48 



TJiirf //-First Aiinuid Mccfiinj 



At times, he seizes her vent in his 



gently on the head and sides 

 moiith and shakes it. 



AMien this has continued for a time spawning takes phice. 

 The two fish tnrn so as to lie partly on their sides Avith their 

 vents together and nndergo a convulsive fluttering movement 

 lasting three to five seconds. During this time the eggs and milt 

 are extruded. The circling movements are thtn resumed, to be 

 interrupted, after a few seconds, b_y spawning. This alternate 

 circling and spawning continues for about ten minutes. The 



POND AFTER BEDS HAVE BEEN SCREENED. 



male then drives the female away, biting her and showing great 

 ferocity. She does not return. 



The male and the male only, now continues to guard the nest, 

 fanning sediment from the eggs and rej^elling enemies. At 66 

 degrees Fahrenheit the eggs hatch in five days and the young fish 

 swarm up from the Ijottom in twelve to thirteen days from time 

 eggs are hatcbed. 



Henshall in his '"^lore About tlie Black Bass'" published jn 

 1898, quotes, with ap]n'oval, Arnold's observations to the effect 

 thai the uests are built and tbcn guai'dcd by the female. Page 

 in tlie ''Manual of Fish Culture" published in 1897, by the 

 Fnited States Fish Commission, speaks ol:' the nests as being 

 built bv tbe mated Hsh sometimes working together, and some- 

 times working sci);n'nlely. Tlit'se seem to be ibc latest ])ub- 



