1 1 8 Cincinnati Society of Natural History. 



fish began to steadily diminish some years since, until the work of 

 the artificial culture of the whitefish and the re-stocking of the 

 lakes was begun some ten or twelve years ago by the U. S. Fish 

 Commission and the Fish Commissions of the States bordering on 

 the Great Lakes, to endeavor to restore the fisheries to their 

 former prestige and profit. This work has been steadily carried on 

 from year to year, and the good results from it began to be appar- 

 ent three or four years ago, the catch increasing each year, until 

 last season, according to the report of the Ohio Fish Commission, 

 the catch of whitefish was unprecedented. 



The average weight of the whitefish is two or three pounds, 

 sometimes running up to five or six, and occasionally monsters of 

 twenty pounds have been taken. They spawn in November, the 

 eggs hatching the following April. 



The Lake Trout {SalvelinUs namaycush), next to the whitefish 

 and lake herring, is the most numerous of lake food fishes, though 

 it occurs in greater numbers in the upper lakes than in Lake Erie, 

 where it is mostly confined to the deep waters of its eastern portion. 

 It is considered next to the whitefish for the table, and is very 

 voracious, living mostly on fish diet, which consists principally of 

 the cisco, a smaller member of the salmon family. It grows to a 

 large size, some thirty or forty pounds being its maximum weight. 

 It spawns in October, before the whitefish, the young hatching the 

 following February. 



The Lake Herring (Coregonus artedi) has increased very much 

 in numbers during the past few years, so that it is now the most 

 numerous species taken in the pound-nets, and is considered rather 

 a nuisance than otherwise by fishermen. They resort to the shal- 

 low portions of the lakes in great schools, and during the spawning 

 of the whitefish they completely gorge themselves with the eggs 

 of that species. At other times their food seems to consist of 

 insects and crustaceans. 



The lake herring is not much valued for food, though it is by 

 no means to be despised in this particular. It has no special flavor 

 when fresh, but if slightly salted and smoked it is delicious. Con- 

 sidering its character as a spawn eater, it is very unfortunate that it 

 is increasing in such vast numbers. 



It rarely grows to exceed a foot in length, or a half pound in 

 weight. It spawns a little later than the whitefish. 



The Brook-Trout (Salvelinus fontinalis), the loveliest fish in 



