]5() Tliirtij't^evoiul Ainnuil Mrciiiifj 



to carry them through to tlie hatching point, but so far as he 

 had examined the spawn, and he had examined a great many 

 eggs from non-productive beds, lie had found them all fertilized, 

 and I thing Professor Eeighard would not make that statement 

 unless he was certain of it, because my experience is that scien- 

 tists are xevy careful about making any statements that the;r 

 may have later to take back. 



Mr. Beeman : It occurred to me that there were three condi- 

 tions, as you say, that might cause failure, first, bad weather, 

 and second, low temperature of the water, and third, that in tln^ 

 thi]-d spawning the bass lose some of their vitality. If there had 

 been a continuance of the nice weather and the second hatching 

 had ])roduced well and the third failed, you might suppose that 

 it was owing to the reduced condition of the fish, through long 

 continued spawning efforts. 



Mr. Bower: Speaking about the l)ass spawning twice, I do 

 not tliink the point is established that the female will spawn at 

 two different intervals. I think it is settled that the male bass 

 will officiate on several occasions; in fact he is almost human in 

 that respect, I guess (laughter), but in the single case that Mr. 

 Leary speaks of, of the blind female, I would like to ask him 

 how long the spawning intervals w^re. 



^Ir. Leary : It was several weeks. She spawned on the same 

 nest, but it was after the first spawning Avas hatched entirely and 

 carried over. 



Mr. Bower: Are you sure the l)lind fish was a female fish? 



Mr. Leary : I am almost ])ositive. 



Mr. Bower : It seems to me that is quite impossible — in fact 

 we know that the female bass will sometimes spawn on two nests, 

 l)ut tlie one spawning follows the other almost immediately. 



Mr. Beeman : I have noticed it on several occasions during 

 that season and since then. 



Mr. Bower: Mr. Beeman speaks of the second and third 

 spawning; I want to inquire wlx'ther he refers to the male or 

 female fish or l)oth ? 



Mr. Beeman: The females 1 was not able to identify so 

 readily as I was the males. Some of the males I had marked, 

 and of course T was able to identify them every time. These 

 males all cleared up Iheir nests three different times, and two 



