March 28, 1903.I 
FOREST AND STREAM. 
249 
came in the night when the mills were not running, 
and we found them at Manchester in the morning rest- 
ing in a shallow pool at the foot of the dam during the 
da}^, from which they disappeared the next night, ex- 
cept a few, which some over-zealous wiseacres, who 
thought the fish did not understand their own business, 
netted and lifted over the dam, to save them the trouble 
of finding the fishway! 
My successors on the Commission, as well as myself, 
became fully convinced that we had wasted time and 
money enough in attempting to carry out the original 
purpose for which it was created, and that we had better 
turn our attention to the stocking of the inland waters, 
with the "landlocked" variety, or the "wannanish," and 
to replenishing the brooks with the native trout, and 
in these ways we made the Commission a success 
and an advantage to the State. 
I am very glad to see that your able Canadian cor- 
respondent, Mr. Chambers, agrees in the opinion which 
I have previously expressed in Forest and Stream 
that the fresh-water salmon, or wannanish, as I spell 
it, though he prefers the French alphabet and spells 
it as the Montagnais Indians do, is the original pro- 
genitor of the Salmo salar, or salt-water salmon, which 
were probably "froze out" by the ice of the glacial 
period," or some other visitation of cold, and took to 
the salt water for the winter, finding the food so abund- 
ant and the temperature so agreeable that they have 
since resided there, only returning at the promptings 
of instinct to their original home in fresh water to 
spawri, and I apply the same origin to the sea trout, 
which Mr. Venning and Mr. Hallock have been recently- 
discussing in your columns, and although I have never 
seen one of these fish alive, I am convinced that they, 
too, winter in salt water, and go up the rivers to feed 
and spawn with the salmon. The weight of evidence is 
against Mr. Venning, whose "Reminiscences of an 
Octogenarian" I have enjoyed hugely, the more so, as 
a few months, if I live, will place me in the same cate- 
gory as to age. I, too, recall the old flint lock muskel: 
with its powder horn and with the shot carried in a 
bottle, or canvas bag, in one pocket, while the other 
was filled with old paper, or tow for wadding, and the 
charges of powder and shot were measured (?) by 
pouring them into the palm of my left hand; or later, 
when I got a japanned tin powder flask, in the thimble- 
shaped cover! 
From these I progressed by stages to the lever-gate, 
powder flask and double shoulder belt, for coarse and 
fine shot, which I have had for fifty years, and which 
now hang in my closet by the old 12-gauge, double- 
barrel muzzleloader, which, like its owner, has outlived 
its usefulness in the field. 
Mr. Venning seems to be in doubt as to_ the cause 
of the entire disappearance 'of the wild pigeon, and 
just as I was going to explain my opinions on the ques- 
tion, along comes this week's number of Forest an.^i 
Stream with Sullivan Cook's letter, which anticipates 
ncarlv all I had to say. I have shot pigeons here m 
New 'Hampshire when a boy, and one of my farmer 
friends used always to bring my father in a dozen or 
two everv year, which he had netted. 
So late' as 1841. when I went to Lowell, I saw m the 
neighborhood of that city the brush blinds and long 
sloping poles for "roosts," where they were baited and 
"raked" down when thev lit on the pole. I well re- 
member reading in "Audubon," and in the works ol 
other writers, seventy years ago, the accounts of the 
awful slaughter made of them in their "roosts, when 
the hogs were depended on to pick up the young squabs 
which fell to the ground. , . , r 1 • 
Mr. Cook tells the whole story so plainly from his 
own memories that I will not waste time and space 
discussing the question further, but merely to say that 
it is not a mystery to me why the wild pigeon disap- 
peared. . 1 1 T 
Spring seems to be really coming at last, though i 
have not yet seen the bluebirds and robins which put 
in a premature appearance three weeks since and then 
vanished again; but my daughter says her tulips are 
coming up. and last Saturday she dug some nice pars- 
nips from under a snowdrift, and reports no frost m 
the ground! u *.v, 
I hope to get a few trout this year, though the 
grippe knocked me out of all sport last season. 
VoN W. 
Cape Vincent, N. Y., March 23.— Editor Forest and 
Stream: I think I have the laugh on my fnend the 
Old Angler," in his claim that my letter to Mr. Marston 
was a disingenuous reply to his excellent contribution to 
Forest and Stream of February 21, entitled ;Artific!3l 
Salmon Culture in America." I think the laugh is on him 
because mv letter, which he calls a disingenuous reply 10 
his article". Avas written two days before his article ap- 
peared His contribution was published hebruary 21. 
Mv letter to Mr. Marston was written and mailed to 
Lo'ndon February 19. To put it plainly, The Old 
Angler" claims that I replied to his article two days be- 
fore it appeared, which was also two days or more be- 
fore I saw his article or heard of it. So I think the 
lauo-h is on mv friend "The Old Angler. . 
Let me add that mv letter to Mr. Marston was simply a 
friendlv and private letter, not intended to be controver- 
^ial nor intended for publication, and I consequently did 
not feel called upon to furnish proofs and statistics, but 
if "The Old Angler" wants proofs and statistics, he can 
find some in the" timely contribution of Mr. Babcock in 
Forest and Stream of March 21. 
Livingston Stone. 
Perverse Beast. 
Cobwigger— "How was it that dog of yours wouldn't 
do any of his tricks to-day?" , ■ i.- . 
Brown— "I gues it was because I was showing him lO 
a m.an who wanted to buy a dog."— Harlem Life. 
"This. I suppose," said the visitor, "is the gun your 
great-grandfather carried through the Revolution?" 
"Most assuredly not," haughtily replied Cadleigh Rich. 
"That was his gun, but his man carried it for him, of 
^cqurse." — Philadelphia Pfess. 
Delaware River Angling* 
With a lunge and a plunge, and a sweep and a leap, 
Goes the bass that I've hooked through the lip! 
A scoot and a shoot — and he's off through the deep I 
And my rod has a broken tip! 
"He's off!" 
My boat chum glares in blank dismay at circling ripples 
from the last big splash in the water, and at the broken 
tip and wrenched second joint of his rod, and resumes 
the low seat in our dory, from which he had risen so 
hastily as his reel began to scream. 
"What are you grinning at? Yes, the name of my little 
tableau is Despair! I never did like this river!" 
He fumbles at the reel. "That bass did not weigh an 
ounce over three pounds, and I've landed them up to five 
pounds on this very six-ounce bamboo. How did he do 
it ? Took all my line, too ! It was tested to a nine-pound 
pull. Didn't leave me enough string to tie up these 
pieces !" 
i soothe him with philosophy. "Better ones yet in the 
river! You were 'rattled' by his suddenness. The tilt 
was worth all your trouble and money. He proved why 
you respect a black bass, and call him a fighting 'brute' 
where it happened. 
and 'pirate.' It was the prettiest struggle you have had 
this trip, and the bass won. These fellows who live in the 
rapids and swirls of the upper Delaware are twice as 
lively as their brothers in the still water of lakes ! Rig 
up that ten-ounce lancewood, quick! for they are 
biting and f " 
"B-r-r-r-r-r !" goes mv own reel ; and I, also, am "in 
trouble I" 
I draw a veil over that scene. But in a Brooklyn fish- 
ing-tackle "den" are two smashed rods, tied with blue rib- 
bons, and labeled : 
"A tribute to the prowess of two small-mouth black 
bass in the upper Delaware River. Ketched 'em; didn't 
land 'em!" " L. F. Brown. 
The Habits and Culture of the 
Black Bass»* 
BY D.WIGHT LYDELL. 
This paper sets forth the experiences of nine seasons 
beginning with- 1894, during which I have had charge of 
the black bass work of the Michigan Fish Commission. 
The work was begun at Cascade, Mich., and after four 
seasons was transferred to Mill Creek, where it is now 
carried on. The methods of pond culture finally adopted 
are based on a knowledge of the breeding habits of the 
fish under natural conditions. ' The account has reference 
to the small-sfnouthed bass, unless the large-mouthed is 
specified. ' ' ' ' 
In studying the habits of the bass, it is necessary to 
distinguish the males from the females; ordinarily this 
:s not possible except by dissection, but at spawning time 
the female is distinguishable, even at a distance of ten or 
twenty feet, on account of her distension with eggs, and 
this makes it possible to determine the part taken by each 
sex in nest-building and the rearing of young. . 
The nests of the black bass are biiilt by the male fish 
working alone. The small-mouthed bass prefers a bottom 
of mixed sand and gravel, in which the stone ranges from 
about the size of' a pea to that of one's fist. As the 
spawning season approaches the males are seen moving 
about in water of two or three feet depth seeking a suit- 
able resting place. Each male tests the bottom in several 
.places by rooting into it with his snout and fanning away 
the overlying mud or sand with his tail. If he does not 
find gravel after going dowm three or four inches, he seeks 
raiother place. Having found, a suitable place, he cleans 
the sand and mud from the gravel by sweeping it with his 
tail. He then turns over the stones with his snout and 
continues sweeping until the gravel over a circular spot 
some two feet in diameter is clean. The sand is swept 
toward the edge of the nest and there forms a few inches 
high, leaving the center of the nest concave, like a saucer. 
The nest is usually located near a log or large rock so as 
to be shielded from one side. If the bank is sheer and 
the water deep enough, the nest may be built directly 
against the bank. If possible, it is placed so that the fish 
can reach deep water quickly at any time. 
During nest-building no females are in sight, but when 
the nest is done — and this takes from four to forty-eight 
hours — the male goes out into deep water and soon re- 
turns with a female. Then for a time— it may be for 
several hours — the male exerts himself to get the female 
into the nest and to bring her into that state of excite- 
ment in which she will lay her eggs. If she lies quiet, 
he turns on his side and passes beneath her in such a way 
as to stroke her belly in passing. If she delays too long, be 
urges her ahead by biting her on the head or near the 
vent. If she attempts to escape, he heads her off and 
*Read at the thirty-first mmsl meeting of the American Fish- 
eries Society. 
turns her back toward the nest. If, after all, she will 
not stay in the nest, he drives her roughly away ancj 
brings another female. 
Some fifteen to thirty minutes before the _ female js 
ready to enter the nest and spawn, her_ excitement is 
made evident by a change of color._ Ordinarily she ap- 
pears to be of a- uniform dark olive or brown above, 
changing to a light green below. The only rnarkings 
readily seen are four stripes on each cheek; but in reality 
the sides of the fish are mottled with still -darker spots on 
ihe dark olive background. The spots are arranged so as 
to form irregular, A'ertical bands, like those on the perch, 
but these are not usually visible. Now, as the excitement 
of the female increases, the background becomes paler 
and finally changes to a light green or yellowish hue, so 
that the spots and bands stand out in strong rehef. The 
whole surface of the fish becomes thus strongly mottled. 
This "is a visible sign that the female will soon spawn. 
The male undergoes a similar but less pronounced change 
of color. 
Soon after this the. female enters the nesf and the male 
continues to circle about her, glide beneath lier, and to bite 
her gently on the head and sides. At times he seizes her 
vent in his mouth and shakes it. When this has con- 
tinued for a time, spawning takes place. The two fish 
turn so as to lie partly on their sides with their vents to- 
gether and undergo a convulsive fluttering movement 
lasting three to five seconds. During this time the eggs 
and milt are extruded. The circling movements are then 
resumed, to be interrupted after a few seconds by spawn-;- 
ing. This alternate circling and spawning, continue for 
about ten minutes. The male then drives the female 
away, biting her and showing great ferocity. She does 
not return. _ .. . c. . .... . 
The male, and the male only,' now. continues id, guard 
the nest, fanning sediment from the eggs and repelling 
enemies. At 66 degrees F. the eggs hatch in five days 
and the 3'oung fish swarm up from the bottom in twelve 
to thirteen days from the, time of hatching. ; 
Henshall, in his "More," About the Black Bass." pub- 
lished in 1898, quotes, with approval, Arnold's observa- 
tions to the, effect that the nests are built arijd then 
guarded by the .female. The "Manual of Fish Culture," 
published in 1897 by. the United States -Fish Commi'^sion, 
speaks of the nests as being built by the mated fi-shj some- 
rimes working together, sometimes separately. , These 
seem to be the latest published observations, and are not 
at all in accord with my observations in IMichiga'n. 
Shortly after the young small-mouthed bass rise from 
the nest they scatter out over a space four or five rods 
across — not in a definite school with all the fish jnoving 
together, but as a loose swarm, moving independently or 
in small groups. This makes it impossible to seine the 
young fry, as upon the approach of the seine, instead of 
keeping together, they at once scatter and escape the 
seine. The fry may be at the surface or on the bottom 
in weeds or clear water, and are attended by the male 
until they are iJ4 inches long. The swarm then gradually 
disperses and the young fry, which were previously black, 
take on the color of the old fish. 
The breeding habits of the large-mouthed black bass are 
similar to those of the small-mouthed, but differ in some 
respects, which are of importance in pond culture. 
1. The nests of the large-mouthed are not made on 
gravel, but by preference on the roots of water plants. 
These are cleaned of mud over a circular area^ and on 
them the eggs are laid. As the eggs of the large-moiuheJ 
bass are smaller and more adhesive than thos'e of the 
small-mouthed, they are apt, when laid on gravel, to be- 
come lodged between the stones and to stick together in 
masses, and are then likely to be smothered. When laid 
on fibrous roots of water plants this does not occur. 
2. The young large-mouthed bass remain together in a 
compact school very much smaller than that of the small- 
mouthed, and the fry usually move all in .the same direc- 
tion. This makes it easy to seine the large-mouthed fry 
when wanted. ; 
Ctilturc of Black Bass. ' : 
Ponds and Stock Fish. — After some experimenting all 
our ponds, both for stock fish and fry, are built on the 
model of a natural pond. There is a central deeper por- 
tion or kettle about six feet deep, and around the shore 
a shallow area where the water is about two feet deep. 
The bottom is the natural .sand, and water plants are 
allowed to grow up in the ponds. All ponds are supplied 
with brook water, and silt from this furnishes a, rich soil 
for the aquatic plants. The water of these ponds cojj- 
: tzim Daphnda'y.Basinina, Con.r,- and other srnall aquatic 
forms in great numbers. These fiirnish food for the bass 
fr\''. The ponds run in size from 120 feet by 190 feet to 
100 feet by 100 feet. 
At first we were unable to feed the stock fish on liver, 
but after a time wo found that by cutting the liver into 
strips about the size and shape of a large angleworm and 
by throwing the strips into the water with the motion that 
one uses in skipping stones, they wriggle like a worm in 
sinking and are tiien readily taken. The liver must be 
fresh. If bass are fed on liver alone, they do not come 
out of winter quarters in good condition. Of eleven nests 
made by bass thus fed, only three produced fry. Although 
eggs were laid in all, they seemed to lack vitality, owing 
to the poor condition of the parent fish, and in eight of 
the nests the eggs died. 
In order to bring the fish through the winter in good 
condition, it is necessary to begin feeding miniiows in 
September and to continue this until the fisli go into 
winter quarters. The bass eat minnows until they go 
into winter quarters, after which they take no food until 
spring. The minnows are left in the ponds over winter, 
so that the bass, when they come out of" winter quarters,- 
find a plentiful supply, which lasts them until the spawn- 
ing season. At this time the minnows are seined from 
the pond, as their presence interferes with the spawning. 
Before this, however, some of the minnows have spawned, 
and their fry later serve the young bass as food. Bass 
fed in this way come out of winter quarters in fine con- 
dition, and their eggs are found to be hardy. 
Artificial Fertilization. — During the first two or three 
seasons of our work numerous attempts were made at 
artificial, fertilization, but only twice with success. On 
one occasion the female was seined from the nest after 
she had begun to spawn, She could then be readily 
Stripped- The male was cut opeu ai}4 ih§ eggs were fer- 
