74 Thirty-fifth Annual Meeting 
the value of the fish. From that time on the catch has increased 
as a whole until the total of the last three years of the period end- 
ing with 1904 was 2,800,000 pounds more than for the preceding 
three years, and for the last five years it was over 2,000,000 
pounds greater than for the preceding five years. 
The values have increased faster in recent years than the 
catch. The total value for 1902 was nearly equal to that of 1891, 
although the catch was considerably less. The claim that white- 
fish have been nearly all cleaned out of the lakes is not true, at 
least so far as Michigan waters are concerned. The catch has 
held up well for ten years while for the last three years a marked 
increase is shown. 
Mr. Fullerton: Can you assign any cause for the increas? 
in price ? 
Mr. Bower: Everything has increased in price; meats, for in- 
stance, and nearly all food staples. Moreover the producing area 
for fish remains stationary, while in good times the demand in- 
creases with the increase in population. Going back a little, how- 
ever, we fiind an exception to the rule. Ordinarily when any 
commodity is scarce on the market the price is enhanced, but we 
find that in some of the years in which we had the smallest catch 
of whitefish the price was lowest per pound. It seems that for 
some reason or other—perhaps on account of “hard times”—the 
price affected production rather than production the price. In 
other words, values were so low that fishing was more or less un- 
profitable. 
Secretary Peabody: Was not that because the Lake Superior 
whitefish was not educated in those years ? 
(Laughter. ) 
Mr. Bower: Possibly, but the exception applies not to white- 
fish alone, for the years 1895 to 1897 were the low years with al! 
kinds of fish, not only in catch but in value. Beginning in the 
late 90’s, however, there was a gradual increase in the ‘total value 
of the catch of nearly all kinds, a conspicuous exception, how- 
ever, being the sturgeon. 
