S DEAN. [Vol. XL 



from shore, a few minutes later a sudden and active splashing 

 takes place. A number of eggs have at that moment been 

 scattered and fertilized, and the water is for the time clouded 

 with milt. There will then follow a period of quiescence, often 

 many minutes in length, followed by circlings and a second 

 oviposition. The eggs, it may be noted, are not deposited at a 

 particular spot, but appear to be sown evenly over the general 

 spawning ground. It is also to be noted that during subsequent 

 circlings of the female several males may often await her return, 

 and from their movements it is not impossible that they are 

 still emitting milt over the freshly deposited eggs. In no 

 case was observed evidence of rivalry among the males, and an 

 examination of all taken during the writer's visit could not de- 

 tect any injuries caused by fighting. Their breeding colors 

 are, however, prominent, and the richly pigment-spotted sides 

 are accented by the bold markings of anal, dorsal, and caudal, 

 made very evident by the habit of erecting the fins. The 

 paired fins, too, appear of selective importance, and are widely 

 spread during mating. Each is centered with a large ash- 

 colored spot, especially prominent when seen under water. 

 And the writer has noted that a male when unable to secure a 

 place near the female has swum backward before the party, 

 expanding his fins to the utmost, and making side and upward 

 motions with head and paired fins. 



It is probable, from observation of the spawning fish, that all 

 eggs are not deposited by the female during a single day. 

 Spawners were noted which deposited four or five batches of 

 eggs and which then did not reappear during the day. Exam- 

 ination of the ovaries shows that but small portions of the eggs 

 have at one time become detached from their follicles, but that ' 

 the ripening process appears in every, and not a particular, 

 region of the ovary. With Gar, as with Sturgeon, it seems evi- 

 dent that a large proportion of the ovarian eggs may not be 

 duly ripened. Many examples were found whose abdominal 

 cavity contained in quantity flaccid and slate-colored eggs 

 which proved incapable of fertilization. 



The fishes when actually mating are not easily alarmed. 

 They may be approached closely, and even touched with the 



