100 EEPOKT OF COMMISSIONER OF FISH AND FISHERIES. 



masses of menhaden spawn, which proved to be a cluster of squid 

 {Loligo Pealii) eggs, and it is probable that these singular objects have 

 given rise to all similar*stories. 



A claim that menhaden spaicn in Southern rivers. 



135. The young menhaden which frequent the coasts north of the 

 Carolinas are usually four or five inches in length, and there is no record 

 of their having been seen of a less size than three inches, and these are 

 probably the fish hatched from the eggs during the winter, which, in 

 obedience to the migratory instinct, move northward along the coast. 

 The movements of the schools of young resemble in every respect 

 those of the grown fish, and they approach the shore from deep water 

 by the same routes. At Cape Hatteras, according to Mr. Simpson, the 

 young fish from one inch upward are seen throughout the summer, 

 which points clearly to a proximity to the spawning-ground at that 

 point. In the Saint John's Eiver they are found two inches in length. 

 It is the opinion of Mr. Kemps that many of the menhaden S})awn in 

 the river, and he is positive that he has seen spawn running from the 

 fish taken in the early part of the year. The presence of the young fish 

 in the waters, however, does not necessarily point to' that conclusion, 

 as he very naturally supposes it to do. 



Mr. Simpson believes them to spawn in the Neuse Eiver, but this is 

 not proven to be a true supposition. 



Criticism of a statement hy Professor Hind. 



13G. In this connection I must call attention to a misapprehension on 

 the part of my friend Professor Hind, who, basing his conclusions upon 

 some uiicoUated returns in Professor Baird's first report, states that the 

 spawning period of the menhaden is in the spring, at which time it ap- 

 pears to come from its winter home in the deeper waters oif the coast 

 to the shores, at dates corresponding to those of others whose move- 

 ments are governed by temperatures.* And again he states, without 

 citing any authority, that "following the law which govern fish life, its 

 mode of spawning resembles that of the typical herring." This may or 

 may not be true. No one knows. 



23. — The feasibility of artificial culture. 



A claim that menhaden may he acclimated in Northern luaters. 



137. In a report to the minister of marine and fisheries, Mr. J. G. 

 Whiteaves remarks : "It would perhaps be desirable to try and acclima- 

 tize meunadeu in British waters. All that would be necessary would 

 be to send a vessel or two, each provided with well-room, to the United 

 States, and liberate the menhaden thence procured at the mouth of any 

 of the New Brunswick or Nova Scotia rivers, such as Saint Andrew's 

 * The effect of the fishery clauses of the Treaty of Washington, &c., 1877, p. 73. 



