Aug. 8, 1889. J 



FOREST AND STREAM. 



43 



put the finishing touches on the camp, caught some min- 

 nows and young perch with hook and line oft* the dock, 

 and Louis and the Jedge had taken a rod a piece and 

 gone up the little rocky stream on a hunt for trout. In 

 a shallow pool a few rods from camp they had seen five 

 or six fine ones lazily f auning the bottom with their fins, 

 but their careless approach had scared them and they 

 flashed out of sight under a slightly shelving hank, from 

 which all arts and lures failed to coax them. 



Not to be outgeneralled in this manner, these two 

 worthies hit on a scheme that soon brought the hapless 

 trout to an untimely end. A. long-handled landing-net 

 was procured from the camp and Louis hunted up a 

 light pole, with which he poked and punched under the 

 bank till ' the trout were routed out into open water, 

 whence by dint of much ''shooing" and "'thrashing" with 

 the pole two of them were driven to the riffle at the 

 lower end of the pool in the shoal water and among the 

 half -submerged rocks, where they floundered around in 

 utter bewilderment till ignominiously scooped out with 

 the landing-net in the hands of the Jedge. 



Three or four more drives netted three more, and then 

 the vandals strung them on a twig and marched into 

 camp, where they told Charley and Knots a great story 

 about the sport they had in taking them with rod and 

 line. We had them for breakfast, but none but the Jedge 

 and the Indian knew now they were taken for nearly a 

 year alter, when the Jedge m a shamefaced, penitent sort 

 of way told the story of their capture with a request that 

 it never tind its way into the columns of Forest and 

 Stream.* It was an unfair and unsportsmanlike way of 

 getting a mess of trout, but those of us not in the secret 

 found them possessed of the same old flavor as though 

 lured to the pan with the most cunningly devised fly, 

 and oui "trom tooth" was appeased. 



The very last touch had been given the camp in the 

 afternoon by Ohaaiey and the Jedge, when they cut a 

 long, slim pine sapling, fastened a small pulley at the 

 top, rove the halliards, braced it firmly at the outer end 

 ot the little clock, and run up "the old flag," under whose 

 stars and stripes every man in the camp save the Indian 

 had marched and tramped a thousand miles further south 

 than where we now sat around our peaceful camp-fire — 

 some of them where the Minies were thicker and more 

 '•multitudinous" than our present enemy, the blackfly, 

 and where the "song of the bullet" was as familiar a 

 sound as the melotly of our pestiferous friends, whose 

 high treble i "w1iee e-e"> — more annoying than their bite — 

 had been our camp ludaby since building our first camp- 

 fire in the North Woods. 



It was not, perhaps, a very marked token of respect to 

 the Kanucks to hoist the American flag on their territory * 

 but we had become so accustomed to seeing the glorious 

 old bunting flying from some prominent point in front of 

 our different camps, that it were doubtful if the boys 

 would have rested easily o' nights without it. In fact, 

 Charley and the Jedge, not realizing at the time that they 

 were out of the United States, had lost sight of the seem- 

 ing discourtesy : but now as the flag was up, and there 

 was no probability that we would have visitors in this 

 out-of-the-way place, the "old rag of beauty" was allowed 

 to flaunt its length in the breeze or hang li&tless down 

 the staff as the wind god willed to the end of our stay on 

 the lake. 



An horn* or two of reminiscences of former camps, 

 "reminders" and yarns, and the circle broke up for the 

 night, greatly disappointed over the. non arrival of old 

 Dan, for whom a lookout had been kept down the lake 

 all the afternoon. A note had been left for him at the 

 Chippewa House, where we were tolerably sure he would 

 stop over night in case .he followed us up, with instruc- 

 tions how to find us; but now, after various conjectures 

 as to what had happened to the old pelican, he was given 

 up, and we turned in for a night of drtamless and restful 

 sleep in our new camp. KlNGFISH m . 



* Alas.! poor Jedge, he's dead now, and every man of us grieved 

 over his death, for he was a big-hearted, open-handed, kiudlv 

 comrade, whose place in the mess may not be filled, and whose 

 mf-mory will grow green in our hearts till we answer to the final 

 roll call. 



NEST BUILDING OF T*HE SUNFISH. 



BY THEODORE OTLL. 



A RECENT article on the "Hatchery of the Sunfish," 

 in Nature (for June 27, 1889), shows that the char- 

 acteristic habits of that beautiful favorite of juvenile 

 anglers are not as well known as might be thought. It 

 has impelled me to consider the matter, and I find there 

 are several deplorable gaps in our knowledge of its habits, 

 which could be readily filled up. I have recently made 

 several visits to ponds where the fish abounds, bat have 

 not found any nest, either because the season of nesting 

 has passed or because the water was too muddy to enable 

 observations to be made. The habits of the common 

 sunfish and all its relatives are probably similar, and as 

 it belongs to the same family with the noble black basses, 

 and what will tlirow light on one will reflect it on the 

 other, the Interest of observations made on any species 

 may be realized. It is widely known, at least in the 

 New England and Middle States, that the sunfish inakes 

 a rude nest and cares for its eggs, but exact details 

 still remain to be gleaned. The observations already pub- 

 lished are not numerous: and as they will doubtless prove 

 of interest to all lovers of nature, the two longest accounts 

 are here reproduced. 



The first detailed statement of the nidification of the 

 sunfish appears to have been published by Dr. John D. 

 Godinan, a physician of Pniladelphia, well known as 

 the author of a work on the Mammals of North America, 

 and aLo favorably known to a less number through his 

 " Rambles of a Naturalist."* These contain some charm- 

 ing sketches of animated nature in action and are redo- 

 lent of country life. ' ' These beautiful sketches appeared 

 originally in a weekly journal published in Philadelphia," 

 we are told in a biographical sketch of their author, but 

 in what particular journal or what time we are not told. 

 It is only stated further that "they were composed while 

 the author was confined to a bed of sickness, and from 

 which he was removed in a few weeks to the tomb. The 

 series was consequently left incomplete." Dr. Godman 

 died on the 17th of April, 1830. 

 The observations on the habits of the sunfish purport 



to have been made by Dr. Godman in "Curtis's Creek, a 

 considerable arm of the Patapsco," in Anne Arundel 

 county, Maryland. He premises that "during the spring 

 months, and while the garden vegetables are yet too 

 young to need a great deal of attention, the proprietors 

 employ their blacks in hauling the seine," but ' -as the 

 summer months approach, the aquatic grass begins to 

 grow, and this fishing can no longer be continued, be- 

 cause the grass rolls the seine up in a wisp, so that it can 

 contain nothing." 



"At this time (ho says) the spawning season of the 

 different species of sunfish begins, and to me this was a 

 time of much gratification. Along the edge of the river, 

 where the depth of water was not greater than from four 

 feet to as shallow as twelve inches, an observer would 

 discover a succession of circular spots cleared of the sur- 

 rounding grass, and showing a clear sandy bed. These 

 spots, or cleared spaces, we may regard as the nest of 

 this beautiful fish. There, balanced! in the transparent 

 wave, at the distance of six or eight inches from the bot- 

 tom, the sunfish is suspended in the glittering sunshine, 

 gently swaying its beautiful tail and fins; or, wheeling 

 around in the limits of its little circle, appears to be en- 

 gaged in keeping it clear of all encumbrances. Here the 

 mother deposits her eggs or spawn, and never did hen 

 guard her callow brood with more eager vigilance than 

 the sunfish the little circle within which her promised 

 offspring are deposited. If another individual approach 

 too closely to her borders, with a fierce and angry air she 

 darts against it, and forces it to retreat. Should any 

 small and not too heavy object be dropped in the nest, it 

 is examined with jealous attention, and displaced if the 

 owner be not satisfied of its harmlessness. At the ap- 

 proach of man she flies with great velocity into deep 

 water, as if willing to conceal that her presence was 

 more than accidental where first seen. She may, after a 

 few minutes, be seen cautiously venturing to return, 

 which is at length done with velocity : then she would take 

 a hurried turn or two around, and scud back again to the 

 shady bovvers formed by the river grass, which grows up 

 from the bottom to within a few feet of the surface, and 

 attains to twelve, fifteen, or more feet in length. Again 

 she ventures forth from the depths; and if no further 

 cause of f ear presented, would gently sail into the placid 

 circle of her home, and with obvious satisfaction explore 

 it in every part." 



Dr. Godman availed himself of the knowledge of the 

 habits of the sunfish resulting from the.^e observations to 

 oblam fish for his table in a very unsportsmanlike 

 manner. He was tired of country fare. "It was either 

 broiled bacon and potatoes, or fried bacon and potatoes, 

 and so on at least six days out of the seven. But, as soon 

 as I became acquainted with the habits of the sunfish, I 

 procured a neat circular iron hoop for a net; secured to it 

 a piece of an old seine, and whenever I desired to dine on 

 fresh fish, it was only necessary to take my skiff and 

 push her gently along from one sunfish nest to another, 

 myriads of which might be seen along all the shore. The 

 fish, of course, darted off as soon as the boat first drew 

 near, and during this absence the net was placed so as to 

 cover the nest, of the bottom of which ttie meshes but 

 slightly intercepted the view. Finding all th ngs quiet, 

 and not being disturbed by the net, the fish would resume 

 its central station, the net Avas suddenly raised, and the 

 captive placed in the boat. In a quarter of an hour I 

 could generally take as many in this way as would serve 

 two men for dinner, and when an acquaintance accident- 

 ally called to see me during the season of sunfish, it was 

 always in my power to lessen our dependence on the end- 

 less bacon. I could also always select the finest and 

 largest of these fish, as while standing up in the boat one 

 could see a considerable number at once and thus choose 

 the best. Such was their abundance that the next day 

 would find all the nests re-occupied. Another circum- 

 stance connected with this matter gave me no small 

 satisfaction; the poor blacks, who could rarely get time 

 for angling, soon learned to use my net with dexterity: 

 and thus, in the ordinary time allowed them for dinner, 

 would borrow it, run down to the shore, and catch some 

 fish to add to their very moderate allowance." 



Another account of the nidification of the sunfish was 

 published many years later interjected in the midst of 

 an article on "The Glanis of Aristotle," printed in 1857 in 

 the Proceedings of the American Academy of Arts and 

 Sciences (v, 8, pp. 325 (829, 330)-338). Agassiz fortified the 

 statement of Aristotle that the Glanis* cares for its 

 young by the results of his own observations or of hear- 

 say on several American fishes. Most of these accounts ho 

 had been unable to verify. "But," he continues. "I have 

 had ample opportunity' to watch the Pomotis in the breed- 

 ing season every spring for the last eight years. At that 

 time it approaches in pairs the shores of the ponds in 

 which it lives, and selects shallow, gravelly places, over- 

 grown with Potamogeton, water lilies, and other aquatic 

 plants, in which it begins by clearing a space of abutit a 

 foot in diameter, rooting out the plants, removing with 

 violent jerks of its tail the larger pebbles, carrying away 

 with its mouth the coarser gravel, and leaving a clean 

 spot of fine sand, in which it deposits its eggs, surrounded 

 and overshadowed by a grove of verdure as presented in 

 the following wood-cut [not given here]. In this inclosure 

 one of the parents remains hovering over its brood and 

 keeping at a distance all intruders. The office of watch- 

 ing over the progeny does not devolve exclusively upon 

 either of the sexes, but the males and females keep watch 

 alternately. The fierceness with which they dart at their 

 enemies, and the anxiety with which they look out for 

 every approaching danger, show that these are endowed 

 with stronger instincts than have been known heretofore 

 in any of their class. Their foresight goes so far as to 

 avoid the bait attached to any hook, however near it 

 may be brought to them, and however lively and tempt- 

 ing it may be. Pomotis do not build their nests singly; 

 hundreds of them may be seen along the same shore, 

 within very small distance of one another, forming, as it 

 were, temporary settlements, two nests sometimes hard 

 by each other, or only separated by narrow partitions of 

 water plants. However near to one another, the pair of 

 one nest do not interfere with those of another, but like 

 good neighbors they live peacefully together, passing 

 over each other's domain when going out for food with- 

 out making any disturbance. But whenever an unmated 

 single fish makes its appearance among the nests, he is 



* The Giants of Aristotle was universally supposed to be identi- 

 cal with t,he Silurus planus of Europe, and although the identity 

 was denied by Agassiz, not a single character was mentioned by 

 Agassiz to distinguish the two. 



chased away like an intruding libprtine and vagabond. 

 The development of the egg is very rapid. In less than a 

 week the young are hatched, and "the parents soon cease 

 to take any further care of them." 



The most recent account of the nidification of the 

 same fish has been communicated by William L. Stone, 

 of Jersey City, to Nature (v. 40, p. 202). That gentle- 

 man's own words aro as follows: "I have thought that 

 an example of the intelligence (instinct?) of a class of fish 

 which has come under my observation during my excur- 

 sions into the Adirondack region of New York State, 

 might possibly be of interest to your readers, especially 

 as I am not aware that any one except myself has noticed 

 it, or, at least, has given it publicity. 



"The female sunfish (called, I believe, in England, the 

 roach or bream) makes a 'hatchery' for her eggs in this 

 wise. Selecting a spot near the banks of the numerous 

 lakes in which this region abounds, and where the water 

 is about 4 inches deep, and still, she builds, with her tail and 

 snout, a circular embankment 3 inches in height and 2 

 inches thick. The circle, which is as perfect a one as could 

 be formed with mathematical instruments, is usually afoot 

 and a half in diameter; and at one side of this circular 

 wall an opening is left by the fish of just sufficient width 

 to admit her body, thus: [A diagram is given.] 



"The mother sunfish, having now built or provided her 

 'hatchery,' deposits her spawn within the circular inclos- 

 ure, and mounts guard at the entrance until the fry are 

 hatched out and are sufficiently large to take charge of 

 themselves. As the embankment, moreover, is built up 

 to the surface of the water, no enemy can very easily 

 obtain an entrance within the inclosure from the top; 

 while there being only one entrance, the fish is able, 

 with comparative ease, to keep out all intruders.' 



It need scarcely be noted here that the sunfish of the 

 United States, although called roach and bream in some 

 places, is not at all related to either of those fishes, but is 

 the representative of a special family (Centrarchids), pe- 

 culiar to and characteristic of North America, but related 

 to the perch family. As will be noticed, the account of 

 the nest does not harmonize with those of Godman of 

 Agassiz, nor do they agree with my own observations. 



Such are the principal detailed accounts of the nest- 

 building procliviiies of the common sunfish. It will be 

 noticed that in all it is assumed that the female fish is 

 the principal or only one concerned in the care of the 

 eggs. The statement that the female is the guardian, is, 

 however, merely the result of an assumption based on 

 our knowledge of the economy of the higher vertebrates, 

 and at least requires verification. I am myself inclined 

 to believe that the chief or the sole guardian of the eggs 

 after their deposition is the male. This I judge to be the 

 case from analogy also, but from analogy among the 

 kindred of the fish. The cichlids of South America and 

 Africa are very like the sunfish, and, in fact, have often 

 been mistaken for such, and, so far as observed, the 

 males are the sole guardians of the eggs. So are the 

 males of the catfishes and the sticklebacks the custodians of 

 the products of their females' ovaries. Instead, therefore, 

 of the assumption of the female being the care-takers of 

 the nest being the probable one, the reverse is more likely. 

 The real facts in the case are so easy to ascertain in the 

 proper season that no longer delay should supervene. 

 Certainly, with all the piscicullural establishments in the 

 country," and the large appropriations they enjoy, it is 

 btrange that the facts are still unknown, especially as the 

 black basses have been the subjects of long attention and 

 extensive cultivation. I note a few desiderata of our in- 

 formation respecting the species: 



1. Time of nest building. 



2. Exact manner of preparing the nest, especially how 

 far the tail and mouth are u»ed in clearing the chosen 

 site. 



3. Exact size and character of the nest. 



4. Mode of oviposition. 



5. Subsequent care of the eggs, whether by female 

 and male together or alternately, or by female alone or 

 male alone. 



6. Size and age of the young and their movements 

 when abandoned by their guardian, 



7. Does the guardian fan or agitate the eggs, and in 

 what manner ? 



8. Is a vacated nest really taken charge of by another 

 fish, or is the new occupant simply an interloper that 

 avaiL itself of a suitable resting place? 



These questions ought to be easily answerable by one to 

 whom the nests are accessible, and. for the credit of 

 American pisciculture and natural history, we may hope 

 they soon will be answered. 



A Hard Time of It. — It is not to be supposed that any 

 one will think much of the birds in these times of rains 

 and floods: but the birds have their uses, and we may 

 give them a passing thought. They are having a hard 

 time of it just now. It is well that they are feeding their 

 second brood, where the number of mouths is not apt to 

 be so large as in the first nesting. We have been reminded 

 of this by a wood robin (Turdvn mustelinm) that has a 

 nest just outside our window, on the branch of a tulip 

 tree. She is dreadfully troubled this morning, over the 

 heavy rain that is now falling. There is one young one 

 in the nest nearly ready to fly, and as the nest is filling 

 with water (from three or four overhanging leaves that 

 shed the rain directly into it), the poor bird is almost 

 beside herself. The young bird has crawled up near the 

 edge of the nest. Here the mother sits above it with her 

 wings and tail spread out covering her home, while the 

 rain is bedraggling her plumage. We should j udge she 

 was "wet through." — A. H. G. (Sing Sing, July 81 f. 



Sparrows vs. Electricity.— For the extermination 

 of the English sparrow pest I suggest the use of uninsu- 

 lated electric light wires. The wires should be situated 

 near the favorite breeding places of the birds and should 

 be in short sections connected with the regular electric 

 light wires. This method of killing sparrows will be most 

 effective hi late fall and early spring, during which sea- 

 sons sparrows congregate in towns and cities. — Deacon. 



Forest and Stream, Box 2,8o3, N. Y. city, has descriptive illus- 

 trated circulars of W. B. Le Hi n swell's book, " Wild Fowl Shoot- 

 ing," which will be mailed tree on request. The book is pro- 

 nounced hy "Nanit," "(jloan," "Dick Swiveller," "Sybillene" and 

 other competent authorities to he the best treatise on the subject 

 extant. 



