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THE CANADIAN SPORTSMAN AND NATURALIST. 



MONTREAL BRANCH, ENTOMOLOGICAL 

 SOCIETY OF CANADA. 



The ninety-fourth meeting of the society was 

 held at the residence of the President, Mr. H. 

 H. Lyman, on Tuesday evening, 13th instant. 



The President read an interesting and valu- 

 able paper on the genus Callimorpha, illus- 

 trating his remarks by a large collection of 

 the species, and by drawings of the types in 

 the British Museum, made by Mr. Butler, of 

 that institution. We venture to say that the 

 confusion heretofore existing with regard to 

 this variable genus is likely to be got rid of 

 through Mr. Lyman's careful and thorough 

 work, with the assistance of Mr. Caulfield. 

 Mr. G. J. Bowles read a " Preliminary List of 

 the Geometridse of the Province of Quebec," 

 opening up interesting questions as to the 

 limits of the northern and temperate insect 

 faunae of Canada. A third paper was read, 

 entitled " Notes on some diurnal Lepidoptera 

 occurring in Canada," by Mr. Caulfield, giving 

 Canada as the habitat of a number of species 

 of butterflies not stated in W. if. Edward's 

 catalogue as being found in this country. 



THE TOMMY COD. 



In" L'Opinion Publique " of the 18th Jan- 

 uary last, is an article on the Tommy Cod, 

 Morrhua pruinosa, Mitchell, by the eminent 

 French-Canadian litterateur, M. Benjamin 

 Suite. He gives an interesting account of the 

 fishery carried on annually in the vicinity of 

 Three Rivers, and supplies data which dis- 

 prove the common idea that it is the young of 

 the cod. But little is known of the history of 

 this little fish, although it has been an import- 

 ant article of food in Lower Capada " from 

 time immemorial," so that new information 

 with regard to it is interesting, both to the 

 naturalist and the public. 



Mr. Suite states that the Tommy cod ranges 

 from Newfoundland to Three Rivers, but it is 

 much more widely distributed, being found on 

 the coast of New York, and no doubt on that 

 of New England, if not farther east. DeKay 

 tells us that it ascends the Hudson as far as 

 Albany, where it is abundant at intervals of a 

 few years. On the Long Island coast it is 

 sometimes so plentiful that it can be shovelled 

 on to the shore from the shallow water. It 

 goes up the Hudson, as it does the St. Law- 

 rence, at the beginning of winter, and is there 

 called the Tom Cod or Frost-fish. It is one of 

 these fishes, apparently, which inhabit waters 

 of no great depth, and, except during the an- 



nual migration, remains in "salt water the 

 whole year. All through the summer it may 

 be caught on the shores of the lower St. Law- 

 rence. The writer has often fished for them, 

 from July to September, from the wharf at 

 Riviere du Loup, and the rocks between there 

 and Cacouna. They come up in great num- 

 bers with the rising tide, and like the ordinary 

 cod, are voracious feeders, taking almost any- 

 thing in the shape of bait. In December, how- 

 ever, they ascend to fresh water, reaching 

 Quebec and Three Rivers about Christmas, the 

 fishery lasting until about the 10th January. 

 At Quebec they turn into the estuary of the 

 River St. Charles with every tide, and the ice 

 is dotted over with a village of cabanes, set up 

 to shelter the fishers, who gather a large har- 

 vest while the migration lasts. Multitudes, 

 however, go past Quebec, continuing their pro- 

 gress along the North Shore until they reach 

 Three Rivers, but pay a heavy tribute to the 

 habitans on the way. At Three Rivers they 

 go up the St. Maurice river in shoals, as far as 

 the rapids of the Forges, after which all trace 

 of them is lost. We are not aware whether 

 they have been taken above Lake St. Peter. 



Strange to say, on passing out of tide water 

 they swim near the surface, contrary to their 

 usual habit of swimming near the bottom. 

 This peculiarity gives the habitans an oppor- 

 tunity of taking them in great numbers. 

 Large frames six feet high and two or three 

 feet square, filled in with wickerwork, and 

 open on one side some distance from the bot- 

 tom, are plunged in through holes cut in the 

 ice. The opening in the frame is placed to- 

 wards the advancing shoals, and the trap is 

 soon withdrawn, filled with the writhing tom- 

 my cods. In this way they are secured by the 

 sleighload. On the St. Maurice, cabins are 

 built, in which the fisherman eats and sleeps, 

 waging war on the " petits morues " until they 

 cease to pass. None are caught on their re- 

 turn. They seem to scatter and seek the deep- 

 er parts of the river, and the fishery is over, in 

 fresh water at least, until the following Decem- 

 ber. 



It has been stated above, that doubts have ' 

 been entertained as to whether this fish is a 

 distinct species from the Cod. Even experi- 

 enced naturalists have had these doubts. But 

 the facts above given seem to make the matter 

 a certainty. The annual migration into fresh 

 water (although contrary to the general habit 

 of the cod family, as far as known) must be 

 for the purpose of spawning. The fish, when 



