81 



seen in the sloughs, but specimens weighing from a half to three 

 quarters of a pound were abundant in tlie river, as was seen by 

 the numbers caught on trot Hues. The young are called "fiddlers" 

 by fishermen. 



Localities: Bear Creek, Dead Man's Slough, Willow Slough, 

 Long Lake, Broad Lake, Wood Slough. 



Family AMiiDiE (Dog-fish.) 



Dog-fish {Amia calva, Linn.). 



Young dog-fish were not often seen in the pools outside the 

 levee, but inside they were everyi^diere common. They measured 

 from sis to eight inches in length. In Bear Creek they were 

 especially abundant, sometimes sporting at the surface in great 

 numbers. Adults were also taken inside the levee. They certainly 

 spawn on flooded bottom-lauds in early spring; and I can account 

 for their almost total absence from the temporary pools only by 

 supposing that the young follow the adults into the deeper waters 

 as the bottom-lands become exposed. Young a few inches in 

 length are caught by the hundred at times for trot line bait, 

 their desirable quality for this purpose being an extreme hardi- 

 ness when on the hook. 



Localities: Ballard Slough, Harkness Slough, Bear Creek, 

 Goose Lake, Dead Man's Slough, Moss Lake, Willow Slough, 

 Long Lake, Broad Lake. 



Family LEPiDOSTEiDiE. (Gaks.) 



Short-nosed Gar {Lepidosieus plaiysiomiis, Raf. ). 



Young examples from 8 to 12 inches long were very common 

 in some of the lakes and sloughs, and were seen frequently lurk- 

 ing about barges and fish boats in the bay. No large examples were 

 seen. They are quite sportive at times, and keep up a constant 

 splashing of the water as a skitf moves among them. Hundreds 

 were seen at the south end of Long Lake. They were lying just 

 beneath the surface, fanning the water with the fins sufficiently to 

 keep the body stationary, and when approached would suddenly 

 lash the tail out of water and disappear. The young of this gar 

 averaged considerably larger than those of the other species and 

 were more uniform in size. Eighteen examples taken at random 

 from different situations average 9.94 inches in length from tip of 

 snout to tip of caudal fiu. With two exceptions all those seen 

 had lost the caudal filament, and also, to a great extent, the black 

 blotches of the very young. Those which possessed the filament 

 were two of the three smallest examples taken, and measured 

 respectively 8 and 8.50 inches in length. The largest examples 

 seen measured 12.50 inches. If these young are from the eggs 

 spawned this season, and I believe they are, the}^ indicate a more 

 rapid growth, or an earlier spawning time for tliis species than 

 for L. osseus. 

 F. C.-6 



