534 BULLETIN OF THE BUREAU OP FISHERIES. 



Unless the blueback is identical with those other forms, its known range was, until 

 1905, restricted to the Rangeley Lakes. In that year, however, the writer"^ provision- 

 ally recorded as this species specimens from Rainbow Lake, the headwaters of a tributary 

 of the West Branch of Penobscot River, Piscataquis County, and later additional speci- 

 mens were received from the same place. Very possibly careful search might reveal 

 them in other Maine waters. 



Size. — Girard stated (loc. cit.) that the fish attained from 8 to 10 inches in length. 

 The Report of the Maine Fish Commission for 1874 stated that it was reported to reach 

 a length of 8 inches, and the report for 1878 said that the fish were quite small, usually 

 averaging four or five to the pound. H. O. Stanley, one of the Maine fish commissioners, 

 wrote in a letter to Fred Mather '> that he did not believe that out of a thousand two 

 could be selected that would vary i ounce in weight, or that five could be picked out 

 that would vary an ounce from a pound, aggregate weight. 



In 1883 Mr. Rich stated (loc. cit.) that he had never seen one that weighed over 6 

 ounces, and in another place he said that they ran from 5 to 8 inches in length and 

 weighed from 4 to 6 ounces. In American Fishes, previously cited. Dr. Bean was 

 quoted to the effect that it was not known to exceed 10 inches in length from existing 

 collections, but that specimens of much larger size might be expected. In the revised 

 edition of the same work in 1903, edited by Dr. Theodore Gill, it was stated that anglers 

 now and then catch what seemed to be bluebacks weighing as high as 2 and 2^ pounds. 



Habits. — While the first published information respecting the blueback was that 

 by Girard (loc. cit.), it was locally known, particularly to the inhabitants of the region 

 and to a few visitors, many years prior to Girard's notice. In an article entitled "Blue- 

 back trout, "<^ J. G. Rich, a resident of Bethel, Me., wrote that in 1844 he visited the 

 Rangeley Lakes and then first heard of this fish, which the settlers called blueback, not 

 apparently regarding it as a trout. At that time, he stated all that was known regard- 

 ing the fish was that about the loth or 20th of October of each year they ran up what 

 was called Toothaker Cove from Rangeley Lake into a small brook, the outlet of Quimby 

 Pond. 



Girard stated that the abode of the blueback was " Moosemegantic " Lake, in which, 

 he said, it remained concealed during the greater part of the year, and indicated that 

 about the loth of October it came near shore and ascended in shoals the Rangeley out- 

 let to " Lake Oquassa." After the middle of November, he mentioned, the fish returned 

 to Mooselucmaguntic Lake and was seen no more until October of the following year. 

 However, Mr. Rich wrote (loc. cit.) that until the building of Upper Dam about 1858, 

 when the fish was discovered in Kennebago and Rangeley Streams and below Upper 

 Dam, he had never seen it in any other stream than the outlet of Quimby Pond, which 

 in a later article he designated as Dodge Pond outlet. This stream, however, is the 

 joint outlet of both ponds. He stated that although he had fished all of the Rangeley 

 Lakes, the Magalloway, Parmacheenee, Cupsuptic, " Beama ", Kennebago, and Rapid 

 River waters for more than 35 years he had never seen the fish elsewhere than in the 

 places first mentioned and at no other season of the year than the late fall months. But 

 later he was informed that they had appeared below Middle Dam. 



a Maine Sportsman. Feb., 1905. p. 117. ' Forest and Stream, May 5, 1887. ' Forest and Stream, Jan. 4, 1883. 



