AMERICAN FISHES. 
142 
up to the time of the closing up of the establishment, having been in con¬ 
finement over three years, and by which time they had become the 
blackest of black drum ; all the bands that were so conspicuous in their 
younger stage having disappeared entirely, although, for the last two 
years, the shark tank, (some seventy feet in length), in which they had 
been kept, was always flooded with strong sunlight in the morning and 
strong daylight during the afternoon, not to mention a flood of gaslight 
during the evening. The bottom of this tank consisted of clean and 
white shingle, so that a great deal of reflected light was the result, and yet 
these “ banded drum ” seemed to become blacker and blacker black drum 
every month. Mussels and scollops, in the shell, were their particular 
delight, and they always had plenty as long as I was their keeper. The 
bull-nosed clam was too much for their pharyngeal teeth, consequently I 
had them partially opened before feeding them out. 
‘ ‘ During the spring months the males constantly pursued the females, and, 
on such occasions, both the males and females gave out a series of very 
musical and liquid drum-like sounds, which could be distinctly heard 
in any part of the aquarium. Often, when dredging at night-time at 
Princess Bay, Staten Island, I have heard the constant drumming of the 
drum at different points about my boat; they were evidently having a big 
oyster supper.” 
The fresh-water Drum, Haploidonotus grunniens , is always known in the 
Great Lakes by the name “ Sheepshead.” In the Ohio River it is usually 
called “ White Perch ” or “ Gray Perch,” often simply “ Perch.”• In 
the lakes of Northern Indiana it is called “ Crocus,” evidently a corrup¬ 
tion of “Croaker.” In the Southern States the name “Drum” pre¬ 
dominates ; that of “ Thunder-pumper,” also used for the bittern, Botau- 
