170 BOOK OF THE BLACK BASS. 



but under adverse circumstances or unfavorable condi- 

 tions their growth is much slower; therefore, no rule of 

 general application can be established from any single 

 instance, or as the result of any exclusively local test or 

 experiment. 



The growth of Black Bass is affected not only by the 

 supply of food and temperature of water, but also by the 

 extent of range. Bass in small ponds do not thrive so 

 well, nor grow so fast; the smaller the extent of their 

 range, the slower will be their growth, and, indeed, 

 this is true of any other fish ; for it is well known that 

 fish confined in aquaria, in springs or wells, grow so 

 very slowly, that their increase in size is hardly appre- 

 ciable from year to year, even though their supply of food 

 be abundant. 



An equally well-attested fact is, that the largest Bass 

 are found in the largest bodies of water, or where the 

 range is extensive ; extreme depth of water seeming to be 

 more favorable to their growth than mere extent of sur- 

 face. For example, I know of several shallow lakes in 

 Wisconsin, where the Bass seldom grow to exceed two 

 pounds, while in deeper lakes in the same vicinity they 

 attain the usual maximum weight of four or five pounds ; 

 and in Green Lake, a large and deep lake near Ripon, in 

 the same State, I once caught a string of thirty Black Bass, 

 mostly of the large-mouthed species, weighing from four 

 to eight pounds each, and fully averaging six pounds. 



HIBERNATION. 



Black Bass undoubtedly hibernate, except in the ex- 

 treme Southern and South-western States; but in the 



