CARP, DACE AND MINNOW. 439 



A'alley, growing to a weight of twenty or thirty pounds and a length of 

 three feet. 



Biibalichthys iiri/s, of Agassiz, occurs in the same waters, and is called 

 the Big-mouth Buffalo. In the Ohio and Mississippi Basins it is used very 

 extensively for food, and grows to weigh fifty pounds or more. 



Biibalichthys alfus, which, like /. biibaliis, is a small-mouth species, is 

 distinguished' by its smaller head and other characteristics. (See Jordan's 

 " Synopsis," p. 116.) 



The name " Gaspergou " is shared by these fishes with the fresh-water 

 Drum. 



The only angling book which tells how to catch Buffaloes is a very old 

 one, that of Brown. A bottom line of good strength and heavily leaded 

 is used, and the bait prescribed is a wad of soft cheese and raw cotton. 



The " Rabbit-mouth Sucker," Quassilabia lacera, "Hare-lip," "Split- 

 mouth" or "May-sucker" is found in abundance in many rivers of 

 Tennessee and in some streams in Ohio. It reaches a length of about 

 eighteen inches, being one of the smaller species, but its qualities as a 

 food-fish are said to be better than usual in this family. 



The name " Sucker " has acquired a special and by no means complete 

 significance in the colloquial language of the United States, being applied 

 to worthless fellows, and especially to topers. The allusion is doubtless 

 to the slow, greedy habits of the fishes of this family. 



