WINTER HABITS OF THE ALEWEFE. 585 



weeks earlier than the other, reaching the maximum of its abundance and beginning to decline in 

 numbers before the other comes. The approach of the latter is more gradual, and unlike the 

 other species, it makes its way into the small streams and branding; hence the name "Branch" 

 Herring. In the rivers of Massachusetts the "Branch" Herring ascends much farther toward 

 the headwaters than the other species, and in some streams is found to the exclusion of the 

 other facts which will be discussed below when considering the influences of temperature. 

 Perley states that the Gaspereau appears in the harbor of Saint John's in April, but the main body 

 does not enter the river before May 10; that the fish is abundant in the Bay of Fundy, but that 

 the species is less plentiful and smaller in the Gulf of Saint Lawrence. He also states that iu the 

 F.a v of Chaleur it has never been noticed, and that, as in the case of Shad, the Bay of Merrimaehi 

 would appear to be its extreme northern limit. It ascends the river of the same name to its source, 

 spawning in the Merrimaehi Lake. In the Saint John's Eiver, New Brunswick, it ascends to Dar- 

 ling's Lake (Keunebecasis), Douglas Lake (Nerepis), the Washademoac Lake, the Ocnabog Lake, 

 the Grand Lake, and the Oromocto River, and in company with the Shad deposits its spawn. Its 

 abundance in the harbor of Saint John, New Brunswick, may be inferred from the fact that the 

 catch varies from twelve to sixteen thousand barrels each season, sometimes reaching twenty 

 thousand. This statement was made iu 1852. 



A very remarkable phenomenon, recently observed, has been the appearance of this species iu 

 immense numbers in Lake Ontario and lakes of New York. Dr. T. H. Bean has collected a large 

 number of facts upon this point, which are recorded in an essay at the end of this chapter. 



MIGRATIONS AND MOVEMENTS. Like the Shad, the Alewives are anadromous in habit. The 

 dates of their first appearance in any given river may be very closely determined by an examina- 

 tion of the fables which show the movements of the Shad. The Gaspereau or "Spring" Herring 

 usually precedes the Shad by a period of several weeks, while the run of the "Blue-back" or 

 "Glut" Herring occurs in the middle of the shad season. 



In 1879 the first Shad made their appearance in the markets of Washington March 25, preceded 

 four weeks by the Menhaden, a little more than three weeks by the Branch Herring, and about 

 four weeks in advance of the "Glut" Herring. Colonel Lymau, iu his report for 1872, already 

 referred to, gives the dates of the appearance of the Alewives, Menhaden, and bluetish at "vVaquoit 

 weir for thirteen years, from 1859 to 1871 inclusive. The Alewives always came first, from 

 March 24 to April 7; the scup from a month to forty days later; the Menhaden about the same 

 time with the scup, though usually two or three days later; and the bluefish from ten days to two 

 weeks after the Menhaden. ' 



Concerning the time of their departure from the river as little is known as in the case of the 

 Shad. Their winter habitat has yet to be found. I am convinced, after several years of 

 study, that in mild winters they remain about the mouths of the rivers, ascending them in the 

 spring. Late in December, 1879, he captured numerous specimens of both species iu gill-nets, 

 at Yorktown, in company with Menhaden, and it is my opinion that they might be taken in a 

 similar manner in Pamlico Sound. Thus, also, it is possible that many Shad winter in Long 

 Island Sound and New York Bay, but we know that iu the fall they are found in abundance forty 

 or fifty miles at sea in the Gulf of Maine. The Branch Herrings ascend the river probably as far 

 'as the Shad, and are believed to penetrate small streams to a much greater distance, entering 

 many waters in which the Shad never occur. The "Blue-back" or "Glut" Herring, however, 

 does not go far above tide water, and the area of reproduction seems to be confined to the large 

 streams or to their tidal tributaries. 



'Report of Massachusetts Commissioner of Inland Fisheries, January, 1874, p. 64. 



