THE GERMAN CAKP IN THE UNITED STATES. 597 



soft, and black on account of ine decayed vegetable matter. In this 

 shallower area all about the bay carp were often very numerous. 



In the first place much time was spent in trying to learn whether 

 the carp ever intruded in the central portion of the bay where the bass 

 were nesting. It seemed very probable that they would cross the 

 bass nesting-grounds, at least in going in and out of the bay. But I 

 was never able to observe a single carp actually on these grounds, 

 though I at one time frightened a number of them in near shore which 

 started out in that direction. A fyke-net was set with a view to inter- 

 cepting' any carp that might cross the tract covered by the bass nests, 

 but with negaitive results. These fish are so wary, however, that it is 

 very doubtful whether they would have entered the net had the}^ gone 

 that way. At another place I at one time had a large minnow seine 

 drawn over a portion of bottom where a few bass were breeding and 

 where I had reason to suspect there were carp present. Besides the 

 small fish captured the seine brought in a bass, a pike, and two carp, 

 which seems to show that they may at times go in close proximity to 

 the area covered by the breeding bass, if not actually upon it. 



In the bay mentioned above I built a scafl'old at the border line 

 between the bass grounds and the shore zone, with the idea of having 

 a more commanding view of portions of both. On this I spent many 

 hours of vigilant watch, and although a bass which had a nest nearby 

 soon became accustomed to the structure and resumed his care of the 

 eggs in the nest, and although carp sometimes appeared within my 

 range of vision in the water on the shoreward side, I never saw one 

 of them on the outer side, where the bass nests were located. Since I 

 have frequently seen schools of these fish lying quietly in water which 

 seemed to present the same conditions, except that the bass were 

 abluent, I feel justified to some extent in concluding that as a general 

 thing carp avoid the actual breeding areas of the bass. 



The question has often been raised, and has been much discussed, as 

 to whether a black bass would drive a carp away from its nest. A 

 number of opinions were expressed on the subject at the thirtieth 

 annual meeting of the American Fisheries Society, held at Milwaukee 

 in 1901 (see the Transactions of that meeting, published in the same 

 year, pp. 114-132), It appeared to be the consensus of opinion of the 

 gentlemen assembled there that the bass is fully able to take care of 

 itself, while it was further claimed by some that the bass were actually 

 increasing owing to the extra supply of food furnished by the j^oung 

 carp. Below are given some extracts from the discussion referred to: 



Mr. TiTCOMB. Is it not a base slander upon the bass to intimate that it would allow 

 a (tarp to touch its spawn? 



Doctor Bartlett. I should think so. 



Mr. Bov/ER. I think that where bass and carp inhabit the same water it is natural 

 that the bass should increase. We have been hatching black bass for a number of 

 seasons in ponds where we have had an opportunity to observe their spawning 



