426 
AMERICAN FISHES. 
of fishing; otherwise the fish is not now in especial favor for food. Its 
scales are so silvery and bright, however, that it makes the best of live- 
baits for pike or perch fishing, and has been used for this purpose from 
times immemorial. 
“ If the young dace be a bait for the old pike,” said Falstaff, “ I see no 
reason in the law of nature, but I may snap at him.” 
There are many species of Squalius in the streams and lakes of the far 
West and Southwest which must in time be highly prized by our people. 
At present, however, it is only in localities which are thickly populated 
that the native cyprinoids and catostomoids are known and appreciated. 
Two species, Squalius rhomaleus and S. cttrarius , are excessively 
abundant in Utah Lake. The latter, as it ascends the streams to spawn 
almost simultaneously with the trout ( Salmo pur pur alas') , is extremely 
destructive to the young salmonoids. It is taken in considerable numbers 
in seines, and is sold in the markets of Salt Lake City and other towns. 
It reaches a length of nearly a foot. These species are known as Mullets, 
and Chubs. 
Numerous others, similar in size and habits, abound in the region be¬ 
tween the Rocky Mountains and the Sierra Nevada, and are used as food 
by the Indians and by the white settlers. Among these are S. niger , S. 
purpureus , S. obesus, S. pandora, the “ Pescadito ” of the Rio Grande 
region, S. tcenia , the “Leather-sided Minnow” of the Provo River and 
Salt Lake Basin, and S. elongata , the “ Red-sided Shiner ” of the Upper 
Missouri and the great lakes. 
President Jordan speaks briefly as follows of various other American 
forms : 
The “Chub” or “Mullet” of San Francisco, Squalius gibbosus, 
abounds in the Sacramento River, and is taken in great numbers. It 
reaches a length of about a foot, and is eaten chiefly by the Chinese. 
The various species of Gila abound in the basin of the Rio Colorado and 
Rio Gila, and are used as food in New Mexico and Arizona. They reach 
a length of about eighteen inches. Gila elegans , robusta and Grahami are 
the principal species. 
Ptychochilus oregonensis abounds in the Columbia and Sacramento and 
their tributaries, where it is known as “ Shepawl ” and “ Pike.” It reaches 
a length of three or four feet at least, a size much greater than that of any 
other of our representatives of this family. A great many are brought into 
the markets of San Francisco in the winter. A second species ( Ptychochilus 
Harfordi) accompanies P. oregonensis in the Sacramento, and is brought 
