18 FISH CULTUEE 



able to perform that function herself. But the 

 experiences of Dwight Lydell, and of the late 

 Frank N. Clark, two authorities on the culture 

 of small-mouthed bass, and the observations 

 of others, seem to show conclusively that 

 neither terror nor excitement can be taken as 

 an explanation. Moreover, the same authori- 

 ties demonstrated that small-mouthed bass may 

 be introduced into hatchery ponds in the spring 

 and spawn the same season only when intro- 

 duced not earlier than ten days before the 

 regular spawning period. It is therefore a 

 hazardous procedure to depart from the prac- 

 tice of autumn introduction in the case of the 

 smalhnouth. The spawning habits of the 

 largemouths, on the contrary, do not seem to be 

 affected or disturbed in any manner by the 

 time of their capture. Whether caught in au- 

 tumn, early spring, or when ripe, seems to 

 them a matter of indifference, for when the 

 breeding season arrives they follow the in- 

 stincts of their nature and fulfil the function 

 of reproduction. 



A cautious bass man will put off securing his 

 supply of mature fish in the fall as long as he 



