Oshurn. — Conditions Detrimental to Bass. 39 



tion, but that does not seem to have greatly affected the supply. As 

 for the large-mouth, v/e get a great many of them also and distribute 

 them to the quieter waters of the state. There are three large, well- 

 protected harbors on Catawba Island, comprising thousands of acres of 

 water ranging in depth from a few inches to a few feet, and there 

 the large-mouth hatch, in spite of the fact that many have been taken 

 for stocking and by anglers, has been well kept up. 



As to the distribution of parasites referred to by Mr. Leach, of 

 course that is possible, provided that the parasite can find an interme- 

 diate host. It undergoes the larval stage in some small organism and 

 comes to the adult stage in the bass. If the small organism which 

 carries it in the larval stage does not occur in the waters stocked, the 

 parasite could not complete its life history. Certain kinds of parasites 

 might be transferred, others not. 



Mr. S. W. Downing: May I ask whether the taking of fish from 

 the vicinity of the islands and their distribution in the inland waters 

 of the state during the past eighteen years has increased the supply of 

 small-mouth bass in those waters? 



Dr. Osburn: I doubt if it has, but it has afforded a considerable 

 amount of angling in the waters down state, and that is where the bene- 

 fit has resulted. Whether or not the fish would have been caught had 

 they remained in Lake Erie is another matter. The fishing about the 

 Islands is not always as good as one might desire. I know from per- 

 sonal experience, though at times fish may be caught in considerable 

 numbers. Apparently, however, plenty of breeding bass remain in 

 Lake Erie ; we had a good production of young bass this season when 

 the conditions were favorable to breeding. The adult bass may lay 

 from ten to twenty thousand eggs, and if a fair number of these hatch, 

 you get a very rapid re-stocking. 



Mr. Burnham: How many years has the law been in effect pro- 

 hibiting the sale of adult small-mouth bass in Ohio? 



Dr. Osburn: T cannot answer that. It was in effect when I came 

 back to the state six yeai's ago. 



Mr. Burnham: It occurred to me that the number of adult fish 

 saved by prohibiting their sale might offset the numbers that are being 

 taken away for the purpose of stocking other waters. 



Mr. Downing: If the stocking of these streams has resulted only 

 in providing a few day's fishing for the anglers, who take the breeders 

 out after they are put in there, would it not be a whole lot cheaper to 

 the state to furnish these anglers with a few messes of fish and leave 

 the bass in the lake? 



Dr. Osburn: But they get all the sport of catching them. In some 

 places the fish may be caught out before they have an opportunity to 

 breed, but we have a good many preserves in the state now where no 

 angling is permitted until after breeding, and that has helped to keep 

 up the supply of breeders. Where the taking of fish of legal size later 

 in the season involves the removal of practically all the breeders from 

 a stream or a considerable reduction of their numbers in lakes, the 



