m 



will be onr own fault if the industry is destroyed. We 

 must regulate tlie lisliing by suitable law^s, and refuse inju- 

 rious privileges on Government lands. The sujjply must 

 be kept up, and increased also, by artiticial propagation. 

 Fish culture cannot tind a more promising lield or a more 

 proj^itious and urgent occasion. There are still x)lenty of 

 breeding salmon ; sheltered harbors in accessible localities ; 

 rivers not subject to excessive fiuc'tuations of level, and not 

 obstructed by natural barriers; and there are unlimited 

 sui)plies of suitable water to be conveyed by gravitation 

 alone. Materials, labor, and transportation are cheap. 

 There are no dams, no n^ill-refuse, no pollutions from 

 sew^ers and factories. The climate is favorable, and the 

 population is in sympathy with lish cultural work. Surely 

 here is an opportunity not to be neglected, and the time to 

 improve it is now ! 



SMiTHSONiAisr Institution, 



Washington, D. C, May 7th, 1890. 



THE PAST AND PRESENT OF FISH CULTURE, WITH 

 AN INQUIRY AS TO WHAT MAY BE DONE TO 

 FURTHER PROMOTE AND DEVELOP THE SCI- 

 ENCE. 



By John Gay and Wm. P. Seal. 



It is now almost a score of years since the passage of the 

 bill, by Congress, which resulted in the establishment of the 

 United States Commission of Fish and Fisheries. This may 

 be said to be the beginning of the practical development 

 of lish culture in the United States, for the first time, at 

 least, carrying it on on a scale of magnitude sufficient to 

 produce ax)preciable results. The record of failures and 

 successes since that time are matters of history, and 



