114 Thirty-Second Annual Meeting 



hatcheries, estimated on a basis of the prices actually charged by 

 several of the leading commercial fish farms of New England, is : 

 Fry at $3.00 per M, $11,368.00; fingerlings at $20.00 per M, 

 $19,683.00 ; yearlings at $75.00 per M, $21,337.45, in all $52,- 

 378.00. If you add to this the cost of delivery which is estimat- 

 ed at fully half the value of the fish, the total is $78,278.00, 

 which the people wovild have had to pay to stock their streams 

 with trout if there were no state hatchery system. This item of 

 itself shows a good return on the investment and the annual ap- 

 propriation. 



Now what of the remaining 123,648,000 fish of various varie- 

 ties? In this total were 10,000 adult black bass taken from the 

 wide waters of the canal when the ditch was emptied in the Fall. 

 These certainly are worth the highest price charged for adult 

 trout, and are figured at $1,000. The remainder figured at the 

 minimum price for fry, after deducting 14,000 adult rock bass, 

 would be worth at least $123,624.00, making the total value of 

 the product of our hatcheries for 1902, without considering the 

 question of cost of distribution, $176,902.00. It may well be 

 doubted if any other work paid for out of public money can make 

 a better showing. 



We are unforunately not yet able to estimate the actual cash 

 value of our inland lake fisheries, but statistics are now being 

 carefully collected to show what these return. Thanks to the 

 United States Commission we have been able to verify our figures 

 on the Hudson river fisheries and find their average yearly value 

 to be about $150,000. With these figures before them, we do noi 

 think any legislative committee can be justified in hesitating 

 about making a reasonable appropriation, and it was to remove 

 any such possible hesitation in the future that the figures were 

 compiled . ( Applause ) . 



DISCUSSION. 



Mr. Root: Is your Association the one that is propagating 

 forest trees from seed ? 



Mr. Whish : Yes, sir. 



Mr. Eoot: 1 heard that part of yoiir report and was very 

 much pleased with it. I think that there is a work that has not 

 been taken up before ; that the New York Commission are doing 



