336 Roosevelt Wild Life BuUefin 



observations, for often those in control of the funds can see no 

 advantage to be gained by further work along such lines, especially 

 if the report upon the " sur\rey " injudiciously claims that it was 

 "thorough enough for all practical purposes." 



At a convention of the National Association of Fish Commis- 

 sioners, John \A'. Titcomb. then State Fish Culturist of New York, 

 said (Titcomb, '17) : " It becomes apparent that in order to 

 obtain the best results, a permanent policy must be established with 

 regard to each stream, pond or lake which is to receive attention. 

 In other words, the Commissioners of the different states should 

 have a sun-ey made of all the waters under their jurisdiction which 

 are to receive any attention in the way of restocking. The results 

 of the survey should be pubHshed in such a way that the successors 

 of those who established the policy may have something to guide 

 them in their efforts with reference to the same waters." 



To this recommendation it may be added that to that end the 

 Conser\-ation Commission, or State Fish and Game Department, of 

 each State should cooperate with a permanent and financially well- 

 supported department or departments for the investigation of vnld 

 life, and one upon which it may depend. These administrative depart- 

 ments of the State governments have not, in the past, been able to 

 furnish the facilities, in laboratories, libraries, or experiment sta- 

 tions, or the maintenance of the scientific staff, or an atmosphere 

 favorable to prolonged scientific study of these wild life problems. 

 It is probably only at special research stations, and at colleges and 

 universities, that we can expect the most of such work to be con- 

 ducted, where there is an atmosphere favorable for research and 

 education, rather than that of administration. In New York State, 

 the Roosevelt Wild Life Forest Experiment Station has been 

 authorized by the State to perform just such functions, and it only 

 needs adequate support to execute the kind of investigations that have 

 been outlined in this paper for public \\-aters, and such as it has 

 already been conducting for several years in various parts of the 

 State in the forest waters. 



As concerns game fishes the purpose of such investigations should 

 be to make as exhaustive a study of the lakes and streams as 

 possible, which may be taken as representative of the various con- 

 ditions generallv obtaining in different sections of the State, and as 

 heretofore, making use of such outside scientific help as may be 

 available. By this means a definite policy could be more quickly 

 and economically formulated and carried out than by present 

 methods, of which the practical results lie far in the future. In 

 fact they mav lie so far in the future, that there will be no oppor- 

 tunity* for practical application, in that the game fish will have 

 joined the passenger pigeon in the " happy hunting grounds." This 

 may appear like the fears of a calamitist, but one does not have 

 to go far, and open his eyes very wide, to see what the present 

 conditions are. If he considers them in relation to the expenditure 

 of effort and money during the past 40 or 50 years, and if he has any 

 interests bevond those of his o^vn immediate selfish ends, he will 



