16 
of restrictive laws, not without opposition, and to mark 
the contest of progress with ignorance and lawlessness, 
until to-day the fishery laws are respected where they 
were once set at nought. 
Within the last three months, from our hatcheries 
thirty millions of white fish have gone into Lake Erie, 
eighty millions of wall-eyed pike have been deposited 
in the same lake, and in our larger rivers and streams. 
Over four million of the different varieties of trout have 
been placed in our streams. Five million of blue pike 
are hatching in the Erie Hatchery for the benefit of that 
lake, or a total of one hundred and nineteen millions of 
fish planted to replenish the food supply of the people, 
to say nothing of the millions of shad fry that during the 
season will be deposited by the United States Commis- 
sion in the Delaware and Susquehanna, by our own 
hatching on the Upper Delaware. 
Do not think, gentlemen of the American Fisheries 
Society, that these weighty statistics are mentioned 
boastfully, as showing what Pennsylvania has done, and 
leaving the inference that no other state has done as 
well. The history of Pennsylvania fish culture is like- 
wise the history of Michigan, New York and Wisconsin 
fish culture. It is the history of the American Fisher- 
ies Society, for the men who are the members of this 
Society have made such statistics possible and_ practi- 
cable. | 
Yet, gentlemen, it would seem that this Society should 
have a greater work marked out for it than to merely 
meet once a year for the purpose of collating experiences 
and papers. Its influence should be felt where legisla- 
tion beneficial to fish cultural interests is opposed by 
adverse influences. It should be a force in the condem- 
nation of erroneous views; and should not hesitate to 
make itself heard where the expression of its opinion 
would be a potent factor in the determination of a correct 
course in fishery matters. With just and impartial 
decisions, and uncontrolled by faction, the American 
