LXII REPORT OF COMMISSIONER OF FISH AND FISHERIES. 



this purpose, and as they are vegetable feeders they can be placed in 

 the nursery ponds to spawn, thus obviating the necessity of transferring 

 the young. In addition to this they give up their eggs freely and can 

 be hatched artificially if necessary. 



The heaviest losses from cannibalism occur during the first four 

 weeks of the life of the young bass. This is probablj^ due to an insufiQ- 

 cient amount of natural food, such as minute crustaceans and insects, 

 as it is impossible to provide them in adequate quantities where large 

 numbers of fry are confined in a limited area, though they thrive in 

 abundance under natural conditions. As soon as a length of 2 or 3 

 inches has been attained this difficulty is partially overcome, as they 

 can be readily fed on the fry of other fishes or on chopped food. To 

 show the extent of loss by cannibalism the following illustration is 

 given : 5,000 bass less than an inch long were placed in a pond 16^ feet 

 by 50 feet and given careful attention. In 20 days 90 per cent of them 

 had disappeared. This loss must be ascribed solely to cannibalism, 

 as, the water being perfectly clear, the destruction of the fish by such 

 insects as the boat-fly could not have escaped observation. 



The growth of the young bass was very rapid, all of them averaging 

 3 inches and a number 5 inches in length by May 1 ; 100 of them, 

 retained until the following October, measured over 8 inches. Their 

 rapid growth and the difficulty of securing a sufficient supply of food 

 rendered it necessary to commence distribution in May, and by the end 

 of June 11,700 had been furnished to applicants in Texas. 



The rock bass and crappie have shown no signs of spawning up to 

 the close of the year, and it is doubtful whether any results will be 

 realized from them this season. It is probable that they were trans- 

 ferred too late in the year for spawning. 



On June 30 the following fish remained ou hand : 



Species. 



Black bass 

 Crappie . 



Rock bass 



Carji (s<;ale and mirror) 

 Mud shad 



Adults. 



200 

 24 



Total. 



Tear- 

 lings. 



Fry. 



180 I 

 105 L 



12,000 



12, 000 



During the excavation of the ponds many human and animal bones 

 were unearthed. These were found in heaps in many instances, and 

 when exposed to the air they crumbled to pieces. Many implements 

 of stone were found, but none of metal. The bulk of this material has 

 been forwarded to the U. S. National Museum, Washington, D. O. 



The artesian well maintained a steady flow of over 1,000 gallons per 

 minute throughout the year, at a regular temperature of 72°. The 

 minimum temperature of the water in the ponds during the winter was 

 61°, in summer 76^. The minimum temperature of the air, in January, 

 was 18° 5 the maximum, in August, was 101°. 



