222 BULLETIN OF THE UNITED STATES FISH COMMISSION. 



proper care of the fish. Xo special measures were taken, except to 

 keep the water, by means of ice, at a temperature of 5 degrees Reau- 

 mur, and to remove the sediment by means of a pump; only a little 

 fresh water was added. The attempt to feed the fish during- the voy- 

 age did not prove successful. Upon arrival in Bremen the water 

 was found to be as clear as at the departure from New York. At Geeste- 

 munde the fish were met by one of my assistants, who was kindly aided 

 in landing them by Mr. F. Busse, wholesale dealer in fish. They were 

 brought here in a large barrel, holding about 500 liters, the water be- 

 ing cooled by ice, and air being introduced in it. Because of some de- 

 lay at Bremen the fish did not reach here till the morning of March 3. 

 Upon their arrival they were all found to be lively and in good condi- 

 tion. Only one small black bass died after a while, and was sent to the 

 Zoological Museum in Berlin, where Dr. F. Hilgendorf examined it, and 

 identified it as Grystes salmonoides Lace'pede. 



2. — Character of the black bass. 



All my information relative to the black bass I have obtained from 

 the following sources: Forest and Stream, vol. 2, p. 320; vol. 4, pp. 

 342-357; vol. 8, pp. 200-359 ; vol. 9, p. 284; vol. 14, p. 349; and vol. 

 15, pp. 08, 300; Report of United States Commissioner of Fish and 

 Fisheries for 1871-'72, p. 800; the same, for 1872-'73, pp. 392, 525; 

 Robert R. Roosevelt's Superior Fishing, pp. 10, 11, 71, 75; Frank 

 Forrester's Fish and Fishing of the United States, p. 195 ; Thaddeus 

 Norris, The American Angler's Book, 1805, p. 103 ; Charles Hallock, 

 The Fishing Tourist, 1873, p. 123; James A. Henshall, M. D., Book of 

 the Black Bass, 1881 — this is the most important source of information; 

 Genio C. Scott, Fishing in American Waters, new edition, 1883, p. 280; 

 and Transactions of. the American Fish-Culturists' Association, 1882. 



The original home of the black bass in America is the region of the 

 Saint Lawrence and the Mississippi, Avhilst it is not found in the Middle 

 States, New England, on the Atlantic coast, and in the rivers flowing 

 into the Pacific. Henshall distinguishes two varieties : first, the large- 

 mouthed black bass, Mieropterus salmonoides Henshall, or Grystes sal- 

 monoides Lac6pede ; and, second, the small-mouthed black bass, Microp- 

 terus dolomieu Lacepede. 



Both these varieties are usually found in the same water ; they are 

 lively, muscular, and voracious, bite very well, and afford excellent 

 sport. When freshly caught they smell of musk. They are a great table 

 delicacy, and are in this respect not excelled by any other fish. Thej' 

 are not very sensitive as regards the impurities introduced in the rivers 

 from factories and cities, and are found as far south as the tropics, near 

 the Gulf of Mexico, and as far north as the cold waters of the great 

 fresh-water lakes on the boundary of Canada. They reach their great- 

 est size in very spacious and deep waters and at a high temperature. 

 In the north they attain a weight of four or five pounds, rarely six or 



