Notes and Quertes 
do, until the weaker one gives up. But al- 
though they fight a great deal, we have not 
yet seen one that was seriously hurt; they 
seem to be on friendly terms again soon after. 
‘‘Their breeding habits, too, are much like 
those of the sunfish family. They ‘fazr of” 
during the summer and prepare a nest on the 
bottom of the tank, where the female deposits 
her eggs, which both guard. Four days after 
spawning the young hatch. These are as 
carefully guarded as the eggs were, and later 
on they are instructed for their future career 
by both parents, who swim about with them, 
as ahen walks around with her chicks. We 
find that the zebra fish stand captivity well, 
enjoying their meals, which consists of scraped 
raw beef or I. X. L. fish food, immensely. 
‘Their native home is the La Plata valley; 
the South Americans call them ‘Chanchitos,’ 
147 
Peculiar Coloration of Black Bass. 
The originals of the colored plates of the 
black basses, large and small-mouthed, in num- 
bers seven and eight of “The Fishes of North 
America,” were painted from specimens caught 
in Greenwood Lake, where we camped, with the 
artist, for seventeen days last summer. The 
coloration of these two fish was very striking, 
that of the large-mouthed having more yellow 
on it than appeared in any other fish of like ilk 
we have ever seen, and the bluish cream tint on 
the belly of the small-mouthed is unique and 
almost exceptionable, the majority of this 
species, as we find it in-eastern waters, having a 
“pepper and salt” faint 
creamy background. We make note of these 
facts as a forcible reminder to all interested, 
that the portraits of fishes, in “The Fishes of 
North America,” are painted from fish caught 
coloration over a 

The Brazilian Zebra Fish. 
which means ‘pig,’ either because their shape 
is somewhat like that animal or because they 
fight in a similar manner to that of young 
pigs. In Germany the name ‘chameleon fish’ 
is proposed, owing to the ability of the fish to 
change its colors. This, however, we consider 
no denominative feature, as nearly all of our 
sunfish and also the Chinese Paradise fish 
possess this ability, in some cases even to a 
greater extent than the zebra fish does. We 
selected the latter name for them, because we 
find that through their color and stripes this 
fish resembles a zebra more than anything 
else, especially when the fish are most bril- 
liant in colors and the yellow appears in the 
dorsal fin; even the markings of the mane of 
the zebra are then represented.”’ 
on the rod of the Editor, and not from fish 
caught by “some other fellow.” 
The New York Fish Commission. 
Governor Morton sent to the Senate the 
nomination of the following gentlemen to be 
fish and game and forest commissioners, under 
chapter 395 of the laws of 1895: 
Barnet H. Davis, of Palmyra; Henry H. 
Lyman, of Oswego; William R. Weed, of 
Potsdam; Charles H. Babcock, of Rochester, 
and Edward Thompson, of Northport. Mr. 
Davis was designated as president of the Board. 
The nominations were confirmed without ref- 
erence. The above named gentlemen entered 
upon their duties within a few hours after their 
appointment. 
