CONSERVATION COMMISSION. 35 



The number of species propagated and distributed by the Com- 

 mission in 1912 was thirty-nine. 



The Legislature of 1912 authorized the construction of two 

 additional fish hatcheries, one to be located in St. Lawrence 

 county and the other in Warrensburgh. For each of these hatch- 

 eries an appropriation of $20,000 was made. A contract has 

 been entered into for the construction of the new St. Lawrence 

 county hatchery, which is to be devoted primarily to the propa- 

 gation of bass. L T p to the present time no suitable location has 

 been found for the other proposed hatchery. When these new 

 hatcheries have been completed, and necessary betterments have 

 been made to the hatcheries now in operation, the State will have 

 a plant for the propagation of fish adequate to all present needs. 



This State ranks first in fish culture; but a great and growing 

 problem has to do with the pollution of streams, which unless it 

 can be speedily checked is a serious menace to future work in 

 this direction. Inasmuch as the waters of the marine district, 

 being closely contiguous to the greatest city in the new world, 

 are peculiarly subject to pollution, our principal discussion of 

 this question will be found under the head of Bureau of Marine 

 Fisheries. Practically all that is there said, however, applies 

 more or less to other parts of the State, for there are few streams 

 or waters which are entirely free from the danger of pollution. 



Bureau of Marine Fisheries. 



The revenue derived from the Bureau of Marine Fisheries dur- 

 ing the fiscal year ending September 30, 1912, was $25,154.76, 

 being the largest in its history. There has, however, been a 

 decrease as compared with the previous year both in the number 

 of applications for leases of shellfish lands and in the acreage 

 actually disposed of. This cannot be ascribed to any one cause, 

 but is probably the result of a combination of influences, among 

 which is doubtless the unsatisfactory condition of oyster-growing 

 in certain localities due to the so-called " polluted oyster " scare. 

 The natural diminution of the amount of land available for shell- 

 fish culture has also been a factor in this result. 



It has previously been noted that prior to 1907 lands devoted 

 to the cultivation of shellfish had not been the subject of any 



