[5] REPORT OF WORK AT ST. JEROME STATION. 213 



from Wasliiiigloii, aiHlaccordiiij;' to uiy iiistructions I had a stable l)uilt 

 2() by 14 feet, with two stalls and storage-room for wa^oii. 1 reiteivcd 

 during the summer supplies of paints, lumber, and other articles needed, 

 and had the barge and stable ])ainted and the machinery and remainder 

 of piping pai!ited with asphaltum. 1 also had the boiler and two eentri- 

 fiigal ])umps jdaced u])on the small scow, expecting to use them for 

 l)umi)ing out the ponds in the fall. On Septend)er \) the launtd), with 

 her crew and D. W. Keuly, were transferred to Havre de Grace, the 

 seine-boat being carried in tow. On the l.'ith of September, the work of 

 the season being over, I obtained lea^'e of absence and left William 

 Sofibrd in charge. 



I returned on the Sth of OetoluM-, and had the scow put in i)Osition to 

 I)ump out thei)onds; but the boiler foamed so badly from the use of 

 brackish water while digging the well that I had to give it up and send 

 the l)(>iler to lialtimore for re])airs. 1 then opened the Hume doors, and 

 on low- water look up the collectors. In the tirst pond 1 found eighteen 

 or twenty oysters on the different collectors, varying from 1.] inches to 

 one-half inch in diameter. The shells on the bottom were (examined, 

 but nothing found. That i>oiid had not been ojxmi since tln^ ."itli of July 

 until the day I took u]) the collectors. In the other pomls ionly found 

 two or three, and they were very small, and as those i)onds had been 

 opened in the middle of Septeml)er, it is ])ossible thatthe spawn came in 

 from open waters. 



As regards the position of the collectors, I think tliey do best, judg- 

 ing from those used in the ponds and outside, stuck up straight in the 

 ground, for they do not catch as much sediinent as in any other ])osi- 

 tioii ; and I found, judging from the few we had, that the si>at attached 

 just as readily to them. 1 thought at one time that the amount of sedi- 

 ment that settled on the collectors was the chief cause of failure; but 

 after examining many objects to which oysters are attached, both in the 

 ponds belonging to the Commission and in different places in Saint 

 Jerome Creek, and finding fully as much sediment, I was comj)el]ed to 

 hunt for other causes, and I believe it to have been the lack of free cir- 

 culation. The ponds should be allowed to have the full rise and fall of 

 tide; and that cau be very easily done by using filters in the flumes 

 and raising the doors, or taking them off" for the time. Tlie filter would 

 I)revent any of the spawn from escaping, and would not hinder the rise 

 and fall of water in the ponds. I think it Avouhl be also advisable to 

 deepen the ponds about 2 feet, so that on the lowest tide there would 

 always be 2 or 3 feet of water. The cost of deepening the i)onds would 

 be about $50 apiece, and it ought to be done as early in the spring as 

 the weather will permit. 



I think for all experimental })urposes we have a sufficient number of 

 ponds, and if they are successful it will be easy to increase the number. 

 It would be advisable to construct one pond lower down the channel, 

 where the tide runs much stronger and there would be less leaching 



