INTRODUCTION 



In this volume are included all of the game- 

 fishes of the United States east of the Rocky 

 Mountains, except the salmons and trouts, and 

 the tarpon, jewfish, and other fishes of large size, 

 which are described in other volumes of this 

 series. As a matter of convenience I have 

 grouped the fishes in families, whenever possible, 

 but in their sequence I have been guided chiefly 

 by their importance as game-fishes, and not in 

 accordance with their natural order. The latter 

 feature, however, has been provided for in a 

 systematic list on a subsequent page. 



In order not to burden the text with matter 

 that might not be of general interest, the techni- 

 cal descriptions of the fishes of each group are 

 given in small type at the head of each chap- 

 ter; and that they may be readily understood by 

 the lay reader the following explanations seem 

 necessary. 



The length of the head is from the point of 

 the snout to the hindmost point or margin of the 

 gill-cover. The length of the body is from the 



