70 American Fisheries Society 



and practice are not pulling together as well as a good team 

 should in order to achieve the best results. Science too often 

 plunges ahead for a short distance, sometimes even without 

 knowing where it is going, and without regard to practical 

 ends. Practice, on the other hand, is too much of the time 

 merely treading up and down in the same place, apparently 

 working hard, but without making any advance ; getting re- 

 sults, but no new ones. Science is a radical by nature and 

 practice inclines to conservatism, and such a team is a most 

 difficult one to make pull together. The truth is that they are 

 both good, but it is equally certain that they are not suffi- 

 ciently accustomed to each other to pull well together. 



It would certainly be well if practice could advance a little 

 faster on the heels of science, that we might make practical 

 use of advances in knowledge as soon as they become avail- 

 able. Eventually, of course, our practice does follow science, 

 but it may be a long way behind. For example, all of our 

 modern fish-cultural practice is based on the fish-cultural 

 science of past years, but some of it is rather antiquated in 

 spots. 



Now, I have no desire to place any high and mighty sci- 

 entific control over the work of this Society. I do not belong 

 to that so-called aristocratic set of scientific men who profess 

 to think that science is a sufficient end in itself. Personally, 

 I have always been a little dubious about those who pretend to 

 think so, and, am of the opinion that every one of them would 

 be only too glad to extend his discoveries into the field of 

 practical work if he only knew how to do it. Similarly, I am 

 morally certain that the occasional practical man who pro- 

 fesses to scorn scientific work and holds to the beaten track 

 would be only too glad to make scientific applications to his 

 own work if he only knew how. 



To my mind, all scientific investigations are merely a 

 means to the end that we may make greater knowledge appli- 

 cable to our problems. Scientific investigation is futile if 



