THE BASSES: FRES H-W ATER AND MARINE 



although when slightly older small crustaceans 

 seem to be their principal food. At the age of 

 about four or five months they reach a length of 

 four to six inches, increasing, under the most 

 favorable conditions, about a pound a year. 



The age at which black bass produce their eggs 

 has always been a matter of interest and is as yet 

 not fully determined. Some years ago Mr. J. J. 

 Stranahan, an Assistant United States Fish Com- 

 missioner, stationed at that time on Lake Erie, 

 wrote me from Chagrin Falls, Ohio : 



" There are a number of small-mouthed black bass now 

 on their spawning-beds in a pond near town, and among 

 them is the smallest one I ever saw assuming maternal 

 duties. She is not over four or five inches long and will 

 not weigh over two ounces. Her bed is about the size of 

 a tea-saucer and is located about a foot from shore in ten 

 inches of water. It is well covered with eggs, and little 

 Mrs. Bass is looking after them with the greatest care, 

 fanning off the sediment with her tail and driving away 

 all intruding animals. She is much bolder than is usual 

 with her kind, and remains in the bed while visitors, of 

 whom she has had many in the past few days, are stand- 

 ing out four or five feet away. She is, of course, a dwarf, 

 and is probably two, or, more likely, three years old." 



The eggs of the black bass differ greatly in 

 number and size. In a large-mouth weighing two 

 and a half pounds 17,000 eggs have been found, 

 which would average somewhat less than 7,000 



14 



