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788 REPORT OF COMMISSIONER OF FISH AND FISHERIES. [36] 
second at .75 to .80 of a meter from the bottom; bars of wood or iron are 
passed through these holes, thus making each pair a sort of ladder with 
two rounds. Upon the lower rounds, from post to post, are laid bed- 
pieces, or stringers, B, which should be quite strong, and which together 
constitute a frame-work of contiguous squares, upon which a platform of 
rough planks, D, is built and maintained in position by a second series 
of stringers, C, held down by the upper round, J, of the posts; the pres- 
sure upon the planks is regulated when necessary by means of beveled 
wooden blocks, Q, Q’. 
It will be readily seen that, by the aid of these stringers and rounds, 
nothing can be easier than the mounting and dismounting of the planks, 
either to change or turn them, or transport them elsewhere. Whenever 
desired the stringers and posts can be so arranged as to leave free spaces, 
EH, as passages, to facilitate the working of the platform. The planks 
should be of pine or fir, and from 2.10 to 2.15 meters (6 to 7 feet) in length, 
by .20 to .25 of a meter in breadth (8 to 10 inches), and .04 of a meter 
(about 13 inches) in thickness. 
In order to facilitate the adherence of the spawn, planks with a rough 
surface are used, and the rougher the surface, as by gouging it out so as to 
increase its snaauibritne: the more easily can the young oyster adhere to 
it. The sides of the planks can also be covered with a layer of pitch 
and tar, in which, while it is yet soft, valves of oysters, mussels, or any 
other shells, which occur abundantly along the shore, or bits of coral, or 
small stones of about the size of a nut, can be placed, so as to form a 
sort of artificial, rock formation, favoring very much, by the roughened 
surface and the multiplication of points of attachment, the deposition 
and development of the young animals. This is much preferable to 
the other method, since it preserves the planks from the action of the 
water and the destructive borings of certain worms and mollusks. In 
order to afford a still greater number of points of attachment for the 
young germs, the lower face of the planks is covered with fascines of 
chestnut, oak, or other wood, which are held close to the planks by 
means of cords, passing through holes in the planks and fastened upon 
the upper side (see Fig. 8). Upon sandy or muddy bottoms the posts 
which support the stringers can be set without difficulty; but when the 
bottom is rocky or too hard they cannot be employed. They should then 
be replaced by blocks of stone, G (Fig. 8), about .70 of a meter in height 
by .25 of a meter in breadth and thickness, pierced through by a hole 
of sufficient size to receive the ends of the stringers, which are fastened 
there by means of a small block, H, driven in upon the upper side. 
These blocks can then be simply placed upon the bottom or fastened 
there with iron clamps; or the wooden stakes can be employed by fixing 
their lower ends into blocks of stone which when in place should be 
large enough to give steadiness to the collector and maintain it in its 
right position. This form of collector, it is true, is costly to establish, 
and more so from the fact that on account of the long time it must stay 
