24 AMERICAN FISH CULTURE. 



the cost of restoring to the .people who dwell on the river 

 in question and its tributaries, the privileges of which it 

 unjustly deprived them in constructing internal improve- 

 ments, or granted away to corporate companies. This the 

 New England States have already done, and when appro- 

 priations have fallen short in effecting some desired object, 

 commissioners have footed the bill, trusting to the liberality 

 of their state to refund the difference. 



Although our state governments have been tardy in avail- 

 ing themselves of the benefit to be obtained from this new 

 science, individual curiosity and enterprise have not been 

 idle. From a lack of knowledge of the requirements and 

 mode of procedure, however, success in most cases has been 

 small or unsatisfactory, and experiments have been almost 

 or entirely confined to breeding trout. Our most zealous 

 and able fish culturist, Stephen H. Ainsworth, commenced 

 ten years ago with whatever light he could get on the sub- 

 ject from newspapers and periodicals, generally accounts of 

 what was doing in France. '/ With a supply of water that 

 does not fill an inch auger hole, and of exceedingly varia- 

 ble temperature, it may be said, he has taught himself this 

 science, discovering many of its hidden truths not recorded 

 by French fish culturists, and is now our chief authority on 

 all matters pertaining to itJ' /He imparts the knowledge 

 he has gained by years of unwearied observation, to all 

 inquirers, and has done much by his letters and newspaper 

 contributions to create an interest in the ai-t^ He has been i 

 my preceptor; all that I shall endeavor to teach in a chap- 

 ter on trout breeding are lessons which I have learned of 



