132 
ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY BULLETIN 
THE HARDY ROCK BASS 
A NESTING SITE 
A rocky headland on one of the islands favored 
by the gulls for nesting. 
Photograph by C. H. Townsend 
the gulls, and without 
compensation. Food and 
shelter are furnished. 
No warden is allowed 
to serve a second time. 
Mr. Hatch’s object in 
advertising is to secure 
the exceptional m a n 
who, for some reason 
known to himself, wants 
the job regardless of 
compensation. In this 
way he secures the kind 
of service he desires. 
The applicant may be 
seeking rest, retirement, 
or opportunity for 
study. It is no uncommon thing for him to 
receive a thousand or more applications. 
C. H. T. 
BROODING HERRING GULL 
Between 500 and 1000 gulls are reared each year. 
not at all necessary for its capture. Great 
numbers are taken by amateur fishers wherever 
it abounds and during the greater part of the 
year. 
In its feeding habits the rock bass is about 
as omnivorous as any member of the bass-sun- 
fish family to which it belongs. Crayfishes and 
other fresh-water crustaceans, aquatic insects 
and their larvae, snails and such fishes as its 
rather large mouth will admit, all contribute to 
its natural food supply. If we include the 
grasshoppers, crickets, grubs, earthworms and 
other terrestrial baits used in catching it, the 
food list might he considerably extended. Fish 
culturists have found that it cannibalizes to 
some extent on its own young. 
In addition to the baits already mentioned, 
the trolling spoon and other artificial lures are 
used successfully, but it has little of the fighting 
qualities of the black 
basses, soon yielding to 
the pull of the line. 
The rock bass is a 
thick-bodied, meaty fish, 
and a couple of fair 
sized ones will fill the 
pan. There are speci¬ 
mens in the Aquarium 
a foot long that have 
nearly trebled in size 
since their arrival ten 
years ago. It is known, 
however, to grow some¬ 
what larger. 
At spawning time late 
in May, the rock bass 
A MONG the native fresh-water fishes living 
in the Aquarium, there are few that adapt 
themselves more readily to the conditions 
of captivity than the rock bass (Ambloplites 
rupestris ). In a tank now containing fifteen 
specimens mostly of large size, there have been 
no losses for three years. 
The natural range of this fish includes the 
Mississippi valley, the Great Lakes and Lake 
Champlain drainages, but it lias been introduced 
through fish cultural operations into many 
states east of the Alleghanies. 
The adaptability of the rock bass to pond 
cultivation will ultimately extend its distribu¬ 
tion. The methods of the expert angler are 
A ROCKY HEADLAND 
The gulls frequent these treeless areas during the 
breeding season. 
Photograph by C. H. Townsend 
