104 KEPOHT OF COMMISSIONER OF FISH AND FISIIEKIES. 



Ill KSeptember, ISIK), Mr. "Vyilliain P. Seal, superiiiteiideiit of aquaria 

 of the U. S. Fish Commission, visited this region for the purpose of 

 obtiiiuing a collection of living lishes. Mr. Barton A. Bean, assistant 

 curator of the department of fishes in the U. S. National Museum, 

 accomi)anied the party and has published a list* of the fishes there 

 observed, which is an impoitant contril)utiou to the knowledge of tl\e 

 fish fauna of the lower Chesapeake. Sixty-nine species were detected 

 during a visit of two M'eeks and an inquiry made earlier in the season 

 \\ould doubtless demonstrate the occurrence of a great many additional 

 species. 



At Cape Charles an inspection of the works of the International 

 Oyster Company was made, and an opportunity was there afforded to 

 witness tlie method of " wiring " oysters for distant shipment in the 

 shell, on which i)rocess this comi)any holds letters patent. The method 

 originated with Mr. A. A. Freeman, the present manager of the com- 

 pany, and was first employed on a small scale in Philadelphia. In 1888 

 a stock company was formed to utilize the principle and the plant was 

 located where it now is. The " wiring" is a. simple process, consisting 

 of the application of a rather stout wire tightly around the valves of 

 the oyster. At first all the work was done with pliers and was neces- 

 sarily slow, but in November, 1890, special machines were introduced, 

 by means of which one man has been known to wire 48 oysters in a 

 minute, but the average is much less. The advantage claimed for this 

 process is that the natural juices are retained and the deterioration in 

 quality which ensues upon their evaporation is i)revented. In the jiro- 

 spectus which the company issues. Prof. John A. Kyder is quoted as 

 indorsing tlie value of the method as follows: 



I liiive cxamiiuMl and liad in luy iiosscssioii a number of wired oysters, aud I ''ni 

 satisfied tliat the oyst(!r ean bo preserved wlien tho shells are tluis wired for a con- 

 siderable length of time. I have carefully examined oysters which I am satisfied 

 have been wired for sixty <lay8 and 1 find that their vitality is fully i)roserved and 

 the oyster in no way deteriorated in (luality or flav(U'. I think the jirocess of pre- 

 serving oysters V)y jdacing a wire around them is a piaetically useful process, and 

 In my opinion would lead to the transportation of oysters to distant points as an 

 article of commerce, when it would be otherwise impossible to transport them alive 

 in the shell. 



* Proceediugs of U. S. National Museum, vol. xiv, p. 83, 



