I32 AMERICAN GAME FISHES. 



weighing two pounds. This gentleman evidently had a 

 knowledge of some wicked game of which we know nothing 

 whatever, for opposite ths record he had written "Low." 



If I remember rightly, the largest fish caught that day 

 weighed some forty-odd pounds, and the two-pounder is 

 still good for "Low"- -whatever that may mean. 



Storer, in his "Synopsis of Fishes of North America," de- 

 scribes the Bass as follows: 



Cylindrical, tapering; the upper part of the body of a sil- 

 very-brown color, the lower part of the sides and abdomen of a 

 beautiful clear silver color; eight or more longitudinal black 

 bands on each side, commencing just back of the opercula, 

 the upper bands running the whole length of the fish, the 

 lower ones terminating just above the anal tin. 



I will add to this that on large specimens the stripes are 

 of a beautiful purplish blue, when fresh from the water, fading 

 to a slate-color on exposure to the air, and later, as the 

 scales become dry, to a light brown. 



His scientific names are many. DeKay remarks, in a tone 

 of mild sarcasm: "This species, it will be noticed, has had 

 the fortune to receive many names." Dr. Mitchill, who was 

 unacquainted with the labors of his predecessors, imposed 

 upon this species, with characteristic simplicity, his own 

 name. 



The Hon. Robert B. Roosevelt, a sound writer on all mat- 

 ters pertaining to the rod and gun, in speaking of the Babel- 

 like confusion which exists in the popular names of birds and 

 fishes, remarks: "To make matters worse, the scientific 

 gentlemen have stepped in, and after indulging in plenty of 

 bad Latin, have added fresh English appellations more un- 

 meaning and less appropriate, if possible, than the common 



ones." 



The following list of scientific names of the Striped Bass 

 requires no comment: 



Perca Lineata. Roans Striatus. 



Perca Septentrionalis. Roccus Lineatus. 



