American Fisheries Society 49 



prosecute it with greater vigor and no doubt more discretion 

 than I have been able to exercise. It was said by a very 

 eminent humorous poet that 



Men dying make their wills, 



But wives escape the work so sad ; 

 Why should they make what all their lives 



The gentle things have always had? 



Speaking about dying, which, of course, the present offi- 

 cers are about to do, some of us have an old western feeling 

 that if we must die we prefer to die with our boots on. 

 Now, thanks to the generosity and kindness of our treasurer, 

 who is not here, I am able to die with my boots on. You 

 can see for yourselves. (Laughter.) (The president here 

 referred to a pair of to}' rubber boots. ) 



I now have the pleasure of asking Mr. Clark to induct the 

 president-elect to the chair. 



Mr. Clark : Mr. President, as long as 29 years ago, when 

 our late Professor Baird, the founder of the fish-cultural 

 work of the national fish commission, asked me to take hold 

 of the work in Michigan, plans were formed for taking it up 

 permanently at Northville. At that time we had diseases 

 among our fish, and I made up my mind that we must have 

 some one connected with that work who would be able to 

 doctor them. Knowing that the United States Fish Com- 

 mission at that time did not have money enough to employ 

 a trained physician, I looked about for the next best man 

 to help me, and I engaged a druggist, Mr. Bower, to help 

 start the work at Northville 29 years ago the first of Sep- 

 tember, and from that time on he has done practically 

 nothing but fish-cultural work. I do not wish to take the 

 credit. I simply picked him out as a fish doctor ; but. Mr. 

 President and gentlemen of the Society, I builded better than 

 I knew. He was not a fish doctor, but he has turned out to 

 be one of the best fish-culturists in the world today. ( Great 

 applause.) And I now take pleasure, Mr. President, not 

 in introducing him, but in inducting Mr. Bower to the office 



