﻿384 
  REPORT 
  OF 
  COMMISSIONER 
  OF 
  FISH 
  AND 
  FISHERIES. 
  [4] 
  

  

  as 
  the 
  result 
  of 
  all 
  the 
  work 
  of 
  others, 
  as 
  well 
  as 
  my 
  own, 
  now 
  enables 
  

   me 
  to 
  state 
  with 
  certainty 
  why 
  we 
  have 
  failed. 
  

  

  Failure 
  is 
  a 
  barsh 
  word, 
  and 
  it 
  is 
  a 
  humiliating 
  one 
  as 
  well 
  ; 
  but 
  it 
  

   will 
  soon 
  be 
  seen 
  that 
  we 
  have 
  been 
  cultivating 
  a 
  lot 
  of 
  fallacies 
  and 
  

   erroneous 
  conclusions 
  which 
  led 
  to 
  it. 
  In 
  a 
  word, 
  we 
  have 
  neglected 
  

   to 
  think 
  about 
  what 
  we 
  have 
  observed, 
  so 
  as 
  to 
  elaborate 
  a 
  practical 
  

   theory 
  of 
  spat 
  culture. 
  

  

  II. 
  — 
  Fallacies 
  and 
  elementary 
  principles. 
  

  

  1. 
  Where 
  fixation 
  occurs. 
  — 
  The 
  fact 
  that 
  artificially 
  fertilized 
  oyster 
  

   fry 
  would 
  rise 
  at 
  a 
  certain 
  stage 
  of 
  development 
  to 
  the 
  top 
  of 
  a 
  tumbler 
  

   or 
  beaker 
  filled 
  with 
  sea-water, 
  when 
  allowed 
  to 
  remain 
  undisturbed 
  for 
  

   a 
  time, 
  has 
  been 
  supposed 
  to 
  have 
  some 
  bearing 
  upon 
  the 
  question 
  as 
  

   to 
  how 
  collectors 
  should 
  be 
  disposed 
  in 
  the 
  water 
  ; 
  that 
  is, 
  whether 
  at 
  

   the 
  surface 
  or 
  the 
  bottom. 
  It 
  is 
  now 
  known 
  that 
  such 
  a 
  habit 
  on 
  

   the 
  part 
  of 
  the 
  young 
  fry 
  when 
  in 
  perfectly 
  still 
  water 
  does 
  not 
  indicate 
  

   that 
  the 
  collectors 
  should 
  be 
  placed 
  at 
  the 
  surface. 
  On 
  the 
  contrary, 
  

   numerous 
  facts 
  can 
  be 
  cited 
  to 
  show 
  that 
  the 
  fry 
  will 
  affix 
  itself 
  and 
  be- 
  

   come 
  spat 
  at 
  any 
  level 
  in 
  the 
  water. 
  This 
  was 
  indicated 
  by 
  the 
  results 
  

   of 
  the 
  closed 
  circuit 
  experiment 
  conducted 
  by 
  Colonel 
  McDonald 
  and 
  

   myself 
  in 
  1882, 
  when 
  in 
  a 
  small 
  apparatus, 
  covering 
  not 
  over 
  a 
  square 
  

   yard, 
  we 
  succeeded 
  in 
  getting 
  fry 
  24 
  hours 
  old 
  to 
  affix 
  itself 
  to 
  the 
  sides 
  

   of 
  the 
  glass 
  vessels 
  and 
  old 
  oyster-shells 
  contained 
  therein. 
  In 
  the 
  course 
  

   of 
  this 
  experiment 
  not 
  less 
  than 
  100,000 
  young 
  oysters 
  were 
  adherent 
  

   at 
  one 
  time 
  to 
  the 
  available 
  surfaces 
  inside 
  this 
  apparatus. 
  No 
  greater 
  

   success 
  in 
  obtaining 
  adherent 
  oyster 
  fry 
  from 
  artificially 
  fertilized 
  eggs 
  

   has 
  ever 
  been 
  recorded 
  either 
  in 
  Europe 
  or 
  America. 
  

  

  Another 
  set 
  of 
  facts, 
  observed 
  in 
  1883 
  at 
  Cohasset, 
  Mass., 
  indicates 
  

   that 
  fry 
  will 
  adhere 
  in 
  the 
  open 
  water 
  in 
  the 
  same 
  way. 
  Pole 
  buoys 
  

   were 
  there 
  found 
  thickly 
  covered 
  with 
  very 
  young 
  spat 
  as 
  far 
  as 
  they 
  

   were 
  immersed. 
  On 
  some 
  parts 
  of 
  these 
  poles 
  as 
  many 
  as 
  100 
  young 
  

   oysters 
  might 
  have 
  been 
  counted 
  upon 
  a 
  single 
  square 
  inch 
  of 
  surface. 
  

   At 
  other 
  places 
  in 
  the 
  same 
  vicinity 
  oyster 
  and 
  clam 
  shells 
  lying 
  on 
  the 
  

   bottom 
  were 
  thickly 
  covered 
  with 
  spat, 
  so 
  that 
  as 
  many 
  as 
  150 
  were 
  

   actually 
  counted 
  on 
  a 
  single 
  valve. 
  

  

  The 
  conclusion, 
  therefore, 
  is 
  that 
  fixation 
  occurs 
  at 
  all 
  levels, 
  and 
  

   that 
  cultch 
  1 
  foot 
  below 
  the 
  surface 
  stands 
  as 
  good 
  a 
  chance 
  of 
  having 
  

   a 
  set 
  of 
  spat 
  adhere 
  to 
  it 
  as 
  others 
  at 
  a 
  depth 
  of 
  30 
  feet. 
  In 
  other 
  

   words, 
  spat 
  can 
  be 
  obtained 
  in 
  the 
  whole 
  range 
  of 
  all 
  three 
  of 
  the 
  dimen- 
  

   sions 
  of 
  any 
  given 
  body 
  of 
  water. 
  This 
  is 
  the 
  first 
  principle 
  in 
  a 
  rational 
  

   theory 
  of 
  oyster 
  culture. 
  

  

  2. 
  Thesurfaces 
  of 
  collectors. 
  — 
  Another 
  fallacious 
  belief 
  is 
  that 
  the 
  fry 
  will 
  

   adhere 
  most 
  readily 
  to 
  a 
  rough 
  surface. 
  This 
  conclusion 
  was 
  shown 
  to 
  be 
  

   erroneous 
  in 
  the 
  experiments 
  with 
  the 
  closed 
  circuit 
  apparatus 
  at 
  Saint 
  

   Jerome's 
  Creek 
  in 
  1882, 
  as 
  well 
  as 
  by 
  all 
  the 
  facts 
  observed 
  at 
  Cohasset 
  

   and 
  Stockton 
  in 
  1883. 
  Anything, 
  no 
  matter 
  how 
  smooth 
  it 
  is, 
  will 
  serve 
  

  

  