458 With Rod and Gun in New England 



" To reduce the length to nine inches will be the beginning of the end 

 of the lobster as a food supply in the waters of the Massachusetts coast, 

 and will most certainly ruin the industry for the hundreds of men engaged 

 in it. 



" An additional argument, if it were needed, is found in the fact that the 

 lobster is not migratory, and that when we deplete our supply we cannot 

 look for any renewal of it from other sources." 



From the address of President Samuels, delivered on the occasion of 

 the Annual Dinner, January 26, 1888, I quote the following: — 



" You will remember that in my Annual Address in 1885, I used these 

 words : ' Unless our lobster laws are modified so as to secure a close sea- 

 son, we are likely, in the not distant future, to suffer from a scarcity, if 

 not failure, of our supply.' It seems to me, and I am by no means alone 

 in my opinion, that the New England States should have not far from a 

 two months' close season. . . . Unless something is done to this end, I 

 sincerely believe we shall, in a great measure, lose one of the most import- 

 ant and delicious articles of food that we take from the water. ... It is a 

 matter of common observation among us that the average size and catch 

 of our lobsters grow less and less every year, and the history of the lobster 

 fisheries in Europe bears me out in the views I have expressed." 



Another direction in which we have labored has been in connection 

 with the Old Colony and South Eastern Massachusetts Clubs in their 

 efforts to save the shore fisheries of Buzzard's bay, and our combined 

 efforts were successful. 



As is generally known, the Boston marketmen have sought during the 

 last two sessions of the legislature to have all restrictions upon the sale of 

 game removed; and to prevent such action has been a work of no small 

 magnitude. Fortunately, by the combined efforts of the ornithologists and 

 our officers, the attempts of the dealers in this direction were frustrated. 



In this connection some extracts from the Argument of our counsel, 

 Hon. James R. Reed, before the Committee on Fisheries and Game, in 

 1896, may be of interest. 

 "Mr. Chairman and Gentlemen of the Comm/ttee: — 



" You have listened patiently for many days to the presentation of views 

 on the subject of game protection. You have noticed by this time that the 

 people who have appeared before you can be easily divided into two dis- 

 tinct classes, one of which, as represented by the Marketmen's Association 

 here, is comprised of gentlemen whose interest in the matter is, on their 

 owrj admission, entirely a pecuniary one. They are engaged in the busi- 

 ness of selling game as well as other articles of provisions, and their inter- 

 ests are necessarily those affecting their pockets. From their point of 

 view, the selling of game at all seasons should be encouraged. The other 

 class is composed of men, some of whom might be called practical 



