FISHES OF PENNSYLVANIA. 61 

The shad is known also as the white shad, and in the colonial days it 
was known to the negroes on the lower Potomac river as the white fish. 
It is found naturally along the Atlantic coast of the United States from 
the Gulf of St. Lawrence to the Gulf of Mexico, ascending streams at 
various dates from January, in its extreme southern limit, to June, in 
far northern waters. In the Delaware and Susquehanna it makes its 
appearance in April and departs after spawning; but remains sometimes 
as late as July 18, and many die in the streams. 
The original distribution of the shad has been widely extended by 
artificial introduction. In certain rivers flowing into the Gulf of Mex- 
ico the fish has been established by planting. In the Ohio river a fish- 
ery has been created by the same method, and in the Sacramento river, 
Cal., the shad was successfully introduced and has colonized not only 
this river, but all suitable rivers from San Francisco to southern Alaska. 
It is now one of the common market species in San Francisco and other 
west coast cities. 
In the Susquehanna the shad was formerly one of the most important 
native food fishes, but its range is now very limited on account of ob- 
struction by dams. Twenty years ago the Fish Commissioners reported 
that a few shad were taken yearly above the Clark’s Ferry dam, none, or 
at most a few dozen, above the Shamokin dam, none above Nanticoke 
dam and none above Williamsport. The largest run of shad that has 
been known to pass the Columbia dam was that of 1867. ‘In 1871 the 
finest Columbia shad were hawked in the market at Harrisburg, thirty 
miles from the fisheries, at considerably less than a dollar a pair. The 
catch at Columbia exceeded one hundred thousand.” 
The obstructions in the Delaware have been almost entirely over- 
come. In 1891 shad were caught higher up the Delaware than for 
many years, and spawned in the upper reaches of the river, beyond the 
New York state line. In 1891 the Delaware, for the first time since 
1823, was restored to its normal condition by means of the fishway at 
Lackawaxen and, according to Col. Gay, it is at present the best shad 
river in the country. The number of eggs obtained for artificial propa- 
gation in the lower river was unusualiy small, but the number naturally 
deposited in the upper waters was greater than for many years. Col. 
Gay observed a large number of big female shad at Gloucester city, but 
a great scarcity of males. This involved a long run up the river before 
spawning. The cause is believed to be the low temperature of the 
water during May, the lack of rain cutting off the usual supply of warm 
surface water, and the tributaries of the upper river brought down 
nothing but cold spring water, keeping the temperature of the river be- 
low the normal for spawning purposes, consequently the shad ascended 
more than three hundred miles. Mr. Ford noticed that every pool in 
the upper river was full of shad, and he saw them playing in the water 
by hundreds. Mr. Van Gordon saw them above Port Jervis, and they 
were observed as far up as Deposit, N. Y. 
