BIOLOGICAL NOTES. 
31 
Land, but the fisheries were a failure because of the scarcity of bait. Herring were not running and 
quahogs could not be obtained in sufficient numbers. 
On January 30, 1901, 500 to 600 cod, of which 48 had been stripped and the remainder were barren 
fish, were left in the cars to be tagged. On the following day there was a fall of snow and the temper- 
ature of the water began to fall from 31° F. and for the greater part of February remained at 28° F. 
Ice was formed in the harbor and all the cod died. This would go to show that the cod adapt them- 
selves to abrupt changes in temperature by migrating to deeper water. 
Rhinonemus cimbrius, Four-bearded Rockling. 
Young rockling were taken in the surface towings at the Fish Commission wharf from June 27 to 
July 6, 1900. They formed in schools in the eddies around the wall and were mixed with young 
sticklebacks ( Gasterosteus bispinosus). Their length was 0.5 to 1.375 inches. The rockling is found in 
all North Atlantic waters, and although it is said to be abundant in Massachusetts Bay, only two 
specimens have been reported from Woods Hole. One measuring 10 inches in length was speared in 
the Eel Pond January 5, 1889; the second was caught in Little Harbor also in the winter, but there is 
no record of the exact date. The young have never before been taken here. 
Hippoglossus hippoglossus, Halibut. 
On April 16, 1900, there was brought into Newport a halibut weighing 100 pounds, which with 
others was caught off Block Island by cod-fishermen. Halibut were formerly abundant in this locality 
and in Vineyard Sound, but none have been taken for several years. This catch leads one to hope 
that this valuable food-fish may return to its old grounds. 
Pseudopleuronectes americanus, Flat-fish. 
An illustration of the effect of a sudden fall of temperature on the behavior of fish was given in 
February and March, 1900. The flat-fish had been plentiful both at. Great Harbor and Waquoit Bay 
throughout February up to the 23d, when they entirely disappeared, and none were taken again until 
March 6. The records show that after the 23d the temperature of the water dropped from 35° F. to 
29° F., and that on March 6 it rose again to 32° F. 
The normal breeding season of flat-fish is from February to May, and it is very unusual to find 
them with mature sexual products before January; but in 1900 seven specimens of the hatch of 1898, 
caught in Eel Pond on November 20, had ripe milt. Again, on November 27, three out of four flat- 
fish caught in a fyke net set in Great Harbor were ripe milters, and on the following day, at the same 
place, two females were taken, swollen with eggs, and in such condition that had they been taken in 
February they probably would have spawned within two days. Never before have flat-fish with ripe 
sperm been taken so early, and it is possible that the unusually warm water of October and November, 
1900, may have caused this premature development of eggs and milt. The last flat-fish with ripe eggs 
for the season of 1899-1900 was taken April 25. Although it is generally believed that flat-fish extrude 
their eggs only at night, on March 14,1901, a large fish, which had been in the fish-boxes at the 
hatchery a day or two, spawned in the middle of the afternoon. 
In regard to the “black-bellied” fish, the report of the Rhode Island Fish Commission for 1900 
states: “ It is an extremely interesting fact that the dark-bellied variety, which gradually came into 
notice several years ago and attained the maximum of its abundance in 1898, is on the decline. Last 
season, according to a trustworthy estimate, only about 4 per cent were colored on the under surface, 
while three years ago at least 33 per cent were so colored.” Among 300 flat-fish from Waquoit Bay 
this season (1900-1901) there was not a single specimen of the black-bellied variety, although last 
year Ur. Bumpus reported several. This variation seems to have completely disappeared. 
A young flat-fish, 1.5 inches long, was seined at Katama Bay August 15, 1900; the posterior two- 
thirds of its upper surface was devoid of pigment, and a distinct line separated the two areas. The 
scales were different in structure from the normal, and the presence of a deep notch on the dorsal side 
of the tail suggested that the lack of pigment may have been produced through injury or disease, 
although the surface was apparently free from any lesion. This is the first time that this variation 
has been observed, although Mr. Edwards has seined in the vicinity of Woods Hole for thirty years. 
Lophius piscatorius, Goose-fish. 
During the fall of 1900, goose-fish were very abundant in Great Harbor, and late in the fall 
several large ones were washed ashore. This is of considerable interest, because the fish is not often 
seen near Woods Hole, although numerous at Menemsha and Cuttyhunk, where the shores are 
frequently lined with their bleached skeletons. 
