Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1907-04-27

tanned from salmon taken on their way up-
stream to the natural spawning grounds.
This propagation wo,k Is similar to that
done with the trouts.
"Gamest Fish That Swims."
Il consider him, inch for inch AMI pound
for pound, the gamest fish that swi!us"
Such is the tribute pail to the black hass
by Dr. james A. HeasEail the noted au-
thority on angling. The bureau of fisheries
is by no means ueg'ecting this esteemed
species, which has already been introduced .
into nearly all sections OF the In ted
States 10 which ii is not native, as wei as
into England. France Germany and Finland
The bureau itself has planted these EalEy,s
of the east in California. Washington. rtah
and other western states. In only three
years they became So numerous in t'tah
that 3o0t0 pounds We're caught and mar
keted from one lake The vigor of The. black
bass makes his transplanting a very easy
matter When the Potomac river was stocked
in 1888 the fish were transferred IN an
ordinary locomotive tender Anuthoi ten
der was similarly employed when the black
bass of the Roanoke river were removed
across the divide to the New river in $50
sThe artificial propagation of black bass
requires a process different from that ap-
pied to trout and salmon. Unlike those
species the black bass Use SO constituted
that handling seems to prevent the dis
charge of eggs or init. 1t has been neces-
sary to kill the male in order 10 Obtain the
milt and. moreover. the successful handling
found impossible. But fortunately. race
suicide is no weakness OF this priced family
of fishes and by natural breeding they
make as good use of their eggs as could an
incubator. Their parental instincts are 50
marked that they project their young very
effectively So the bureaus bass stations
provide ponds for the fish In various stages
OF DEVELOPMENT.
Interesting Habits Of Bass.
There are spawning ponds" planted in
the shallow parts, with aquatic weeds,
favoring the animal life upon which the
young bass feed. and in the middle with
water lilies, which afford both sunshades
and hiding places from fish hawks Here.
in the spring, the mated fish build their
nests. generally of gravel, supplied for the
purpose, which they brush into neat circt-
lar piles eighteen to thirty six inches in diam
eter. They clean this gravel by beating II with
fin and tail until every particle is as bright az
though polished with a brush They remove
the larger stones and all rough and Jagged
materials by pushing them with their heads
or carrying them in their jaws. The nest
being completed, the mated bass sid, bv
side. their bodies touching, swim back and
forth over it. and simultaneously dcposIt
the eggs and milt in the nest. The eggs
attach themselves to the gravel aud one
fish will, with its fins. fan them free of
sediment while the other acts as sentinel
on patrol. One black bass observed while
thus guard at one of the bureaus STA
lions attacked and killed an intrudlng
snake three times its own length, lille on
another occasion a rock bass leaprd en-
tirey out of water and bit viciously at the
hand of an employee at work upon the
grasses shetering the nest Black bass
eggs hatch generally In from eight to ten
days. The fry. after remaining I'm the nest
for time. rise and form school which
hovers over the nest several days the par
ents circling about them and whipping back
truants. But at last. when the little fellows
successfully strike for freedom, the parents
by final stroke Of authority drive them
into sfoal water. where they can begin life
under the most favorable circumstances.
But they are soon seined out of this
spawning pond" and liberated In an adj
Jacent nursery pond" fortified against
crawfish, snakes. frogs. and their other po-
tent enemies. which.lke man, eagerly await
the baSS season each year Bass and bass
eggs OF different varieties are being dis
tributed by the bureau at the rate of over
100000 per year. The output of some Other
game fishes last year was: White perch.
lS2.UoUO; yellow perch. 62.o00,0OD; pike
perch, 36S 10000: sunfish 81 900; pike, 49,
600; catfish, $1,000. and grayling. 100000.
The graying. closely related to the sal
mon In habit and appearance, once ranged
over the greater part OF Michigan. but is
now being driven out Of the streams OF
that state by the trout-an unsparing foe
and also by the lumberman. The bureau OF
fisheries will now save this valuab species
from determination by taking brood stocks
and eggs out of the Michigan streams and
transplanting the fry in favorable waters
in various parts of the country.
Thus anglers In many states not favored
hitherto will soon become acquainted with
the graylng, which. according to the bureau
of fisheries. lis one of the most attractive
and gamy of fresh water fishes Artificial
stripping and fertilization of the eggs Is
very easy matter. that 1t can be vastly
multiplied at the hatcherles.
JOHN ELFRETH WATKINS