HARD WICKE ' S SCIENCE- G OS SIP. 



Gi 



This erroneous impression is commonly shared, and 

 can readily be accounted for by the fact of the tout 

 ensemble of the bass, resembling closely that of its 

 lordly confrere. On this account, I have known un- 

 scrupulous fishmongers to dispose of the former to 

 unwary customers in place of the latter. 



The habits of bass afford a very interesting study. 

 Their dignified appearance when full grown earns 

 them the respect and admiration of all visitors to 



Fig. 27. — The Bass (reduced). 



aquaria where they locomote backwards and forwards, 

 unconscious of the admiring glances bestowed upon 

 their silvery forms. But, as we are well acquainted 

 with their characteristics, I shall proceed to record 

 the result of my observations upon their habits and 

 proclivities, which point conclusively to the extreme 

 hardihood of their constitutions. 



In confinement bass are naturally not so voracious as 



Fig. 2S. — Head of Bass. 



in their normal sphere, but their appetites are neverthe- 

 less very keen when living under artificial conditions. 

 On first being admitted to the aquarium they abstain 

 from food entirely, as they also do at certain seasons 

 of the year. When once induced to feed at the out- 

 set, they exist many years in an artificial state, but if 

 at the end of eight days they reject their food, death 

 ensues shortly afterwards. They can be accustomed 

 to a varied diet, including meal, but mussels is the 



best kind of food upon which to feed them in cap- 

 tivity, onisci and Crustacea, their natural sustenance, 

 being difficult to procure regularly. They are cap- 

 able of domesticating themselves to a variety of con- 

 ditions, and changing their nature and food as well as 

 the coloration of their body. In captivity the irides 

 become more silvery, and the bluish tints upon the 

 back lighter in hue. 



It is stated that bass thrive under fluviatile con- 

 ditions. This, however, all depends upon circum- 

 stances. On several occasions I .turned a few fish 

 into fresh water, but did not succeed in maintaining 

 them longer than six days. They became languid 

 and thin in appearance, refusing to touch the various 

 foods that I placed in their tank. In brackish water 

 the case is different ; they frequently repair thither in 

 their natural state when following their prey. There is 

 no doubt that if the ova were hatched, and the fry reared 

 in fresh water, they might be permanently naturalised 

 thereto, in fact we are told by Columella that this was 

 done by the ancient Romans with success ; but on 

 the other hand, it would be extremely difficult to 

 acclimatise them to a fluviatile existence after being 

 reared in saline waters. 



I find that bass possess extraordinary vitality and 

 powers of endurance. They are able to live more than 

 three weeks in stagnant water, unlike their relation 

 the Perca fluviatilis, which requires plenty of oxygen. 

 The respiratory organs of the bass are of a high order, 

 for until the last few days of their death under the con- 

 dition described, they did not rise to the surface of 

 the water to obtain air, which is the practice of most 

 fish when deprived of oxygen. The gill-openings of 

 bass are small, which may account for their being 

 able to support life so long upon a meagre amount of 

 oxygen. During their existence in stagnant water the 

 bass moved less actively, but otherwise there was no 

 indication of loss of vitality. 



Another proof of their powers of endurance is forth- 

 coming in the following facts. I have noticed large 

 specimens of bass sicken for death eighteen days before 

 the event took place. An instance of this came before 

 me a short time since, upon the arrival of several of 

 these fish at South Kensington. Finding that 

 they abstained from food, I examined them carefully, 

 and by comparing their movements with other speci- 

 mens, I noticed they seemed very weak. Their motion 

 in the water was indefinite : they sometimes moped 

 in corners of the tank and did not disport themselves 

 upon the shingle at the bottom thereof, as their com- 

 geners do when in good health. At the end of the 

 first week they exhibited a tendency to change their 

 attitude in the water from horizontal to vertical, until 

 they rested upon their tail. This was a sure sign of 

 speedy death, but they lingered on, nevertheless,, 

 remaining stationary in the water, but on no occasion 

 partaking of food. I continued to watch them 

 closely for two weeks longer, thinking there might 

 be a possibility of their recovery, but my hopes were 



