350 
BULLETIN OF THE BUREAU OF FISHERIES 
10 or 12 together weighed no more than 1 pound; in March the fish were 4 ounces 
to 6 ounces each, and occasionally one or more in a take weighed close to 8 ounces. 
In this country there are not many reports concerning rehabilitation of coastal 
streams with smelt by fish-cultural operations. Mather (1894) gave a table show- 
ing the number of fry and eggs planted in one stream in Connetquot River, a small 
stream rising in the center of Long Island, north of Yaphank, and flowing into 
Great South Bay near Bellport, from 1885 to 1894, both inclusive, amounting to 
55,000,000. Concerning these facts Mather said: 
That we have made rapid strides in the work of smelt hatching is shown by the table giving 
our yearly plantings, where it will be found that of the 55,000,000 fry and eggs distributed in ten 
years almost half the number was sent out this spring. It should also be borne in mind that this 
great result was obtained from an insignificant stream that never contained smelts before — it was 
stocked by the New York State Fishery Commission. 
In this country, too, there are a few instances of the successful transplanting of 
marine smelts into fresh water. The report of the commissioners of fisheries of 
Massachusetts for 1868 (p. 20), states that smelt were introduced in Jamaica Pond 
near the close of the preceding century, and live there entirely cut off from salt 
water. 
The Massachusetts report for 1870 stated that a number of mature smelts had 
been put in Flax Pond, in Wareham, the preceding spring, and that fall great 
shoals of little smelts were seen about the edge of the pond, showing the success of 
the attempt. 
The possibility of the natural occurrence of fresh-water smelt in Massachusetts 
is suggested by an article in Forest and Stream for April 18, 1889 (p. 259), which 
said: 
From Cape Cod, Mass., we have received some specimens of a fish known there as fresh-water 
smelt. The examples are about 5 inches long and represent about the average size of the fish. 
The species is found in two or three large, perfectly landlocked ponds, which have no visible outlet 
and are remote from salt water. We are informed that no stream ever has connected these ponds 
with the ocean. The fish are never seen except for a few nights during the first week in April, 
when they come to the shore to spawn. They can readily be taken with dip nets or landing nets. 
Under proper conditions bushels of them can be taken in a single night. Few persons know of 
their existence. Unless the ponds are visited at just the right time, and with a light, the fish can 
not be seen. This fish is a very delicate and toothsome little species, having the flavor of a salt- 
water fish. * * * . The only changes that we can observe as the result of landlocking are a 
reduction in size and the strength of the teeth. The specimens obtained were caught on the night 
of April 3 and appeared to be spent females. 
Of course, if the ponds never had any outlets the smelt must have been intro- 
duced by some means or other, perhaps by the hands of man or possibly by the feet 
of birds. 
It appears that smelts have been introduced with some success into other ponds 
of Massachusetts, of which Onota Lake near Pittsfield, is a notable example. 
Fresh-water smelts appear to be unknown in Rhode Island and Connecticut, 
and in Vermont are recorded only from Lake Champlain. In New Hampshire they 
occurred naturally in Winnepesaukee and connecting waters; and, according to the 
reports of the commissioners of fish and game, they have been successfully trans- 
planted into some other waters of the State. 
