If supply is found to be below necessary de- 

 mands the former must needs be increased since 

 the latter cannot be diminished. 



It is thus that the pursuit of agriculture has 

 arisen. It is simply to increase the natural product 

 of the land and thus bring supply up to the level of 

 the demands of civilized life among an ever increas- 

 ing population, that we have the various arts and 

 appliances, the industry and providence of success- 

 ful farming. Similarly, the object had in view in 

 pisciculture is to augment the supply of another 

 and important kind of food by increasing the 

 natural product of the waters. 



This branch of industry has received, until re- 

 cently, comparatively little attention. 



Agriculture has naturally been developed long 

 antecedently to pisciculture. Man's natural home 

 is upon the land. His attention would thus be 

 earlier directed to the culture of the soil than to 

 that of the water. The principles underlying the 

 successful raising of crops and flocks naturally be- 

 come familiar to him before those relatino- to the 

 production of fish. 



Indeed, it was not until it it began to be realized 

 that the supply of the finny product must soon be- 

 come sensibly diminished, that we began, in this 

 country, to direct our attention to the matter of pre- 

 serving and increasing the product of the rivers and 

 lakes. 



It is thus that we have laws to prevent the 

 drawing of the seine in our inland lakes. 



It is thus also that our State appropriates money 



