BLACK BASS CULTURE 195 



were likewise treated in identically the same manner except that 

 E 8 was fertilized and E 4 was not. The weight of the fish reared in 

 E 3 was 2.8 times that of those in E 4. In 1928 the differences: were 

 not as pronounced, the increase from fertilization ranging from 30 

 to 70 per cent. The beneficial effect of fertilization is also brought 

 out by a comparison of the results from D 7 and D 10 in 1928. It 

 is quite generally believed by fish-culturists that a new pond is more 

 productive than an old one, which is probably true. Pond D 10 

 was used for the first time in 1928 whereas D 7 has been in use for 

 many years. Yet D 7 produced 9,963 fingerlings per acre while the 

 production in D 10 was only 6,487 per acre. No fertilizer was used 

 in D 10, but D 7 received 595 pounds of a 3 to 1 mixture of sheep 

 manure and superphosphate. The fingerling production in D 7 

 exceeded that in D 10 by 3,746 or 53.5 per cent per acre. The aver- 

 age length and weight of the fingerlings from D 10 was 7.02 centi- 

 meters and 5.1 grams, respectively; of those from D 7, 6.31 centi- 

 meters and 4.5 grams. The quality of the D 10 fingerlings was, 

 therefore, slightly better than that of the D 7 fingerlings. Never- 

 theless, the total weight of the fingerlings produced per acre in 

 D 7 exceeded that in J) 10 by 35.3 per cent. 



GROWTH or LARGEMOUTH BASS 



During the present investigations some attention has been given 

 to the growth rate of bass. In all cases the bass fry were measured 

 when placed in nursery ponds and the fingerlings measured when 

 the ponds were drained in the fall. In some instances samples of 

 bass were taken at intervals throughout the summer and measured 

 to determine growth rate at different times during the season. It 

 is not intended to give all of our data at this time as this phase of 

 the work is to be continued. It seems desirable, however, to give 

 sufficient data to show the size bass fingerlings may attain during the 

 short growing season at Fairport. The earliest date on which bass 

 fry have been observed is May 21. The ponds are, as a rule, drained 

 during the last week of September and the first week of October. 



In 1927 the bass fry when introduced into the nursery pond, D 7, 

 on June 13 averaged 18.3 millimeters in length and 0.08 gram in 

 weight. When the pond was drained, October 1-11, the bulk of 

 the fingerlings (8,434) averaged 2.9 inches (7.3 centimeters) in length 

 and had an average weight of 5.7 grams. In addition there were 188 

 fingerlings which were much larger than the others, the largest 

 being 7 inches long. These selects averaged 5.73 inches (14.34 

 centimeters) in length and had an average weight of 57.52 grams. 



In 1928 the fry placed in D 7 on June 7 averaged 14.3 millimeters 

 in length and 0.065 gram in weight. When the pond was drained 

 on September 28 the bulk of the fingerlings (9,930) had an average 

 length of 6.31 centimeters and an average weight of 4.5 gi'ams. In 

 addition there were 33 selects ; 16 of these reaching a length of 7 to 

 8 inches, and one was 11% inches long. In D 10 in 1928 the bulk of 

 the fingerlings (19,421) reached an average length of 2.75 inches 

 (7.02 centimeters) and an average weight of 5.1 grams; 41 selects 

 averaged 6.21 inches (15.52 centimeters) and 4 of these were between 

 8 and 9 inches in length. In D 3 the bass fingerlings in 1928 aver- 



