A BLACK BASS HATCHERY. 



Near Lake Waramaug, Connecticut, 

 well known as a resort for fishermen 

 and ''summer boarders," is situated one 

 of the first successful hatcheries for 

 small mouth black bass in this country. 



Over fifty years ago the lake was 

 stocked with bass, which for a long time 

 grew remarkably in size and number. 

 It was their rapid decrease within the 

 last few years, and consequent injury 

 to the fishing, which suggested the idea 

 of a hatchery. It was due to the 

 patience and inteUigence of a local en- 

 thusiast in the fish line, and the money 

 and enterprise of a prominent New 

 York art dealer, that the idea has been 

 carried out and made a success. 



During the winter of 1902 a site was 

 chosen, about an eighth of a mile below 

 the lake. Upon studying the subject, it 

 was found that every attempt to raise' 

 small mouth black bass, including one 

 carried on at great expense by the 

 Unitcid States government, had ended 

 in failure; consequently it was left to 

 the two men to seek out their own path, 

 in spite of discouragement. 



The planning and superintending of 

 the work was left to the local fisher- 

 man, while the art dealer showed his 

 interest by patiently signing the numer- 

 ous and necessary checks. 



During the following summer the 

 work was carried on. Three adjacent 

 ponds, separated by stone walls, were 

 built similar to other hatcheries; the 

 lower one, about eight feet deep, was 

 for the old fish, while there were two 

 long, narrow and shallower ones, side by 

 side, for nurseries. Seventeen hundred 

 feet of piping brought water from the 

 lake. In the fall, one of the ponds 

 being completed, twenty-nine large, live 

 black bass, caught in various neighbor- 

 ing lakes, were set up in housekeeping, 

 with a supply of minnows and frogs to 

 stock their larder; then the pond froze 

 over and they were left to their own 

 devices, lying dormant during the win- 

 ter. 



Early the next season, work upon the 

 ponds was resumed, with the result that 



they were finished May 9th, just in time 

 for the first bass babies. 



In a wild state, the male bass pre- 

 pares the nest, choosing a gravelly bot- 

 tom, at a depth of from eighteen inches 

 to two feet. He sweeps all the sand 

 away with his tail, over a space about 

 three feet in circumference, making a 

 circular -nest with the larger pebbles in 

 the centre, the smaller gravel on the . 

 outside. Upon these stones the eggs 

 are laid. Acting upon advice received 

 from the Michigan hatchery, the man- 

 ager prepared nests similar to the nat- 

 ural ones, and placed over them boxes 

 with screen doors which could be closed 

 when necessary to prevent the escape 

 of the little fish. Incredulous onlookers 

 laughed at the idea that the mother 

 bass would swim into a box to lay her 

 eggs, but in every case she took to them 

 kindly. 



It is the father bass, also, who takes 

 charge of the eggs, fanning the water 

 gently with his fins to keep it circu- 

 lating, and prevent the deposit of sedi- 

 ment. It is interesting to watch him, 

 posted at the opening of the box, sally- 

 ing forth now and then to drive away 

 intruders, no other fish being allowed 

 within a yard of the nest. Even the [ 

 mother is driven away. 



The eggs hatch in four or five days, 

 in water from 64° to 70°. When the 

 temperature falls below 60° the eggs 

 are usually killed, when the father im- 

 mediately leaves the nest. When first 

 hatched the tiny fish are nearly color- 

 less, and are provided with yolk sacs | 

 which contain enough food for a fort- ! 

 night. They grow rapidly for awhile, 

 gaining form and color as the yolk sac 

 is absorbed. Soon the little fish begin to 

 wiggle up to the surface, their mouths 

 open in search of food. 



The father remains on guard nearly 

 three weeks altogether, scarcely eating 

 during the time. Just before the school 

 rises, the screens are closed, and the 

 babies transferred to the nurseries. In 

 a natural state the father would guard 

 them a few days longer, until they 



