Amrriniii Fis/irrirs Socicli/. 133 



Aineiunis itchiilosis. from nebulous, eloudiMl. which is casilv 

 identified bv its square tail, which is not forked in the slightest 

 degree, and bv its mottled skin north, wliile in the soutli it is 

 covered with black specks on a light slate baekgrouiKL 'i'liis is 

 an excellent fish, making a rapid growth for the first two yt'ars 

 in particular, cleanly in its feeding habits, being in no sense a 

 scavenger, almost omnivorous in its selection of food and grow- 

 ing to weight two or three pounds, often attaining to one pound 

 when a year old, when the range is ample and tlie food abundant. 

 This fish does not interfere with other species in the pond, either 

 through destroying the young or the eggs of the other. In fact, 

 any nest-builder, such as the rock bass, black bass, bream or sun- 

 fish will defend its nest and eggs against all comers, even if it 

 be a mud turtle of many times the weight of the fish. Taking it 

 all in all, the writer believes that this fish will produce a greater 

 weight of good food from a given area of water tban any other 

 that swims. 



Taking the country as a whole, the writer l)elieves that what 

 is known as the blue-gill sunfish north and the bi-eam south is 

 the next best fish for small ponds, althougii he would possibly 

 modify this statement to let in the rock l)ass where the water 

 supply is especially good and the considerable gravel entering 

 into the soil in the bottom of the pond, and it is ])ossil)le that 

 this fish may prove a desiral)le pond fish in the soutb. it baving 

 been acclimatized in Texas, where it is doing well in public 

 waters. The blue-gill, or bream, Lepomis paJJidus. is of excel- 

 lent quality, dresses to waste but little, is a i-apid grower and is 

 esteemed l)y many as next only to the speckled brook trout as a 

 pan fish, while my good friend and enthusiastic angler, AFr. C. 

 T. Hasbrook, of Cleveland, ().. claims that wlien taken on a fly 

 with light tackle, he ofiEers sport as a game fish second only to 

 the speckled beauty of the brooks. Probably Mr. Hasbrook is 

 the best posted gentleman in the world today on this fisb. and 

 he considers it one of the most desiral)le f(U- table as well as at 

 the end of a line. While it sometinu's attains a weight of 

 three or four pounds in the south, a pound will he found to be 

 about the maximum for tliis fish in ordinary ])ond culture. Like 

 the speckled cat, it is not predaceous to any api)reciable extent, 

 defending its own nest vigorously and leaving others to do the 



