214 Thirty-fourth Annual Meeting. 
things in Maine. But the black bass is not to blame for that. 
It is a good fish, well worthy of introduction. But the people 
who first caught it were for some reason disappointed about it ; 
or they did not catch the other fish that they had gone after; so 
they began to curse the black bass ; and the next man caught the 
disease and the prejudice has become almost universal. I cannot 
recollect an instance of having heard any citizen of the state of 
Maine speak respectfully of the black bass. 
Now I am inclined to think the trouble about carp arises 
somewhat froma similar source. People do not wait to investi- 
gate facts, but are contented to found decisions upon prejudice. 
Secretary: For several years | have been very much inter- 
ested in the discussions of the carp question before the Society, 
both on the part of those who favor and those who are opposed 
to the fish. I have noted this fact, that those who speak favor- 
ably of the carp speak by the card, they speak from investigation 
and actual knowledge. But I know that those who speak 
against the carp do not always speak from actual investigation. 
This state of things exists in my own state, where there is a 
strong prejudice against the carp. If I am present at some 
little gathering it frequently happens that somebody will start 
off with a tirade against the carp ; but come to find out, he knows 
nothing about it; he assumes that the carp muddies the stream, 
and destroys the bass spawn. Certain people interested in fish- 
ine raised quite a large sum of money last vear to seine out the 
carp from a small lake near Fond du Lac, on the ground that 
the carp destroyed the bass and the pickerel! They seined dili- 
gently for one week and did not find a carp in the lake. (Laugh- 
ter.) Yet for several years to the presence of carp he has at- 
tributed the cause of the poor fishing in that pond. (Laughter.) 
Lake Koshkonong is the Wisconsin home of the canvas back 
duck on its flight from the arctic regions to the south; and can- 
vas back duck have been very plentiful there for fifty years, un- 
til within the last half dozen years, when perhaps they have 
been less plentiful. Shooting clubs and others interested laid 
the decrease to the carp. They did not realize that a law in the 
state preventing spring shooting had been repealed; they did 
not realize that there were ten guns where there used to be one; 
