422 REPORT OF THE 



extensively used in a fresh condition or smoked, and is exported to the West Indies 



in large numbers. 



It appears in Vineyard Sound about July 1st. It is common there until the trap 

 fishing season ends ; as many as 8 or lo are taken at one lift of the trap at 



Menemsha. When traps were set in Buzzards Bay about 35 or 40 Kingfish and 

 Spanish Mackerel were taken annually at Quisset. The fishermen did not dis- 

 tinguish between the Kingfish and the Cero. 



Family TRICHIURID^. Cutlass Fishes. 



117. Scabbard Fish; Ha.ir-ta.il {Tru-Z^i/n-ns /cptunis 'L'mnsus). 



The Scabbard Fish inhabits warm seas, chiefly in the western Atlantic north to 

 Virginia. It is common in the West Indies and occasionally occurs in lower Cali- 

 fornia. This fish was known to Mitchill and described by him as the Sik'cry Hair- 

 tail. It is also described by DeKay in his New York Fauna under the same name. 

 He states that it is known to the New York fishermen as the Ribbon Fish and 

 that it is called Swordfish at Jamaica. He also states that it is not common at New 

 York, but that he had examined 15 or 20 taken near Sandy Hook in August. The 

 example described by him was 38 inches long. 



This fish is rarely seen in Gravesend Bay. A young example was caught in John 

 B. De Nyse's pound net in August, 1897. 



At Woods Hole, Mass., the names Cutlass Fish and Scabbard Fish are applied 

 to this species. A specimen 3 feet long was taken there in 1874, according to Dr. 

 Smith, and a few stragglers have been taken at Menemsha Bight during the ten 

 years prior to 1898, usually not more than one or two in a season. As early as 1 840 

 the fish was taken in Buzzards Bay and in 1845 it was recorded from Wellfleet. 



Family ISTIOPHORIDiE. Sailfishes. 



118. Sailfish {JstiopJionis nigricans Lacepede). 



The Sailfish lives in the West Indies and the warm parts of the Atlantic, extend- 

 ing north to Key West and France. It is rather common about the Florida Keys. 

 Stragglers have been taken at Newport, R. I., and Woods Hole, Mass. Dr. Smith 

 says an example was taken at Quisset Harbor, and during the past 25 j^ears about 

 six have been caught there in a trap ; each of these was about 9 feet long. It is 

 taken rarely in Europe. 



