556 EEPOET — 1891. 



they were practically exhausted, and thfenceforward up to 

 within a recent date Tasmania has had to be beholden to other 

 colonies, and especially to New Zealand, for her supplies. This, 

 in fact, was the position of affairs on my arrival in the colony 

 in 1884. The oyster-fisheries of Tasmania were at that time, 

 and had for some years been, an obsolete industry. Through 

 overdredging, and the reckless destruction of the young brood 

 or spat, the natural beds had, for commercial purposes, become 

 completely exhausted. Now and again spasmodic efforts had 

 been made in various localities to revive the fisheries by arti- 

 ficial cultivation. Such efforts, however, owing to the absence 

 of practical knowledge on the part of the cultivators, were 

 attended with negative results. No brood or spat was collected, 

 and the more or less complete sacrifice of the oyster-stock laid 

 down was in most instances involved. My services were at 

 this time engaged by the Tasmauian Government to prescribe 

 measures for the possible resuscitation of this depleted fishery. 

 With a vivid recollection of the important evidence con- 

 cerning oyster - growth in European waters that had been 

 brought forward at the International Fisheries Exhibition 

 and associated conferences held in London during the pre- 

 ceding year, 1883, and more especially the practical testimony 

 of Professor Hubrecht concerning the oyster-fisheries of the 

 Scheldt, in the Netherlands, my first step on becoming ac- 

 quainted with the position of affairs was to recommend the 

 establishment, in suitable localities, of efhciezitly-protected 

 Government reserves, upon which breeding-stocks of oysters of 

 the best quality should be carefully cultivated and permanently 

 retained. These reserves, it was intended, should fulfil the 

 double purpose of breeding-centres from whence the surround- 

 ing waters could be restocked, and also of model oyster-farms 

 around .which private beds might be established on similar 

 lines, and thus contribute collectively towards the rehabilita- 

 tion of the oyster-fisheries. The scheme recommended being 

 approved, sites formerly associated with the most prolific 

 oyster-production were selected, and operations commenced. 

 These operations were necessarily conducted on a very modest 

 scale. Oyster-stock suitable for laying on the reserves could 

 be accumulated only by slow and laborious processes, and 

 some twenty thousand to fifty thousand oysters represented the 

 approximate numbers that were thus gradually collected and 

 placed under cultivation. Some four or five years, it was 

 anticipated, would have to elapse under these conditipns before 

 any substantial results could be looked forward to. In order 

 to secure the catchment of the greatest possible amount of 

 spat produced by the oyster-stocks laid down, various methods 

 were resorted to, the principle involved being identical with 

 that inaugurated with so much success by M. Coste on the 



