20 
make, as a matter of fact, but an inch square mesh, and by its use 
almost everything would be taken, even the fish placed in the 
waters. by our system of distribution would in many instances be 
caught. 
Section one (1) of ‘“‘An act entitled an act to encourage the cul- 
tivation of fishes within the State of Illinois,’ approved and in force 
May 13, 1879, says: 
“Src. 1.. [WHEN UNLAWFUL TO CATCH WITH SEINE, NET, ETC.]| Be_it enacted by the 
People of the State of Illinois, represented in the General Assembly: Thatit shall be un- 
lawfulfor any person or persons to catch or kill any fish of species commonly called 
black, green, silver, or white bass, pike, pickerel, salmon, landlock salmon, jack salmon, 
eroppy or grass bass, sun fish, sun perch or other fish commonly known as GAME fish, in 
or upon any of the rivers, creeks, streams, ponds, lakes, sloughs, bayous, or other water 
courses, wholly within or running through the State of Illinois, with any seine, net, weir 
or other device other than hook and line, from the fifteenth day of February to the fif- 
teenth day of June ineach and every year.” 
This law was evidently made to protect the fish during the 
spawning period, and was perhaps the best that could be passed at 
the time, but we find it open to the following objections : 
First, The length of time for which it makes a close season. 
Second, in not defining what shall be understood by the words 
‘same fish.” | 
Third, In not prohibiting entirely the use of seine or net during 
the time specified as a close season. 
In the first place, four months does not cover the spawning sea- 
son for a!l our native fish throughout the entire State. If a close 
season is needed at all it should be for six months. 
Secondly, the words “game fish’ have been variously construed, 
and in almost every instance when the matter has been brought 
into court, have been settled to mean such fish as readily take a 
live bait, excluding the cat fish, buffalo, white perch, native carp, 
shovel fish, ete. And as a consequence, the fishermen go on, make 
their hauls, catch anything and everything—taking care only that 
they are not caught taking any of the enumerated varieties—out of 
the seine, perhaps throwing them back when watched, but always 
turning up with fine fish in their possession, openly offering them 
Eee, leaving the people powerless to prosecute for want of 
evidence. 
“ 
Third, we hold that the close season should be made, prohibiting © 
the use of seines for the entire time, for the reason that the very 
object of the law—i. e.: the protection of the spawning fish and the 
spawn itself—is defeated by allowing a seine to be used at all, as 
the mere act of drawing a seine with its heavy leaded line on the 
bottom of a stream, lake or slough, must destroy every egg depos- 
ited there, even though not a scale of a game fish is injured. 
Thus it is possible for one drag of a large seine in a lake to not 
only deplete it of live fish, but absolutely to destroy all hope of any 
future increase, and in one hour accomplish more damage than 
could be repaired in a season’s work by the Commission. 
During what is known as the “rolling season” of the buffalo fish 
it is the almost universal custom of fishermen to go out upon the 
overflowed prairies with their trammel nets and semes, and watch 
for a “roll,” i. e. a school of buffalo—usually found in some depres-. 
