58 U. 8. BUREAU OF FISHERIES 
Construction of a series of tidal ponds in the salt marshes has been 
completed with the aid of W. P. A. labor. Here principles of oyster 
culture similar to those described above are being tested on a small 
commercial seale. Several hundred bushels of seed oysters have been 
planted in the ponds and ditches, where, by control of water levels 
and tidal currents, it may be possible to produce oysters of good 
marketable size under protected conditions. This work may have im- 
portant practical applications in. demonstrating how the extensive 
salt marshes in the South Atlantic region may be converted into 
oyster-producing areas. 
Ouster destruction. by starfish in South Atlantic waters.—In the 
coastal waters of North and South Carolina destruction of oysters 
and other shellfish by starfish occurs to a limited extent in the more 
saline waters of sounds and bays adjacent to mlets. At the Beaufort 
Labor: atory studies of the oyster-consuming ability of this pest were 
conducted over a period of 1 year by Dr. Pr ytherch. During the first 
6 months (January—June) the 10 starfish in the experimental tanks 
devoured over 1,750 oysters ranging in age from 1 to 3 years. The 
number of oysters eaten per month over this period ranged from 
183 to 456 and was greatest during March and least during June, 
when the starfish were undergoing the processes of gonad develop- 
ment and spawning. 
After July first only large oysters, 3 and 4 years old, were kept 
with the starfish and during the following 6 months a total of 470 
were eaten, the number per month increasing rapidly with the low- 
ering of water temperature. The starfish were frequently observed 
to leave a partly consumed oyster and almost immediately begin an 
attack on another specimen, especially after they had been well fed 
for several weeks. Records of oysters attached to kymographs show 
that starfish are able to open large specimens in 3 or 4 hours. Analy- 
ses are being made of the secretions of starfish stomachs, as they are 
supnosed to be an effective agent in opening shellfish. 
Establishment of experimental farms in. South Carolina.—Karly in 
November the Bureau, in cooperation with the South Carolina State 
Board of Fisheries and the Works Progress Administration, initiated 
a program for rehabilitating and developing the oyster resources of 
the State through the establishment of a series of small experimental 
oyster farms. The primary purpose of this undertaking is to enable 
tide-water residents in the lower income brackets to obtain 
their subsistence, in whole or in part, by leasing and cultivating 
small plots of from 2 to 10 acres of oysters. The program differs 
from all previous experiments in presupposing that capital require- 
ments will be at a minimum, and that primary materials, equipment, 
and supplies may be obtained or produced by the labor of the oyster 
farmer himself. 
As early as 1890, interested persons were instrumental in having a 
survey of State oyster bottoms made by the Bureau of Fisheries, but 
only within the last few years have leasing laws permitted or en- 
couraged extensive private holdings. A considerable acreage is now 
so held, but full development of the bottom cannot be accomplished 
until three major problems are solved. 
The first requires development of an inexpensive method for obtain- 
ing single seed oysters in place of the massed clusters occuring 
naturally. This is essential to production of high quality oysters. 
