190 AMERICAN FISH CULTURE. 



females, but these are still very few until the 15th of Octo- 

 ber. Soon after this date they begin to ascend the rapids 

 to spawn. It is not often, however, that any of them are ma- 

 ture and commence spawning until the 20th. They come 

 then in considerable numbers, and soon finish spawning. 

 Very few are found in the brook as late as November 14th, 

 although probably they sometimes spawn later. Crooked 

 river is a larger stream, and they report different habits in 

 some respects. The very first that come into the stream 

 are males, but after that the females seem to head the ad- 

 vance, and the males follow them; taking the whole of 

 September, the males are not more numerous than the 

 other sex. In the whole season there are more males. 

 They sometimes continue to spawn very late. The state 

 of the water has a great influence on their motions at this 

 time. A rise is followed by a plentiful run of fish. 



" Their beds are made in the gravel where the current 

 is rapid, but just on the verge of a ripple in the water; 

 rarely seen on the lower side of a ripple. They make 

 large excavations, the sand and gravel from which are 

 carried out by the current, and form a mound below. 

 These excavations are sometimes three feet in diameter, 

 and are made by more than one pair. A large number of 

 both sexes are sometimes seen together in one hole. No 

 fighting is observed amongst the males. It is more com- 

 mon, however, to see a single pair working together, lying 

 side by side in the nest. They make the excavations by 

 fanning with the tail, no digging with the head being ob- 

 served. On favorite grounds the nests encroach on each other 



