ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY BULLETIN 



1345 



HIBERNATING FISHES. 



WHEN winter weather comes and the tem- 

 perature of the fresh water flowing 

 through the tanks of the Aquarium falls 

 below forty degrees, Fahr., some of the fresh 

 water fishes become very sluggish. 



The young yellow perches are likely to lie 

 quietly on the bottom of their tank making but 

 little movement and taking little food. They 

 lie as evenly spaced as they could be arranged 

 by their keepers. 



Young black bass are affected by the low 

 temperature in quite a different way. They 

 remain poised somewhere above the bottom and 

 crowded closely together. It is a common sight 

 to see fifty or more of them compactly bunched 

 and all facing one way. There are two tanks 

 of young black bass in the Aquarium, both of 

 which exhibit this habit to good advantage while 

 cold weather lasts. — C. H. T. 



ITEMS OF INTEREST 

 Memorial Tablet to Professor Baird 



On February 9, 1916, a bas relief tablet was 

 unveiled at Washington, D. C, bearing the fol- 

 lowing inscription: 



SPENCER FULLERTON BAIRD 



1823-1887. 



FOUNDER AND ORGANIZER OF THE 



UNITED STATES BUREAU OF FISHERIES 



COMMISSIONER OF FISHES 1871-1887 



HE DEVOTED HIS LIFE TO THE PUBLIC SERVICE 



AND THROUGH THE APPLICATION OF SCIENCE 



TO FISH CULTURE AND THE FISHERIES 

 GAVE HIS COUNTRY WORLD-WIDE DISTINCTION 



HIS CO-WORKERS AND FOLLOWERS IN THIS 



FIELD DEDICATE THIS TABLET ON THE 



ANNIVERSARY OF THE ESTABLISHMENT 



OF THE FEDERAL FISHERY SERVICE 



FEBRUARY NINTH, 1916 



The exercises were held in the auditorium 

 of the National Museum. The tablet was pre- 

 sented by persons who served under Professor 

 Baird or were associated with his work. 



A Fishery Conference* — "On January 12, 

 George D. Pratt, Conservation Commissioner, 

 of the State of New York; Ernest Napier, 

 Fish and Game Commissioner of New Jersey ; 



J. M. Stratton, Chief Warden of the same Com- 

 mission and Dr. Charles H. Townsend, of the 

 New York Zoological Society met at the Bureau 

 of Fisheries in Washington for a conference re- 

 garding the condition of the fisheries on the 

 coasts of New York and New Jersey and the 

 measures that should be taken to conserve the 

 supply of important food fishes. A plan of 

 investigation was decided on, and the Bureau 

 of Fisheries promised to assist in the work." 



*From the January Bulletin of the U. S. Bureau 

 of Fisheries. 



Spotted Codling. — The Aquarium received 

 from Belford, N. J., in October, several speci- 

 mens of a fish that is seldom represented there, 

 the spotted codling or spotted hake {Phycis 

 regius). 



It is the most striking fish of its family, the 

 heavily marked lateral line being broken by 

 fourteen conspicuous white spots. In his "Fishes 

 of New Jersey," Fowler records but a single 

 specimen. In New York waters it is better 

 known, specimens having been taken occasion- 

 ally by the Aquarium collector at Gravesend 

 Bay. It has been recorded from as far south 

 as South Carolina, but is more common north- 

 ward. The spotted codling ranges from the 

 coast out to depths of 160 fathoms. The late 

 Alexander Agassiz observed electrical powers 

 in this species. It probably does not exceed 

 one foot in length. 



Large Alligator. — The alligator shown in this 

 Bulletin came to the Aquarium in 1903. It 

 is nearly ten feet long. A large alligator in 

 captivity lives an uneventful life, except for an 

 occasional removal to another pool which re- 

 moval may be eventful not only to the alligator 

 but to those who undertake to do the moving. 

 When the swinging tail of a big alligator hits 

 something it hits hard, and the animal's vigor- 

 ous protests with tail and jaws, accompanied 

 with loud bellowing, command respect. 



Sanitary Conditions in the Aquarium* — 

 "It seems desirable to refer to this matter, as 

 there is an impression in some quarters that 

 the Aquarium is not as well ventilated as it 

 might be. This is in part due to the fact that the 

 Aquarium formerlj^ had no mechanical system 

 of ventilation. The installation of the Sturte- 

 vant system some years ago had the result of 



