60 



THE SMALL-MOUTHED BASS 



are free from it. The stones are made perfectly clean by the 

 sweeping process and have the appearance of being polished 

 so that they stand out in conspicuous contrast to the sedi- 

 ment-covered stones surrounding them. This "hollowing 

 out" of the nest is the second stage in its construction and 

 it is now complete. 



The small-mouthed bass not 

 only seeks a gravel bottom of 

 a certain coarseness for the prep- 

 aration of his nest, but he places 

 it, if possible, in a sheltered 

 situation. Of fifteen nests ex- 

 amined in the Thornapple River 

 at Cascade, Michigan, all but 

 one was built either near the 

 river bank or near a large boulder 

 or log. These nests were thus 

 protected from intrusion on at 

 least one side. That such 

 sheltered spots are selected for 

 nests is further shown by the 

 fact that in breeding ponds 

 where sheltered nests are pro- 

 vided, the fish almost invariably 

 use these instead of using gravel 

 which may have been placed for 

 their use in unsheltered situa- 

 tions. Indeed the fish will 

 sometimes use sheltered nests 

 which have been placed in ponds for large-mouthed bass and 

 the bottoms of which are made of the fibrous Spanish moss 

 imbedded in cement. Thus a sheltered situation appears at 

 times to be a factor more important than the nature of 

 the bottom in determining the location of the nest. The 

 nests that I have seen in natural waters were all located 

 where there was a current. 



