THE FISHERY INTERESTS OF AUSTRIA. 577 



and vitriol works and other manufacturing establishments, masses of 

 dead or stunned fish may be seen floating on the surface of the waters. 



Still more does the decrease of food in the fishing waters, which is 

 brought about by various causes, diminish the number of fish to a 

 great extent. The number of fish is in due proportion to the quantity 

 of organic matter which annually passes into the water. The culti- 

 vation of the banks; the felling of trees; the clearing away of bushes; 

 the frequent cleaning of the river beds ; the rootiug out of aquatic 

 plants, which purify the air in the water and develop oxygen ; the 

 taking away of sand and mud; all these causes tend to diminish the 

 conditions under which alone a healthy growth of fish can be expected. 

 The consequent want of food, as supplied by aquatic plants and by the 

 numerous insects living in the mud, decreases the number of fish, even 

 in such waters as had the reputation of possessing inexhaustible wealth 

 of fish. As man takes away more and more grain and straw from the 

 fields and grass from the meadows, rain and snow-water can no longer 

 bring as much organic matter into the lakes and rivers. Such organic 

 matter as is carried along by the water is, moreover, hurried on in its 

 rush, made more rapid by river improvements, and not permitted 

 to become food for fish by settling in calmer waters and undergoing a 

 series of chemical changes. 



The combination of all these unfavorable conditions, which cannot be 

 entirely removed, will always keep the productiveness of the fisheries 

 in most of our waters below the average of former times. But even 

 that degree of productiveness which might be reached has never been 

 attained ; and it can boldly be affirmed that the inland fisheries owe 

 their decline more to themselves than to those outward causes men- 

 tioned above. The destruction of fish even extended to those numerous 

 waters which had either entirely or partly escaped the hurtful influences 

 described above, or which could, by suitable arrangements, be freed 

 from such influences, and, even in spite of such unfavorable circum- 

 stances, still contain all the conditions necessary for successful fish- 

 breeding. 



The number of bodies of waters and rivers which are rich in fish is, 

 even now, very considerable in several provinces of Austria ; by proper 

 care and cultivation, their number can be increased; and, considering the 

 almost inexhaustible strength which nature develops in the increase of 

 fish, even the smallest body of water can, from a state of poverty and 

 ' neglect, be changed into a rich harvest field for the proprietor. We 

 are sorry to see that hitherto but very little has been done in the way 

 of caring for and and cultivating the waters, for keeping away hurtful 

 influences, and for taking proper steps to promote pisciculture. 



The want of the spirit of industry on the part of those who possess 



fishing-privileges, especially among the poorer and more ignorant. 



neither permitted the employment of the proper means for promoting 

 37 F 



