United States National Museum, which is a veritable monument to the' 

 patience and taxonomic skill of the authors. For similar reasons it 

 has teen decided not to incorporate analytical keys of the species, as 

 these involve a technical knowledge of fish anatomy which the average 

 person is not likely to attempt to master. A further limitation of the 

 present list is the exclusion of species confined to fresh water. 



When we pass from the classification of our native fishes to a dis- 

 cussion of their habits and economic relations we discover a great 

 hiatus, since little has teen done along these lines except when some 

 immediate economic stimulus has provided the spur to effort. Hardly 

 u teginning has been made in this field of investigation. 



Of the species listed at least 70 are definitely known to be of value 

 as human food, but of course, manf of these are not customarily 

 marketed. Some of them are too small, others are rare or else do not 

 attract the public taste in competition with well established food fishes. 

 It is on the other hand rather obvious that most of the smaller varieties 

 furnish food for the larger edible fish, and hence are of great indirect 

 value in the maintenance of our fisheries. 



In assembling the illustrations used in this report numerous 

 sources were drawn upon. The majority of the cuts were originally 

 published in the great monograph of American fishes previously men- 

 tioned and were made under the direction of Dr. David Starr Jordan 

 of Stanford University. Several were taken from a bulletin of the 

 United States Fish Commission dealing with the fishes of Alaska, 

 written by Dr. B. W. Evermann. Professor Starks of Stanford has 

 contributed a number of the important papers on the fishes of Puget 

 Sound and several of his illustrations have been utilized. Use has 

 also been made of figures prepared by Dr. Charles H. Gilbert, who has 

 published many valuable papers dealing with the fishes of the Pacific. 

 In a number of cases no illustration could be found in the literature 

 available. To assist in the identification of such species closely similar 

 forms, belonging to the same genus, have been illustrated for com- 

 parison. 



In attempting to point out the salient characteristics of the species 

 enumerated in the following list, it is necessary to use some of the 

 technical phraseology of the ichthyologist and a cut is therefore given 

 to illustrate the more important superficial features in tlie structure 

 of a fish. Where doubt exists as to the identification of fishes found 

 in our waters, specimens may be sent to the College of Fisheries at 

 the University of Washington where material is at hand for more 

 exact comparison. 



Many of our fishes are so seldom seen, even by persons in close 

 contact with fishing operations, but tew of them have received com- 

 mon names, and many of these are more or less misleading. The names 

 presented in the following pages are offered in the hope of filling this 

 hiatus, although better ones will no doubt be evolved for many of the 

 species as they become more familiar. 



