FOURTEENTH ANNUAL MEETING. 53 



The conditions as to the waterflovv are still relatively the same 

 in all three of these waters, the spawning grounds are unchanged, 

 the only difference is in the harbors for the trout, which are un- 

 changed in the first, totally destroyed in the second, and partially 

 so in the third. And the depletion of the fish has been in pre- 

 cise proportion to such destruction. 



Lest these may be regarded as somewhat isolated cases, I will 

 cite two more. 



Near the center of Dutchess county a brook rises in the side 

 of a small mountain, at the base of which it enters a swamp 

 through which it runs, with occasional openings for two or three 

 miles, where it iscompletely protected by the trees and bushes, 

 which have never been disturbed. In these open places and be- 

 low this swamp, where for a distance of several miles there are 

 but few places where the stream cannot be reached, it has been 

 and still is freely fished, and yet there has been no serious dimi- 

 nution in the number or size of the fish. ,While other streams 

 have failed, this one has always yielded good sport, trout of 

 from one to two pounds being frequently taken. 



In the eastern part of the same county there is a long, sluggish 

 stream running for miles through a marsh. Its very name, 

 " Swamp River," indicates its character. Its bottom is one long 

 stretch of ooze ; its banks are almost everywhere covered with 

 a dense growth of bushes. It has always been noted for the 

 size of its trout, but on account of the difficulty of access they 

 are seldom taken. It is fed by several tributaries of three or 

 four miles or more in length, as well as numerous little streams, 

 all of which are open and freely fished, and they are all good 

 trout brooks. 



As soon as the water in these brooks becomes low, the trout 

 disappear, but where ? The water flow is increased by the gen- 

 erous rain, they appear again in large numbers, and at such 

 times large fish is often taken even in the smallest tributaries. 



This last instance is especially interesting, as it shows that when 

 the streams are full of water the trout will travel a long distance 

 from their haunts, and that when warned of danger by the re- 

 ceding of the waters, the instinct of self-preservation leads them 

 to hasten back to them. 



