110 NEW YORK ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY. 



on gravelly bottom and guard them. All are good food-fishes, are 

 caught with a greater variety of baits than most fishes and rise 

 to the fly. 



Common Catfish, {Amciiinis iicbulosiis). If you must have 

 a fish-pond, and do not intend to give it any attention whatever, 

 stock it with catfish. They will come as near to raising them- 

 selves as anything you can get except carp. If you want fish to 

 catch and fish to eat, and perhaps some to sell, try catfish. There 

 are several chances out of ten that they will grow without care, 

 and they can be kept in ponds containing other fishes. Catfish 

 for stocking can be found anywhere, are easy to transport, and 

 there are several kinds from which to select. One of the best is 

 the marbled catfish {A. marmoratns). They will weigh three- 

 cjuarters of a pound when one year old, and three pounds when 

 three years old. They can be caught with hook and line, and so 

 easily that children will do most of the catching. Any kind of bait 

 will do, and they can usually be caught in winter when other fishes 

 are half torpid. When taken from a muddy pond they should be 

 put in a tank of running water for a few days, when their flavor 

 will be all right. All catfish should be skinned before cooking. 

 They are as near boneless as any fish to be found, and if you have 

 been falsely educated as to their edible qualities, just try them. 



According to negro philosophy "a catfish on the line is worth 

 tw^o whales in the water." 



A BRIEF LIST OF USEFUL WORKS ON FISH-CULTURE. 



A Manual of Fish-Culture. — By fish culturists in the service of 

 the United States Bureau of Fisheries. Original edition pub- 

 lished in the Report of the U. S. Fish Commission for 1897, 

 pages 1-340. Revised edition published separately in 1900. The 

 most useful work on the subject, especially to professional fish 

 culturists. Probably out of print. It may sometimes be found 

 on the shelves of second-hand book dealers. Separate chapters 

 on the basses, crappies. etc., distributed free by the Bureau of 

 Fisheries, Washington, D. C. 



Modern Fish-Culture in Fresh and Salt JVater. Fred Mather. 

 A useful work of 333 pages by an experienced fish culturist. 

 Contains important matter on ponds and their management. New 

 York, 1900. 



The Habits and Culture of the Blaek Bass. Dwight Lydell. 

 Published as follows : Bulletin of the U.' S. Fish Commission for 



