MANUAL OF FISH-CULTURE. 181 



absence of arch on back, etc. It is the most abundant of the white- 

 fishes, being- especially numerous in lakes Erie, Michigan, and Huron, 

 and larger quantities are taken each year than of all other species 

 combined. The average length is 12 to 14 inches and the average 

 weight is under a pound, although a maximum weight of 3 or 4 pounds 

 is attained. The fish is generally known as " herring " but has numer- 

 ous other names, among which are cisco, blueback herring, greenback 

 herring, grayback herring, and Michigan herring. 



The spawning season of the lake herring begins somewhat later and 

 terminates sooner than that of the whiteflsh. The eggs are procured 

 and hatched in the same manner as are those of C. chipeiformis, and 

 require about the same time for incubation, namely, 4 to 5 months, 

 depending on the temperature of the water. The eggs are smaller than 

 those of the common whitetish, 70,000 making a fluid quart. 



These two species are readily hybridized artificially. The milt of 

 either species will impregnate the eggs of the other as effectively as if 

 there were no cross fertilization. Large specimens of apparently hybrid 

 fish of this character have been obtained in Lake Erie. The use of 

 milt of the lake herring for impregnating whitefish eggs is resorted to 

 only when the eggs would otherwise be lost. 



The round whitefivsh or menominee {Coregonns quadrilateralis) is 

 propagated by the New York Fish Commission. It is very widely 

 distributed, ranging from New Brunswick to Alaska, and is abundant 

 in some of the Adirondack lakes, where its eggs are taken and hatched 

 in comparatively large numbers. It rarely exceeds a pound in weight, 

 but its food qualities are good, and it i3 taken for market in considerable 

 quantities in lakes Huron and Michigan. 



In the New York lakes, where the fish is known as the frostfish, the 

 spawning season is from the middle of November to the early part of 

 January, although the period in any one lake is less prolonged. The 

 eggs are heavy, adhesive, and ^ inch in diameter; the average yield per 

 fish is 3,500, but 12,000 have been taken from a If-pound fish. In the 

 very cold water of these lakes the incubation is protracted, being 150 

 days with the water at 33° F. The sac is absorbed in 10 to 20 days. 



THE MUSKELLUNGE. 



The muskellunge {Lucius masquinongy) is the largest representative 

 of the pike family. Its maximum weight is about 80 pounds and its 

 average weight 25 or 30 pounds. Its range includes the Great Lakes, 

 Upper Mississippi Valley, Ohio Valley, and lakes in Wisconsin, Minne- 

 sota, New York, Ontario, and elsewhere. It is much sought by anglers 

 and is of some value as a food fish. Being provided with a very large 

 mouth, armed with strong, formidable teeth, its food consists chiefly of 

 living fish, which it captures by making sudden darts from its place of 

 concealment among the water i)lants at the bottom of a lake or stream. 



This fish is artificially propagated by the New York Fish Commission 

 at Chautauqua Lake. Upward of 3,000,000 fry are sometimes hatched 



