Uiiiitia Lake I-ishrs 303 



tiiiiL's fjijitT t'iniiit;li tor I'nnd, as is shown l)y their ca),'er rushes at tlie angler's 

 lly-hoiik." Clinton (1815, j). 499) says that it cats nothinj^ diirinj; its residence 

 in Oneida Lake. I'rofcssor Haird stated that in the Xorth Atlantic they teed on 

 .\fy.\i.K (Smith, "yj, p. n^)). 



Distribution Kciords. DeKay ( '4^, \>. 2^) says: "'Ihey were formerly 

 very al)nn<lanl in the lakes in the interior of the State, which coninumicated with 

 Lake < )ntario. . . . ! have seen some from Oneida I-ake weitihinj; ten and 

 lifteen jionnds." .Smith ( i^j. p. 11)5) notes a former ahundance in Lake < intario 

 and trihutaries. 



Clinton ( 1S15. |). 4<;«^) says: '".Xhonnils in Fish (.'reek, which discharges 

 itself into Wood freek. aliout a mile from ( )neida Lake. \'ast nnmliers are taken 

 in that lake." Clinton i> in error as to the relation of these streams, for WKod 

 t'rcek is a tributary of Fish Creek, one of the inlets at the east end of Oneida 

 I.ake. He further states that it makes its api)earance in May and remains until 

 winter. DeKay ('42, p. 242) says he has seen sea Salmon from Oneida I^ke 

 weiyhin;,' ten and fifteen jwiunds. 



r.iuiiiics and Discasf. I'.ean ( '02. p. 32C1 ) states that amonj; the worst 

 enemies of the .\llantic Salmon are trout, eels, suckers and frojjs, and that shel- 

 drakes, kinjjfishers, (.julls aiul bitterns destroy the fry. Ward ('10. p. ii<>8) gives 

 a list of parasites rcixirted from Salnio salar. In this there are 28 cestodes, 19 

 trematodes. 14 nematodes and 14 acantlnx-ephalans as internal parasites. Leidy 

 (■04, ](. iS^i) notes ;i l)ih,)tliiliini from Salnw salar. Three ectoparasites are 

 given, namely, two leeches and one copepod. 



Ilconoinics. The .\tlantic Salmon furnishes an example of the disai)i)ear- 

 ance of a large anrl excellent f<M)d-fish from Oneida l.ake that was once common 

 there. DeKay ('42. ]>. 242) blames "artificial impediments" for the ilecrea^c of 

 its muulnTs. F'ishing was undoubtedly responsible to some degree. Mitchill 

 O815. )!. 51X)) tells of Indians s|>earing the lish at night in Oneida Lake. < >f the 

 natural enemies mentioned above by Mean ('02, ]>. 326), F'els and suckers are 

 abundant in the lake. \ery likely the barge canal, the Caughdenoy <l;im and 

 other artificial features have ended favorable conditions for the .\tlantic salmon, 

 but wli;it these conditions are atul how they might be reestablished is an ini|)ortant 

 subject for future study. 



A'l/cniirr.T. Mean. '<>2, "02, '12; Clinton. 1R15: DeKay, '42: (loode. '03: 

 Jortlan ami l'"vermann. 'i)^ and '03: .Mitchill. 1S15: .Smith. ■<)2: Ward, 'oi, 'to. 



Castostomus commersonii ( LacejtiMle). Commo.n' .Sickkr. White 

 .SiTKfR. This Sucker is abundant in Oneida l-ike. where the large ones live in 

 the dee|)c-r waters ,ind the small ones school in the marginal shallows and stream 

 mouths. They arc easily distingiu'shed from the nianv minnows fouml there, 

 by the inferior mouth with papillose lips, the long dorsal fin with more than ten 

 rays, as in all suckers, and the scries of three or more rather distinct <lark 

 blotches on the sides of tJie ImmIv. These markings are absent in large examples 

 of the siM'cies. The little fish tenil to schfMil by themselves when many arc present 

 in shallow water, .iinl arc not often caught in large nuniUTs with other fish. 

 The Common Sucker is the only s|)ccics of sucker at all niunerons in the lake, 

 and flifTcrs from the rarer Red-horse, Hog Sucker and Chtih Sucker most promi- 



