BULLETIN OF THE UNITED STATES FISH COMMISSION. 223 



eight pounds weight; in the south, and in deep water, they attain a 

 weight of twelve to fourteen pounds. In rivers, they like a strong cur- 

 rent, rooky, stony, or gravelly bottom, and in lakes a gravelly bottom, logs 

 of wood, roots of trees, plenty of aquatic plants, springs at the bottom, 

 and very deep water 5 but they also flourish in still, shoal water, espe- 

 cially when it has a dense growth of algses. The young fish live on 

 very small animals, fish-eggs, insects, crawfish, frogs, mussels, &c. ; in 

 a few months they reach a length of five centimeters ; in one year, ten; 

 in two years, twenty to thirty, and a weight of one pound, and there- 

 after generally increase in weight one pound per year. The black bass 

 spawn on rocky ledges, on gravelly or sandy bottom, at a depth in 

 rivers of from half a meter to one meter ; while in lakes they seek a 

 place from one to two meters below the surface, on the edge of still 

 greater depths. They make themselves a nest in the gravel, by remov- 

 ing the mud and sand with their tails and fins, thus creating a hole in 

 the sand twice the length of their bodies ; sometimes they line their 

 nests, on muddy bottom, with small sticks and leaves ; they also do this 

 when there is gravelly bottom in the neighborhood. In the Southern 

 States these fish spawn in March, in the North from the middle of May 

 till the middle of July ; the farther north the later they spawn. During 

 this period they ascend the rivers till they find shallow water, or seek 

 the shallow places near the shores of the lakes. The eggs adhere to 

 surrounding objects, and are hatched in one to two weeks ; the young 

 fish remain in the nest from two to seven days, and both the eggs and 

 the young fish are carefully guarded by the parents. During the cold 

 winter season the fish become lethargic, cease to eat, and dig themselves 

 holes in the mud, in which they hide, or retire to fissures in the rocks, 

 or seek deep waters under moss and aquatic plants, where they sleep 

 till the next spring. 



3. — Transplanting black bass. 



Both kinds of black bass when transplanted easily accustom them- 

 selves to the different conditions of life. They can easily be transported 

 alive, and in ponds, lakes, and rivers increase rapidly and without any 

 difficulty. Since 1820 the transplanting of these fish to waters where 

 heretofore they were not found has been repeatedly attempted, and 

 often with success. The transactions of the American Fish Cultural 

 Association for 1882, page 19, contain the following interesting report 

 by Mr. George Shephard Page : 



" It can hardly be believed that, at the present time, any one can 

 doubt the usefulness of stocking our waters with black bass. Not quite 

 60 years ago a few of this kind of fish were brought by rail from the Ohio 

 River to the Potomac Eiver, and a few years later a number were taken 

 from this river to the Susquehanna.' Not quite 15 years ago some black 

 bass were transferred from the Susquehanna to the Delaware. And 



