One and sometimes two channel catfish were found in other holes in the stream-bank or bottom. The fish occasionally attacked my hand vigorously, but at other times remained quiet or left without attacking. No other channel catfish eggs were found, although one hole under a rock in the middle of the river had one or two individuals in it each time it was checked until 11 July, 1959. A local fisherman informed me of his belief that these holes are occupied only in the spawning season. Observations that I made in a pond owned by Dr. E. C. Bryan of Erie indicated that channel catfish, when disturbed in the early stages of guarding the eggs, either eat the eggs and abandon the nest or leave the nest exposed to predation by other animals. In the later stages of nesting, the fish, if removed, will return to guard the nest. After the eggs hatch the guarding response probably diminishes and the fish leaves the nest readily. At the lower Neosho station, several "artificial" holes were dug into the clay bank and two pieces of six-inch pipe were forced into the bank. Nearly all these holes were occupied by catfish for a short period in June; many of the holes were enlarged, either by the current or by fish. I suspect that fish enlarged some holes, because in the spawning season several males were observed that had large abrasions atop their heads, around their lips, and to a lesser extent on their sides. These could have been caused by butting and scraping the sides, roof and floor of a hole. I found it possible to enlarge the holes by rapidly moving my hand while it was inside a hole. The growth-rate of channel catfish in the Neosho was approximately the same at all stations, and the large 1957 year-class grew to an average size of about nine inches by mid-September, 1959 (Table 7). Channel catfish mature at a total length of 12 to 15 inches. Thus, most individuals of the 1957 year-class in the Neosho River probably will mature in their fourth or fifth summer (1960 or 1961 spawning season). The sizes attained by young-of-the-year in 1957 differed in the two rivers. Six hundred and thirty-three young taken in the Marais des Cygnes River attained an average size of 4.7 inches (range two to six inches) by mid-September. (Age was determined by length-frequency and verified by examining cross-sections of fin-spines from the larger individuals). One hundred and fifty young from the Neosho River averaged 3.0 inches (range 2 to 3.7 inches) on 2 November. Gross examination of the riffle-insect faunas indicated a larger standing crop in the Neosho than in the Marais des Cygnes River. Thus, the slower growth of young channel catfish in the Neosho seemed not to be correlated with food supply. Bailey and Harrison (1948:125-130) found that young channel catfish in the Des Moines River, Iowa, fed almost exclusively on aquatic insect larvae. My observations indicate that this is true in the Neosho and Marais des Cygnes rivers also.