27 



The bundles were secured with wire aud I left instructions 

 with the Superintendent of the experimental station to place 

 two bundles at weekly intervals in the shallow water of a small 

 area of the backwater, previously selected and enclosed, lying 

 immediately eastward (seaw r ards) of the fisheries station. 



5. These spat-collectors w T ere accordinglv placed in position 

 on the following dates : 23rd and 30th September, 13th, 22nd 

 and 29th October, 5th, 12th, 19th and 26th November, 3rd 

 and 8th December. On my return to Ennore on 12th December 

 I examined the whole of these collectors and it was extremely 

 gratifying to find that a very satisfactory set of spat was 

 clearly in evidence. Unfortunately, owing to a number of the 

 bundles not having been marked so distinctively as they should 

 have been, it was found impossible to distinguish between the 

 different lots laid out in October, but this is of comparatively 

 little importance as all the October lots were thickly covered 

 with spat. 



6. So far as the individual bundles could be identified, 

 the following are the results: — 



Lot ], two bundles of collectors^ laid out 2%rd September. — 

 Only an odd spat of small size and apparently of recent attach- 

 ment adhering here and there upon the tiles in these collectors ; 

 the surface fouled greatly w T ith fine muddy sediment. 



Lot 2, laid out 30M, September— The majority of the tiles 

 in these two bundles bore no spat, more particularly those of 

 the lower rows ; a few oysters were found on the upper tiles 

 and the majority of these were of a particularly large size, 

 ranging downwards from If X 1J inch. There were several 

 between l-i- and If inch in diameter, those uncrowned being 

 almost circular in outline. The census of oysters on the tile 

 carrying the largest individual is as follows: — 



Under or concave surface — 



Depth. Length. 



1 of 4*70 X 4'70 centimetres. 



1 of 3-60 x 3-90 



1 of 2-75 x 3-30 



1 of 2-70 X 3-40 



1 of 2-25 x 3-35 



1 of 3-35 x 2-20 



1 of 0-50 x 0-50 



1 of 0-40 x 0-4U 



Total ... 8 



5) 



