266 FISHES OF ILLINOIS 



tail, until mud is reached, about 3 or 4 inches below the sand. 

 The sand forms a ridge a few inches high around the nest, and 

 a log often forms an additional shelter on one side. The females 

 are not about during the nest-building, which occupies from 4 

 to 48 hours. When the nest is finished, the male seeks the female 

 to induce her to enter the nest, biting her gently and swimming 

 across beneath her, striking her as he passes. The eggs and 

 milt are deposited with the vents of the two sexes approximated. 

 After the eggs are all laid, in successive ovipositions, the male 

 drives the female away, himself remaining alone to guard the 

 nest. Dr. Reighard has found that in both this and the next 

 species the male cares for the eggs till hatched, and watches over 

 the young till they are well grown. He found the small-mouthed 

 bass spawning in Michigan between the end of April and the 

 end of June. Nest-building was begun at a temperature of 60° 

 Fahr., but the eggs were not laid till the water reached 62° to 

 65°. Tisdale states that it takes six years for a weight of 3 lb 

 to be reached, growth continuing after that at about half a 

 pound a year till a weight of 6 lb is attained. 



Though practically unexcelled as a fresh-water game fish 

 this species does not take the highest rank as food, being, in the 

 words of Dr. Henshall, "inferior to trout and whitefishes, and 

 perhaps even to pike and channel-cat." 



Artificial propagation of this and the next species by taking 

 and impregnating the eggs has not been successful. The eggs 

 are not stripped easily, and it is necessary to kill the male in 

 order to get the milt. Pond culture is resorted to with consider- 

 able success, the percentage of natural fertilizations in well- 

 regulated ponds closely approaching the percentage obtained 

 by artificial means for species best adapted to artificial culture. 

 This high ratio is of course due to the fact that the parent guards 

 the eggs. Pond culture has for several years been in successful 

 operation in Missouri and in Michigan, and steps have lately 

 been taken towards the establishment of breeding ponds on the 

 upper Fox River in Illinois. The eggs of the species range in 

 number from 2,000 to 10,000 per individual. The fry will 

 endure shipping long distances in the cool days of spring or 

 autumn or in midwinter. 



The small-mouthed bass, while taken in considerable num- 

 bers by anglers in the northern part of Illinois, does not figure 

 in the commercial fisheries of this state. 



