BULLETIN OF 'THE tlNITED STATES FlSn COMMISSION. 181 



its saltiiess. While, as a general rule, the oysters iu the reservoirs in 

 the mithlle of the swamp perished, excellent oysters, though not in 

 great abundance, were taken from the Canal Sant' Antonio. The con- 

 clusion which may be drawn from this circumstance is, as I have already 

 stated, that fresh water is not injurious to the life of the oyster.* 



Another experiment was recentlj^ made by Count L. Torelli, formerly 

 royal prefect of Venice. He appointed a commission, of which I was 

 a member, for the purpose of studying the question of oyster culture 

 and ijroposing more efficient means of promoting it. This commission 

 went all over the lagoon, looked for places suitable for the reproduction 

 and rearing of oysters, studied the causes which are injurious to the life 

 of the mollusk, and reached the conclusion that the principal cause is 

 the intlux into the basin of the lagoon of fresh water coming from the 

 adjoining land, which, possibly in conjunction with other less known 

 causes, produces a slow but continuous change of the water, making it 

 in many places less and less adapted to the life of the oyster. As the 

 lagoon regulations prohibited the inclosing of this lagoon, in which per- 

 haps the most successful attemi^ts at oyster culture might be made, the 

 commission had to exclude from its consideration this entire vast re- 

 gion. The labors of the commission were restricted to the lagoon of 

 Venice, and for this reason it did not visit any localities outside of these 

 limits. 



As the ministry of agriculture had expressed its desire to promote 

 the raising of mollusks on the shores of Italy, and to encourage the 

 planting of new shell-fish, it was natural that among the persons who, 

 provided with the necessary means, responded to this appeal were the 

 enterprising Messrs. Grego, who asked the authorities for their sup- 

 port, so as to enable them to carry out a plan which would prove a 

 great advantage, not only to themselves, but to all the inhabitants of 

 this neighborhood. 



A distinguished and highly-intelligent marsh cultivator, the Cheva- 

 lier Antonio Bullo, wrote that our sea-coasts in the province of Venice 

 are no longer adapted to the raising and cultivation of oysters. Both 

 by the sand which is brought by the many rivers emptying into the sea 

 along this coast and by streams of fresh water, which abound in this 

 .coast region, these coasts have become such as not to justify any ex- 

 l)ectations of favorable results in oyster culture.f 



Chevalier Bullo's oi^inion appears to me to be somewhat too absolute, 

 as long as it has not been iiroved by practical experiments, but never- 

 theless deserves to be taken into account, as coming from a person 

 having great experience in all matters pertaining to the fisheries. 



I must say that 1 do not altogether share Chevalier Bullo's opinion, 

 as attempts at oyster culture could be made in bottoms where there are 



'Reference is hci'c made to the mass of IVesb water wlii(-li enters tlio caual as far as 

 Burauo from Porte Grandi. 

 » t The journal Tempo for Marcli 27, 1879, No. 73. 



