ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY BULLETIN. 



345 



The flesh of the large 

 drum-fish is not eaten, being 

 rather coarse, and having at 

 times a disagreeable smell. 

 There is no demand for them 

 in the markets, and when 

 seen there are for show only. 

 The young drum-fishes, those 

 not weighing over four or 

 five pounds are, however, 

 marketable. Their flesh is 

 firm, of a good flavor, and 

 they are often sold for 

 sheepshead to those who do 

 not know the dift'erence. 



Drum-fish are very de- 

 structive to oysters. When 

 a large school of them get 

 on an oyster-bed they devour 

 great quantities of them. To 

 drive them away, oystermen 

 sometimes summon all who are interested in 

 protecting the beds, and in numerous boats 

 over the oyster-grounds, the)- make a vigorous 

 commotion in the water, thus frightening the 

 fishes awav. This has been observed in Pel- 

 ham Bay. "X.Y., by .Mr. J. B. De Nyse. The 

 large drum-fishes with their strong jaws and 

 pavement-like teeth have no difficulty in crack- 

 ing the shells of good sized oysters. Those 

 kept at the Aquarium easily crush small hard- 

 shelled clams. 



Some years ago large drum-fishes were plen- 

 tiful in Gravesend Bay and Upper Xew York 

 Bay, but for the past fifteen years, only occa- 

 sional large ones have been taken. They are 

 however, taken in large numbers in the Lower 

 Bay, and in the pound nets along the New 

 Jersey coast southward. 



The larger drum-fishes, not being used for 

 food, and being so destructive to oysters are. 

 when caught by pound net fishermen whose 

 nets are not in the vicinity of factories where 

 the fish are converted into fertilizer, killed and 

 thrown away. Those caught by the men- 

 haden fishermen, are carried to the factories 

 and disposed of. 



The drum-fish thrives in captivity. There 

 are now in the Aquarium six large specimens 

 weighing about fifty pounds each, and numer- 

 ous smaller ones averaging about four pounds. 

 One specimen of this fish placed in the Aqua- 

 rium when it was six inches in length and 

 weighing half a pound, lived four years and 

 three months. At death it was twenty-four 

 inches in length and weighed twenty and one- 

 half pounds, showing an increase in length of 



four and one-half inches, and in weight about 

 five pounds per year. If this rate continued 

 until the fish reached the weight of seventy 

 pounds, it would require fourteen years to do 

 so, and the length would be four feet, eight 

 inches. The food given the drum-fishes in the 

 Aquarium, consists of soft and hard-shelled 

 clams, occasional oysters, rock-crabs, fiddler- 

 crabs, shrimp, minnows, and herring, the lat- 

 ter being cut in strips of a suitable size for 

 the fish. Drum-fish, however, prefer mollusks 

 and crustaceans. — From the Notes of- IV. I. 

 Dc Xxsc. 



Blue fish in Captivity. — In September, 1904, 

 six bluefish were placed in one of the large 

 wall tanks at the New York Aquarium. Of 

 this nvmiber one lived until 1907, break- 

 ing the Aquarium record for a bluefish 

 in captivity. \\'hen placed in the tank it 

 was six inches long and weighed only a few 

 ounces ; at death it was twenty inches in length, 

 five and one-quarter inches in depth, and 

 weighed three and one-half pounds. Its growth 

 for the first year was very rapid and was per- 

 ceptible from week to week. Its food consisted 

 of herring, menhaden and codfish, cut in strips 

 of suitable size, with occasional live minnows 

 and shrimps. 



During the second year of its captivity it 

 became restless and swam around the tank 

 with considerable speed. The bluefish might 

 possibly be retained in captivity for years in 

 large salt water ponds in the South. — From 

 the Xotes of IV. I. De Kyse. 



