426 Transactions of the Canadian Institute. [Vol. VII. 



Part I. — Historical. 



The following is a continuation of my preliminary report upon the 

 effects of polluted waters on fish life. The work was first begun at the 

 Dominion Biological Station, St. Andrews, N.B., in 1900, and has been 

 continued since then at the biological laboratory of Queen's University, 

 Kingston, and along the saw dust beds of the Bonnechere River in the 

 county of Renfrew, Ontario. 



The investigation was begun at the suggestion of Professor Prince, 

 the fish commissioner for the Dominion of Canada, and has been carried 

 on largely through the encouragement which he has given from season 

 to season. 



The question, " Is sawdust injurious to fish life? "has been before 

 the Canadian public for over forty years. The Fishery Act of 1858 for 

 the two Canadas provided that fish ways should be erected upon dams 

 that obstructed the passage of anadromous fish to their spawning 

 grounds in the shallow head waters of rivers ; and it forbade also throw- 

 ing lime, chemicals, and other poisonous material into such rivers. It 

 did not mention sawdust or mill rubbish, but it provided for the making 

 of regulations by the executive, and in the exercise of this power we find 

 that on May i6th, i860, a by-law was passed making it illegal to 

 throw " slabs, edgings, and mill rubbish into any river or stream which 

 may have been leased or reserved by the Crown for propagation, or 

 where fish ways have been erected." 



This by-law was embodied in the amended Act of 1865, the clause 

 relating to sawdust reading as follows : — 



" Lime, chemical substances, or drugs, poisonous matter (liquid or 

 solid), dead or decaying fish, or any other deleterious substance shall not 

 be thrown into, or allowed to pass into, be left, or remain in any water 

 frequented by any of the kinds of fish mentioned in this Act, and saw- 

 dust and mill rubbish shall not be drifted or thrown into any stream 

 frequented by salmon, trout, pickerel, or bass under a penalty not ex- 

 ceeding a hundred dollars." 



Immediately after confederation the Act was further amended, and 

 a very important proviso was attached to the foregoing clause, viz.: — 



