404 WISCONSIN STATE AGRICULTURAL SOCIETY . 
sale. Valuable articles on fish culture may also be found in 
various sporting books of Hon. Robert B. Roosevelt, published 
by Harpers and Carleton, of New York, and in the book on Fish¬ 
ing in American Waters, by Genio C. Scott, also published by 
the Harpers. The works of Garlick and Fry, although the old¬ 
est, and valuable as contributions to the history of fish culture, 
are not now of practical value. 
Beside the issue of numerous works, another help has been the 
eagerness with which the newspapers have published articles re¬ 
lating to fish culture. It is true that some very absurd state¬ 
ments have found place in their columns, and that stories about 
fish-ponds have not grown any less by being repeated. But, on 
the whole, much valuable information has been diffused, and pub¬ 
lic attention aroused and excited. Then, too, people now engage 
i 
in it who mean to make it a business. At first those who raised 
fish did it from curiosity, or as a pastime, or for the purpose of 
scientific investigation. But now they go into it to make money, 
and doing this are willing to learn before commencing. The con¬ 
viction has gradually been forced upon all, that fish culture re¬ 
quired at least as much knowledge and experience as farming or 
any of the mechanic arts. A man’s knowledge of fish raising 
must be paid for in some way. He must either get it from some 
competent person, or pay for it in the losses caused by his inex¬ 
perience. Even when all the theoretical knowledge is obtained, 
experience is still required to make things work easily ; and it is 
an encouraging sign that people are ready to acknowledge this 
and willing to learn from those who have been through the mill. 
Then, again, capitalists now seem willing to engage in the busi¬ 
ness, and although, as in farming, a great deal can be done with 
very little money, yet a great deal more can be done by the use of 
a little capital. 
Again, those who start in the business now have the results of 
all their predecessors’ failures and successes before them, and if 
they make the same mistakes they have no one but themselves to 
blame. As more is now known about the business, they start 
under better auspices and with a better chance to economize in 
labor, construction, and maintenance. All these points are highly 
