the brilliant marking and delicious flavor of the 

 small-mouthed black bass of the Potomac and its 

 tributaries. No such perfect development of this 

 species has been attained elsewhere by those engaged 

 in the study and propagation of fish, though one or 

 two writers give the large-mouthed black bass 

 credit for possessing the same attributes under similar 

 environments. 



Yearly the government contributes a new supply of 

 miniatures to these rivers which have so roundly 

 proved and proclaimed themselves as the best adapted 

 of all others for the propagation of the most perfect 

 specimen of fish for the sportsman and the epicure. 



The small-mouthed specimens inhabit these upper 

 streams, while below the falls in the Potomac River, 

 on south below Mount Vernon, the large-mouthed 

 variety are captured in great numbers, but they are 

 sluggish as compared with the variety with the small 

 mouth, are not as desirable food, and do not demand 

 that skilled attention of the gentleman who handles 

 the rod while being taken into captivity. Actual 

 experience prompted me to explain this contrast to my 

 son and to teach him the several "points of the 

 compass" regarding the small-mouthed bass, that he 

 might readily distinguish the same. I took occasion 

 to locate for him the dorsal fin on the back, pectoral 

 fin on the side, ventral fin at the rear of the breast, 

 anal fin underneath, the caudal fin at the extreme of 

 the tail, cheek behind the eye, snout, breast, and lateral 

 line, and to inform him of the readily distinguished 

 features in the smaller mouth of the gamiest species 

 their characteristics are striking; that the small- 

 mouthed is slender, the larger deeper through, a 

 heavier fish for its length; that on the latter may be 



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