175 
in Lake Superior, and these fisheries resulted in a profit- 
able investment. 
From this date on the pound-net fishing increased 
beyond all conception. It is not infrequently the case 
that pound-nets are set in gangs reaching out from the 
shore a distance of three or or four or more miles, and the 
destruction of fish by this method of fishing is immense. 
Unquestionably the fish so taken are superior to fish 
taken by the gill-nets because they are preserved alive 
until the nets are raised, but it takes everything, great 
and small. 
No fishculturist should condemn the taking of fish if 
the fishing were done with judgment and with a due 
regard for the future. 
The iniquitous feature of the business is that the 
cupidity of the fisherman overcomes his better judgment, 
and he takes from the water large numbers of small and 
immature fish that are of little or no value as merchant- 
able fish. The result of this system of fishing is most 
destructive, tons upon tons of fish being thus taken which 
have never spawned, whereas if they were permitted to 
remain in the water to reproduce their kind, artificial 
methods would be greatly aided. 
About the year 1868, Mr. William Davis of Detroit, 
patented a freezing apparatus for the preservation of 
fish. In that year about sixty tons were frozen in De- 
troit, and seventy-five tons in Toledo. This method of 
preserving fish was not very kindly received at first, but 
gradually grew in favor. Previous to this time, during 
favorable seasons, large quantities of fish were taken 
over and above the needs of present consumption, and 
the only means of preserving them was by the salting 
process, which considerably reduced their value. Grad- 
ually the freezing process grew in favor, and it was 
found by experience that fish might be frozen and held 
in that condition for any length of time. The result has 
been that in almost every important town upon the lakes 
