190 BULLETIN OF THE UNITED STATES FISH COMMISSION. 



feed, "when many may be captured in the shallow water along shore, 

 often when it is not more than two or three inches deep. They have a 

 peculiar translucent whitish appearance in the night-time. They can 

 move themselves quickly over the stones either in or out of the water, 

 but do not seem to be alarmed by a person moving around near them, 

 either in the day or night, unless they are touched or otherwise disturbed. 

 Port of Spain, Trinidad.- -Many of the iish for marie et are caught 

 in seines on the flats off the mouth of the Caroni River. Some of these 

 fish very nearly resemble our alewives. These fiats extend half a mile 

 or more from shore, the water being from a few inches to three or four 

 feet deep. They are of mud near the shore, but gradually change to 

 sand as you get farther out. Fish are very abundant over them, and 

 it is also a great fishing ground, for the herons, pelicans, &c. Many 

 hsh are also caught with hooks and lines along the shore, both by still- 

 baiting and by trolling. 



44.-PKOJPAGATlIVCi BVFFAI.O-FISH. 



By A. A. MOSHER. 



[Letter to Prof. S. F. Baird.] 



In experimenting with the common buffalo-fish, (which is very com- 

 mon here and grows to weigh as much as CO or 70 pounds,) I found no 

 difficulty in propagating them. I took several of both sexes, when about 

 ready to deposit their eggs, and put them in a small sunken place about 

 15 feet square and 18 or 20 inches deep, gravelly bottom, with cane-grass 

 growing all through it. I paid no attention to them except to take 

 them out after spawning. In the fall I found thousands of small buf- 

 falo about 1£ inches long, notwithstanding there were two large black 

 bass there all the time. I write this to show what ca.n be done with 

 this iish. I do not consider the buffalo a good edible iish, it being 

 generally coarse and oily. They could be propagated advantageously, 

 and serve as food to be given to game or edible fishes. 



When the water begins to grow warm, after the ice goes out, these 

 fish are around the shores in immense quantities; they are in bunches 

 of from three to seven or eight, the female is in the center, and when 

 she sinks to the bottom to deposit her eggs, the males crowd around 

 and under her, pushing her to the top of the water, until their tails and 

 fins are out, then they make a tremendous rush, causing the water to 

 foam, and with a noise which can be heard on a still evening a mile. 

 They go ahead for a few rods, then sink, and the same performance is 

 done over. The people call it " tumbling j" in fact, it is a sight which 

 once seen will never be forgotten. 



Spirit Lake, Iowa, April 24, 1885. 



