148 REPORT OF COMMISSIONER OF FISH AND FISHERIES. 
Haute, among whom may be mentioned Mr. D. C. Ridgley, Mr. ©. 8, 
Hoover, and Mr. C. H. Copeland. A report upon these inquiries is now 
in course of preparation. 
OHIO. 
Dr. James A. Henshall, secretary of the Cincinnati Society of Natural 
History, continued, during the summers of 1889 and 1890, his researches 
respecting the fishes of Ohio, referred to in the last annual report A 
complete account of these inquiries is deferred until further observa- 
tions can be made, but the following brief notice of the work accom- 
plished during the past two years has been furnished by Dr. Henshall: 
The watershed of the State of Ohio extends from Ashtabula County, 
in the northeast corner of the State, to Mercer County, on its west- 
ern border. The streams north of this ridge flow into Lake Erie, while 
those south of it empty into the Ohio River. The waters explored in 
the latter basin were the Ohio, Muskingum, Scioto, and Little Miami 
rivers and a number of smaller streams. Of the Great Lake Basin, the 
Maumee and Sandusky rivers and Lake Erie in the vicinity of Put-in 
Bay were examined, From these various sources 130 species of fishes 
were obtained out of about 150 known species supposed to inhabit 
Ohio waters. The only previous efforts in this direction were made by 
Rafinesque in 1818 to 1820, and by Dr. J. P. Kirtland from 1826 to 
1846. The former explored the Ohio River and its tributaries from 
Pittsburg to Louisville, and described 120 species, of which the exist- 
ence of about 70 valid species have since been verified. Dr. Kirtland 
described, from the waters of both basins, even a less number. 
The most important food-fishes collected in the Ohio and its tribu- 
taries were the black bass, pike perch, sunfish, crappie, fresh-water 
drum, and several species of suckers and catfish. Those from the Lake 
Erie basin were the whitefish, lake herring, black bass, pike perch, 
sauger, and sturgeon, the first-named being the most important commer- 
cial food-fish of the State. From this it will. be seen that were the 
fishes of Ohio afforded proper protection during their breeding season, 
and the pollution of the streams by the refuse and offal of various mills 
and factories prevented by wise and efficient legislation, a bountiful 
supply of good food-fishes would be assured to the people of the State— 
that would go far toward supplying the demand for fish food. 
KENTUCKY. 
During the autumn of 1889 and the spring of 1890, Prof. Philip H. 
Kirsch, superintendent of public schools at Columbia City, Ind., made 
an investigation of the streams of Clinton County, Ky., and obtained 
a very complete collection of their fishes. In his report upon the sub- 
ject,* Prof, Kirsch explains that this is one of the smallest counties in- 
* Notes on the streams and fishes of Clinton County, Ky., with a description of a 
new darter. By Philip H. Kirsch. Bull. U. 8. Fish Comm., x, 1890, pp. 289-292. 
