﻿BEPORT 
  OF 
  THE 
  COMMISSIONER 
  OF 
  FISHERIES. 
  67 
  

  

  excessive 
  discharges, 
  and 
  even 
  the 
  normal 
  discharges 
  at 
  times 
  of 
  low 
  

   water, 
  might 
  prove 
  dangerous; 
  and 
  representations 
  to 
  that 
  effect 
  

   having 
  been 
  made 
  to 
  the 
  Secretary 
  of 
  the 
  Navy, 
  measures 
  were 
  taken 
  

   to 
  remedy 
  the 
  conditions. 
  

  

  EXPERIMENTS 
  IN 
  TERRAPIN 
  CITLTURE. 
  

  

  Although 
  the 
  feasibility 
  of 
  breeding 
  and 
  raising 
  terrapin 
  under 
  

   artificial 
  conditions 
  in 
  inclosures 
  has 
  b?en 
  demonstrated 
  at 
  the 
  

   Beaufort, 
  N. 
  C, 
  laboratory, 
  experimental 
  work 
  has 
  been 
  continued 
  

   for 
  the 
  improvement 
  of 
  methods 
  of 
  feeding, 
  testing 
  the 
  possibility 
  

   of 
  developing 
  a 
  superior 
  race 
  for 
  breeding, 
  and 
  for 
  other 
  purposes 
  

   important 
  to 
  the 
  commercial 
  success 
  of 
  terraj^in 
  farming. 
  It 
  has 
  

   b^en 
  found 
  that 
  while 
  the 
  rapidity 
  of 
  growth 
  can 
  b^ 
  stimulated 
  by 
  

   winter 
  feeding 
  and 
  the 
  prevention 
  of 
  hib 
  rnation, 
  there 
  is 
  considerable 
  

   individu 
  1 
  variation 
  in 
  the 
  rate 
  of 
  growth, 
  and 
  it 
  is 
  b 
  H:'ved 
  that 
  by 
  

   breeding 
  from 
  the 
  more 
  forward 
  individuals 
  there 
  may 
  be 
  developed 
  

   a 
  culture. 
  strain 
  which 
  will 
  reach 
  a 
  merchantable 
  size 
  at 
  a 
  considera- 
  

   able 
  earlier 
  age 
  than 
  the 
  average 
  in 
  a 
  state 
  of 
  nature. 
  

  

  The 
  Bureau 
  has 
  furnished 
  specimens 
  of 
  its 
  young 
  terrapin 
  for 
  

   experiment 
  and 
  observation 
  in 
  Florida, 
  to 
  determine 
  whether 
  the 
  more 
  

   valuable 
  northern 
  species 
  will 
  Uve 
  and 
  thrive 
  under 
  southern 
  climatic 
  

   conditions, 
  and 
  it 
  has 
  liberated 
  several 
  hundred 
  yearUngs 
  and 
  2-year- 
  

   olds 
  in 
  a 
  circumscribed 
  locahty 
  in 
  Chesapeake 
  Bay 
  to 
  test 
  the 
  feasi- 
  

   bility 
  of 
  restocking 
  depleted 
  natural 
  waters. 
  

  

  The 
  results 
  obtained 
  at 
  the 
  Beaufort 
  laboratory 
  have 
  been 
  suffi- 
  

   ciently 
  promising 
  to 
  enlist 
  private 
  capital, 
  and 
  there 
  is 
  now 
  established 
  

   near 
  there 
  a 
  commercial 
  farm 
  with 
  a 
  breeding 
  stock 
  of 
  several 
  

   thousand. 
  Although 
  these 
  brood 
  terrapin 
  were 
  brought 
  together 
  

   after 
  the 
  breeding 
  season 
  was 
  well 
  advanced, 
  about 
  700 
  eggs 
  were 
  

   deposited 
  and 
  hatched. 
  On 
  the 
  advice 
  of 
  the 
  Bureau's 
  terrapin 
  

   culturist 
  the 
  young 
  were 
  fed 
  during 
  the 
  winter 
  on 
  fresh 
  food, 
  and 
  in 
  

   consequence 
  their 
  growth 
  has 
  far 
  exceeded 
  that 
  of 
  the 
  expermiental 
  

   broods 
  fed 
  on 
  salt 
  fi^h, 
  although 
  the 
  mortality 
  was 
  somewhat 
  higher, 
  

  

  Erobably 
  from 
  overfeeding. 
  The 
  results 
  to 
  date 
  are 
  such 
  as 
  to 
  confirm 
  

   elief 
  in 
  the 
  commercial 
  profit 
  of 
  terrapin 
  farming. 
  

  

  THE 
  FISHERIES 
  LABORATORIES. 
  

  

  Woods 
  Hole, 
  Mass. 
  — 
  The 
  investigations 
  of 
  the 
  sea 
  mussel 
  and 
  

   th:^ 
  dogfish 
  were 
  continued 
  during 
  the 
  summer 
  of 
  1913, 
  and 
  the 
  

   practical 
  campaign 
  to 
  induce 
  the 
  commercial 
  utilization 
  of 
  these 
  

   waste 
  sea 
  products 
  is 
  referred 
  to 
  elsewhere 
  in 
  this 
  report. 
  

  

  Through 
  the 
  service 
  of 
  temporary 
  employees 
  a 
  number 
  of 
  other 
  

   investigations 
  were 
  conducted, 
  among 
  them 
  an 
  inquiry 
  into 
  the 
  cause 
  

   of 
  "green 
  gill" 
  in 
  oysters, 
  an 
  affection 
  which, 
  while 
  harmless, 
  causes 
  

   much 
  loss 
  to 
  oyster 
  growers 
  by 
  destroying 
  the 
  salabihty 
  of 
  their 
  prod- 
  

   uct 
  on 
  account 
  of 
  the 
  prejudice 
  of 
  the 
  pubUc 
  against 
  the 
  consumption 
  

   of 
  the 
  oysters 
  affected. 
  Studies 
  were 
  also 
  made 
  of 
  the 
  Ufe 
  histories 
  

   of 
  the 
  drill 
  and 
  other 
  oyster 
  enemies 
  in 
  the 
  hope 
  of 
  (!iscovering 
  some 
  

   stage 
  or 
  habit 
  through 
  which 
  they 
  may 
  prove 
  vulnerable 
  to 
  measures 
  

   for 
  their 
  destruction. 
  

  

  To 
  secure 
  definite 
  experimental 
  knowledge 
  for 
  use 
  in 
  the 
  correction 
  

   or 
  prevention 
  of 
  water 
  pollutions 
  inimical 
  to 
  fishes, 
  tests 
  were 
  made 
  of 
  

  

  