SPAWNING OF BLACK BASS 33 



by eggs or fry, for a bass will not hesitate to 

 attack a fish three or four times its own size, 

 and will invariably succeed in driving it away, 

 unless, as before described, it is another black 

 bass, one on a rampage for a mate. A bass 

 of one and a half pounds will put to flight two 

 or three carp of twenty to twenty-five pounds' 

 weight. 



Bass which have been kept in breeding-ponds 

 lose to some extent, in course of time, the 

 viciousness they display in a wild state when 

 spawning. Seeing mankind as often as they 

 do, and receiving food from their keepers 

 regularly, the fish become domesticated, and 

 the regular attendant, if he moves quietly, can 

 go around the pond and attend to his work 

 without disturbing them. Still, it is always 

 better at spawning time to approach a nest 

 only when necessary, and then in the quietest 

 and most inconspicuous manner possible. 

 Domestication of bass never extends to a point 

 where the male views a disturbance of his nest 

 with resignation. While not always as vicious 

 as when in a wild state, he will often display 

 strong anger and bite a man's bare legs if he 



