3o6 Roosevelt Wild Life Bulletin 



reason their culture has in late years been attended with general 

 success. Mistakes have been made in transplanting, but they may be 

 avoided in the future, if the lesson from the mistakes is heeded. 



The blackbasses are classified as members of the sunfish family 

 which also includes not only the well-known sunfishes but various 

 other species such as the rockbass, crappie and others. 



In New York besides the blackbass the only other member of the 

 family now to any extent propagated appears to be the " calico bass " 

 or black crappie. 



1. Small-^nouth Blackbass. According to Bean the food of the 

 young consists of crustaceans, insects, and insect larvae. Emmeline 

 !Moore C22) made a ven.- complete record of the food of this 

 species. She says : " Young bass begin their carnivorous existence 

 at once as they rise from the nest. Before the yolk sac is fully 

 absorbed they are actively feeding upon the most minute midge 

 larv'ae, waterfleas, or other small Crustacea. Their taste and capacit}- 

 for larger prey is rapidly acquired, but they continue to select much 

 of their food for the first few weeks from the same or similar groups 

 of organisms, even under van-'ing conditions of en\-iroimient." 



From her records, she says it appears that the most important 

 single items in the food of the young small-mouth bass are water- 

 fleas. 



It is known that fry of this species linger for some time in the 

 vicinit}- of the place where they are hatched; so the places suitable 

 for spawning nests being known and the presence of food being 

 ascertained, the fn.- should be planted in such places. But Bean says 

 that the Commission does not distribute bass f rs', and that fingerhngs 

 are available for distribution in September and may be planted in 

 the shallow parts of the water to be stocked. 



In Lake George, Titcomb ("22) states that during the month of 

 August fingerling bass were in evidence about the islands and land- 

 ings on the lake shore almost ever}"\vhere. From what is knowm 

 of them elsewhere it may be assumed that in most suitable waters 

 they will be found in hke situations in September, and that finger- 

 lings may be planted accordingly. In any event there appears 

 never to have been any difficult)- in stocking w-ith blackbass. 



2. Large-mouth Blackbass. Bean did not include this species in 

 the list of those planted by the Xew York State Consen-ation Com- 

 mission. Except in large bodies of water with a diversity- of con- 

 ditions which would afltord adequate habitats for both species of 

 blackbass, it would not appear advisable to plant both in the same 

 water. 



Forbes ('80), from an examination of a few specimens, indicates 

 that this species in infancv* subsists largely upon .£ntomostraca. 

 While some Entomostraca were eaten by blackbass an inch to two 

 inches in length nearly half of the food consisted of insect larvae and 

 insects ; also some fish were taken. When from tv\-o to three inches 

 long the food consisted entirely of insect lanae and insects. The 



