332 FISHES OF ILLINOIS 



specimen sixteen inches long, examined by him, contained ten dace, 

 none of which was less than four inches long. Fishes constituted 

 about 80 per cent, of the food of specimens studied by the senior 

 author in 1888, the remainder being crawfishes. Among the fishes 

 recognized was a single whitefish, the remainder being the common 

 yellow perch (Perca flavescens). 



The flesh of the burbot is coarse and tasteless, and is seldom used 

 for food. It is, in fact, of less value than any other American fresh- 

 water fish of its size unless it be the gar, which it doubtless equals in 

 destructiveness where it is abundant. Its interest to the scientist 

 lies in its being the single fresh-water representative of the cod family 

 in our waters. It is unknown by name to most of our river fisher- 

 men. It has been described to us by one of them as a fish "with a 

 skin like a bullhead and a head like a dogfish, with a chin bristle." 

 If the exception be made that very small scales are present, this 

 brief description will suffice very well for the recognition of the 

 species if found astray in our rivers or bottom-land lakes. 



