We must not, however, ignore the counter argument. Such is the mortality among fish that only an infinitesimal percentage attain to maturity. Möbius has shown that for every grown oyster upon the beds of Schleswig-Holstein, 1,045,000 have died. Only a very small percentage, perhaps not greater than this, of the shad or the smelt ever come upon the breeding grounds. Some consideration, then, ought to be shown to the individuals which have escaped from their enemies and have come up to deposit the precious burden of eggs. How much must they be protected? Here the fish culturist comes in with the proposition “_that it is cheaper to make fish so plenty by artificial means that every fisherman may take all he can catch, than to enforce a code of protective laws_.” The salmon rivers of the Pacific slope, and the shad rivers of the east, and the whitefish fisheries of the lakes, are now so thoroughly under control by the fish culturist, that it is doubtful if any one will venture to contradict his assertion. The question now is, whether he can extend his domain to other species. Legislation and fish-ways, then, are, as yet, of little practical importance. Actually, they repeat the proverbial act of the clown who locked the stable door after his horse had been stolen. No one makes laws or builds fish-ways until he is of the decided opinion that the fish are pretty nearly gone. Artificial fish culture seems to offer the only remedy for the evils which have been described. [TO BE CONTINUED.] THE LIFE OF GEORGE ELIOT. There is now and then a biography so written that the reader is able to become intimately acquainted with the subject, to feel after reading that he has had a personal contact, and has formed a friendship which is warm and living. Such “Lives” are rare. Most works of this kind are so biased by the interpretations of the author, so full of facts and opinions that the reader loses all feeling of companionship in reading; he closes the book, knowing much about the subject, but rarely understanding him. A book which presents a man or woman in that personal way which makes a friendship through the medium of the book possible, confers a great gift upon the reading public.