GENERAL AND SPECIFIC FEATURES. 137 



The fins ^ill also be found to vary somewhat in color- 

 ing, while the scales and fin-rays may differ slightly in 

 number, as a variation of one-sixth, more or less, from 

 established formulas is not unusual. Slight dissimilarities 

 of contour, and some diversities of habits, also, exist. But 

 all of these differences obtain, not only with regard to the 

 Black Bass, but to most other species of fresh water fishes, 

 and depend on well-known natural causes. 



I resided for ten years in Wisconsin, where there were 

 twenty lakes, abounding in Black Bass, within a radius of 

 eight miles of my residence ; and from close and constant 

 observation of the characteristics of the Bass inhabiting 

 them, I could almost invariably tell, upon being shown a 

 string of Black Bass, in what particular lake they had been 

 caught. 



Where both species co-exist in the same waters, the 

 small-mouthed Bass is generally of a darker or more 

 somber hue than the large-mouthed Bass, whose color is 

 more inclined to shades of green. The coloration of the 

 small-mouthed Bass, however, in some localities, approaches 

 shades of olive or yellow, and there will often be more or 

 less red in the iris of the eye, in some instances shading 

 down to orange or yellow; this latter distinction, though, 

 like the double curve at the base of the caudal fin, and the 

 more forked tail — which have been regarded by some 

 anglers as distinguishing characteristics of this species — 

 can not be depended on, as one or all of these distinctions 

 are often lacking. 



The most distinctive feature, as between the two species, 

 is the gape of the mouth, which in the large-mouthed Bass 

 seems simply enormous to those who have previously seen 

 but the small-mouthed species. The contrast in build. 



