THE SALMON. 177 
nets, or to abolish mill-dams in toto, in order to prevent 
the destruction, and even insure the abundance of this 
noble fish in the waters whence it is so rapidly disap- 
pearing. Only abstain from killing it on the spawning- 
beds, when it is in the act of reproducing its kind, or 
when it is returning to the sea, weary and weak, and 
unfit for food—only compel, by strictly enforced law, 
every mill-dam owner to attach to his weir or dam, an 
apron, or sloping descent, of an angle not exceeding 45°, 
twelve feet in width, over which the water shall flow in 
a volume of one foot depth, and the fish will speedily 
be found in as great abundance as ever, in. all those 
waters from which he has not as yet wholly disappeared. 
Even in those where he is now extinct I believe that he 
could, be reproduced by the importation of small fry, 
and if reproduced, of course, preserved to any extent by 
the enforcement of proper laws. While on this subject, 
I would state, that greatly to the credit of the supervi- 
sors of that county, an act has been passed containing 
all the provisions above mentioned, with regard to the 
Salmon River, in Oswego county, I believe, in the State 
-of New York; and I trust that the example thus set 
will be followed, with reference to the Oswego itself, 
and the Seneca, Cayuga, and Skaneateles outlets, in 
which case salmon would be once more taken in the 
heart of the Empire State, and instead of depending on 
Maine and New Brunswick for her supplies of salmon, 
New York would ere long be enabled to supply her 
8* 
