Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1896-04-18

Yesterday to call upon him in relation to
the bass of the Potomac. and an interest
ing chat followed:
"small-mouthed black bass said Mr.
Brfce, "or the Potomac bass, as they are
30 frequently called, are indigenous to the
great lakes, and. it is claimed, a single
river in the south. They were distributed
tnrough the Ohio river basin and into the
by suckers. clubs and red horse which,
by the way, Is very good fish, after the
canals had tapped the lakes. 1t is gen.
orally believed that the first fish of the
species to be brought east Of the Allie
ghany mountains were carried in the water
tank OF locomotive and put in the upper
Potomac many years ago.
Their Spawning Habits.
This is an interesting season for the
bass just now, because they are engaged
In multiplying their species. The bass
spawn, according to locality and tempera-
ture OF the water, from March to July
Their manner of spawning is interesting
Both the male and female join in making
the nest, which is built by scraping a lit
tie excavation in the bei! of the river and
pushing out the gravel on the Sides max
ing pen of small stones around IT, The
female deposits her eggs within this in
closure, ana they stick to the gravel and
rock until they hatch, which is usually In
ten or twelve days. During this time the
female hovers over the nest tanning the
water with continual motion of the tail
for the purpose of keepin., the eggs clean.
Tor any deposit on u fish egg, save only the
egg OF the carp, destroys ii. The male also
assists in guarding the nest When the
little ones are born they lie In the bed for
Some time and then are driven in shore TO
shoal water by their parents After that.
as Mr.: Henson remarks, the big bass don't
look for a birth mark on any little one
that happens to come their way.
Some Mighty Good News.
This year." continued Mr.. Brice I'VE
are going to pay special attention to the
Potomac bass. We are going to send our
very best talent to watch their spawning
and study it. and to experiment with artI-
hcial Matching. By next season, 1 am sure,
we will have all our system for this pur-
pose perfected, and will be able to dis
tribute countless millions Of bass in the
Potomac and the other streams favorable
TO them. The only way to relieve ourselves
rom the carp Is to introduce more bass in
streams. When the bass are sufficiently
strong numerically they will take care of
themselves and keep down the increase of
carp, because the young carp is the most
inviting food for the bass
Food Habits of Fish.
Fish In their natural condition." con-
unued Commissioner Brice, feed upon the
same kind of food until forced by nature
10 eat something else. Now, take a trout.
ior INSTANCE. AT certain season trout
iced on the black gnat. 1t will eat moth
ing else as long as the supply Of this gnat
holds out. When it is gone 1T turns its
nose to something else. At other seasons
the 1reshets bring down worms and grubs
and the trout feeds on them alone Dur
~ lHs .ne summer there are other varieties
OF gnats and small lilies which provide
them with food. Bass are the same "a
trout IN this particular, and 1t is very
,a 10 break them off from the food that
lar periods. You may rest assured con.
cluded Commissioner Brice that we are
gong to pay especial attention to the in
crease crease. OF the supply of bass, both small
anu certain species of perch.
pasating Ponds Here.
The ponds here at Washington will be
used for the propa CATION of bass and
crappy. 1t is our intention to put the fish
out into the streams soon as the umbil-
lcal sack Is exhausted and they begin to
rise TO the surface and snap at food par
tlcles going by. ] believe it is wrong to
Keep such fish in ponds until they get of
good size and then let them go. A fish that
Is kept In this way learns new habits and
when 1t is released it can neither seek its
own food nor protect itself from its enemies.
Our plan in the distribution of fish will be.
therefore,, TO secure the eggs from the
spawning grounds, hatch them out and
shortly after the umbilical sack has disap-
peared to take the same fish back to the
place whence the eggs were removed and
release them there: BY this means there
Will be little or no interruption to the nat
ural course of the fishs life"
Commissioner Brice has received many
letters of congratulation on his appoint
ment, and the following extract from one
OF them shows the keen character of a
great many, the writer saying: Now, if
you can succeed in producing a modified
breed of shad with a reduced number of
bones, without fmpairing its tactical diam
eter and structural strength, and also in
duce Spanish mackerel to abandon Cuban
waters, you VIII merit the thanks of the
great American public as a benefactor and
a patriot"