90 



FOREST AND STREAM. 



[Aug. 33, 1888, 



determine the amount of their appropriate food available. 

 It is not impossible, that myriads of whitefish have been set 

 free to perish by starvation before the feeble fry could dis- 

 perse widely enough to secure a single meal. It seems to 

 me also, that in every case where it is proposed to introduce 

 a new fish into waters already populated, the first question 

 to be asked should be, what fishes do these waters already 

 contain— and iu what numbers — whose food and whose rela- 

 tions to nature generally are substantially the same as those 

 it is intended to introduce? 



And, finally, I would call attention to the necessity of keep- 

 ing continuous watch of the balance, and abuudance of plant 

 aud animal life iu its various leading forms in any body of 

 water in which it is thought desirable to maintain especial 

 kinds of fishes in the greatest number possible. The owner 

 of a fish pond especially, who makes himself acquainted 

 with the entire collection of animals and plants which his 

 pond contains, and keeps the run of these in their variations 

 of number and habit, from season to season and from year 

 to year, will not only get some practical hints thereby which 

 will aid him in the multiplication and preservation of his 

 fish, but will derive no small amount of pleasure from his 

 observatious, aud from the reasonings and reflections to 

 which they will give rise. 



NOTE ON THE FOOD OF THE WHtTRFFSH. 



An elaborate account of this research was published in 

 18S3, iu the first volume of the Bulletin of the niinois 

 State Laboratory of Natural History; but as this article was 

 not widely distributed among fisheulturists, the great prac- 

 tical importance of the subject will, perhaps, justify the 

 following extracts from it: More light was thrown upon the 

 earliest food habits of these fishes by the discovery of rapta- 

 torial teeth upon the lower jaw, than by the dissections of 

 their alimentary canals. All the families of fishes which I 

 had previously studied whose young were provided with 

 teeth were found strictly dependent at first upon Entomos- 

 traca and the minuter insect larva;; while only those whose 

 young were toothless fed to any considerable extent upon 

 other forms. The discovery of teeth iu the young white- 

 fish, therefore, placed this species definitely in the group of 

 those carnivorous when young. The fact that the adult was 

 itself toothless interfered in no way with this inference, be- 

 cause other toothless fishes (Dorosoma)whose young were fur- 

 nished with teeth had been found carnivorous at an early age. 



The inconclusive character of the results thus far obtained 

 made it necessary to attempt to imitate more closely the 

 natural conditions of the young when hatched in the lake. 

 In February, 1881, I obtained, through the kindness of Mr. 

 Clarke, twenty-five specimens of living young whitefish, 

 saved from a lot which he was planting in the waters of Lake 

 Michigan, off Racine, Wisconsin. I succeeded in conveying 

 them to the laboratory without loss, and there kept them 

 for several days in a glass aquarium and supplied them with 

 an abundance of the living objects to be obtained by draw- 

 ing a fine muslin net through t he stagnant pools of ttie vicin 

 ity. These consisted of many diatoms and filamentous fresh- 

 water Alga?, of two or three species of Cyclops, of Cantho- 

 ca in ptus Win oisensis and Diaptomus mu gulncvs among the 

 Copepoda, aud of two rather large Cladocera, Simoccphalits 

 vetuhis and .s. americanus. 



These little fishes were kept uuder careful observation for 

 several days, the water in the aquarium beiug frequently 

 aerated by pouring. Many of them had, however, been in- 

 jured by handling, and eleven of the specimens died without 

 taking food. It was soon evident that the larger Entomos- 

 traca (the Simocephalus, and even the Diaptomus) were 

 quite beyond the size and streugth of these little fishes and 

 that only the smaller Copepoda, among the animals availa- 

 ble could afford them any food at first. These they followed 

 about from the beginning with signs of peculiar interest, 

 occasionally making irresolute attempts to capture them. 

 Two days after their arrival one of the young whitefish had 

 evidently taken food, which proved on dissection to be a 

 small cyclops. During the next two days nine others began 

 to eat, clividiug their attention between the Cyclops above 

 mentioned and the Cauthoeamptus. and on "the 22d two 

 others took a Cyclops each and a third a Cauthocamptus. 

 One of these fishes contained still a large remnant of the 

 egg sac, showing that the propensity to capture prey must 

 antedate the sensation of hunger. On the 35th the fourteenth 

 and last remaining fish captured its Cyclops and was itself 

 sacrificed in turn. As an indication of the efficiency of the 

 raptatorial teeth it may be worth while to note that I saw 

 one of the smallest fishes make a spring at a Cyclops, catch 

 it, give three or four violent wriggles and drop it dead to 

 the bottom of the tank. 



As a general statement of the result of the observations 

 made on these fourteen fishes we may say that eight of them 

 ate a single Cyclops each, that one took two and another 

 three of the same, that one took a single Can thocaiu pt i i s, 

 that two specimens captured two each of this genus, and 

 that finally a single fifth ate Cyclops and Canthoeamptu.s 

 both. The final conclusion was a highly probable inference 

 that the smallest Entomostraca occurring in the lake would 

 prove to be the natural food of the species. 



In order to test this conclusion with precision , I arranged 

 a similar experiment on a larger scale, and under more nat- 

 ural conditions. Through the generosity of the Exposition 

 Company, of Chicago, I was allowed the use of one of the 

 large aquarium tanks in the Exposition Building, on the 

 lake shore, and by the repeated kindness of Mr. Clarke, of 

 Northville, Michigan, I was furnished with a much larger 

 number of living whitefish. Five thousand fry were shipped 

 to me in a can of water, but through unfortunate delays in 

 changing cars at intermediate points about two-thirds of 

 these were dead when they reached my hands. Those living 

 were immediately transferred to the tank, through which 

 the water, taken from the city pipes, had already been al- 

 lowed to run for several hours, As this water is derived 

 from Lake Michigan, at a distance of two miles from the 

 shore, and had at this time the exact temperature of the 

 open lake, the conditions for experiment were as favorable 

 as artificial arrangements could well be made. 



Sending a man with a towing net out upon the lake with 

 a boat, or upon the remotest breakwaters, immense numbers 

 of all organic objects in the water were easily obtained. 

 After inclosing the exit of the tank with a fine wire screen, 

 to prevent the escape of objects placed in it, we poured these 

 collections of all descriptions indiscriminately in the water 

 from day to day, thus keeping the fishes profusely supplied 

 with all the various kinds of food which could possibly be 

 accessible to them in their native haunts. From this tank 

 one hundred fishes were taken daily and placed in alcohol 

 for dissection and microscopic study, to determine precisely 

 the objects preferred by them for food. These were ex- 

 amined at a later date, and all contents of the intestines 

 were mounted entire as microscopic slides, and permanently 

 preserved. A careful study was, of course, made of the or- 

 ganisms of the lake, as shown by the product of the towing- 

 net, and when the experiment was finally ended, it was 

 followed by an equally careful examination of the living 

 contents of the water of the tank at that time. 



These fishes, like those previously described, had already 

 reached the age; and condition at which it is customary to 

 "plant' them in the lake. The ventrals were still undevel- 

 oped, the egg-sac had nearly disappeared, the four mandib- 

 ular teeth were present, and the median fin extended from 

 the tips of the pectorals on the belly to a point opposite the 

 middle of the same fins on the back. In most the egg-sac 

 did not protrude externally, being reduced in some to a 

 droplet of oil, but remaining in a few of a size at least as 

 great as that of the head. The alimentary canal was, of 

 course, a simple, straight tube, without any distinction of [ 

 stomach and intestines. 



The sufferings of these fry in transit had doubtless weak- 

 ened the vitality of the survivors, and although every care 

 was taken to keep the water of the tank fresh and pure, 

 about one-third of those remaining died during the progress 

 of the experiment. The aquarium in which they were con- 

 fined was built of glass, and had a capacity of' about one 

 huudred cubic feet. The temperature, tried repeatedly, stood 

 at forty-two Fahrenheit. A steady current of the water of 

 the lake was maintained through this tank, entering 

 through a rose, from which it fell in a spray, thus insuring 

 perfect aeration. 



By far the greater part of the organic contents of the 

 water of the lake, as shown by the product of the towing- 

 net, consisted of diatoms in immense variety, which formed 

 always a greenish mucilaginous coating up'ou the? interior 

 of the muslin net. In this were entangled a variety of roti- 

 fers, occasional filamentous Algre, and many Entomostraca, 

 the latter belonging chiefly to the genera Cyclops, Diapto- 

 rnus and Limnocalauus among the Copepoda, aud to Daph- 

 nia among the Cladocera. 



As the Entomostraca proved to be far the most important 

 elements of this food supply, the particulars respecting 

 them may be properly more fully given. The smallest of all 

 was a Cyclops, then new, but since, described by me under 

 the name of Cyclops Shotn&sl,? This little Eutomostracan 

 is only .04in. long by .Oil wide. The next in size, and by far 

 the most abundant member of this group, was a Diaptomus, 

 likewise new, described iu the paper just cited, under the 

 name of Viaptom us si ('ills. This appears in two forms, one, 

 evidently young,, in the stage just preceding the adult. 

 Full-grown individuals were ,0G5iu. long by one-fourth that 

 depth. The. Limnocalauus was a much larger form, evi- 

 dently preying, to a considerable extent, upon the two just 

 mentioned. All the Cladocera noticed were Daphnia hya- 

 lina, an elegant and extremely t ransparent species, occurring 

 likewise in the lakes of Europe. A single insect larval form 

 (Chironomus) should likewise be mentioned iu this connec- 

 tion, since it had about the same size and consistence of the 

 Entomostraca, and was consequently available for food. 

 The specimens of each of the above species from a certain 

 quantity of these collections were couutcd, in order to give 

 a definite idea of their relative abundance iu the lake;"the 

 Oiaptomus numbered 235, the Cyclops 75, Limnocalanus 7, 

 Daphnia 3, aud Chirouoinus larva; 1. it was a curious fact, 

 however, that when the water was drawii off at the end of 

 the experiment, more thau half the Entomostraca were 

 Limnocalanus; a fact partly to be explained by the preda- 

 ceous habit of the latter, and partly by the facts relating to 

 the food of the fishes themselves, which are presently to he 

 detailed, 



The fry were placed in the tank and supplied with the 

 first food on the evening of the 13th of March. On the 14th 

 one hundred specimens were removed, end twenty-seven of 

 these were dissected. Twenty were empty, but the remain- 

 ing seven had already takeu food, all Cyclops or Diaptomus. 

 Three had eaten Cyclops only, and six Diaptomus, while 

 two had eaten both. Fourteen of these Entomostraca, seven 

 of each genus, were taken by these seven fishes. From 

 those captured the next day, twenty-five specimens were ex- 

 amined, of which nineteen were without food. Of the re- 

 maining six, three bad eaten Diaptomus and three Cyclops; 

 five of the former being taken iu all, and ten of the latter. 

 Three specimens were next examined from those caught on 

 the 19th of March, two of which had devoured Diaptomus 

 and a third a single Cyclops thomasi, and a shelled rotifer, 

 Auura'a striata, The character of the food at these earliest 

 stages was so well settled by these observations that I deem- 

 ed it unnecessary to examine the subsequent lots in detail, 

 but passed at once to the specimens taken on the 23d. 

 Twenty-six of these were examined, and found to have eaten 

 thirty-three individuals of Cyclops Uonnasi. fourteen of 

 Diaptomus silfcfe, and fourteen of the minute rotifer al- 

 ready mentioned {Anmxna stria-tit.) Two had taken a IVw 

 diatoms ( Bacillaria), aud one had eaten a filament of an 

 Alga. Cyclops was found in sixteen of the spec! mens, Di- 

 aptomus in nine, and Anunea in eight, ouly two of them 

 being empty, The amount of food now taken by individual 

 fishes was much greater than before, one specimen dissected 

 having eaten two Cyclops and two IJitt ptinn us sicilis, male 

 and female. Another had taken five Cyclops, one Diapto- 

 musand five examples of A nuixca si riata. Still anotherhad 

 eateu four of the Cyclops, four Diaptomus, and one Anura^a. 



Twenty-five specimens were examined from those removed 

 on the '24th of the mouth, at which time the water of the 

 tank was drawn off and all the remaining fishes bottled. 

 Four of these had not eaten, but the twenty-one others had 

 devoured fifty specimens of Diaptomus s-iHlis, forty-seven 

 of C i letups tliomast, fourteen Anunea striata and a single 

 Daphnia h-yalina, the latter p£ing the largest object eaten 

 by any of the fishes. A few examples of their capacity may 

 well be given, The ninth example had eaten six Diaptomus, 

 two Cyclops thomasi and one Anunea; the tenth had taken 

 eight Diaptomus, two Cyclops and an Anunea; and the 

 twentieth, seven Diaptomus and three Cyclops thomasi, In 

 two of these examples were small clusters of orange glob- 

 ules, probably representing unicellular Algae. 



Summarizing these data briefly we find that of the one 

 hundred and six specimens dissected sixty-three bad taken 

 food, and that the ratio of those which were rating increased 

 rapidly, the ionger the fishes were kept in the aquarium. 

 Only one-fourth of those examined on the 14th of the mouth 

 had takeu food, while more than five-sixths of those bottled 

 ten days later had already eaten. The entire number of 

 objects appropriated by these sixty-three fishes was as fol- 

 lows: Cyclops thomasi, ninety -seven; Diaptomus sicilis, 

 seventy-eight; Aniircea striata, twenty-nine; Daphnia 

 hyalina, one. Seven of the fishes had eaten unicellular 

 Algse, two had eaten diatoms and one filamentous Algts. 



From the above data we are compelled to conclude that 

 the earliest food of the whitefish consists almost wholly of 

 the smallest species of Entomostraca occurring in the lake 

 since the. other elements in their alimentary canals were 

 evidently either taken accidentally or else appeared in such 

 trivial quantity as to contribute nothing of importance to 

 their support. In fact two species of Copepoda, Cyclops 

 thomasi and Diaptomus sicilis, arc certainly very much 

 more important to the maintenance of the whitefish in this 

 earliest stage of independent life than all the other organ- 

 isms in the lake combined. As the fishes increase in size, 

 vigor and activity, they doubtless enlarge their regimen by 

 capturing larger' species of Entomostraca, especially Daph- 

 nia and Limuocalanus. 



A few words respecting the relative abundance of these 

 species at different seasons of the year and their distribution 

 in the lake will have some practical value. We may ob- 

 serve here an excellent illustration of the remarkable uni- 

 formity of the life of the lake as contrasted with that of 

 smaller bodies of water. While in ponds minute animal 

 life is largely destroyed or suspended during the winter, the 

 opening spring being attended by an enormous increase in 

 numbers and rate of multiplication, in Lake Michigan 

 there is but little difference in the products of the collecting 

 apparatus at different seasons of the year.t There is a slight 

 increase in the number of individuals during spring and 



*"On some Entomostraca of Lake ■ Michigan and Adjacent 

 Waters." American Naturalist, Vol. XVI., No. VIII. (August, 

 1882), pp. 640 and 649, 



t For definite assurance of this fact I am indebted less to my 

 own observations (which are, liowever, consistent with it so far 

 as they go), than to the statements of K. W. Thomas, Esq., of 

 Chicago, who, while making a specialty of the Diatoinacere of 

 the lake, has collected and studied all its organic forms for sev- 

 eral years, obtaining them from the city water by attaching a 

 strainer to a hydrant many times during every month through- 

 out the year, 



early summer, but, scarcely enough appreciably to affect the 

 food supply of fishes dependent upon them. They are not 

 by any means equally distributed, however, throughout the 

 lake, my own observations tending to show that there are 

 relatively very few of these minute crustaceans to be found 

 at a distance of a few miles from shore, and that, in fact, by 

 far the greater part of them usually occur within a distance 

 of two or three miles out. Indeed, the mouths of the rivers 

 flowing into the lake are ordinarily much more densely pop- 

 ulated by these animals than the lake itself, a»s has been 

 particularly evident at Racine and South Chicago. Neither 

 are they commonly equally distributed throughout the 

 waters in which they are most abundant, but like most 

 other aquatic animals, occur in shoals. Iu the deeper por- 

 tions of the lake, many species shift their level according to 

 the time of day, coming to the surface by night and sinking 

 again when the sun is bright. 



These facts make it important to the fishculturist that the 

 particular sif.uat.ion when it is proposed to plant the fry 

 should be searched at the time when these are to be liber- 

 ated, to determine, whether they will find at once sufficient 

 food for their support. A little exjierience will easily enable 

 one to estimate the relative abundance of the Entomostraca 

 at any given time aud place, and they require nothing for 

 their capture more complicated or difficult of management 

 than a simple net of cheesecloth or similar material towed 

 behind a boat. This may lie weighed aud sunk to any de- 

 sired depth, so that the contents of the water, either at the 

 surface or at the bottom, may be ascertained by a few min- 

 utes' rowing. 



Statu Laboratory ov Natural History, Champaign, 111. 



Dr. Sweeny had seen catfish jerk snails out of their shells 

 by getting hold of the animal and drawing it out bodily. 

 He has also noticed thousands of shells of the fresh-water 

 mussels, or Unio, popularly known as the "hydraulic clam," 

 with a hole through on each side as large as a half dollar, 

 and the meat gone. Doubtless this was the work of some of 

 the fishes that Prof. Forbes has examined. 



Mr. Mather had fed the salt-water mussel, Mytilis, to 

 the marine sheepshead, Diplodus, or Archoscvrgus as the 

 scientists have it, while he was connected with the New 

 York Aquarium, and had observed that this fish used its 

 sheep-like incisors to nip off the byssus which held the mus- 

 sel to its anchorage, and then crushed it with its pavement 

 of teeth back of the jaws. After extracting the meat the 

 shells were expelled from the mouth, aud he had never 

 noticed fragments of shell iu the exuvae. He had fed 

 the fish hard clams also, but these required cracking with a 

 hammer, and the shells were ejected after the meat was de- 

 voured as in the case of the mussels. 



Dr. Parker asked what the food of the lake whitefish 

 consists of. 



Prof. Forbes answered that he had made no study of the 

 food of this fish, except in the fry, and he had fully reported 

 on their food. The United States Fish Commission has 

 shown that crustacfea form the principal diet of the adult 

 fish. 



Mr. Clark had examined some of the whitefish taken 

 last February, and found nothing but small crustaceans iu 

 their stomachs, 



DEATH OF SETH GREEN. 



MR, SETH GREEN, widely known as a fishculturist, died 

 at his home in Rochester, N. Y., at 1 ;0$ A. M, on Mon- 

 day last, aged seventy-one years. The immediate cause of 

 death was paralysis of the brain, but he had been failing, 

 both mentally and physically, for the past six months. He 

 was a man of more than ordinary strength, and five years 

 ago seemed as likely to live the century out as any man of 

 his age; but last winter he began to fail, paralysis began in 

 his feet, aud gradually worked up. 



Setii Green was born iu the town of Irondequoit, near 

 Rochester, on March 19. 1817, and his father, who kept a 

 hotel, soon after removed to a place which is now part of the 

 city of Rochester. Having no taste tor books, he received 

 but. a meager education, and this probably was the cause of 

 his hostility to all .scientific men and his well-known dislike 

 of "professors." He was a man of a very observant nature 

 and one who would, if properly trained, have made a first- 

 class naturalist, for he was born with the instincts of one. 

 He was naturally a sportsman, was a good rifle and wing- 

 shot, as well as a most excellent fly-caster. 



We find from Prof. Goode's "Epochs in Fishculture" that 

 in 1853 Dr. (iarlick and Prof. Ackley, of Cleveland, O., bred 

 trout in 1853, aud that in 185(5 the State of Massachusetts 

 begau to investigate the subject, and finally established a 

 fishery commission. Later Mr. Stephen H. Ainsworth began 

 I rout breeding at W est Bloomfleld, N. Y., some twenty miles 

 from Rochester, aud the attention of Mr. Green being called 

 to this work he visited him, and knowing of the capabilities 

 of Caledonia Creek, went there, and in partnership with S. 

 M. Spencer, of Rochester, bought the property and began 

 tearing trout and furnishing eggs and fry to others, and 

 was the first American fishculturist who made the business 

 pecuniarily profitable. In 18(37 he was called by the New 

 England Fisn Commissioners to hatch shad in the Connec- 

 ticut River, and meeting with eggs which required different 

 treatment from any to which he had been accustomed he 

 devised the floating shad box which bears his name. The 

 next year the New York Fish Commission was created, aud 

 with Horatio Seymour and R, B. Roosevelt as colleagues, he 

 was appointed to be a Commissioner for the State. This 

 position he soon resigned in order to be the superintendent, 

 and then he and Spencer sold their interest in the hatchery 

 to Mr. A. S. Collins, who soon sold it to the State. 



In 1871 Mr. Green transported 10,000 shad fry to California, 

 a most difficult thing to do in that day, and for which he 

 received a well-deserved credit. He also introduced the 

 trout of California to Eastern waters, and was the recipient 

 of several medals from foreign governments for his work. 

 He was a joint author with Mr. Collins, and also with Mr. 

 Roosevelt, of several works on fishculture, and contributed 

 to various periodicals during his active life. He was a 

 member of several game protective societies, a Royal Arch 

 Mason, and an enthusiastic yachtsmau. Mr. Green leaves a 

 family of four children, who are well provided for. The 

 flags art the hatcheries at Cold Spring Harbor and Caledonia 

 were placed at half-mast in his h <nor, and he will long be 

 remembered as an active worker iu his profession. 



'he Mmml 



Dogs: Their Management and Treatment in Disease. By 

 Ashmont. Price $2. Kennel Record and Account Book. 

 Price $3. Training vs. Breaking. By S. T. Hammond. 

 Price $1. First Lessons in Dog Training, with Points of 

 all Breeds. Price 25 cents. 



FIXTURES. 



DOG SHOWS. 



Aug. 22 to 24— Third Annual Show of the American Fox- 

 Terrier Club, at Saratoga Springs, N. Y. (Including all terriers.) 

 Entries close Aug. 15. H. P. Frothingham, Secretary, 2 Walt 

 street. New York. 



Aug. 27 to 31.— Toledo Dog Show, Toledo, O. John Farley, Sec'y. 



Sept. 11 to If— First Dos Show of the Buffalo International Fan- 

 Association, at Buffalo, N.Y. Entries close Sept. 1. C.W.Rob- 

 inson, Secretary. 



Sent. 18 to 21.— Dog Show of the Westmoreland County Agricul- 

 tural Society, at Greensburg, Pa. John S. Sell, Secretary. En- 

 tries close Sept. 16, 



