Wagner—Fish Fauna of Lake Pepin. 
29 
evidence of this. In the seining operations it is continually 
apparent that such spoonbills as become gilled in the meshes 
of the seine always are found very close to the cork line, shew¬ 
ing that they were near the surface when gilled. The second 
line of evidence concerns their feeding habits. The specimens 
I examined were brought to shore usually at about eight or 
nine o’clock in the morning, and about four o’clock in the 
afternoon. The stomachs of the former were usually gorged 
with plankton, those of the latter were, with a few exceptions, 
empty. It would appear, then, that Polyodon feeds during the 
night or very early in the morning. Now, while no accurate 
determinations of the plankton of Lake Pepin have been made, 
it is fair to presume that at night the plankton organisms ap¬ 
proach the surface more nearly than in daylight. It would be 
very interesting in this connection to determine the gas content 
of the deeper water during August, as has been done for other 
lakes of our state by Professor Birge and Mr. Juday. 
Polyodon, more than any other fish in Lake Pepin except 
Pomolohus chrysochloris, has the habit of leaping up out of the 
water. It leaps with great force, specimens four feet or more 
in length often leaping clear above the surface, then falling 
usually on their side. This also occurs commonly far from 
shore; only once have I observed it close in. This jumping of 
Polyodon is commonly said to be for the purpose of removing 
the lampreys. This is probably true ; at all events, it can 
easily be observed that the lampreys are knocked off in this 
manner, sometimes in considerable numbers. 
As to its commercial status, the spoonbill is the fish most 
sought for by the seiners on Lake Pepin. It is only within 
comparatively recent years, however, that its food value has 
been recognized. In the last few years it has brought a price 
nearly equal to that of sturgeon. This, combined with the 
numbers which are caught, makes it a very profitable fish. 
1'here is, therefore, some danger that its numbers may soon be 
decimated as those of the sturgeon have been. Our present ab¬ 
solute lack of knowledge of its breeding habits makes proper 
methods of protection a difficult problem. The roe forms no 
part of the commercial value of the fish here. 
