REPORT OF COMMISSIONERS OF INLAND FISHERIES. 53 



Reproduction : Some schools spawn in the spring and others in the autumn. 

 The fall schools spawn to west of Bay of Fundy; spring schools to the east 

 of that point. Spawning takes place in Penobscot Bay, September and 

 October; at Wood Island after middle of September; along the coast of 

 Massachusetts about October 1; at No Man's Land, for 3 or 4 weeks 

 beginning October 15; at Block Island, November. Spawning takes 

 place at a temperature between 47° and 57°F, in the open coast waters 

 not deeper than 30 fathoms. (H. F. Moore, Report U. S. Fish Commission, 

 1896, 40.) 



Food: Microscopic animal life. 



37. Pomolobus mediocris (Mitchill). Hickory Shad. (Plate VIII.) 

 Geog. Dist.: Florida to Bay of Fundy. 



Season in R. I. : Probably arrives in the spring, but specimens are common 



from August 1 to November. 

 Reproduction: The location of the breeding grounds is uncertain. Some 



authorities say that it does not ascend rivers to spawn; other claim that it 



spawns in fresh water under same conditions as shad. 

 Food.: SmaU fishes, Crustacea, squids. 

 Size: Maximum, 24 inches. 



38. Pomolobus pseudoharengus (Wilson) . Alewife; Branch Herring; River 



Herriyrg; Buckie. (Plate IX.) 



Geog. Dist. : Atlantic coast of the United States. 



Migrations : Arrives off Virginia and Maryland about March 1 . Said to 

 arrive at Cape Cod about April 1, a month before the scup. 



Season in R. I. : This is one of the first fish to arrive in the spring, the traps 

 at that time sometimes being full of them. Comes in March, running up 

 into fresh water through March, April, and the first of May. After that, in 

 May and June, a few spent stragglers are taken on their way back to salt 

 water. The dates of their arrival in Taunton River, kept by Mr. Elisha 

 Slade, from 1871 to 1883, show that their earliest appearance during that 

 time was February 28, 1880, and the latest March 28, 1875. 



Reproduction : During March and April in fresh water. 



Food : Minute free-swimming Crustacea. Sometimes young squids and small 

 shrimp. 



Size: One-half pound. The young, hatched from the eggs in the spring, 

 become 2 or 3 inches long before winter. 



