400 



AMERICAN FISHES. 



Pacific coast, have resulted in the colonization of this species in all the 

 rivers of the Pacific slope, from the Sacramento to Puget Sound. 



The Shad make their first appearance in the St. John's River about the 

 middle of November, the height of their spawning season in that river 

 being about the ist of April. In the Savannah River they appear early in 

 January, and in the Neuse River at a period not much later than in the 

 Savannah. In the Albemarle the important Shad seine-fisheries begin 

 early in March, but doubtless the fish are in the Sound some time before 

 that date ; not, however, in numbers sufficient to justify the great expenses 

 attendant upon the operation of these large seines. In the Chesapeake 

 Bay they make their appearance in February, although the height of the 

 fishing season in its waters is during April and May, and at a date some- 

 what later in the more northern tributaries. In the Delaware, Connecticut, 

 Merrimac, and St. John (Nova Scotia) Rivers, Shad are first seen at periods 

 successively later as we proceed farther north. The date of their first ap- 

 pearance in any of these waters, however, varies from season to season, 

 the limit of such variation being from three to four weeks. 



These irregularities in the time of the run into our rivers, which cause 

 so much perplexity and discouragement to the fishermen, are, however, 

 readily explained by the influence of temperature. 



THE AMERICAN SHAD. 



It is doubtful whether there is any general coastwise movement of the 

 Shad. That there is an occasional migration of this kind is evidenced by 

 the following facts : The Shad of the rivers of the South Atlantic coast, 

 as a rule, have black-tipped caudal and dorsal fins, which distinctive 

 marks of coloration are absent in the Shad of more northern rivers ; and 

 yet occasionally these southern Shad are caught as far north as the tribu- 



