Fisli Culture iti Inland Waters 



221 



thing — the death of the victim. The only hope offered is in an 

 effort directed toward the eHmination of the drug from the system 

 and the restoration of its normal functions, so far as normal con- 

 ditions can be restored. 



The problem is how to ehminate the drug from the svstem and 

 how to restore normal conditions. A former Federal Commissioner 

 of Fish and Fisheries said : " The fishery problems of fresh water 

 are undoubtedly simpler than those of the seas, but they are certainly 

 less directly approachable than the problems of agriculture which 

 have met their solutions. It is not surprising therefore, that 

 throughout the country in matters of fish culture, there is yet too 

 little endeavor to find real causes or to apply appropriate remedies." 



To continue the medical figure of speech, as previously suggested, 

 the early and to some extent late administration of remedies were 

 in the form of " shot-gun prescriptions,"' without knowledge of the 

 anatomy and physiological processes of the patient, — or even the 

 cause of the affection or the therapeutic properties of the remedies 

 employed. 



In other words, in the past, millions upon millions of fish have 

 been planted in lakes and streams of the United States without any 

 scientific investigation whatever for the purpose of determining 

 whether the waters were suitable for the fish which were proposed 

 to be planted in them, or whether the fish were desirable for those 

 waters. The situation is that hundreds of thousands of dollars have 

 been spent and millions of fish have been wasted without results of 

 practical value having been obtained. 



To quote again from W. C. Adams of Massachusetts : " It is 

 elementary that the largest amount of wild life will be found in the 

 area (whether land or water) that is most adapted to it, and where 

 food and protection (in its fullest sense) are present to the economic 

 maximum. It is a fair assertion that there is no area of land or 

 body of water in this Commonwealth today on which primeval 

 conditions have been maintained or artificial conditions developed to 

 the point where it can be said that that area is in such physical 

 condition that it will maintain indefinitely its full quota of wild life. 

 If this is true of certain areas whch have had special attention, then 

 we are in a position to visualize what is the actual condition through- 

 out the entire State, and how hopeless it is to expect great increase 

 in the stock of wild life until conditions approximating the economic 

 maximum can be created." 



This situation is not peculiar to the Commonwealth of Massachu- 

 setts. It is the prevailing problem almost everywhere, and the 

 question appears to be how to establish a balance between game 

 fishes and their food supply and maintain it with satisfactory fish- 

 ing. 



About thirty years ago, concerning the stocking of streams. Dr. 

 Barton W. Evermann ('94) indicated that "to do this work intelli- 

 gently it must be based upon a knowledge of the natural conditions 

 under which each species thrives, which of the factors in its environ- 



