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own; and so it will, in shorter time than it required for 
the coast of Maine to attain its present quietude, if the 
wholesale slaughter of all sorts and conditions of the 
defenceless creatures is not discontinued. 
Fishculture, and the protection of the breeding fish 
and of the young fry are becoming more decidedly urgent 
each year; but the Government has taken the matter 
under its own protection, and now we need no longer 
fear the extinction of some of the favorite finny races. 
I think there is no sport more truly widespread than 
that of the fisherman. It passes through all grades of 
society, from the dainty lady who wants to fish but 
screams at the sight of the necessary worm, to the sturdy 
aleut who only rejoices in it from its positive necessity 
for the sustenance of his family ; yet one could envy him 
the myriads of pretty, silvery creatures waiting for his 
barbed stick, while our Eastern rivers hold such chary 
beauties that no coaxing with dainty morsels can win 
them to the hook. And yet the fascination returns peri- 
odically. The fisherman takes his basket, his hook and 
line, or flies—as the case may require—he starts off hope- 
fully, his appetite already sharpened with the bright pro- 
mise of the day’s sport; and if he returns with nothing 
but a very hungry stomach, very delapidated clothing, 
and a weight of weariness upon him, he will forget it all 
and be ready for the next season of trout or salmon! 
North, South, East and West, it is the same. And as if 
in indulgence to the love of the sport, there is nothing so 
prolific as fish. Produced by the million every year, they 
are surely sent for some great good. 
From the coarse grained cod of the north-east, to the 
delicious salmon of the north-west; from the bulky hal- 
ibut to the slender speckled trout; from the northern 
mackerel to the highly flavored shad; all have their 
votaries ; all take their places among the most valuable 
living productions of the world; why then should they 
not be carried from one part of the Union to another? 
