American Fisheries Societ\ 107 



DISCUSSION. 



Presiiient : You have heard this rather novel description of the 

 yellow hass. Before the general discussion opens I would like to know 

 for a certainty whether Mr. Burnhani can say positively tliat this species 

 reaches a weight of five pounds. 



Mr. Burnham : No; the statement is taken from Jordan & Evermann's 

 work. The largest I have seen personally were ahout a font in Icngtii 

 and weighed from two to three pounds. 



President: The tisli in question is very closely re]ate<l to the cnnnnon 

 wliite perch of the east, and l)oth liave incredil)ly small eggs. The 

 maximum weight given seems to me to he above that generally reported, 

 but Dr. Evermann is here and I have no doubt he can give us a statement 

 as to the size of the white perch of the Mississippi region. 



Dr. r.AKTox W. Evermann, Washington, D. C. : I do n< t recall nnw 

 the data wiiich were used in giving the weights named. All I can say is 

 that I think tlie matter was looked into pretty carefully at the time, and 

 there was fair justification for tlie conclusi(Tn. T never saw one that 

 large myself. 



Mr. Ward T. Bower: Mr. Barnham makes tlie statement that tlie 

 eggs measure Imm two million to two and a half nullion per quart. I 

 believe it would l)e interesting for the Society to know how he arrives 

 at those figures. It seems rather incredible that the eggs should be so 

 extremely small. 



Mr. Burnham: I have two authorities besides myself. The Manual 

 of Insh Culture in describing the flat fish, I believe, states that the eggs 

 measure 30 to the lineal inch or about 50,000 to the ounce or 1.600,000 to 

 the quart, and tlie yellnw l)ass eggs arc still smaller. They measure 

 2,i 1-3 to the lineal incii, therefore my estimate of 2,000,000 to the quart 

 is n(.t excessive. Superintendent Stapleton. of the Mammoth Spring. 

 Arkansas, station, took eggs of this species from the White River for 

 the purpose of hatching them artificially. By the von Bayer gauge and 

 scale he figured them at 2,500.000 to the quart, but I wished to be con- 

 servative, so I stated that they ran from 2,000,000 to 2,500,000 per quart. 



Mr. Ward T. Bower: Then the matter stands as to whether the von 

 Bayer gauge is a proper instrument for determining the size of the eggs? 



Mr. Burnham : Yes. 



Mr. Bower: You based your conclusions on the fact that the eggs 

 were only .03 inch in diameter? 



AIr. Burnham : Yes. 



]\Ir. Bower : In regard to the von Bayer gauge, I believe that adhesive 

 attraction has a great deal to do with the measurement of eggs by that 

 device. If eggs are placed in a little water on a flat surface, on a piece 

 of glass, for instance, they will all run together. Naturally there must 

 be a slight compression. Therefore T question whether the von Bayer 

 gauge is a true index of the diameter of the eggs, particularly those 

 having a soft membrane. 



Mr. Titcomb: 1 think the von Bayer gauge is a pretty good rough 

 measure in the field, and I believe Mr. Burnham is right when he says 



