THE HARVEST FISHES. 223 
New York. Mitchill referred to it in his work on the fishes of New York, 
published in 1815, saying that it derived its common name, ‘‘ Harvest- 
fish,’’ from the fact that it usually appeared during harvest time. DeKay, 
too, mentions having had several specimens in his possession. It is 
somewhat abundant at the mouth of the Chesapeake, and along the 
Southern coast. In the Gulf of Mexico it is rather rare ; occasionally it is 
taken in seines at Pensacola. Dr. Giinther, in his ‘‘ Catalogue of the 
Fishes of the British Museum,’’ makes the astonishing statement that he 
has seen specimens from Lake Champlain. The species ranges south to 
Bahia, Brazil. It is not commercially valuable except at Norfolk, Va., 
where it is consumed for food in large quantities, its market name being 
“¢ Whiting.’’ 
The California Pompano, Stromateus simillimus, is thus described by 
Prof. Jordan: 
“This species, known here as the Pompano, reaches a length of eight 
inches, and a weight of rather less than half a pound. It occurs along 
the entire coast of California and Oregon, being most abundant about 
Santa Barbara and Soquel, and is not known from farther south than San 
Diego. It appears in schools chiefly in the summer and fall; occasion- 
ally, also, during the winter, its times of arrival and departure being quite 
variable. ‘It is said that it was an extremely rare visitant till about 1870, 
and that its abundance since then has steadily increased, it being now 
often found in greater quantities than can be readily sold. It feeds on 
worms, small crustacea, &c. Nothing special is known of its breeding 
habits. As a food-fish it is held in the highest repute, the price of indi- 
vidual fish ranging from two to four for a ‘quarter.’ Its flesh is fat, rich, 
and excellent.’’ 
The Black Rudder-fish, Lirus perciformis, is also called by the fishermen 
“Log-fish ’’ and ‘‘Barrel-fish.’’ It has been noticed at various points 
along our coast from New Jersey to Nova Scotia, where schools of them 
were several times observed off Halifax in 1877. It has hitherto been 
considered very rare north of Cape Cod. I cannot doubt that it will be 
hereafter found at least as far south as Cape Hatteras, and probably along 
the whole length of our Atlantic coast. The habits of this fish are peculiar 
in the extreme. They are almost always found in the vicinity of floating 
barrels and spars, sometimes inside of the barrels; hence the fishermen 
often call them ‘‘ Barrel-fish,’’ though the most usual name is ‘“ Rudder- 
