106 Thirly-iiiiilh Annual Meeting 



About 4 (lays after hatchiiii;- the yolk sac is completely 

 aljsoi-l)e(l, and the fry have ceased swiniining' straight up and 

 dropping slowly to the bottom. 1diey now swim slantingly 

 upward and then downward in the same manner, and when 

 they have reached the bottom, instead of instantly starting up 

 again they pick at small particles and remain at the bottom 

 in a horizontal position for several seconds nibbling around 

 in search of food. The fry are now 14 t*^ 5/16 of an inch 

 long, colorless and transi)arent, with the exception of the 

 minute black eye spots, and can l)e seen only by the very 

 closest observation. 



After they begin feeding, tlie fry grow rapidly, reaching a 

 length of one inch in about 3 weeks, ddiey swim around in 

 schools, and grow very uniformly in size, and are therefore 

 not so destructive to each other as are 1)lack l)ass, which fact 

 offsets to some extent the greater productivity of the black 

 bass by reason of its spawning habits. 



The natural food of the fry and fingerlings is air and 

 water insects, Crustacea, insect larvae, small fishes, and other 

 forms of life found in water. 11ie natural food of the older 

 tlsh is air and water insects, crawfish, Crustacea, frogs, mol- 

 luscs, small fishes, tadpoles, worms, etc. At the Tupelo, Mis- 

 sissippi, station the adult yellow bass readily ate raw^ beef 

 hearts, livers, and steaks, cut into .strips resembling angle 

 worms. At this station yellow Imss are propagated in ponds 

 bv natural consort of the .sexes, and the fry are reared to lin- 

 gerlings before being distributed. 



Because of their spawning ha1)its and natural inclination 

 to frequent the deeper places, yellow l^ass thrive best in large 

 ])odics of clear pure water. Tliey do not reproduce well in 

 mu(ld\' surface water ponds, nor in roil}' ponds having earth 

 l)otloms without gravel or vegetation. That is one of the 

 principal reasons why yellow bass are so abundant in the St. 

 h^rancis and White rivers, tlie water l)eing clear and bottoms 

 gravelly or sandy, the eggs are not smothered, and the waters 

 are so extensive that not many of the fry are eaten before 

 thev grow large enough to escape from their enemies. 



