THE SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION. 317 



REPORT 



FISHES OBSERVED ON THE COASTS OF NEW JERSEY AND LONG ISLAND 

 DURING THE SUMMER OF 1854, BY SPENCER F. BAIRD, ASSISTANT 

 SECRETARY OF THE SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION. 



A period of six weeks spent on the coast of New Jersey, principally 

 at Beesley's point, and Long Island, New York, furnished an oppor- 

 tunity of Studying the habits and distribution of the principal species of 

 fishes that are found on that portion of our shores during the summer. 



Although many others, doubtless, are to be found in the same region, 

 yet none have been introduced except those which were actually caught 

 and carefully examined. A considerable number of the species whose 

 habits and peculiarities are given at some length, have hitherto had 

 nothing placed on record concerning them ; and it is hoped that the 

 present article may be found to contain some interesting information, 

 given here for the first lime, in addition to its character as a contribu- 

 tion to our knowledge of the geographical distribution of species. 



The difference of the names applied to the same species of fish at 

 various points of our coast, even when these happen to be connected 

 very closely, both commercially and geographically, must strike every 

 one with astonishment. 



It is scarcely too much to say that no one species of fish bears the 

 same vernacular appellation from Maine to Maryland, still less to 

 Florida or the coast of Texas. This is probably owing to the fact that 

 our shores have been originally settled by various nations from widely 

 remote parts of Europe, each introducing its peculiar nomenclature, or 

 deriving names from the equally isolated aboriginal tribes with their 

 various languages. Thus the names of blue fish, white fish, perch, 

 black fish, bass, king-fish, porgee, hake, tailor, whiting, horse mackerel, 

 shad, smelt, dog-fish, &c., may apply equally to two or more very 

 different species. Among the synonyms of the species will be found 

 the vernacular equivalents in the regions visited, together with some 

 from other localities. It will be sufficiently evident, therefore, that 

 before any species referred to under a trivial name can be identified, 

 the origin of the fish or that of the writer must be ascertained. 



Although most of the facts recorded in the following paper have 

 reference to Great Egg harbor. New Jersey, during a period extend- 

 ing from the middle of July to the end of August, it has been thought 

 not amiss to incorporate the results of a visit to Brooklyn, Riverhead, 

 and Greenport, Long Island, as well as to some points on the Hudson 

 river, in September. Some valuable information was thus obtained 

 tending to illustrate more fully the natural history and distribution of 

 the species found on the New Jersey coast. 



And here I take occasion to render an acknowledgement for much 

 kind assistance and important information derived from various gentle- 

 men at the different points of operation. Among these I will particu- 

 larly mention Messrs. Samuel and Charles Ashmead, at Beesley's 

 point, who devoted all their time to the furtherance of my objects 



