270 CATFISHES 



our series, all save four are confined to the eastern half of 

 the United States. 



The Mississippi Catfish/ or Blue Cat, of the Mis- 

 sippi River and Gulf states is the giant of its genus. Even 

 when alive and in good health, it is a very ugly fish — heavy- 

 paunched and mud-colored. It looks like a fish modelled out 

 of river mud. I saw a specimen taken at Burlington, Iowa, 

 which weighed 93 pounds, and have heard of others exceed- 

 ing 100 pounds. Jordan and Evermann say the "record 

 specimen weighed 150 pounds," and was caught at St. Louis; 

 but the mischievous evenness of the figure casts doubt upon 

 the reliability of the record. 



Very naturally, the tons of edible flesh annually contrib- 

 uted by this fish to our national food supply are not wasted. 

 Thousands of persons like the flesh of Catfish and bullheads, 

 and in twelve months of 1899-1901, twenty-six states and 

 six great lakes yielded twelve and a half million pounds, 

 worth $503,562. Illinois headed the list with 1,569,615 

 pounds, worth $68,535. 



The Channel Catfish^ is the large Catfish of the North, 

 and also the Mississippi Valley, which so closely resembles 

 tlie preceding species that it is at best very difl&cult — and 

 sometimes impossible — to distinguish them. It is, however, 

 much smaller than the blue cat, and instead of frequenting 

 sluggish waters, it displays a decided preference for river 

 channels and clear water when it can be found. Naturally 

 enough, its flesh is said to be of better flavor than the more 

 sluggish, mud-inhabiting blue cat. 



1 Ic-tu-lu'rus fur-ca'tus. ^ Ic-tu-lu'rus punc-ta'tus. 



