24 
AMERICAN FISHES. 
specimen, a female fish, which was taken in the Niagara River, near 
Lewiston. The Bass is most abundant in the bays and inlets about Cape 
Hatteras, in the Chesapeake and Delaware Bay region, and in the pro¬ 
tected waters of Long Island and Southern New England. In winter it 
occurs in considerable numbers in the Altamaha River, and is not unusual 
in the markets of Charleston, South Carolina. 
The species was introduced into California some years ago, and Jor¬ 
dan reported, in 1880, that several specimens had been captured along the 
coast. 
It is particularly abundant in the great estuaries and the open stretches 
of large rivers. It ascends the Potomac to the Great Falls, twelve miles 
above Washington, the Hudson to Albany, the Connecticut to Hartford, 
and the Saint Lawrence to Quebec. Before the erection of the dam in the 
Susquehanna individuals were taken as high up as Luzerne. It is very 
curious that Gunther should state that the European species of Bass are 
“ almost exclusively inhabitants of the sea, entering brackish but never 
fresh waters, whilst the American species seem to affect principally fresh 
waters.” It is true that America has species of Roccus exclusively fluvia- 
tile in distribution, but not true that the European form does not ascend 
rivers. Badham, who is a sufficiently accurate commentator on the classi¬ 
cal authorities, remarks: “Though born, and in a great measure, bred at 
sea, it was only those taken in fresh waters which fetched fancy prices, for 
most rivers were thought to impart flavor and to improve the condition of his 
solids; but as tawny Thames has a pre-eminence among rivers for the 
quality of its Perches, so had tawny Tiber for the quality of its Basses. 
Many went so far as to ignore the existence of this fish from any other 
stream. ’ ’ 
The young fish may advantageously be confined in “ stews” or artificial 
enclosures. This was done successfully by Arnold on the Island of Guern¬ 
sey, and the experiments of Clift at Mystic, Connecticut, were, I am told, 
reasonably satisfactory. 
No one species among the many which they encountered, seems to have 
astonished the early colonists of America by its abundance and choice 
qualities so much as did the Bass. Capt. John Smith in his “New Eng¬ 
land’s Trials,” wrote: 
“The Basse is an excellent Fish, both fresh & salte, one hundred whereof 
salted (at market) have yielded 5 pounds. They are so large, the head of 
one will give a good eater a dinner, & for daintinesse of diet they excell the 
