﻿[3] 
  OYSTER 
  INVESTIGATION 
  WITH 
  LOOKOUT. 
  159 
  

  

  are 
  loading 
  part 
  of 
  their 
  beds 
  with 
  old 
  shells 
  for 
  the 
  purpose 
  of 
  catch- 
  

   ing 
  spat, 
  and 
  thus 
  obviating 
  the 
  necessity 
  of 
  foreign 
  importation. 
  But 
  

   «o 
  far 
  there 
  has 
  been 
  very 
  little 
  set 
  noticed. 
  

  

  The 
  Kills. 
  — 
  Our 
  trip 
  to 
  the 
  Kills 
  on 
  the 
  19th 
  was 
  undertaken 
  prin- 
  

   cipally 
  to 
  obtain, 
  if 
  possible, 
  evidence 
  of 
  the 
  injury 
  to 
  the 
  oysters 
  in 
  that 
  

   locality 
  from 
  the 
  pouring 
  of 
  sludge, 
  acid, 
  and 
  oily 
  refuse 
  into 
  the 
  waters 
  

   in 
  the 
  vicinity. 
  A 
  number 
  of 
  dredgings 
  were 
  made 
  in 
  Arthur's 
  Kill, 
  as 
  

   far 
  south 
  as 
  Northwest 
  Eeach, 
  and 
  in 
  the 
  Kill 
  von 
  Kull 
  at 
  the 
  mouth 
  of 
  

   Newark 
  Bay. 
  One 
  or 
  two 
  dredgings 
  were 
  also 
  made 
  a 
  short 
  distance 
  up 
  

   in 
  Newark 
  Bay. 
  At 
  Northwest 
  Beach 
  the 
  temperature 
  of 
  the 
  water 
  was 
  

   78° 
  and 
  the 
  density, 
  at 
  half 
  ebb, 
  1.014. 
  Two 
  hauls 
  were 
  made. 
  In 
  the 
  

   first 
  the 
  dredge 
  was 
  down 
  three 
  minutes, 
  and 
  twenty-eight 
  oysters 
  were 
  

   obtained. 
  There 
  were 
  some 
  last 
  year's 
  set, 
  and 
  the 
  growth 
  of 
  all 
  was 
  

   fair. 
  We 
  found 
  no 
  direct 
  evidence 
  of 
  oil 
  upon 
  the 
  water 
  or 
  of 
  oily 
  

   refuse 
  upon 
  the 
  bottom, 
  but 
  there 
  were 
  a 
  large 
  number 
  of 
  dead 
  shells, 
  

   the 
  inmates 
  of 
  which 
  had 
  evidently 
  died 
  only 
  recently, 
  and 
  all 
  the 
  shells, 
  

   both 
  living 
  and 
  dead, 
  were 
  covered 
  with 
  a 
  green 
  slime. 
  The 
  oysters 
  

   were 
  also 
  very 
  green 
  and 
  had 
  a 
  rank 
  odor 
  and 
  an 
  oily 
  taste. 
  In 
  the 
  

   second 
  dredge 
  there 
  were 
  a 
  few 
  oysters 
  set 
  on 
  old 
  bricks, 
  stones, 
  &c. 
  

   The 
  oysters 
  were 
  in 
  the 
  same 
  condition 
  as 
  those 
  in 
  the 
  first 
  dredge, 
  and 
  

   there 
  were 
  many 
  dead 
  shells, 
  the 
  animals 
  of 
  which, 
  as 
  before, 
  had 
  been 
  

   recently 
  killed. 
  Three 
  dredgings 
  were 
  then 
  made 
  along 
  in 
  front 
  of 
  Coe's 
  

   phosphate 
  factory, 
  and 
  from 
  these 
  we 
  obtained 
  respectively 
  one 
  hun- 
  

   dred, 
  one 
  hundred 
  and 
  eighty-six, 
  and 
  eighty-nine 
  oysters. 
  Most 
  of 
  the 
  

   oysters 
  were 
  well-shaped 
  and 
  of 
  fair 
  growth, 
  and 
  there 
  was 
  a 
  small 
  

   amount 
  of 
  set. 
  There 
  were 
  a 
  great 
  many 
  shells 
  of 
  recently 
  killed 
  oysters, 
  

   and 
  all 
  the 
  shells 
  were 
  very 
  slimy. 
  -The 
  oysters 
  themselves 
  were 
  thin 
  

   and 
  very 
  green. 
  From 
  these 
  dredgings 
  we 
  obtained 
  a 
  number 
  of 
  pieces 
  

   of 
  a 
  brittle 
  material, 
  which 
  is 
  said 
  to 
  be 
  the 
  hardened 
  refuse 
  material 
  

   from 
  the 
  oil- 
  works, 
  which 
  after 
  being 
  cast 
  into 
  the 
  water 
  sinks 
  to 
  the 
  

   bottom, 
  and 
  in 
  many 
  cases 
  covers 
  up 
  large 
  numbers 
  of 
  oysters. 
  None 
  

   of 
  these 
  pieces 
  appeared, 
  however, 
  to 
  be 
  of 
  recent 
  origin. 
  In 
  the 
  mouth 
  

   of 
  Newark 
  Bay, 
  where 
  the 
  temperature 
  was 
  78° 
  and 
  the 
  density 
  1.013, 
  

   we 
  obtained 
  in 
  three 
  dredgings 
  the 
  respective 
  number 
  of 
  eighteen, 
  six, 
  

   and 
  four 
  oysters. 
  There 
  were 
  some 
  shells, 
  all 
  of 
  which, 
  as 
  well 
  as 
  the 
  

   oysters, 
  were 
  slimy, 
  and 
  the 
  oysters 
  were 
  thin 
  and 
  green. 
  Farther 
  up 
  

   the 
  bay 
  we 
  found 
  the 
  oysters 
  to 
  be 
  of 
  a 
  similar 
  character. 
  We 
  did 
  not 
  

   find 
  as 
  many 
  shells 
  here 
  as 
  in 
  Arthur's 
  Kill, 
  nor 
  any 
  oily 
  refuse. 
  The 
  

   oystermen 
  claim, 
  however, 
  that 
  upon 
  a 
  great 
  many 
  days 
  during 
  the 
  

   past 
  season 
  the 
  water 
  has 
  been 
  covered 
  with 
  acid 
  and 
  oil 
  waste 
  from 
  

   the 
  factories 
  located 
  along 
  the 
  shores, 
  and 
  it 
  looks 
  very 
  decidedly 
  as 
  if 
  

   we 
  must 
  look 
  to 
  this 
  cause 
  for 
  the 
  destruction 
  of 
  the 
  most 
  of 
  those 
  oys- 
  

   ters 
  whose 
  empty 
  shells 
  we 
  found 
  so 
  abundantly. 
  

  

  Execution 
  Light-House 
  Rock. 
  — 
  This 
  locality 
  was 
  visited 
  on 
  the 
  

   20th, 
  the 
  steamer 
  reaching 
  the 
  bed 
  about 
  11 
  o'clock 
  a. 
  m., 
  and 
  leav- 
  

   ing 
  it 
  about 
  3 
  p. 
  m. 
  In 
  the 
  morning 
  the 
  tide 
  was 
  on 
  the 
  ebb, 
  and 
  

  

  