128 BULLETIN OF THE UNITED STATES FISH COMMISSION. 



Lard, and confined to the bottom like the adult ; they are transpa- 

 rent, exceedingly minute, and swim freely through the water. Coming 

 to the surface by night they are carried about by the currents, and, 

 unless the attack was a general one, the relief afforded a portion of the 

 bed by the diver would only be temporary. One portion would soon 

 be stocked again by another. It is after they have assumed the com- 

 mon form of star-fish that they are known to be so destructive. Oysters 

 spawn in June, July, and August ; they also are free to swim about 

 after birth, but only for a day or two. It may be that while they are 

 free and have no shells they are preyed upon by the jelly-like five-fin- 

 gers, which swim about freely for a fortnight to three weeks. 



It is well established by the researches of Professor Goode and others 

 that menhaden ("pogies") do not eat star-fish in the adult form. Our 

 foremost authority on the subject says of menhaden : " These fish do 

 not feed upon living animals, and teeth would be useless to them." 

 There is little doubt, nevertheless, that a considerable portion of the 

 food of menhaden and kindred fish is made up of the jelly-like larvae of 

 radiates, mollusks, articulates, and worms, in the mastication of which 

 teeth are unnecessary. It is likely the oystermen are right in saying 

 menhaden are beneficial to them. It is unlikely that all of the captures 

 of the fishermen have perceptibly lessened the numbers of these fish. 

 Menhaden are supposed to spawn in midwinter, and the place is not 

 certainly known; they are not subject to such danger of extinction as 

 fishes caught at the time and place of spawning. Yet the weight of 

 testimony goes to prove that pursuit by the fisherman has driven the 

 menhaden away from the bays and inlets of the coast. They seem as 

 numerous as ever some distance out, but they no longer sweep the 

 mouths of the streams in such enormous schools as in former times. 



The oystermen would do well to find out through the diver the exact 

 condition of things on the beds. If he can work to advantage against 

 the five-fingers, so much the better. It should be at once determined, 

 from specimens caught on the spot, whether menhaden do eat larval 

 star-fish and other enemies of the oyster. If so, legislation restricting 

 the pursuit of these fish from the middle of July to the middle of Sep- 

 tember would include the time they would be of use against star-fishes. 

 Before legislating, however, the thing to do is to determine accurately 

 what enemies to check and what will check them. 



Museum of Comparative Zoology, 



Cambridge, Mass., July 28, 1884. 



