42 



by study, by experiment, and intercourse with each 

 otlier learned the best methods of fish culture, and b}' 

 the skill which they have now acquired are able to 

 bring into the world, by artificial means, more 3'oung 

 fish than nature can in its ordinary course supply. 

 Had it not been for the members of this Societ}^, the 

 fish industries of the great fresh water bodies, as well 

 as the game fish for sport in the rivers and streams, 

 would by this time be entirely demoralized, if not de- 

 stroyed. Mr. Potter and Dr. Garlick watched with eager 

 eyes the first spawn gathered in a rude box, and the 

 result is better told by referring to Mr. Potter's address 

 before this Society at Put-in-Bay, in 1890, where he 

 says : "About the latter part of January the eyes ap- 

 peared in the eggs, and about the first of March, 1854, 

 there lay prone on his side, on this gravelly bed, the 

 first baby fish artificially propagated on this conti- 

 nent.'' From this experiment has arisen an industry 

 the benefits of which have been realized by every civ- 

 ilized nation of the earth. The question had attracted 

 the attention of fishermen and the ablest scientists in 

 America and Europe. This was the beginning of his 

 active interest in the propagation of fish. He saw with 

 feelings of the deepest regret that each year the hand 

 of commerce was advancing across the waters of the 

 Great Lakes and miles and miles of netting with its 

 destructive tentacles extending in every direction, that 

 in a few years our lakes and streams would be mere 

 watery wastes. How true were his predictions we all 

 know. In 1871 he appeared before the General As- 

 sembly of Ohio. "Gentlemen," he said, "you have 

 but one question to consider. Shall the fish and game 

 be destroyed from the face of the earth by indiscrimi- 

 nate slaughter, or shall wholesome laws be enacted, so 

 that the future generations may share in their prod- 

 uct ? Our lakes, our rivers, and our lands are the 

 nation's wealth. The earth onl}^ produces her fruits 



