84 American Fisheries Society 



hence be much higher than that in the water of the stream itself. 

 (There is little oxygen in waters loaded with organic contaminations, 

 because the oxygen is used up by the processes of decomposition.) It 

 was evident, from the facts, however, that the general flooding and 

 scouring of the surface of the country, the washing off of the streets 

 of towns, and the flushing out of sewers, which results from a heavy 

 rain, brought into the river water containing larger ratios of organic 

 matter than the stream itself, so that the stream became more heavily 

 contaminated by reason of these flooding rains. 



Now I have noticed, and most of you have no doubt had similar 

 experiences, the occasional occurrence of what may be called epidemics 

 among the fishes of our rivers in midsummer. Several cases have been 

 reported to me where hsh were dying in myriads along the course of 

 a river in hot weather, piling up in rows along the banks of the stream 

 in a way sometimes to create a great nuisance, requiring, perhaps, the 

 active work of health departments to dispose of it. T remember, for 

 instance, some years ago that it took a considerable number of wagons 

 three days to haul away the dead fish that lodged on the bank of. Rock 

 River where it flows through the town of Rockford. All these occur- 

 rences come, so far as I have noticed, in hot summer weather followed 

 by a series of heavy rains — especially violent thunder storms — which 

 wash off the country and wash out the sewers, and overload the streams 

 with organic debris, the decomposition of which must take the oxygen 

 out of the water. 



Quite lately there has appeared in one of the European fisheries 

 journals an article reporting the investigation of just such an occur- 

 rence there. The writer of this article was fortunate enough to be on 

 the ground at the time, competent to investigate it thoroughly, and with 

 the necessary facilities at his command; and lie found what 1 have 

 supposed heretofore to be the case — that the oxygen content of the 

 water of the stream in which the fish had died by myriads fell off 

 almost to nothing, so that the fish were simply suffocated there by 

 reason of the consumption of the oxygen of the water in the decom- 

 position of the organic matter carried in by this hot- weather flood. 



Prof. L. L. Dyche, Pratt, Kan. : 1 think the Society owes about 

 three votes of thanks for this most elegant address. I would like to 

 comment a little on this paper, but T do not know in beginning whether 

 to go forward or backward. 



Speaking about floods, I have had three or four cases reported to 

 me during the past summer — we had hot weather in Kansas, followed 

 in certain localities by heavy rains — where people insisted that after a 

 heavy thunder storm, water spouts, etc., lightning had struck the 

 water (four or live cases were reported) and killed tons of fish. We 

 had no faith in the contention, but answered by saying we thought it 

 was the bad condition of the water; the exact explanation we could 

 not give, as we did not visit the localities and did not fully understand 

 the conditions. However. Dr. Forbes' paper has thrown much light on 



