198 NEW YORK STATE MUSEUM 



according to this writer, frequently reaches 2 feet with a depth 

 of from 4:^ to 6 inches. At the time of his writing the fish was 

 talven in October and November in seines on the surf side of the 

 beaches fronting Long Island. Dr DeKay mentions examples 

 in the market early in July, which are brought from the Con- 

 necticut river, where they are called weesick. He states that 

 the specific name bestowed on it by Mitchill was derived from 

 the aboriginal name of the island, Mattowaca or Mattowax. In 

 Great South bay the name greenback is well established for 

 the species. A single example was seined September 29 at Fire 

 island. Oct. 1, 1890, considerable numbers of large greenbacks 

 were caught in a trap at Islip. The hickory shad is caught in 

 Gravesend bay during September, October and November, but is 

 less plentiful than it was formerly. Large hickory shad, weighing 

 from ^ pound to 2^> pounds, were shipped from waters near 

 New York city to Fulton market Oct. 30, 1896. Each of them 

 had in its stomach from 15 to 20 sand lance from 3^ to 5 inches 

 long. A few specimens were seined at Blue Point cove, Great 

 South bay, and at Howell's point, in the same bay, Aug. 31, 1898. 



At Woods Hole Mass. it comes in the spring, but is most 

 numerous late in September and till trap fishing ends. In Octo- 

 ber 1895 a trap near Tarpaulin cove caught 3500 at one lift. 

 These brought 10c each in New York. In spring and summer 

 the fish has no market val.ue, but it sells in the fall. 



The name hickory shad is applied to this species from the 

 Chesapeake bay region southward, and in some Georgia rivers 

 this is abbreviated to hicks. In the Potomac, and some other 

 rivers tributary to the Chesapeake, the name tailor shad is ap- 

 plied to this fish. The hickory shad occurs from Maine to 

 Florida, entering rivers except in New England. The species is 

 much less valuable than the shad, for which it is often sold by 

 dealers. Nothing definite is known about its habits, but Marshall 

 McDonald was of the opinion that it spawns in the rivers at a 

 little earlier period than the shad, which it always precedes in 

 the ascent of the streams in spring. 



