THE RED DRUM. 



103 



Abundant as it is in the Carolinas, in Florida and in the Gulf of INIexico, 

 the limits of its range appear to be very sharply defined, there being little 

 tendency on the part of individuals to stray away from their wonted pas- 

 tures. Although the species has long been commonly found in the Chesa- 

 peake, I am unable to find any record of its capture north of Cape Charles 

 previous to 1880, though since that date the species has been rather 

 abundant along the coast of New Jersey. Mitchill and DeKay refer to 

 it in their books on fishes of New York, but their descriptions were based 

 upon market specimens, probably brought from more southern localities, 

 and Prof. Baird obtained none in his exploration of the New Jersey coast in 

 1854, nor can it be found in Webster's collections from the Atlantic side 

 of the Virginia Peninsula. Its range to the south seems to terminate with 

 equal abruptness. Stearns states that from Tampa Bay and northward to 

 the Mississippi River it is one of the most common edible fishes, while 

 west of the Mississippi River it is more abundant than any other sea-fish, 

 evidently increasing in numbers as the Texas coast is approximated. On 

 the Texas coast it is more abundant than all other food-fishes together. 

 West of the mouth of the Rio Grande the species has not been recorded, 

 chiefly, no doubt, for the reason that no explorations have been made 

 along the shores of Mexico. The fish fauna of the Caribbean coast of 

 Panama has, however, been carefully studied, and the si)ecies not found. 

 It seems probable that its southern range is limited by the peninsula of 

 Yucatan. It is a noteworthy fact that it does not wander more ; for every 

 other species, I think, without exception, which is abundant north of 

 Cape Hatteras, is occasionally met with in Buzzard's and Narragansett 

 Bays. 



Its movements and breeding habits are not well understood. " In the 

 spring," Stearns writes, "they are seen in large numbers in the Gulf, 

 swimming in shoal water near the coast. This is usually in March and 

 April, though the weather and the temperature of the water seem to in- 

 fluence the time of their arrival. Arriving at the entrance of a bay, their 

 migratory movement ceases, and for days and weeks they may be seen in 

 shoal water near the inlet swimming lazily about in search of food, or 

 lying quite still in deep holes between shoals, where there is comparatively 

 little current and few enemies can reach them. Some seasons immense 

 numbers of Red-fish gather about the inlets before any are noticed inside 

 or coming in, while in other seasons there is but slight accumulation, the 



