BULLETIN OF THE UNITED STATES FISH COMMISSION. Ill 



Connecticut River shad, lie supposed these specimens to be from a 

 school of shad which was waiting for a rise in temperature before mak- 

 ing for the Connecticut Eiver. 



Bait for lobsters. — A. C. Smith, M. D., who lives at Newcastle, 

 New Brunswick, writing under date of February 28, 1885, says that the 

 most successful method of attracting lobsters is by placing in the traps 

 mackerel refuse, suspended in closed cotton bags. This illustrates the 

 keen sense of smell possessed by the lobsters. 



Since the publication of Dr. Smith's notes on page 121 of this volume, 

 he states that he has learned that lobsters are found on the coast of 

 Labrador. 



Sawdust injurious to fish. — Mr. J. J. Brown, of Ludington, 

 Mich., writing under date of June 3, 1883, states that mill-owners at 

 Ludington and other places have dumped large quantities of sawdust 

 and shingle shavings into Lake Michigan, covering the bed of the lake 

 for miles in a manner that destroys the feeding grounds of the fish. 



Trout planted in Michigan. — Mr. J. E. Bassett, of Ypsilanti, 

 Mich., under date of February 2, reports that 25,000 lake trout obtained 

 from the Northville hatchery last May were planted in a lake at Lodi, 

 10 miles southwest from Ann Arbor. A few which were saved out were 

 put in a small reservoir and grew finely, but those in the lake have not 

 yet been heard from. 



Mr. Bassett has in his own ponds both brook trout and California 

 trout of different weights, from 2\ pounds down to yearlings. He has 

 fed them through the ice this winter with chopped liver. 



One thousand California trout fry obtained from Northville he planted 

 in a brook 2 mdes southwest of Ypsilanti. He reports that they have 

 done well, and that a few of them were taken last November by parties 

 fishing for bait minnows. 



Trout and water snakes. — Mr. F. Best, of Andover, England, 

 has a trout which was found dead in shallow water with about 18 inches 

 of the body of a water snake protruding from its mouth. The fish was 

 carefully opened, and in it was found a partially digested snake, meas- 

 uring 27 inches. When alive it must have been longer, as its head was 

 gone. That it had been swallowed alive was proven by the fact that 

 the stomach of the trout had been bitten by the snake. It is well known 

 that trout are fond of eels, and it is possible that the trout mistook the 

 water snake for an eel. 



Opinion on edible qualities of the carp. — E. C. Spitzka, M. 

 D., of 137 East Fiftieth street, New York, under date of October 22, 1881, 

 say: "As to the carp served at the last dinner of the Ichthyophagous 

 Club, I would say that its flavor and the general character of the meat 

 were identical with that of the carp I have frequently eaten in Ger- 

 many and Austria. In fact, if I had been blindfolded I would have im- 

 mediately recognized the fish by its flavor. To some the sweetish char- 

 acter of the carp's meat is an objection ; this is overcome on the Con- 



