45 



DISCUSSION ON THE PAPER OF 

 DR. BUSHROD W. JAMES. 



Mr. H. C. P^ord started the discussion as follows : 



"In regard to the polhition of the waters, so ably 

 depicted by Dr. James, I respond that it is one of the 

 most serious problems of the inland waters of Pennsyl- 

 vania. I have endeavored to have laws passed, but 

 through the intervention of large corporations, they 

 have failed. Only this last year we endeavored to 

 have a law passed, fixing a penalty upon tanneries, 

 factories, bleacheries, etc., emptying dye stuffs into the 

 streams, but representatives of the United States 

 Leather Trust, assisted by ardent Tammany men, were 

 too strong for us. In some States it is forbidden to 

 allow refuse from saw mills to pass down the streams, 

 but there is no legal way to prevent it in this section 

 of the country. The fish in our Pennsylvania streams, 

 I must say, in spite of all assertions to the contrary, are 

 on the increase. Ten years ago they commenced to 

 be protected and the young shad passed out of the 

 river and went to the sea and were then safe." 



"There is a regulation preventing the use of nets 

 of a small size, and we have a law in Pennsylvania in 

 the course of the shad season that no nets are permitted 

 in the Delaware and Susquehanna Rivers, or in any other 

 streams of the State. This has given the fish a chance 

 to become mature. About five years ago, in 1890, 

 60,000 fry of salmon were deposited, and the fish ran 

 up into New York State to get the benefit of the 

 shallow and clear streams. They attained a length of 

 nine inches up the river before coming down to sea, 

 and remained about three years before returning. I 

 had thought that the Delaware was too far to the 



