THE SMELTS 
297 
During the day of April 16 in one pool the smelts occupied an eddy between two 
currents, circling about in the eddy, but not heading in definite order, sometimes 
downstream, sometimes up, and sometimes crosswise, and often some heading in one 
direction and some in another. In another pool above this a school occupied an eddy, 
swimming about irregularly and slowly to some extent, and generally rather station- 
ary or drifting irregularly, but with their heads generally toward the slow return 
current at almost right angles to the bank. 
In another pool a school, startled by the writer’s step on the bank, darted down- 
stream as far as a shoal ripple, then slowly returned with heads all directed upstream, 
some smelts above others, but all in the same direction. The smelts when undisturbed 
did not all occupy the same level in the water; some were near bottom and some 
farther up in the water, even near the surface at times, but they were all the time 
rising and settling again, swimming back and forth individually and to some extent 
collectively, but irregularly in the latter case. There was no evidence that they were 
at this time spawning. In the first pool mentioned a few eggs were seen attached to 
dead leaves, moss, and sticks, but they were white and may have been extruded 
when the fish were disturbed the previous night by dipping. Further observations 
show that the smelts very slowly moved about in the eddy in a comparatively large 
“circle” or rather ellipse, but in a very irregular manner. 
Two smelts, one large and the other small, were seen to come rather quickly to 
the surface together, breaking water with their backs. Probably this was not signifi- 
cant, as no more were seen to do it, or anything like it, during a long watch. No 
evidence of pairing was observed. 
Later, in another place, a small school of smelts was seen lying at the foot of a 
pool in which was considerable current. They were comparatively motionless, just 
above a shallow ripple, heads all upstream, merely drifting from side to side, when 
with one or two quick flirts of the tail they kept themselves from going backward. 
They scarcely moved upstream at all at any time, and when there was such a move- 
ment it was only on the part of one or two of them, not the whole school. 
At 9 p. m. the smelts had mostly gone out of the deep holes and were scattered 
along the brook, generally on the ripples, but on the morning of April 17 the schools 
were all in the deep holes where they were seen the day before. 
On the night of April 18 the writer observed some smelts in the brook by the 
hatchery that were evidently spawning, making no attempt to go farther up the 
brook. There were, however, others above and some running up by them. Those 
watched were in shallow water on sand, fine gravel, and pebbles, and headed up- 
stream where the current ran quickest, but nearer the shore they would lie on the 
bottom with their heads in no particular direction. Sometimes they were so near 
shore that their backs were nearly out of water. There were some rather quick 
movements made by those in quick water, but evidently for the purpose of main- 
taining their position where they were swinging from side to side but not going 
forward, sometimes, however, turning and running down or to one side a short dis- 
tance. But those in the still water lay comparatively quiet, some of them actually 
resting on the bottom, but they all moved about to a slight degree. 
