AMERICAN FISHERIES SOCIETY. 



PHOTOGRAPHY AND THE STEREOPTICON IN FISH 



CULTURE. 



BY J. W. TITCOMt 



*'How are the little fishes?" '"How are things going at the 

 hatchery?'' "Is this a good day for the fish?" and many other 

 questions both relevant and irrelevant greet the ears of a fish 

 cultnrist daily. The inquirers are frequently persons who know 

 nothing whatever as to what the hatcheries of the country 

 are doing nor their necessities. To one inquirer I recently made 

 reply. "The fishes are doing first rate; I have twenty bantam 

 hens sitting on brook trout eggs." Although more than 

 ordinarily intelligent, my friend did not get around to ques- 

 tion my statement until the next time I met him, when he 

 wished to know if it is a fact that trout eggs are hatched under 

 hens. The comparatively few who visit the hatcheries are 

 surprised to learn that so much is benig done by the States 

 and United States to restock, or to keep stocked, the waters of 

 the country which have become depleted of fish from many 

 causes. They are surprised to learn that nature is so lavish in 

 the reproductive powers of fishes but that she is so wasteful 

 in caring for the spawn and fry of the parent fish; that while 

 ninety and nine can be saved by artificial propagation, only 

 one little fish comes to maturity in nature's folds. The pro- 

 fessional fishermen often knows little about the habits of 

 fish other than those which will contribute to his success in 

 catching them, and from him most mistaken ideas of their 

 habits originate. 



As ignorance on any subject begets scepticism prejudicial 

 to its interests, so the development of the fisheries by artificial 

 propagation has often encountered opposition from legis- 

 lators. It is the same ignorance which often op])oses protect- 

 ive laws, drafted with special reference to the habits of the 

 species protected. The objects of this society are usually car- 

 ried out to the extent of reading papers upon relevant sub- 

 jects, followed by a discussion of them. The benefits derived 

 are many and are a source of profit and interest to the mem- 

 bers and. through publication, to interested persons outside of 



