HABITS OF THE BLACK BASS. 163 



gravelly or sandy bottom, or on rocky ledges, in water 

 from eighteen inches to three feet deep in rivers, and from 

 three to six feet deep in lakes and ponds ; and, if possible, 

 adjacent to deep water, or patches of aquatic plants, to 

 which the parent fish retire if disturbed. 



The nests are circular, saucer-like depressions, varying 

 from one to three feet (usually about twice the length of 

 the fish) in diameter, which are formed by the Bass, by 

 fanning and scouring from the pebbles all sand, silt, and 

 vegetable debris, by means of their tails and fins, and by 

 removing larger obstacles with their mouths. This gives 

 to the beds a bright, clean, and white appearance, which 

 in clear water can be seen at a distance of several score 

 yards. I have seen hundreds of such nests, in groups, al- 

 most touching each other, in the clear-water lakes of Wis- 

 consin, Michigan, and Minnesota. 



Sometimes the nests are formed upon a muddy bottom, 

 with a pavement or foundation of small sticks and leaves, 

 from which the mud and slime have been washed and 

 scoured ; and as this often seems to be a matter of choice, 

 there being beds upon gravelly situations in the same 

 waters, I have sometimes thought that this discrimination 

 in the location of the nests, might be owing to some differ- 

 ence of habits in this respect, in the two species of Black 

 Bass ; but of this I am by no means sure. 



The females deposit their eggs on the bottom of the 

 nests, usually in rows, which are fecundated by the male 

 and become glued to the pebbles or sticks contained therein. 

 The eggs are hatched in from one to two weeks, depend- 

 ing on the temperature of the water, but usually in from 

 eight to ten days. 



When hatched, the young Bass are almost perfectly 



