THE FOOD AND GAME FISHES OF NEW YORK. 361 



In the individual of December 4, 1895, the lateral line tubes are distributed over 

 various parts of the sides without much regularity except in the median line. 

 There arc no black spots. About 20 entire, blotch-like, irregular cross bands and 

 several parts of bands and blotches intervening. The lower third of the pectoral is 

 pink. The dorsal, caudal and anal with dark blotches making pseudo bands. 

 Iris lemon yellow overlying silvery white. The general color is olive green with 

 golden tints. 



The two males of May 4, 1896, furnished the following notes: 



Olive green tinged with golden bronze; sides with about twenty irregular dusky 

 blotches resembling interrupted bands ; dorsal, caudal and anal with numerous 

 large dusky blotches, those on dorsal and anal almost forming bands; iris lemon 

 yellow and silvery in the larger, almost vermilion and orange in the smaller; a 

 dark blotch at upper edge of opercle. 



The Chautauqua Lake Mascalonge, according to James Annin, Jr., who sent the 

 specimens, is a very fine food and game fish, and attains to the weight of 50 pounds. 

 In the spring of 1895 it was not unusual to capture individuals weighing from 40 to 

 50 pounds, and 20 to 30 pounds was r. very common weight. In winter the fish 

 frequent nearly the same localities as in summer, being found in the vicinity of 

 water plants. When the lake becomes very clear in February they go into deep 

 water, but they live in deep water more or less all the year. 



For the fish culture operations the nets are set as soon after the first of April as 

 the ice leaves the lake. The fish begin to spawn a few days after and continue till 

 the latter part of April. They go into shallower water for spawning ; most of them 

 spawn in from 10 to 15 feet of water. They do not resort to the gravel like many 

 other fish, but to mud, generally going into bays. The eggs are placed in bo.xes, all 

 of which are provided with screens at top and bottom. The bottom has an e.xtra 

 screen to prevent minnows from injuring the eggs. The boxes are sunk from i foot 

 to 2 feet under the surface of the water. Every day or two they are drawn up, the 

 covers removed, and all bad eggs and sediment cleaned out. 



During the first experiments in Chautauqua Lake, N. Y., Monroe Green and 

 Jonathan Mason obtained the eggs in April and May, 1890, and these were arti- 

 ficially hatched. A large female yielded 60,000 eggs. With the water at the tem- 

 perature of 40° to 46° very few of the eggs were developed, but when it neared 

 60°, in May, better results were secured. On May 27 75,000 young fish were planted 

 in the lake. The eggs were hatched in a bo.x suspended about 4 feet' from the 

 bottom in 18 feet of water. 



