Part III.] Pond Fish Culture. 177 



great many persons in fishing, because most people, especially 

 young people, enjoy fishing where it is possible for them to 

 catch a mess of fish. It is a pleasure and a sport which should 

 not be overlooked in an agricultural state like Kansas. There 

 are thousands and thousands of people in our state who enjoy 

 fishing and like fish. We meet and hear from more or less of 

 these people nearly every day. The general interest in the 

 subject encourages us to do everything we can to make fish 

 more common in our streams and ponds, the fishing better, 

 and the supply of fish for food greater. 



To repeat, "a further request" of the Department is that 

 you do all you can to cooperate with us in carrying out these 

 ideas. You can do a great deal of good, if you are successful, 

 by showing other people in your locality how to succeed. 



THE FISH LAWS. 



The Kansas state fish laws as at present written apply to 

 creeks, streams, rivers and bodies of water connected with such 

 public streams, and not to private ponds. The owners of pri- 

 vate ponds can manage them as they see fit and take the fish 

 out of them by any method that may seem advisable. 



It is not possible for the legislature to make a law that is 

 satisfactory to all the people in the state, as conditions in 

 different localities are not the same. Every fish and game law 

 seems to be a compromise. It was after much discussion that 

 the fish and game committee of the legislature agreed upon 

 the measures of the present law. This law may be changed by 

 any future legislature. 



One of the apparent important provisions of the present 

 law is that it provides that any citizen may obtain a permit 

 from the Fish and Game Warden by putting up a fifty-dollar 

 bond with two sureties, to use a seine with meshes three inches 

 square. This makes it possible during certain seasons of the 

 year for the owners of such seines to catch many of the larger 

 and coarser fish for food. The lawful owner of such a seine 

 can take a number of persons with him to help operate the 

 seine. The idea of a three-inch-mesh seine is that fish weighing 

 from three pounds upwards may be caught. After fish reach 

 this size it is proper that they should be caught and used for 

 food. Many of the larger fish, such as the bufi'alo and the carp, 

 rarely bite a hook, and when they do they are hard to land. 

 By the use of a seine they can be taken readily and lawfully. 



A seine with meshes three inches square makes it possible 

 for the young fish up to three pounds to pass through its 

 meshes, and as most fish spawn at least once by the time they 

 reach the weight of three pounds, this provision of the law 

 guarantees a continual supply of fish in the streams. It seems 

 to us a wise provision of the law that protects the young fish 

 until they can spawn at least once before they can be taken 



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