276 
BULLETIN OF THE UNITED STATES FISH COMMISSION. 
It is 35 or 40 yards wide at this station, which is 35 miles from its source. The bottom 
consists of rock, and the average depth of water is from 3 to 5 feet, with occasional 
deeper places, which generally have a muddy bottom. Several very large smooth 
sandbars were noticed, but they were not common. The ripples are shallow and smooth 
enough to make seining easy. The stream is well stocked with fishes, 28 species hav- 
ing been obtained. The commoner varieties of food-fishes were abundant. Darters 
were quite numerous on the ripples, especially E. variatum , a rare species in other locali- 
ties. Ten specimens of E. spilotum were also taken, and E. pellucidum was common 
on the sandbars. The favorite method of fishing here is by means of the spear at 
night with the aid of a torch, while the fish are spawning in the shallow waters. 
5. Big Greek, at Big Creek post-office, August 22; water temperature, 74° F. 
Big Creek is a small eastern tributary of Redbird, shallow and very rocky. For its 
entire length, about 15 miles, the bottom of the stream is one continuous bed of stones, 
containing no plant life and but few fishes. Collections were made one mile from the 
mouth of the stream. Very few specimens were obtained, Notropis megalops and 
Catostomus nigricans being about the only species that were common. 
THE MIDDLE FORK. 
6. Bull Greek , 4 miles west of Hyden, August 23; the water temperature was 
68° F. This is a small western tributary of Middle Fork, about the same size as Big 
Creek, but of a different character. It is narrower and deeper and less rapid and 
stony. The bottom is of slate and stone, with short interspaces of gravel. Collections 
were made at the crossing of the Hazard road. The creek contains an abundance of 
small fishes, 18 species having been taken from the stream and from a small bayou. 
The bayou contained great numbers of minnows, Gliola vigilax , Pimephales notatus , 
and Gampostoma anomahm. 
7. Middle Fork , August 23; water temperature, 70° F. The collecting station was 
4 miles north of Hyden and three-quarters of a mile below the crossing of the Hazard 
road. Middle Fork is larger and deeper than Redbird, with less frequent ripples. At 
the seining station, about 40 miles from its mouth, the stream is 50 yards wide and 
very swift on the ripples. The ripple where the collecting was done is about half a mile 
long, and the upper part has a smooth stone bottom, thickly strewn with large loose 
stones. The entire bed of the stream and surface of the stones, where covered with 
water, are thickly overgrown with a species of Potamageton. Hiding among these weeds 
were great numbers of small catfishes ( Noturus miurus ), small darters ( Etheostoma 
zonale ), and the young of E. flabellare. Several hundred specimens of the catfish and 
of E. zonale were taken in a few hauls of the seine. Nearer the middle of the ripple 
the bottom was composed of coarse gravel and broken stones, the weeds growing 
there only in small isolated bunches. Here the most common species obtained were 
black bass, minnows (especially Notropis whipplei ), and darters (E. aspro, E. variatum , 
E. spilotum , and a few E. nigrum and blennioides). The gravel next gave way to a 
smooth sand bottom with deeper water, where E. pellucidum was taken in abundance, 
and several species of Notropis , especially N. arge and other soft-rayed fishes, were 
common. Twenty-nine species in all were obtained. The stream is an excellent one 
for many varieties of food-fishes, but fishing is reported to be carried on extensively by 
means of seines and spears, and also by the use of dynamite. 
