472 REPORT OF COMMISSIONER OF FISH AND FISHERIES. 



LamellihrancJis. 



Page. 



Pholas truncata 470 



P. costata 433 



Mya arenaria 469 [ 



Macoma fusca 469 



Tellina tenta 470 



Ano-ulustener 358 



Tagelus gibba 470 , 



Petricola i)boladiformis 470 



Venus merceuaria 469 



, Page. 



CalHsta couvexa 470 



Mulinia lateralis 470 



Soleuomya velum 470 



Nucula proxima 432 



Argiua pexata 309 



Modiola plicatula 469 



M. bamatus 374 



Mytiius edulis 470 



Ostriea Yirgiuiana 310 



III. 3. — Animals inhabiting oyster-beds in brackish waters. 



Altbougb tbe oyster-beds are generally planted on bottoms tbat were 

 originally muddy, wben covered wbolly or partially witb living oysters or 

 witb dead oyster- shells, sucb bottomsmay properly be regarded as "shelly 

 bottoms" analogous to the natural shelly bottoms of the outer waters. 

 The shells of the oysters afford suitable attachment for various shells, 

 bryozoa, ascidians, hydroids, sponges, &c., Avhich could not otherwise 

 maintain their existence on muddy bottoms, while other kinds of ani- 

 mals, such as crabs, annelids, &c., find shelter beneath the shells or in 

 their interstices. Some species have apparently been introduced from 

 farther south with the oysters ; among these are Modiola JiamaUis and 

 Panopeus HerhstH, neither of which is positively known to be fully nat- 

 uralized on our shores. 



In i)lanting the oysters they are more or less uniformly scattered over 

 the bottom, from somewhat above low- water mark to the depth of ten 

 or twelve feet. The oysters thus planted are brought mostly from the 

 waters of Virginia and Maryland in spring. During the summer they 

 usually increase greatly in size, and often become very fat and improve in 

 flavor. They are taken up in the fall, for if left exposed to the freezing- 

 weather of our winters, at least all those in veiy shallow water would be 

 killed. They often double in bulk during the summer. Besides the im- 

 mense quantities of oysters thus brought from farther south to be " plant- 

 ed " in our waters, large quantities of young " natives" are also collected 

 from the localities where they naturally breed, and are planted on muddy 

 bottoms in the brackish waters, where they grow very rajjidly, usually 

 attaining a size suitable for the market in two or three years. 



These " native oysters," although of the same species as those brought 

 from the south, are more hardy, and will live through the winter if cov- 

 ered by a depth of water sufficient to prevent them from freezing. The 

 young oysters that attach themselves to stones, ledges, &c., between 

 tides, often in great abundance, nearly all perish by freezing during the 

 winter. They mostly become an inch to an inch and a half in diameter 

 during the first summer. The period of spawning lasts for some time. 



