ECONOJnC USE OF FISH. 93 



even in Man himself. By a careful investigation of 

 the circumstances which favour its propagation, the 

 breeders of silk-worms have been able greatly to 

 diminish the mortality caused by the Muscardine ; 

 and no one can predicate how far useful know- 

 ledge acquired under one set of circumstances, will 

 finally prove beneficial in others which are more 

 important. 



ECONOMIC USE OF FISH. 



We now proceed to make a few remarks on the 

 ECONOMIC USE of fish, a wide and important branch 

 of the subject, as it bears on the Cultivating and 

 Distributing^ as well as the Catching of fishes, mat- 

 ters of interest not only to individuals, but to the 

 community at large. The topic of the catching of 

 fish, or Fisheries^ we need not remark, is of national 

 importance, bearing directly on a nation's marine ; 

 also on its population, fishing communities being 

 generally characterized for their prosperity, sobriety 

 and worth ; the proceeds of whose hardy toils, well 

 directed, readily become a source of general pros- 

 perity, even in inland districts, and among the im- 

 poverished population of crowded cities. 



On the subjects of the Cultivation and Distribution 

 of this most wholesome and nourishing food, very 

 much, we think, remains to be done ; a proposition 

 which may fairly be illustrated by a reference to the 

 somewhat parallel and more familiar topic of Agri- 

 culture. The natural fertility of diflferent regions 



