450 NATURAL HISTORY OF AQUATIC ANIMALS. 



passing through the gill openings, they have the organs of the pharynx modified into a filtering 

 apparatus. They take in a quantity of sand and inud, and after having worked it for some time 

 between the pharyngeal bones, they eject the roughest and most indigestible portion of it. Each 

 branchial arch is provided on each side, in its whole length, with a series of closely set gill-rakers, 

 which are laterally bent downward, each series closely fitting into the series of the adjoining arch; 

 they constitute together a sieve, admirably adapted to permit a transit for the water, retaining, at 

 the same time, every other substance in the cavity of the pharynx. The intestinal tract is no less 

 peculiar, and the stomach, like that of the menhaden, resembles the gizzard of a bird. The 

 intestines make a great number of circumvolutions, and are seven feet long in a specimen thirteen 

 inches in length." 1 



ABUNDANCE. Although Mullets are abundant almost everywhere, it is probable that no 

 stretches of sea-coast in the world are so bountifully supplied with them as those of our own South- 

 ern Atlantic and Gulf States, with their broad margin of partially or entirely laud-locked brackish 

 water and the numerous estuaries and broad river mouths. The Mullet is probably the most gener- 

 ally popular and the most abundant fish of our whole southern seaboard. Like the menhaden, it 

 utilizes food inaccessible to other fishes, groping in the bottom mud, which it swallows in large 

 quantities. Like the menhaden, it is not only caught extensively by man, but is the main article 

 of food for all the larger fishes, and is the best bait fish of the regions in which it occurs. In the 

 discussion of the habits of the Mullet, when it is not otherwise stated, the Striped Mullet, which is 

 in our waters by far the most important species, is kept chiefly in mind. 



Since the time of Capt. John Smith every observer has remarked upon the great abundance of 

 Mullets. Numerous correspondents of the Fish Commission, from Wilmington south, agree that 

 tne Mullet is far more abundant than any other species, except Mr. Simpson, who thinks that at 

 Cape Hatteras they are less numerous than the tailors or bluefish, and about as numerous as the 

 fat-backs or menhaden. 



In 1875 circulars were sent out by the United States Fish Commission asking information 

 concerning the habits of the Mullet. The replies, although suggestive, were not sufficiently 

 numerous to afford the data necessary for a complete biography of this species. In fact its habits 

 are so peculiar that in order to understand them it will be necessary for some naturalist to 

 devote a considerable period of time to study them throughout the whole extent of their range. 

 At present, therefore, I propose to present first the results of my own observations upon this fish, 

 as it occurs in Eastern Florida, supplementing them by the observations of three or four other 

 observers upon the Atlantic coast, and the excellent study of the Gulf Mullet from the pen of Mr. 

 Stearns. 



MULLET IN EASTERN FLORIDA. They abound in the Saint John's Kiver, sometimes running 

 up to the lakes, and along the coast in all the inland bays, or "salt-water rivers". It is probably 

 incorrect to call them anadromous. They appear to ascend the rivers to feed, and the relative 

 saltness of the water is a matter of small importance. Small Mullet are abundant all the year 

 round, and so are scattered individuals of a larger size. Cast-nets at Mayport take them through- 

 out the year. I have taken quantities of small fish, from one to five inches long, in the Saint John's 

 Eiver at Arlington. They begin to assemble in schools in midsummer. This is probably prepara- 

 tory to spawning, for at this time the ova are beginning to mature. In midsummer they swim at 

 the surface, pursued by enemies in the water and the air, and are an easy prey to the fisherman. 

 They prefer to swim against the wind, and, I am told, school best with a northeast wind. They 

 also prefer to run against the tide. The spawning season appears to continue from the middle of 



'This description of the anatomy of the Mullet is derived from Gunther's "Study of Fishes." 



