NGTES ANG OUERIES. 
[Under this Department Heading queries relative to Angling, Ichthyology and Fish Culture 
will be answered. | 
1895—The Angler’s Duty. 
As the New Year laps the old one, and the 
unknown days of 1895 come tumbling in upon 
us, we should naturally turn to the fruitful 
days gone by in the hope of getting an inkling 
of the mysteries or events of those to come. 
But so closely are the days linked together, 
that few of us are apt to stop and think over 
the lessons of yesterday or its neglected duties. 
In our mental excuses for such lapses, we are 
somewhat like the old darkey, who, when 
chided for yesterday's negligence of plantation 
work, exclaimed: 
‘‘Lord bless yer soul, massa! If I hadn’t 
dead gone asleep arter supper, I wouldn’t hab 
known to-day warn’t yesserday, and I’se gwine 
to pitch in right now and do dat work.”’ 
If, asanglers, we have neglected yesterday’s 
work in the great cause of fish protection, let 
us consider to-day as a blended part of yester- 
day, and ‘“‘ pitch right in” and not go to sleep 
over it. 
The field is wide and may be made fruitful, 
and every man who handles a fishing rod can 
do great work in making the soil productive. 
There is not a hamlet, town or city in which 
material to work with cannot be found. Ina 
village, where Tom knows Dick, and both 
know everybody, social influences may be 
brought to bear in protecting the fish and im- 
proving the methods of fishing. In such a 
community, if the pot fisher, the willful breaker 
of the fish laws, cannot be reached legally, he 
should be socially ostracised; the effect would 
be, doubtless, potential. If he happens to be 
beyond, or below, such an influence, then boy- 
cott him. He well deserves it, for he is taking, 
thief-like and unlawfully, what does not belong 
to him; it is the property of the people, and he 
has no right to more than his individual share ; 
hence, boycott him and follow with your influ- 
ence the boycott beyond the village limits to 
the equally criminal fishmonger, who buys the 
unlawful goods. The latter is simply ‘a 
fence’”’ of respectable (?) standing in the com- 
munity. 
In the towns or cities, form angling and pro- 
tective clubs, and in doing so make your annual 
dues as light as possible. Then buttonhole 
every man in your town, and thrust into him 
the argument that it is his fwd/7c duty to join 
the club; that every dollar expended for the 
protection and propagation of fish puts ten 
dollar’s worth of food, or the like amount of 
pleasure, within reach of every member of 
your community. In the large cities do like- 
wise. Let every election precinct have its ang- 
ler’s club, and every ward its club house 
where members of the craft can meet and con- 
sult as to the work before them, and talk over 
the pleasures of their past outings. In addition, 
every man who has a personal acquaintance 
with a legislator, either state or national, 
should use such influence in behalf of protec- 
tion and propagation. Have no scruples in 
urging upon this public man his public duty; 
if he cannot realize that fruitful water, as 
well as land, adds to the wealth of the country, 
vote against him and getothers to do likewise, 
for he is not mentally fit to represent the peo- 
ple’s interest. 
Appeals to a man’s private duty in a public 
cause, generally fall flat; his time is too much 
occupied with his business; he has none for 
the public, and it is because of such excuses 
that corruption stalks abroad in municipal, 
state and national affairs. ‘‘I have no time” 
is the base of it all. If you tell a man to 
‘‘take time,’’ as we did to a friend who said 
the other day that he had not time to go a- 
fishing, the reply invariably comes in this 
shape: ‘‘ What would become of my business ?”’ 
We answered: ‘‘What will become of your 
body and brain if you continue to tie yourself 
to the desk?” He admitted ‘‘they will play 
out, but the fact is, I can’t find time, and there’s 
an end of it.” Now, brother angler, take time 
for the good work of fish protection; it will pro- 
duce the most happy effects upon you, morally 
