American Fisheries Society. 181 



energy and intelligence and inventive skill to the work of de- 

 struction he quickly brings about a very notable decrease in the 

 supply. It is because the slaughter caused by man is infinitesi- 

 nial that an infinitesimal increase in the birth rate is all that is 

 needed to make it good, and this infinitesimal increase in the 

 birth-rate it is, fortunately, within the power of man to bring 

 about by artificial propagation. Instead of showing that efforts 

 to maintain sea-fisheries by artificial propagation are misdirected 

 and useless, the well known facts to which Huxley calls our at- 

 tention, turn out when carefully considered and thoroughly un- 

 derstood, to afford thv ck'arest proof of the prudence and wisdom 

 and fort'siglit and scientific knowledge of Spencer Fullerton 

 Baird, the founder of and father of the Ignited States Fish Com- 

 mission. 



President: AVe have witli us today two members of the 

 American Fisheries Socit'ty who are among the early appointees 

 of Prof. Baird, both of them, as is well known, have made splen- 

 did reputations for themselves in connection with the United 

 States Fish Commission. It gives me pleasure to present to this 

 audience Mr. Frank X. Clark, of Xorthville, Michigan, who wiU 

 address yoii. 



^Ir. Clark : Ish. President and Fellow Members of the 

 American Fisheries Society, Ladies and Gentlemen: It is with 

 a feeling of the deepest sadness that I undertake to tell to you 

 my feelings towards the man whom this memorial tal)let repre 

 sents. It is true that I was connected with Professor Baird in 

 the earlv stages of tlie Fish Commission. My association with 

 liMH was from time to time, and during a period of about fifteen 

 A'ears when the Fish Commission was not what it is today, wlien 

 the practical men of tlie Fish Commission were working in al! 

 manners and ways, as you might say, to get tlir Fish Commis- 

 sion started, and none of those practical men had a warmer 

 friend in all the work tlian Professor Baird. Me was an inspira- 

 tion to them to do all they conld in helping to cstalilisli ilic F'sh. 

 Commission. I might tell y<ni all that I feel and all lliat Pro- 

 fessor Baird did for me, but my heart is too fnll to express it. 

 even had 1 the ability to do so. Professor Baird was an inspira- 

 tion in his talk, and many a talk have 1 had with him on tli" 

 practical side of fish culture. Discouragements would arrive, 



