.hiicricaii Fislicrics Socictx. 51 



and shoals, no human power can intervene to stay the destruc- 

 tion — tlie terrible gauntlet must be run. 



The parent whitefish and lake trout, in common with a large 

 group of fishes, do not protect their spawning beds. They select 

 cleaner and more suital)le grounds than some other si)ecies, but 

 their concern for the welfare of the germs that they tleposit with 

 such lavish prodigality ceases when that function is i)crf()rme(l. 



Then, the wolves of the waters, lurking and prijwling. and 

 with whetted appetite, immediately assend)le for the feast that 

 a closed season law sanctions and applauds. The spawning 

 grounds become in turn a feeding range ; for without exception 

 the spawning grounds of all kinds of fish that do not guard 

 them, become merely a pasture for others. And why not? The 

 ova of all fish are rich, oily, nutritious, a toothsome dainty for 

 even the pampered palate of man. I imagine that the wolves 

 and buzzards and lizards of the waters are even yet winking the 

 other eye, and making merry, and throwing bouquets at them- 

 selves, because the solons of two great States were hoodwinked 

 into exploiting the closed season law as a measure of "protec- 

 tion" to whitefish and lake trout. 



Nor is the exposure for a period of 125 to 175 days to the 

 tender mercies of spawn-eating animals the only dangers which 

 whitefish and lake trout ova tnust encounter in nature. The 

 blasting blight of fungus, penetrating and permeating inert 

 masses of unmanipulated ova is of itself sufificient to destrov ;ill 

 germs not completely isolated in the cavities and crevices of 

 rocks and stones. The ova is visited with still other forms 

 of destruction, but these need not be mentioned. 



Beyond question, an overwhelming percentage of the loss in 

 the life history of most fishes that do not guard their spawning 

 beds, occurs during the ovum stage. All things considered, it 

 would be a miracle if one in a hundred survived to the hatching 

 point, and odds of five hundred to one would l)c (]uickly taken 

 bv the most conservative investigator. 



The whitefish casts about 30,000 eggs each spawning period ; 

 provides, under perfect conditions, for 30,000 young fish ; but 

 in nature's domain, under the counterfeit "protection'' afforded b\- 

 the closed season law, these 30,000 eggs probably hatch less than 

 100 fish. And yet, such meagre results would doubtless suffice 

 for merely natural losses, a posterity would be insured, and the 

 species would hold its own; but to expect, in addition, that such 

 feeble recuperative powers will honor man's drafts indefinitely 



