294 BULLETIN OF THE UNITED STATES FISH COMMISSION. 



adding that tliere must be others like them found elsewhere, as nature 

 did not make a distinct species for one little locality; this last letter 

 cannot now be found. 



Dear Sir : I duly received the two si)ecimens of trout which you 

 have forwarded to me. Thej' reached Cambridge in a perfect state of 

 preservation, and I was not a little surprised on examining them to 

 find that they belonged to an undescribed species. I have carefully 

 compared them to-day with all the trout occurring in the United States 

 which I have thus far been able to secure, from Lake Superior to Lab- 

 rador, and as far south as they reach, and I find them to difier specifi- 

 cally from all. As the specimens are all three females, I should be 

 much obliged if you would secure some males for me. Should so-called 

 lake herring, or whitefish, as they are also called, be found in your 

 waters, which I suppose to be the case, I would be much obliged if you 

 could secure some ot these for me. 



Allow me to close by returning my best thanks for the specimens 

 you have sent me, which I have at once put up in my museum. — ^L. 

 Ag-assiz. 



Cambridge, Mass., October 12. 



THE CRISTINE LAKE TROUT. 



1 have examined the trout recentlv received from Cristine Lake, 

 New Hampshire, whence they were sent by Mr. S. M. Crawford, and 

 find them to be Salvelinus fontinalis (Mitch.) Gill & Jor. 



The j>roportions and other specific characters are the same as in the 

 Monadnock Lake trout recently reported upon, but the coloration is 

 different. The ground color of the sides and upper parts is a rich 

 purple, the sides are profusely ornamented with crimson spots, and the 

 pectorals, ventrals, and caudal, even now, are largely suffused with 

 vermilion. Another peculiarity of these trout is their elegant shape. 



Washington, D. C, April 8, 1884. 



155.-8IVAKES DESTKUCTIVE TO CAKP. 



By RUD. IIESS£L. 



[From letters to Prof. S. F. Baird.] 



During the past few days a great many snakes have appeared at the 

 ponds, many of which have been killed, as follows: August 4, 16; Au- 

 gust 5, 3l*; August 0, 52; August 7, 32; August 8, 39; August 9, 14; 

 August 10, 15; August 11, 21. This makes 221 snakes killed in one 

 week. 



In the smaller snakes I found from 9 to 15 young carp, and in the 

 larger ones sometimes over 25, besides undigested skeletons of fish. 

 They contained no frogs or tadpoles. We can, therefore, see that one 



