LEPISOSTEUS GAEPIKES 33 



one side, emitting a large bubble of air, after which it swallows 

 and then sinks again below the surface. This habit is discon- 

 tinued in cold weather, however, and from October to April 

 gars do not come to the surface to breathe. 



The gar is a voracious feeder and is especially destructive to 

 minnows and the young of other fishes. The stomachs of speci- 

 mens examined by Dr. Dean contained practically nothing but 

 small soft-rayed fishes, less than 33/2 inches long. Eleven small 

 minnows were taken from the stomach of one male 24 inches 

 long, and 16 from the stomach and pharj^nx of another 27 inches 

 long. No perch or sunfish were found. Sixteen minute min- 

 nows have been taken by us from the stomach of a single speci- 

 men 2 inches long, while other young specimens examined, had 

 filled themselves with water-fleas {Scapholeberis mucronata). 

 The gar approaches its pre}^ stealthily, and its attack is instan- 

 taneous and usually successful. Young gars have been observed 

 to approach and seize minnows sidewise afterwards struggling 

 for some time to get them into proper position for swallowing — 

 as is the habit of lizards and alligators. The abundance* and 

 destructiveness of gars in particular localities have recentlj^ led 

 to serious efforts at extermination, and pound-nets have been 

 found quite useful for this purpose. f 



The long-nosed gar spawns in this latitude between the 

 middle of May and the middle of June, the time at Havana, Illi- 

 nois, being ordinarily from June 1 to 12 It is known to spawn 

 in shoal water, usually in grass and w^eeds, but Captain Schulte, 

 of Havana, has seen gars spawning about the stone piles of rail- 

 road bridges under construction at Havana. Young gars were 

 reared by Dr. Mark, who found that they could be maintained 

 entirely on the larvae of mosquitoes. They are extremely in- 

 teresting, and even beautiful, little animals, each marked with a 

 broad black lateral band; and they are especially noticeable for 

 the evanescent lance-shaped upper lobe to the caudal fin. They 

 may often be seen swimming singly in shallow water along the 

 margins of streams in June and July. Their earliest food is 

 apparently Entomostraca, but they begin at a surprisingly early 

 age their life work of keeping down the fish population of the 

 waters they inhabit. A specimen only an inch and a quarter 

 long, examined by us, had taken a minute fish, and another two 



* It is stated by Dr. Dean that garpikes have been known to occur in such numbers in 

 South Carolina as to fill the shad nets and interrupt the shad fisherj' for many days. 



f By theii use, Chautauqua Lake, N. Y., was practically freed from gars in 1896-97. 



