322 Lake Maxmkuckee, Physical and Biological Survey 



the male fish accompanied by a dense swarm of young, the latter 

 appearing dark in color, and at first sight tadpole-like. 



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"The foregoing notes upon the spawning and habits of the dog- 

 fish provide the fish culturist, I am convinced, with data which 

 should enable him, and with relatively little trouble, to materially 

 reduce their numbers in localities where they abound. He learns, 

 for example, that these fish will repair to a more or less definite 

 locality at the time of spawning, and that here in the shallows 

 their nests can readily be found and destroyed. He concludes, 

 furthermore, that without extraordinary efi'ort he can secure the 

 male fish which guards the nest and young. This he can take 

 either by snare or by spear. As the first step in reducing the 

 numbers of dog'fish, he finds it of course necessary to determine 

 accurately the time of spawning ; in this he is helped, since the gen- 

 eral limits of the season have been already indicated. The exact 

 time of spawning may usually be determined with little difficulty, 

 for the splashing of the fish during the early days of spring may 

 be looked upon as an indication that spawning has either begun 

 or is about to begin. An occasional rise in the shallows is thus 

 found to mark the preparation for spawning; a continuous and 

 noisy splashing, one which can be noted at a distance of a hun- 

 dred yards or more, is, in the experience of the present writer, a 

 most useful sign that the fish are actually spawning. At this time, 

 perhaps, the greatest difficulty will be experienced in approaching 

 the fish closely enough to capture one or more of them. A slight 

 movement is sometimes enough to give the alarm. And a further 

 difficulty in capturing them at this time is the muddiness of the 

 water, caused by the energetic movements of spawning. In some 

 localities, no doubt, nests are more easily found than in others, 

 but in a general way the writer believes that there are few fishes 

 in our fresh-water lakes whose eggs and young can be secured 

 with less difficulty than those of the dogfish. Should the novice in 

 collecting fail to find at once one of their nests, the rush and splash 

 of the escaping guardian fish will often give a sufficiently obvious 

 hint as to the location of a nest. I may note, furthermore, that the 

 dogfish does not prove itself skillful in throwing a human enemy off 

 the scent; one rarely finds that a fish will move away quietly from 

 the nest and then make a noisy escape in order to divert the col- 

 lector. The fish, on the other hand, is far more likely to remain 

 on the nest till the boat is actually upon it, when with a sudden 

 plunge it reveals the exact position of the nest. So fearlessly does 

 it stand its ground that in several cases noted by the writer, the 



