18 
BULLETIN OF THE UNITED STATES FISH COMMISSION. 
end of snout than base of caudal; end of fin with a dark tip. Ventrals under dorsal, 
about midway between base of caudal and end of snout. Scales large, rounded, with 
a vertical ridge, more persistent than in C. harengns, about 45 in longitudinal and 12 in 
transverse series; 12 or 13 scales in front of dorsal. Dorsal rays about 17, anal 15 or 
16. Color above bluish-purple, below uniformly golden, with purplish reflections; 
head golden. Peritoneum black or dark reddish-brown. Length, to 0 inches. 
The only fishes found in the vicinity of Woods Holl with which this species is 
liable to be confounded are the sea herring (C. harengiis) and the summer herring' or 
alewife {G. mtivalis). From examples of the former fish of similar size it differs in 
having a less compressed body, larger scales, weaker and somewhat shorter lower jaw 
shorter maxilla, and anterior position of dorsal; tlie coloration is also different. 
In the description of this species in the Synopsis and the Proceedings of National 
Museum, to which reference has been made, the head is said to be contained 4|- to 4^ 
times, and the depth 5 to 5^- times, in length. In the foregoing description we have 
noted the fact that in the Massachusetts specimens the depth is about equal to head. 
In the smaller fish rhe body is rather more slender than in the larger specimens (6 
inches), and the depth is slightly less than or equal to the length of head; the larger 
fish have a relatively deep body, the depth is rather more than head, and is contained 
3f to 4^- times in body length. Specimens in the National Museum from Cuba (No. 
33126) collected by Prof. Poey, the describer of the species, are similar to those we 
have in hand in having the depth equal to the length of head. Prof. Jordan also states 
that the peritoneum is pale; in all our specimens and in the examples from Cuba it is 
dark. With these exceptions, the fish from the Woods Holl region agree perfectly 
with the descriptions. Those from Pensacola, on which Prof. Jordan’s descriptions 
are j)rohably based (Nat. Mus. No. 30820, Jordan & Stearns, collectors), are consider- 
ably mutdated and much bleached, a circumstance Avhich may account for the discrep- 
ancies noted. 
5. Salmo salar Linuteus. Atlantic salmon. 
The normal southern coast-limit of this fish in recent times is given by authorities 
as southern New England. Dr. Goode, in his standard treatise on “American Fishes,” 
refers to the range as follows : 
The Connecticut River once teemed with them, and stragglers have been captured in the Housa- 
tonic and the Hudson. The southern limit is marked apiiroximately by latitude but they may 
be regarded as partially acclimated, through the efforts of the Fish Commission, in the Delaware and 
in the Susquehanna, wliich flows into the Atlantic in latitude 37°, and individuals have even been 
taken in the Potomac River and in North Carolina. 
Since the iniblication of Dr. Goode’s work the Hudson Eiver has yearly had a 
larger run of salmon, until in 1893 between 800 and 1,000 adult fish, some weighing 25 
pounds, were reported to have been caught, and the impression prevails that in a few 
years the fish will become so abundant under proper legal restriction that a regular 
fishery may be established. This noticeable result has been achieved through the 
planting of young salmon in the Hudson by the U. S. Commission of Fish and Fish- 
eries. 
As a meager contribution to the subject of the pelagic and coastwise distribution 
of the salmon, the following note is presented: 
About April 10, 1893, Oapt. Solomon Jacobs, of the mackerel schooner Mhel B. 
Jacobs, of Gloucester, Mass., while cruising for mackerel off the coast of the Middle 
Atlantic States, made a set at night in a large school of mackerel about 50 miles ESE. 
