103 



THE GAME BREEDER 



proper protection while they are nesting. 



It is well known to anglers that the 

 male bass, both large mouth and small 

 mouth, protects the nest while the eggs 

 are incubating and for a short period 

 after the fry have hatched, after which 

 time the young scatter to forage for 

 themselves. 



While protecting its nest, the bass re- 

 sents any intrusion, and will seize almost 

 anything dropped on to the nest. He 

 will take even an unbaited hook being 

 dragged over it. 



The capture of these guardians of the 

 eggs and very young fry is easy and re- 

 quires no skill, but it is a conservative 

 statement to say that for every adult bass 

 removed from the nest there is a corre- 

 sponding destruction of at least 500 eggs 

 or fry — an amount equal to the average 

 number of little bass supplied by the 

 commission on each application for stock- 

 ing purposes. 



In normal seasons the basses have fin- 

 ished spawning in most New York waters 

 on or about July 1. The last season was 

 so late that the spawning season extended 

 well past the middle of July. 



If the nesting bass are protected until 

 July 1 it is believed that, in suitable 

 waters for them, they will be able to 

 maintain themselves by natural reproduc- 

 tion to the limit of the natural food sup- 

 ply. 



It must be borne in mind that the 

 basses are naturally warm water fishes — 

 the large mouthed especially so — but that 

 they have been introduced into many cold 

 waters better suited to some species of 

 trout. 



In these colder waters the basses can- 

 not be made to yield so> large a crop as 

 in the warmer waters. One of several 

 reasons for this is the fact that the colder 

 water produces less food required by this 

 species. 



RECOLLECTIONS OF A SPORTSMAN. 



By Jasper B. White. 



I have always claimed there was a 

 certain congeniality existing among 

 sportsmen that did not otherwise exist 

 among men and, looking back over my 

 nearly half century with rod and gun, I 

 recall many delightful experiences that 

 I feel sure will justify my assertion and 

 if you can find space in your valuable 

 journal, The Game Breeder, I will be 

 glad from time to time to send you some 

 of them as they return to my memory. 



It was ten years ago in November last- 

 on the first day (it being our opening day 

 at Currituck) when at sunrise with my 

 new-made friend, T. J. Morrow, Holy- 

 oke, Mass., we stepped into our boat 

 and were off for the duck blinds. The 

 weather was bright and beautiful, a real 

 Indian summer day, but the ducks were 

 abundant and in addition to the beds of 

 wild celery, sago, pond weed and 



widgeon grass I had scattered plenty of 

 white corn around the island to hold 

 them where we wanted them. Mr. Mor- 

 row (whom after that day I only knew 

 as Tom) was a keen sportsman and de- 

 lightful companion but he had never vis- 

 ited Currituck before and when I told 

 him to take out a case. (500 shells) he 

 laughingly said you mean 50, but he 

 finally agreed to take 100— I hid 300 

 more under the oil skins, as he said it 

 was bad luck to take so many shells. 

 Did you ever in the middle of a splendid 

 flight of ducks shoot away your last 

 shell and have to go home? This has 

 happened to me six times during the past 

 season, 1917-1918. I always said after 

 each experience it shall never, never hap- 

 pen again. 



About twenty minutes in a motor boat 

 with the decoy boat behind and we were 



