THE BASSES: FRES H-W ATER AND MARINE 



Habits 



The young are found in the eel-grass in summer 

 and fall as well as in channels. The adults like 

 to hide in rock crevices, reminding one of the tau- 

 tog in that respect. The species is sluggish, but 

 voracious. In their seasonal migration the adults 

 usually arrive at Cape Cod during the first or 

 second week in May, when the water has reached 

 a temperature of 48 to 50 F.; but in 1900, in 

 spite of the cold weather, they appeared at Cutty- 

 hunk and Menemsha Bight on April 28, with 

 one exception the earliest arrival recorded in twenty- 

 five years. 



The sea-bass feeds upon shrimp, crabs, sea- 

 worms, squid, small fishes, and other animals of 

 suitable size. This omnivorous appetite makes it 

 vulnerable to almost any bait. 



Spawning takes place at Wood's Hole, Mass., 

 in June, and the species breeds throughout its 

 range during the summer months. The egg is one 

 twenty-sixth of an inch in diameter and is hatched 

 in five days in water at a temperature of 59 or 

 60 F. The egg is buoyant in sea water. It has 

 been hatched artificially, and the supply of fish can 

 be kept up indefinitely by fish-culture whenever 

 required. 



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