II A HITS WD IIAI'XTS. i\:i 



wliieh, at the end of a lniiulrtd yards (if lino, tlicv allord <;rcat 

 sport, beiiif; vigorous, fierce, and active, not succuinhing nntil 

 after a long and violent conflict with their captors. 



In winter, when tiie wi-ather heeonies eold and stormy, tliey 

 again cuter the estuaries of rivers, and imbed theinsclves in the 

 nuul of tlic brackish bays and lagoons, which possess tlie 

 advantage of being calm and undisturbed by tlie tempests 

 wliich vex tlie open sea. 



They attain to a very great size, even, I believe, to seventy or 

 eighty pounds' weight, though 1 ha\c ne\('r myself seen one of 

 above forty-thrcf ; the smaller-sized tish, of s»'ven or eight 

 pounds, are, howcM-r, by far the most delicate, and I think those 

 not exceeding fifteen pounds give tlu' best sport to tlie angler. 



In eohtnr, the Striped Bass is bluish brown above, silvery on 

 the sides and beneath. .Mong each side arc froni seven to nine 

 equidistant dark parallel stripes, the upper scries terminating 

 at the base of the caiulal, and the lower above the anal tin. 

 TIjcsc lines are occasionally indistinct, sometinu-s interrupted, 

 and more rarely each alternately a continuous stripe, and a row 

 of abbreviated lines or dots; this appears to be the form which 

 Dr. Kichard.son has designated as the Har-Kish of tlu; St. 

 Lawrence. 



Tlie body is cylindrical and tapering ; licad and Ixidy eoven-d 

 with large adhesive scales. Latenil line obvious, running 

 through the fourth stripe, and nearly straight. Head bluntly 

 l)ointed ; eyes large; nostrils double; gill-openings large; 

 lower jaw the longest ; teetli numerous on the maxillaric^, 

 palatine bone and tongue; oj>ernihim anned with two spines on 

 its lower margin, the prroperruhim finely dentate«l. 



\K-1 



