136 American Fisheries Society 



Discussion. 



Mr. W. E. Barber, of Wisconsin: The Wisconsin Conservation Commis- 

 sion has had a great deal of trouble with paper mills discharging their 

 wastes into the streams. We have an instance where a gas plant dumped 

 its industrial wastes into the river. In the case of the gas plant, septic 

 tanks were ordered put in. Those tanks were filled with gravel to half their 

 depth, and all of the wastes from the plants were deposited in them. There 

 was an outlet from one tank into the other, and then it led to the river. 

 After those tanks were put in under proper construction we had no fur- 

 ther difficulty with the gas company. But with the paper mills we have had 

 untold difficulty. We found that some of the plants deposited all of their 

 industrial wastes into the river — the wood pulp, the bark, and all of the 

 refuse. There are sixteen plants located on one river in a distance of about 

 150 miles, and it is driving the fish entirely out of that river, as you all 

 must well know. They are ordered to put in filtration plants. The waste is 

 to be filtered through coke, and from that into two septic tanks, and from 

 that drained into the river, all of the heavy wastes to be returned to the 

 plants and used for fuel. The paper mills are only too glad to co-operate 

 with the officers in constructing the necessary equipment for taking care of 

 their wastes. 



Another difficulty we have had is with the pea canning plants, of which 

 there is a great number in the state. The seepage from these which is very 

 poisonous, has been draining into some of the trout streams. Tanks to take 

 care of all of the poisonous matter have been ordered, and this has been 

 conformed to by practically all of the plants of our state that have been 

 depositing their waste in the streams. The difficulties that we have had 

 with the paper mills have arisen mostly because we have had no law in the 

 state until last year prohibiting the deposition of their industrial wastes in 

 the streams. 



The paper mills thus encounter an expense of about $2500 to $3000, but 

 they are all very willing to co-operate, as I said, and we believe that if other 

 states are having the same difficulty — and no doubt some of them are — this 

 system will remedy the situation. 



Professor E. E. Prince, of Ottawa, Canada: Mr. Chairman, I have 

 taken a great interest in this paper, because in Canada we have had a num- 

 ber of tests made, and we were rather disappointed to find that in many 

 cases the refuse brought into the rivers did not prove fatal to the fish. 

 I have no doubt it affected feeding conditions, but we found very rarely that 

 the fish died from the poisons from gas works, etc., doubtless due to the 

 fact that rapid oxidation took place in the rapid running water. But the 

 point I want to emphasize is this, that undoubtedly polluted water, in the 

 case of salmon, will turn away fish. I have had a particular case before me 

 as Commissioner of Fisheries in Canada, lately in North New Brunswick. 

 A certain river has for a season or two showed very serious deterioration. 

 The fish undoubtedly came to the mouth of the river, turned about there, 

 and evidently were deterred on account of the amount of wastes which has 



