NATURALIZATION OF FISHES. 203 



boih iii winter and summer, and the larger, 

 when they shed their hard coats, must contribute largely 

 to the sustenance of fishes that inhabit salt and brackish 



water. 



VEECWM. 



We have many fishes included in this family that can be 

 readily naturalized. They are found both in salt and fresh 

 waters. Our fresh rivers, lakes, ponds, lagoons, and bayous 

 are rich in genera and species. They are all hardy fish, 

 firm of flesh, and excellent eating. 



THE ROCK FISH, or Striped Bass (Labrax lineatus), is 



" A fish of wonderful beauty and force, 

 That bites like a steel trap, and pulls like a horse." 



Some ineffectual attempts have been made to naturalize 

 it in fresh-water ponds by those who have not taken into 

 consideration that it is to a great extent an anadromin, and 

 that to continue its generations in size and perfection, it 

 must necessarily make yearly migrations to salt water. I 

 have no doubt it would deteriorate in purely fresh water as 

 much as the salmon or shad, if this law of its nature was 

 set aside. Still if it grew to half its accustomed size, 

 when prevented from going down to salt or brackish 

 waters, it might be profitably naturalized in fresh ponds 

 and lakes. From all I have learned of its habits, it re- 

 produces in tidal creeks and coves where fresh streams 

 enter, and not above tide, as the salmon. A friend, whose 

 statement I consider reliable, informs me that in some of 

 the shallow waters along our southern coast, he has dipped 



