i8a THE PERCH. 



than fresh-water fish, and they are very free from 

 bones. But, with all these qualities and recom- 

 mendations, it would not be wise to favour the 

 indiscriminate introduction of the fish into British 

 waters ; though they might be confined to some 

 of the ponds and lakes which now afford but little 

 sport to anglers. 



[Characteristics of Black Bass.] A head of 

 moderate size, rather flat between the orbits. The 

 angle of mouth is in front of posterior border of 

 eye. The front dorsal fin has six or seven very 

 sharp spines, the middle one of which is rather the 

 longest ; the second dorsal has thirteen or fourteen 

 soft rays ; the pectoral fins sixteen soft rays ; the 

 anal eleven or twelve soft, and one or two sharp, 

 spines ; the tail, seventeen soft rays. In mature 

 fish the colour on the back is somewhat of a dark 

 olive-green, toning off to lighter bronze-green at 

 the sides, and softening to yellowish-white on the 

 belly. The younger fish are more or less spotted 

 or marked with blotches in a regular line from 

 shoulder to tail, which markings gradually dis- 

 appear as the fish grows older, but spots remain 

 upon the scales. 



The large-mouthed (Micropterus salmonides} and 

 the small-mouthed (Micropterus dolomica) are both 

 natives of most of the rivers and lakes in Canada 

 and the United States. M, salmonides may be 

 easily distinguished by its enormous mouth and 

 projecting under-jaws from the smaller variety, 

 which is also, as a rule, rather darker in its 

 colourings. 



As their custom of making a nest and mode of 

 spawning is peculiar, and the solicitude they dis- 

 play about their young is interesting, I give a con- 



