260 REPORT OF THE COMMISSIONERS OF 



In a future report a more detailed description of the Canadian red trout and its 

 habits will be given. 



s 1 



Tl)e BcriUjead. 



The bullhead or horned pout is distributed over a large part of the country, and 

 there is hardly a pond or stream in the Eastern or Middle States which contains 

 mud but is well stocked with this fish. By some it is esteemed an excellent fish for 

 the table, while others regard it as scarcely fit for food. The muddy waters and the 

 food on which the fish subsists may have a good deal to do with the flavor of its 

 flesh. The bullhead is largely nocturnal in its habits. During the daytime it 

 remains hidden away in holes in the bank or in the mud on the bottom of the stream 

 or pond and comes out of its retreat toward evening. It will take almost anything 

 in the way of bait — worms, small fish, or even salt pork making good lures, and little 

 skill is necessary to capture it. The breeding habits of the fish are interesting. 

 Both sexes watch over and take tender care of their eggs and young. One may 

 often see among the low-water plants in shallow water many thousands of the young 

 bullheads, huddled together, looking like a black cloud surrounding the parent fish. 

 She lies among them looking as gigantic as a whale might in a school of menhaden. 

 Woe betide the perch or pickerel who tries to make a meal on the young, for the 

 sharp and poisonous spinules of the adult fish are ever ready for use. 



Ti)e WI)ife Perci). 



The white perch is a fish usually inhabiting brackish waters, although it has been 

 introduced into many of our interior ponds and lakes, where it thrives and multiplies. 

 It varies in color from fishes with light silvery sides and olive green on the backs to 

 specimens which are very dark, in fact almost black. In clear, sandy ponds it is fre- 

 quently a very beautiful species, and its iridescent sides have much of the glitter of 

 the mackerel and menhaden. When food is abundant the white perch grows to a 

 good size, ranging in weight from one pound up to three pounds. It is a sweet and 

 toothsome fish, and being also a gamy fighter when hooked, is a favorite with 

 anglers. The bait used for it is the minnow and shrimp, although it will often take 

 the angle-worm. White perch are gregarious, and many may sometimes be taken 

 from the same school. Evening seems to be the best time of day for their capture, 

 and from just before sunset till an hour after they may usually be fished for with 

 success. At times, however, they refuse to take food of any kind, and it is some- 

 times very tantalizing to watch dozens of large fish in a school swim leisurely past 

 one's bait, not even deigning to look at it. 



