state Convention—Fish of Wisconsin . 329 
fish, eels, etc.; others, again, are covered with curious plates, such 
as the sturgeons. Fish inhabit both salt and fresh water. It is 
admitted by all authority, that fresh water fish are more univer¬ 
sally edible than those inhabiting the ocean. Marine fish are said 
to be more highly flavored than those inhabiting fresh water; an 
assertion I am by no means prepared to admit. 
As a rule, fish are better the colder and purer the water in 
which they are found, and where can you find those conditions 
more favorable than in the cold depths of our great lakes. We 
have tasted, under the most favorable conditions, about every one 
of the celebrated salt water fish, and can say that whoever eats a 
whitefish just taken from the pure cold water of Lake Michigan, 
will have no reason to be envious of the dwellers by the sea. 
Fish are inconceivably prolific; a single female deposits at one 
spawn from thirty thousand to the prodigious number of thirty 
millions , varying according to species. 
Fish afford a valuable article of food for man, being highly nu¬ 
tritious and easy of digestion ; they abound in phosphates, hence 
are valuable as affording nutrition to the osseous and nervous sys¬ 
tem, and they have been termed, not inappropriately, brain food—• 
certainly a very desirable article of diet for some people. They are 
more savory, nutritious and easy of digestion when just taken 
from the water; in fact, the sooner they are cooked after being 
caught the better. No fish should be more than a few hours from 
their watery element, before being placed upon the table. 
For convenience, I will group our fish into families as a basis 
for what remarks I shall offer. Our bony fish, having spine rays 
and covered with comblike scales, belong to the Perch family — a 
valuable family, all take the hook lively, are gamey, and spawn 
in the summer. 
The Yellow Perch , and at least two species of black, or striped 
Bass have a wide range, and are found in all the rivers and lakes 
in the state. There is a large species of fish, known as Wall¬ 
eyed Pike {Sencope7'ca Americana), belonging to this family, which 
is found sparingly, in most of our rivers and lakes. The Pike is 
an active and most rapacious animal, devouring fish of considera¬ 
ble size. Although the flesh is firm and of good flavor, it would 
