104 Tzventy-ninth Annual Meeting 



use beyond the exact requirement of the state law on the sul)ject. 

 This should be done in all the states in order that uniformity 

 may prevail in a matter so im]:)ortant to the tishing interests of 

 the individual commonwealths. 



At the last session of the Pennsylvania Legislature we aimed 

 to have the length of trout and some other fish limited to one or 

 two more inches. Brook trout, now 5, we wanted 7 inches. But 

 the opponents of good legislation aimed to pass bills which would 

 open the streams to netting and similar methods of depopulating 

 the waters which the fish commissioners had propagated and 

 placed there for keeping the streams well stocked, and as we all 

 know this stocking cannot be efifectively done unless there is a 

 protective law against the cleaning out by nets of the fish which 

 the fish commissioners, through their propagating stations, are 

 constantly keeping well supplied by annual delivery of fry to the 

 different streams for the various kinds of fish throughout the 

 State, the subject of the close-season is a vital one for our con- 

 sideration, to bring out and show the differences to which I 

 have referred. It is to evoke valuable discussion on this subject 

 that I have prepared this brief paper. 



DISCUSSION OF DR. JAMES' PAPER. 



Dr. James ; Why we aimed to get the legislature to change 

 the trout from 6 to 7 inches was that we wanted the trout to get 

 time enough to spawn for one year, but the legislature would 

 do nothing for us at its last session — meeting every second year 

 only — we have had to leave the short five-inch trout to be the 

 rule. We thought we could get a six-inch limit, and then at 

 the next legislature seven, but failed. 



We aimed some years ago. and this society had a commit- 

 tee appointed, Mr. President, whose duty it was to ascertain if 

 the legislatures throughout the country would not enact uniform 

 laws, but we found a great difficulty to get them to do what was 

 wanted, and that is what we find in regard to this matter now, 

 still it is a subject which we really ought to take up again and 

 see if we cannot come to some conclusion in regard to uni- 

 formit\- in this matter all over this countrv at least. 



