112 ZOOLOGY. 
of the species attain four or five inches in length, but b 
larger number never exceed three inches, and many not 
and one-half to two inches. The outline cuts here given (I 
3-8) are all of natural size and roughly exhibit several 
more prominent forms. 
These little fellows are generally quite difficult to catch 
one gets familiar with their ways of darting about, but 
little practice and some patience they can be secured with 
net or by driving them into a set net. But the way to catch 
in large numbers is by drawing a seine, with very small mê 
along the banks of a lake, pond, or river, or up a narrow 
In this way I have often succeeded in obtaining from four 
to forty or fifty specimens at a single haul of a fifty foot $ 
the sandy shores of Lake Champlain. In August last, 
fishing on the Wabash River, very successful hauls were} 
Figs. 7 and 8, by dragging a fifteen 100°” 
Wy along the shallow banks , 
river over the water plants, 
= was easily done by one” 
wading up stream in about t 
three feet of water, holding 
one end of the scine and 
person holding the seme “ 
‘the other end, in such a wa; 
let it bag considerabl 
stream, and every now 
dragging the seine ashore. In this mode of fishing Care 
taken to keep the lead line well down on the bottom or the! 
dart under. To a person who has never tried seining in $ 
a few hours of such collecting will secure to him more Sp 
of all that swim in the locality than he has thought it pos”, 
obtain. A very successful way of collecting these darters; © 
only have a scoop net, is to scoop about among the W3 
or over a muddy, leafy, or stony bottom, stirring up 
and getting the water so clouded as to confuse the fish, 
going backwards and forwards over the ground and ee 
mere emptying your net, many specimens may often be 
Catonotus. Microperca. 
Etheostomoids are widely distributed in the fresh i 
North America east of the Rocky Mountains, and I 
specimens taken from Hudson’s Bay to Georgia. 
į 
