80 Fortieth Annual Meeting 



is faction of some of my friends. Thus esteeming the honor 

 of membership, I appreciate the more deeply the honor of 

 the office which you have conferred upon me. 



I feel that I have a big task before me on account of the 

 splendid work of the preceding President. I shall do my 

 best, however, to maintain his record. If my administra- 

 tion is successful, or if it should turn out that there is a 

 better and larger meeting next year than this, it will not 

 be due to me, but to you, who should endeavor to achieve, 

 if possible, greater success even than has my predecessor, 

 Mr. Bower. (Applause.) 



The Society has reached a point where it must be from t 

 this time forward a big factor in a wider field than it has 

 hitherto occupied. I have watched it grow from the time 

 when only a few members were here, to the time when we 

 had a large membership, from the time when discussions 

 were limited principally to trout and carp, to the broad t 

 field of taking in nearly all the valuable food fishes that ' 

 we have in the country. 



We are going now to another and stronger position 

 which we have been urged in this meeting to take, namely 

 the purification of the waters, in order that the labors of 

 fish culturists may bear greater fruit. Why should we 

 attempt to propagate fish, if the waters are in such condi- 

 tion that plankton will not successfully grow? It will be 

 part of the province of this Society to work for the purifica- 

 tion of our waters. Some of the states need legislation 

 toward that end and I believe that we can do much in secur- 

 ing such legislation. 



Gentlemen, I shall do the best I can in the coming year, 

 and I again thank you for the honor which you have 

 bestowed upon me. (Applause.) 



I think we usually have a few words from other officers- 

 elect, and I will appoint Dr. Townsend as a committee of 

 one to escort the new Vice-President to the chair, to hear a 

 few words from him. 



Dr. Townsend escorted Mr. Fullerton to the platform. 



