RECOMMENDATIONS 



Census of Cases of Pollution 



The examination of the field and the study of the question of 

 pollution, with especial reference to New York State, during the 

 past summer has thrown some light on the proper means for solving 

 the problem of stream pollution and on preliminary work which 

 must be done before the specific methods can be generally applied. 

 Evidence enough has been secured to show the seriousness of stream 

 pollution at the present time within the limits of the state, as well 

 as the rapid increase in the immediate past and the still more serious 

 outlook for the future. It is, however, necessary to confess that no 

 one knows the extent of stream pollution in the state and the char- 

 acter of the different wastes which are coming from the varied 

 manufacturing plants within its limits. Consequently, the first thing 

 that should be done is to organize means for taking a census of 

 individual cases in the state in order to determine the location of 

 these and their relation to the different streams and watersheds, as 

 well as the amount and character of the wastes produced, fluctua- 

 tions of the same with the seasons or other periods of time, and 

 the exact extent to which the life of the water has already suffered 

 by the discharge at individual points. The situation is certainly 

 critical in some places, and even a lenient enforcement of the present 

 laws would eliminate some difficulties, but we are still unfamiliar 

 with the exact extent of the problem. After this census, it will 

 be easier to say how to proceed in the enforcement of the conserva- 

 tion law for the entire commonwealth. 



Weed of Continued Study 



In the next place the character of the wastes produced and their 

 effect upon aquatic life is only partially understood. It was the 

 unanimous opinion of the game-protectors, as expressed in the reply 

 to a specific question on this point, that not anyone of the industrial 

 wastes was in any respect advantageous to the fish life of the stream. 

 On the other hand, it is certainly true that, as indicated above, the 

 different chemicals exert a varying influence on the aquatic fauna 

 and flora. For evident reasons it is important that the precise 

 effect of individual substances should be determined. In some cases 

 it will be possible to secure data on this from the literature on the 



