458 
BULLETIN OF THE UNITED STATES FISH COMMISSION. 
dropped to 18 cents a pound and has since ruled lower each year. At times in 1893 
and 1894 striped bass could be bought at prices that were within the reach of even 
the frugal Chinese. Referring to the San Francisco market, Mr. Alexander states: 
In the month of September, which is the close season for salmon, striped bass command a good 
price, hut it is only for a short time, for as soon as salmon begin to appear again the price drops to a 
low figure. It can not he said that salmon alone causes the price to fall, for it is partly due to striped 
bass being caught in considerable numbers at that time, and it is a combination of circumstances 
which makes it possible to buy the fish at most seasons at a reasonable figure. 
From 18S9 to 1892 the average price received by the fishermen fell from 25 cents 
to 11£ cents a pound. During 1893 and 1894 the prices received by the San Francisco 
dealers ranged from 4 to 30 cents a pound, the average price being about 10 cents. 
The average net price to the fishermen was 2 to 3 cents less. 
In December, 1893, when large consignments of bass were received at San Fran- 
cisco, the prices fell to a very low figure. A dealer who made returns at only 3 cents 
a pound incurred the great displeasure of the fishermen. On June 21, 1894, the day 
following the large catch on the Berkeley Flats in San Francisco Bay, the wholesale 
price in San Francisco was 3£ cents and the retail price 7J cents a pound. 
Writing under date of July 24, 1895, Mr. Babcock says that striped bass did not 
yield the fishermen over 5 cents a pound taking the year through, and that the San 
Francisco dealers had undersold the New York dealers every month, as shown by the 
quotations in the Fishing Gazette. During November, 1895, the receipts were very 
heavy, and on November 9 the retail price in San Francisco was only 6 cents a pound. 
THE WHITE BASS. 
Twelve yearling white bass ( Eoccus chrysops) from Quincy, 111., were delivered to 
the California fish commission at Sisson in June, 1895, at the time the carload of large- 
mouth black bass was sent, to that State by the United States Fish Commission. Five 
of these were alive in December, 1895, and will be retained for breeding purposes. 
This fish, which is abundant in the Great Lakes and the Mississippi Valley, may be 
regarded as a landlocked striped bass and is an excellent food-fish. It is doubtless 
well suited to the warmer lakes, sluggish streams, and bayous of the Pacific States. 
It is adapted to cultivation, reaches a weight of 3 pounds, and is quite gamy. 
THE TAUTOG. 
Mr. Livingston Stone, of the United States Fish Commission, carried specimens 
of the tautog ( Tautoga onitis) from the Atlantic to the Pacific coast in his aquarium 
car. The fish were obtained at Woods Hole, Mass., and were deposited in San Fran- 
cisco Bay near Oakland, June 12, 1874. They were of small size, and the number 
planted was 23. There is no evidence that anything ever came of this small deposit 
of fish in this large body of water. In the report of the California fish commission 
for 1876-77, it is stated that some tautog had been reported to have been seen in the 
San Francisco market, but no subsequent references to their appearance have been 
met with. In 1873 Mr. Stone included tautogs in the collection of live fishes which 
he attempted to carry to California, but they were lost in the wreck of the transpor- 
tation car. 
