American Fisheries Society. 91 
before the march of civilization; the buffalo which he hunted on 
the great plains is gone; the wild pigeon of our woods is no longer 
seen; the coarser shad no longer ascends our rivers; and why 
should not the brook trout be a like victim of circumstances ? 
We may not like to admit it, but is it not a fact? 
In thinking this matter over, I am surprised that the brook 
trout has not long since disappeared. I honestly beheve it would 
have so vanished had it not been for the millions of artificially 
raised fish which the Commissions of the several states have 
carefully planted each year for many years past. Look at the 
situation as it exists with us in New York alone. ‘The forests 
which once clothed the Adirondacks and the Catskills have in 
part disappeared. As a result, the volume of flow in our streams 
has dwindled away, the water has become warm, and the natural 
food of the trout must have to a great extent disappeared. More 
than this, our water courses are in many cases no longer unde- 
filed. They carry the nameless pollution of civilization. In 
the Adirondacks they have had the outpourings of tanneries, 
saw mills, and (most deadly of all) of paper mills. In the Cat- 
skills, in addition, they are occasionally getting the refuse of 
cheese factories. In each case they are no longer fit water for 
trout. Further, there has been a steady increase in number of 
detrimental fish in our trout waters,—not necessarily undesirable 
fish, for sometimes in the Adirondack lakes it is the bass; but 
there is no denying the fact that the carp and the suckers and 
other spawn eaters have made great advances in numbers in 
recent years. 
Also there is another and very serious danger confronting 
the brook trout, in my judgment, and to this particularly let 
me call your attention. I refer to what are called “parasites” 
and to the diseases due to their increase. A year ago I reported 
to the Society a remarkably fatal epidemic among our brook 
trout at the Cold Spring Harbor hatchery, which also effected 
the large private preserves in other parts of Long Island. We 
had prompt aid from Commissioner Bowers at the time, and the 
disease was carefully studied by Mr. Marsh of his expert staff, 
but beyond his careful study of the disease, we thus far know 
nothing. Yes, we do know that it has recurred, and that it has 
again destroyed all the adult fish there and elsewhere in the 
