346 Bass, Pike, and Perch 



in the markets. Under favorable conditions of 

 temperature it has been taken on the Massachu- 

 setts coast. 



The schoolmaster is very similar to the dog 

 snapper in its general form, but differs greatly in 

 coloration. Its body is rather deep and com- 

 pressed, its depth being more than a third of its 

 length, and the back is more elevated than in the 

 dog snapper. The head is large, as long as the 

 depth of the body, with a large mouth ; the pro- 

 file is straight from snout to the nape, thence 

 regularly arched to the tail ; the snout is long 

 and pointed. The predominating color is orange, 

 olivaceous on the back and top of the head, with 

 eight or nine vertical bars across the body, equi- 

 distant, of a pale or bluish white color, the wider 

 interspaces being red ; the cheeks and gill-covers 

 are red, with a row of small blue spots from the 

 snout across the cheeks, just below the eye; all 

 of the fins are yellow, more or less shaded with 

 red. 



The schoolmaster grows to about the same size 

 as the dog snapper, usually from eight to ten 

 inches, sometimes to a foot in length, and a 

 pound or two in weight. It feeds on small 

 fishes, crabs, and other crustaceans, and is a good 



