104 American Fisheries Society 



try to controvert the statements of Rathke, Huxley, or 

 any of the great masters, for I am not. But, as Rathke 

 did not go quite so far as did Huxley in the case of the 

 smelt, I venture to suggest that Huxley and others did 

 not go quite far enough in respect to the other salmon- 

 oid fishes — at least that their application of the principle 

 laid down to all salmonoid fishes was too general, and 

 there may be exceptions similar to those shown by Hux- 

 ley in the case of the smelt. 



Some years ago, for purposes of classification, I was 

 examining some chars in the National Museum and 

 wished to ascertain the sex of the fish. Upon opening a 

 Sunapee trout (Salvelinus aureolus) I was surprised to 

 find extending from each ovary what appeared to be a 

 tube exending nearly to the ovipore where it joined its 

 fellow of the opposite side, making a common outlet chan- 

 nel. These were what are termed spent fish. I do not 

 know whether they had been stripped or not, but there 

 were full-sized eggs in each of these tubes. Until I found 

 the second tube I thought it was an intestine. I also 

 found that the ovary appeared to be completely covered 

 with a membrane. Another specimen showed the same 

 apparent conditions. I have not those fish here, but they 

 are in the National Museum collection and, I have no 

 doubt, can be seen. However, I have a fish of another 

 kind. 



This fish is the common brook trout, but there does not 

 seem to be any tube extending for the whole distance 

 from the ovary to the ovipore. Yet, if you will examine 

 it, you will observe that each ovary is completely invested 

 by a membrane with an opening at a shoort distance be- 

 hind the posterior end of the ovary. The fish, however, 

 is not ripe, but one that would have required perhaps 

 three months for it to reach that stage. Therefore, it 

 cannot be positively stated whether or not the whole 

 ovary is permanently completely covered. However, 

 whether it is or not, or whether other kinds of salmoni- 

 dae have their ovaries covered completely or not makes 

 but little difference in regard to the points I wish to 



