364 NATURAL HISTORY OF AQUATIC ANIMALS. 



daut and largest in the autumnal months, when, in his opinion, they come from the north. It is 

 not satisfactorily ascertained, however, whether these fishes, leaving the northern coast during 

 winter time, migrate southward or move towards the warm waters of the Gulf Stream. They 

 return to the coast of the Middle and Northern States early in the spring, the first being taken 

 in May, and are most abundant from June to September. 



They are common in summer in Eastern markets, but do not bring high prices, the flesh bein^f 

 soft and flabby, and of little value except when fresh from the water. 



According to the report of the Commission of Inquiry into the Fishes of Narragausett Bay, 

 the Squeteague was ten times as abundant in 1870 as in 1809, and was first noticed there, alter a 

 long absence, about 1866. It is said that when they appear off the coast of New Jersey, about the 

 middle of June, they are found to be filled with spawn, but this statement requires confirmation. 

 Thousands of individuals have been examined by the Fish Commission naturalists at different 

 times in the summer, and it is but rare that traces of spawn have been found. The precise period 

 of spawning along the coast and the localities where the eggs are laid, as well as the habits of the 

 fish during that period, are but little known, and are well worthy of careful investigation. 



At Beasley's Point, the young fish of the year have in August attained a length of about 

 four inches, and differ from the adults in lacking entirely the characteristic spots, these being 

 replaced by broad, vertical bauds, which, together with their more compressed form, render their 

 appearance very unlike that of the adult. 



The sport of catching the Squeteague is very great, and is highly enjoyed by our coast fisher- 

 men on account of the great number that can be taken in a very short time. They usually move 

 about in schools of greater or less size, swimming near to the surface, and requiring a line but 

 little leaded. They take almost any kind of bait, especially clams, soft crabs, or pieces of fish. 

 They bite with a snap, rarely condescending to nibble, and in consequence of the extreme tender- 

 ness of the mouth it requires constant vigilance to fasten them, and great care to haul them 

 successfully out of the water. 



During the flood tide they occupy the channel-ways of the bays, and during the ebb they 

 generally settle down in some deep hole, where they remain until the next flood brings them out 

 again. 



In the night the Squeteague run up the creeks in the salt meadows, where they are sometimes 

 taken in great numbers by interposing between them and the sea, just before the period of high 

 water. This experiment is not a very satisfactory one, however, on the New Jersey coast, in 

 consequence of the great abundance of crabs that accompany the fish : the smalli r fish become 

 entangled in the meshes of the nets, thus inviting the attack of the crabs, which cut the nets to 

 pieces, sometimes ruining them altogether in the course of a single night. When taken, the 

 Squeteague makes a peculiar croaking, audible at a considerable distance; and it is said that this 

 is not uufrequeutly heard from a boat when passing over a school of them in the water beneath. 



In the North, as has been .already stated, this species is but little esteemed, but in the South 

 it ranks very high. In the Chesapeake they usually average from one to one and a half pounds 

 in weight, though they sometimes attain the weight of twelve pounds. They make their appear- 

 ance about the 1st of May and remain until cold weather. They are very abundant, and immense 

 quantities of them are salted for winter use. 



The Sea Trout, or Deep water Trout, of Charleston, described by Holbrook under the name 

 Otolitlius thalasainug, is without much question identical with the Northern Squeteague, although 

 that author states that it differs from this fish entirely in its habits, since it is only found in the 



