American Fisheries Society. 39 



rented, long and exhaustive discussions had — biit no conclusions 

 reached. Xow, liow are we to decide who is right? I think 

 that by some means a definite decision where possil)le sliould be 

 made, settling once for all points which can be settled by us, so 

 that it will not i)e necessary to take them up again, and so that 

 we may know sometliing of what we haye accomplished. 



The President : You will have to do as an old German jus- 

 tice of the peace used to do ; he always said, "The last fellow got 

 the best speech and I gives him the case." 



Mr. Peabody : I move that the society tender a resolution 

 of thanks to the United States Fish Commission for its kindness 

 in putting the steam launch Shearwater at our disposal, and also 

 for the great interest that the commission has shown in being 

 represented here in such large numbers, in furnishing so much 

 material for our discussions, and affording such great help to us 

 in forwarding the work of the society. 



]\Iotion seconded and unanimously carried. 



Mr. Bowers : I desire to offer a resolution heartily thanking 

 the officers of this association for the conscientious and able 

 manner in which they have performed their several duties, and 

 to congratulate them upon the successful work of this society 

 during the past year. 



^Motion seconded and unanimously carried. 



The President : Before we close I wish to thank the society 

 for the meeting, which to me has heen one of great interest and 

 satisfaction. The duties of the presiding officer have been sim- 

 plified and made very easy by the excellent order maintained. I 

 found it the least difficult convention to manage that I ever pre- 

 sided over, and our meeting has certainly been pleasant and, I 

 hope, instructive to us all. I certainly have derived great benefit 

 and pleasure from the papers and discussions we have had. and 

 want to say to all of you who failed to meet us at Wood's Hole 

 when OUT last convention was held there, that you will lose a 

 large fraction of the pleasures of life, if you fail to go there next 

 ,year, for it is certainly worth a trip across the United States to 

 see that country and the work that the United States Fish Com- 

 mission is conducting there. It will enlarge our vision very 

 much on the subject of fish culture, and its concomitant stud- 



