BASS SPEAEING. 103 



are pursuing hither and thither shoals of bass which every 

 now and then rise to the surface of the water, plunge and 

 roll for a few seconds, and then dive to reappear in 

 another place. The canoes are paddled furiously after the 

 shoals, and the barbed spears, or harpoons, are hurled into 

 the midst of them. When a fish is impaled the harpoon 

 disappears, but the wooden shaft soon causes it to rise to 

 the surface again, when fish and all are secured by the 

 owner. Striped bass average 8 or 10 Ibs. in weight, but I 

 have frequently speared fish that weighed 20 and 30 Ibs. 

 They are fairly good fish on the table. I do not think the 

 reason is quite understood why the striped bass perform 

 these antics at this particular time and place, and at this 

 time and this place only. It has something to do, however, 

 with the propagation of their species. I have more than 

 once observed that when a shoal comes to the surface 

 there is a slight milky discoloration of the water, which 

 can only be accounted for by the supposition that the 

 male fish void their milt on these occasions. 



The fisheries are so marvellously rich in Canada, and 

 fish of the choicer qualities are so abundant, that the 

 coarser varieties are passed by. The fresh-water fisheries, 

 except salmon and shad, are almost entirely neglected. 

 The striped bass are only killed for sport. Sturgeon, 

 which are very abundant in the St. John river, are not 

 caught at all. I do not know whether caviare can be 

 made from the roe of this fish, but certainly isinglass 

 could. The Canadian sturgeon (Aeipenser Oxyrhynchus) 

 is a fish of from 6 feet to 12 feet in length. It ascends the 

 rivers in June, and may be seen at this season on fine 

 evenings throwing itself out of the water. I believe it 



