HISTORY OF THE AMERICAN MENHADEN. 7 



ing its habits and migrations, which has perhaps prevented the more ex- 

 tensive utilization of this lish, particularly in the Southern States. It ac- 

 counts for the extraordinary blunder of the compilers of the fishery sta- 

 tistics of the census of the United States for 1870, in which the oils pro- 

 duced from the whitetish of the great lakes {Goregonus alhus) and the 

 whitefish of Connecticut are classed as identical, a blunder which is 

 followed by a number of others of the same character and quite as 

 certain to mislead. The discrepancy of local names also enables us to 

 understand how the extensive manufacturing interests and fisheries 

 connected with this fish have gradually sprung up, little noticed save 

 by those directly interested in the business. 



The geographical distribution of the popular names. 



16. In Maine and Massachusetts the name " pogy " is almost univer- 

 sally in use, though in the vicinity of Cape Ann it is partially replaced 

 by "hard-head" and "hard-head shad." The name "menhaden* is exclu- 

 sively applied in Southern Massachusetts, the Vineyard Sound, Buzzard's 

 Bay, and Narragansett Bay, where it appears to have originated. From 

 the eastern boundary of Connecticut to the mouth of the Connecticut 

 Eiver the name "bony-fish" predominates, while in the western part of 

 the State the species is usually known as the "white fish." In the waters 

 of New York the usage of two centuries is in favor of " mossbuuker," a 

 name which also holds throughout New Jersey. In Delaware Bay, the 

 Potomac, and Chesapeake Bay other variations are found in"alewife" 

 and " greentail." Virginia gives us " bug-fish " in its various forms, while 

 in North Carolina we first meet the name of "fat-back," which is more 

 or less prevalent as far south as the Saint John's River, Florida. In all 

 the Southern States, especially in the vicinity of Beaufort, N. C, the 

 names "yellow-tail" and "yellow-tailed shad " are occasionally heard. 

 I am informed that in the Indian Eiver, Florida, the fish is occasionally 

 called the " shiner" and the " herring." 



17. The following table gives the usage at a number of points on the 

 coast chosen to exhibit most clearly the geographical distribution of 

 the popular names of Brevoortia tyrannus : 



Passamaquoddy Bay, Me Pogy ; Bony-fish. 



Castine, Me . Pogy ; Menhaden. 



Belfast, Me Pogy. 



Brooklin, Me , . . . Pogy. 



Cranberry Isles, Me Pogy. 



Sargentsville, Me Pogy. 



Matinicus Eock, Me Pogy ; Porgie j Menhaden. 



New Harbor, Me Menhaden. 



Manhegin Island, Me , Pogy. 



Damariscotta, Me Pogy ; Mossbuuker. 



Pemaquid, Me Pogy ; Menhaden. 



