46 FAMILIAR FISH, THEIR HABITS AND CAPTURE 



mouth, the end of the maxillary, or upper jaw, is just 

 below the eye, not reaching quite to the rear of it. 

 In the large-mouth, the maxillary extends some dis- 

 tance back of the eye, making the mouth very much 

 larger. The second distinctive variation is in the 

 scales. In the large-mouth these are from a quarter 

 to a half larger than in the small-mouth. The for- 

 mer, moreover, has ten rows of scales on the cheeks, 

 the other seventeen. The third difference is in the 

 color and markings. The large-mouth has a dark 

 or blackish green back, greenish silvery sides, and 

 a white belly with a dark band of color extending 

 along the sides, which occasionally breaks up and 

 grows dim as the fish grows old. 



The small-mouth is a golden green, with an 

 almost yellowish cast on both back and sides ; the 

 belly is white. Dark spots or streaks are found in 

 irregular vertical lines on the sides, but no lateral 

 stripe. A less noticeable difference is in the dorsal 

 fin. In the small-mouth variety it is quite high and 

 arched, not deeply notched. In the other it is not 

 so high, and quite deeply notched. 



In point of weight the two varieties usually aver- 

 age about the same in northern waters, the lar<;e- 

 mouth, as ordinarily taken, being, perhaps, slightlv 

 heavier. Throughout southern \vaters, however, it 

 greatly exceeds any known specimens of the small- 



