RANGELEY LAKES, MAINE: FISHES, ANGLING, AND FISH CULTURE. 509 



The breeding time of the hompout in this region was not learned, but elsewhere 

 it is usually in the spring. It deposits its eggs in a hole under rocks, old sunken logs, 

 submerged stumps, etc. When hatched, one of the parent fish remains with the brood 

 of young until they are at least an inch in length. 



The hompout is notoriously tenacious of life when removed from the water. Many 

 stories in illustration of the fact have been related, but one that came under the per- 

 sonal observation of the writer is worthy of mention. On August 2, 1905, many horn- 

 pouts were caught in the seine at B Point. They were taken to the laboratory about 

 12.30 p. m. and thrown upon a piece of paper on the floor. The next morning at 9 

 o'clock (about 20^4 hours after capture) four showed indications of life and they 

 revived when placed in water. 



This fish was found almost everywhere in Umbagog Lake throughout the season, 

 especially in shallow coves at the mouths of brooks, where they were usually rather 

 small. The largest observed were taken at the mouth of Sturtevant Brook and in 

 the deep hole off Sunday Cove. They averaged about i pound each in weight. Horn 

 pouts were also found in the Androscoggin River below Errol Dam and at the mouth 

 of Molnichwock Brook. Most of those caught in Umbagog ranged from 3 to 8 inches 

 in length. 



The hompout is an excellent food fish. 



LONGNOSE SUCKER (Catostomus catostomus) . 



This sucker is sometimes called red sucker and red-sided sucker, owing to the red 

 or reddish stripe that is frequently present along the side in the breeding season. It is 

 also known as small-scale sucker. It is found from New Brunswick and New England 



Fig. j.— Longnose sticker {.Catostomus catostomus). 



westward to the Great Lakes and northward to Alaska, and in an isolated instance has 

 been collected in the mountain waters of West Virginia. The earliest reference to its 

 possible occurrence in the Rangeley Lakes was in the second annual report upon the 

 Natural History and Geology of the State of Maine, 1862, part II, page 327, where the 

 red-sided sucker is mentioned as peculiar to the Androscoggin Lakes. This reference 

 was for a long time a doubtful one owing to the fact that the common sucker often has 

 red sides. It was not positively recorded from Maine waters until a few years ago, 

 when it was found in Craigs Brook. Subsequently, however, it was found to be quite 

 commonly distributed, especially in the northern part of the State. 



Many years ago Prof. F. W. Putnam made a small collection of fishes in the Range- 

 ley Lakes, which had remained unidentified in the museums of the Essex Institute and 

 69571°— 18 33 



