46 



he had to show that he had discovered a new species of 

 pike was a plaster cast of a female with opened abdo- 

 men showing the ripe spawn. This cast Dr. Sterling 

 presented to me before his death and I still possess it, 

 bnt the cast is not fine enongh to show the absence of 

 scales as Dr. Sterling declared in his letter to me. He 

 had some correspondence with all leading ichthyol- 

 ogists regarding the fish, inclnding Dr. Bean, I think, 

 but he conld not present specimens of the fish, and all 

 that remains as a souvenir of the school of small pike 

 is the cast in my possession, on the back of which is 

 the inscription: ''Pigmy Pickerel, Esox Polfen\ 

 March 22d, 1877." 



Mr. Mather : I move that a committee be appointed 

 to draft resolutions expressive of our regret at the loss 

 of Judge Potter ; and also that we restore to our list of 

 members a list of those who are deceased, after the 

 manner of our publication some years ago. Perhaps 

 this should be two distinct motions, however. Within 

 three years the publication of the names of our de- 

 ceased members has been discontinued. Before that 

 time they were alwaj^s kept on a roll of honor ; and I 

 move you, sir, that that roll be restored. 



Mr. H. Whitaker : Before the motion is put I 

 want to say a word. The death of Judge Potter, it 

 seems to me, is a subject fitting and worthy of the at- 

 tention of this Society in the manner indicated by Mr. 

 Mather. We are today on the threshold of our twenty- 

 fifth anniversary. While the legends connected with fish 

 culture show that Jacobi, of Germany, Gehin and Remy, 

 of France, were in advance of anything in this coun- 

 try in the way of artificial propagation of fish, yet noth- 

 ing of practical value grew out of these discoveries for 

 many years. Today we have a word to say with regard 

 to a man who was one of the most interesting men con- 

 nected with the genesis offish culture, and its discoverer 

 in this country and a witness of its great development. 



