ABUNDANCE OF FISH ON NEW ENGLAND COAST. 167 



larger and smaller English shads — the allis and twait, (iv, 117.) 

 Perhaps I have wasted too many words and too much paper on this 

 name, but I am tired of the re-appearance every now and then of Dr. 

 Smith's spurious Indian "aloof." 



" En decembre, vu, pour parler plus juste, pendautles deux dernieres 

 limes, un poisson appelle Ponamo vient frayer sur les glaces, et on en 

 prend autant qu'on veut; je crois que c'est une espece de Chien de 

 Mer. 17 — (Tom. I, p. 127.) 



"Vers la fin de mars, les poissons commencent a frayer, et entrent 

 dans les rivieres en si grande quantite, qu'on ne i>eut le croire, quand on 

 ne l'a point vu. Le premier qui paroit est VPJplan, lequel est trois fois 

 plus grand en ce pays- la, qu'en Europe. A la fin d'Avril le Hareng 

 donne," etc. — (Ibid.) 



Charlevoix, Histoire generate de la Nouv. France, (Paris, 1744J bor- 

 rows this account of the fishes of Acadie from Father Biard's Relation 

 de la Nouv. France, 1611-13. Biard writes : 



"En decembre (admirable providence de Dieu) vient un poisson 

 "appelle d'eux Ponamo, qui fraye sous la glace, (p. 10.) Sur la my-mars, 

 le poisson commence a frayer et a monter de la mer en haut contre cer- 

 tains ruisseaux, souvent en si grande abondauce, que tout en fourmille. 



Entre ces poissons, VEsplan est le premier. Cet esplan est deux 



ou trois fois plus grand que l'est le nostre de riviere." (P. 10.) 



You will observe that Charlevoix, by mistranscription, makes the 

 Ponamo spawn " sur les glaces" instead of u sous la glace," and con- 

 founds it with some species of " chien de mer, 77 and, oddly enough, Dr. 

 J. G. Shea, in his new translation of Charlevoix, mistranslates " chien 

 de mer " by " seal, 77 an error to be noted in his errata. 



The Ponamo is the Tom-cod or Frost-fish (M. tomcodus, Mitch.,) of 

 which the modern Micmac name is Boonamoo. It is not confounded, by 

 Biard or Charlevoix with the other " frost-fish," the Smelt, (Eperlan.) 



The name Ponamo means " winter fish," or, more exactly, "fish taken 

 in the winter." 



Biard's relation will be found in the reprinted " Eelations des Jesuites," 

 (Quebec, 1858,) vol. 1, to be found in the Congressional Library. 



The notices of fishes of New England in Wood's "New England's 

 Prospect," (London, 1634, and reprinted, Boston, 1865, by the " Prince 

 Society,") you have probably noticed ; and, of course, Josselyn's list of 

 New England fish, in his " Account of Two Voyages to New England," 

 (London, 1675,) as well as in his "New England Barities," (1672.) In 

 the former work (pp. 112, 113) he describes the " Frost-fish," " a little 

 bigger than a Gudgeon," &c. ; but in his list (p. 89) includes the "Smelt" 

 by name. 



Captain John Smith, in "The Description of New England," 1616, 

 (reprinted, Boston, 1865,) gives a short list of the fishes of New Eng- 

 land, (p. 48,) which includes "Cole, Cusk, or small Ling, Mullet, Pinacks, 

 [very plenty,] Gunners, 77 &c. 



"Pinak" is, I suppose, the old English "Pinck" or "Pink," meaning 

 any "small" or "delicate" fish, and still in use as a name for the min- 

 now. (Dutch pinole, pinkyf the little finger.) " C miner," in the seven- 

 teenth century, belonged to the Golden Wrasse, (Grenilabrus Donovani, 

 Cuv. and Val., Labrus cornubius, Don.,) rather than to the other "Gilt 

 Head," the Sparus aurata, of Linn. — Ghrysophrys aurata, Cuv. and Yar- 

 rell. The former was common, the latter rare, on the southern coast of 

 England; and I have no doubt that Smith and Josselyn both trans- 

 ferred the name of " Conner" (see Yarrell, ii, 498) from the Wrasse, not 

 from the Gilthead proper. But it is very likely that the Dutch name of 



