6 DEAN. [Vol. XI. 



"smacking" sound as they emit bubbles of air. Their appear- 

 ance is at first general, notably in the regions of the deeper 

 parts of the lake. Soon afterward they are seen basking near 

 the surface, moving slowly away as a boat comes within a rod's 

 distance. They are next noticed in schools of often twenty or 

 more, sunning themselves in the middle region of the bays in 

 whose shallows they will later spawn. 



Spawning Habits. 



The season of spawning appears a little more extended one 

 than is usually stated, beginning about the middle of May and 

 ending about the fifteenth of June. During this time spawning 

 takes place intermittently, so that in all there may not be more 

 than six or seven days in the entire actual ' run.' According 

 to Mr. H. J. Perry there is usually an earlier and a later *run '; 

 the former occurs at favorable localities, induced by unusually 

 warm weather, and lasts but two or three days ; while the 

 general spawning occurs about three weeks later. The varia- 

 tion in the time of spawning as far as the writer knows is in- 

 dicated in the following table : 



Water temperature has doubtless with Gars, as with other 

 fishes, an important relation to the time of spawning. The 

 temperature of the shallow waters where spawning was taking 

 place during the present season varied from 66^^ to 70° F. It 

 is to be noted that the most active spawning occurred when 

 the temperature was as low as ^(i^ (Lower Deep Bay). Cool- 

 ness in air temperature together with strong winds was found 

 to have no immediate effect on the spawning fish, and even 

 during a heavy cold rain-storm spawning was found not to 



