THE BASSES: FRES H-W ATER AND MARINE 



show a swallowing-capacity about equal to engulf- 

 ing the doubled fist of a five-year-old boy, and 

 the small-mouth of the* same weight will exhibit the 

 usual gullet of , other scaled fish of similar size. 

 So much to guide at first sight of the captured 

 bass; but, if the fish are biting freely, anglers, 

 as a rule, are so ardent in their sport that classifi- 

 cation will not be a factor of enjoyment of the 

 outing. But around the camp-fire or during the 

 " nooning " the fact will doubtless be noticed and 

 discussed that the eye of the small-mouthed black 

 bass is posterior to the angle of the jaws, and that 

 the eye of the big-mouthed species is in front of 

 their posterior termination. It will also be ob- 

 served that there are only ten rows of scales on 

 the cheek of the latter, and about seventeen on that 

 of the small-mouth. 



Coloration 



The coloration of the black basses varies in nearly 

 every water in which they are found, and this con- 

 trast is sometimes so marked 1 as to create in the 

 minds of many anglers a doubt of the species. In 

 fact, specimens have been taken, particularly from 

 Greenwood Lake, N. Y., which were of a deep 

 yellow color over the entire body. To add to the 

 perplexity, an occasional fish in this lake, which is 

 inhabited by both kinds, partakes of the physical 



