348 The American Naturalist. [April, 
have been something on which the horse-feet were feeding; but my 
uncle, who was with me, said that they were after the spawn; and I 
have since come to the conclusion that he was right, for it was the 
spawning season, and the eels were only gathered around the large 
female horse-feet. This spring I intend to make further observations, 
and find out if this is really the case. Horse-feet are used a little as a 
food for poultry on some farms in Bristol, and it was in cutting some 
of them open that I noticed that the large ones were the females, for 
they were full of eggs —H. C. WARWELL. 
Elassoma zonatum East of the Apallachian Mountains.— 
In looking through the recently issued work by Drs. Jordanand Ever- 
mann, on the fishes of North and Middle America, I was reminded of 
having collected some years ago specimens of one of our smallest and 
least known fishes, in a locality that considerably extends its range as 
recorded by these authors. Elassoma zonatum is stated in the above 
mentioned work to occur from southern Illinois to Texas, Louisiana 
and Alabama. In 1882 the writer obtained specimens in Waccamaw 
River, near Whitesville, in southeastern North Carolina, and in the 
Little Pedee River in South Carolina. Evidently it was notat all rare 
where collected. My specimens were subsequently compared with 
material from southern Illinois in the collection of the Illinois State 
Laboratory of Natural History; and as Dr. Jordan had studied this 
collection in preparing his list of Illinois fishes, there can be no question 
about correctness of determination. 
The number of scales in a longitudinal row along the side is not 
above 36, oftenest 34 or 35, and this is true also of Illinois specimens. 
The dorsal fin has 4 spines commonly? sometimes 5, and 10 soft rays, 
counting the posterior double ray as two. I believe that Dr. Jordan 
and his followers count this as a single ray, but its structure indicates 
that it is the equivalent of two ordinary rays. The anal fin has 3 spines 
and 6 soft rays, counting the double ray again as two. The branchi- 
ostegal rays are always 51n number. In the description of the family 
Elassomidæ published by Drs. Jordan and Evermann the number of 
vertebre is said to be 24 or 25, from which I judge the count was made 
from the Florida species, E. everg/adei, which I have not seen, but in 
every specimen of E. zonatum examined by me the number is 29, in- 
eluding the mass which continues as the urostyle, of which 14 are pre- 
caudal. Illinois examples were not examined with reference to the 
vertebra, but that they agree closely is shown by Dr. Jordan’s own 
statement in the Bulletin of the Illinois State Laboratory (Vol. 1, No. 2, 
