106 



THE GAME BREEDER 



cessfully at reasonable cost a fair sup- 

 ply annually of small mouth bass has 

 been, and still is, an undertaking pre- 

 senting some difficulties. 



Nevertheless, black bass culture, 

 both large and small mouth, may fair- 

 ly be said to be beyond the experi- 

 mental stage ; yet positive success or 

 failure often depends on the water tem- 

 perature during the breeding season. 

 Apart from this one condition, which 

 fish culturists have not yet been able 

 to wholly overcome, black bass cul- 

 ture may be carried on with fair pros- 

 pect of satisfactory returns. 



When the propagation of bass was 

 first undertaken, it was speedily dis- 

 covered that it was impossible for man 

 to express eggs and milt artificiall}'- 

 from the ripe female and male. The 

 handling of a ripe bass produces a 

 nervous condition which prevents the 

 ejectment of the eggs and milt. This 

 has been demonstrated most conclu- 

 sively. It affects even a fish taken from 

 the nest in the act of spawning. The 

 nervous condition is so pronounced 

 that after being replaced in the water, 

 spawning is apparently impossible. 



When fish culturists, as a body, be- 

 came convinced that it was impossible 

 to take eggs from bass in the same 

 manner as from trout, they were 

 driven to revive the primitive methods 

 of the ancients by resorting to pond 

 culture ; that is to say, to build bodies 

 of water in which the fish would nat- 

 urally spawn and hatch their young. 



Three conditions are necessary as a 

 basis towards successful cultivation of 

 small mouth bass : a favorable site, 

 properly constructed ponds, and suita- 

 ble water. Nearly all other problems 

 which may and will arise, however 

 important, are either subordinate or se- 

 quences. 



When seeking a site for bass ponds, 

 the question of a decided pitch in the 

 ground, although desirable, is not vital. 

 It is only necessary to have sufficient 

 for complete drainage. A relatively ex- 

 pansive area of ground is required if 

 many thousand young fish are desired. 

 Unless operations are to be conducted 

 on a small scale at least twenty-five 

 acres is essential. A pond of about 



half, or three-quarters of an acre can- 

 not be expected to yield more than 

 one hundred thousand young fish, even 

 with a suitable number of accompany- 

 ing fry ponds. Indeed, not more than 

 fifty thousand or sixty thousand could 

 ordinarily be expected. 



While a decided pitch in the ground 

 is not essential the character of the 

 soil is. Ground nearly level, or with a 

 natural tendency to a gradual slope 

 does not present any serious problem 

 in bass pond building, as a proper in- 

 flow and drainage are the chief points 

 involved. But unsuitable soil or sides 

 and bottoms is sure to be a perpetual 

 source of trouble and anxiety. 



One of the natural environments of 

 the small mouth bass is a gravelly or 

 rocky bottom, and when a mature fish 

 seeks a site for a nest it almost in- 

 variably selects one or the other. 

 Hence the first thought would be to 

 choose a stony or gravelly soil ; but 

 this is about the last selection the 

 experienced bass culturist will make 

 if he can avoid it. A clean, firm soil, 

 as free as possible from either material 

 is what is desired. 



His first choice would probably be 

 heavy clay, through which water can- 

 not percolate, and if that were not ob- 

 tainable, he would choose a spot where 

 the bottom can be made water tight by 

 puddling it with clay. A stony or 

 gravelly bottom is not desirable, at 

 least for breeding ponds, because the 

 fish culturist cannot have absolute con- 

 trol over his brood fish. In a pond 

 with such a bottom it would be im- 

 possible to force the fish to use arti- 

 ficial nests, whereas artificial nests are 

 important for the reason that they are 

 the only kind which the culturist can 

 have under perfect control. In gravel- 

 ly or rocky bottoms small mouth bass 

 will steal their nests and cause endless 

 trouble. 



Mucky ground for small mouth bass 

 breeding should be avoided, because in 

 moving about the fish are apt to keep 

 the water muddy, thus preventing fre- 

 quent observation, a very important 

 feature in bass culture. 



Incredible though it may seem, it 

 is yet a fact, that often the most de- 



