412 State Boahd ok Agriculture, &c. 



he trifling, because t}iej would consume and thrive on 

 nmcli that would otherwise be thrown awaj. At a meet- 

 ing of the Fish Conmiissioners of several of the States, held 

 in New York, October 19th, 1872, Dr. Goldsmith, of Rut- 

 land, one of the. Vermont Commissioners, " called the atten- 

 tion of the meeting to a matter which concerned more espe- 

 cially those separated from the sea and with whom iish cul- 

 ture nmst relate to fresh water fishes only ; such as trout. 

 The question which had been presented to his mind was one 

 which is important in the economy of Iish culture. How 

 many pounds of iish food, nmscular fibre, does it take at a 

 given temperature of water to produce a pound of trout ? 

 And what, with a given cost of food, is the absolute cost 

 of a pound ( )f trout, the tlrst_, second and third years of feed 

 ing ? He said he had made some experiments in this direc- 

 tion himself, and he desired to bring the matter to the 

 attention of the meeting, with a view to secure some exper- 

 iments by others living in different parts of the country, for 

 the purpose of determining this fact and thereby settling 

 the question whether fish culture is profitable or simply a 

 congenial ajimsement. He therefore moved that the United 

 States Connnissioner of Fish and Fisheries be requested to 

 address a letter to such persons as are now engaged in the 

 culture of trout, which shall contain recommendations from 

 himself and which shall secure the careful performance of 

 the necessary experiments and prescribe the methods by 

 which the questions shall be determined. This motion was 

 agreed to." 



Although this meeting was sometliing more than three 

 years since I have not yet been able to learn whether or not 



