31G REPORT OF COMMISSIONER OF FISH AND FISHERIES. 



abundance of tlie stars, being greater when they are few than when 

 they are plenty. The starfish are killed by being momentarily immersed 

 in a tank of boiling water, the bath being heated by a steam tap con- 

 nected with the boiler. The tanks are about 7 feet long by about 18 

 inches wide and deep, and are located one on each side of the main 

 deck, just inboard of the roller over which the tangle chain runs. To 

 facilitate the immersion and handling of the tangles, a davit, with block 

 and fall, is rigged on the hurricane deck over the tank, as shown in 

 cut 3. A lanyard is rove through an eye welded to the back of the 

 hook on the fall and the other end is fastened to the davit, its length 

 being so adjusted that the hook is automatically tripped by the weight 

 of the tangle when the hauling part of the tackle is eased and the mops 

 lowered to near the surface of the water. 



Cut 4. — Drill -dredge in jiositioii for work. 



Some of the oystermen pick the starfish out by hand, but this is a 

 slow and laborious process and, moreover, it is almost an impossibility 

 to so remove all of the small ones. By using the arrangement just de- 

 scribed the labor is lightened and the killing of the stars assured. By 

 using a tangle on each side of the vessel one is always at work while the 

 other is being hoisted. It is stated that upward of 100,000 starfish 

 have been caught in a single day by a boat using the apparatus described . 

 It is usual to work on the beds until not over half a bushel of starfish 

 can be caught in a day, the Ibeds then being considered safe, although 

 at any time a host may arrive from a neighboring bed. 



United efi'ort on the part of the planters is necessary for success in 

 fighting starfish. A neglected bed is, in a measure, a menace to others 

 in the vicinity: for if starfish are left to multiply without hindrance 

 they will move to neighboring beds as soon as they have exhausted 

 the supply of food upon the first. 



