FOREST, LAKE, AND RIVER 



tunately relieved it. In 1873, Professor Gill 

 differentiated the two species, the details of which 

 are now briefly summarized. 



In the large-mouthed black bass the lower jaw ex- 

 tends behind the eye; in the small-mouthed, to a 

 point below it. There are on the former sixty-five 

 to seventy scales along the lateral line from the gill- 

 cover to base of caudal fin, and seven to eight rows 

 of them above it; in the small-mouthed there are 

 seventy-two or more scales on the median line, and 

 eleven rows of them above it ; on the cheek, 

 seventeen oblique rows of scales appear, and about 

 nine horizontal ones; on the large-mouthed there 

 are about ten rows in an oblique line, and five to 

 six horizontal ones on the cheeks. In the large- 

 mouthed black bass, the first spine on the dorsal 

 fin is one-half the length of the third spine, and in 

 the other species, it is only one-third the height. 



Black, green, and yellow seem to be the primary 

 colors of both species; but the coloration varies 

 greatly with the habitat, hence the following de- 

 scription of the color which appears on the small- 

 mouthed is subject to considerable qualification. 



On the back of the small-mouthed, a dull golden 



green prevails with a bronze lustre, the young 



with darker spots along the sides, which appear 



to form short vertical bars, but never a dark lateral 



108 



