WENDOW-PANK OYSTEU. 235 



few months, and if the oysters during this period will bear trans- 

 planting much good may be done. But transplantation at Tamble- 

 gam is a slow method, since dredging is rendered impossible by 

 reason of the soft ooze. Diving must be resorted to, and I compute 

 that one diver cannot bring up more than 500 oj^sters per hour under 

 favourable conditions. In September, 1912, four divers brought 

 up about 1,400 oysters in less than two hours. The total expense 

 of transplanting is about Rs. 2*50 per thousand. Owing to the 

 expense and slowness of the method it would seem that transplan- 

 tation of large quantities with the object of improving an impending 

 fishery is not feasible. For example, the areas J and K must have 

 contained several million young oysters in May, 1912. It would 

 have taken twenty divers one month to transplant one million of 

 these to a new bed. Nevertheless , if transplanting on a large scale 

 prove impracticable, it must not be forgotten that comparatively 

 small numbers may be transplanted with advantage with the object 

 of making breeding reserves. 



The transplantation experiments which have been made during 

 1912 have in two cases ended in failure, and the result of the third 

 have still to be determined. 



The first transplantation was made in January, 1912, when 110 

 oysters were moved from area H to Nachchikkuda and placed in aii 

 enclosure ; unfortunately the enclosure, which was made of wire 

 netting supported by railway rails, was not proof against the inroads 

 of fish, as all the oysters had disappeared in May, and broken shells 

 only too plainly indicated the manner of the extermination. 



In June* the enclosure was strengthened, and 102 oysters from 

 areas H and J were placed in it, but these again had disappeared by 

 September. It is now proposed to surround the enclosure with a 

 fish tat, such as is used in fish kraals in various parts of the Island. 

 This will be erected in January next . In the meantime , in September , 

 about 1,400 oysters were taken from section K; half were placed 

 in area F on the Kapalturai bed and the other half in Nachchik- 

 kuda. These transplanted oysters have been measured, and their 

 average size is similar to that of the whole area. The Kapalturai 

 bed at the present time contains the healthiest oysters in the lake, 

 and the Nachchikkuda oysters are the smallest, and only have an 

 average of 3 "36 X 3 "70 inches, compared with 3*94 x 4-30 inches, 

 which is the average size for the whole lake. Hence this transplan- 

 tation experiment is of more than ordinary interest. We shall be 

 able to determine whether 8-months oysters are too young for 

 transplantation, if they are not wiped out by predatory fish, and 

 we shall also be able to compare the effect of transplanting normal 

 oysters to a particularly good locality and to Nachchikkuda, where 

 the conditions at present prove to be unsatisfactory. 



* In addition to this, 500 oysters were taken from area J in .Time and 

 placed in area T. These are still living. 



2 I 6(7)12 



