238 Lake Maxinkuckee, Physical and Biological Surveij 



While considerable time has been devoted to the study of this 

 lake, and while the amount of knowledge and information now pos- 

 sessed and made available regarding it is probably greater than 

 that possessed regarding any other lake in the world, there are 

 many gaps in the record, many of them large and important. No 

 one can realize this more fully or regret it more keenly than the 

 writers. Nor can any one realize more fully than they the in- 

 completeness and inadequacy of many of the observations, and how 

 desirable it would be to have them repeatedly verified. 



A word of explanation regarding the arrangement of subjects 

 in the following pages is perhaps necessary. As the investigations 

 upon which this report has been based were made primarily in 

 the interest of fish-culture, more attention was necessarily paid 

 to the fishes than to any other group ; in fact, such studies as 

 were made of other animals and of the plants were made only 

 because it was believed such investigations would contribute some 

 knowledge of value to the main purpose in view. 



In view of this fact we thought it best not to adhere too closely 

 to a strictly systematic zoological and botanical arrangement of 

 the various subjects. We have treated the fishes first, and the 

 other groups have been presented in the order which we believe 

 best for the objects in view. 



The various species considered have been presented from the 

 natural history point of view rather than from that of the sys- 

 tematist. We have even emphasized this thought by giving un- 

 usual prominence to the common or vernacular names by making 

 the scientific or binomial names subordinate to them, and by 

 making the text as non-technical as seemed necessary. It is hoped 

 and believed this treatment will contribute materially to the use 

 and value of the publication. 



THE FISHES 



Introduction 



During the investigations at Lake Maxinkuckee, very naturally 

 more attention was given to the fishes than to anything else. It 

 was desired to know not only what species are represented in the 

 local fauna but an effort was made to study each species from 

 many points of view. Observations were therefore made regard- 

 ing the abundance, distribution, breeding and feeding habits, pe- 

 riod and rate of growth, age, and size at different ages, parasites, 

 diseases, enemies, relation to other species, food value, commercial 

 importance, importance to the angler, seasons and methods of cap- 



