6 FISH CULTURAL ASSOCIATION. 
I beg indulgence for consuming your time with matters 
which, to the old fish culturists, may appear self-evident trifles, 
but my own brief experience has taught me that these trifles are 
the stumbling-blocks over which we beginners have to trip, 
and I am satisfied that the difficulty of providing proper food 
at reasouable cost has been the one great cause of failure in 
rearing trout with profit for market. 
The Secretary then read the following. paper by Mr. H. D. 
McGovern of Brooklyn, on the New Enemies of Trout : 
The question has been asked me more than once, “ Why is it 
that our streams, which used to abound with fish, are so deple- 
ted, particularly of the young trout ?” I at once commenced an 
investigation, and began to think why it was that the good old 
streams of Long Island, that used to furnish so much pleasure 
to the sportsman, were now almost untenanted by large trout. 
The question, I thought, could be easily answered, knowing 
that there were so many pot-hunting sportsmen around, in and 
out of season, who would not hesitate to kill a large trout even 
if they knew it was on the spawning-bed and in the very act of 
spawning. This, with the assistance of the mink and snake and 
other enemies, I thought would answer the question. But I was 
mistaken. I will pass the large trout for the present and give 
you the result of my investigation of the small fish. When I 
say small, I mean from one year to eighteen months trout. I 
was in the habit of placing some of the fish in a spring-well for 
general observation. As the water was clear, and the space nar- 
row, it afforded me a good opportunity to watch the growth, 
habits, and movements of the speckled beauties. Several times 
I came to my spring and found some of the number missing. I 
examined the screens and found there was no chance of escape 
by that means. I then placed six eighteen-months-old fish in 
the spring. Next morning I found one missing. At 4 P. M. 
on the same day two were missing. On the following morning 
only two remained. Then I became alarmed and thought the 
fish were playing cannibal; so I determined to solve the mys- 
tery, if it took me the balance of the year. Knowing that one 
