- a. 6. c. d. e. /• 9- I 480 6 13.5 15 8 52 5 480 8.5 12 17 5 62 9 I n 470 6 10.5 12 7 54 6 475 7.5 14.5 16 8 59 9.5 n ni 445 5 11 12 6 47 6 440 8 12 14 5 56 7.5 ILL IV 411 4 9 12 5.5 47 6 410 8 12.5 13 7.5 51 7 VI V 386 4.5 9 12 5.5 46 4 378 7.5 11 12 5 49 7.5 V VI 370 3.5 7 10.5 5 40 6 369 7.5 11 13 6.5 51.5 7 VI Vil 344 4 7.5 10 4.5 40 5 342 6 8 11 4.5 44 6.5 VII VIII 319 4 7 10 5 40 4.5 313 5.5 8 10.5 3.5 41 6 VIII According to the distinguishing marks which have been given, special reference having been paid to the height and narrowness of the dorsal fin, much success has been met with in picking out, in the fish-market of Trieste, the eels which possessed the organ of Syrski ; absolute cer- tainty in recognizing them cannot, however, be guaranteed. If one is searching among living eels with no characters in mind with the excep- tion of the first — that of length — he will find in every ten eels, on an average, eight females, and two with the sujiposed male organ; but, if the selection is made with a careful reference to all these marks of difier- ence, the proportion changes, and out of every ten examples about eight will be found with the supi)osed male organ. For another excellent discussion with figures of the characters of male and female eels, the reader is referred to a translation of an article by S. Th. Cattie, in the Proceedings of the U. S. National Museum, vol. iii, pp. 280-4. 94 BULLETIN OF THE UNITED STATES FISH COMMISSION. XII. Question as to the viviparous nature of eels, — Benecke. The discovery of the two sexes has not, however, writes Benecke, set- tled the question whether the eel lays eggs or brings its young alive into the world. There has always been a strong disposition to adopt the latter hypothesis, and there are many people at the present day who claim to have been present at the birth of young eels, or to have found a quantity of young eels in adult eels which have been cut open. Frequently ichthy- ologists hear accounts of occurrences of this kind, and receive specimens of supposed little eels from one to two inches in length, which have beeu kept alive for several days in a glass of water. These are usually thread worms, Ascaris libeata, which live by the hundi^ed iu the intestinal cavity of the eel, and which may be easily distinguished from the eels of the same size by the sharp ends of the body, the absence of lins, of eyes and mouth, and by the sluggishness of their motions. The smallest eels, less than an inch in length, have already the complete form of the adult, and are also transpareut, so that with a magnifying glass one may perceive the pulsations of the heart, and see behind it the brownish-red liver; the mouth, the pectoral, dorsal, anal, and caudal fins are easily seen, and the black eyes cannot be overlooked. In addition to the intestinal worms, the young of a fish of another family, Zoarces viinparus, have given opportunity to the ignorant for many discoveries ; for instance, Dr. Eberhard, in No. 4 of the " Gartenlaube" for 1874, described and illus- trated an '' embryo of the eel," which, in company with about a thou- sand similar embryos, had been cut out of the belly of an eel. This tolerably good drawing at first sight is seen to represent the embryo of zoarces which is almost ready for birth, since it still possesses a very minute umbilical sac. It is very evident that the minute egg of the eel could hardly produce a great embryo with an umbilical sac which exceeds by more than a hundred times in size the whole egg. It is also evident that the imagination of the writer had exaggerated the 200 or 300 young in the Zoarces to a thousand. XIII. Hunt foe young eels.— Jacoby. As might have been foreseen, remarks Jacoby, Syrski's discovery drew attention anew to the solution of the eel problem. In the spring and summer of 1877, the German and Austrian papers and journals were full of articles and paragraphs upon this subject. Among others the following announcement made the rounds of the press : " Hitherto, in spite of all efforts, science has not succeeded iu discovering the secret of the reproduction of the eel. The German Fischerei- Verein in Berlin offers a premium of oO marks to the person who shall first find a gravid eel wliich shall be sufficiently developed to enable Professor Virchow in Berlin to dissipate the doubts concerning the propagation of the eel. Herr Dallmer, of Schleswig, inspector of fisheries in that province, offered to transmit communications to Berlin, and in 1878, in the January num- ber of the German Fishery Gazette, he published a detailed and very in- BULLETIN OF THE UNITED STATES FISH COMMISSION. 95 teresting report of his proceedings. He wrote, among other things, that it was quite beyond his expectation that this announcement would have found its way into nearly all the German journals between the Rhine and the Weichsel, and from the Alps to the sea. The number of letters which he received first rejoiced him, then sur^^rised him, finally terrified him, so that at last he was obliged to refuse to attend to the communi- cations. He had learned at Berlin that an equal number of communi- cations from all parts of Germany had been received, sent directly to the address of Professor Virchow. Objects which professed to be young eels cut out of the parents, but which were really thread worms, were sent to him by dozens ; the most incredible stories, usually from women, about great thick eggs which they had found in eels, were received by him. A witty Berliner communicated to him in a j)acket sent by express the information that the eel problem was now happily solved since a lady eel in Berlin had given birth to twins. Finally Herr Dallmer found himself compelled to insert the following notice in the Schleswiger ;N"achrichten : ' Since the German Fischerei-Verein has offered a premium for the first gravid eel, the desire to obtain the prize, curiosity, or the desire for knowledge has created so lively an interest upon this point that it might almost be called a revolution. I at one time offered, when necessarj', to serve as an agent for communications, but since business has compelled me to be absent from home a great part of the time, I would urgently request that hereafter i^ackages should be sent direct to Professor Virchow in Berlin. I feel myself obliged to inform the public upon certain special points. The premium is offered for a gravid eel, not for the contents of such an eel, since if only these were sent it would be uncertain whether they were actually taken from an eel. The eel must always be sent alone ; the majority of senders have hitherto sent me only the intestines or the supposed young of the eel, which were generally intestinal worms ; the eel itself they have eaten ; nevertheless the prize of 50 marks has been exi^ected by nearly all senders, &c. By this transfer of the responsibilities, the inspector of fisheries has rendered a very unthankful service to Professor Virchow ; he was obliged to publish a notice in the papers in which he urgently stated that he wished to be excused from receiving any more packages, for he would hardly know what to do with them. The comic papers of Berlin now circulated the suggestion that hereafter the eel should be sent to the investigators only in a smoked state. This amusing episode is interest- ing in showing how remarkable an interest the whole world was begin- ning to take in the eel problem."* XIV. Undoubted normal kepeoductive habits of the eel. — Benecke. It may be assumed with the greatest safety (writes Benecke) that the eel lays its eggs like most other fish, and that, like the lamprey, it only * Zoologischer Anzeiger No. 26, p. 193; American Naturalist, vol. 13, p. 125, and Jacoby, p. 44 . 96 BULLETIN OF THE UNITED STATES FISH COMMISSION. spawns once and then dies. All the eggs of a female eel show the same degree of maturity, while in the fish which spawn every year, besides the large eggs which are ready to be deposited at the next spawning period, there exist very many of much smaller size, which are destined to mature hereafter, and to be deposited in other years. It is very hard to understand how young eels could find room in the body of their mother if they were retained until they had gained any considerable size. The eel embryo can live and grow for a very long time suj)i)orted by the little yolk, but when this is gone it can only obtain food outside of the body of its mother. The following circumstances lead us to believe that the spawning of the eel takes j)lace only in the sea : (I) that the male eel is found only in the sea or brackish water, while female eels yearly undertake a pilgrimage from the inland waters to the sea, a circum- stance which has been known since the time of Aristotle, and upon the knowledge of which the principal capture of eels by the use of fixed ap- paratus is dependent; (il) that the young eels with the greatest regu- larity ascend from the sea into the rivers and lakes. All statements in opposition to this theory are untenable, since the young eels never find their way into land-locked ponds in the course of their wanderings, while eels planted in such isolated bodies of water thrive and grow raj^idly but never increase in numbers. Another still more convincing argument is the fact that in lakes which formerly contained many eels, but which, by the erection of impassable weirs, have been cut off from the sea, the supply of eels has diminished, and after a time only scattering individuals, old and of great size are taken in them. An instance of this sort occurred in Lake Miiskendorf, in West Prussia. If an instance of the reproduction of the eel in fresh water could be found, such occurrences as these would be quite inexplicable. In the upi^er stretches of long rivers, the migration of the eels begins in April or May, in their lower stretches and shorter streams, later in the season. In all running waters the eel fishery depends upon the downward migrations ; the eels press up the streams with occasional halts, remaining here and there for short periods, but always make their way above. They ajipear to make the most progress during dark nights when the water is troubled and stormy, for at this time they are cap- tured in the greatest numbers. It is x^robable that after the eels have once returned to the sea, and there deposit their spawn, they never can return into fresh water but remain there to die. A great migration of giown eels in spring or summer has never been reported, and it appears certain that all the female eels which have once found their way to the sea are lost to the fisherman. In No. 8 of t]ie German Fischerei Zei- tung for 1878, Dr. Schock published certain statements sent to him by Dr. Jacoby. It is remarked in this paper, among other things, that after the deposition of the spawn, the female eel dies a phj^siologi- cal death, and that occasionally the sea in the neighborhood of the mouths of rivers has been found covered with dead eels whose ovaries were empty. When, where, and by whom this observation was made, BULLETIN OF THE UNITED STATES FISH COMMISSION. 97 and who jirououuced upon the emi^ty ovaries in these dead fish is un- fortunately not mentioned. A great number of the eels remain in inland waters while others proceed to the sea, either because their eggs are at this time not suffi- ciently ripe, or i^erhaps because they are sterile. It would seem prob- able that the increase in the size of the eggs in the wandering eels begins to be very ^apid after August and September, while in the earlier months of the year, in all eels of moderate size, the eggs were at the utmost biit about 0.00 in diameter. In September of the srime yiear, I found (as an average of numerous measurements) a diameter of 0.10 ; in October, O.IG ; in l^Tovember, 0.18 to 0.23, while the eggs showed other characters connected with approaching maturity which earlier in the season were not to be seen. All the eels which were captured later — in December and in January — part of which came from rivers and harbors, part from the harbor of Putzig (Putziger Wiek) had eggs measuring from 0.09 to O.OO™"", while, very exceptionally, some measured 0.16™™, although among the fish examined were some which measured 3 feet in length. XV Do MALE EELS LEAVE THE SEA AND ENTER I'RESH WATER. This problem is one of great interest, both to the biologist and the fish culturist; it is, in fact, the one disputed point still remaining to be solved. Upon its solution appears to depend the final decision of the question, still so warmly debated both in Europe and America, "Do eels breed in fresh water only, in salt water only, or in both fresh and salt water?" As has already been stated, the theory for a long time generally accepted is that the eels are " catadromous," descending to the sea to spawn. This theory is, however, sharply contested by many observ- ers, chief among whom on this side of the Atlantic is the Hon. Eobert B. Roosevelt, President of the American Fish Culture Association. It appears probable to the writer that the truth lies somewhere between these two extremes, and that it will be hereafter ascertained that the eel, like a majority of other animals, has flexible habits, sometimes devi- ating from its ordinary custom, which appears to be to spawn in salt or brackish water. Male eels have been found in the following localities : (1.) In 1874, by Syrski, in the fish markets of Trieste, these markets being supplied with eels from Chroggia on the Adriatic, and to a lesser extent from the lagoons of Comacchio. (2.) In 1875, on the coasts of France, by Dareste. (3.) In 1875, among specimens of Anguilla mcmnorata from India. (4.) In 1875, in the Baltic, at Wismar on the Danish coast, by Prof. Von Siebold. (5.) In 1877, in the lagoons of Comacchio, by Jacoby. Among 1200 specimens, five per cent, were males; while among those less than 15 inches in length 20 per cent were males. This was in brackish water. (See paragraph XIX). Bull. U. S. F. C, 81 7 98 BULLETIN OF THE UNITED STATES FISH COMMISSION. (6.) In 1879, at Trieste, by Dr. Hermes, who fouud 15 males among 20 eels selected by Dr. Syrski. (7.) lu 1880, on the Baltic coasts of Denmark, by Dr. Hermes. Out of one lot of 30 from Wismar, he obtained" 8 males, thus repeating Van Siebold's observation. (8.) In 1880, from the Baltic between Zealand and Saland, Denmark. Out of one lot of 30, Dr. Hermes obtained 8 males. (9.) In 1880, in France, by Eobin. (10.) In 1880, by Cattie. (11.) In 1880, hy Dr. Hermes, at Cumlosen, on the Elbe, about 120 miles fi-om the German Ocean. (12.) In 1880, at Rligers on the Baltic, by Dr. Hermes, who found 44J per cent, males in one lot of 137. (13.) By Dr. Pauly, among eels planted at Hiinnigen, in Elsass.-Loth- ringen. See below. It has been shown by Dr. Pauly that among the very young eels [montee] taken near the mouths of rivers is a considerable percentage of males, which, when transplanted to fresh water, will there retain their masculine characters and develop into perfect adult males. This discovery is, of course, of the utmost importance to fish culturists mak- ing the attempt to introduce eels into new waters. Its imi3ortance has already been pointed out by Director Haack. The practical lesson to be learned is simply this — that young eels, for introduction into strange waters, must be taken from very near the mouths of rivers, in order that both males and females may be secured. The interest to zoologists lies in the fact that Pauly's discovery renders the theory of Van Siebold less plausible, indicating that the sexes of the young eels are differentiated before they begin to mount the rivers and that the males do not ascend beyond the limits of brackish water. Dr. Pauly's discovery is so interesting that I propose to translate his own account of it. The investigation was made, I believe, in Munich, and the report from which I quote was published in the Austro-Hun- gariau Fishery Gazette, of Vienna, December 23, 1880. Dr. Pauly writes : " During the past year I have received from Court-fisherman Kuflfer a large number of eels, which I have used in my investigations. The large individuals, all of which came from the lakes of northern Italy, were females. I received, however, from the same individual, another lot of eels, consisting of much smaller individuals, weighing from 20 to 90 grams (f of an ounce to 3 ounces), also taken in fresh water. At the request of Professor Von Siebokl, I had paid particular attention to the sexes of the eels which I was engaged in investigating, and to my great astonishment I found that a large majority of these small eels (19 out of 27) were males, possessing, instead of the familiar ovaries, the "lapiienorgan" described by Dr. Syrski. A histological BULLETIN OF THE UNITED STATES FISH COMMISSION. 99 examination of these orjjans convinced me that the structure of these tissues agreed with that described by Freud. ******* My next inquiry was very naturally concerning the locality whence these eels had been obtained. I learned that Kuffer had received them two yeai'S before from Director Haack at Hiiningen, and upon questioning Director Haack learned that they had been brought from a French river, the sevre niortaise, where they were caught as young fry [montee] at a distance of ten or twelve miles from its mouth, and furthermore were at the time of examination about four years old. The small size of these fish, their age being taken into consideration, satisfied me that they had been reared in captivity, since uncultivated eels would have been much heavier. The females in this lot of eels exceeded the males in length and weight and also exhibited those external characters de- scribed by Jacoby as indicating sex. The locality in the sevre niortaise where these fish were taken may easily, especiallj^ at flood tide, have been within the limits of brackish water ; my observations do not prove, therefore, that male eels enter fresh water. Dr. Jacoby found male eels in the lagoons of Comacchio, where the water is brackish. These males must have ascended in the "mountmg" as fry, and probably at the approach of sexual maturity descend with the females to the sea. My investigations and those of Jacoby prove only this : that the young female eels do not necessarily break away from their j)arents and from their birth-places at sea, and entirely alone proceed upon their migrations, while the males scatter through the sea, but that their brothers seem to accompany them part of the way upon their journey. But how far? Do the males know where pure fresh water begins, and are the fry of different sexes found mingled together only at the river mouths? If we bear in mind the fact that the male organs had so long escaped discovery, that, on account of their crystal- like transparency, their detection in a fresh eel is so difficult, etc., may we not admit that past conclusions are probably erroneous, and that although thousands of fresh-water eels have been studied by different investigators, male eels may yet be found in our streams, especially when more of the smaller individuals have been examined." **** **** ** Dr. Pauly then discusses the observations of Dr. Hermes, who found 11 per cent, of males among eels taken at Willenberg, on the Elbe, about 120 miles from the German Ocean, and no males whatever atHavelberg, 20 or 30 miles higher up the stream, and closes his essay with the fol- lowing conclusions : " 21ale eels iindouhtedly ascend the rivers^ hut the numerical percentage of males to females appears to diminish as one pro- ceeds up the streams.''^ This fact is opposed to the theory i)roposed by some one that young eels are at first of undifferentiated sex and have the tendency under the influence of fresh water to become females, under that of salt water to develop male characters." 100 BULLETIN OF THE UNITED STATES FISH COMMISSION. XVI. Strange misstatements in ichthyological literature. One may conclude from these observations that the eels preparing- to spawn leave the inner waters early in December and seek out the deeper places of the sea, where they Cannot be caught with our ordinary imple- ments of capture. The eel eggs can only be found by a systematic in- vestigation of certain parts of the sea bottom with the dredge and the microscope. This investigation might also include the sinking of the migrating eels in special cases to the bottom of the sea, in order to determine whether, under these circumstances, the eggs would ripen more rapidly. By using the largest fish for this purpose one could arrange, by means of small openings in the cages, to permit the entrance of the small male eels. At any rate, there is no doubt from these ob- servations that the spawning period of the eel takes place in winter. In an article by Guido Lindenhain, entitled "The Natural History of the Eel" {Zur NaturgescJiichte der Aale), which has recently been pub- lished in the Austro-Hungarian Fishery Gazette, extending through six numbers, a fanciful contributor of that paper, among other wonder- ful things, claims to have discovered the spawning of the eel in rivers and ponds. I will allow the very sagacious gentleman to recount his summer-night's dream in his own words, in order to show with what certainty and precision the most baseless fables concerning the natural history of tlie eel are even yet narrated : " The methods of spawning by the eel," writes this keen observer, " are very interesting, but to observe them is very difficult and tiresome, and^ indeed, only possible when the spawning places have already been deter- mined by experience. One must remain for many nights upon the shore, hidden behind the bushes, with unflagging attention, until these nocturnal adventurers have come into the shallow water and made their presence known by their snake-like motions at the surface. As soon as they have gathered together upon their chosen haunts there is a great com- motion in the water, and powerful blows are heard, so that the water splashes up a considerable distance, and the surface is covered with little waves, as if some great object were moving about, after which one gets giimi^ses of jiarts of the bodies of the contending rivals of the happy spawning fishes themselves. After the duration of an hour or so it is again quiet, and one sees that the water is moved' in difterent directions in serpent-like waves, which become less and less apparent to the eye of the observer, while the eels are leaving the spawning-places and are betaking themselves to hunt for food or are seeking their cus- tomary quiet dwelling-places. If the observer, moved by overwhelming curiosity, comes on the following day to the same place, he sees nothing, but if he looks with a strong magnifying glass carefully over the water- I)lants, he discovers little greenish-white eggs resting upon the bottom, out of which the young eels will escape in about six weeks." "It is onlj' to be regretted that the enterprising observer has not illustrated the whole develoi3ment of the egg by photograj)liic views of his fancies." BULLETIN OF THE UNITED STATES FISH COMMISSION. 101 Another wonderful story was narrated by Dallmer.* A Fleiisbnrg- eel-smoker told him that once, in April, one of the sacks iu which eels had been sent to him, after it had been emptied, was put into the water with the others ; after having been tied up he found, after eight to fourteen days, millions of living young eels from one to two inches long. He thought that fertilized spawn had been left in the bag which, in eight to fourteeu days, had developed into fishes of one to two inches in length. A million of young eels of li inches in length would take a space of 9,701 cubic iuches,which would be much more than a sack could contain. Such a quantity of little fishes would scarcely be able to find in a sack tied together at its mouth food enough to enable them to grow from a very minute size (the eggs in the ovary have been found only 0.23™°^ large, and may, perhaps, when laid, meas- ure 0.5™™) in eight days to a length of from one to two inches ; let us, however, suppose that the eel-smoker had confounded a hundred little eels with as many millions, it could hardly, even then, happen that these little animals in from eight to fourteen days could have grown to 160 times their original dimensions. The story would be much more probable if it were supposed that the young eels in their wanderings toward the fresh waters had, perhaps, found their way into a bag which was not tied uj) at its mouth. In De La Blauchere's " Xouveau Dictionaire general de peche, Paris, 186S," occurs the following paragraph, without any indication of its source : " Chenu and Desmarest do not hesitate to state that the eel spawns upon the mud after a kind of copulation ; that the eggs remain, adhering together, joined by a glutinous substance analogous to that which connects the eggs of the fresh- water perch, and forms little pel- lets or rounded globules. Each female, as they have succeeded in ob- serving, produces annually many of these masses. The little fish soon hatch out and remain, for the first few days after their birth, together in these masses, but when they have reached a length of 4 or 5™™ they shake off the bonds which hold them and soon ascend in great bodies the streams and brooklets near which they find themselves." According to this, the eggs are deposited in masses of slime, inside of which the young hatch out in the course of a few days, and a few days later they shake themselves free and swim about at liberty. When and where these investigators have made such observations is not to be found out from the " Dictionaire " ; at any rate, it is very hard to understand how they have proved that the same female eel yearly lays several sets of eggs. XVII. BENECKE on THE MOVEMENTS OF YOUNG EELS. Benecke gives the following thorough discussion of the movements of young eels: The young eels, hatched out of the eggs at sea, doubtless live at the * Fisclie uud Fiscberei im Sussen Wasser, Segeberg, 1877. 102 BULLETIN OF THE UNITED STATES FISH COMMISSION. bottom until tliey grow, tbrongli consumption of ricli food substances there to be found, to a size from 1 to 3 centimeters. When they have attained this size they begin their wanderings in immense schools, i)ro- ceediug to ascend into the rivers and lakes. These wanderings of the young eels have been known for a very long time ; for instance, in the lagoons of Comacchio, in which they may be found, for the most part, after they have gained the length of from 6 to 8 millimeters, and in France, later also in England, Denmark, Sweden, and, more recently, in Germany they have also been observed. According to the French reports young eels are hatched out early in the winter, and in February, having attained the length of 4 or 5 centi- meters, they appear in the brackish water at the mouth of the Loire in immense numbers, soon to begin their wanderings up the stream. They swim in crowded schools at the surface of the river right up to the banks, and little detachments of the army deploy at the mouth of each tributary and pursue their wanderings along its course. These swarms of young eels are called in France " Moutee," in Italy, " Montata." The number of the young fish is, as might be expected from the number of the eggs in the ovary of the eel, wonderfully large. Eedi has recounted that from the end of January to the end of Aj^ril the young fish continue wander- ing up the Arno, and that in 18G7 over 3,000,000 pounds of them were taken in five hours. Into the lagoons of the Comacchio the eels pour from February to April. In March and April they have been noticed in many French rivers, in which the migration continues for from eight to fourteen days. The first account of these wanderings in Germany was that given by Von Ehlers. In 1863 he wrote to Von Siebold : " This took place about ten years ago, in the village of Drennhausen, in the Province of Wesen, in the Kingdom of Hanover. As we were walking, towards the end of June or the beginning of July, on a dike, which at that place projects out into the Elbe, we noticed that along the entire^ shore there might be seen a moving band of a dark color. Since every- thing which takes i:>lace in tbe Elbe is of interest to the inhabitants of that region, this phenomenon immediately attracted attention, and it soon became apparent that this dark band was composed of an innumer- able body of young eels, which were pressing against each other, as, at the surface of the stream, they were forcing their way upwards towards its source, while they kept themselves so close to the shore that they fol- lowed all its bendings and curves. The width of this band of fish at the place where it was observed (where the Elbe has a considerable depth) was perhaps a foot, but how deep it was could not be observed, so thickly crowded together were the young eels. As they swam a great number could be taken in a bucket, and it was very annoying to the peo- ple who lived along the Elbe that so long as the procession of fish lasted no water could be taken out of the river which was not full of the little fish. The length of the young eels was, on an average, from 3 to 4 inches ; the thickness of the body was about equal to that of a goose-quill. By BULLETIN OF THE UNITED STATES FISH COMMISSION. 103 themselves might here and there be seen swimming eels of greater size, but none of them were jirobably more than 8 inches in length. All of them, even the smallest, were dark colored. Tiiis wonderful procession of fishes continued unbroken and of the same density throughout the whole of the day on which it was first observed, and continued also uj)ou the following- da>j. On the morning of the third day, however, not one of the young' eels was to be seen." Similar observations have been made at Wittenberg, on the Elbe. Kuppfer observed great quantities of young eels, of about 3 centimeters in length, in the brackish water of the Eider, at Freiderickstadt; so also did Yon Stemann. " Every year," writes the latter, "from April to the end of June, there appear great masses of young eels, which are present in large schools toward the Upper Eider, seeking in every way to pass each other. In Ajiril the first eels show themselves generally singly : cold weather has evidently kept them back up to this time ; since this year, until to-day, no ascent whatever has taken place, and now the approach of the great schools is beginning. Where the current is feeble, the procession is broad ; but where the eels encounter a strong current — near a mill — it becomes small, and presses close to the shore, in order to overcome the currents. The little animals swim eagerly and rapidly along near the banks until they find a place over which they decide to climb. Here they lie in great heaps, and appear to await the rising- of the tide, which makes their ascent easier. The tide having risen, the whole mass begins to separate without delay ; eel after eel climbs up on the steep wall of rock, determined to reach the little pools, at the height of 15 or 20 inches, into which some of the water from the Upper Eider has found its way. Into these holes the little animals creep, and have yet to travel a dis- tance of 40 or 50 feet under the roadway before they can reach the Upper Eider. Another detachment betakes itself to the sluice-ways, and clings to the cracks in the wood ; also around the mills their ascent may be observed, especially about sunrise."* Davy sends a similar account from Ireland. He was a witness of the ascent of young eels, or " elvas," at Ballyshannon, at the end of July, 1823 ; he si)eaks of the mouth of the river under the fall being "black- ened by millions of little eels about as long as a finger, which were constantly urging their way up the moist rock beside of the fall." "Thousands," he adds, "died; but their bodies, remaining, served as a ladder by which the rest could make their way ; and I saw some ascend- ing even peri)endicular stones, making their way through wet moss or adhering to some eels that had died in the attempt."* * Professor Benecke had in his possession some of the young eels, ■which escaped from all the vessels in which they were confined, and even climbed to the ceiling of his room. * Eel-fairs in Connecticut. — Fresh-water eels may be canght in large numbers, in weirs along the lake streams, when descending at the fall equinox to deposit their spawn in some lower region, and in the following August their offspring, from three 104 BULLETIN OF THE UNITED STATES FISH COMMISSION. Sucli is the energy of these little animals that they continued to find their way in immense numbers to Loch Erne. In the little eels which ascend the rivers there are no traces of sexual organs, but in the fresh water they develop only into females. One of the most recent observations made by Dr. Pauly, in Munich, would appear to contradict this idea, since he discovered male eels among the fish which were brought with a lot of young eels to Hliningeu, were kept there for two years in ponds, and were finally released in the fish pond of Court-Fisherman Kaufler. We should bear in mind, however, that these young eels were captured at the mouths of fresh rivers in brackish water ; and that among the numerous small eels which swim in the brackish water there must be many larger specimens, in which the male organs have already begun to develop. Such are doubtless those which were sent in the male condition to Hiiningen and Munich, and were there recognized as males. This presumption can be set aside only if male eels shall hereafter be found among the fish which are caught in the upper part of rivers in the condition of young fry. Concerning another imi)ortant fact which is connected with the movements of the young fry of the eel, I became acquainted last year (in the course of an exploration of the waters of the district of Kouitz- kunde) with the river Brahe, at Mlihlhof, above Eittel, where a high dam was built in 184G and 1847 for the purpose of watering a large system of meadows by the overflowing of the stream. Below the dam is an inclined plane (constructed of boards), about 300 feet long, built for the j)urpose of preventing the water, which rushes out when the sluice-gate is opened, from washing away the bottom of the stream and its banks. This plank floor consists of two layers, the lower one of 2-inch, the upi^er one of 3-inch boards. The grade of the dam at Mlihlhof (33 feet 3 inches) has entirely cut ofi" the ascent of the fry of the eel into the upper part of the Brahe and the lakes tributary to it, and the number of eels caught above the dam — which was formerly very considerable — has become reduced almost to nothing. In tbe year 1847 the construction of the dam and the inclined plane was completed ; in 1852 the upper layer of the planks on the plane had warped and sprung up in mauy IDlaces, so that it had to be torn up for repairs. The cause of the warp- ing was immediately discovered: thousands of eels — as thick as a man's finger — somewhat flattened in shape, and, on account of the absence of light, of a pure white color, filled the space between the two layers of planks, and their united pressure from beneath had caused the upper to six inches long, return in immense numbers. The basin of the Still River Falls, near Colebrooke line, is for several days alive with them. They may be seen labor- iously crawling up every rock which is moistened by the spray of the fall, and en- deavoring to reach their ancestral lake or dam. At the foot of the Niagara Falls this phenomenon may be witnessed on a large scale at the same season of the year or later, and probably in other places where the fall is too high and the cuirent too swift for the young eels to stem it without contact with the rocks. — Annals of Win- chester, Conn., Boyd, p. 26. BULLETIN OF THE UNITED STATES FISH COMMISSION. 105 layer to yield ; these eels had foimd their way between the boards as frj', where they had found sufficient food and had grown to such a size that the pressure of their united strength had pushed up the roof of their j)rison. These facts, observed by an old millwright, were com- municated to me by Privy Counsellor Schmid, of Maricnwerder, who supervised the construction of the Miihlhof dam, and he fully confirmed them. Eels of 4 inches in length, which in May are plenty in fish-jionds, by the end of October reach a length of 10 inches and the thickness of a man's little finger; in the following fall they measure from 20 to 24 inches, and in the third year are ready to be eaten. On account of their rapid growth and hardy nature, in consequence of which latter they live in mud-holes and unprofitable waters of all kinds, the breeding of eels is a very remunerative business. The young fish (of which, at the time of their first appearance at the mouths of rivers, it takes 1,500 to 1,700 to make a pound, while, when taken later and a little further from the sea, it takes only 350 to 400 for the same weight) may be obtained at low prices from France through Hiiniugen, or in Germany from Eandesberg and, through the Berlin Aquarium, from Wittenberg, and, when the temperature of the air is not too high, may be carried in soft moss throughout all Germany. According to the statement of the well-known Paris fish-merchant, Millet, two pounds of eels, planted in a muddy pond in 1840, in five years yielded 5,000 pounds of fine eels. XVIII. Observations of Dr. Hermes in 1881 on the conger. The observations of Dr. Otto Hermes, director of the Berlin Aquarium, who has recently discovered the true nature of the organ of Syrski in the conger, are extremely interesting. '' Since Syrski, in 1874, found the organs in AncniiUa vulgaris — which are called by his name, and which, by him and most zoologists, were taken for the male reproductive organs — it is only necessary that a ripe male eel should be found in order to settle forever the question of the sexes of the eel. Up to this time all efforts have failed to reach the desired result. The histiological investigations of the Syrskian organs pursued by S. Freud render it more i)robable that these were young roes ; yet there remained all the time a doubt, since the spermatozoa had not been actually observed, and this uncertainty is an insuperable obstacle to the acceptance of the Syrskian discovery. The supposed discovery of sper- matozoa by A. S. Packard in the male eel proved to be another delu- sion. The contradiction of this imaginary discovery appeared in No. 26 of the second volume of the Zoologische Anzeiger, p. 193, in which it was stated that the motile bodies were not spermatozoa, but yolk par- ticles. This correction was also made by Yon Siebold's assistant, Dr. Paul,* and by S. Th. Cattle. ^Austrian Fishery Gazette, 1880, No. 12, p. 90. 106 BULLETIN OF THE UNITED STATES FISH COMMISSION. "The reproductive organs of Conger vulgaris are very similar to those of Anguilla vulgaris ; in the undeveloped condition they show the ovaries lying in the same position in a jS. S cuft-shaped band of a propor- tionally large size. Since C. ^ vulgaris reaches nearly twice the size of .4. vulgariSj individ- uals of G feet in length are not rare. The ovary is developed in the captivity, and this, I am convinced, is often the cause of the death of the eel. In a Con- ger which died in the Berlin Aquarium, and was cut open, the ovaries protruded very ex- tensively, and a specimen which lies in the Frankfort Aquarium burst on account of the extraor- dinary development of the ova- ries. The ovaries of this eel, which weighed 22 J pounds, themselves weighed 8 jiounds, and the number of eggs was about 3,300,000. The want of a natural opening for the escape of the eggs was evidently in this case the cause of death. Male specimens of the Conger in an undeveloped condition I have hitherto never had the op- I)ortunity to investigate. I re- ceived, however, in the fall of 1879 a number of sea-eels, taken in the vicinity of Havre, whose average length was from 24 to 27 inches. These eels ate greed- ily and grew rapidly. Only one was tardy in its development, so that it could be easily distin- guished from the rest. This, which was the smallest of the Congers in the aquarium, died on the 20tli of June, 1880, and I was very much delighted when I found the sexual organs very different from those which I had ever noticed before. After a single cut into them, there flowed out a milky Fig. 9.— a, ripe male reproductive organs of a Conger-eel, thirty inches in length, ^ natural size. a, intestiuul canal. d', upper, d" mifldle, d'" lower portion of the liver, wliich has been thrown to one side. /, air-bladder. g, gall-bladder. h, anal ajierture. ii, ij, r.i, u, Ibld.s of the left spermary. ki, fcj, ks, fcj, kr„ folds of ihe right spermary. I, seminal pouch. -m, urinary bladder. p. skinny covering of the spermary. £, spermatozoa. was examined bv me on the same day. BaJ.LETIN OF THE UNITED STATES FISH COMMISSION. 107 fluid, wliich, under the microscope, with a power of 450 diameters, showed a great uumber of spermatozoa, in the liveliest motion, and in. which head and tail were evi- dently visible. There could be no doubt that I had found a sex- ually mature male of Conger vul- garis. Two fragments of the roe were laid aside for further in- vestigation, and the eel, which was 28 inches long, was prepared first in alcohol and then in Wick- ersheimer fluid. In the paper before us Dr. Jacoby presents a full anatomi- cal description of the generative organs of the conger as demon- strated by himself and Dr. Rabl- Eiickhard. It seems unneces- sary to repeat this description since the organs are very similar to those in the common eel. By the kindness of Dr. Hermes we are permitted to reproduce the drawings which accomjiany this description. Compared with the descrip- tion of the roe and the figure of the organ found by Syrski and by me, called ' lappen organ,' a great similarity is noticed be- tween them. It must be borne in mint] that in this case we were comparing the entirely undevel- oped organs of the eel with the fully ripe reproductive organs of the Conger, so every doubt as to the male nature of the Syrskian organs ought to be thrown aside. Also in the comparison of the size of the male with that of the fe- male the Conger shows the same relations as the eel investigated by Syrski, to wit : that the males are smaller than the females. It is well known, as Yon Siebold remarks, that young eels, ascending the rivers, develoi)ed into females and that the males remain in the sea Fig, 10.. ■C TTndevelnped reproductive organ of a female Conger -eel, 34 inches long, J natural size. a. Stomach. b. Cffical appendage. c. Spleen. d. Liver. e. Kight ovary. e'. Left ovary". /. Air-l>la(l(ler. g. Gall-bladder. h. Anal aperture. m. I^rinary bladder. p. End of left ovary. 108 BULLETIN OF THE UNITED STATES FISH COMMISSION. or at the mouths of rivers. This statement cannot be exactly clemon- • strated, since among 250 eels, from 11 to 15 inches in length, taken in the vicinity of Cumlosen, I found 13 males or 5 per cent. (Cumloseu is situated in the vicinity of Wittenberg and is at least 120 miles from the mouth of the Elbe). How large the percentage of difference between the neighborhood of the mouth of Elbe and jDlaces situated farther up the stream, as regards the proportion of males and females, may be, I have hitherto, from want of material, been unable to decide. Forty from the Havel at Havelberg (about 20 miles above Cumlosen) were all females. Out of 137 eels taken in the bays at Eiigen, in the Baltic, I found 61 or 44J i)er cent, males, while at Wismar, on the Danish coast, the males only constituted 11 per cent. Whether these facts have any connection with the discovery of the hitherto unknown spawning places of the eels, it is hoped that further observations will determine. When Cattle, in his already cited work, gives it as a determined fact that the eels wander into deep water here, in order to let their genera- tive organs attain maturity, which happens in six or eight weeks, and that the old male and female eels, after the reproductive act, die, accord- ing to my knowledge, there are wanting observations which will give this a scientific foundation. What Von Siebold and Jacoby only state as ijrobable appear to him (Cattie) to have become already established facts. As far as the distinction between male and female eels by external characters is concerned, the eels sent to me, some time in November, from the coast of Schleswig showed so great difference in color that their sender, the fish-master Hinkleman, was able to decide without difiiculty between males and females. The former were distinguished by a specially brown coloration, while the females, in addition to greater size, almost without exception exhibited a dull steel-gray color. Among the males were found many specimens of 17| inches in length, which I was careful to note because Syrski had only found the size of 16 1 inches. In Comacchio, according to Jacoby, a specimen of 18| inches had been found. XIX. Jacoby's tour to Comacchio in 1877, and his conclusions. " In the fall of 1877," writes Jacoby, ' ' I undertook a journey from Trieste, by way of Eavenna, to Comacchio; convinced of the difficulty of the ques- tions to be solved by my own previous labors, I had not -great hopes of finding sexually immature eels, either gravid females or mature males. My highest aim was at the beginning to determine the following i)oints : (I) Whether evidences of preparation for breeding might not be found in the eels which were wandering in the fall toward the sea; (II) to what extent eels with the organ of Syrski could be found participating in this migration ; (III) as far as possible to obtain eels from the sea at a distance from the coast in order to compare their organs of reproduction with those of the eels in the lagoons. BULLETIN OF THE UNITED STATES FISH COMMISSION. 109 "In cletermiiiiiig' tlie answers to the first two qnestions I was able to make some new and interesting discoveries, bnt with regard to the lat- ter, my most diligent eflforts were absolutely fruitless. " I found that the eels when migrating to the sea in the fall took no food. In many hundreds examined by me, caught during their move- ment, I fouud stomach and intestines entirely empty ; that the eels dur- ing their migrations eat nothing is also known to all fishermen and water- men of Comacchio. At the same time, the eeis which remained in the lagoons were more or less filled with food, not only those which were not sufQcientlj' mature to migrate, but also a breed of eels which never goes to the sea, but remains throughout its entire life in the lagoons. " There may be found in Comacchio, and doubtlesse very where where eels live in great numbers in brackish water along the coast, a peculiar group of eels which, as far as I could determine, consists entirely" of sterile females. These female eels with ovaries iiresent a very peculiar phenomenon ; when they are opened one finds instead of the well-known yellowish-white, very fatty, cuff-shaped organ, a thin, scummy, slightly folded membrane, not at all fatty, often as transparent as glass, and of about the same jiroportional size as the so-called cuff-shaped organ. "When this membrane is examined under the microscope there may be seen in it eggs very transparent in appearance, with yolk-dots absent or with yolk-dots very small and few. This organ appears to be an abnor- mally-developed ovary incapable of fertilization. These sterile females, which I found of all sizes, even up to the length of 27 inches, present all of the acknowledged female characters in great prominence and in an exaggerated degree ; the snout is broader, and often, esi^ecially at the tip of the under jaw, extraordinarily broad ; the dorsal fins are, on the aver- age, higher; the eyes are much smaller, especially in large specimens, and the coloring is clearer; the back of a clearer green and the belly yellower than in the normal female. The flesh of these sterile females has a very delicate flavor, and quite different from that of other eels. I was quite astonished at the fine flavor when I tasted them for the first time in Comacchio. The flesh, as the expression goes, melts upon the tongue. It is even possible to distinguish them while living, by feeling them with the hand, their soft bodies being very different from the hard,, solid, muscular flesh of the others. " In Comacchio these eels are called ' Pasciuti.' Coste called them ' Priscetti,' and defined them to be those eels which had not become ripe, but which were at least a pound in weight. The name 'Priscetti ' is, however, very incorrect, as I have become convinced by questioning the fish inspectors and by hearing the conversations of the fishermen^ 'Pasciuto' means 'pastured,' and the fishermen understand by this, those eels which do not migrate, but which remain through the whole year feeding in the lagoons. They include, however, under this name,. eels of two kinds— the sterile females already described, and the eels which are not yet ripe, as well as the normal females and supposed 110 BULLETIN OF THE UNITED STATES FISH COMMISSION. males, whose period of migration is somewbat remote. This circum- stance is a cause of much difficulty to the investigator.* A.— sterile females or Pasciuti. B.- -Kormal Females. C— Eels with supposed male organs. a. 6. 1 a. b. a. 6. I. 508 10 I. 511 8 I. — — ir. 480 8.5 n. 497 7 n. 480 6 in. 458 11 , III. 465 9 ni. 470 6 IV. 443 9 i IV. 447 7 IV. 445 5 V. 426 8.5 V. 425 6 V. 428 VI. 408 8 VI. 407 6 VI. 403 5 VII. 395 lit vn. 396 7 VII. 396 5.5 "The studies on the second point to be solved were of special interest, "vdz, the determination of the presence at Comacchio, and the behavior of eels with organs of Syrski. I can answer this question very briefly, since among 1,200 specimens examined by me at the fishing stations and at the so-called eel-factories (with the exception of the largest specimens, which are always females), I found on an average of five per cent, with the organ of Syrski; of the eels under 15 inches in length (45 centimeters) on an average there were 20 per cent., so that the conclusions as to their abundance were very similar to those at Trieste, where the fish market is supplied, for the greater part, with eels from Chioggia, and to a less extent with those from Comacchio. ' ' In Comacchio the largest eels with the organ of Syrski, which I have observed, were about 17 inches (48 centimeters) iu length, the small- est about 9 inches (24 centimeters). All of these were foimdjimong the eels taken during their migration to the sea, and, like the females, were found with stomachs completely empty or slightly filled with a slimy substance. It was impossible to find in any specimen a more advanced deveolpment of the Syrskian organ than in those examined in summer at Trieste. " With reference to the third question undertaken by me, which relates to the actual kernel of the eel question, that is, the j)ossibility of obtain- ing the eels which have migrated out to sea, in order to obtain in this manner the sexually mature milters and si)awners, I have been unable to obtain any results. I have, so far as my opportunities per- mitted, left no stone unturned to gain its solution. I went out to sea * It has been noticed by many early writers that there are certain eels which never come to the sea — Risso, iu his " Histoire Naturelle," tome 3, p. 198, and S. Nilsson, in his ' ' Scandiuavisk Fauna," tome 4, i). CGo. The latter called this variety ' ' Grasaal," or grass-eel, and spoke of its yellowish- green coloration and the soft, delicious flesh. Strange enough, both these writers spoke of the sharper snout of this eel, and Risso, who founded upon it another species, Anguila acutirostris, described it as blackish above and silvery below. These descriptions apply in every particular to the non-migratory eel of Comacchio. Jacoby remarks that all the sterile females brought to him under the name " Pasciuti," were distinguished by their broad snouts. The following tables were prepared at Comacchio. a gives the total length of the body of the eel ; b, the breadth of the snout between the nasal tubes, in millimeters. BULLETIN OF THE UNITED STATES FISH COMMISSION. Ill from Magnavacca and from Codigoro, on Chioggian vessels, and many- times have fished myself, and have stimulated the fishermen by offers of reward to endeavor to obtain eels at sea, but I am forced to the con- elusion that with the ordinary means this cannot be done. "Intelligent, grey-headed fishermen of Chioggia, who by means of their fishing apparatus know this part of the Adriatic as well as they know their own pockets, have assured me that throughout their entire lives they have never caught a grown-up river eel in the sea at any distance fi'om the coast. The eels which were brought to me at Mannbach as having been caught in the sea, and which I found to be the ordinary females, or eels with the Syrskian organ, were either from localities close to the shore where they are not rare, or were taken in the Palotta canal. There was no lack of attempts at deception. Fishermen took eels from the shore with them in order to be able, on their return, to claim that they had been caught at sea. In the immediate neighborhood of the coast they are, as it has been stated, in the spring-time not rare, and there are not the slightest differences between these and the eels of the lagoons. I found both females and eels with the organ of Syrski with their re J) roductive organs in the same immature condition as in Comacchio ; evidently the}' had just come through the Palotta canal from the lagoon into the sea. A certain distance, perhaps one or two marine miles from the coast, every trace is lost of the adult eels which wander by the many thousand into the sea. Strange as this problem ai^pears at first sight, it is easily understood when the character of the fishing apparatus is considered ; the nets are those used in the capture of lobsters, and are thrown over the bottom f they have meshes much too large to hold the eels, or, when they are small-meshed, they do not touch the bottom. The problem can only be solved by using" apparatus constructed especially for the purpose." Jacoby proposes the following questions, which, in his opinion, cover the still unanswered points concerning the natural history of the eel, and answers them in accordance with the results of his own observations : Question 1. How can the fact be accounted for that no one has ever found mature females and males, spawners and milters, among the eels? Answer. The eels require the influence of sea- water for the development of their reproductive organs. As is now definitely understood, they leave the rivers and the brackish lakes on account of the undeveloped condi- tion of their reproductive organs, for the j)urpose of becoming sexually mature at sea ; that these migrations to the sea take i^lace for the i)ur- pose of reproduction aiopears to be certainly proved by the fact that the young eels leave the sea in the spring, and that the migrating eels, like other fishes at the spawning- season, abstain from earing. Question 2. When and where occurs^ the necessary development of the reproductive organs of the eel to a condition in which they are capable of fertilization ! Answer. Development of the reproductive organs takes place in the 112 BULLETIN OF THE UNITED STATES FISH COMMISSION. sea, not close to the shore, but at a distance and in deep waters. This development is extraordinarly raj)id when the immature state, in which the migrating eels are found, is taken into consideration ; they must become sexually mature within a few, probably five or six, weeks of the time that they enter the sea. At Comacchio the emigration takes place between the beginning of October and the end of December. Question 3. Where does the act of spawning take place, the fertiliza- tion, and the deposition of the eggs ? Answer. There are probably certain definite spawning jilaces in the sea, off the mouths of the rivers. These are the mud-banks to which the eels go, for the ijurpose of spawning, in great numbers. The young fish are developed upon these mud-banks, and from eight to ten weeks after their birth, at the beginning of spring, find their way to the mouths of rivers, which they ascend. Question 4. What becomes of the grown-up eels after spawning time, and why do they remain lost to sight and never again come back into the rivers'? Answer. The old eels, male and female, without doubt, die soon after the spawning season. The very unusual rapid development of their re- productive organs has such an effect upon the systems of the adult eels that they die soon after the act of reproduction. This is the reason why they are never seen to wander back again.* An intelligent Chioggian, the owner of a fishing vessel, in answer to my question, as to where the old eels staid, answered, "They die on the mud-banks after they have propagated their young." This hypothesis may be confirmed in a scientific manner by the anal- ogous circumstances in the history of the lamprey. Panizza, in his description of the sea lamprey, Petromyzon marina, remarks', that both the males and females of this species after the spawning " period are brought up dead. Concerning the river lamprey, P. fluviatilis, Statins Miiller remarks that when they spawn they slowly fall away and die. Concerning the little lamprey, P. planeri, August Miiller, the discoverer of its larval form, has recorded the same opinion. XX. — A LIST OF THE MOST IMPORTANT PAPERS CONCERNING THE EEL AND ITS REPRODUCTION. 1684. Eedi, Francisco. Osservazioni intorno agli animali viventi che se trovano negii animali viventi. Florence, 1684. ["Ou living animals wMcli occur witliiu other animals." Refers to the mountiuj^ of the young eels in the Aruo, and particularly to an enormous cap- ture of young eels at Pisa, in 1667, [p. 100]. Illustrates the ovaries of a maray (Murcena lielena). Proves that the objects ordinarily supposed to be young eels are intestinal vrorms, and argues that eels must be viviparous. ] * As a confirmation of this view, Von Siebold was the first to make this hypothesis. BULLETIN OF THE UNITED STATES FISH COMMISSION. 113 1692. LeeuwenhoeKj Anton de. < Arcana jSTaturae, 1692. [Leeuweuhoek describes the urinary bladder of the eel as its uterus, and parasitic worms found therein as the young of the species.] 1G97. Allen, Benjamin. On the Generation of Eels. < Pliilosopliical Transactions, London, xix, 1697, pp. 664-666. [Allen claimed that eels were ovo-viviparous.] 1698. Dale, — . An account of a very large eel lately caught at Mai- den, in Essex, with some considerations about the generation of eels. < Philosophical Transactions, xx, 1698, i)p. 90-97. 1712. Vallisneri, Antonio. De Ovario Anguillarum. < Ephemer. Leopoldinischen Academic der Naturforscher, 1712, pj). 153-165, Fig. 4. [Contains an announcement of a supposed discovery of the ovary of the eel ; the organ described by him was a diseased and deformed swimuung- bladder. ] 1746. Arderon, Williaivi. On the Perpendicular Ascent of Eels. < Philosophical Transactions, London, xliv, 1746, pp. 395-396. 1750. Fahlbeeo, Aloot. Yon der Fortpflanzung und Vermehrung der Aale. onds, on Great South Bay, Long Island. ] 1878. Cape Ann Advertiser. Bobbing for Eels by Moonlight. < Cape Ann Advertiser, July 19, 1878, p. 2. 1878. Cape Ann Advertiser. The Eel Fisheries of South Deer Isle, Maine. < Cape Ann Advertiser, Dec. 20, 1878, p. 4. 1878. "Once a Fisherman." The Great Eel Question. IIV THF MARKETS. By ORLAIVDO HOBBS. Jeffersonville, Ind., March 20, 1881. Prof. Spencer F. Baird, Secretary Smithsonian Institution : ' Dear Sir : Mr. Luke, the postmaster at this place, called on me to furnish a list of the fish caught at the Falls of the Ohio. I was very un- well at the time, and too much occupied with business affairs to attend to it at that time. I have since, by going to the fishing grounds, see- ing the lines run and the captures by the nets, been enabled to make the following list, that comprises about all the fish caught here. I also send with this a list written and furnished by William Taylor & Co., who have fished here and supplied the market for the last forty years. They claim it is a full list, and it agrees with that I have col- lected from every other source of information. Should there be any- thing you wish information of at this locality, and will send directions for properly obtaining the same, it will give me jileasure to attend to it for you. I have the honor to remain, very respectfully, yours, OELANDO HOBBS. LIST OF FISH CAUGHT AT FALLS OF OHIO. Stizostethium vitreum var. salmonemn (Raf.), Jor. & Copeland. — White Salmon. Stizostethium vitreum (Mitch.), Jor. & Copeland. — Black Salmon. Percopsis (juttatus, Ag. — Trout Perch. Ferca fluviatilis, Linn. — Yellow Perch. Pomoxys annularis^ Raf. — White Perch, Bachelor Perch. Buhalichthys urus, Ag. — Black Buffalo. BULLETIN OF THE UNITED STATES FISH COMMISSION. 125 IclitliyohuH huhalus, Ag. — Bufltalo Perch. Cyclepfus eJongafus, Eaf. — Long Buflfalo. UxogJossiim maxllUngua^ Kaf\ — Stone-Toters. Carpiodes , Kaf. — Carp. Catosiomus commersonii (Lac), Jor. — Sucker. Myxostoma macrolepidota var. duquesuil (Les.), Jor. — Eed Horse. Myxostoma mncrolepldota var. macrolepidota (Les.), Jor. — Black Horse. Ftychostom us . — Mullet. Pomolohus chrysochloris, Eaf.— Skip-jack, Ohio Herring. Alosa sapidissima (Wilson), Storer. — Sea Shad, Potomac Shad. Dorysoma cepediana (Les.), Gill var. heterura (Eaf.), Jor. — Hickory Shad.. AmhlopUtes rupestris (Eaf.) — Eock Bass, Goggle-eye. Hyodon tergisus, Les. — Tooth Herring. Lepomls , Gill. — Common Suntish. Micropterm paUidus (Eaf.), Gill & Jor. — Black Bass. Micropterus mlmoides (Lac), Gill. — Yellow and Green Bass. Semotihis , Eaf. — Common Chub, Silversides. CeratichthySj Baird, — Horned Chub. Ichtluchirus punctatus (Eaf.), Jor. — Blue and Channel Cats. Amiurtis . — Yellow Cats. Amiurus . — Bull-head Cats. Pelodichthys olivaris (Eaf.), Gill &> Jor. — Mud Cats. Pol yodon folium, Lac — Spoon-bill Sturgeon. Acipenser ruhicnndus, Les. — Eed Sturgeon. Scapliyrhyncliops platyrlujnclius (Eaf.), Gill. — Shovel-nose Sturgeon. Lepidosteus ossetis (L.), Ag.^Gar Pike. Litholepis spatula (Lac), Jor. — Alligator Gars. Lepidosteus plafystomus, Eaf. — Short-nose Gar-Fish. AnguiUa rostrata (Les.), DeK. — Yellow or Golden Eel. Anguilla rostrata. — Common Black Eel. Snapping Turtle, Black and Yellow Soft-shell Turtles, Water Dogs. NAMES OF OHIO EIVER FISH. WiUiam Taylor & Co.'s list of fish. White Salmon. i Coal Boat Cat. . Black Salmon. ^Miite and Yellow Perch. Yellow and Blue Cats. Mullet. Potomac Shad. Goolem. Black Buffalo. 1 Sturgeon. Buiialo Perch. Carp. Tooth Herring. Eock Bass. Black and Yellow Bass Green Bass. Sunflsh. Stone-Toters." Black and Eed Horse. Spoon Bills. Hickory Shad. Grin del and Pike. Jackflsh, Silversides. | shell Turtle. XoTE. — The scientific names of the fish, as given by Mr. Hobbs, have been changed to make them agree with recent nomenclature. In some cases it is not certain that the species indicated is really the species of the market. — Ed. Dogfish. Flat and Bull-head Cat. Silver and Gold Eel. Bachelor Perch. Goggle-eye. Chub. Skip -jack. Shovelfish. Horned Chub. White Shovelfish. Water Dog. Black and Yellow, Hard and Soft 126 BULLETIN OF THE UNITED STATES FISH COMMISSION JSX S6 N* ?1 OIV THE ITIATURE: illALE .^EXUAIi OR«;}ANS OF THE COlVGER-EEIi (Conger vulgaris), "WITH SOME OBSERVATIONS OTV TH£ iriAr,E OF THE COMMON EEIi (Anguilla vulgaris Fleming).* By I>r. OTTO IIERilI£S, Director of the Berlin Aquarium. Since Syrski, in 1874, discovered the organs in Anguilla vulgaris^ S which have been named after him, and which have been regarded as the male reproductive organs by himself and most other zoologists, the discovery of a sexually mature male only remained to be made to finally settle the question of the sex. Up to the present time all the efforts made to attain this de- sired result have been fruitless. The histological investigations pursued by S. Freud upon the Syrskian lobu- lated organs, seemed indeed to lead with greater probability to the con- clusion that they were testicular in nature, nevertheless the failure on all hands to find sj^ermatozoa re- mained the missing link in the chain of evidence needed to confirm Syrski's discovery. EXPLANATION OF FIGUEE A, p. 126, AND B, p. 126. A. Mature male reproductive organs of a specimeu of Conger vulgaris 74<=™ long. Oue-lialf natural size ; a, intestinal canal ; d' , upper, d" , middle, d'" , lower portion of the liver, thrown over to left side; /, swimming-liladder; g, gall- bladder; /i, anal opening; ii, ii, is, ii, lobes of the left testicle; &i, 7^2, fcs, fc^, fcs, tlie five lobes of the right testicle ; I, bursa seminalis ; in, bladder ; p, mem- branous border fringing the free edge of the testicle. B. Spermatozoa. . z8 *Ueber reife miinnliche Geschlechtstheile des Seeaals (Co«<7er vulgaris) VLm\ einige Notizen iiber den miinnlichen Flussaal (Anguilla vulgaris). Von Dr. Otto Hermes, Director des Berliner Aquariums. Zoologischer Auzeiger, 1881, No. 74, pp. 39-44. Translated by J. A. Ryder. BULLETIN OF THE UNITED STATES FISH COMMISSION. 127 The spermatozoa said to have been discovered in a male eel {Angiiilla bosfoniensis), according- to Dr. A. S. Packard, jr.,* turned out to be an. illusion. The announcement of this discovery was recalled in the Zoologischer Anzeiger, II, No. C 2G, p. 193, as follows : " The motile bodies were not sper- matozoa but. 3'olk particles." This correction was over- looked by Yon Siebold's as- sistant. Dr. Paul,t as well as by S. Th. Cattiet of Arnheim, although the latter had read Jacoby"s§ paper, in which, at page 44, the foregoing ex- l)ression is mentioned, and which he himself has also cited in substance in the sum- mary given by Jacoby. EXPLANATION OF FIGURE C. C. Undeveloped female reproduc- tive organs of Conger vulgaris 84cm long. Oue-laalf natural size ; a, stomach ; b, caecal ap- pendix of stomach ; c, spleen ; e, right ovary ; e', left ovary ; /, swimming-bladder; g, gall- bladder; h, anal opening; m, urinary bladder ; j>, base of the left ovary. The reproductive organs of Conger vulgaris are very simi- lar to those of Anguilla vul- garis / in the undeveloi^ed condition they have the ova- ries lying in the same posi- tion, in the form of a ruffle or frill-like band of relatively larger size. Conger vulgaris attains almost double the size of Anguilla vulgaris ; examples measuring two meters (6 feet) are not uncommon. The ovaries also develop when the animal is in confine- ment, and I am convinced that this is often the cause of the death of the animal under such conditions. Upon opening some Conger eels * Zoolog. Anzeiger, II, No. 18, p. 15. t Oesterreichische Fischerei-Zeitung, 1880, No. 12, p. 90. t Zoolog. Anzeiger, III, No. 57, p. "275. ^Dr. L. Jiicoby, Der Fischfaiig in der Lagune von Comacchio. Berlin, Hirsch- Tcald'sche Buchhandl., 1S80. 128 BULLETIN OP THE UNITED STATES FISH COMMISSION. which had died iu the Berlin Aquarium, it was found that the ovaries were well developed, and a specimen which died in the aquarium in Frankfort bnrst in consequence of their extraordinary development. The weight of the ovaries of this animal, which weighed 22J pounds, was 8 pounds and the number of eggs about 3,300,000. The absence in this case of the natural means by the help of which the animal could get rid of the eggs was apj^arently the cause of death. Male specimens of the Conger iu an undeveloped condition I had not yet had an opportu- nity of examining. On this account, in the autumn of 1879, 1 obtained a number of Congers caught in the vicinity of Havre, the lengths of which would range from about 60 to 70 centimeters (or 2 to 2 feet 4 inches). These ate greedily and grew rapidly. But one individual was backward in its development ; so that it was easily distinguished from the others. This specimen, the smallest in the aquarium, died on the 20th of June of the past year, and was examined by me on the same day. I was pleasantly surprised, as I found sexual organs very differently formed from those which I had always met with before. From a cut in the same a milky fluid escaped, which upon examination with a microscope en- larging 450 diameters, was found to contain a vast number of sj)erma- tozoa in the liveli^ t motion, which showed a head and tail very plainly. There was, therefore, no doubt about the fact that I had before me a sexually mature male of Conger vulgaris. Two portions of the milt or testes were cut off for the purpose of farther investigation, and the eel, 74 centimeters long, placed first in spirit, then in Wickersheimer's fluid. On the 24th of June, in com^iany with Dr. Kabl-Riickhard, the anatomi- cal discovery was confirmed. The testes present to the eye the appearance of long, band-like com- pressed organs, attached along either side of the air-bladder by means of a fold of the mesentery, and extending the whole length of the abdominal cavity, ;tnd somewhat behind the vertical of the anal opening I)Osteriorly. Each testicle ends in a tongue-like broader anterior and narrower j)Osterior extremity, becoming thicker but narrower posteriorly, and is divided into a number of lobes of unequal size by a series of dorso- ventral emarginations. On the right side there are four emargi- nations and five lobes. The first of these measures longitudinally 45^"™, the second 70'"'", the third only partially distinguished from the fourth, 8'""', the fourth 43'""^, the fifth 38'"'". An exact enumeration of the lobes of the left testicle was not possi- ble on account of the fact that a piece 5.5 centimeters had been removed for more extended study. The anterior part, including the space abov0 named, is 98™™ long; then follows a lobe measuring 18'"'", and, lastly, a portion 80'"'" long. The last is divided into three i)ortions by two shal- low oblique sulci, the portions measuring 15, 27, and 28""" long, respect- ivel3^ The thickness of the above most developed left lobe was 9™™, its breadth from its mesenteric attachment to its free border 18""™. On the BULLETIN OF THE UNITED STATES FISH COMMISSION. 129 left side tlie free tongue-like extreuiity of the testicle extends 12™™ and on the right side 13™™ beyond the attachment of the mesentery. The attachment of the mesentery begins on the right side 11™™ farther for Avard than the left. The posterior extremity of the right testicle extends 4™™ beyond the mesenteric attachment and 26™™ beyond the vertical of the anus. The left testicle extends 38™™ beyond the vertical of the anus, whilst its extremity scared}^ extends beyond the mesenteric attachment. The free ventral border of both testes becomes gradually thinner, and forms a membranous border 1"'™ broad extending beyond the opaque parenchyma. This border is lobulated or crenulated owing to slight marginal incisions ; it is very distinct at the anterior end of the left tes- ticle, but is broader i^osteriorly where it is bent outwards, while at the same time it is more deejily notched or incised. At the base of the testes lies the canalis seminaUs or vas deferens, which opens into the hursa seminaUs; and from the portion of testicle lying behind the vertical of the anus a similar canal leads to the hursa semi- naUs, from which the sperm is discharged through the jjorws genitaUs. If one compares this description and the figures* of the lobulated organ discovered by Syrski and called after him, there appears a strik- ing similarity between the two. If it is borne in .^nd that in the first case we have to do with quite undeveloped and in the Conger with fuUy mature male reproductive organs, all doubts are put aside as to the sex indicated by the Syrskian organs. In the case of the Conger as in that of AnguiUa, the fact remains, as upheld by Syrski, that the male is conspicuously smaller than the female. As is well known, Von Siebold assumes that all the young eels which wander into streams develop into females, while the young males remain in the sea or at the mouths of the streams. This assumption should not be taken literally, however, for out of 250 eels caught in the vicinity of Cumlosen, measuring 28 to 42 centimeters, I found 13 males or 5 per cent. Cumlosen lies near Wittenberge, and is also not less than 25 miles distant from the mouth of the Elbe. What iiercentage of males is to be found nearer the mouth of the Elbe I have not been able to learn on account of a lack of material. Forty eels caught in the Havel at Havelberg were females without exception. I found a remarkably large number of male eels in a lot of 137 caught in the bays joining the Baltic in the vicinity of Rtigen, namely, 61 indi- viduals or 44J per cent., while amongst those taken at Wismar and the Danish coasts there was but 11 per cent. Whether these facts have any relation or can give any clue to the position of the hitherto unknown spawning places of eels, it is hoped further investigation will show. Although Cattie, in the paper already cited, gives it as an undoubted *Abhandl. d. k. k. Akad. d. Wiss., April-Heft, 1874. The figure represents the liver of AngidUa as two-lobed. It has, however, a simple, tongue-like form, and is divided at its lower end into two lobules. BuU. U. S. F. C, 81 9 130 BULLETIN OF THE UNITED STATES FISH COMMISSION. fact that eels migrate to the sea where in the course of six to eight weeks their sexual organs attain their full development when the old males as well as females die after having accomi^lished the reproductive act; there is no scientific ground, to the best of my knowledge, which would lend support to this assumption. What was considered as only- probable by Von Siebold and Jacoby is, as it appears, assumed by Cattie to be proven. Cattie farther repeats Jacoby's suggestion, that perhaps as a conse- quence of an acquaintance with the experience of Giinther referred to by Darwin, that in almost all fishes the male is smaller than the female, it occurred to Syrski to investigate the smaller eels. This assertion is without foundation. Syrski was led to his discovery without having had any hints from others. In his paper cited above he remarks as fol- lows upon this point: '' So I selected for my investigations the smallest eels I could possibly find, reflecting as I did so upon the fact that in many species of the animal kingdom the male is smaller than the female." Syrski writes me complaiuing bitterly that any one should compare this clear expression with the former and regard it the same, and that he knew nothing of the views of Giinther and Darwin, with which he was moreover made acquainted only through Jacoby's paper. Finally, as regards the distinction of the male from the female eels by external characters, those sent me from the Schleswig coast during the month of November presented such great differences in their coloration that the sender, the Eoyal Fish Inspector Hinkelmann, could indicate beforehand the number of each sex. The males were distinguished by a striking bronzy metallic luster, while the females of the same size were of an almost uniform dull steel- gray color. Amongst the males a number of examples were found measuring 45 centimeters long, while Syrski found none over 43 centi- meters in length. In Comacchio Jacoby was so fortunate as to find a specimen 48 centimeters long. OFFICIAL PAPERS KEliATING TO THE PROPOSED IIVTERIVA- TIOIVAI. FISHERIES EXHIBITIOIV AT EDIIVBIJROH IN 1S83. DEPATiTMENT OF StATE, Washington, August 1, 1881. Sib : I inclose herewith, for your information, a copy of a dispatch of the 15th ultimo, from the vice-consul at Leith, with the inclosures, relat- ing to the international fisheries exhibition to be held at Edinburgh, in April next. Any remarks you may deem proper to make for the information of the vice consul will be communicated to him. I am, sir, your obedient servant, ROBEET E. HITT, Assistmit Secretary. Spencer F. Bated, Esq., Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution, Washington. BULLETIN OF THE UNITED STATES FISH COMMISSION. 131 "Xo. 191.] Consulate of the Fnited States, Leith, Scotland, July 15, 1881. Sir: I have the honor to inclose two communications I have received regardiu;;- the international fisheries exhibition to be held in Edinburgh in the month of April next, and I shall be obliged by your furnishing me with the information asked for in the circular by the exhibition committee. I ha%"e the honor to be, sir, your most obedient servant, A. McCASKIE, United States Vice-Consul. The Hon. Jajmes G. Blaine, Secretary of State, Washington, I). C. [ In closures. ] 1. Circular by Archibald Young, commissioner of Scotch salmon fish- eries, dated July 7, 1881. 2. Circular by the committee of the international fisheries exhibition, Edinburgh, dated July 7, 1881. No. 1. Edinburgh, 22 Eoyal Circus, Jtily 7, 1881. Sir : I beg to inclose a circular drawn up by me and apj^roved by the Joint committees of the town council, the Highland Society, and the Scottish Fisheries Improvement Association, who are making arrange- ments for holding an international fisheries exhibition in Edinburgh in April next. That circular, as you will see, is intended for the heads of fisheries departments in foreign countries, and I shall be much obliged if you will kindly inform me who is at the head of the fisheries in the country which you represent, in order that I may send him one of the circulars. I am, your obedient servant, ARCH. YOUKG, Commissioner of Scotch Fisheries. No. 2. International Fisheries Exhibition, Edinburgh, 22 Royal Circus, July 7, 1881. Sir : We have the honor to inform you that an international fish- eries exhibition will be held in Edinburgh in the mouth of April next. The exhibition will be open to exhibitors from all countries, and is in- tended to include, as far as possible, objects illustrative of or connected with the fisheries of the world, such, for example, as models, drawings, and photographs of boats used in fishing and of steam-eng-ines adapted for fishing-boats J models of fishing-boat harbors and of fishermen's 132 BULLETIN OF THE UNITED STATES FISH COMMISSION. houses ; nets, lines, and fishing-tackle of all kinds both for the sea and inland waters ; piscicultural apparatus ; live fish in tanks ; collections of stuffed fish and aquatic birds ; life-saving apparatus, fog-signals, and lights for fishiug-boats ; fresh fish, cured and tinned fish, and prepara- tions for preserving fish ; models of fish losses and ladders and other similar objects. We shall esteem it a favor if you will bring under the notice of those engaged in, or connected with, the fisheries in your country the fact that such an exhibition will be held there in April next ; and if you will also kindly inform us whether you are likely to send us many contribu- tions. An answer to the above may be sent to Archibald Young, esq., com- missioner of Scotch salmon fisheries, 23 Eoyal Circus, Edinburgh. We have the honor to be, your obedient servants. Sir I. R. S. MAITLAND, Barrister^ WM. SKINXEE, Gity ClerJi, Edinhurglij F. N. me:n'zies. Secretary to HUjhland Society^ ARCHIBALD YOUNG, Advocate^ Commissioner of Scotch Salmon Fisheries, Honorable Secretaries to International Fisheries Exhibition, Edinburgh. NOTES OIV THE MACIiEREt, FISHERY OF JSSl. By CAPTAI]\ S. J. ITIARTIW. Gloucestee, Mass., July 26, 1881. Deae. Peofessoe.: There appears to be a new school of mackerel on the coast. The vessels had lost the mackerel and could not find them. For a week they did not get many. The mackerel that were here were inshore, in shoal water. To use the seine, some of the vessels went offshore as far as Cash's Pound. There were plenty of mackerel ten days ago. They were driven to within 5 miles of the shore. For the last two days there have been plenty of mackerel 5 miles off Thatcher's Island. The last fish are of better quality. Three-fourths of the mackerel packed yesterday were No. 2. There were a very few 1 arge ones among them. The vessels are doing well. Yesterday there were 13 sail of vessels, with 3,500 barrels. To-day there were 11 sail, with 2,900 barrels. One vessel was out a week and caught 400 barrels. One vessel is in from Block Island with 100 barrels of large mackerel. The schooner Edward Webster is in from Block Island with 90 barrels of large mackerel. The schooner Ossipee is in from the bay of Saint Lawrence and reports no mackerel; that is good news for the fishermen. The prices of the fish are as follows : They were sold to-day at $1 a barrel with the bar- rel; mackerel packed sold for $5.50 a barrel for No. 2; $3.50 for No. 3. BULLETIN OF THE UXITED STATES FISH COMMISSION. 133 Barrels to-day are wortli $1.10 apiece. The inspection this year is $1.60 a barrel. If mackerel hold plenty, barrels will be worth $1.25 apiece in a week. The George's fishing fleet report plenty of mackerel on George's. Yesterday there were 50 sail of vessels at the wharves landing fish and mackerel. This morning there were 45 sail, mostly mackerel catchers, in the harl)ors for shelter. There was a fresh breeze, with rain, thun- der, and lightning. Your obedient servant, S. J. MAETIK Prof. Spencer F. Bated, United States Commission Fish and Fisheries, Wood's HoU, Barnstable County, Massachusetts. NOTES OIV THEW EIVOf^AIVD FISHERIES. By S. J. MARTIIV. [From a letter to Prof. S. F. Baiid, United States Fish Commissioner.] Gloucester, Mass., August 8, 1881. Dear Professor: The harbor this morning is alive with schooling: mackerel, and 20 barrels of good quality, mostly twos and a few ones, were taken in the nets last night. The boys have great sport catching mackerel off the wharves. Bluefish are plenty oii" the mouth of the har- bor, and I think they drove the mackerel in. There are some squid in the harbor. The mackerel catchers have not done well during the last fortnight. The weather has been so foggy that they had to lie in the harbors eight days. Close to the shore the fog is not so thick, and here all the mack- erel that have been caught were taken. Mackerel are found from Cape Cod to Mount Desert. There are 1,800 barrels of them on board vessels in the harbor this morning. The schooner Fleet Wing has 80 barrels of very large Block Island mackerel, worth $25 a barrel. Mackerel sold to-day at the low figure of $4 a barrel, with the barrel. A new school of codfish has come on the western j)art of George's. The fish are the largest I have ever seen at this time of the year. I think they are a squid school, for when a fish is hauled up three or four squid will be found in it. Squid are plenty in Barnstable Bay. One vessel took 10 barrels there. A vessel came in from George's with 1,100 cod, which weighed 18,000 jiounds split. The vessel which took 16 bar- rels of squid caught 21,000 pounds of cod in four days on the western part of George's. Some vessels have taken good trips on the eastern part of George's. The fish, however, are not so large. I am glad some one has gone into the dogfish business. A steamer and a schooner are catching them at Booth Bay, Maine, and selling them to the factory at $1 a hundred fish. Dogfish are very j)lenty all along the coast. Some vessels come in with the whole bottom eaten out of the seine and the pocket. 134 BULLETIN OF THE UNITED STATES FISH COMMISSION. MORTAIilTir OF ITr'C"I.OUI> RIVEK SAr.ltI01V IIV 1881. By LIVIlVGSTO^r STONE. [Extracted from letters dated July 10 and 12, 1881.] The McCloud Eiver salmon are dying in vast quantities from some unknown cause. The affected fish have this peculiarity, flamely, that they appear on the exterior to be perfectly healthy fish. There are no parasites in the gills, no fungus on the bodies, no emaciation or any mark whatever on the outside to distinguish them from perfectly healthy fish. I secured and dissected one a day or two ago. The inside of the mouth and the gills seemed perfectly healthy and normal ; the heart and liver seemed nearly as usual, but the alimentary canal and stomach were very much congested with extremely dark blood. You remember, without doubt, the small organ, of a deep red color, that lies at the lower extremity of the pyloric appendages. In the fish that I examined this organ was of an abnormal size, being three times as large, perhaps four times as large, as in a healthy fish, and of a dark, unwholesome color. I should say that this extraordinary enlargement of the spleen (as we call the organ here) was a sufficient cause for death. I will ex- amine more as soon as I can get some. TSE FISH-EATINO €0\rS OF PROVINCE TOWN, MASSACHUSETTS. By ISAAC HIWCKLEY. [Extract from a letter dated July 20, 1881.] Captain Atwood has kindly given me facts in respect to fish-eaiiing cows. Prior to the passage of the Massachusetts statute forbidding owners of cows to allow them to roam at will (which statute was enacted to protect directly the beach-grass which checked the drifting of sand), the cows flocked to the shore while the fishermen were cleaning their catch. These cows sought with avidity the entrails and swallowed them. They seemed willing to eat the heads also, but lacked the ability to re- duce their bulk sufficiently to allow of this. A species of ling or blenny,. weighing three jjounds or more, and discarded by the fishermen, was freely eaten also by the cows. Cows when first arriving at Province- town from the rural districts refused fish; but their owners, by adding minced fish to their cows' rations, soon taught the cows to imitate their neighbors in respect to eating entrails. At this time the thirty -three cows, constituting the whole of Province- town's stock, being " kept up," have forgotten or never learned the fish- eating practice. BULLETIN OF THE UNITED STATES FISH COMMISSION. 135 DEVELOPMENT OF THE SPANISH MACKEREL (CITBIUM MACU- IiATUM). By JOH^' A. RYDER. The mackerel-batcliing operations at Mobjack Bay were conducted on board the steamer Lookout and at Bosnian's Fish Guano TV^orks, New Point Comfort, Va., from the 5th to the 13th of July, 1880. Spax^B and milt were obtained in that vicinity from sixteen individuals ; the num- ber of males and females was about the same. These ova were subjected to as thorough and systematic an investigation as the limited time at our disposal permitted. Some time pre\^ously Mr. R. E. Earll had succeeded in taking some eggs in the vicinity of Crisfield which were successfully fertilized and which hatched out in the amazingly short period of twenty hours. In every case the eggs taken and cared for by my assistant, Mr. W. P. Sauerhoff, hatched in twenty-four hours 5 it is true that a few hatched somewhat sooner, but some left the egg-mem- brane even later. I attribute this difference in the times of hatching in the two cases to different methods of treatment of the ova or to a great difference in the temperature of the water. The eggs taken and fertil- ized at 4 o'clock p. m. were all hatched at the same hour the next day. This season's experience at Cherrystone showed that when the tempera- ture of the water was unusually low it would require nearly thirty-six hours for the eggs to hatch, but the development was normal. The hatching operations for the season of 1881 were conducted at Cherrystone Harbor, Northampton County, Virginia, in the earlier part of the season, by the crew of the steamer Fish Hawk, but were after- wards continued on Kimberley's wharf, under the direction of Col. Mar- shall McDonald, commissioner of fisheries of Virginia. It was not the good fortune, however, of the latter party, of which the writer was a member, to obtain as large a number of ova as they had been led to expect; this was in the main due to our iuabilitj^ to control the times of fishing with the pound nets, which were the sources whence our supplies of spawning fish were obtained ; also in part to their distance from our hatching station, which, as our facilities for the prompt transportation of the crew of spawn-takers by water was inadequate during the latter part of the time we were engaged in our investigations, added not a little to the disadvantages under which the work was conducted. Add to this the fact that, although the number of ripe fish obtainable was probably sufficient for our experiments, it was learned that they seemed for the most part to discharge their spawn only in the evening or at night, the times when by far the larger proportion of ova were obtained. That this fish is nocturnal in its spawning habits was still further dem- onstrated by Colonel McDonald while on a visit to Tangier Sound, where the Spanish mackerel is taken at night in gill-nets, a mode of 136 BULLETIN OF THE UNITED STATES FISH COMMISSION. fishing not practiced at Cherrystone ; an abundance of spawners, it was found, were taken under the above conditions at the former place, and it was believed, from observations made at the time, that many millions of eggs might be obtained there in a single night. From this it appears that what is now needed to make the artificial incubation of the mack- erel a success is to choose son^e point for our operations where the fishing is carried on at ni^lit or in the evening. In relation to this part of the subject the "^^riter will forbear to say anything further, as its discussion rightfrJiy belongs to Colonel McDonald, whose observation it is ; but I liave been informed by Professor McCloskie, of Princeton, that while he was in company with Mr. J. S. Kingsley, during the present summer, on the Massachusetts coast, in the vicinity of Cape Ann, the latter gen- tleman conducted some observations on floating fish eggs which were taken at night in a tow-net and believed to have been laid after sun- down ; they were not identified, however. ( )va which were found float- ing at the surface of the sea by Professor Haeckel,* at Ajaccio, oft" the island of Corsica, and afterward at Kice, were agglutinated together in clumps, but the species was not determined, and it was only sui)j)osed that they belonged to some gadoid, and are hence doubtfully referred to Motella. Edward Van Beneden t also, who describes at some length similar adhesive floating ova, which he had obtained in the same way, with the help of the tow-net, off Villafranca, does not identify them, nor does he state definitely at what time of day it was supi)osed they were spawned, but from the evidence aftorded by his time record of the rate of their segmentation I am, nevertheless, prepared to believe that they were laid at night. The Cyprinodonts in the si)awning season, as far as my observations go, are much more actively engaged in amatory play in the night than at other times, judging from the rapid motions and splashing noise which they make in the water during this part of the day. G. O. Sars, in his account of the development of the cod, says nothing in regard to the time of day at w^hich this fish parts with its ova, but the writer believes that there are strong grounds for a belief that the bonito, or crab-eater {Elacate canadus), is a nocturnal spawner, the same as the mackerel, from the circumstance that it was only from individuals caught in the evening that ova were obtained, which api)ears to be the case also, judging from our experience, \vith the moon-fish {Fare- phippus fciber). The foregoing data, although not all of them directly bearing upon the question of the time at which the Sx)anish mackerel discharges its spawn, are sufiQcieutly within the scope of the evidence needed to help us to reach a conclusion in regard to the matter so that we will know how to proceed in the future. The artificial incubation does not appear to be the gravest part of the problem to be solved j the t *Die Gastrnla iiud die Eifurcliimg der Thiere. Jeuiiisclie Zeitsch., IX, 402-508, 1875, 7 pis. t A contributiou to the history of the embiyouic development of the Teleosteans. Quar. Journ. Mic. Sci., No. LXIX, 41-57, 1 pL, 1878. BULLETIN OF THE UNITED STATES FISH COMMISSION. 137 questiou seems to be, iiiuler wliat couditious can the greatest number of eggs be obtained I Given a sufficient quantity of these, although the losses in hatching may be as much as 50 to 75 per cent., the number of young which it is possible to add to those hatched out naturally will still be prodigious. OVARIES AND OVARIAN EGGS OF THE SPANISH MACKEREL. The ovary of this fish is a paired organ composed of two nearly cylin- drical sacks lying in the hinder upper portion of the abdominal cavity ; both taper to blunt conical points anteriorly, and are joined posteriorly into a wide common ovarian duct, which opens just behind the vent. Attached to the walls of the ovarian sacks are a vast number of ovarian leaflets or folds i^laced transversely, and which depend directly into the space within the sacks. In these leaflets the ovarian eggs are devel- oped, each one in a minute sack or follicle of its own, tne walls of which are richly supplied with capillary blood-vessels joined to the blood sys- tem of the parent fish. At first the ova are very small, but as the sea- sou advances they, for the most part, increase in size, in consequence of which the entire ovary increases in bulk. At first, when they begin to grow larger, they are barely distinguishable from the ordinary cells which compose the great proportion of the tissue of the ovary ; they are in fact nothing more than greatly enlarged cells when mature, in which we may distinguish an outer germinal layer or i)ellicle, , Fig. 2, covering a store of nutritive material known as the yelk, which is gradually absorbed as development progresses ; besides, they are cov- ered by an egg-membrane, zr^ of extreme thinness, perforated at one point only by a minute pore known as the micropyle, which is shown in two i30sitions in the same &gg in Fig. 1, lying in the center of a circular area which has faint markings running out radially from the micropylar pore in its middle toward its margin. The micropyle is funnel-shaped and the radial markings and area around it seem to disappear almost entirely after impregnation. The egg-membrane may be regarded merely as a protective covering and the micropyle as a passage-way for the male element or spermatozoau to find its way through the egg-mem- brane and to the germ, in order that impregnation may take place, when the development or growth of the embryo fish will commence. The opening also connects the space inside the egg-membrane between the latter and the globular Q,gg or germinal mass with the water outside in which the egg floats ; the space here alluded to does not usually api)ear until immediately after impregnation, in consequence of which the egg- membrane at first lies laxly on the germ within, and in the eggs of some species, as in the shad, it is at first considerably wrinkled. It is only after impregnation that it normally absorbs water through the micropyle and becomes tense and perfectly globular. The history of the formation of the egg-membrane is not very clearly established, but it appears in 138 BULLETIN OF THE UNITED STATES FISH COMMISSION. the highest degree probable that it is secreted from the celhilar walls of the sack or follicle in which the egg grows and is matured. The youngest ova of the mackerel do not appear to be inclosed in independent follicles; these seem to be developed only after the egg has attained some dimensions. Very young ova are found to contain a relatively large nucleus or germinative vesicle inclosed in a thin layer of transparent homogeneous protoplasm, and for a considerable time this condition seems to be maintained, but as they increase in size it is found that, while the germinative vesicle increases in dimensions, the protoplasmic envelope also grows in thickness, and that there is a tend- ency to multiply the number of nucleoli or germinative spots included in the germinative vesicle. At a still hiter period the nucleus becomes apparently granular, and finally, when the egg is mature and ready to rupture the follicle in which it grew, the germinative vesicle, as well as the spots, seem to have disappeared ; at any rate it is now generally held that when the egg has attained maturity the germinative vesicle undergoes disintegration, andiierhaps a reorganization, by which a por- tion of it becomes what is known in recent years as the female pro- nucleus, which conjugates or becomes fused with a similar body called the male pronucleus, which results from the metamorphosis of the head of the male element, or spermatozoan, after its entry into the germinal matter of the egg. It is this body, made up, as it is, in part of male and in part of female or ovarian protoplasm, which constitutes the nucleus of the first segmentation furrow across the germinal disk in which it is embedded, and which must be regarded as the initial or starting j)oint in the development of the young fish. It is also doubt- less a fact that during the iirocess of division of the germinal disk we would find the nuclei elongated with granular rays extending from their ends through the surrounding protoplasm, as well as bands or fibrils of denser protoplasm running from one end to the other of the nuclear figure. When the cleavage is completed the rays and bands appear to be withdrawn, and each pole of the formerly elongated nucleus becomes rounded independent of its fellow, and so two nuclei result, the dynamic or forcfe centers of two cells, the j^roducts of this process of cleavage of the original cell. This process has been named l-aryoJcmesis by Prof. W. Flemming, of Kiel, in allusion to the ajiparent exhibition of the modes of motion of the matter of the life centers of cells. Nuclear figures of great complexity, but always bipolar during cleavage, have been described by this author and others in both animal and vegetable tissues. That they exist and will be found well devel- oped in the very early stages of the cleavage of the germinal disk of the embryo fish, I have not the slightest doubt ; it will depend upon the method of demonstration as to whether or not they will be made visible. My reason for this statement is the fact that the early stages of the segmentation of the germinal disk of all the species of fish ova which I have observed closely enough are essentially rhythmical ; that is to say^ BULLETIN OF THE UNITED STATES FISH COMMISSION. 139 between the periods when a given set of cells divide there is a longer interval of repose or rest, which may even in some cases be accom- panied bj' a slight subsidence or depression of the cells which have just divided. Brooks speaks of it in the mollusks as ar contraction of the resulting cells. It seems to me, from what I have seen in the segment- ing eggs of Mya and AJosa, that the term "subsidence" is more directly applicable, since in the act of segmentation the protoplasm appears to have a tendency to become rounded or heaped up in the two new cells, and that afterwards or during the period of rest the protoplasm has a tendency to subside or spread out, as a result of which the segmenta- tion furrows become much shallower. Brooks* has noticed these phe- nomena in ova supposed to be those of the toad fish {Batrachus imi), and alludes to observations in other forms by E. B. Wilson and S. F. Clarke. What first attracted my attention to the matter was the fact that, while ova in the early stages of development were under observa- tion, I was frequently surprised to find, after having left the microscope for a few minutes, that a sudden and rapid change had taken place, while no change whatever was observed previously for the space of an hour or more. Brooks has kept a time record, which I neglected to do, but I can say, however, that in the shad egg, in -which I have mostly observed this phenomenon, the intervals of rest are of much shorter du- ration than recorded by him, showing that he dealt with an egg which developed more slowly. In the mackerel ovum, in which I have had but little chance to observe these phenomena, the intervals of rest are of less duration still, but inasmuch as it develops with three times the rapidity of the shad egg, it is plain that it would be an admirable sub- ject for investigation in respect to this point, and in which micropho- tograi^hy would be an invaluable aid. The early stages of segmentation of the mackerel, studied by the writer, unless observed with the microscope, on an unsteady boat, where such observation is almost, if not altogether impossible, were usually too far advanced to keep track of the sets of dividing cells, which were already too numerous, so that they would confuse the student in his attempt to follow the changes marked by intervals of rest between periods of acti\dty. The writer, however, must admit that he has never been able to distinguish the nuclei of the cells as clearly without reagents as figured by Brooks, although working with the most approved apparatus for obliquity of illumination, and with lenses of fine definition; but this may be due to the fact that diiferent species were studied by us. STRUCTURE OF THE TESTES AND GENESIS OF THE SPERMATOZOA. The testes of the Spanish mackerel are paired organs, like the roe or ovaries of the female, and have much the same position in the abdom- * Altematious of Periods of Eest with Periods of Activity in the seo^menting eggs of Vertebrates. Studies Biolog. Laboratory, Johns Hopkins University, Vol. II, 117- 118, 1 pi., June, 1881. 140 BULLETIN OF THE UNITED STATES FISH COMMISSION. inal cavity, but are imicli flattened or compressed laterally, instead of cylindrical, as in the former, and botli pour tlieir secretion tlirougli a wide seminal duct which opens behind the vent. Their substance is comx)osed almost entirely of a vast number of minute canals, which have a generally vertical or oblique direction, and which open into a wide sinus or space at the upi)er edge of the organs, and which empty their contents into the common seminal duct. They are essentially glandular in function, and secrete and pour out large quantities of milt or semen during the spawning season, which is develoj)ed in the tubules or canals already alluded to. These canals, or, more properly, semi- niferous tubules, are lined with cells, which break up into bundles of spermatozoa, which fall directly into their cavities, and so find their way into the seminal sinus at the upper border of the testicle and out through the seminal duct into the water, where they are capable, if they come into contact with the ova discharged by the female, of effect- ing impregnation and of establishing the development of the embryos. The spermatic particles, or spermatozoa, are themselves very minute, and are composed, in the mackerel, of an oval head with a very fine, almost ultra-microscopic, tail or flagellum, which is incessantly lashed about in the living state, so that the spermatozoan has a distinctive wriggling, tadpole-like movement. As soon as the power to move the lash or flagellum ceases, they may be considered as dead, and no longer capable of effecting the impregnation of ova. They will not ordinarily live much over an hour after being taken from the fish, with which time their eflfectiveness ceases. STRUCTURE AND PHYSIOLOGICAL CHARACTERISTICS OF THE UNFER- TILIZED EGG OF THE SPANISH MACKEREL. It is notorious that the egg-membranes of floating fish ova are ex- tremely thin; moreover, they are not, as far as I have been able to make out with carefully conducted observations, perforated by pore-canals, as in the stickleback, salmon, and shad; the membrane of the ovum of the mackerel is no exception to this rule, and is conseqT,iently not a zona ra- diata, as defined by Balfour. It is a perfectly houiogeneous, transparent film, less than half as thick as that covering the shad ovum, which meas- ures approximately ^-oVo of au inch in thickness, but differs from the latter in having minute i^apular iiromineuces on the inner surface which project into the breathing chamber or water space around the germ, as shown in Figs. 2, 6, 9, and 12. These prominences usually seem to be confined to one pole or hemisphere of the membranous envelope. The ova vary slightly in dimensions and range from -^ to ^o of ^^ inch in diameter. This variation in size is a usual feature in the ova of fishes, but may be partly due to the unusual pressure exerted on the ovaries when the ova are removed artificially, so that some are squeezed from their follicles before they are quite fully mature, though it is to be remarked that the smaller ova develop just as readily as the larger BULLETIN OF THE UNITED STATES FISH COMMISSION. 141 ones, and every one is aware of the fact that the eggs of the same birds vary considerably in size, and that such variation does not interfere perceptibly -vrith their capability to develop. Between the egg-mem- brane and the germ or vitellns there is always a more or less well marked space or cavitj" filled with water which has been absorbed from without, as is proved by the fiict that when the ova are at first extruded the egg-membrane, in all the species studied by the writer, is more or less relaxed or even wrinkled, and that it is only after they have been in water for some time in the presence of spermatozoa that the mem- brane will distend so as to render it tense and spherical. Unimpreg- nated eggs which have absorbed water are said to be "water-swollen," and usually only a small percentage of them will become so in the ab- sence of living spermatozoa, mixed with them in the water. Ova which have been impregnated and are water-swollen, that is, have developed the water space around the vitellus, are said to have "risen," which is probably in allusion to the fact that in some cases — minnows and shad — a lot of newly laid ova will by this process acquire several times their original bulk, so that if too large a quantity of freshly spawned eggs be put in a vessel the mass will swell in the presence of water so as to fill the receptacle or even run over its sides, somewhat in the same way as leavened dough would acquire increased bulk in a dough tray by the numerous vesicles of carbonic dioxide which are evolved by fermenta- tion and held in confinement by the tough mass of gluten and starch. The water space may in some cases embrace more than two-thirds of the solid contents of the sphere included by the egg-membrane, but this space is smaller and is never at any time more than the 2^*0 of an inch in vertical thickness in the egg of the mackerel. Its fnnction is, doubtless, iu the main, respiratory, as suggested by Eansom, who has actually named it the breathing chamber, and it would seem that there is very strong evidence in favor of such an opinion, in that most fish ova die if the water in which they are hatching is not frequently changed. The circumstance that some fish ova are fixed by filaments or bv an adhesive material while the water moves over them on account of its gravity or in consequence of tidal action, would seem to indicate that these modifications were favorable to their aeration, or perhaps, more properly, their respiration, and exchange of salutary oxygen for hurtful gases through the membranous and fluid coverings of the egg. The habit which the male stickleback appears to have of pumping water through the nest with his mouth, so as to change the water surrounding the eggs in his charge, seems to be similarly signifi- cant. This cavity serves another purpose. In it the young fish may de- velop immersed in fluid free from friction or hurtful knocks from with- out, if it is a free swimming egg, like that of the mackerel. Its func- tion, aside from that of respiration, w^ould then appear to be essentially that of an amnion, or " bag of waters," such as is developed from the 142 BULLETIN OF THE UNITED STATES FISH COMMISSION. edges of the germinal disk in rei)tiles, birds, and mammals, and wbicli eventually incloses the embryos of these forms, and in which they undergo the largest part of their development. A similar spacious cavity api)ears to exist in the egg-cases of the oviparous sharks, and rays, filled with water or a thin serous fluid, in which the embryo de- velops as it absorbs the contents of the yolk sack. The same remark applies to the eggs of the Amphibia and AmpMoxtis; so it appears that all of the vertebrates below the reptiles have an egg-membrane, or what answers to it, and a water or respiratory space in which the germ or vitellus is included, and in which it undergoes a more or less com- plete development. The vitellus or germ included by the egg-membrane of the mackerel is globular and very nearly fills up the cavity, bounded by the mem- brane, so that the water space or breathing chamber is small. The vitellus is made up of three principal portions : a thin outer germinal layer, as shown in Fig. 2, which incloses a globular yolk-mass, in which it is ordinarily difficult to distinguish the contour of the yolk spheres of which it is composed. Imbedded in this yolk-mass there is always a single oil sphere perfectly globular, highly refringent, and measuring about one one-hundredth of an inch in diameter, and which always oc- cupies an eccentric jjosition in the upper hemisphere of the living egg. It is the presence of this oil sphere which causes the egg to float; the drop of oil is always in such a jiosition as to keep the developing em- bryo inverted or turned upon its back. This is probably due to a purely physical cause ; the oil sphere, being the lightest part of the egg, will always be found in its upper hemisphere, while the germinal disk or embryo appears to be the heaviest part, and in consequence is always found in the lowermost hemisphere looking back downwards. It is difiicult to trace any protoplasmic filaments passing ofl' from the ger- minal layer of the mackerel's ovum down amongst the yolk spheres, in consequence of which it is difiicult to demonstrate the latter. It has likewise not been my good fortune to trace and learn what is the fate of the germinative vesicle of the mackerel egg, but it will suffice to say that when the egg is mature it can no longer be distinguished ; nothing whatever remains to indicate its former position, and the whole egg is now more transparent and presents the appearance shown in Fig. 2. The germinal layer or pellicle, however, is found to include a great number of very minute refringent corpuscles scattered through its sub- stance ; these disappear as the germinal disk is formed by the aggrega- tion of the protoplasm of the germinal layer at one pole of the vitellus to form the germinal disk. I have frequently seen them apparently dissolve and disappear while I was observing them through the micro- scope. Whether these represent the remains of the more fluid and refringent germinative vesicles I am unable to say, but I am inclined to doubt it from the fact that if the germinal pellicle is removed and stained with haematoxylon these corpuscles do not tinge, while the pro- BULLETIN OF THE UNITED STATES FISH COMMISSION. 143 toplasin iu which they are imbedded does, which appears to be a suffi- cient proof that they are not the remains of the germinative vesicle, but that they are merely vacuoles filled with fluid, such as are found in the Protozoa, but which, unlike the spaces found in those animals, are not rhjthmically contractile or pulsatile. ORIGIN AND FOEIHATION OF THE GERMINAL DISK. The germinal disk of the e^g of the mackerel measures one-fortieth to one-fil'tieth of an inch in diameter, is biscuit-shai^ed, and is composed of a light, amber- tin ted protoplasm several shades darker than the proto- plasm which makes up the vitellus, which is remarkable for its glass- like transparency. Normally, the disk always lies directly at one side and apparently on the surface of the yelk, as indicated in Fig. 4 ; and when the egg is in the water it is always immediately and exactly below the latter. The disk may be developed independently of impregnation, but in that case an embryo is never formed, and the egg soon disorgan- izes, the vitellus collapses, and the whole protoplasmic mass, disk and all, acquires a brownish, granular appearance, indicative of death and disorganization. The disk takes its origin directly from the germinal pellicle, which incloses the vitellus just like the rind which covers the flesh of an orange. This layer at first thickens at one side, and its sub- stance seems to flow gradually to the lower pole of the egg till the re- sulting disk acquires the shape of a concavo-convex lens, with a thin, sharp rim. Eventually the sharp rim disappears, it becomes smoothly rounded at the edge, and the whole disk biscuit-shaped. It is probable that an extremely thin layer of protoplasm, which orig- inally formed i^art of the germinal pellicle or layer, still covers the ^itellus, and is continuous with the disk, and is synonymous with the intermediary layer described by Van Bambeke and E. Van Beneden. My reason for this statement is the fact that the disk is sometimes found to have a thin layer of protoplasm extended outwards below its thick rim over the vitellus, but which becomes so thin a little way out from the edge of the disk that it becomes impossible to demonstrate it without special methods. That the vitellus is covered by a structureless membrane is proved by the fact that in the event of its being ruptured its glairy contents will very rapidly escape, and its torn edges can be seen limiting the opening or rent in its walls. The segmentation of the thicker part of this membrane of i)rotoplasm next the disk is shown in Fig. 4, and is also described at considerable length by Van Beneden in the paper already referred to in a foot-note. In the crab-eater {JElacate) a very peculiar wreath of flat cells is developed at the edge of the disk, which, as in the ova of the su^jposed gadoid studied by Van Beneden, appear to be continuous, with a layer of small cells below the thicker lens-shaped part of the germinal disk. It may be well to retain the term intermediary layer for this structure, but if the distinguished Belgian embryologist had succeeded in follow- 144 BULLETIN OF THE UNITED STATES FISH COMMISSION. ing the development of the ova which he studied a little farther along, he would have learned, as he indeed surmises, tiiat the wreath of cells becomes the thickened rim of the blastoderm, and that the portion of the intermediary layer beneath the disk becomes the hypoblast. I see no reason, however, for adopting the term blastodisc for the germinal disk of the tish egg, for the whole of the latter, as well as the interme- diary layer, are both unquestionably derived from the i^rimitive peri- pheral germinal layer, the existence of which has been fully illustrated and described in the lierring ovum by Kupfter,* though Costet describes the formation of the germ in language which shows that he had un- doubtedly seen and watched the T)rocess, which differs in different species, as we shall learn when we come to discuss them. I reproduce Coste's words belo w.| Knpffer describes the process minutely in the herring, but states that the germ is never formed independently of the action of the spermatozoan in that species, which is practically the fact in the case of the shad and cod, but is not the case in ParepliipiniSy CMrostoma, and Ceratacanthus, where a germinal disk is formed inde- pendently of imi^regnation, but not until some time after the egg is laid. Even in the three last-named species the process of the development of the disk is the same, viz, the peripheral layer of germinal j^rotoplasm aggregates at one pole of the vitellus. In some species, as in the her- ring, shad, crab-eater, and stickleback, strands of protoplasm i)ass inwards from the germinal layer among the yelk spheres or corpuscles of the vitellus, so as to involve the latter in a sort of mesh work, which, after the disk is formed, trend toward the center of the latter, forming a i^rotoplasmic mass below the disk, and continuous with it, which prob- ably fills a si^ace in the yelk below the disk, and which Kupffer calls the "latebra" and Yan Beneden the ^'lentille." Upon close examina- tion, however, these structures seem to me to be nothing but a portion of the germinal disk, in consequence of their connection with the inter- mediary layer lying between the latter and the vitelline globe or yelk. The failure of more observers to witness the mode of development of the germinal disk, and the fact that some have actually figured the seg- mentation cavity without knowing what it was, is only explicable from * Die Entwickelimg desHerings im Ei, in Jakresbericht der Commissiou zur wissen- schaftlichen Untersnchiiug der dentsclien Meere Id Kiel. 4to, Berlin, 1878, p. 181. tOrigine de la cicatricule ou du germe des poissons osseux. Comptes rendus, tome 30, 18r>0, p. 692. t"Ses ^16meuts g6n6rateur8 resteut ^pars, diss^min^s dans tons les points de ce vitellns, jnsqu'an moment oii Taction du male les determine a se priScipiter vers una region de la surface oil on les voit tons se r^unir jionr constituer le disque grauuleux que la segmentation organise plus tard." "Quand cette curieuse e;/)i^/-aiio« des granules mol^cnlaires que doivent former la cicatricule s'est op6r6e, I'ceuf des poissons osseux ressemble alors, mais alors seulement, h celui des oiseaux." The writer, in explaining the formation of the- germinal disk, is in the habit of describing it as an aniwboid mijiration of the germinal matter toward one point on the Titellus, which is essentially the meaning of this quotation; but the germinal matter is not always mixed among the vitelline corpuscles, as Coste describes in Gasterosteus, It is the case in Clupea and Alosa, but not in Gadus, CyMum, ov Belone. BULLETIN OF THE UNITED STATES FISH COMMISSION. 145 the fact that most of the natm^alists who have made the study of fish embryos a specialty hiWe had the ill fortune to have the chance to watch only a part of the developmental stages. THE IMPREGNATION OF THE EGG. Upon this subject there are very few reliable observations. As Axel Boeck truly remarks, the micropyle is often diificult to find; and what makes the matter still more troublesome is the size of the egg, which makes it necessary to use lenses of long working distance, and to am- plify with high power eye-pieces. To get an egg into position is not unfrequently a difficult performance, and by the time everything is arranged for observation impregnation has been effected and your efforts are wasted. It is doubtless correct to say that a single spermatozoan is eflective in the fertilization of an egg. I have frequently found a number of dead ones sticking fast by their heads to the egg-membrane near the micropyle, but I have never witnessed their actual entry, although 1 have frequently made attempts to see the phenomenon, but so far without success. From all that we can learn it is undoubtedly true that the presence of spermatozoa with freshly laid uuimpregnated ova at once tends to cause them to absorb water, as is well known to every practical spawn-taker. That their presence in the egg exerts a great influence on the rapid formation of the germinal disk in the her- ring, shad, and cod is equally certain. What the exact nature of the changes may be that are first of all induced by the presence of the spermatozoan in the egg of the Teleostean fish, we are not yet prepared to say. Most if not all the most satisfactory observations upon the phe- nomena of imi)regnation have been conducted on the very much more miuute ova of invertebrates, where it has evidently been miuch easier to see the process and follow it in detail. Its eifects are soon visible, however, as the remarkable phenomenon of segmentation which begins soon after fertilization has been effected. SEGMENTATION OF THE GERMINAL DISK. The segmentation of the germinal disk of the mackerel is essentially similar to that of the cod. The first cleavage is transverse, resulting in two cells. The next segmentation is at right angles to the first, and, when completed, divides the two cells of the first cleavage into four ; the next cleavage is in a direction at right angles to the last and results in the formatioii of eight cells. Beyond this point the cleavage becomes more or less irregular, except that the germinal disk remains for a con- siderable time composed of a single stratum of cells, as shown in Fig. 3, one hour and forty minutes after impregnation. The rhythmical nature of the process of segmentation up to this time has already been alluded to, and it no doubt continues, but the cells soon become too smg-ll to be followed up so as to observe the intervals of rest and activ- Bull. U. S. F. C, 81 10 146 BULLETIN OF THE UNITED STATES FISH COMMISSION. ity. At the end of tliree hours the germinal disk, as shown in Fig. 4 has undergone profound changes ; the cells are no longer arranged in a single stratum, but in several, superimposed upon each other, which has been the result of the segmentation of the cells of the morula stage of Fig. 3 in a plane parallel to that of the great diameter of the disk. At the same time there has been a wreath of flat cells segmented off from the edge of the disk, which would be considered by some as originating separatelj' or independently of the disk, an opinion from which I dissent for reasons which I have already stated in dealing with the origin of the disk from a primitively homogeneous, external germinal layer of Ijrotoplasm. THE BLASTODERM AND SEGMENTATION CAVITY. In Figs. 5 and 6, a half hour later, we see that the fate of the mar- ginal cells has been to form the rim of the incipient blastoderm, which is beginning to spread out, become thinner, and lose its distinctive feat- ures as a biscuit-shaped germinal disk. The inner edge of the rim of cells Just alluded to limits the margin of the segmentation cavity of the mackerel egg, and I can see no reason why this space should not be considered homologous with the cavity which bears the same name in the blastoderm of the embryo elasmobranch and chick, in both of which it is probably of greater extent than it has been hitherto suspected. The roof of the cavity is at first two or three or even more cells deep, but as soon as the rudiment of the embryo fish is defined at the edge of the blastoderm its roof soon after is found to be composed of but a single layer of cells, corresponding to the epiblast or skiu layer, while its floor is the intermediary layer of Van Bambeke, and corresponds to the hy- poblast, mucous or deepest layer from which the intestine, the blood for the most part and perhaps the notochord is derived as development advances. With slight verbal alterations I will here quote from what the writer has published elsewhere* : " The disk begins to spread over the vitellus or yelk, and soon acquires the form of a watch glass, with its concave side lying next the surface of the yelk. Coincident with the lateral expansion of the disk, now become the blastoderm, a thick- ening api^ears at one poiut in its margin, which is the first sign of the apx^earance of the embryo fish. With its farther exi^ansion the embryo is developed more from the margin of the disk towards it center ; in this way it happens that the axis of the embryo lies in one of the radii of the blastoderm, its head directed towards the center, its tail lying at the margin" and continuous with the rim, which is soon two or three cells thick, and extends all the way round the edge of the blastoderm like a ring. " Before the embryo is fairly formed a space appears in the blas- toderm, limited by the thickened rim of the latter, and the embryo at * Structure and ovarian incubation of the Top-minnow (Zygouectes), " Forest and Stream," August 18, 1881. BULLETIN OF THE UNITED STATES FISH COMMISSION. 147 one side. This space, the segmentation cainfjj, is fiUed tcith fiuid and groics tcith the groicth of the germinal disl-, as the latter becomes converted into the hlastoderm^ and does not disappear until some time after the embryo has left the egg as a young fish, after remaining as a sjMce around the yelk-sack as long as a vestige of the latter remains, as may be seen in the young of Cybium, Gadus, Elecate, Syngnathns, and Alosa." My observations have been conducted without hardening reagents, since it has been found that such methods abstract the water from the embryo, and cause the segmentation cavity to collapse and be obliter- ated, so that the only way in which the writer has been able to follow the history of this space was to study it in the living transparent eggs, whi(;h may be got into various positions so as to show all the x)hases of its development in the diiferent stages of the evolution of the embryo. I believe it will be found to be present in the blastoderms of the ova of almost all teleostean fishes. "Should this prove to be the fact [quoting from the same source] the teleostean egg will be as distinctly defined, in respect to the sum of the developmental characters which it presents, from the developing ova of other vertebrates, as the adult teleost is from the remaining classes of the subkingdom to which it belongs." Later, as is shown in Fig. 7, or after seven hours, the blastoderm has grown so as to inclose nearly one -half of the vitelline globe or yelk, the rim is very distinct, and when viewed from above as a trans- parent object, the segmentation cavity is visible as a somewhat creseent- shai)ed area more transi^arent than the embryo or the rim. The embryo bounds the concave side of the crescent and lies in immediate contact with the yelk, except over a small space just under the fore part of the head, which is found to be continuous with the segmentation cavity beneath the latter ; this space will be found to be very significant, and is the cavity in which the heart develops. In taking another look at Fig. 7, it will be noticed that the blastoderm is a hemispherical cap, and that on the left hand from its center to the edge of its rim there is a thicker i^ortion shown ; this is the enibryo mackerel seen from the side with its head end lying in the middle of the disk and its tail at the edge. To the right hand and below a clear space is shown ; this in like manner is the segmentation cavity seen from the side, and to the right of it the blastodermic wal's are seen to be double, consisting in- ternally of the hypoblast and externally of the epiblast, with a space, sg, between them ; this is the segmentation cavity in optic section, which is seen to extend a little way under the head of the embryo at cr.s', to form the cavity in which the heart will be formed. To the left of crs the keel or carina, cr, of the embryo dips down into the vitellus ; the carina is simply the fore part of the medullary canal, which for the most part becomes the great median nervous or spinal cord of the young fish ; in all embryo teleost fishes it is much flattened laterally in its fore part, and in consequence it dips down far into the yelk as a flat 148 BULLETIN OF THE UNITED STATES FISH COMMISSION. tube, for such it is from the fact that a furrow appears ou the outer sur- face of the hhistoderm kuown as the medulhiry groove which exteuds from the head end of the embryouic area of the blastoderm to the rim and which causes the blastoderm to be pushed dowu before it. This groove first closes at the head of the embryo, while it remaius open for a considerable time at the tail end. The cells of its walls form the em- bryonic spinal canal which afterwards becomes the spinal cord, brain, and retina of the more advanced embryo. Fig. S represents an older embryo Spanish mackerel, eleven hours after development began. It is seen with the head towards the ob- server, and behind or beyond the head on the opposite side of the egg the rim r of the blastoderm is seen through the transparent vitellus, which will close over the latter entirely in the course of another hour. The segmentation cavity sg is shown in optic section between the epi- blast ep and the hyj^oblast hy, extending all round the egg except the portion taken up by the embryo above, and that part not yet covered by the blastodermic rim r on the opposite side of the egg. Fig. 9 represents an egg of the twelfth hour of development with the caudal pole turned towards the observer. The small area y is all of the vitellus which now remaius uncovered, and the blastodermic rim is con- tracting and will soon close at the end of the tail of the embryo, when the formation of the blastoderm may be said to be completed. The seg- mentation cavity sg has of course been somewhat extended on account 'of the approximate closure of the blastodermic rim. In Fig. 11 a section is carried transversely from left to right through the opening y, which still remains behind the tail of the embryo represented in Fig. 9, to show how the segmentation cavity is finally limited at the caudal end of the embryo by the blastodermic rim, which after its closure takes a large share in the formation of the tail of the j'oung fish, as i>ointed out by Kuj)ffer and His. It may be considered the true tail-swelling, as it thickens into a round, knob-like prominence immediately after the in- clusion of the yelk is accomplished. In consequence of the remarkable extent of the segmentation cavity in fish embryos, as amply x>roved by our studies upon a number of widely-separated genera, the yelk becomes inclosed in a shut sack derived from and including the greater part of the innermost embryonic layer or hypoblast, which is surrounded by a film of fluid, and which is agaiu inclosed by an external epiblastic sack. Besides the demonstration of this structure in the living egg I have used the following method with success: Immerse a living embryo in a one- half \)er cent, solution of osmic acid for a few minutes, or till the outer sack becomes light brownish, then place it under a Fol's compressor and gradually bring pressure to bear on the vitellus while it is under observation in the microscope, when the outer covering, now made brit- tle by the osmic acid, will rupture and expose the vitelline or hypoblastic sack; the epiblastic covering will frequently open, wrinkle, and slide back off of the vitellus like a cowl when pushed back off of the head. BULLETIN OF THE UNITED STATES FISH COMMISSION, 149 It is this structure which Cuvier and Valencienues * alhide to in the following- words : " Le vitellus a deux tuniques, completes I'uue et I'autre, quoique tr^s-fines. L'exterue se continue par sa lame exterieure avec le peau et par I'interieure avec le peritoine; I'iuterne, tres-vasculeuse, se continue avec les membranes des iutestins et leur tunique peritoneale ; la cavite donue directement et visiblement dans celle do I'intestin, et la matiere du Jaune y afflue." This quotation shows that Cuvier, to whom it is in all probability to be ascribed, was aware of the existence of a double envelope over the yelk, but in no instance have I found what could be considered a communication between the cavity of the intestine and the vitellus. \^on Baer is stated by Balfour t to speak of two types of yelk-sack, one inclosed within the body wall, and the other forming a distinct naked ventral a])pendage of the embryo, from which it is clear that the great German embryologist never clearly understood the man- ner in which the vitelline globe or yelk is inclosed by the blastoderm. Nor can I confirm Lereboullet's view that a connection of the vitellus and cavity of the intestine exists between the stomach and liver, because the stomach is not ordinarily differentiated in young fishes while the yelk persists. In the young California salmon {Oncorhynchus) the mus- cle plates grow down on either side between the epiblast externally and the splanchnopleure internally. The hypoblast covering the remains of the yelk is traversed externally by a network of blood vessels, as may be learned from an examination of transverse sections through advanced embry^os. In this way it results that the segmentation cavity is oblit- erated or filled up during the latter part of embryonic life by the down growth of the somatopleure and splanchnopleure between the epiblast and hypoblast, both the splanchnopleure and somatopleure having originated from the mesoblast. This, I believe, is essentially the mode of development of the blastoderm in teleostean embryos and the way in which the segmentation cavity disapjiears. Any view, however, accord- ing to which the yelk is looked upon as a mere nutritive vesicle, and not at all times in intimate organic union with the embryo, betrays a want of comprehension of the way in which the teleostean ovum is developed in the ovary, the manner of the formation of the germinal disk, the de- velopment of the blastoderm and inclusion by it of the vitellus, and, finally, of the relation of the heart and blood system to the vitellus. STRUCTURES DEVELOPED IN ' THE EMBRYO MACKEREL FROM THE ELEVENTH HOUR TO THE TIME OF HATCHINO. Starting with the stage represented in Fig. 9, when the medullary canal m, in section, the notochord or cartilaginous axial rod c/i, and the somites or muscle plates on either side of the medullary canal are de- veloped, it is apparent that the embryo by the fourteenth hour, repre- •Histoire Naturelle des poissons, tome i, p. 399. Paris, 1828. t Comparative Embryology, vol. ii, p. 65. 150 BULLETIN OF THE UNITED STATES FISH COMAUSSION. sented id Fig. 10, begins to exhibit some likeness to an animal organ- ism, but as yet the species would not be recognizable were it not known from what parent form the egg had been obtained, though it could undoubtedly be referred to the class Pisces, subclass Tclcostei. A care- ful study, however, of a number of forms will enable the student to distinguish them apart at a very early period of development. The number of somites or muscle plates increases from before backwards; they first appear some distance behind the rudiments of the ear, au Fig. 8, and by the regular successive segmentation of the upper meso- blastic plates of cells on either side of the medullary canal increase in number backwards toward the tail, and by the time the caudal swell- ing is developed there are about twenty muscular somites or segments of the body. As the tail grows and is extended backwards the seg- mentation of the muscular stratum of the mesoblast continues in the same way from before backwards, but does not for a considerable time involve all of the structure destined to become the lateral muscular masses of the young fish; the i^ortion at the end of the tail remaining uusegmeuted for some time after hatching. The muscular segments, somites, or protovertebriE, as they have been variously named, originate from the two tracts of mesoblastic tissue on either side of the medullary canal, and are really the rudiments of the muscular masses, the edible flesh portions found on either side of the backbone of adult fishes. They appear at first in the embryo as quadrate masses lying on either side of the medullary canal, and in embryo sharks, according to Balfour, and in the lampreys, according to Scott, at first are said to be hollow; in our studies we have not succeeded in demonstrating this peculiarity in teleosteau embryos. They are nearly or quite solid in the latter. Immediately after the tail swelling has been formed, the caudal rudi- ment forms a blunt rounded point, which, as it is prolonged backwards, develops a continuous median dorsal and ventral ridge or fold of epi- blast, as shown in Fig. 13, and which becomes the natatory fold nf of Fig. 13, from which all the unpaired fins are developed. Almost as soon as the tail begins to grow out a strand of hypoblastic cells, v, Fig. 12, is seen on the lower side of it, lying between the epiblastic layers of the natatory fold, and extending to the edge of the latter; this strand of cells appears to have been i^robably continuous with the medullary canal or cord on the dorsal side of the embryo before the tail swelling grew out, so as to break and obliterate its connection with the former. This strand of cells, which is seen to be apparently tubular, is the anal extremity of the gut, and seems to be closed posteriorly. It is found to extend for- wards, as development proceeds, as a fiattened tube, lying Just below the notochord or cartilaginous axis of the embryo as shown at /, Figs. 12 and 13. The intestine was probably continuous with the medullary canal posteriorly, from the hinder extremity of which it has possibly been invaginated from above, in which case the ffastnda stage of devel- opment of the teleosteau fish embryo would be perfectly homologous BULLETIN OF THE UNITED STATES FISH COMMISSION. 151 with that of mauj other vertebrates. Our observations, it is admitted, do not rest upon the evidence presented by sections, but upon the ai)- l)earances of the living transparent objects. The intestine is at first solid anteriorly; its lumen is a mere cajiillary tube on its first ai)pear- ance behind. It does not ai)pear to originate directly from longitudinal folds of the hypoblast which coalese in the middle line below, in some higher forms, but as a nearly solid band of cells just beneath the noto- chord. It will be proper to discuss in this place the nature of the jDeculiar vesicle first described by Kupffer, and known as Kupfter's vesicle, but recently renamed the postanal vesicle by Balfour.* It appears in all the cases which we have observed either some time before the closure of the blastoderm, or nearly at the time it closes. It is situated just beneath the tail, between the latter and the yelk. It appears in the Spanish mackerel before the blastoderm closes, and, as far as I can make out, is simply a vacuole filled with fluid, the direct connection of which with the posterior end of the rudimentary intestine, as has been held, has still to be satisfactorily demonstrated. In some forms it per- sists for a considerable time after the closure of the blastoderm, and is so far anterior to the i^oint of closure that it is difficult to see how it can stand in a post-anal relation to the gut, the anal portion of which is developed almost at a point coincident with that where the closure of the blastoderm takes place, and behind the jtosition of the vesicle. Moreover it is usually asymmetrical in position and finally disappears. Its form and position vary also in diflerent eggs, so that I am at a loss to clearly understand its significance. • That it cannot originate at the moment of the closure is^ proved by the fact that in some forms it is present when the blastoderm has covered but three-fourths of the yelk. I have never seen any communication between it and the medullary canal ; however, its further discussion will be resumed when we come to consider forms in which it is more prominently developed. It clearly remains a fact, however, that the anal part of the gut is the first to be developed ; that the oesophagus for a time appears to be a solid band of hypoblast cells below the head, while the point where the mouth will open is not indicated until twenty hours after the young fish has escaped from the egg ; the vent therefore appears about thirty hours before the mouth. The notochord eh apijears in embryos eleven hours old as a rod of cells not different in character from those of the other portions of the blastoderm, but shortly afterwards in the region of the trunk of the embryo clearer cells make their aijpearance in the notochord, lenticular in form and arranged transversely to its axis. They may be seen to grow larger and larger until the primitive chorda cells form only thin trans- verse partitions, between which the large, clear cells are developed. Eventually the partitions entirely disappear, when the large, trans- Comp. Embryol., ii. j). 61. 152 BULLETIN OF THE UNITED STATES FISH COMMISSION. parent cells become crowded upon each other, and now compose the entire medullary substance of the uotochord, which is functionally the backbone or axis of the embryo fish. This metamorj)hosis of the primi- tive chorda cells begins about the twelfth hour in the embryo mackerel, and is completed by the time of hatching, and, like in the herring as described by Kupfifer, the caudal end of the uotochord is the last to un- dergo the change. The uotochord for a considerable time after hatch- ing does not become distinct at its caudal end from the cellular mass in which it terminates. The membranous sheath in which the uotochord is inclosed seems to be differentiated when the metamorphosis of the l^rimitive chorda cells into the clear axis rod or uotochord has been completed. I have not succeeded in demonstrating from whic"h one of the primary embryonic layers of the mackerel the primitive chorda and consequently the uotochord are derived ; the weight of the evidence afforded by the researches of others would appear, however, to indicate that it is split oft" from the lower edge of the keel or carina of the medullary canal just over the hypoblast. The axis of the embryo is at first marked by a shallow groove which, by the time the blastoderm is closed, is comi)letely obliterated, the last portion of it to disappear being the caudal. The blastoderm is pushed down before this groove, and when the latter closes dorsally and the me- dullary canal, neural canal, or neurula is formed, as it has been vari- ously called. Certain anterior ijortious of it become difterentiated in- to the various i)arts of the brain. Primitively the brain of the mack- erel is much compressed laterally, as shown in Fig. 8. At the extreme anterior end a pair of lateral outgrowths, at first apx)arently solid, ap- pear as the rudiments of the eyes, ojpv. The basal portions by which they a^e in communication with the fore jjart of the brain become Xjartiatiy the optic or second pair of nerves. With the more advanced development of the embryo these outgrowths become hollow and cup- like, the retina of the eye is develop^'''on their inner surfaces, while a mesoblastic layer of pigment cells is developed on the outside to form the choroid coat. The cup has a cleft in its lower margin which closes later, and is known as the choroidal fissure. Covering the ojitic cups is the embryonic epithelial stratum of cells ; from it an induplicatiou is j)ushed into the cups, which is eventually constricted off from the parent layer, and becomes differentiated into a highly refringent spherical lens. Between the lens and the floor of the cup a space is formed very early whi6h becomes the vitreous humor of the eye, and in front the lens is again roofed over by a very thin concavo-convex hyaline mem- brane, the cornea, likewise derived from the epidermis, between which and the lens the aqueous humor is confined. The iris appears to be developed from the extreme edges of the optic cuj) and becomes very brilliantly i^igmented in a few days after the fish is hatched. The an- terior part of the brain, from which the optic cups grow out, becomes the cerebrum or fore brain, in x)art, also, the optic chiasma. The spinal BULLETIN OF THE UNITED STATES FISH COMMISSION. 153 cord or medullais at first nearly a perfectly solid cord or strand of cells; a canal malies its appearance in its center after the muscnlar somites have been diflerentiated. The rudiments of the ears, or auditory organs, in the embryo mack- erel make their appearance soon after the optic cui)s, as slight eleva- tions or welts on each side of the region of the embryonic hind brain, an, Fig. 8. The ridge or welt is simply the lip or proDiinent border of the auditory pit, which is being pushed inward from the outside in a cup-like manner from the inner sensory layer of the epiblast. It soon, however, becomes a closed sack. Fig. 10, au, and by the eighteenth liour two calcareous otoliths are visible in it, as shown in Fig. 12. The complications of structure which develop in the ear beyond this point relate chiefly to the formation of the semicircular canals, and these are developed some time after liatching as ridges or folds on the inner surface of the auditory sack, the walls of which grow inward from above and laterally, joining each other in such a manner that the anterior and l^osterior vertical and horizontal semicircular canals are limited by them; the sacculus and the otoliths lodged in it, consisting of the asterisk and sagitta, finally occupy the lower anterior part of the sack, and the auditory, or seventh nerve, enters it in their vicinity. The auditory sacks, or vesicles, are now almost, or quite, as large as the eyes, and lie on either side of the cerebellum cer, and medulla oblongata mo, as shown in Fig. 17. The nasal pits na, Figs. 10 and 12, are at first simple saccular depres- sions diflerentiated from the epiblast in front of the eyes, between the latter and the anterior end of the fore brain. At the age of one week. Fig, 17, na, they are neat, cup-like structures, situated some distance from the edge of the upper border of the mouth just in front of the eyes. At this time it is already possible to demonstrate special so-isory cells in their walls. At a still later period the nasal pits are bridged over transversely by a coalescer' of a part of their opposite edges, so that an anterior and a posterior opening is formed; these communicate with each other beneath the bridge of tissue, and constitute the external nares or olfactory organ of the type characteristic of the true fishes. At what period this last type of structure is developed in the mackerel has not been learned, as it was not formed in the oldest embryos studied by the writer. The several portions of the brain begin to be clearly marked ofl" from each other at the eighteenth hour, when the fore-braiu or cerebrum, the mid-brain between the eyes, and the medulla oblongata behind the latter may be distinguished. When the young fish is hatched. Fig. 13, all of the divisions may be distinguished, as the cerebellum is now clearly marked ofl" from the medulla. When the medullary groove closed in the region of the brain, a laterally flattened tube was the result, and there is no such extensive anterior downward flexure of the brain on itself as is observed in higher types. As the various constric- 154 BULLETIN OF THE UNITED STATES FISH COMMISSION. tions appear in the walls of the brain tube, the cavity: inside becomes divided into the so-called ventricles or cavities of the primitive cere- bral vesicles. As development proceeds the cerebral vesicles rapidly dilate in a lateral direction, especially the mid-brain mh^ in Avhich a snr- prisingly spacious cavity is formed in some species, which answers to the j)assage-way from the third to the fourth ventricles of the higher forms. Between the fore-brain and mid-brain the pineal gland ^9w is developed ; while the hypophysis cerebri or pituitary body de])ends from the floor of the brain down between the trabecule cranii. The fore, brain is at first not bifid or divided into hemisi^heres; its division occurs comparatively late in embryonic life. The mid-brain is the most con- spicuous portion of the encephalon or entire brain of the young fish, and soon after hatching its lateral free lobes grow backwards and down- wards somewhat at the sides, and more or less extensively cover the cerebellum. At fourteen hours the embryos begin to show signs of the develop- ment of pigment just below the superficial layers of the epiblast ; these cells are at first scattered irregularly over the body of the embryo and gradually grow darker; as they do this they also become irregular in form and flattened, with a number of points running out from them, as shown in Fig. 12. Later they tend to aggregate on certain parts of the body, as shown in Fig. 13, where they form a band on the tail and spots on the back ; as the embryo becomes still older a. band of them is formed behind the ear. They are now still more irregular in form and have evidently rearranged themselves very remarkably since the four- teenth hour ; the rearrangement appears to be accomplished by their migration towards definite points by means of an amoeboid movement of their entire substance. When fully developed the nucleus becomes very distinct, enveloped as it is in very dark protoplasm, and the pro- longations of the latter look not unlike the pseudopods of those remark- ably simple animals the Amcehce. By the eighteenth hour the oil sphere found embedded in the yelk of the Spanish mackerel was observed to be enveloped in a mantle of cells apparently of hypoblastic origin, which fastens it firmly to the wall of the yelk sack below and opposite the embryo. Fig. 12. By the time the young fish is ready to hatch, the covering of the oil sphere is found to be more or less covered with pigment, which seems to have in part developed in the cellular mantle, as indicated in Fig. 13. The fixation of the bouyant oil sphere to the ventral wall of the yelk sack makes the latter bouyant, so that when the young fish escapes from the egg-mem- brane it is turned wrong side up, and is not until some time after hatch- ing that it has the power to right itself and counteract the bonyancy of the globe of oil. The heart of the young mackerel, like that of the cod, originates in a mass of mesoblast cells, which are coarser in character than those in the immediate neighborhood ; they appear to be budded off from the BULLETIN OF THE UNITED STATES FISH COMMISSION. 155 mesoblastic roof of the cardiac portion of the segmentation cavity lying beneath the head ; at first there is no definite arrangement of the cells destined to become the heart, but they seem to be spread out in a loose mass between the hypoblast and the mesoblast at the point where the heart will apx)ear. As soon as they have grown down and come into contact with the hypoblast a circular space or cavity is formed in their midst, which is the rudiment of the heart of the mackerel in its sim^jlest l^ossible form. It is now nothing more than a wide circle of coarse cells interposed between the mesoblast and hypoblast, so that one may look through the lumen or opening in the ring either from above or below. In the process of growth this ring of cells is drawn out into the x)rimitively simple tubular heart, the hypoblastic or venous end being dragged for- ward while the branchial or aortic end is directed backwards. Thanks to the transparency of these embryos, every step of the process may be seen just as I have described it. By the eighteenth hour the heart h, Fig. 12, is fusiform and open at the venous end, and still bound to the hypoblast, and now begins to contract slowly and at long intervals, al- though there are still no blood corpuscles visible in the fluid held in its cavity. The next change observed is from this i)oint onwards, when its anterior end is bent to the left and finally opens backward, and it is now clearly determined that the wide backwardly directed portion will become the venus sinus and Cuvierian ducts ; the point where the bend is made will become the ventricle and the other narrow end the bulbus aortae. At no time, nor in any form, have I seen any evidence of the origin of the cavity of the heart by the coalescence of two distinct spaces, as described in the develoi^ment of other types of vertebrates. The embryo on the eve of hatching has a relatively shorter tail than most other tji^es of true fishes, and when just hatched measiu-es a little more than one-eleventh of an inch in total length. It usually escapes head first from the egg, and manifests a singularly quiescent disposition, but as it grows older and begins to right itself, as its oil sphere becomes smaller, it will settle on the bottom of the vessel in which it is confined, but if disturbed it will dart oft" and out of the way with great quickness, and shows a disposition to avoid danger. The yelk has diminished in bulk before the egg-membrane is ruptured, be- cause the embryo fish has grown at its expense, and a considerable quantity of i)rotoi)lasmic matter has doubtless been budding off from it in consequence of the formation of free nuclei, which are found, in other species at least, in the sui)erficial layers of the yelk just below the embryo. The diminution of the bulk of the yelk is not due to the development of the blood, which is not jet discoverable, nor will it ai)i>ear until some time after the young fish has left the egg. The rudiments of the breast fins appear just before hatching as a pair of deUcate rounded folds, which, have a horizontal direction at the base, and which grow out on each side of the body in the vertical from the oil sjihere. They may be regarded, therefore, as having very little 156 BULLETIN OF THE UNITED STATES FISH COMMISSION. genetic affinity to the gill arclies, from wliich they are separated by an amazingly wide interval, as shown in Fig. 13, in which their position is indicated at ff. STRUCTURES DEVELOPED IN THE YOUNG- SPANISH MACKEREL AFTER HATCHING. Twelve hours after the young fish has left the egg-membrane it has the appearance represented in Fig. 14 ; the yelk has diminished very perceptibly in size, while the anterior end of the head is considerably l)rolonged forwards as compared with its condition in the recently- hatched embryo shown in Fig. 13. The yelk in collapsing also leaves the. hind i^ortion of the intestine in an apparently more posterior posi- tion, while behind the latter the rudimentary urinary bladder al is very distinctly shown as a vesicle from which the simple tubular pro- longation of the Wolffian duct wd passes up behind and above the intestine. The Wolffian duct appears to develop comparatively late in the mackerel, as it is difficult to make out anything corresponding to it before the young fish leaves the egg. It would appear to originate from the peritoneal (splanchnopleural) wall of the abdominal cavity, and to be continued on either side into the urinary vesicle or bladder rt?, which ojiens outward immediately behind the vent. During the latter stages of development, or from the fourth to the seventh day, the hind portion of the Wolffian duct acquires a decided flexure just before it enters the bladder, as indicated in Figs. 10 and 17. This hinder portion may be considered to probably represent the rudiments of the urinary ducts or ureters of still more advanced stages of development. "The excretory system commences [in true fishes] with the formation of a [longitudinally disposed, paired] segmental duct, formed by a con- striction of the parietal wall of the peritoneal cavity. The anterior end remains open to the body cavity, and forms a pronephros (head kidney). On the inner side of, and opposite this opening a glomerulus is devel- oped, and the part of the body cavity containing both the glomerulus and the opening of the pronephros becomes shut off from the remainder of the body cavity, and forms a completely closed Malpighian capsule. The mesonephros (Wolffian body) is late in developing."* I believe it possible, however, from my own studies on some forms, to show that a system of segmental tubes joins the segmental ducts at a late stage of development, which pass into glomeruli which lie for the most part along the middle line of the dorsal wall of the abdominal cavity, close to the median dorsal aortic vessel. Upon the origin of the generative structures of the young mackerel I have made no observations, but their position in the adult would show that, as in other fish-like types, they must originate as specializations of tissue tracts on either side of the mesenteric suspensor of the intes- tine. Comp. Embryol. Balfour, ii, p. 63. BULLETIN OF THE UNITED STATES FISH COMMISSION. 157 In Fig-. 14 a large siuus, ss, is shown just over tlie brain, wliicli is roofed over by the dermal and deeper layers of Ihe epiblast; the cavity so formed is filled with flnid and persists for at least a week, as shown in Fig. 17. Below the hinder part of the head and at its sides, in Fig-. 14, the branchial farrows hr are visible ; as these become decider they are finally broken throngh into the wide branchial chamber of the fore-gut, as the gill-clefts. This takes j)lace about tAventy-four hours after hatching, and is on the eve of accomplishmeut in Fig. 15, in which the point where the mouth will appear is indicated at m on the lower side of the head; just behind the point where the mouth will soon break through, the rudiment of the lower jaw has made its appear- ance as Meckel's cartilage, m?:. Above and behind it the cartilaginous rudiments of the branchial skeleton or framework of the gills have been in part developed. It will also be noticed that the head is higher and that the brain is bent downwards more than in Fig. 14, in conse- quence of the decrease in size of the yelk sack. The mandibular arch, the forepart of which is indicated at mTc, does not yet reach forwards on a line with the end of the snout. While the hyoid arch, or that im- mediately following the mandibular, is still more or less obscured by the latter, and covered up by it externally, behind which the branchial arches or rudimentary gills are more crowded together from before backwards than in the stage shown in Fig. 14. The trabecul?e cranii have, however, been developed, but are still rudimentary, being pres- ent only as a pair of symmetrically disposed longitudinal rods beneath the brain. The eye, which was not heretofore completely pigmented, is now quite black and opaque, the choroid layer being- developed. The ear and nasal pits have undergone farther development ; the latter are present as distinct cups in front of the eyes. The heart has undergone considerable advance, in that its jiosterior end is now directed upwards, while the ventricle and bulbus aort?e are more fully developed and ac- tively pulsating, although the blood system is stUl imperfect, no trae aortic or venous channel having- as yet been developed ; however, there is^ already a partial branchial and cephalic circulation, but the blood chan- nels are not yet supplied with a sufficient number of blood corpuscles to mark their courses distinctly by the color. The cavity in which the heart noAV lies is bounded in front by the branchial structures, below by what was formerly the anterior portion of the epiblastic sack covering; the yelk, behind hj the hj-poblastic walls of the yelk sack, above by the intestine and body walls. In this and earlier stages of develoi)ment j believe that I have seen blood corpuscles swimming freely in the cavity surroimding the heart, which would indicate that they had been derived by budding directly from the hyx)oblast, Avhich is beyond the shadow of a doubt the way in which they are developed in the embryo silver-gar, or bill-fish {BeJone). The yelk sack is shown much reduced and more strongly pigmented in Fig. 15, while the oil sphere has undergone- considerable reduction in size. The widest portion of the young mack 158 BULLETIN OF THE UNITED STATES FISH COMMISSION. erel is now from side, to side, tlirougli the eyes, tlie body seeming to be concentrated towards the head. The breast fin hf, Fig. 14, is still a semi circnlar lobe, with its base nearly horizontal, but it has been advanced forwards somewhat twelve hours after hatching. It is merelj^ a flatteued epiblastic i^ouch into which has grown a tract of mesoblas- tic tissue. Twenty-one hours after hatching the breast fin has acquired a vertical position, as shown in Fig. 15, while the coraco-scapular car- tilage CSC is in its incii^ient stages of development in its base. Up to this time the intestine has maintained its pilmitive character as a hor- izontally flattened tube, which it will not begin to lose for twenty-four hours more, but below the breast fin a swelling has api^eared in its lower wall, Zr, which is the rudiment of the liver. Embryos on the fourth day after development have the appearance shown in Fig. 16. The most marked advance which has made over the stage, shown in Fig. 15, is that tlie intestine has acquired a cylin- drical form, and is hollow or tubular, while it also has been bent upon itself in its middle region. The liver is now a very prominent ventral sack-like outgrowth from the lower side of the intestine at li\ just in front of the bend in the alimentary canal. Its structure already shows a lobular character, its walls bemg subdivided into the rudiments of hepatic follicles. The epithelium over the rest of the inner surface of the intestine becomes differentiated into follicles at a very early period, which would indicate that the mucous membrane of the intestine had a specific, probably digestive function, as soon as the follicular structures were developed, which is accomplished about the time the young fish commences to feed. Outside of the epithelial layer the annular and longitudinal muscular layer of the intestine appears about the same time, and peristaltic movements of the intestinal walls begin to be mani- fested almost as soon as the intestine becomes tubular. Above the liver, and a little way behind it, a diverticulum appears on the fourth day, usually more or less obscured by pigment cells, which I regard as the rudiment of the air-bladder ; by the seventh day it is much more plainly developed, as shown in Fig. 17, ab. On the fourth day the young fishes will begin to feed, as represented in Fig. 16, where the black mass / represents the remains of food in the hind gut which the animal had swallowed. From an examination of several specimens I am not able, however, to state what this food was, as it was in a much too disorganized condition to tell of what it originally consisted. The oil sphere OS is now nearly absorbed as well as the yelk, which is entirely gone. A portion of the anterior wall of the yelk sack, however, has remained as a septum, partially shutting oif the pericardiac cavity from the body cav- ity, in which the viscera are contained ; it stretches across between the lower ends of the coraco-scaimlar cartilages esc. The circulation is now fully established, there being an aorta and cardinal veins, cv^ which re- turn below it to carry the blood back to the heart, a portion, however, first passing through a vascular network over the viscera and represent- BULLETIN OF THE UNITED STATES FISH COMMISSION. 159 ing esseiitiiilly a portal system of vessels. The blood is forced tbrougli the braucliial arches, aud passes from them into the carotid arteries aud aorta, to return to the heart again by way of the jugular and cardinal veins aud visceral network. The venous or dorsal end of the heart is divided by the intestine, the Cuvierian ducts opening on either side of it upwards and backwards. It will be worth while to here notice the fact that in the mackerel there is nothing which is comparable with a system of vitelline vessels, such as is found in tlie young salmon, stickleback and silver gar, but that the venous end of the heart is throughout the whole of embryonic life closely applied to the surface of the yelk sack (see Figs. 14, 15, 16, and 17), so that it appears at times almost like a parasite sucking at the vitellus. Stray colorless blood corpuscles may sometimes be seen in the pericardiac cavity, say about a day after hatching, which would indicate that the genesis of the blood from the vitellus was essentially the same as that in the silver gar, where the fluid surrounding the heart contains multitudes of colored blood disks, and where one can observe them in every stage of metamorphosis from the substance of the vitel- lus, at the point where the long tubular venous sinus of these*embryos ' joins the hypoblast of the yelk. At the end of the fourth day the month of the young mackerel is wide open and the lower jaw, in conse- quence of the greater length of Meckel's cartilage, reaches nearly as far forward as the upper jaw or snout. The mouth is also frequently opened and closed at this time by the mandibular and hyoid muscles. The chondrocranium has also advanced in development in all of its parts, since the auditory capsule is now clearly inclosed in an investment of cartilage cells, which are joined to the notochord anteriorly by the de- velopment of the so-called parachordal cartilages. Under the brain, the primitive cartilaginous bars, the trabecule cranii, are developed, and an oval space exists between them, into which the hypophysis cere- bri or pituitary body dips downwards. On either side, and below the hinder half of the eyes, the pterygoid cartilages have been developed at the same time hyoid, quadrate, hyomandibular, ceratohyal, branchial, and coraco-scapular elements have advanced in development. The method which I have found the best to demonstrate the carti- lages of the head in fishes as small as the mackerel, which measm^es only a little over one-seventh of an inch at this stage, is the following: crush a recently killed specimen under a Fol's compressor so as to flat- ten it sufiiciently to let the light through it, then use a one per cent, so- lution of acetic acid so as to bring out the contonrs of the cartilages with their cells and nuclei. If this is carefully done there will not be suflicient displacement or disarrangement of the parts of the skull to render their identification at all difficult. Figure 17 represents the head of a young mackerel nearly a week old dissected so as to show the structure of the skull as nearly as such a diflticult subject admits of representation. The parts of the chondo 160 BULLETIN OF THE UNITED STATES FISH COMMISSION. cranium are lettered so tliat their names may easily be made out from the list of reference letters. I have attemjited to show the arrange- ment of the pavement of choroid cells, cc, in the eye as may be shown in preparations mounted in balsam. I would also direct especial atten- tion to the conical teeth represented on the epithelium of the lower jaw. These seem to be developed in epithelial pits and are not in direct connection with the skeleton of the jaw, which is, moreover, not yet bony. They surmount little epithelial papilloB and grow by the addition of ma- terial from below ; their composition does not appear to be calcareous, but corneous, since I find them to resist the action of acids. Kathke has described teeth of a somewhat similar character in the embryos of the viviparous bleuuy (Zoarces). In embryos of this age the branchial leaflets are also developed. They at first ai)pear on the posterior border of the gill arches as small papillie, which, as they elongate, throw out processes from their edges^ so that they eventually acquire a bipinnate structure. In these bipin- uate fleshy processes capillary loops are formed, which communicate between the branchial arteries and veins. The leaflets with their capil- laries are the agents directly concerned in the aeration of the blood of the young fish. The coraco-scapular rods esc, although apparently cartilaginous, have an histological composition different from the cartilages of the head^ being much more hyaline. It is also embedded in a vertical fold which extends some way beyond the upper and lower borders of the breast fiu. This may be called the pectoral fold. It is not at all imi^robable that we will yet find embryo Teleosts in which there are continuous lateral folds, for we already know species in which the x)riuiiti\ e natatory fold is discontinuous at a very early age. Such is the case with Hippocampus and Syngnathus, according to my own observations this season. Hippo- campns never develops a caudal fin, so that we would naturally not expect to find the natatory fold prolonged over the end of the tail ; but the posterior position of the early rudiments of the pectorals in CyMum and ParepMppuSj it appears to me, is a very strong argument against their origin from a ijosterior branchial arch j indeed, it is the strongest 3^et offered against that doctrine by anj^ data derived from a study of the development of the paired fins of Teleosts. In other words, since we now know that the natatory fold, from which the unpaired median fins are developed, is sometimes discontinuous, I see no reason why we should not expect to find the lateral fin-folds discontinuous, as there are more reasons why they should be so in the Teleost than in the Elasmo- branch embryo. In fact, it would appear that the greater the longi- tudinal extent of the unpaired fins in proportion to the length of the body of the adult the more likelihood there is of finding a continuous dorsal and ventral natatory fold developed in the larva, and vice verm. The longitudinal extent of the paired fins of Teleost fishes is less, vastly less, in resj)ect to the number of rays, than those of the Elasmobranchs, BULLETIN OF THE UNITED STATES FISH COMMISSION. 161 and in consequence of this difference alone we should not be surprised to find lateral fin-folds of considerable extent in the embryo of the latter and of limited extent in the former. Viewed in this way, we may j)rove too much for the doctrine of the origin of the paired fins from lateral folds. The truth of the matter appears to be that we ought to quietly wait ibr more facts before geueraliziug- with the data ol)tained from only one group. SUMMARY OF ANATOMICAL RESULTS, BASED ON ALL OF THE SPECIES STUDIED BY THE AUTHOR. The following" are the more important anatomical and embryological facts which have been ascertained; onlj' such as are essentially new to science or which receive new or fuller interpretations are noticed : 1. The segmentation cavity or blastoccel is developed with the growth of the blastoderm so as to almost entirely surround and include the yelk, and persists until late in embryonic life. 2. The somatopleure (muscular layer) and splanchnoi)leure (peri- toneal layer) grow down into the segmentation cavity on either side between the epiblast and hypoblast {Oncorhynchus). 3. The heart develops in an extension of the segmentation cavity beneath the head. 4. The blood is of hypoblastic origin. 5. The germinal disk is formed by the aggregation at one pole of the germinal matter covering the vitellus {Cyhium), or scattered through it as a meshwork joined to the peripheral layer (Alosa). 6. Segmentation in the early stages is more or less decidedly rhyth- mical, with alternating periods of activity and longer i^eriods of rest. 7. The egg-membrane is not always a zona radiata, sometimes having no pore canals; a micropyle is always present. 8. The egg-membranes of the ova of certain genera {GJiirostoma, Belone, Scomberesox, Hemirhaniphus) are provided with filaments or thread-like appendages externally, by which they become atta,ched to fixed objects in the water while hatching. 9. The egg- membrane may be absent, and replaced by a highly vascu- lar ovarian folbcie, j^erforated by a follicular foramen in some viviijarous forms {Zygonectes). 10. The median uni^aired fins originate from a dorsal and ventral natatory fold, which may be continuous {Cyhium, Gachis), or be discontinuous at the very first {Syngnathus, Hippocampiis), or be discontinuous very early [Zyyonectes). 11. The pectoral is the first of the paired fins to be developed fi^om a short lateral horizontal fold, the position of which varies in different genera, appearing very far back at first in some, farther forward and nearer the branchial arches in others. 12. The primitive cartilaginous coraco-scapular arch or shoulder- Bull. U. S. F. C, 81^11 162 BULLETIN OF THE UNITED STATES FISH COMMISSION. girdle is of mesoblastic origin, and appears just beneatli what may be called the pectoral fold at the base of the breast flu. Its form and posi- tion varies in different genera. 13. The proctodeum or vent of the young fish appears long before the stomodeum or mouth ; the intestine develops from behind forward, and it is probable that the intestine and medullar}^ canal are primitively continuous through the intermediation of a neurenteric canal. 14. The number of somites or muscular segments varies in different species at the time the tail is about to be formed, and is greatest iu species in which a great number of myocommata are developed in the adult, least in those in which the adult has fewer pairs of myocommata. PRACTICAL CONCLUSIONS. In the preceding account of the development of the Spanish mackerel, it has been incidentally mentioned that the eggs of this fish are buoy- ant, apparently from the presence of a large oil sphere in the vitellus, and not because of the diminished specific gravity of the whole ovnm, as apiiears to be the case with the cod egg. We would now insist upon this character as being of such great physiological import that we can- not aiford to ignore it or to conduct our hatching work without taking cognizance of it in the construction of apparatus. The perfectly regular development of the ova was found to take place practically at the sur- face of the water, while those which sank to the bottom were considered, in the light of experience, as not liable to develop at all. Where the eggs were kept for the whole period of incubation in still water in a marbleized i:)au, all that sank could be regarded as irrecoverably lost, "while those which remained floating at the surface as uniformly hatched ont. Changing the water on a lot of ova tbree or four times in twenty- four hours in a pan gave almost as good results as any other method employed. The active movement of the ova in apparatus devised to hatch other species with heavy ova was amongst the least success- ful modes, and especially where metals, such as copper, brass, tin, or nickle, were used in the construction of the hatching vessels or screens. Inasmuch as the protojilasm of the living egg is extraordinarily sensi- tive to the poisonous effects of all metallic salts, such a result is no more than might have been expected. We have therefore been con- strained to suggest the use of apparatus which, as far as practicable, was constructed of wood, glass, or of some material indifferent to the action of sea-water. Experiments made, at the suggestion of Professor Baird, with asphalt varnish and rubber paint at Cherrystone taught us that it was possible to coat metallic surfaces with an inert substance which would prevent the corrosion of the metallic vessels used in hatch- ing, and hitherto found to be so fatally injurious to developing fish ova of every kind. The i^crcentage of losses in every case was large, and I doubt if 25 Bulletin of the united states fish commission. 163 per cent, of tlie whole luunber of eggs was ever hatched out even under the most favorable conditions. The utility of some cheap and effective glass ai)[)aratus is very apparent from experiments made by Colonel McDonald, as his system admits of a wide range of application. Other methods, especially those in which the intermittently active siphon principle was applied, seem to afford some promise that a successful iipi)aratus may yet be devised to work on that plan. Some trials of such apparatus made by Colonel McDonald were promising, but I leave the results attained for him to report upon. An equally simple hatch- ing box was extemporized by Mr. Sauerhoff with a Ferguson cylinder set into a tub, the eggs being placed in the cylinder and the constant water supply allowed to escape through its sides and bottom into the tub outside and run off by a proper outlet. With this apparatus a fair degree of success was obtained. It may be stated as a general principle that buoyant ova must have gentle treatment. That if they are much agitated in the water they tend to be injured and are carried to the bottom, where they die. It appeared that when the normal buoyant tendencies of the ova were in- terfered with by any of our methods large losses were the result, and that the nearer our methods approached the natural environment of naturally spawned ova in the open sea the more successful we were. To lorcibly immerse the egg of the mackerel, and keep it immersed, would simply be to thwart what is most palpably a normal condition of its life at the surface of the water. The fertility of the mackerel, like that of most fishes with floating ova, is very great, and it is to be expected that the mortality t)f the ova will be in proportion to the fertility of the species. This seems to be borne out by the converse state of affairs in the stickleback and top- minnow, where a small number of embryos are matured, but are de- veloped, with little or no losses, in a nest, and are nursed by the male or viviparously in the body of the female. Viewed in this light, we should expect large losses in hatching the cod, Spanish mackerel, moon- fish, and bonito or crab-eater. The young fish began to feed on the fourth day after development had begun, and on the third day after hatching. The true nature of the food was not determined, as it was seen in the intestines of only a few specimens. Inasmuch as the young fish by the end of the first week of their life already have teeth, it is easy to believe that their food con- sists almost entirely of small articulate animals, which, with their quick darting movements, they might readily single out and capture while swimming about in water in which such prey abounded. 164 BULLETIN OF THE UNITED STATES FISH COMMISSION. EXPLANATION OP THE LETTERS OF BEPEEENCE USED IN PLATES I-IV. ab. Air-bladder. al. Urinary bladder. at. Atrium or venous sinus. ail. Auditory vesicle or internal ear. ba. Bulbus aqrtse. bf. Breast or pectoral fin. 6r. Brancliite or branchial arches, cc. Choroid layer of cells ; lamina fusca. ce. Cerebrum. cer. Cerebellum. ch. Chorda dorsalis or notochord. chy. Ceratohyal cartilage. cr. Carina. C7's. Cardiac sinus; rudiment of pericardiac space. CSC. Caraco-scapular cartilage or rod. cv. Caudal vein. ep. Epiblast or sensory skin layer. /. Remains of food in intestine. ff. Fin-fold ; rudiment of breast fin gd. Germinal disk. gp. Germinal layer or pellicle. h. Heart. hy. Hyi)oblast or inner mucous layer. hy'. Hyoid cartilage. i, i'. Intestine. Iv. Liver. m. Medulla spinalis or spinal cord. mh. Midbrain or optic lobes. mc. Medullary canal. mZ.:. Meckel's cartilage, wo. Medulla oblongata. na. Nasal pit. nf. Dorsal and ventral natatory fold or fin. op. Operculum. opv. Optic vesicle. OS. Oil sphere. 2)c. Pigment cells. pn. Pineal gland. pp. Papular prominences. q. Quadrate. r. Rim of blastoderm. BULLETIN OF THE UNITED STATES FISH COMMISSION. 1G5 sg. Segmeutation cavity. so. Somites or segments of tlie muscle plates. ss. Supracephalic sinus. ir. Trabeculic crauii. V. Vent. ve. Ventricle. wd. WolfSan dnct. zr. Egg-membrane. 2/. Yelk. 166 BULLETIN OF THE UNITED STATES FISH COMMISSION. EXPLANATION OF PLATE L Fig. 1. — Micropyle and micropylar area, in two positions, of an unimpregnated egg of the Spanish mackerel. X 64.* Fig. 2. — Unimpregnated egg of the Spanish mackerel, showing the germinal layer or pellicle gp which envelopes the yelk or vitellus. X 24. Fig. 3. — Morula stage of cleavage of the germinal disk of the egg of the Spanish mackerel one hour and forty minutes after impregnation. X 25. Fig. 4. — Germinal disk of a Spanish mackerel egg shown with its germinal pole slightly inclined towards the observer. The disk gd is elevated and bis- cuit-shaped, and is surrounded at its base by a circle of two rows of flat- tened cells lying immediately upon the yelk. The cells in the disk are four or more deep at this stage, three hours after impregnation, x 70. Fig. 5. — Incipient blastoderm of the egg of the Spanish mackerel, viewed from the side somewhat obliquely. The segmentation of the marginal cells has ad- vanced somewhat as compared with Fig. 4, and it is clear that they will become a part of the rim of the blastoderm. X 25. Fig. 6. — Developing blastoderm of an egg three hours and thirty minutes after im- pregnation, viewed from above, showing the blastodermic rim r in its incipiency, while the darker space bounded by it corresponds with the area beneath the blastoderm shortly to become the segmentation cavity. X25. Fig. 7. — Blastoderm of the Spanish mackerel egg seven hours after impregnation, in- closing nearly half of the yelk, and showing the lumen of the segmenta- tion cavity on one side at sg, which extends beneath the fore part of the head at crs to form the rudiment of the cardiac sinus just in front of the carina cr. X 48. Fig. 8. — Embryo of the Spanish mackerel eleven hours after impregnation, showing the rudiments of the optic vesicles opv, the chorda ch, and the cardiac sinus crs. The segmentation cavity sg is shown between the epiblast and hypoblast extending nearly all round the yelk. The blastoderm has not yet closed behind the tail. X 50. *iii every case the number of diameters to which the figure is enlarged is indicated in Arabic numerals preceded by the sign X . BuUetiu I'. S. Fish Commissiou, vol. I. Plate L zr Spanish IMackerel {Cyhium maculatum). 168 BULLETIN OF THE UNITED STATES FISH COMMISSION. EXPLANATION OF PLATE H. Fig. 9. — Spanish mackerel egg viewed so as to show ouly the caudal end of the em- bryo twelve hours after impregnation, showing the himen of the segmen- tation cavity sg, the rudimentary chorda, and the somites or muscle iilates, while the blastoderm has not yet quite closed over the yelk at y. The oil sphere is not represente'd. X 50. Fig. 10.' — Embryo Spanish mackerel fourteen hours after impreguatiou. x 50. Fig. 11 — Transverse section through the opening y of the embryo represented in Fig. 9. Fig. 12. — Spanish mackerel embryo eighteen hours after impregnation. The rudi- mentary heart h occupies an asymmetrical position in its sinus beneath the head and is a fusiform tubular oi-gan ojieu at the anterior venous end. The oil sphere is attached to the ventral wall of the yelk sack or hypo- blast and is partly covered by flattened cells which have budded from it. X.50. Fig. 13. — Young Spanish mackerel just hatched twenty-four hours after impregnation. The rudiments of the breast fins have made their appearance on each side of the body at^, and the oil sphere is having pigment cells developed on its surface, while those of the body are already aggregated in patches on the tail. X 25. BuUetiu U. S. Fish Commission, vol. I. 7n Plate II. Spanish Mackekel {Cyhimn maculatmn). 170 BULLETIN OF THE UNITED STATES FISH COMMISSION. EXPLANATION OF PLATE IIL Fig. 14. — Youug Spanish mackerel tliivty-six hours after development began, and twelve hours after it had left the egg. The yelk sack has begun to be absorbed somewhat, and in consequence of its gradual collapse its wall is retreating from the outer or epiblast layer so as to leave a larger cardiac space in front and a similar space behind between the sack and the intes- tine. The latter still retains the form of a much-flattened canal, which is still occluded in the oesophageal and oral regions, where it is not yet broken through as a mouth, though the branchial furrows have made their appearance. The breast fin bf now occupies a more anterior position as a vertical semicircular fold a little way behind the ear. The superficial epiblast has been elevated from the brain so as to form a space above the latter, developing the supracephalic sinus ss. X 50. Fig. 15. — Young Spanish mackerel forty-five hours from the beginning of development and twenty-one hours after it has left the egg. The contents of the yelk- sack have been mostly absorbed. The point where the mouth will appear is indicated at m, behind which the Meckelian and branchial cartilages are appearing. The heart is more developed, and exhibits an atrium, a ventricle, and a bulbus arteriosus. The liver is appearing as a thickening on the lower side of the fore-gut at Iv, while the hinder extremity of the Wolffian duct is now plainly visible as a simple canal above the intestine, but is widened behind the vertical portion of the hind gut into a urinary bladder, al. The breast fin now occupies a vertical position and the rudi- ment of the coraco-scapular arch or shoulder girdle has ajipeared in tho pectoral fold at its base. A few colorless blood corpuscles have appeared in the heart, but there is still no systemic circulation. X 50. Bulletiu U. S. Fish Commissiou, vol. I. Plate in. 7 ! ' / \ \ ~\ ^^l tV k ^> r ;^^ H ';^H >c^-^ \ci Spanish Mackerel {Cyhium maculatum). 172 BULLETIN OF THE UNITED STATES FISH COMMISSION EXPLANATION^ OF PLATE IV. Fig. 16. — Spanish mackerel four days after development began and three days after it had left the egg. The chondrocranium is much more developed than in Fig. 15, as is apparent from the development of the mandibular, hyoid, and branchial arches, as well as the trabecuhe cranii, parachordals, and the investment of inciiiient cartilage covering the ear capsules. In con- sequence of the advanced development of the mandibular and hyoid arches the mouth is now wide open. The caraco-scapular element esc at the base of the breast fin is a slender hyaline rod, different in its histological struct- ure from that of the cartilage of the head bones, and marks the point where a transverse fold of the hypoblast partially closes off the pericardiac cavity from that of the abdomen. The liver Iv is now more fully developed and is already divided into follicles. There is one turn of the intestine upon itself, which in this instance contains the remains of food at. its hinder extremity. The circulation is now fully established, the dorsal aorta extending back for about half the length of the animal; at its pos- terior extremity, cv, it becomes the caudal vein which carries the blood forward to the heart, but not until a considerable part of it passes through a system of vessels which traverse the viscera externally, when it is poured directly into the venous sinus at, and so into the general circulation through the heart and gills. X 50. Fig. 19. — Head of young Spanish mackerel on the sixth day after hatching, partly diagrammatic, showing the air-bladder ab, the urinary bladder al, the liver Ir, more developed than in Fig. 16. The oil sphere os has been nearly absorbed. The chondrocranium is very much more fully developed, while well defined conical teeth have made their appearance on the papillae of the dermal epithelium of the lower jaw, which is now longer than the upper. The opercular fold is also more prominent. X 40. BoUetiu L'. S. Fish Commissiou, vol. I. Plate IV. ^ w. "^ ^j! -^c -^ ^.tt Spanish Mackerel [CyUmi macnJatum). 174 BULLETIN OF THE UNITED STATES FISH COMMISSION. THE ARTIFIC'IAf. PROJPA«ATIOIV OF THE STRffPEK BASS (ROC'CIJS JL,II\EATl.TS) ON ALBEMARL-E SOrNW. By S. a. WORTH. Office Superintendent Fish and Fisheries, Morganton, N. (7., September 22, 1881. Hon. S. F. Baird, JJ. 8. Commissioner of Fisheries^ Washington, D. G. : Dear Sir : Some months ago I promised to write you fully upon the subject of the fertilization and hatching of rock-fish or striped bass eggs taken by me on the Albemarle Sound in the spring of 1880. Cir- cumstances have in different ways prevented my doing so at an earlier date, but I finally undertake the task, which is one of pleasure. I shall feel more than repaid if my observations shall tend in the least to fur- ther inquiry in the same direction. The rock fish or striped bass {Boccus lineatus) is found in considerable abundance in the Albemarle Sound, but it has not so frequently oc- curred there in the spawning state, owing perhaps to the suspension of operations at the large fisheries about or before the time the eggs rij)en. I was superintending a shad-hatching force at Avoca, and having at that time but few men who could strip shad well, had attended the seine hauls at Sutton fishery, where I took the most of the eggs myself. At eleven o'clock on the night of April 28, among a scant haul of shad and herring I found a large spawning rock-fish. I had a large number of impregnating i^ans ready to receive eggs, and after I had taken eggs in seven of them, commenced to apply the milt. There were only five or six males and but a i^ortion of them ripe, and I exhausted the milt in the sixth pan. ISIone of the males were more than 16 inches in length, and the milt was very scarce. I did not apply more than one-fourth as much as is usually applied to shad eggs. By accident, the tin dippers had been left at the hatchery, and when I discovered this I was afraid that the milt would stand too long, and I put water to the eggs by dij)- piug each pan into the open water of the sound. An easterly storm brought heavy waves on the beach which were full of sand, small bits of wood, and other injurious substances in the form of fish scales and oftal washed upon the beach where herring were cut . In the act of im- mersing the pans into the waves violent motion was given them in the riding and jumping sustained, and after a survey of their unfavorable handling and a comi^arison with the handling carefully guarded in im- pregnating shad eggs, 1 despaired of success. Finding that it was not possil)le to get further rock milt for the seventh pan, I took a male shad and applied to the eggs in it. All of the eggs were watered and washed, a tin pan being used as a dipper, in the same general manner adopted BULLETIN OF THE UNITED STATES FISH COMMISSION. 175 with sliad ova, and in an liour's timo vroxa placed into backets and car- ried to a small boat. They iinder\yent a journey of two miles, one-half of which was in the open sound, the boat's course being in the troughs of the waves. This seemed but another means of destruction that awaited them, but they were unaffected throughout. The parent fish weighed 57 pounds, and I pressed the eggs out as she lay upon the beach. In this position considerable pressure was required. The eggs were quite small, smaller than those of shad, and they possessed a decided green color. When fertilized they became transparent, and in the water could be seen only as small oily globules, which glistened brightly both in solar and lamj) light. I measured the diameter of those impregnated, somewhat rudely. I found them seven and a half diame- ters to the inch. Finding the difference in the size of these and shad eggs (which are eight diameters), I made an estimate of the number taken. In a dipper which had been found to contain 40,000 of the latter I measured the rock-tish eggs, estimating them at 30,000 to each dipper. The contents of the seven pans, or in other words the eggs taken, amounted to 700,000. They were placed into six shad cones, a smaller number being placed in a floating box in the creek. I bought the mature fish, and on the morning of the 29th cut her open and removed her ovaries. I removed with slight pressure an additional quantity of more than a quart of eggs. To determine the comparative bulk removed on the night preceding, I filled them at the natural openings with water. I found that the difference between the last bulk of eggs, just removed, and a bulk of water sufticient to fill the ovaries was about as four to five, or, in other words, the eggs removed for impregnation were to the eggs unused as one to four, and thereupon I based the total contents at 3,000,000. It was not until the evening of the 29th that I believed the eggs taken to be fertilized. Then I found that fully 90 per cent, were good, the cone containing those im^jregnated with shad milt, however, being very low in impregnation, perhaps as many as 5 to 6 i)er cent, being good. At this stage they showed a less specific gravity than shad eggs, rising to the surface with but a small current from below. Great diftlculty arose in the development of this new feature, as the eggs (trowded the screens above on all their surface. On the night of the 30th they commenced hatching. The fry immediately began to escaj^e through the perforated screens, and pieces of cloth were bound over the screens to arrest them. They soon clogged, and the water supply had to be reduced proportionately to j)revent the cones from overflowing. Within forty -two hours all the eggs were hatched, the fish being mostly dead, owing to the reduction in volume of water. They were perfect fish, clearly out of the eggs, and many quarts in bulk. Their bodies were very small and the sack large proportionately. I removed about -10,000 alive and placed them into the floating box, where about 10,000 additional ones had hatched. I kept them two days, but there was no 176 BULLETIN OF THE UNITED STATES FISH COMMISSION. current iu the creek and the sun beamed down on them, destroying some, and the others followed iiresumably from the putrid water. There were 4,000,000 shad eggs and fish in the hatchery at the time, and the rock fry died from neglect. Two thousand hybrids were removed and kept in a shipping can for twelve days. They were watered ever two to four hours, but survived under conditions that shad fry could not have done, being near the boiler and machinery, in a high temperature all the while. They were carried to Ealeigh, where it was designed to put them into a fresh-water jiond, but they died at the depot on the twelfth night after they were hatched. They had sacks of good size still remaining upon them. The temperature of the water during hatch- ing was GGo to 67° Fahrenheit. From the recital above it may be inferred that rock-hsh eggs are as easily fertilized as those of shad, and it would in addition appear that a less amount of milt is necessary. It would further appear that tbey are more hardy, even admitting large amounts of sand and other me- chanical substances into the water while undergoing impregnation. These points being as well determined as the limited experiments with a single lot of eggs would admit, it occurs that it only remains to ascertain the spawning localities of the parent fish when their propaga- tion will follow. As an aid to discovering these localities it may be well to mention the capture of three spawning fish at Scotch Hall fishery in 1879. This fishery is only two miles from Avoca. In 1880 five were captured within four miles, and in 1881 three were captured at Oasou and Wood's fishery, six miles from Avoca, and near the town of Eden- ton. All of these were of large size, i)robably averaging 55 pounds. No specific mode is adopted for the cai)ture of rock fish in these waters. Twelve of the large seines, of one and a quarter to one and a half miles in length, aggregate about 150,000 i)ounds per year. A great number ascend the Eoanoke, the main tributary of the sound, which stream is preferred by them in their ascent. More than a hundred fishermen are engaged at intervals in the spring, fishing for them with dij)-nets from dug-out boats below the falls at Weldon. They consume or sell the catch at home, but a small number being shipped away. Dr. W. R. Capehart, the proprietor of the Avoca fisheries, made an experimental haul on May 6, 1876, wliich was called to notice by the late Mr. James W. Milner. His fishing operations had closed, but being induced for some cause to make the haul, he cast one of his large seines. Eight hundred and forty rock were captured, which weighed 35,000 pounds. Tliree hundred and fifty averaged 65 pounds, and many of these ran to 80 and 90 pounds. The roe from one female weighed 24 liounds, which must have contained, on comparative estimate, six to eight million eggs. Dr. C. had not given any attention to artificial proj)- agation at that time, and does not know if any were ripe. In tbis connection it may not be inappropriate to mention that rock-fish eggs were taken at Scotch Hall fishery in 1879. Dr. Capehart, assisted by BULLETIN OF THE UNITED STATES FISH COMMISSION. 177 Mr. B. H. Walke, took a large number of eggs and applied the milt. Their attention being drawn to the fishery, however, the eggs were left two or more hours in the water unchanged. They were so much crowded together, and so long unattended, that the imi^regnation was not very good. They were placed into the cones of the United States steamer Lookout, and were only discarded when a more perfect impregnation was attained by Mr. William Hamlin in a separate and perhaps more recent lot of eggs. Mr. Hamlin belonged to the corps of Hon. T. B. Ferguson, Some preliminary arrangements will be made next spring toward the propagation of this fine ilsh, by the sub-department of fish and fisheries of Xorth Carolina, which I have the honor to represent. I am, yours, very respectfully, S. G. WORTH. ON THE RETARDATION OF THE DEVELiOPMEIVT OF THE OVA OF THE SHAD (AtiOSA SAPIDISSIMA), \^ITH OBi^ERVATIOIVS ON THE EGG.F17NGUS AND BACTERIA. By JOHi¥ A. RYDER. Several series of experiments at different times were undertaken by persons connected with the United. States Fish Commission, having for their object the solution of the following problems: " Is it possible to' lower the temperature of the water in which shad eggs are incubated so as to greatly retard and prolong the i^rocessf "Is it possible to j)rolong the period of incubation so that large quantities of embryo- uized ova may be carried for long distances by land or water so as to effectively stock distant or foreign waters'?" These two queries, I think, clearly state the objects of the experiments, and also tacitly indicate the important results which would follow in case practical results should be attained. That a decrease in temperature would impede or retard the develop- ment of ova has been known for a long time, and, without encumbering this essay with references, it may be asserted as a truth based on phys- ical reasons and facts. Physiologists and biological philosophers, such as H. Milne-Edwards and Herbert Spencer, have recognized and dis- cussed the influence of fluctuations of temperature on physiological processes. Every genus, and perhaps even every species of fishes, in the course of the early development of its ova, appears to present some Idiosyncrasy of behavior w^hich demands that its characteristics shall be studied before it is ventured to proceed with experiments of this character. Practically the peculiarities of the ovum of the shad are perhaps as well known as those of any species we are called upon to deal with. Shad eggs after impregnation are relatively large, measuring from one-eighth to one-seventh of an inch in diameter. When first extruded Bull. U. S. F. C, 81 12 178 BULLETIN OF THE UNITED STATES FISH COMMISSION. from the parent fish they measure about one-fourteenth of an inch in diameter, are somewhat flattened and irregularly rounded in form; the egg-membrane, a true zona radiata, is much wrinkled and lies in close contact with the contained vitellus. Immediately after impreg- nation this membrane becomes tense, is filled with water which has found its way through the membrane from the outside, and is now per- fectly spherical, having apparently gained very much in bulk. This gain in size is however delusive; it is only the wrinkled egg-membrane which has been distended with water ; the vitellus or true germinal and nutritive portion has gained nothing in size. The latter now lies in con- tact with the lowermost part of the egg-membrane when the whole ovum is at rest and is always more or less depressed from above in the form of an oblate spheroid. After the germ has been developed, which is dis- coidal in form and i^laced on the surface of the vitelline sphere, it usu- ally also occui^ies a lateral position on the vitellus when the ovum is at rest. The vitellus rolls about and changes its position inside the egg- membrane as the hitter's position is altered. The vitellus is heavier than water. A large space filled with fluid now exists between the vitellus and membrane. No adhesive material is found on the outside of the membrane as in the eggs of the white perch and herring, as may be readily demonstrated with the microscope, although when first extruded they are covered with a somewhat sticky ovarian mucus. The ova are heavier than water and rapidly sink to the bottom of the vessels in which they are undergoing development. All of the hatching apparatus now used for their incubation in water is operated on the principle of a con- tinuous flow which keeps the ova constantly in motion. So much for the physical behavior and constitution of the shad egg, which is necessary for the comprehension of what will be said subsequently. It has been the experience of those intrusted with the work of look- ing after the artificial incubation of the eggs of the shad that when the temperature of the water was highest the process was completed soon- est, when lowest it took a disproportionately longer time. In illustration of this fact the subjoined data, supplied by Mr. W. F. Page, are of in- terest from the records which were kept at the station on the Potomac during the present spring (1881): LotJN"o. 1. Lot No. 2. Lot. No. 3. Time in hatching 148 hours. 57. 2° F. 61° F. 109 hours. 64. 50 F. 6G. 1° F. 70 hour.s. Average temperature of water 74° F. Average temperature of air 76. 25° F. This series of data shows that with a fall in the temperature of the water down to 57.2° F. it took six days and four hours to complete the development in the egg; with a rise in the temperature of the water to 74° F. the process was complete in a little less than three days. The difference in the times of hatching between Lots No. 1 and 3 is 78 BULLETIN OF THE UNITED STATES FISH COMMISSION. 179 hours; the dififorence in the temperature of the water used is only IG.8'^ F. Is there a limit to the possibilities of retardation? Experi- ment has shown that there is. The temperature of ice- water, 38° F., was found to be fatal at the morula or germinal disk stage of develop- ment of the shad egg, in the course of experiments made at Havre de Grace, Md., in 1880. The cells of the germinal disk became brownish, the cleavage furrows obliterated, the disk tended to spread out and become larger across. These phenomena indicated stagnation of development and death. The second series of experiments, conducted by what is known as the "dry method" in a refrigerator box provided with canton- flannel trays, devised by Mr. F. K. Clark especially for these experi- ments, gave better results. We found that the ova merely kept damj) on the trays in an air temperature of 52° appeared to develop quite normall}^, the only serious drawback being the rapid and more or less fatal development of fungus, the mycelium of which would soon grow over the eggs, iienetrate the membranes, cause them to collapse, trans- form the protoplasm of the vitellus into fungus protoplasm and kill the ova. The following abstract from my note-book, recording what was ob- served in watching the results obtained from a trial of Mr. Clark's apparatus, speaks for itself, though it would facilitate the comprehen- sion of the matter if a series of explanatory figures could be introduced: " Eggs taken June 8 and put into refrigerator at 9 o'clock p. m. ; exam- ined June 9 at 9 o'clock a. m. ; exposed for 12 hours to a temperature ranging from 54° to G0° F. Cleavage has advanced to the morula stage ; , i. e., the germinal portion of the egg is still discoidal, lies on one side of the vitellus or yelk, and has not advanced beyond the condition ordi- narily reached in three hours with the temperature 72° F. " Same lot, June 9, 2.30 p. m., not advanced but a little beyond the stage just described above; the germinal disk still maintains its char- acteristics ; development normal ; temperature 51° F. "Same lot, June 10, examined at 9.30 a. m. ; segmentation cavity de- veloped and blastoderm forming ; incipient embryo making its appear- ance at one side. The blastoderm, however, does not yet cover more than half of the upper hemisphere of the vitellus, a condition ordinarily attained in six hours with the temperature of the water at 72° F, Temperature in refrigerator box now ranging from 52° to 51° F. Eggs of the same age, 30^ hours in a hatching-jar, have the vitellus com- pletely inclosed by the blastoderm, the embryo formed, with eyes, ears, and brain distinguishable, and the tail is budding out as a small, rounded knob at the posterior end of the embryonic axis, which curves around one side and now extends from one pole of the egg to the other, embracing an arc