American. Fisheries Society. 123 



You can see the eggs drop and you can see the mik spurt out 

 from the male, and I think that accounts for the large percentage 

 of impregnation of black bass. We think they impregnate 95 

 per cent, of their eggs, while with the whitefish the percentage is 

 very small. The two fish will swim along through the water, 

 casting their eggs and their milt simultaneously. 



Dr. Parker: I think Mr. Clark said that he did not know the 

 method of spawning of the whitefish — that he had never seen it. 

 I saw it down here at the Fort fishery once. 1/ was there one fall, 

 and I have every reason to believe it was correct. The fish were 

 spawning in the pond. The male and female came up like this 

 (indicating), rising up nearly to the surface together, with milt 

 streaming down and the eggs from the fish being extruded. 



Mr, Clark: Did you see the milt and the eggs? 



Dr. Parker: 1 saw that motion, and the two fish were to- 

 gether, and I have every reason to suppose that it was the act of 

 fertilization. 



Mr. Bower: A great many fishermen have theories as to how 

 whitefish spawn. When whitefish spawn, they spawn at night 

 almost entirely, and they can be seen jumping out of the water. 

 Their theory is that they start from the bottom and rush to- 

 wards the surface, and of course they are making such rapid head- 

 way that they fire themselves out of the water. Then, of 'course, 

 they separate and drop back right close together- — ^the two bodies 

 close together. They go up at an angle through the water until 

 they jump up out of the water. 



Dr. Parker: That is what I saw out there. 



Mr. Titcomb: I will verify the statements of these two 

 gentlemen. In my operations for the collection of fish, I saw 

 the operations of the fish. They had selected a ledge close to 

 the shore, where the rocks went off abruptly, and I had those 

 lights which I described in my paper, so that I could watch them 

 closely, and the two fish would swim along side by side, rubbing 

 their sides together, with an upward movement through the water. 

 I did not see them jump out of the water, but I could not see the 

 spawn. 



Mr. Whitaker: As to impregnation of eggs, I don't believe 

 anyone in the world knows the number of eggs naturally impreg- 

 nated. It is impossible. A man may make an investigation of 

 certain eggs under certain circumstances, but they may be en- 



