Streoe Poilction 39 



organisms constitute the primary or secondary sources of food 

 supply for the fish. Together they make up the biological complex 

 of the water. Just as one would not expect to find large land animals 

 in any region which was devoid of vegetation and smaller living 

 organisms, and which presented to the eye nothing but an extended 

 area of bare soil, so underneath the surface of the water one need 

 not expect to find conditions light for fish existence if there are no 

 other organisms present and no varied associations of living things, 

 both plants and animals, to provide the food supply of the larger 

 forms. And just as one can distinguish on the land between desert 

 conditions which are primary and natural on the one hand, or secon- 

 dary and created by untoward conditions on the other hand, so one 

 may differentiate equally between the aquatic desert which is natural 

 and represents a region unfitted for fish existence on one hand, and 

 those conditions which are acquired and due to interference with 

 natural conditions on the other hand. If the fish have all been 

 caught off or driven away, then one would still find the smaller 

 animals and plants, provided conditions of existence still remain 

 favorable. But if the character of the water and the bottom have 

 been so modified by the introduction of foreign materials that they 

 no longer afford opportunity for the development of these smaller 

 organisms, then by the absence of such forms of life one would 

 demonstrate clearly and positively the fact that water has been 

 rendered unfit for fish existence. 



Devastation on Land and in "Water 



One can furnish a ready example from the surface of the land 

 to illustrate the point in mind. In the midst of wooded hills a forest 

 fire has swept over a given area and reduced the land to bare soil, 

 with perhaps fragments of half burned wood and ashes which soon 

 disappear with the storms. The region stands out in sharp contrast 

 with surrounding areas where the growth of plants and the presence 

 of animals of various types indicate favorable conditions for exist- 

 ence and the ability of the territory to support a varied population 

 of living things. Under the surface of the water the same thing has 

 taken place at certain points. The inflow of chemical wastes has 

 driven away the fish, has eliminated oxygen from the water, has 

 destroyed the smaller organisms, both the plant and animal, and has 

 left either a waste or a highly specialized and peculiar chemical 



