THE FOOD AND GAME FISHES OF NEW YORK. 395 



Ogdensburg, N. Y., July 17, 1894, evidently the young of the year, as the specimen 

 is i^ inches long. In Scioto Creek at Coopersville, N. Y., they secured an example 

 1 5/6 inches long July 19, 1894. Field assistants of the U. S. Fish Commission, col- 

 lecting in the Lake Ontario region of New York in 1894 and preceding years, took 

 specimens in many localities. 



The species is abundant in Lake Champlain and the St. Lawrence River basin ; 

 it is found also in Chautauqua Lake. 



Meek did not find this species in the vicinity of Ithaca ; near Cayuga and Monte- 

 zuma it is less common than the Large-mouthed Black Bass. Mather reported the 

 species in Racquette, Forked, White, Fourth, Bisby and Sucker Lakes, Black and 

 Moose Rivers, and in Partlo Pond, St. Lawrence County, in all of which it has been 

 introduced. The fish is not uncommon in Lake Champlain ; it is abundant in the 

 vicinity of Caledonia, N. Y. Eugene Smith records it from the Passaic River. 

 The writer has found it abundant in the Bronx. Mearns mentions it from Long 

 Pond, in the Hudson Highlands, where it reaches the weight of 5 or 6 pounds. 



This Bass does not grow so large as the Large-mouthed, seldom exceeding 8 

 pounds in weight and averaging but 2^/ 2 pounds. A fish of the latter weight will 

 measure 15 inches in length, while one of 8 pounds will measure 2 feet. 



The Small-mouthed Bass differs most markedly from the Large-mouthed in the 

 size of its jaws, the shallower notch in the dorsal fin and the smaller scales. There 

 are about 1 1 rows of scales above the lateral line and 7 below it ; 72-74 scales in the 

 lateral line. 



The young are dull yellowish green, the sides mottled with darker spots, which 

 sometimes form short vertical bars. Three dark stripes on the head ; caudal 

 yellowish at the base ; a broad black band near middle of tail and a broad whitish 

 margin behind. The dark lateral band characteristic of the Large-mouthed species is 

 not found in the Small-mouth. In the adult the prevailing color is olive green, the 

 stripes on the head remaining more or less distinct. 



The food of the Black Bass consists of Crawfish, frogs, insects and their larvae, 

 Minnows, and other aquatic animals of suitable size. The young can be fed on small 

 fresh-water crustaceans, such as Daphnia and Cyclops. Among the successful baits 

 for this species are Stone Catfish, Hellgramites and crickets. 



The Black Bass prefers rapid water, is extremely active, and frequents clear, pure, 

 swiftly-flowing streams, and thrives at greater elevations than those preferred by the 

 Large-mouthed species. It hibernates in the winter and spawns in the shallows on 

 gravelly bottoms in spring. It follows its prey into shallow water and frequently 

 leaps far out of the water in its efforts to escape from the hook or when frightened 



