The New Student's Reference Work/Whitefish

White′fish′, a common name for a number of fishes of pale or white color belonging to the salmon family. They are inhabitants mostly of lakes in the northern hemisphere. The name applies especially to the common whitefish of the great lakes of North America. This is the largest of the group, reaching a length of about 30 inches, It varies in appearance with age and condition. It ranges from the region of the great lakes north to the Arctic circle. It feeds on small crustacea, insects and minute organisms in the water. It is one of the finest food-fishes of America. The whiting is a slimmer and smaller variety of whitefish. The smallest and handsomest of the American whitefishes is the lake herring or cisco, a slender fish from ten to 15 inches long. In Europe the name of whitefish is given to any fish with silvery scales and without spots.