900 REPORT OF COMMISSIONER OF FISH AND FISHERIES. 



to those of Lake« Michigan, Huron, and Superior, in which they are 

 indigenous. These fish live upon small Crustacea, found on the rocky 

 and gravel bottoms of lakes. They grow to weigh an average of one 

 and a half pounds, and constitute the most important food-fish of the 

 people living near the great lakes. Professor Baird, in his report to 

 Congress, says : '^ Few fishee of North America will better repay efforts 

 for their multiplication." We are promised a further supply of eggs 

 during the present winter, and shall continue receiving eggs, and hatch- 

 ing and distributing these fish to all the mountain lakes that are acces- 

 sible during the winter months. 



CATFISH {Pimelodiis cattus). 



25. The seventy-four Schuylkill catfish imported in 1874, and placed 

 in lakes near Saeramento, have increased to a vast extent. They already 

 furnish an important addition to the fish food supply of the city of Sac- 

 ramento and vicinity. From the increase we have distributed 8,400 to 

 appropriate waters, in the counties of ISapa, Monterey, Los Angeles, 

 Fresno, Tulare, Santa Cruz, Shasta, Solano, Alameda, San Diego, Yolo, 

 Santa Barbara, and Siskiyou. These, should they thrive and increase 

 as they have in Sacramento, will furnish an abundance of valuable food 

 in the warm waters of the lakes and sloughs of the interior, and replace 

 the bony and worthless chubs and suckers that now inhabit these places. 

 It may be proper to call attention to the fact that these fish have be- 

 come so numerous in the lakes near Sacramento that they can now be 

 obtained in any quantity for stocking other appropriate waters in any 

 part of the State. 



^o. 35. 



Dr. Hector to Professor Baird {April 27, 1878). 

 [See page 851.] 



No. 36. 

 Mr. R. J. Creighton to the Hon. the Colonial Secretary. 



San Francisco, Cal., April 15, 1878. 

 Sir : I have receive<l the inclosed letter from Mr. Clark, and in reply 

 explained that the Government of New Zealand had not put me in funds 

 to meet the payment of $500, but that I had forwarded his claim and 

 a reply could not possibly be expected before the incoming mail arrived. 

 I trust this matter will have been attended to. I regret to learn through 

 the newspapers that the last shipment of whitefish failed. I think it 

 was unfortunate that an attempt was not made to hatch them out in 

 Auckland. In all probability sufiQcient would have been saved to stock 

 the lakes. All experts here declare that the eggs should be hatched out 

 where the ship first touches. The young fish can be fe<i on blood and 



