73 



are probably required for the Eastern salmon, and it is not 

 imi:)robable that the California salmon will show itself 

 only after the lapse of six years from its l)irth. 



The Value of Fish Culture. 



The value of hsli culture and the extent and value of 

 the fishery industries are well known to the members of 

 this body and to those directly interested, but with the 

 great mass of our i)opulation they are not properly 

 appreciated. 



Prof. Baird has truly said ( Report, 1890) : 



" It may be safely stated that, as a source of animal food 

 to man, the sea is the great fountain-head, and that with- 

 out this resource the supply of such food woidd be com- 

 paratively limited and far inferior to the demand of the 

 various populations of the globe. In the much greater 

 population of ocean to land this reservoir of food is prac- 

 tically inexhaustible ; and not only do the people living- 

 near its shores lind a daily suj^ply fo]' consumption in a 

 fresh state, but, by proper methods of preparation and 

 preservation, the product of the sea can be htted for 

 long-continued keeping and for transportation to distant 

 markets, where fishing is difficult, or into the interior, 

 where it is impracticable." 



And again : 



" It is difficult to make a comparison as to the com- 

 parative amount of animal food drawn from the ocean 

 and the land ; but it is stated (' Report of the British Seu 

 Fisheries, 1888') that the weight of lish supplied to thn , 

 London markets in 1880 was 130,000 tons, being more than 

 400 tons for every working-day, and equal to 1,000 fat oxen 

 per day ; and that the price paid to the fishermen for this 

 food was only one-eighth of that paid to the first producer 

 of beef." 



It is stated in the " Report of the United States Fish 



