82 POPULAR SCIENCE MONTHLY 



My own opinion is that if my father had no other title to the gratitude 

 of the scientific world, it would have cause to remember him with gratitude for 

 having afforded the facilities for the development of Mr. Goode's genius, which, 

 however, would have made itself known in time without aid. 



The attention of the public had been called, at the beginning of 

 the seventies, to the increasing scarcity of food fishes on our coasts and 

 in our rivers. By a joint resolution of congress, approved February 

 9, 1871, President Grant was authorized and required to appoint a 

 person of proved scientific and practical acquaintance with the fishes 

 of the coast to be Commissioner of Fish and Fisheries, with the duty 

 to promote investigation into the causes of diminution, if any, in num- 

 ber of the food-fishes of the coast and the lakes of the United States, 

 and to report whether any and what protective, prohibitory, or pre- 

 cautionary measures should be adopted. The one man to whom the 

 ahove description was applicable was of course Baird, and he was re- 

 quested to assume charge of the work. This he did, and not content 

 with merely carrying out the instructions given, he proceeded to build 

 up a great national institution for the study of fishes in their economic 

 and scientific relations, proving to the world that the fish-supply was 

 capable of being largely controlled and increased, and the available 

 food of mankind thereby increased enormously. Without going into 

 details, the growth and work of the Fish Commission under Baird 

 can be best described in the words of Dr. Dall — 



No more emphatic object-lesson of the vital relations existing between re- 

 search, as such, and the promotion of the material interests of mankind has 

 ever been furnished to the so-called ' practical man ' than that afforded by the 

 work of the United States Fish Commission as directed by Professor Baird. 

 Whether germane to the subject of scientific research or not, the most narrow 

 specialist can hardly begrudge an allusion to the grandeur of the methods by 

 which the food supply of a nation was provided, hundreds of rivers stocked with 

 fish, and the very depths of the ocean repopulated. Typically American we 

 may call them in their audacity and their success. The fishery boards of 

 foreign countries, first quietly indifferent, then loudly incredulous, in due time 

 became interested inquirers and enthusiastic followers. In a few years we 

 may fairly expect to see the food supply of the entire civilized world ma- 

 terially increased, with all the benefits which that implies, and this result will 

 in the main be owing to the unremunerated and devoted exertions of Spencer 

 F. Baird. 



Baird's writings, according to Dr. Goode's bibliography, number 

 1,063, this including a few republications. A very large number of 

 titles refer to popular articles, contributed in the main to Harper's 

 Magazine and Harper's Weekly, and republished in the Annual Record 

 of Science and Industry. These articles called attention to many 

 phases of scientific activity, usually with critical comment, and must 

 have been important instruments of public education. There were 



