488 REPORT OF THE COMMISSIONER OF FISH AND FISHERIES. 



clams and oysters was appreciably diminislied. Meanwhile, there 

 apijoared an unusual viridity of the clains and oysters of Barneg^at 

 Bay and Little E^'g Harbor, chi*^;iy in the vicinity of Manahawken and 

 Tuckerton, The greenness was first noticed al)ontthe 15th of August. 

 It began near Tuckerton, and by the 1st of October had spread over a 

 large area. The parts iufected were, so far as the eye could discern, 

 the gills and lips (palps) of the niollusks. 



Among the fishermen and others in the section where the phenome- 

 non occurred some persons supposed it to have been caused in part by 

 the extremely dry and hot weather for v>'hich the past summer had been 

 more than ordinarily remarkable. It had been noticed, also, that the 

 waters of the bay were unusually clear and that no storms had occurred 

 to disturb the sediment from the bottom and i)lace it in circulation in 

 the water. The extraordinary clearness of the water was therefore con- 

 sidered to indicate a corresponding greater deposit of sediment on the 

 bottom than there would have been under normal conditions. Others 

 thought it might be due to a disease of the oysters and were inclined 

 to regard it as a sort of epidemic, while in the minds of many it became 

 very naturally associated with the current rumors of the supj)osedly 

 l^ossible infection by cholera germs. 



According to the fishermen a similar infection occurred about twenty 

 years ago, and was then attributed by the people to the abundance of 

 seaweed. An idea has also long prevailed in certain localities that 

 when the clams and oysters turn green there must be some poisonous 

 matter in the water, such as copper or Paris green, or that it may be 

 due to i)ollution by paint or by preparations used for preserving the 

 l)iling in wharves, in which there is crude petroleum oil or penetrating 

 chemical ingredients. In the present instance, however, there seemed 

 liitle reason to think that the water had been polluted by any such 

 preparation as above alluded to, but the green color suggested the 

 presence of coj^per or other mineral substances which might render the 

 oysters unwholesome. Persons entertaining this theory affirmed that 

 the eating of one green oyster had caused them sickness and vomiting, 

 but no evil results followed. 



Aside from the objectionable coloration, which served to produce an 

 unpleasant impression on the mind of the consumer and thereby inter- 

 fere with the sale of the products, the clams and oysters were generally 

 fatter and in better condition for market than they had been for a 

 number of years. For a time the green color was not sufficiently pro- 

 nounced to be seriously detrimental to the marketing business, but as 

 the season advanced the greeni-sh appearance became so decided that 

 the shippers grew apprehensive lest the trade, and consequently the 

 fishery, might have to be wholly discontinued. This would entail a 

 loss to the community which would be severely felt, especially by the 

 large number of tishermen who were mainly dependent upon the clam 

 and oyster fisheries for a livelihood. A few instances occurred in 

 which the dealers had declined to receive the shipments and had 



