20 ANIMAL, LIFE IN OKLAHOMA. 



not decreased so much as it has in some other states, and we may always 

 have a wealth of feathered songsters if only we will it now. 



FISHES AND MUSSELS. 



FISHES. 



Fishing in Oklahoma can never be successfully commercialized, 

 for there are few large, permanent bodies of watep within the State, 

 and the depth and character of the streams are not such as to make 

 possible the constant production of fish in quantities. Our rivers and 

 creeks, however, contain a large number of excellent food fishes that 

 will always furnish an abundance of wholesome sport for those who have 

 the time and patience to go after them. Seining is legal in all the 

 larger streams, and while too many fish are caught in this way, it probaibly 

 will never materially lessen the supply, for the rivere are annually 

 restocked from the larger streams during periods of high water. Some 

 large fish are occasionally caught in Oklahoma. The yellow Mississippi 

 cat is taken in many places, and specimens weighing as much as 100 

 pounds are not unlmown. The blue and channel cat fish abound in 

 nearly all our streams, but they are not so large. One weighing more than 

 50 pounds is extremely uncommon. Eels are found in most of the 

 streams of the State. They range in size up to three feet in length, 

 but the larger ones are rare. Among the scale fishes the buffalo, drums, 

 and bass are the largest and most valuable, while the smaller ones in- 

 cluding the goggle-eye, white, and sun perch are'the most numerous and 

 most widely distributed. The hickory shad is abundant in all the 

 streams, but it is so thoroughly useless, and has choked so many 

 uninitiated folk with its countless bones, that it does not deserve to be 

 mentioned in an account of the fish resources of the State. Sturgeons 

 and gars occur in all the larger streams and some attain considerable 

 size. While we now have a fair amount of fish, they cannot always 

 withstand the outrages being committed against them. Streams not 

 more than 10 feet in width have been seined to the last fish, and one 

 man was known to dynamite his own stream at spavraing time ! If, 

 however, fishing is conducted in a sportsmanlike fashion, excellent and 

 profitable sport can be assured and put on a permanent basis. 



MUSSELS. 



Fresh water clams or mussels occur abundantly in the Verdigria 

 Eiver throughout a large part of its course, and there is no reason why 

 anyone living along this stream could not increase the resources of his 

 farm by a little study and care in the propagation of these animals. 

 Their shells are worth frona $8 to $60 a ton, and the occasional finding 

 of a valuable pearl adds an element of excitement and possibilities of 



