CHAPTER III. 



GENERAL AND SPECIAL FEATURES. 



As there is a geographical variation between the small- 

 mouthed Bass of the extreme North and South, so also we 

 occasionally find a similar variation in the large-mouthed 

 Bass of the northern and southern portions of the Missis- 

 sippi Valley. 



Prof. Edward D. Cope, when in Texas,* a few years ago, 

 took several large-mouthed Bass, which, while agreeing 

 in all other features with the same species of the North and 

 of Florida, differed somewhat in the smaller size of the 

 scales of the cheeks, and in the squamation of the gill- 

 covers. They also differed slightly in coloration and 

 markings by showing several dusky, longitudinal streaks, 

 especially noticeable below the lateral line. 



I observed these several variations, though not quite so 

 pronounced, in several large-mouthed Bass taken in the St. 

 Francis river, Arkansas, in the autumn of 1885. 



As to a comparison of game qualities, as between the 

 small-mouthed Bass and the large-mouthed Bass, I still 

 hold that, other things being equal, and where the two spe- 

 cies inhabit the same waters, there is no difference in game 

 qualities ; for, while the small-mouth is probably more active 

 in its movements, the large-mouthed Bass is more power- 



*0n the Zoological Position of Texas. By E. B. Cope. <Bull. 



U. S. Nat. Mus., xvii, 1880, 31. 



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