Amcricdii Fisheries Soriefi/. 53 



Avliat seemed to l)e the two chief causes of this figliting- and found 

 remedies for tlu'ni. I liad noticed that in tlie natural water the 

 nests of the small mouth hass were frequently huilt against a 

 stone or log so as to he shielded on one side. When they were so 

 huilt the nests might l)e quite close together, as near as -t feet, 

 and the tish did not tight, liecause they did not see one another 

 when on the nest. On the other hand, if a bass nest was built in 

 a situation where it was not shielded the bass on that nest would 

 prevent any other bass from building within 25 or 30 feet of him. 

 It occurred to me then to try to construct artificial nests and 

 shield them so that the fish on the nests could not see one 

 another. In this way I hoped to be al)le to place the nests so 

 near together so as to fully utilize my pond area and still not 

 have them destroyed by fighting. 



In. the spring before the spawning season o]iened. I drew 

 down tlie ponds so as to expose the shallow terrace along the 

 shore. This terrace was then cleaned to a depth of about 2 

 inches of sediment and vegetation \\'hich had accumulated since 

 the ])revious summer. Rectangular nest frames 2 feet square of 

 inch board were now made. On two adjacent sides these frames 

 Avere 4 inches high, while on the other sides they were 1 (i inches 

 high. They Avere without bottoms, that is, were frames not 

 boxes. The frames were then set on that part of the bottom 

 where there would be about 2 feet of water wlien the pond was 

 filled. Each was so set that the corner formed by the junction 

 of its two lower sides pointed to the center of the pond Avhile the 

 opposite corner formed l)y the higher sides pointed toward shore. 

 The frames were set directly on the bottom, not in excavations^ 

 and each was filled with gravel containing sand and suitable for 

 nest building. A board was laid diagonally across the two 

 hii^her sides and a heavy stone laid on this to keep the frame in 

 ])lace. The effect of the two higher sides of the frame is to f(U'm 

 a shield on two sides of the nest; while the board across the top 

 affords sliade. The frames were set in two rows about the ])ond. 

 ])arallel to the shore line. 



The rows were about 6 feet a})art and the nests in eat-h ]'ow 

 about 25 feet apart, alternating with those in the otlier row. 

 There was thus about one nest to each 100 square feet of suital)le 

 bottom, or in each area 10 bv 10 feet. When the bass were on 



