406 FISHING IN AMERICAN WATERS. 



tent, and all the ponds and streams in the country stocked to 

 overflowing. 



We conclude with the statement of both hope and confi- 

 dence that the reader will find fish-breeding in boxes so sim- 

 ple and sure that he will at once prepare to engage in the 

 interesting and profitable occupation. 



GENERAL OBSERVATIONS. 



Upon the breeding-times of different fishes, and their re- 

 sorts at certain seasons in the year to hibernate, there is no 

 fixed data. We know that eejs spawn in salt waters if they 

 have access to them, and visit fresh waters to recuperate and 

 fatten. On the other hand, salmon seek the heads of rivers 

 to spawn, and resort to unknown marine pastures to gain 

 strength and fatten. 



Most white-meated fishes spawn in the spring, yet the fish 

 known as the whitefish spawns in early autumn. All mem- 

 bers of the genus Salmo spawn in autumn. 



The striped bass, with which our anglers on the rivers en- 

 tering the coast are as familiar as with any other game fish, 

 spawns at indefinite periods. It is known that in the Chesa- 

 peake Bay it spawns in spring; that in the estuaries and 

 bays near New York and along the coast of Long Island it 

 begins spawning in April and continues until July. The late 

 Judge Morris and myself were once trolling in Hell Gate in 

 September, and suspecting that a striped bass which we had 

 taken contained ova in an advanced stage, we had the fish 

 eviscerated, when the ova was discovered to be nearly ma- 

 ture. Striped bass taken in the Vineyard Sound in autumn 

 are frequently found to be big with roe nearly ready to drop. 

 These facts present questions for solution by ichthyologists. 

 Do striped bass like the hens continue laying for several 

 months ? Or do they lay twice a year spring and fall ? 



Both the flounder and plaice, or fluke, spawn in winter. 

 Smelt spawn at intervals from February until April. 



