BULLETIN OF THE UNITED STATES FISH COMMISSION. 199 
According to him, the run of fat mullet, which is the roe-mullet not 
fully developed, commences about October 15 and continues until No- 
vember 15, when, as roe-mullet, they come down the river and go out 
to sea to spawn, and return in a short time as u galam boties.” He 
attributes the decrease mainly to the use of 2^-inch mesh nets in sum- 
mer and early fall, when quantities of very small fish are taken. Mr. 
I. Y. Balsom, who has fished all his life in the St. John’s and along the 
eastern coast of the State, said that Saint Augustine and Musquito In- 
let are the natural spawning-grounds of the mullet, and that he has 
seen the eggs running from the fish in his cast-net. He is probably 
the most successful mullet-fisherman on the St. John’s, and his catch 
for this season is 4,500, whereas in 1877 his catch was 13,000, having 
taken 2,260 at one drift of a 200-fathom gill net. 
At Mayport the falling off is even more apparent, only 16,000 having 
been shipped from that point this season. 
About 40 gill-nets and 1 sweep-seine were fished on the Lower St. 
John’s this season, and their entire catch was not over 100,000 large 
mullet. 
As little or no fishing was being done at Saint Augustine I proceeded, 
after one day, to Mosquito Inlet, arriving there on the 7th. All of the 
mullet caught during my stay there had spawned, a very large school 
having gone out at the inlet the week before. Any day small schools 
of u galam boties ” could be seen coming in and working their way up the 
rivers to the lagoons. Mr. Bartolle Pacetti, who has lived about one 
mile from the inlet on the Halifax for thirty-five years, and who is the 
most observant fisherman I met in the State, says there is no doubt 
about mullet going outside to spawn. The roe-mullet begin to come 
down from the lagoons and rivers about November 15, and continue 
until December 31. Forming in large schools, they often swim about 
near the inlet for several days, and then go out, returning in a few days, 
sometimes in two tides, nearly every one spent. During January the 
shores near the inlet are lined with very small mullet about 1 inch or 
less in length, which gradually form in larger and larger schools, and as 
the season advances work up the rivers and lagoons, where they remain 
until they mature. Mr. Pacetti has frequently examined the roe-mullet 
caught just before going out, and always found it firm, though he has 
seen the eggs about the size of a mustard-seed run out into the cast nets. 
Mullet stay all the year inside, only going out to spawn, and they return 
in much smaller schools ; which fact probably accounts for their not be- 
ing seen to return along the North Carolina coast and in the St. John’s 
Biver. Owing to the lack of shipping facilities up to this time, fishing 
has not been conducted on an extensive scale ; but as fish can now be 
shipped by rail from New Smyrna to any point, there is no reason why 
this industry should not develop rapidly. About 100,000 mullet were 
shipped this season, besides other fish. 
Leaving New Smyrna on the 13th, I arrived at Punta Gorda on the 
