270 Our Food Mollusks 



portant commercial matter of taste, all oysters are much 

 alike. 



Several Atlantic animals have been introduced into the 

 Pacific, and have established themselves. Among them 

 are the shad, striped bass, and the soft or long neck 

 clam. For many years, also, small eastern oysters have 

 been planted in the bays of Washington and Cali- 

 fornia, where they grow to marketable size in three 

 or four years. They, however, have not become 

 established. 



Entering the Golden Gate in California, the water 

 spreads north and south to form San Francisco Bay. 

 Into it flow many streams, some of them large like the 

 Sacramento from the north. The water is consequently 

 brackish and favorable for the growth of the native 

 oyster, which is found here in great numbers. Perhaps 

 because this oyster is very prolific and because there is 

 much crowding on the natural beds, it attains scarcely 

 half the size to which it develops in Willapa Bay, and 

 consequently is not often marketed. 



In Puget Sound and Willapa Bay in Washington, the 

 transplanting or bedding of the native oyster has become 

 an extensive industry. Some years ago, the state of 

 Washington set aside immense tracts in these bays, desig- 

 nating them as " Oyster Reserves." On parts of these 

 were natural oyster beds. It was intended that from 

 them oysters should be taken only for the purpose of 

 planting on barren bottoms, and not for immediate 

 sale. 



But the state has not been able to police these grounds 

 and enforce the provisions of the laws, and has received 

 very little revenue from licenses issued to tongers. The 

 public beds in Puget Sound are infested with starfish, 



