[33] THE STATUS OF THE FISH COMMISSION. 1171 



Thejuiies of the Fishery Exhibition of Berlin in their official report 

 remark : 



" We must thank America for the progress which fish culture has made 

 during the past decade, and the new inventions through which this 

 progress has been accomplished were very fully shown at the Ex- 

 hibition. The American section was therefore in the highest degree 

 instructive and interesting to every practical fish-culturist." 



Belgium. — The Hon. E. Willequet, in a speech before the Belgian 

 Chamber of Deputies recently, remarked : 



" Heretofore there has been no thought except regarding the fishery 

 in our rivers and their tributary streams. There is another fishery 

 * * * which is carried on in the lowest parts of our rivers, in the 

 Escant and in the Meurs. IsTow, this is a source of wealth which is most 

 completely slighted and yet is exceedingly valuable. I could attest by 

 statements emanating from the highest authorities that with a slight 

 expense these water-courses could be peopled at will with excellent 

 fishes. In America this is done everyday, Ihe great Commission of 

 Fisheries established hy the United States Government has led to positive 

 results which can be verified at any time.^^ 



France. — M. C. Kaveret-Wattel, the principal French authority on 

 pisciculture, in a recent essay writes : 



" To this day pisciculture has nowhere produced results which can be 

 compared with those obtained in the United States. In no other country 

 has this industry attained to the same degree of development, perfection, 

 and success. But it must also be said that perhaps no other nation has 

 so fully understood the great importance of pisciculture and that in no 

 other country have such great efibrts been made. Nowhere, certainly, 

 has so much been accomplished hy private enterprise ; nowhere has the Gov- 

 ernment given so much enlightened care to the rational cultivation of the 

 icaters, and afforded such efficient protection and generous encouragements* 



Spain. — Capt. Andres A. Comerma, of the Spanish navy, comment- 

 ing on the methods of fishing and fish culture as shown at the London 

 Exhibition, wrote: 



"It would be necessary to write a voluminous work were I to attempt 

 to discuss in detail the exhibition of these methods, which are unequaled 

 elsewhere in the world, and which show how this young and vigorous 

 nation J the United States, is pressiyig foricard in competition ivith JEurope, 

 surpassing in many things even England, Germany, and France, tcho to- 

 gether formed the vanguard of progress in olden days J'' 



Italy. — In the official report of the Italian commission to the Berlin 

 Exhibition it is remarked : 



" The juries very justly awarded the first prize of honor to Prof. 

 Spencer Baird, Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution and head of the 

 United States Fish Commission, a man of most indefatigable energy, 



* Bulletin meusuel de la Soci6t6 nationale d'acclimatation de France, 3, IX, 1882, 

 p. 69. 



