332 FISHES OF ILLINOIS 



fish or toadfish. One specimen sixteen inches long, examined 

 by him, contained ten dace, none of which was less than four 

 inches long. Fishes constituted about 80 per cent, of the food 

 of specimens studied by the senior author in 1888, the remainder 

 being crawfishes. Among the fishes recognized was a single 

 whitefish, the remainder being the common yellow perch 

 (Perca fiavescens) . 



The flesh of the burbot is coarse and tasteless, and is seldom 

 used for food. It is, in fact, of less value than any other Ameri- 

 can fresh- water fish of its size unless it be the gar, which it doubt- 

 less equals in destructiveness where it is abundant. Its interest 

 to the scientist lies in its being the single fresh-water representa- 

 tive of the cod family in our waters. It is unknown by name to 

 most of our river fishermen. It has been described to us by 

 one of them as a fish "with a skin like a bullhead and a head 

 like a dogfish, with a chin bristle." If the exception be made 

 that very small scales are present, this brief description will 

 suffice very well for the recognition of the species if found astray 

 in our rivers or bottom-land lakes. 



