2 6 9 



only as regards freshwater fishing can this be said. In 

 Denmark it is a well-known fact that the best fishing is 

 where a forest is close to the shore, and in particular where 

 the trees, as is often the case in that country, overhang the 

 very sea. The shadowing trees have another and, perhaps, 

 the far more important effect of preventing a large evapora- 

 tion, and at the same time keeping the water clear and cool 

 in summer, while on the same account the winter frosts do 

 not deal so severely with them. In all forest country the 

 changes of temperature are not so severely felt as in a 

 treeless country or on the open plains, and the effect upon 

 the water is even greater. It is a popular saying in 

 Denmark of the forest streams, that they are cool in the 

 summer and warm in the winter, this, of course, meaning 

 that they present that feeling in comparison to the atmos- 

 phere. The forests not only regulate the flow of the water, 

 but they purify the water. This is an experience often 

 demonstrated in Australia in cases where streams have 

 been polluted by wool-washing establishments. After 

 having passed a few miles through a shady and dense 

 forest the water will appear as clear and pure as it was 

 above the woolwash. 



I need not here enter upon more reasons for the con- 

 servation of existing forests to ensure a steady supply or to 

 draw your attention to the danger in not protecting them 

 by legislation. But I will draw your attention to the ad- 

 visability of cultivating forests on places Suitable for the 

 supply of water, and especially along watercourses and 

 lakes as means of purifying these, preventing too great 

 evaporation, supplying food for fish, and providing these 

 with shade against the rays of the summer s-un, and shelter 

 from the pelting rains, the hail and the tempests. 



Salmon fishing and all freshwater fishing depend upon 



