SPAWNING OF BL|iOK BASS 27 



found almost perfectly level, due it is believed 

 to the rapid ripening of the male, which pre- 

 vents his completion of the work. If he is 

 nearly ripe, he is less likely to spend much time 

 in construction, but devotes himself rather to 

 thoroughly cleaning it and to working the 

 larger gravel to the centre, the two most im- 

 portant considerations. The larger stones are 

 centred in the nest because it is among them 

 that the bulk of the eggs are to be deposited. 

 Courting the Female. — ^When his house is 

 ready, the male bass seeks a female and pays 

 court to the first that he meets. He does so 

 without ascertaining whether or not she is ripe, 

 resei'ving for himself the privilege of reject- 

 ing or divorcing her after she has been to the 

 nest and proves unripe. On encountering a 

 female he begins the most grotesque contor- 

 tions. He will swim around her in erratic 

 circles, will nip her gently on the cheeks and 

 belly, rub against her and show himself off, in 

 his way, just as proudly as a cock bird does 

 when courting a hen. All the time he guides 

 her steadily towards the nest. At times she 

 appears to accompany him willingly; then 



