54 BULLETIN OF THE UNITED STATES FISH COMMISSION. 



bottom and consequently more natural oyster beds than Cold Spring 

 Harbor. There is also a good deal of planted ground, but so far as we 

 could judge the planted ground was not of very much account and very 

 poorly cared for. Mr. J. K. Mott and Mr. David Meissner were taken 

 on board at Sea Cliff as pilots. The first four dredgings were made on 

 natural beds, but the bottom was too hard for the dredges which we 

 had on board, so that a very large haul was not made either time. 



First dredge : Down five minutes ; result, 32 oysters, 20 mussels, and 

 a good many shells. 



Second dredge : Down three minutes ; result, 60 oysters, 8 mussels, 

 many shells, 3 spider-crabs. 



Third dredge : Down two minutes ; result, 40 oysters, 33 mussels, 

 many shells, 2 spiders. 



Fourth dredge : Down three minutes ; result, 29 oysters, 5 mussels, 

 many shells. 



In the last three dredges there were a few "set" seen and some drills. 



Fifth dredge: Planted ground; down one and a half minutes; result, 2 

 oysters, any quantity of shells, and 3 star -fish. 



Sixth dredge: planted ground; down three minutes ; result 3 oysters, 

 21 star-fish and many shells. In both of these last dredges there were 

 also a good many drills. The seed of the planted beds comes either 

 from the sound or the harbor natural beds. 



The oysters as a rule were of fair size and good flavor. The dredges 

 used in the bay are mostly what are known as " scrapes," or without 

 teeth, as the teeth slip over the oysters on hard bottom instead of picking 

 them up. 



September 18. — Little Neck Bay. This bay was found to be very shallow 

 and muddy. ISTo natural beds could be found, and there were only a few 

 plots of planted ground along the eastern shore near Great Neck. The 

 seed for these planted beds comes from the Sound beds. The oysters 

 on these beds were of fair size and there was some " set." The growth 

 of the oysters here, as indeed all along the north shore of the island, is 

 quite fast. No dredgings were made. 



September 19. — Manhasset, or Cow Bay. Mr. John Van Pelt, of Port 

 Washington, Long Island, was taken on here as pilot, and under his 

 direction four dredgings were made, one on planted and three on nat- 

 ural beds. 



First dredge on planted ground resulted in bringing up 152 oysters, 

 144 mussels, 4 clams, and 1 sea-spider. 



Second dredge : Natural bed, 32 oysters. 



Third dredge : Natural bed, 26 oysters, 1 horseshoe crab. 



Fourth dredge: Natural bed, 25 oysters. 



The upper part of the bay is very much troubled with drills. No 

 star-fish of any account have been seen in the bay this season. The 

 difference in the number of oysters taken in this bay on the first and 

 the subsequent dredges, as well as in Hempstead Bay, is accounted for 



