Omida Lake l-islics 381 



'"As with the black bass, and doubtless many other fishes, there is as much 

 difference in these female catfish on the point of l)ein}{ j;o<k1 or poor mothers as 

 there is in the case of hens or human In-iiiKs. < )ne mother will \ie seen workinj; 

 continually stirrinj; up the mud to procure foo<l for the fry, rounding them uj) 

 when a portion of the brood wanders away and keeping the school together until 

 they have grown to an inch and a half in length and are as large around as a lead 

 pencil, while another fish. ])rol>al)ly of the same age and size, will leave its young 

 to stir u|) the mud for themselves, allow them to break uj) into small schools, and 

 finally will abandon them entirely. They then wander about in small lands or are 

 incorporated with some other brood. 



"Another very interesting feature in the breeding habits of this fish is that 

 schiM)ls of about the same age, or, say, within a week of each other, coalesce, all 

 in the pond forming into one school. In jwinds K and M there were several early 

 bnxHls in each pond. These remained with their respective parents until they had 

 attained some size and become active in their search for food, when they consoli- 

 date<l into one large school in each pond and so remained until collected for ship- 

 nKMit. The ponds were so clear and the black mass of moving fry so easily seen 

 that there was no doubt about the correctness of this observation. The later 

 hatches remained with their parent fish, not joining with the older brtxKls, but 

 subse<piently they sought other brotxls of alxmt their own age. thus again foniiing 

 another large school. 



"Some ex|>eriments have been made in fee<ling these small catfish, with a view 

 to holding them in fry ponds, all former attempts in this direction having failed. 

 \\'ell-c<M>ked corn mush thiimed down to a gruel was distributed in a narrow line 

 along the margin on one whole side of a pon<l, ami at the termination of the trail 

 a considerable field, .say. 8 or 10 feet s<|uare, was iiKKlerately covered with the feed. 

 The fragmentary sch(K)ls — those broken up through \KHtT maternity or other 

 causes — wfiuM strike these trails, follow them as a hound would follow a rabbit 

 track, and then clean up all of the feed on the field referred to. They also greedily 

 devour finely groun<l mullet. It is lK'lieve<l by the writer that excellent results 

 may \k- attained through a judicious system <if fee<ling both the old and y<n»ig 

 fif this sjiecies. .\s the a<lults are not pugnacious, e.\ce|)t the males during 

 breeiling season, we U-lieve that 100 adults could easily and successfully W carrii-d 

 in each of our ponds by giving each a board honu- and sui)|ilying them a suitable 

 <|uantity, with some variety, of pro|H'r fofHl— say cut iiuillet. with liver for a 

 change. These fish are not subji-ct to ei)i<lemics. are easily raise<l in jionds. finding 

 much of their own food, and are easily capturecl wlien wantcil." 



.hti/liiifi. I<idlhe.-i<ls may Ik> readily caught over nniddy Itottoms where there 

 is considerable .-ii|uatic vegetation, by using hrM>k liaile<l with raw l>eef, worms, or 

 miiuiows. They bite k-st at night, and according to Hankinson's c.xiK-rience in 

 Michigan l.tkes, they are rarely taken during the d.iy time. Ilnnkinson has caught 

 many of these and Yellow Kullhe.nds from a mill]M>nd in Michigan, with a chunk of 

 Ix-ef tied on a line and with mi hook. I )ften two fish wiudil l>c pulle<l in at one 

 time persistently clinging to the ntcat. \o angling for bullheads was done by us 

 in Oneida I.ake. Mr. (ieorge H Travis infornied us that they arc readily taken 

 bv set line, aii'l the use of these lines with no niorc than 300 honks is Icgali/etl by 



