284 BULLETIN OF THE T'NITED STATES FISH COMMISSION. 



vessel, into a wooden pail. This was repeated until it was believed 

 that a sufficient amount of spawn was mixed with the water in the pail, 

 which was then taken and poured into the pond at different points, in 

 order to distribute it over as great an area as possible. 



Before the spawn was poured into the pond, however, it was allowed 

 to stand in the pail from three to five hours, in order to give it a chance 

 to develop to the swimming stage of the embryo. Fresh supplies of 

 water were also added once or twice during this time to that in tbe pail 

 in which the spawn was originally taken. 



This briefly describes the processes used in conducting our experi- 

 ment; and while it bears a strong resemblance to the method used by 

 Mr. Brandely, it is really very different in that he had a second pond at 

 a higher level from which supplies of fresh water were drawn through 

 a sponge filter. In our case nothing of the kind was used; we depended 

 absolutely upon nothing else than the rise and fall of the tide for the 

 renewal of the water in the pond. We did, however, use a diaphragm 

 through which the water could pass and repass somewhat similar to 

 that u^ed by the French experimenter. The method used at Stockton 

 was, however, essentially the same as the apparatus devised by the 

 Avriter in 1880 and 1881, but which was designed and made on such a 

 small scale and under such unfavorable conditions that no practical 

 results were achieved. 



RESULTS OF THE EXPERIMENT. 



On the 22d day of August, or 40 days after the beginning of our ex- 

 periment, Mr. Pierce sent me by mail a series of shells taken from the 

 collectors, which had been placed in the pond at various dates during 

 the month of July, and which showed young oysters or spat attached, 

 ranging from one-fourth to three-fourths of an inch in diameter; demon- 

 strating conclusively that the young would grow just as rapidly in our 

 pond as in the waters of the open bay. Of this last fact I am positively 

 assured on the ground of previous observations made during the three 

 preceding seasons. 



We are therefore prepared to assert that it is perfectly feasible to rear 

 oysters from artificially fertilized eggs, and, so far as I can judge, quite 

 as successfully as by the method of sowing shells on the bottom, now 

 largely practiced on the coastof Connecticut in the waters of Long Island 

 Sonnd. While our experiment has not shown that we could get a greater 

 set of spat than that ordinarily obtained under natural conditions on 

 planted shells, the experiment has settled several questions which are 

 of the greatest importance in the practical work of oyster culture. 



One of the difficulties encountered was the same as that met with in 

 shell-planting in the open waters, namely, the accumulation of slime 

 and ooze on the surface of the collectors, which is so deadly to the in- 

 fant oyster when it is from one five-hundredth to one-ninetieth of an 

 inch in diameter, a very slight quantity of sediment serving at this 



