REPOET OF COMMISSIONER OF FISH AND FISHERIES. LXXIII 
In his report* Mr. Bollman briefly describes the physical charac- 
teristics of the several lakes, including their temperature at the sur- 
face and bottom, and notes the distribution of the species collected, 
which number 53. On account of its northern position, Michigan has, 
he states, comparatively few kinds of fishes, and as all the waters 
examined in 1S8S had essentially the same physical features the list 
which he presents was, necessarily, a small one. The bottoms of the 
lakes were found to consist chiefly of fine mud or pulverent vegetable 
matter. Reference is made to the food of 23 species, which exhibited 
little diversity in that respect. 
Iowa . — In the autumn of 1888, after the close of the Virginia explora- 
tions, Prof. S. E. Meek, whose residence is in Cedar Rapids, began the 
preparation of a report upon the fishes of Iowa, which will necessitate 
the examination of many localities where no collections have yet been 
made. This work will be continued from time to time, as his college 
duties will permit. In 1888 it was limited to Cedar River and its tribu- 
taries, chiefly in the neighborhood of Cedar Rapids. 
Missouri and Arkansas . — The proposed establishment of a new hatch- 
ing station at Neosho, in the Ozark region of Missouri, made it desirable 
to examine with some care the different streams in that vicinity. The 
services of Prof. C. II. Gilbert, of the University of Cincinnati, and of 
Prof. S. E. Meek, of Coe College, Iowa, were secured for that purpose, 
and the work was begun about the middle of July, 1388. The former, 
however, having been severely prostrated by malarial fever early in the 
season, the inquiry had to be deferred until the summer of 1889, when 
it will be taken up by Prof. Meek. The country about Neosho is chiefly 
drained by tributaries of the White River, but it is intended to extend 
the examination to the Osage River in Missouri, and the Arkansas and 
Washita rivers in Arkansas. * 
Alabama . — The investigations in Alabama were begun in the first 
part of May, 1889, and were continued a little over one month. The 
party consisted of Philip H. Kirsch, Everett O. Jones, and W 7 illiam M. 
Andrews, all students in the University of Indiana. Before reaching 
Alabama collections were made in Lake Pontchartrain, La., and in 
Biloxi Bay, Ocean Spring's Bay, and Fort Bayou, Miss. In Alabama 
the explorations covered the greater part of the State, the number of 
places visited being indicated in the following summary: The Tennes- 
see River and nine of its tributaries; the Alabama River and eleven of 
its tributaries; the Escambia River and eight of its tributaries. Prof. 
Charles H. Gilbert, who has reported upon the results of this expedition,! 
report upon the fishes of Kalamazoo, Calhoun, and Antrim counties, Michigan, 
obtained in connection with the investigations of the Michigan Fish Commission 
during the summer of 1888. By Charles II. Bollman. Bull. U. S. Fish Commission, 
vol. vm, for 1888, pp. 219-225. 
+ Report of explorations made in Alabama during May and .Tune, 1889, with notes 
upon the fishes obtained in the bend of the Tennessee, the Alabama, and the Escambia 
rivers, and descriptions of three new species. By Charles H. Gilbert. Bull. II. S. 
Fish. Com., ix, for 1889, pp. 143-166. 
