290 



Value of fry destroyed. 



A 



would not be benefited by any protection extend 

 their natural food. 



38. Omitting these, however, the annual destru 

 of fry in the rice fields and marshes may be fair! 

 down at not less than 567,000,000. This is not un£ 

 able or accidental destruction, but it is wilful, rec 

 and preventable. Some of these fry, it will be remei 

 ed, are capable of becoming fish of 10 and 20 poun 

 weight. Many more will run to two and three po 

 and very few comparatively to less than two or 

 ounces. It seems fair to assume for the purpose ol 

 culation, that on an average the fry weigh at an 

 Though every care age not less than a grain each, 

 are calculated to grow to one p 

 weight. Is it worthwhile to 

 these grains of meat into pound 

 in other words to allow them to r 

 ply themselves by 7,000, for tl 

 the number of grains in a pound 

 it worthwhile to turn 567,00* 

 grains or 81,000 pounds of mea 

 567,000,000 pounds, or 253,125 

 of good food? Though the av 

 weight attained, and consequ 

 the multiple employed in this c 

 lation, be reduced by a half or 1 

 fourths, to meet the destructic 

 fish preying on each other, the fi 

 which will remain will still be s 



has been taken to 

 make the numerals in 

 this paragraph, and in 

 paragraphs 20 and 35 

 as correct as possible 

 under the circum- 

 stances, and to err on 

 the side of moderation 

 rather than of possi- 

 ble exaggeration, still 

 large multiples of 

 comparatively small 

 multiplicands are ge- 

 nerally more or less 

 fruitful of error, and 

 these figures should 

 consequently be relied 

 on only for the pur- 

 pose for which they 

 have been introduced, 

 that of presenting an 



