78 BULLETIN OF THE UNITED STATES FISH COMMISSION. 



49. What temperature of water is most favorable for hatching? — A. 

 Ordinary ditch water in June, away from the spring. 



50. At what depth of water are the eggs laid; if on or near the 

 bottom? — A. One to three feet, and on the bottom. 



51. What is the size and color of the spawn ? — A. Color, dark brown; 

 size varies with the age of the fish. 



52. What is the estimated number for each fish, and how ascer- 

 tained 1 ? — A. Never counted them; should judge from 1,000 to 2,000. 



54. Do the eggs, when spawned, sink to the bottom and become at- 

 tached to stones? — A. They sink to the bottom f do not know whether 

 they are attached or not. 



55. Do the fish heap up or construct any kind of nest, whether of sand, 

 gravel, grass, or otherwise; and, if so, is the mouth, the snout, or the 

 tail used for the purpose, or what; and, if so, how is the material trans- 

 ported ; or do they make any excavation in the sand or gravel? — A. They 

 make no nest at all that I have seen. 



56. Do they watch over their nest, if made, either singly or in pairs ? — 

 A. They watch singly. 



57. When are the eggs hatched, and in what period of time after being 

 laid? — A. Cannot say certainly, but think in two or three days. 



58. What percentage of eggs laid is usually hatched? — A. Every 



egg. 



59. What percentage of young attains to maturity ?— A. All, except 

 those destroyed by snappers, muskrats, and bass, which is a very small 

 percentage; never saw a dead one. 



GO. What is the rate of growth ? — A. About 3 inches a year. 



61. Do the parents, either or both, watch over the young after they 

 are hatched? — A. One parent watches under them after they are 

 hatched. 



62. Do they carry them in their mouth or otherwise ? — A. No. 



63. What enemies interfere with, or destroy the spawn or the young 

 fish? Do the parent fish devour them? — A. I know of no enemies to 

 cither, and think the parents do not devour them. 



64. Are the young fish found in abundance, and in what localities? — 

 A. Yes; they travel in schools in shallow water. 



65. On what do they appear to feed? — A. Never saw them feed on 



anything. 



I. — Artificial culture. 



66. Have any steps been taken to increase the abundance of this fish 

 by artificial breeding? — A. No. 



K. — Protection. 



67. Are these fish protected by law, or otherwise ? — A. No. 



L.— Diseases. 



68. Has any epidemic or other disease ever been noticed among them. 



