408 SEVENTH REPORT OF THE FOREST, FISH AND GAME COMMISSION. 



in May, but the fall fish range from 9 inches to 24 inches in length. In Great South 

 Bay the writer has obtained specimens at Blue Point Cove, Great River, Nichols's 

 Point, and off Widow's Creek. A great haul was made on Lone Hill Middleground 

 about the middle of October, 1901. The fish remains in some of the tributaries of 

 Great South Bay throughout the year. According to Dr. Mearns the species is taken 

 in great numbers in nets set through the ice of the Hudson in winter, and in drift 

 nets by shad fishermen in spring. Large individuals of 60 pounds and upward are 

 sometimes caught in the winter and early spring. He once took a specimen a little 

 above the estuary of Poplopen's Creek, in fresh water. 



At the time of Dr. Mitchill's report the greatest run occurred late in the fall, and 

 the great hauls were made during the coldest season, including some very large fish. 

 He saw, however, a dozen at a time weighing 50 pounds each in New York market 

 during very mild weather, in early October. 



This fish lives in the sea or in brackish or fresh water indifferently and it has been 

 successfully kept in artificial ponds. In cold, northern waters it becomes ice bound 

 occasionally and is said to hibernate. It prefers cold water, is carnivorous and pre- 

 daceous, feeding upon small fishes in the streams, consuming especially large quanti- 

 ties of the Alewife or River Herring and the young of the Shad. In the shallow 

 bays along the coasts its food consists of Killifish, Silversides, Anchovies, Lant and 

 other small fishes, besides crabs, squid, clams, mussels and other marine inverte- 

 brates. Its movements while feeding depend greatly upon the tides. It is to be 

 found frequently at the mouths of small creeks and in tideways, where it lies in wait 

 for the large schools of small fishes, which constitute its food. 



The largest Striped Bass recorded was said to weigh 112 pounds. At Avoca, 

 North Carolina, Dr. Capehart took a Striped Bass weighing 95 pounds. It reaches 

 a length of 4^ or 5 feet. 



Spawning takes place from April to June, either in the rivers or in the brackish 

 waters of bays and sounds. Eggs have been hatched artificially in May on Albermarle 

 Sound. Dr. Capehart took a 58-pound spawning fish April 22, 1891. The eggs are 

 smaller than those of the Shad, and after fertilization they increase greatly in size 

 and become light green in color. This 58-pound fish probably contained more than 

 one-half million eggs. Dr. Abbott has found the young an inch long in the Delaware 

 the second week in June, and by the middle of October some of these had grown to 

 a length of 4^/2 inches. The Striped Bass has been kept in a small pool of fresh 

 water and fed upon crabs and oysters, increasing in about eleven months from 6 

 inches in length to 20 inches. In the aquarium the species is hardy and grows 

 rapidly; it can be kept in good condition almost indefinitely. In a Rhode Island 



