164 REPORT OF COMMISSIONER OF PISH AND FISHERIES. 



though not so great as the black bass. The highest temperature to 

 which it has been subjected at Neosho is 88°. The transportatiou of 

 this species would indicate that it suliers from change of temperature 

 as quickly as the black bass, with possibly this difference, that while 

 the black bass seems to be more quickly and fatally aftected by a change 

 from high to low temperature, the opposite change more quickly and 

 injuriously affects the rock bass. Though sometimes found in muddy 

 bayous and in waters of the middle South stained by decaying vegeta- 

 tion, the rock bass thrives better in clear, pure waters well stocked with 

 aquatic plants. 



The natural habitat of the calico bass is the Great Lakes region, the 

 entire Mississippi Valley south to Louisiana, and the streams of the 

 Carolinas and Georgia east of the Alleghanies, while its close kin, the 

 crappie, is confined to the Mississippi Valley, though it is sometimes 

 taken in the Great Lakes region. The calico bass is said to demand a 

 higher temperature and clearer water than the crappie, but this is not 

 certain. 



NATURAL FOOD, ETC. 



The natural food of the black basses varies greatly, and is influenced 

 by the spawning season, character and temperature of the water, and 

 the weather. They are voracious and pugnacious, and devour other 

 fish almost iudiscriminately. The food of the adults comprises crayfish, 

 minnows, frogs, tadpoles, worms, and mussels, and the young feed on 

 insects and other minute forms of life found in water. 



At times both the large-mouth and small-mouth bass refuse the 

 most tempting bait, and at other times they bite greedily at almost 

 everything. Various kinds of animals of a suitable size, even rats and 

 snakes, and many varieties of vegetables, have been found in their 

 stomachs, and in a wild state under some conditions they devour almost 

 anything moving in or immediately over the surface of the water. 



The black basses afford perhaps the highest type among fishes of 

 parental care and watchfulness, guarding their young until after the 

 dispersal of the school of fry ; but a large part of the young, so zeal- 

 ously protected early in the season, at a later date furnish food for 

 adult bass, possibly their own progenitors. As with trout, bass of the 

 same school of young vary in size, and the larger prey mercilessly upon 

 the weaker, often attacking their own kind when other natural food is 

 abundant. 



COMMERCIAL IMPORTANCE. 



The market value to the fishermen of the black bass taken in the 

 United States amounts to about 8130,000 annually, a sum represent- 

 ing over 2,000,000 pounds of fish. A great part of the bass caught, 

 however, never reach the market, being consumed by anglers and their 

 friends. The indirect value of bass fishing to rural districts, in the 

 expenditures of visiting sportsmen for boats, guides, teams, supplies, 

 and accommodations, is very great. 



