THE TARPON 43 



is heavy, not buoyant, are correct, and I see no reason why 

 they should not be, it would naturally follow that the fish 

 spawn in shore waters or on banks, not in the deep sea." 

 It seems that the following deductions are warranted : 



(1) As the mature eggs of this fish are very small and exceed- 

 ingly numerous the tarpon is probably a salt water 

 spawner. 



(2) As the eggs sink in sea water the fish probably spawn 

 somewhere off shore in shallow water or in sheltered 

 brackish waters. 



(3) The indications are that the time of spawning on the 

 West Coast of Florida is from late June to September. 



(4) That the tarpon spawns over a large area for the small 

 fish so widely reported are evidently very young. 



These deductions are partially borne out by the observations 

 of the late W. V. Heusted of Fort Myers, a very intelligent and 

 experienced fisherman, who wrote me as follows : 



' ' I have seen the tarpon spawning in Charlotte Harbor 



along the Cape Haze shore from the Cape up to the 



Miakka River. They are always in pairs along in July and 



August, in white sand holes along the shoals. My brother 



and I have watched them three different seasons and we 



have also killed them to see the roe and have watched 



them deposit the spawn." 



Captain Heusted impressed me as a reliable observer. 



I visited the locality to which he refers. The bottom is 



covered with marine vegetation with here and there sand pits 



or holes of various areas. The water as a rule is from five to 



seven feet deep. I regret I could not verify Captain Heusted 's 



observations. My guide visited the locality several times in 



July and, although he reported he saw hundreds of fish rolling 



over this spot, he could not observe any fish in the act of 



spawning. 



Over thirty years ago a railroad was constructed on Gas- 

 parilla Island, connecting Boca Grande, Florida, with the 



