42 INLAND FISHERIES. 



that the Avaudering-s of these animals are rather limited in extent. 

 Certain kinds of starfish which are common in one part of the Bay 

 are not found, or are rare, in other parts. The purple star and 

 " inaroon star " do not migrate into the upper half of the Bay, al- 

 though the purple star, at least, might live in these waters, as I 

 have found by keeping them in confinement- The stai*fisli in two 

 neighboring parts of the Bay, namely, Mt. Hope Bay and Kicke- 

 muit liver, do not seem to migrate back and forth, for those caught 

 in Kickemuit liver, during the past two years at least, were for 

 the most part small, rarely measuring more than three inches from 

 centre of disc to tip of arm, yet about a mile from the mouth of 

 this river there have been great quantities of very large stars with 

 arms four inches long or more. In Barrington river there seems 

 to be a great preponderance of small stars about two and a half 

 inches (arm) or less, which are of a reddish-brown color, and so 

 are distinguishable from the average starfish caught in the vicin- 

 ity of Nayatt. After the great freshet in the spring of 1888, the 

 starfish in Kickemuit river nearly all perished, Mr. Bourne tells 

 me, and did not become again troublesome for three or four years. 



These facts, though thej^ are not conclusive evidence, lead to 

 the conjecture that there are natural barriers to the migrations of 

 starfishes in our Bay. Some of these barriers may be : the depth 

 of water, density of water, or a strip of barren bottom. 



If the conjecture is correct, that the migrations of the staiiish 

 are confined to comparatively limited areas, the prosj^ect of dimin- 

 ishing their numbers b}' a systematized eff'ort is encouraging. 



VI. What animals are devoured hy the sta?' fish for food ^ {If the 

 young staifsh feed hal/duaUy upon certain animals, it is possible 

 that the destruction of the latter will cause the former to perish.) 



Abstract. The starfish, especially when j'oung, are exceedingly 

 voracious feeders, prey upon oysters, clams, mussels, barnacles, 

 various kinds of sea-snails (including oyster drills), worms and 

 small Crustacea, and, if slightly pressed by hunger, turn cannibal 

 and prey upon smaller starfish. 



