C. David Lester, age 13, of Morrow, Ga., for his question:

WHAT IS THE FASTEST SWIMMING FISH?

Unfortunately very few investigations seem to have been made into the question of how fast a fish is able to swim. A Belgian scientist, however, came up with what appears to be the record when he timed a number of salmon and found they can swim at the rate of about 10 yards a second. An American observer found a fish called the alewife can also swim at about this same speed.

It is possible and even probable that other fish can swim faster than this. Sharks, for example, can keep up with swift steamers for days and even porpoises can move very fast for very long periods of time.