15 



of depleting the waters. With regard to fresh-water fish, 

 China was far ahead of any other country in fish culture, 

 and made up for the great drain on the resources of the 

 rivers in this way, but so far as the sea was concerned he 

 was not aware that fish culture was carried out. If the 

 small fish were continually destroyed it was a strong argu- 

 ment against any interference, unless absolute necessity for 

 it were proved, with modes of fishing that might unfor- 

 tunately destroy small fish, if, as seemed often to be the 

 case, this was unavoidable in catching the large ones. 



Mr. Sayer, in seconding the vote of thanks, said that 

 Englishmen ought to be very thankful for the know- 

 ledge which was now brought to them by gentlemen who 

 contributed these Papers as to the fishing industries of other 

 countries. 



Mr. WiLMOT said he could not allow Mr. Fryer's remarks 

 to pass without a word or two. Being a strong advocate 

 of the artificial propagation of fish, and of their protection 

 generally, he felt bound to point out that the temperature and 

 climate of China was very warm, and consequently the fish 

 there produced their young in very warm water. They 

 knew that under such circumstances fish were hatched in as 

 many days as it took months in colder climates, and thus 

 the propagation and natural increase of fish there would be 

 a thousandfold greater than in England or in Canada. The 

 salmon family took from three to six months for the eggs 

 to incubate, whilst some other descriptions that laid their 

 ova in the hot weather would hatch out in from sixty hours 

 to six days. There was therefore no foundation for the 

 idea put forth by Mr. Fryer that because protective laws 

 might not be in operation in China they were equally 

 unnecessary elsewhere. 



Captain CuRTiS, R.N., said the Yellow Book stated that 



