130 Big Game Fishes 
were seen on the shallow reef mentioned; and 
as several were taken in seines at night in the 
lagoon, in water from three to five feet in depth, 
‘the fish doubtless came in at this time to feed 
upon crayfish, which were then in the open, and 
the large white short-spined echini found there. 
Little is known of its breeding habits. Young 
two inches long were taken in August in the 
lagoons, and it was supposed to deposit its spawn 
in water fifteen or twenty feet deep just outside 
the breakers; but this assumption was obviously 
not justified by actual observation. Females 
with spawn were taken in May and June. 
The hogfish is rarely caught by anglers who 
fish with the rod, as almost the entire fishing is 
conducted or carried on in deep water, and it is 
necessary to go out in the smacks and fish for 
them, @ Za cod, with a hand-line — not a satisfac- 
tory proceeding to the man who has been trained 
to look upon the hand-line as a device of the 
pot-angler, which is hardly true. The strongest 
argument against hand, or cast-line methods is 
that by them the fisherman can take too many 
fish. 
Found with the hogfish in the new American 
possession of Porto Rico is a fish known as 
