REPORT OF COMMISSIONER OF FISH AND FISHERIES. 45 



shores, the inquiries being extended into the creeks, ponds, sloughs, 

 and other waters adjacent to the lakes. 



ARKANSAS. 



Beginning in the summer of 1891, Prof. S. E. Meek, of the Arkansas 

 Industrial University, has carried on, from time to time, in the interests 

 of the United States Fish Commission, important observations relating 

 to the fishes of Arkansas. In his report ux^on these inquiries \ Professor 

 Meek has described the j)rincipal characteristics of the several rivers 

 and of the more conspicuous springs for which some parts of the State 

 are noted, and has given complete annotated lists of the fishes which 

 are now known to occur in four of the principal river basins, the White 

 Kiver having a total of 84 species, the Little Eed Eiver 58 species, the 

 Arkansas River 61 species, and the Illinois Eiver 31 species. 



The following remarks are extracted from Professor Meek's report: 



From an ichthyological standpoint Arkansas is well favored. The State is bordered 

 on the east by the Mississippi, and has four large navigable rivers flowing through it. 

 Two of these rivers, with most of their tributaries, rise in the Ozark Mountains 

 within the boundaries of the State. These streams are fed by many large and 

 beautiful springs, whose waters are cool enough for the mountain trout, their suit- 

 ability being well demonstrated by the success which has attended trout-culture at 

 the several hatcheries already mentioned. In fact, it has been proven not only that 

 trout will thrive in the Ozark Mountain region, but that their growth there is much 

 more rapid than in 8ome other places farther north, where their artificial cultivation 

 is being carried on. The important question for the consideration of the practical 

 fish-culturist is, how many pounds of fish he can secure from a certain number of 

 eggs within a given period and with the least expenditure of artificial food. The 

 records of the Neosho hatchery clearly indicate that fish-culture can be conducted 

 successfully in this direction. While the mountain streams bid fair to contain an 

 abundance of trout in the near future, the larger and more sluggish waters are well 

 suited to the coarser food-fishes native to the State, the most important among them 

 being the black bass, wall-eyed pike, eastern pickerel {Lucius reticulatus) , buffalo- 

 fishes, etc. All of the important rivers mentioned supply many fishes to the markets 

 every year, and they may continue to do so if assistance shall be given toward 

 restoring, so far as possible, the balance of life in favor of those species which man 

 has done so much to destroy. 



There is no doubt that Arkansas possesses piscatorial features of a high grade, 

 which warrant more attention in the future than they have received in the past. 

 The angler may find amusement along the picturesque streams of the Ozark Moun- 

 tains, while the fish-culturist will come to recognize in this region one of his richest 

 fields in North America. Arkansas is as yet only thinly settled, and a thorough 

 exploration of the streams of the State before their faunae have been much changed 

 by cultivation would be of great economic and scientific interest. The increase and 

 protection of her food-fishes, both the native and introduced species, can not be suc- 

 cessfully accomplished without a more complete knowledge of the physical and 

 natural-history features of the streams, and it is to be hoped that the means for 

 making such a survey will not long be delayed. 



1 Report of investigations respecting the fishes of Arkansas, conducted during 

 1891, 1892, and 1893, with a synopsis of previoiis explorations in the same State. By 

 Seth Eugene Meek. Bull. U. S. Fish Comm. for 1894, pp. 67-94. 



