220 Modern Fishculture in Fresh and Salt Water. 



clops, etc. If the pond has been so constructed that 

 a good portion of it is shallow water — from six inches 

 deep to feather-edge — and is old enough to have pro- 

 duced a fair crop of aquatic vegetation, the young 

 will find abundance of natural food. When about an 

 inch long they will be found foraging on gammarus 

 and corisa, and later on larger crustaceans, particu- 

 larly crayfish and smaller fishes. 



When a majority of the Crop measures one and a 

 half to two inches long it is advisable to remove them 

 from the spawning pond. This period occurs before 

 the breeders have, usually, finished spawning. To re- 

 move the early hatch without disturbing the late 

 spawners, construct the pond to have a long, narrow 

 neck, not over four feet wide, and running to a point 

 where the inflow enters ; ten or fifteen feet from the 

 inflow separate the neck from the pond proper by a 

 wire screen of one-quarter to three-eighth inch mesh. 

 The young bass readily find their way through the 

 screen, and show no inclination to leave as long as 

 food is present. The screened-oflf neck should be 

 closely watched, not only for the numerous enemies 

 of the young bass, but for any sign of cannibalism. 

 To net the young bass from the neck is such an easy 

 matter as not to require explanation. 



If it is necessary to keep the young bass for even a 

 day before shipping, it is of the utmost importance 

 that they be carefully sorted, and the different sizes 

 placed in different receptacles. If the fry are to be 

 kept for several weeks, or even days, they must be fed, 

 or cannibalism will surely reduce the number. Any 

 kind of fish, chopped or ground fine, makes a most 

 acceptable food, and it is doubtful if bass fry will 

 thrive on any food except such as has grown in water ; 



