.JAsnA/.!r 0, 1881.] 



FOREST AND STREAM. 



447 



taiB*, as my experience goes to show that there is np variety 

 i"f »»' .d M the Leghorn. Mio. 



Castas Backs ra 'RnoDE Iblahtd— iJoS'Jyft, Dee. 34.— As I 

 ■am under the impression that a canvas-back duck is a rare 

 bird in Zncw EiiKlaiul, permit me to record the killing of two 

 of them. ?»T\-sfU .md Mr. Ellcvton Lodge of this city were 

 shooting al Poiiit Judith tluring the first cold snap of No 

 vemher, and one morning I floated down on four '.srsre dneks, 

 getting within easy 8liot,~but unluckily my triscn (inLii' w i = 

 80 numb that both tsarrels of my gnu went olV Ijri nc I kv,i'\v 

 it, and Hw;,v wciif \.\if' hinl:',. FommaU'lv tliey lii;w by ^Mr. 

 I,., v.-i'. : , , ,, ,.,0 of them. To 



rniyt^v I 13-backs. They 



seenv; 1 n" to get within 



jToirly vard.T- v.iieii 1 drifted vie Uieai. I3 this uot unusual 

 racth thejE ? Fese'k Skinxeb. 



The cauvas-back is not common ou th« New England 



establishment for the cultivation of fishes, young trout and 

 otlier valuable species are fed with beetles and insect larvre 

 obtained from stagnant water, by means of a small muslin 

 net. Although the use of Entomoslraca ia not specially 

 mentioned in this extract, yet they must, of course, be ob- 

 tained in the search for insect larvse. 



That this subject should not have been long ngo thoroughly 



investig.Tted seems a surprising fact, when one considers Hie 



vast idiijuiit of labor which has been expended upon fishes 



- ' ' ■mil refiecls for a moment upon the interest to 



: I- to pracUcal fish culture of a knowledge of the 



" il -I I :i I'S of fishes and of the competitions of the vari- 

 ous Fpf t ics ill the search for subsistence. 



Altlioiigh T eiumot yet treat this subject as fully as it de- 

 serves, tlie results of such study as I have been able to make, 

 during the past season, of tlie conteiua of the stomachs and 

 intestines of small specimens, seem to justif,v this prelimi- 

 nary notice. 



It was early iippiirent, in tlie course of the iuvesligation. 



'coa/9t,\iut we believe lUal a few are occasionally shot on the I that the fond of many fishes differs according to age: 



isHast^.'n shore of Connecticut. 



A TnRKE-i.EGGED Hen. — Tlw following curious story 

 •comes to na from the Releigk TN. C.) jVf/rs of Dae. 15 : 



Mr. J ohn Stone, of Frwiklin County, has presented Dr. 

 Blacknell with a wonderful three-legged chicken, which is 

 certMDly % curiosity, having three distinct legs, the third kg 

 coimng'out in the niiddlfj of Uio body betweeii the other two. 



In (walJung the hen i 

 Oiihor, liut when she 

 iingiftie other two uji 

 tiu^i seen Iter, and nom^ 



Irgs, drawing up the 

 oil life centre leg, draw- 

 .. Hundreds of people 

 en licr like liefnre. 



nd it 

 was soon f.juud liial the life of most, of our flslies divides into 

 at leao.t two periods, and of many into three, with respect to 

 the kinds of food cliiefly taken. Further, in the first of these 



Cr'at'^Ts Bdok'b IIe.vd — Oriitenhfintt, Ont., Dee. 14. — I 



' notice6 iu one of your papers soma time ago a description of 



•• a, buOii's head that had over fifty points to tlie two horns. I 



him' lately obtained the nearest to it that I have ever heard 



'■of. It is a buck's head with a pulniated honi 4i in. wide, 



-iiKVina 33 points 0-1 ihe two horns. The head i^ no lirger 



' <'nan agood-Bi/.irl liMek'.^ bead, but thedeer, win n iilivc.v,'oiild 



weigh about :!;iO I";-. 1" appearance it is a c.-mnieriiart of 



the cut I saw iu \'oiii- paper. I am satisfied that it isu diifer- 



cnt species from "the common red deer, as I have a small head 



thfit I believe to belong to the same, but 1 am not certain. 



Perhaps you will luiow. R. B. S. 



We presume that the palmate horn is due to some injury 

 Tcccived by the deer dtrringlhe period of the antler's growth. 

 There is no likelihood that it belongs to a new speciea. 



CALiFottsiA QnAir..— Will you or some of your correspon- 

 iSents who " have been there " tell us all about the California 

 quail, both kinds— the so-called valley quail and the moun- 

 tain bird'? We would like to know of tlieir habits und their 

 quaKliieE and value as game biruf. \Vould they not lie well 

 worlliljringing to the Kaslern States to divide the burdens of 

 "•'■cBtrying oil shot" with their cousin Bob While? If they 

 .■arc as desirable as their graceful carriage and beautiful plii- 

 tniage would indicate, and hardy enough to endure our wiu- 

 tters, they Klioiild be as worthy of being introduced East as the 

 unin-'ratorv iinail to be brought from his far-away home. 



Si. .?,;, Mich. S. H. C. 



'A'r call our correspondent's attention to the article on the 

 ! utain Quail, by T. S. Van Dyke, to be published by us 

 ..ii once. 



As Albiso QuAit.— The Petersburg Index gives the fol. 

 lowing account of the Irilling of an albino quail in Prmce 

 George County : 



Some days since, while a well-known gentleman of this 

 citv was hunting: with his dogs!;- T^-b-r- '^"ori^'o County, 

 ftbmit four mile? from 111 e ''orrKir;!! ' - y of part- 



ridp-es was fiush.'d. one r.f which xv : - L^entleman 



alluded to. TIlc bird v, as killer 1 - i loanpouex- 



aiMinatiflu it was found to be a fuU-lieugcd while partridge. 



nd in a 



; lieloncr 

 In tivS 



S^ll gnltttn, 



TME CENTRAL FISHCULTURAL SOCIETY. 



6BC0XD DAY. 



rjplIE meeting was called to order by the President 

 X promptly at 9:30 a. m. 



Mt:. I'l'it skm ^s orfered the following: RemUed, TImt the 

 i ..riLti.' ( iiuiittee be, and they hereby are, directed to 

 lav o\ii a iiios:i amine for the next annual meeting of this 

 society, cJioosiug for discussion such topics as to them seem 

 timely and important, assigning papers on the different siib- 

 y-c\s, to the members most competent to treat upon them. 

 i;l'c«? furthei-, Tliat such programme be decided upon at 



,1 St three months before the lime fixed upon for the meet- 

 in', iiie members to whom papers aie assigned to be at once 

 ivMificd by the secretary of what is expected h-oni them, and 

 r. •■ tuested to forward their papers to the secretary in case 

 ibrv are prevented from attending in person. Carried. 



The ^iECKETARV then, lii the absence of the writer, rejud 

 I he following paper: 



ON THE FOOD OP YOUNG PISHES. 



BT e. A. 1-OP.HKS. 



periods, a renia,rkiil>le siiuil.nrity of food was noticed among 

 species and families whose later food-litiliila are widely dilTe^ 

 rent. 



The full-grown black bass, for e.\:i principally 



on fishes and craw-fishes, tlie shee ■ asks, the 



gizzard alwd on mud and Alg.-c. whiii . . are near- 



ly ointiivorous: yet these are all found to asiy-L s j eh>.=ely in 

 fo'jd v.lieii very small that one could not po.^siliiy \m\\ irom 

 the coiUents of the stomachs which group iie was dealing 

 with. 



It is my purpose iu this paper to give what facts I have 

 relating to the food of our fresh- water species dining this 

 first period of the fl.sh's life, avoiding technicnl details, and 

 mentioning only iiie genera! results of the iuvesliuation. 



These facts we.-e derived from thu examination of one 

 hundred and twentv-six .sperimens, raiiiriim' from lluec- 

 ei^hth.s of inch in length up to an inch amf ;i Tiiiir. a 

 few cases to two and three irich. ?,. These spftrinieii; 

 to twxuty-loiir genera and represent eleven families. 

 or three genera no specimens were obtained sma! 

 to be regarded as lielongiug strictly to this first food-period 

 but the earliest food is nevertheless plainly iiiferalile : and 

 the general distribution and variety of the species studied is 

 such that I think the main conclusions wilJ be found to 

 stand the test of full investigation. 



PEKCn I0A.IIILY. 



The food of a common perch, irom an incli to an inch and 

 a quarter long., consisted wholly of Enlromastraca and the 

 larvm of Chirononius. The first of these names is applied to 

 the niinnute crustaceans, which are found most abundant in 

 lakes and other stagnant w^aters, but occur likewise, to some 

 extent, in running streams. The name of water fleas is some- 

 times given to a large section of this g'oup. Chirononius is 

 a small gnat whose larva is familiar to all who have ever 

 noticed the minute animals of stagnant water. It has the 

 appearance to the naked eye of a niinnute red worm, which 

 moves through the water with a violent wriggling motion. 



BASS FAMILY. 



No very small speciiueua of the bass proper (that i.«. of 

 white bass and striped or brassy bass) were taken by us, the 

 smallest, being a bras.sy bass an inch and a quarter long. 

 Half of the food of this consisted of Entomostraca, and the 

 other half of minute gizzard shad. 



SITN-FISH FAMILY. 



A group of 43 specimens of the aiin-tisli raiuily i which in- 

 cludes the two species of black )mss) was made up as fol- 

 lows : Of five specimens of black liasa'nnder three-fourths of 

 an incb long, two of rock bass of the same size, two of gog- 

 gle-eye from seven-eighths of an inch to an inch in length, 

 ten of common sun-fish from an incJi to au inch and a fourth, 

 nine of pumpkin seed from one and a half to two inches, five 

 of croppie one inch and under, four of from three- 



fourths of an inch to an inch and a half, and six indetermi- 

 nable speoiniens, probably com aiou sun-fi.?b, from seven si.v- 

 teenths to five-eighths of an inch long. Ninety-six per cent, 

 of the food of these forty-three specimens eon'sisted of En- 

 tomostraca and larvw of Chironomus— seventv ot ihe first 

 and twenty-six of the second. Tlie trivi;il r, ir,;ii;i, i, 1 , ron- 

 .sistiiig of the larv.e of Hay-flies and other ; :, li . o , -:. a 

 yo'ing amphipod, with traces of watcr-mb. . .^.i!..: buns. 

 and moUusks— the last taken by the "niimplun seed," "or 

 bream, 



On the other hand, in a fish three and three fourths inches 

 long, showing the general characters of the adult, the intes- 

 tine passed upward and backward from its- origin, running 

 without flexure the whole length of the body cavity (this 

 part being covered with an immense number of pyloric 

 cn»ca), then turned forward to the stomach, and made a 

 large number of intricate turns and doublings from side to 

 side and end to end of the abdomen, extending, in all, about 

 eight times the length of the perivisceral cavity. This in- 

 testine was well filled with mud with only a slight spiink- 

 ling of unicellular Algte. 



These twelve fishes. aU under two inches, had eaten about 

 ninety per cent, of Entomostraca, two per cent, of Chirono- 

 mus larviU, and for the remainder, Algaj, 



MIXNOW FAMILY. 



A single minute minnow, three-eighths of an inch long, 

 which I could not determine specifically, had eaten Anto- 

 mostraea (twenty-five per cent.) and Chironomus larvai. 



Three specimens of the common chuh minnow (SemotHi/.i 

 C'lrporaiiK), ranging from five eighths inch to one inch, indi- 

 cate somewliat doubtfully an exeeplion to the general rule 

 respecting the early food of fisbcs. Only seven per cent, of 

 their food was Entomostraca. and the whole remainder con- 

 sisted of filamentous Algie. It should be noted, however, 

 that twenty per cent, of" the food of the small est specimen, 

 which was"five eighth.?, of an inch long, was Cyclops, and it 

 may be that the dinb minnow live,3 wholly on EntonioEtraca 

 at first, merelv cluuiijiim: its habit earlier tiian most of its 

 allies. 



STTOKEB FAIIILT. 



Ttiirty specimens, representing five genera of this peculiar 

 faniii}', were studied. A very curious feature of the food of 

 the young is the frequent dependence of suckers of consider- 

 able size, six inches long or nioi-e. upon food still more 

 trivial than Entomostraca. viz. : upon wheel-animalcules, 

 Protozoa, and minute one-celled plants (Algic). While 

 only sucli Pnstozoa were found as are ftirnislied with firm 

 shells, yet the aljimdaiiee of these in the intestines of these 

 fishes leaves little doubt that the more perishable Protozoa 

 must also be taken inconsiderable quantity. It is au inter- 

 esting fact that even here the smallest .specimens were found 

 feeding on Eutomoetraca only, and it is therefore possible 

 that tl'iese.fr.rm the lir.st priiixipnl food of the family. 



Ten speeimeiis of the stnne-ndlo; ranging from one and 

 three-eighths to three inches, represent two dates and locali- 

 ties. The four smallest, none longer than an inch and tlireo- 

 fourtbs, were taken from the Lower Fox, July 9, ISTfi. 'J'iie 

 others were from Mackinaw Creek, in Woodford County, 

 111., in the latter part of August. The situations were simi- 

 lar, both streams being swift and rocky where these fishes 

 were caught. 



Their food was chiefly the larv» of Chirononius (00 iter 

 cent j, the remaining ten'per cent, being made up of various 

 species of Entomostraca and Alg;n. 



We trace in this a remarkable resemblance to the food of 

 the darters, which frequent similar situations. Lacking the 

 sucking mouth of Hypenteliuni, they do not take Protocoa 

 or unicellular A]gie,"butin other particulars agree closely 

 with this species. This curious fish is ^peculiar among the 

 suckers in the unusual development of the pectoral fins— a 

 rlistinEuishiitg feature of the darters likewise — doubtless re- 

 lated in bolh'cases to the constant struggle with a swift cur- 

 rent. We may also remark the darteiiike glow of color in 

 the young of tiiis species — a very peculiar distinction among 

 the CatostomidiB. This is one among many facts which in- 

 dicate that exposure to light has great primary effect ou the 

 Color of fishes— an effect often suppressed, through natural 

 selection, by secondary infiuences, but manifesting itself 

 where these are not brought into play.* 



This species is in marked contrast with the daiters, not 

 unlv in the rapidity of its growth and the ultimate size at- 

 tained, but in the form' and size of the head, which in the 

 darters ia small and pointed, but in th.i3e fishes is unusually 

 large, square and strong. 



The principle of adaptation has here resulted in a different 

 line of development. While the little darters have become 

 fitted to fiit and prj' about beneath the stones for their food, 

 the stone-roller has" acquired the power of rolling the stones 

 before it. As it grows larger, it resorts of course to deeper 

 water, but always prefers the rocky reaches of the stream. 

 The molding power of natural selection could scarcely have 

 a better illusl ration than that afforded by the adaptive char- 

 acter.?, both similar and dissimilar, of these two widely sep- 

 arate t groups of fishes. 



A single small specimen of black sucker was too_ large 



SmsEPSHBAD FAilJLT. 



A single sheepshcad (ITnphidomtus), an inch and an 

 eighth in length, bad eaten Chironomus larviB fseventy-flve 

 per cent.) and larvic of Maj'-fly. 



I'lICE FAMILY (Bsixidw). 

 I did not have tlie good fortune to obtain any young of 

 the common pike, and can only report on the food'of a single 

 salmon-pickerel) /?»«■ mlmonem), an inch and a fourth~iu 

 length. This specimen, taken at Pekin, 111., on the 2d of 

 June, had aheady besim its life labor of the elimination of 

 little fishes. <b-^.-. v,,„i.;„,, ,,,,o„(- t-n-o-flfthg of its food. The 

 remainder , lu.'itacea, composed about equallr 



of young _\: .iiiiiidie aiidLviicpidiu. The pres- 



ence of sol, . 1 oy of tlie.se iinnute Entomo.sl.raca in 

 theBtomachot a pickerel of this size is suflicieut evidence 

 that they form the principal part of its food at an earlier .age. 



HEItKISG FAMILY. 



We come next to twelve specimous of the giuurdKlml, 

 wnosa ininute fry swarm in countless numbers iu the waters, 

 ot our larger rivers iu midsummer. These were taken i- 

 June and July.^rom the Illitioit. Riv, 



U....V, ,^..i„..,j,,,,uiu LUC xiiirioit. liiv,!-. fio!ii iittawa to Peo- 



IcannOlleamthatanytJiinglmheenjecordedre^^ 



I was great!}' 



. ^^ ?Z^'=ir h^^n^'n^^ ' r Z*;^^'^^^ Bleiider asc^,rin,,ids;nd 



: 11 TanUvitoce that this subject has been systeniatically ?" ' Ji^' "^"g^' the ad ul Us a high, ihin fish. . . __ „ , 



nnuanyeviu;iiiL.cm j^ ^^ :.,..,..„,•'._..„., , ^ interested by the discovery tliat the maxillarica of these 



smallest specimens are provided with teeth— a single row of 

 nine or ten on the lower edge— -allhoUEh the month of the 



1 died in Europe, in sucJi part of the ichthyological litera- 



le of Europe as is accessible to me. From the transla- 



rous of papers published in the appendices to the report 



of the United Slates Fish Commissioner I learn that 



ihe artificial use of Entom- straca for the food of young 



iiit has been successfully attempted in France. I also find 



■lie bulletin of the "Society of Acclimatization," of Paris, 



; itemeut ti the effect that, in the Russian governmental 



e of a, note relating to the oc- 

 1 two yonus whitelifhei?, pub- 

 "jil of ihe U. -3, Fish Caiai«,s. 



adult IB entirely toothless and smooth. ' The internal struc- 

 tiiiri alfodiilVrs remarkably from that of the adult, espe- 

 cially in the much greater simplicity of tlic digestive appa- 



In a young gizzard sha<1. sevtn-tpnths of aj3 inch long by 

 one-lenthof an inch \x\^, the, IqiHstine was found to pass 

 almost directly from th^ anterior end uf tI»o stoinach to -.he 

 vent; and at this time pylori ocffica were ertirely wantimr. 



Jf EalomrrS '^^^''"'•^ ^*'-"^ ^^ ^"^°^' '"""''' 



properly to come within this group, Imt although six inches 

 long, most of its food was Cyclops (eighty per cent.) Other 

 items were Entomostraca, various species of Algm and very 

 young individuals of the river mussel. 



Four chub-suckers, two of which were three-fourths of an 

 inch and two an inch and a quarter long, differed greatly in 

 food from the foregoing. The two smaller specimens, from 

 Lono- Island, near Pekin, taken June e, ^m'). had eaien only 

 Eniomostraca. with a trace of ^valer inite.s. In ilie two 

 laro-er specimens, locality and date unknown, a surprising 

 number and variety of the minnlest animal and vegetable 

 forms were found. A small Inrvte of a dragon-fly and a very 

 younf amphipod were also recognized. _ 



V iiiecimcn three inches long, from Peoria Lake, in Octo- 

 ber, had eaten only Eutomos, with a truce of Chironomus 



^ Teii specimens of red horse, varying in length from an inch 

 to two and three-fourths, taken m July and August from the 

 Fox and Blinoia rivers and from Mackmaw Creek, show no 

 important differeuces of food. . -r,,. . 



In the smaller specimens talien from the Fox and Ilhnois, 

 Entomostraca were relatively more important, sometimes 

 constituting nearly the whole food ; but no attempt was 

 made to fix precise ratios. ,, , „ , , „ 



Iu the four lareer specimens from woodford County, shells 

 of protozoa were estimated to form 80 per cent, of the con- 

 tents of the intestine, the remainder consisting of alga>, wheel 

 animalcules, Entomostraca. water-mites and the krvae of 

 Chironomus and other Diplera. ., , „ - 



The small peieentase ot t.luronomus larvm shows that this 

 species has not the habit of the stone-roller. 



Two specimens of the common sucker, six inches and sis 

 and three-fourths in length, taken from Mackinaw Creek in 

 \ii2U5l and June, had eaten food so similar to that of the 

 preceding genus that detailed description is unnecessary. 



Two. specimens of our commonest buffalo fish, called the 

 "red iBOuth" in central Illinois, Beven-eightlis of an inch 

 long, h»d eaten most fully of unicellular plunts (Cj pei cent.); 



« X relivk ed fact ia the Ueachoi ajiper. — '"f. of fishes taken from 

 tfao-aJijost « 'psKJie ^ftter of mud-liolai iu luo iUi»i.»ippi bottoms. 



