277 



Mr. WlLMOT seconded the resolution. There was no 

 doubt that this paper was of a novel character as connected 

 with fish culture, for he was quite aware that it had not 

 been discussed before in any public manner, but he might 

 be pardoned for mentioning that on two or three occasions 

 on sending reports to the Government of Canada he had 

 expressed his views that the clearing of the forests had 

 been one of the principal causes of the destruction of 

 salmon in the Province of Ontario. He could speak from 

 experience in the matter, on account of salmon being very 

 numerous in a stream that ran through his property. 

 Before the forests were cleared off, salmon and the better 

 kinds of fishes were there in vast numbers, but as the 

 trees were cleared off the water changed its temperature, 

 it became less in quantity, and the consequence was they 

 had lost all those valuable fish. He should not attribute 

 it wholly to the want of trees, but that had been one of 

 the principal agencies. Man, with his destructive engines, 

 had of course aided by killing the parent fish when laying 

 its eggs in those streams, but there was no doubt that 

 the want of sufficient shade and coldness of the water for 

 the fish to live and breed, was also an important element, 

 because these higher breeds of fish were always found in 

 cold waters. So important was it, that for the last two 

 or three years he had set out a large number of trees 

 round the pond where he was carrying on fish culture, 

 and found it very beneficial, and he had often noticed the 

 fish run underneath the shade of the trees on hot days, 

 the temperature being lower there than out in the open 

 stream. He had always contended that farming, forestry, 

 and fish culture should go together, because one aided 

 the other. Forestry aided agriculture, because if the whole 

 forest was cut away the rainfall was interfered with, and 



