THE FISHERIES OF ILLINOIS CXXl 



A large part of the increased yield is doubtless due, however, 

 to a mere enlargement of fishing operations, illustrated by the data 

 for 1894 and 1899, which show that the number of men employed 

 increased in the interval between these years by 44 per cent, and 

 the capital invested by 44^ per cent. This favorable condition of 

 our fisheries is doubtless due in part to natural conditions, and 

 evidently also in great measure to state legislation effectively con- 

 trolling the times and methods of capture, and providing for the 

 recovery and restoration, to streams suitable for their maintenance, 

 of fishes left stranded on the river bottoms by the retreat of the 

 waters of overflow. 



It will be seen from the foregoing that the Illinois River, with its 

 tributary lakes and streams, is by far the most important fishing 

 ground within the boundaries of Illinois, and that this stream and its 

 dependencies are gifts of nature to the state, valuable in many ways, 

 which we should fully appreciate and utilize to the best advantage, 

 allowing no single interest to destroy or overshadow any other. 

 Measures for its utilization as a sewage outlet for great cities and as a 

 commercial highway between the Mississippi and the Great Lakes, 

 and for the reclamation of its enormously fertile bottom-lands, should 

 not be taken without due regard to its importance and promise as a 

 perpetual source of cheap and healthful food to the people of the 

 state and country. 



