36 REPORT ON ARTIFICIAL FISH-CULTURE. 



their trade near the sources of the Moselle, and 

 who, by a process of artificial fecundation, have 

 established in the department of the Vosges, a 

 veritable fish factory. With pleasure I conformed 

 to your wishes, and I will be well pleased, Mr. 

 Minister, if the investigations I have made, can 

 aid you in endowing our rural industry with a 

 new source of wealth, the importance of which 

 will not be undervalued by physiologists or agri- 

 culturists. Fish is an article of food rich in nu- 

 tritive qualities, and to augment its abundance, 

 either on our coasts or in our streams, will be 

 a real benefit for all classes of population. River 

 fishing is generally little productive in France ; 

 but it is only necessary to cast one's eyes upon 

 the doings of our neighbors of other countries, 

 to comprehend what might be its value, if means 

 be found to stock with good fish our rivers and 

 ponds, as amply as nature has stocked those of 

 Scotland and Ireland, and as agriculturists stock 

 their fields with herbiverous animals equally des- 

 tined to serve our subsistence. 



River-fishing has long been the objects of en- 

 actments favoring the reproduction of fish, and 

 protecting the development of the fry. The royal 

 ordinance of 1669 forms the basis of our legis- 

 lation on the subject, and contains many clauses 

 of incontestible utility. 



