Sixth Annual Meeting. 51 



could with regard to the interests of fish culture in Canada. I 

 received a telegram from him on Saturday evening last, to the 

 effect that he would be pleased if I could spare the time to attend 

 this meeting. It has given me much pleasure to be able to be 

 here, particularly at the place where your meeting is held, for 

 there is a vast amount of information to be obtained in the 

 Aquarium down stairs ; and it is also a great source of pleasure 

 to become acquainted with so many intelligent persons con- 

 nected with this Association. 



I was very much pleased with the address of Prof. Milner. 

 I am pleased to find that both himself and Prof. Baird have 

 changed their views with regard to the protection of fisheries by 

 legislation. It has been a hobby of mine that legislation is as 

 important as the breeding of the fish, and perhaps more so, 

 because I think that if proper legislation had been carried out 

 from the first settlement of the country up to the present time, 

 the art of breeding fish by artificial means would not have 

 required at this time the protection of law, for our waters would 

 have been teeming with fish. I have always held that there is 

 necessity for strict legislation with regard to the preservation of 

 fish at its breeding season, and we only ask a very short time to 

 protect them. Fishes mostly deposit their ova within a short 

 period of time, varying from ten to fifteen days, I should say ; 

 and if the Government of the country would set aside those few 

 days, so as to give them time to deposit the eggs, the probability 

 is that a large proportion of them would become living fish. But 

 from the first settlement of the country, when the fish came 

 within our reach, most needing protection, we have gone to 

 destroying and killing them while they are laying their eggs — as 

 unnatural as it is unwise. It is the first duty of the Legislature, 

 with regard to this subject, to say that we have been doing 

 wrong for a long time, but we will remedy the matter as soon 



