INTRODUCTION 



ANEW book upon the Basses is the grati- 

 fying announcement of this introductory, 

 _ chapter. What memories will crowd be- 

 fore the reader at the mere mention of 

 the name ! It must have occurred to every one who 

 has examined the index to any general work upon 

 our fishes that the basses in myriad forms have a 

 wide circle of acquaintances, and they certainly 

 may claim a world of devoted friends. 



From Manitoba and the St. LaAvrence on the 

 north, through the Great Lakes region, the entire 

 extent of the Mississippi basin, and in rivers flow- 

 ing from both slopes of the Alleghanies, either as 

 natives or by artificial introduction, the fresh-water 

 forms are found in abundance. Men know them 

 under scores of names, and prize them none the 

 less for the endless nomenclature due chiefly to 

 variations of color and form and peculiarities of 

 habit. 



The ocean has its own representatives no less 



