LXX REPORT OF COMMISSIONER OF FISH AND FISHERIES. 
The Alleghany region of Virginia , North and Mouth Carolina , and 
Tennessee . — The investigation of this region was conducted personally 
by Dr. Jordan, with the assistance of Prof. O. P. Jenkins, of De Pauw 
College, Indiana; Prof. B. W. Evermann, of the State Normal School, 
Terre Haute, Ind.; and Prof. S. E. Meek, of Coe College, Iowa. Work 
was begun at Luray, Ya., July 2J, and continued until September 8, 
when high water in the rivers prevented further seining. The survey 
had reference to the two general river systems, one flowing into the 
Atlantic Ocean between Chesapeake Bay and the Santee River, the other 
into the Ohio River, and in many instances operations were continued 
down the river courses a considerable distance toward the coast. 
The following rivers of the Atlantic drainage were examined, namely: 
The Shenandoah, a tributary of the Potomac River; the James River 
and several of its tributaries; the Dismal Swamp, Elizabeth River; the 
Blackwater, a tributary of the Chowan River; the Staunton, one of 
the main branches of the Roanoke River, in Montgomery and Roanoke 
counties, Virginia; the Tar River, a tributary of the Pamlico; the 
Neuse River and several of its tributaries ; the Haw River, a tributary 
of the Cape Fear; the upper waters of Gre^t Pedee River; the Santee 
River and many of its upper tributaries. In the Ohio River drainage, 
the streams examined were several tributaries of the Kanawha River 
in Virginia, of the Holston River in Virginia and Tennessee, and of 
the French Broad River in North Carolina. The total number of sein- 
ing stations was 54. 
The collections obtained were transmitted to the University of Indi- 
ana, where they were studied by Dr. Jordan, whose report upon the 
inquiry has been published in the Bulletin of the Fish Commission for 
1888.* The limited time that could be given to the investigation, con- 
sidering the wide area which it covered, prevented the party from pay- 
ing attention to other subjects than the fishes, with some reference to 
the physical characteristics of the rivers. Dr. Jordan’s paper is one of 
the most comprehensive and valuable contributions of its kind that has 
yet been published anywhere, and will prove of great interest both to 
fish-culturists and to the fishermen of the region which it describes. The 
subject is treated by river systems, and under each heading is given a 
brief account of the physical features of the main river and its tributa- 
ries as determined at the localities visited, followed by a list of the 
fishes taken, with notes upon their habits and special habitats. Several 
new and little-known species and varieties are also discussed at greater 
length. The new species were described in a preliminary paper which 
has been printed by the U. S. National Museum.f 
* Report of explorations made daring 1888 in the Alleghany region of Virginia, 
North Carolina, and Tennessee, and in Western Indiana, with an account of the 
fishes found in each of the river basins of those regions. By David Starr Jordan. 
Bull. U. S. Fish Commission, vin, 1888, pp. 97-173, plates vm-xv. 
t Descriptions of fourteen new species of fresh-water fishes collected by the U. S. 
Fish Commission in the summer of 1888. By David Starr Jordan. Proc. U. S. Na- 
tional Museum, xi, 1888, pp. 351-362, plates xliii-xlv. 
