FISHES OF NEW YORK 461 



depth of the body is usually contained two and one half times in 

 the total length without the tail, while in the calico bass the 

 depth equals one half the length. These two species are so 

 similar in size and habits that they are rarely distinguished 

 except by ichthyologists. 



The crappie grows to a length of about 1 foot and usually 

 weighs 1 pound or less ; but in a lake near St Louis an individual 

 weighing 3 pounds has been recorded. 



Crappie fishing usually begins in June and lasts till the com- 

 ing of cold weather. Large numbers of these fish are collected 

 near Quincy 111. for distribution to other waters. At Peoria 111. 

 Prof. Forbes has taken them in March and April; he has found 

 them also in Pistakee lake and at Ottawa. Cedar lake, Ind. and 

 King's lake, Mo. are celebrated crappie waters. Near Coving- 

 ton Ky. in private ponds belonging to Joseph Schlosser there 

 are myriads of crappies as well as other game fishes. 



Prof. S. A. Forbes has studied the feeding habits of the 

 crappie, and finds that the young live chiefly on entomostraca 

 and small insect larvae. The adults subsist on the same food 

 when obtainable, but in times of scarcity they feed to some 

 extent on other fishes. Small minnows and darters have been 

 found in their stomachs. In the autumn Prof. Forbes has 

 found a larger percentage of small fishes, sometimes constitut- 

 ing nearly two fifths of their food. The hellgramite is eaten 

 bj- the crappie. In cold weather it does not consume one fourth 

 the amount of food which it takes in the early spring. The 

 crappie prefers still waters, thriving even in warm and muddy 

 water, and has been taken in large numbers in midsummer at 

 depths of only a few feet; in cold weather it retires to deeper 

 water, becomes rather sluggish and takes little food. Dr Hen- 

 shall states that the crappie is found about dams and in deep 

 still parts of streams and ponds, specially about logs, brush and 

 drift. 



The crappie is a very free biter and can be caught readily with 

 minnows or worms. Spoon bait has been successfully used in 

 trolling for this species. It is recorded that two men have 



