BULLETIN OF THE UNITED STATES FISH COMMISSION. 339 



ill this morning's Journal, the writer attributed the pleutifulu ?ss of sbad 

 in the AYarren River and Greenwich Bay to the unusual height of the 

 Connecticut River and its coolness, owing to the late melted snow. 

 Allow me to suggest a more jdausible theory, and one more to the credit 

 of the instinctive habits of the shad. In June, 1881, Mr. ^Newton Dex- 

 ter, of the Rhode Island Commission of Inland Fisheries, placed in the 

 upper waters of flie Warren River 500,000 young shad. The present 

 spring is the time that these shad should return in their mature state. 

 Mauj' of us have been awaiting this very time, believing that we should 

 not be disappointed, and that the quantities of shad caught in our 

 waters this sepson would materially reduce the price, and such has 

 proved to be the fact. At this writing more shad by many hundreds 

 have been taken from Warren River than were taken there during the 

 whole of last season, and by many it is thought the biggest run of shad 

 bas not yet arrived. The theory of snow-water having forced the shad 

 to seek warmer waters may apply to their being repelled from Palmer 

 River in such numbers as to account in a measure for the quantities in 

 lixreenwich Bay." 



Saint John's River. — Writing from Palatka, Fla., December 15, 

 i883, Mr. H. H. Cary, superintendent of Georgia fish commission, said: 



"The shad have commenced running in the Saint John's River. 

 Several were caught this morning or last night near this place in 

 gill-nets. On making examination I find they are mostly males. I 

 found one female with roe pretty well developed, but not ripe. I 

 will spend several days in endeavoring to find the spawning grounds 

 of the shad in the Saint John's, So far as I know, this is an unsolved 

 problem, as there are no shoals in this river. I am impressed that the 

 epawn is cast upon the sands of upper lakes connected with or really 

 forming a part of the river. If any results are obtained the United 

 States Commission shall have the benefit of them." 



Potomac Rivbe. — The following is compiled from an article which 

 lippeared in the Washington Evening Star of May 24: 



The season has been a decided failure, worse than any season since 

 1878, when the catch was a little below the i)resent season. Most of 

 the fishermen set out early to get upon their respective shores with their 

 Jiangs of men and appliances. Some of these lessees started down streiy^i 

 in February, and by the middle of March all were o&, together with 

 liundreds of gill netters and trap netters, to occupy the spaces in the 

 j'iver between the semes. Moxley's Point, the landing so long occupied 

 by the late James Skidmore, about 15 miles down on the Maryland 

 Rhore, was a?nong the earliest occupied, with Capt. Edward Faunce to 

 Buperintend the gang of thirty men. His 300 fathoms of seine liave 

 been actively engaged every ebb and flow of the tide, but with inditfer- 

 ^nt success. 



As a general thing, herring make their first appearance before the 



