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character of the waters which are to be stocked. It is of no use 

 to plant brook trout in a muddy bayou, or channel-cat in 

 mountain springs of ice-water, or codfish in Lake Michigan, 



Most of our information in these respects is still very vague, 

 and most attempts at the introduction of species into new 

 waters are still of the most haphazard sort. The recent series 

 of examinations of the Michigan lakes, lately undertaken by the 

 Michigan State Fish Commission, ought to yield some results 

 in this connection, yet as the character of the waters of the 

 State is essentially uniform, what is true of one of the little 

 lakes in the way of supporting fish life, must be largely 

 true of all. For this reason, desirable as an extended explora- 

 tion is from an economic standpoint, it can be made more im- 

 portant to the science of ichthyology, than to the art of fish- 

 culture. To ichthyology, as has been said, a sculpin is as 

 valuable as a codfish, but fish-culture prefers the codfish. 



The results of a careful survey would give us facts regarding 

 the distribution of minnows, darters and sunfish, facts of the 

 greatest interest and importance in science, but of no value to 

 fish-culture to which one minnow is as good as another and 

 both useful only as food for bass, still a thorough survey in the 

 hands of intelligent men, of the waters of any region cannot fail 

 to throw much light on the habits and needs of the various food 

 fishes, and we shall look with much interest for the final results 

 of the work in Michigan. 



The other work of the Fish Commission is in the direction 

 of fish-hatching, the protection of the young of valuable kinds 

 until they are able to take care of themselves. The value of 

 this work is most great, now fortunately beyond question, and 

 its methods are reaching a high degree of perfection. 



I need only say that my deepest interest in science lies in 

 the direction of the question of the distribution of organisms 

 and in their adaptation to their surroundings and I should be 

 glad if I were able to contribute even a little to making our 

 knowledge of this subject practicably available in the direc- 

 tion of causing two big fish to grow where one little one grew 

 before. 



Indiana State University, Bloomington, Ind. 



