PICKEEEL AND MUSCALLONGE 205 



flow of water, and to prevent the banking of 

 the fry at the lower end. 



When in a wild state the black bass is prob- 

 ably one of the greatest cannibals that swims 

 in fresh water; but in confinement it cannot 

 match the cannibalism of young muscallonge. 

 A few years ago the superintendent of the 

 Cony, Pa., hatchery placed 5000 fry in a 

 pond about fifty by twenty feet, and at the 

 end of three months there was one muscallonge 

 left, and that was eaten by a water-bird. It is 

 therefore essential to plant the young fish be- 

 fore, or as soon as, the yolk-sac has been ab- 

 sorbed. 



Gloves are used in taking the eggs of the 

 muscallonge so that the fish can be held more 

 firmly and be less liable to injury; sometimes 

 two men are necessary to hold a large fish and 

 express the eggs and milt. Muscallonge eggs 

 may be hatched on trays the same as trout, in 

 water with a temperature of 46 F. ; the incuba- 

 tion period is sixty days. 



The culture of pickerel and muscallonge pre- 

 sents no difficulties when the eggs can be ob- 

 tained from wild fish, and there is no difficulty 



