BULLETIN OF HIE UNITED STATES FISH COMMISSION 259 



the east coast of Sleswick had been made on a thoroughly sound basis, 

 and that healthy oysters had been planted. We must now wait pa- 

 tiently and sec whether these oysters will not only live for a period of 

 years iu the saltest portion of the German waters of the Baltic, but 

 also grow, propagate, and produce a numerous offspring which will 

 form regular beds. 



If our most sanguine expectations are realized, that is, if the oysters, 

 which undoubtedly have reached the period of sexual maturity, during 

 the coming summer produce spawn, and if this spawn adheres to shells 

 of the mother oysters, to tiles and bricks or other objects on the bottom 

 of the Little Belt, and if by autumn the young oysters have reached a 

 size such that they can easily be found, our experiment has not yet been 

 brought to an end. The first Baltic offspring of our Canadian oysters 

 must grow up, must reach sexual maturity, and must in turn produce 

 offspring, and such an event can hardly be looked for before the sum- 

 mer of 18S7 or 1888. We therefore have to wait at least three or four 

 years before our experiment, which begins under the most favorable 

 circumstances, will show whether the Canadian- oyster will permanently 

 thrive iu the Baltic. 



In conclusion I will add a few remarks as to the origin of these oys- 

 ters and their transportation to Bremerhaven (the data have been kindly 

 furnished by Mr. Bumpff), and on some of their zoological qualities. 



The oysters planted by us were almost evenly divided between two 

 varieties of the American oyster, namely, the round and the long va- 

 riety, which by some conchologists are considered a's two different spe- 

 cies. The round variety is known in natural history as Ostrea virgini- 

 ana Lister,, and the long variety as Ostrea canadensis Brugiere, or Os- 

 trea borealis Lamarck. From measurements made by me it appeared 

 that most of the shells of the round oysters (Ostrea virginiana) planted 

 by us w T cre from 80 to 100 millimeters long, from 60 to 70 millimeters 

 broad, and from 25 to 35 millimeters thick; while most of the shells of 

 the long variety (Ostrea canadensis) were from 120 to 200 millimeters 

 lon<r, from 50 to 70 millimeters broad, and from 20 to 37 millimeters 

 thick. If the annual growth of the Canadian oysters progresses at the 

 same rate as that of the Sleswick oysters, I estimate most of the oys- 

 ters planted near Aaroe to be from six to twelve years old. 



The long oysters had been taken from beds 18 feet deep at the mouth 

 of the Saint Lawrence River, and the round ones at the same depth 

 from beds in the open Gulf of Saint Lawrence. Ten barrels were filled 

 with each of these two varieties, aud by the most rapid transit, by way 

 of Quebec and Portland, conveyed to New York, where they arrived on 

 October 24. As the barrels were received in a somewhat damaged con- 

 dition, the oysters were taken out and during the night packed by skilled 

 persons in a better and tinner manner, so that the round oysters only 

 filled 9 and the long ones 8 barrels. They were taken on board the 

 Werra ou October 25, aud arrived in Bremerhaven on November 3. 



