CREATION OF HATCHERIES 239 



lesson to be learned would hasten the settlement 

 of their differences. The Pacific, no more than 

 the Atlantic, liberal as its gifts are, can hold out 

 against the commercial drain imposed upon it. If 

 it be correct, as specialists contend, that all the species 

 of Pacific salmon die after spawning, the work of 

 destruction will progress at a more alarming rate 

 than in Europe where the fish survive spawning. 

 There are settlements which come too late. The 

 moral of the divided authorities on the malady of 

 the feline species is k propos : 



" But long before they could decide 

 What should be done, the cat had died." 



The future of trout and bass fishing is another 

 subject which interested me during my Canadian 

 trip. The fact that hatcheries are being established 

 throughout the Dominion is symptomatic of decline. 

 There is no other reason for the expedient. Assum- 

 ing that by such means the stock can be kept up to 

 the demands made upon it, which is a big assump- 

 tion, the quality is certain to be inferior both as a 

 comestible and a sporting entity. I have fished 

 preserves holding naturally and artificially bred trout, 

 and the moment the rod bent in a captive, I could 

 tell to which category it belonged. There is as much 

 difference between these fish as between pheasants 

 reared under a hen and those hatched in the wild 

 woods. 



