THE FOOD AND GAME FISHES OF NEW YORK. 449 



caught with a hook and is seldom eaten, though there is a way of making it 

 palatable. 



According to Dr. Meek it is found rarely in Cayuga Lake. 



The average length of this species in the Great Lakes region is about 2 feet ; in 

 Alaska, according to Dr. Dall, it reaches a length of 5 feet and occasionally weighs 

 60 pounds ; the size of the fish depends chiefly on the amount of food accessible 

 to it. 



It is stated that the Burbot is usually found in deep water on mud bottom, 

 except during the spawning season in March, when it frequents hard or rocky bot- 

 toms. The eggs are small and numerous, and are believed to be deposited in deep 

 water; Dr. Dall estimates that some individuals contain several millions of eggs; in 

 Alaska the eggs are of a creamy yellow color, and the fish are found full of spawn 

 from November to January. From the observations mentioned it will be seen 

 that the spawning period extends at least from November to March ; according to 

 Dr. Dall the males are usually much smaller than the females and have a smaller 

 liver; in some males he found t\vo or three gallbladders opening into a common 

 duct, but he never observed this phenomenon in the female ; the eggs are laid sepa- 

 rate or loose on the bottom of the river. According to Baron Cederstrom, a 

 medium-sized female of the European Burbot, which is a near relative of the Ameri- 

 can species, contained about 160,000 eggs ; in the European Burbot some eggs are 

 clear, some yellowish and others almost colorless ; the period of incubation occupies 

 from three to four weeks; the eyes appear in 15 or 16 days ; the embryos swim by 

 quick movements of the pectorals, usually toward the surface of the water, whence 

 they fall passively to the bottom. 



The Burbot is extremely voracious, and feeds on bottom fishes and crustaceans. 

 It destroys the Pike and such spiny fishes as the Yellow Perch and Sunfish. In 

 Alaskan rivers it feeds on Whitefish, Lampreys and other species ; large stones have 

 sometimes been found in its stomach. Mr. Graham took a stone weighing a pound 

 from the stomach of a Burbot. 



In the Great Lakes region the Burbot is considered worthless for food; occasion- 

 ally the livers are eaten ; in Lake Winnepesaukee, when caught through the ice in 

 winter, the fish is highly esteemed ; in the fur countries the roe is an article of food; 

 on the Yukon River the liver is eaten and the flesh is liked by some persons ; in 

 Montana the Burbot is in great demand for food ; the quality of the flesh appears 

 to depend chiefly on the nature of the habitat of the fish. 



This is the only member of the Cod family permanently resident in the fresh 

 waters of America. 

 29 



