SMALL-MOUTHED BLACK BASS. 951 
fish are known to epicares. He is thick, solid, and heavy; has little waste and few 
bones about him; is sweet, tender, and juicy, and when well cooked makes a dish fit 
for a king.”— Hallock. 
The following account of the breeding habits of the Black Bass is 
abridged from Dr. Henshall’s ‘“‘ Book of the Black Bass.” The habits of 
both species are usually the same: : 
‘* Black Bass are very prolific, the females yielding fully one fourth of their weight in 
spawn. ‘The period of spawning extends from early spring to midsummer, according to 
the section of country and temperature of the water, being always earlier in warm or 
shallow waters.’ : 
‘‘The Bass leave their winter quarters in deep water about a month or six weeks 
before the spawniug season, at which times they can be seen running up streams and 
in the shallow portions of lakes in great numbers. Soon afterwards, the males and 
females pair off and prepare for breeding. 
‘¢'They select suitable spots for their nests, usually upon a gravelly or sandy bottom, 
or in rocky ledges, in water from eighteen inehes to three feet deep in rivers, and from 
three to six feet deep in caves and ponds; and, if possible, adjacent to deep water or 
patches of aquatic plants, to which the parent fish retire if disturbed. 
‘“‘The nests are circular saucer-like depressions, about twice the length of the fish in 
diameter. They are formed by the Bass, by fanning and scouring from the pebbles all 
sand, silt, and vegetable debris, by means of their fins and tails, and by removing 
larger obstacles with their mouths. This gives to the beds a bright, clean, and white 
appearance, which in clear water can be seen at a distance of several score yards. I 
have seen hundreds of such nests in groups, almost touching each other, in the clear 
water lakes of Wisconsin, Michigan, and Minnesota. 
“Sometimes the nests are formed upon a muddy bottom, with a pavement or foun- 
dation of small sticks and Jeaves, from which the mud and slime have been washed and 
gcoured. 
‘The females deposit their eggs on the bottom of the nests, usually in rows,- which 
are fecundated by the male, and become glued to the pebbles or sticks contained therein. 
The eggs are hatched in from one to two weeks, depending on the temperature of the 
water, but usualy in eight or ten days. 
‘¢ After hatching, the young fry remain over the bed for three or four days, when they 
retire in‘o deep water, or take refage in the weeds or under stones, logs, and other 
hiding places. 
‘‘ Daring the period of incubation the nests are carefully guarded by the parent fish, 
who remain over them, and by @ constant motion of the fins create a current, which 
keeps the eggs free from any sediment or debris. After the eggs are hatched, and while 
the young remain on the nests, the vigilance of the parent fish becomes increased and 
unceasing, and all suspicious and predatory intruders are driven away. 
‘‘ Their anxiety and solicitude for their eggs and young, and their apparent disregard 
of their own safety at the time is well known to poachers and pot fishers, who take 
advantage of this trait, and spear or gig them on their nests. 
‘©Y have also known some who call themselves anglers, who take the Bass at this 
time in large numbers, with the minnow or craw-fish. Of course, the Bass does not 
Spite’ at this season voluntarily, but when the bait is persistently held under their 
