142 



AMERICAN FISHES. 



up to the time of the closing up of the establishment, having been in con- 

 finement over three years, and by which time they had become the 

 blackest of black drum ; all the bands that were so conspicuous in their 

 younger stage having disappeared entirely, although, for the last two 

 years, the shark tank, (some seventy feet in length), in which they had 

 been kept, was always flooded with strong sunlight in the morning and 

 strong daylight during the afternoon, not to mention a flood of gaslight 

 during the evening. The bottom of this tank consisted of clean and 

 white shingle, so that a great deal of reflected light was the result, and yet 

 these " banded drum " seemed to become blacker and blacker black drum 

 every month. Mussels and scollops, in the shell, were their particular 

 delight, and they always had plenty as long as I was their keeper. The 

 bull-nosed clam was too much for their pharyngeal teeth, consequently I 

 had them partially opened before feeding them out. 



" During the spring months the males constantly pursued the females, and, 

 on such occasions, both the males and females gave out a series of very 

 musical and liquid drum-Uke sounds, -which could be distinctly heard 

 in any part of the aquarium. Often, when dredging at night-time at 

 Princess Bay, Staten Island, I have heard the constant drumming of the 

 drum at different points about my boat ; they were evidently having a big 

 oyster supper." 



•5*?; 

 M 



THE LAKE DRUM OR MALESHAGANAT. 



The fresh-water Drum, Ilaploidonotus grunnicns , is always known in the 

 Great Lakes by the name " Sheepshead." In the Ohio River it is usually 

 called " White Perch " or '' Gray Perch," often simply " Perch." In 

 the lakes of Northern Indiana it is called " Crocus," evidently a corrup- 

 tion of "Croaker." In the Southern States the name "Drum" pre- 

 dominates ; that of " Thunder-pumper," also used for the bittern, Botau- 



