14 U. S. BUREAU OF FISHERIES. 



Surely a system of artificial propagation that can produce the 

 same results with a smaller expenditure can be perfected in the 

 future if natural conditions are studied, imitated, and placed under 

 control. Such an important object can hardly be attained at a single 

 leap, but eventually it "will be reached after a series of careful and 

 painstaking experiments and the accumulation and study of facts 

 have broadened our knowledge in regard to the habits and requii^- 

 ments of the oyster throughout its life history. 



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