General Discussion of Topics. EEG 
express ‘even more fully than the resolution does our appre- 
ciation of the great benefit that can be obtained in the la- 
bors which we have at heart by the codperation of the gen- 
tlemen in this city interested .directly’ on: indirectly, 1m, the 
fish-business. We can obtain from their experience a very 
large mass of information that will be exceedingly valua- 
ble. All sides hunger after statistics. Upon satisfactory sta- 
tistics we must depend for any conclusions to which we 
may arrive. As you have heard here, one gentleman arrives 
at one concluston from his experience, and another at 
another from his experience. You will find a difference of 
opinion on points on which you would suppose there would 
be no difference, and it is only by obtaining a mass of facts, 
a large number of results, that we can finally attain some 
absolute conclusions. Now these gentlemen, dealing as they 
are largely in fish, can give us their conclusions on a much 
larger scale even than we can reach, and they, too, form a 
test of our knowledge that puts us to the requisite care in 
forming conclusions, and makes.us careful in our statements. 
I knew to-day, when I had to read before you the statement 
that nobody had ever found mature spawn in eels, I was 
making a statement in the face of all of those gentlemen 
through whose hands pass millions of eels every day. At 
the instant some one might get up and say, “You are mis- 
taken. We find eels with mature spawn exactly the same as 
other fish;” and it was with entire satisfaction that I re- 
ceived the assurance from Professor Baird that we had un- 
der a microscope discovered spawn of eels in a mature con- 
dition. We can also, with the codperation of these gentle- 
men, obtain proper legislation. The object of this Associa- 
tion is principally to increase the business and supply of fish. 
I think we will meet with the hearty codperation of those 
