1 1 6 Cincinnati Society of Natural History. 



States bordering on the Ohio River. In an emendation ot this list 

 recently sent to me by Dr. Jordan — after eliminating doubtful and 

 extra-limital species — it is reduced to 130 species; but he named 

 some 15 other species as likely to occur in Ohio waters. 



In the spring of 1888 I began to make a catalogue of the fishes 

 of Ohio from actual observation, and to secure a collection of the 

 species observed for the Museum of this Society, which at that 

 time contained but four specimens of Ohio fishes, viz.: stuffed and 

 mounted examples of a sturgeon, a paddle-fish, a gar, and an eel. 

 Accordingly, in April and May, Prof. C. H. Gilbert and myself 

 explored several streams in Hamilton County, and obtained there- 

 from — within a radius of ten or twelve miles of Cincinnati — 70 

 species ; as many as Kirtland described from the entire State, and 

 more valid species than Rafinesque described from the Ohio and 

 its tributaries from Pittsburg to the Mississippi. 



In July of the same year I spent two weeks at Put-in-Bay, Lake 

 Erie, making collections; and in August, Professor Gilbert and I 

 devoted three weeks to the exploration of the Ohio and its tributa- 

 ries, between Cincinnati and Marietta. From Lake Erie and the 

 streams of the Ohio basin, 40 additional species were added, mak- 

 ing a total of no species actually observed and identified, lists of 

 which were published in the Journal of this Society for 1888-89. 



During the summer and early fall just passed I made still further 

 collections in Lake Erie, in the vicinity of Put-in-Bay, which I am 

 now working up. I was hopeful of getting through with them in 

 time to embody the results in this paper, but have not been able to 

 do so, fully ; I think I can safely say, however, that I have about 

 130 species of Ohio fishes at the present time. 



It may not prove uninteresting to allude to a few facts concern- 

 ing the fishes of Ohio, and more particularly to those known as 

 food-fishes. For the sake of convenience of description I will 

 consider them by families, and in the order of their commercial 

 importance. 



Family SALMONID^. The Salmons. 



The Whitefish (Coregonus clupeiformis) comes first in this 

 prominent family, and is far ahead of all other fresh water fishes 

 for its exquisite delicacy and richness of flavor, and among salt 

 water fishes is excelled by but one, the pompano, in my opinion. 

 It is in its best condition in the fall, and though it is then a " fat" 

 fish, it does not cloy the palate like the Atlantic salmon, mack- 

 erel and other "oily" fishes. 



