﻿C 
  KEPORT 
  OF 
  COMMISSIONER 
  OF 
  FISH 
  AND 
  FISHERIES. 
  

  

  tallii, 
  Schizothcerus 
  nultallii, 
  and 
  Tapes 
  staminea. 
  As 
  it 
  was 
  doubtful 
  

   Avhether 
  the 
  proper 
  arrangements 
  could 
  be 
  made 
  for 
  carrying 
  the 
  first- 
  

   named 
  species, 
  experiments 
  were 
  to 
  be 
  confined 
  to 
  the 
  last 
  three. 
  

   Special 
  instructions 
  for 
  their 
  care 
  were 
  furnished 
  by 
  Prof. 
  E. 
  E. 
  C. 
  

   Stearns, 
  of 
  the 
  National 
  Museum, 
  whose 
  contributions 
  to 
  the 
  subject 
  

   have 
  several 
  times 
  appeared 
  in 
  the 
  Fish 
  Commission 
  Bulletin. 
  Mr. 
  

   Moore 
  was 
  instructed 
  to 
  remain 
  at 
  Paget 
  Sound 
  two 
  or 
  three 
  weeks, 
  if 
  

   necessary, 
  in 
  order 
  to 
  make 
  such 
  preliminary 
  experiments 
  as 
  would 
  

   satisfy 
  him 
  that 
  a 
  transcontinental 
  trip 
  could 
  be 
  made 
  successfully. 
  On 
  

   June 
  26 
  Mr. 
  Moore 
  arrived 
  at 
  Wood's 
  Holl 
  with 
  about 
  500 
  live 
  Tapes 
  

   staminea, 
  the 
  survivors 
  of 
  about 
  4,000 
  with 
  which 
  he 
  started 
  from 
  Ta- 
  

   coma. 
  It 
  is 
  hoped 
  to 
  save 
  enough 
  of 
  them 
  to 
  plant 
  a 
  colony 
  at 
  Wood's 
  

   Holl 
  and 
  another 
  at 
  Provincetown, 
  Mass. 
  

  

  As 
  illustrative 
  of 
  the 
  facility 
  with 
  which 
  clams 
  may 
  be 
  introduced 
  in 
  

   localities 
  which 
  have 
  favoring 
  conditions, 
  some 
  facts 
  which 
  were 
  brought 
  

   to 
  light 
  by 
  Mr. 
  Stearns 
  may 
  be 
  here 
  recited. 
  Mr. 
  Donald 
  Macleay, 
  

   president 
  of 
  the 
  Board 
  of 
  Trade, 
  Portland, 
  Oreg., 
  forwarded 
  to 
  the 
  

   National 
  Museum 
  in 
  February 
  of 
  the 
  present 
  year 
  a 
  box 
  of 
  clams 
  for 
  

   identification. 
  He 
  stated 
  that 
  they 
  were 
  eastern 
  clams 
  found 
  at 
  Shoal- 
  

   water 
  Bay, 
  Washington 
  Territory, 
  and 
  they 
  proved 
  to 
  be 
  Mya 
  arenaria. 
  

   They 
  had 
  been 
  introduced 
  into 
  Shoalwater 
  Bay 
  by 
  Captain 
  Simpson, 
  

   a 
  public-spirited 
  citizen 
  of 
  San 
  Francisco, 
  and 
  a 
  member 
  of 
  the 
  firm 
  of 
  

   Simpson 
  Bros., 
  lumber 
  dealers. 
  Captain 
  Simpson 
  obtained 
  the 
  clams 
  

   near 
  San 
  Francisco 
  (where 
  this 
  species 
  had 
  previously 
  been 
  introduced 
  

   and 
  is 
  now 
  abundant), 
  and 
  they 
  were 
  sent 
  on 
  a 
  lumber 
  vessel 
  to 
  Wash- 
  

   ington 
  Territory, 
  where 
  after 
  their 
  introduction 
  they 
  multiplied 
  exten- 
  

   sively 
  and 
  were 
  abundant 
  as 
  early 
  as 
  May, 
  1884. 
  The 
  Mya 
  arenaria 
  

   being 
  an 
  eastern 
  species 
  the 
  question 
  of 
  course 
  arises 
  how 
  it 
  came 
  on 
  

   the 
  Pacific 
  coast. 
  To 
  which 
  question 
  Mr. 
  Stearns 
  makes 
  reply 
  that 
  fol- 
  

   lowing 
  the 
  completion 
  of 
  the 
  transcontinental 
  railroad, 
  about 
  lS69-'70, 
  

   some 
  of 
  the 
  oyster 
  firms 
  in 
  San 
  Francisco 
  imported 
  small 
  oysters 
  (Ostrea 
  

   virginica) 
  from 
  the 
  Atlantic 
  Coast 
  and 
  planted 
  them 
  in 
  the 
  bay, 
  where 
  

   they 
  soon 
  attained 
  a 
  good 
  merchantable 
  size. 
  With 
  these 
  importations 
  

   of 
  small 
  oysters 
  the 
  spat 
  of 
  Mya 
  arenaria 
  undoubtedly 
  was 
  accidently 
  

   introduced 
  to 
  the 
  Pacific 
  coast. 
  

  

  x. 
  The 
  Oyster 
  (Ostrea 
  virginica). 
  

  

  The 
  Saint 
  Jerome 
  Station. 
  — 
  This 
  station 
  remained 
  under 
  the 
  superin- 
  

   tendence 
  of 
  Mr. 
  Wm. 
  de 
  C. 
  Eavenel 
  during 
  the 
  year, 
  and 
  experiments 
  

   were 
  continued 
  in 
  collecting 
  the 
  spawn 
  and 
  artificially 
  raising 
  the 
  young 
  

   oysters. 
  Spawning 
  operations 
  were 
  begun 
  on 
  June 
  20, 
  and 
  from 
  then 
  

   until 
  the 
  end 
  of 
  August 
  oysters 
  were 
  opened 
  every 
  day. 
  Young 
  oysters 
  

   were 
  found 
  twenty-eight 
  days 
  after 
  the 
  first 
  lot 
  of 
  spawn 
  was 
  put 
  into 
  

   the 
  ponds. 
  The 
  results 
  of 
  the 
  experiments 
  indicate 
  that 
  it 
  is 
  of 
  great 
  

   importance 
  that 
  the 
  ponds 
  should 
  have 
  the 
  full 
  rise 
  and 
  fall 
  of 
  the 
  tides, 
  

   which 
  is 
  exceedingly 
  difficult 
  where 
  the 
  water 
  has 
  to 
  be 
  carefully 
  filtered 
  

   to 
  prevent 
  the 
  passing 
  of 
  spawn. 
  The 
  collectors 
  on 
  which 
  the 
  best 
  re- 
  

  

  