354 BULLETIN OF THE UNITED STATES FISH COMMISSION. 



ware jars with vinegar and spices, and are frequently seen among the 

 relishes and hors cPceuvres brought upon the tables as a preliminary 

 course. They are also highly esteemed in many other parts of the con- 

 tinent. At present in this country lampreys are but little prized ex- 

 cept in certain portions of New England, particularly along the Con- 

 necticut Eiver. Col. Theodore Lyman, in his report as fish commis- 

 sioner of Massachusetts for 1876, states that the lamprey eel is a fish 

 greatly esteemed by the country people of Massachusetts, and one which 

 was formerly taken in amost incredible numbers in the Merrimac. It 

 was found as far north as Plymouth, N. H., and by the Connecticut 

 Eiver, also, it passes into the same State. 



In 1840 Mr. Joseph Ely took 3,800 in one night at Hadley Falls. It 

 was then the custom of the country for each family to salt down several 

 barrels of lampreys for winter use. "Now, in 1SGG," he continues, "this 

 valuable fish has become nearly extinct in both rivers." This remark 

 should be interpreted as applying simply to the headwaters of the Con- 

 necticut, since in the tributaries of its lower stretches there is still a 

 considerable lamprey fishery and a large local consumption. 



Mr. George Lyon, of Bridgewater, Conn., writes August 25, 1879 : 



"Previous to the building of the dam over the Hoosatonic, at Bir- 

 mingham, lampreys were taken in large quantities as far up the river 

 as the falls in the town of New Milford; now none are seen above the 

 dam. Men, standing over the falls on shelving rocks, could hook 

 them, as they clung to the rocks with their suckers, by means of a large 

 sharp hook fastened to a long pole, this hook being imbedded in the 

 holes in the sides of their necks. Many people formerly salted barrels 

 of them for their owh consumption. Their use at present has much de- 

 creased, owing to the disturbance in the fisheries caused by the building 

 of the dams. Those now used in the vicinity of Bridgewater are taken 

 in the Hoosatonic at Birmingham, and during the months of May and 

 June are peddled though the country by the people who catch them." 



Mr. N. M. Muckett, of Lakeville, Conn., states that in that vicinity 

 the annual average catch is about 2,000, the implement of capture used 

 being a pole about six feet in length with a hook at its end. The 

 fisheries are located in Salmon River about two miles from the Con- 

 necticut, just above tide- water, and the lampreys sell in the markets 

 of the adjoining villages at an average price of five dollars a hundred. 



Mr. M. A. Hart, of Riverton, Conn., says that thirty years ago, and 

 before, lampreys were found in the Farmington River in the vicinity of 

 Riverton, but have long ago become exhausted. Quantities are sold in 

 the city markets of Southern Connecticut, chiefly obtaiued in the Con- 

 necticut River in spring and early summer. They are easily caught 

 with the hands, and fishermen in capturing them use mittens. 



