34 American Fisheries Society. 



that used to hold back the water at flood time have been re- 

 moved in many parts of the country. In some places the 

 stream beds have been straightened and dredged out and 

 apparently everything done to hasten the escape of the 

 water in as short a time as possible, and where this has been 

 done the production of fish is usually made an impossi- 

 bility. 



Large areas of swamp land have been drained and 

 this cuts off another source of constant water supply as well 

 as a great source of food of the fishes. Many of the smaller 

 lakes have been drained for agricultural purposes in the 

 mistaken notion that a larger income can be obtained from 

 the land than from the water. Much of this so-called re- 

 clamation work has proved to be utterly useless. 



Another source of interference with water supply is that 

 of drawing water from lakes for the manufacturing indus- 

 tries or for the purpose of making trifling improvements at 

 the water's edge. It it only necessary to lower the water a 

 few feet in most of our lakes to force the young fish into the 

 open water where they are without protection and without 

 their supply of natural food. The manufacturing indus- 

 tries will, of course, take no heed of this matter and boards 

 of public works, when made up of political appointees and 

 changing every few years, are not likely to understand the 

 importance of maintaining a constant water supply in the 

 waters under their control. 



It should be the self-imposed duty of every sportsmens 

 association and of every department of fish and game to en- 

 courage reforestation and to insist on the constant main- 

 tenance of the water supply. If it becomes necessary to 

 lower the water for any purpose of construction, this should 

 be done only at the approach of colder weather, when the 

 fish naturally seek the deeper water. 



Over-fishing is a menace that has increased with enormous 

 strides with the development of the automobile and the 

 motor boat. These two useful contrivances have made it 

 possible for a greatly increased proportion of the popula- 

 tion to go fishing. The ease with which one may now reach 

 fishing grounds is the chief cause of over-fishing. Many of 

 our smaller streams and lakes are annually almost depleted 

 of fish of breeding size. It is true that our state fisheries 

 bureaus can stock these waters and so maintain them for the 

 people interested. The modification of our game laws, by 

 increasing the legal size of game fish, would do much to 

 prevent over-fishing and to insure the constant production 

 of young. One of my assistants, Mr. E. L. Wickliff, has 

 measured the size and estimated the age at breeding (by 



