Wells. — Artificial Propagation of Oysters 305 



which were placed in the bottles for that purpose, but 

 even to the glass sides of the bottles themselves. The 

 youngsters then began to grow apace, development being 

 much more rapid after the setting stage had been reached. 

 Before winter the oysters will be as large as one's finger 

 nail. 



In conjunction with the U. S. Bureau of Fisheries, we 

 took the opportunity during the investigation to test the 

 effects of certain trade wastes upon the delicate young 

 oyster forms, in order to determine whether the presence 

 of chemical substances and other contaminating wastes in 

 the setting areas of Connecticut and New York has been 

 sufficient to explain the failure of the set. The quantity 

 of such pollution necessary to injure the forms was deter- 

 mined and the basis laid for the intelligent regulation of 

 waste matter in its effect upon the oyster industry. 



Data are now at hand for proper design and technical 

 routine required for the artificial development of young 

 oysters. The experiment has worked perfectly on a labor- 

 atory scale, and on a larger scale the efficiency should 

 be greatly improved. There is every reason to believe 

 that the method can be practically applied on any scale 

 desired, and that it would work equally well for clams 

 and other shellfish, such as scallops, which multiply in 

 practically the same manner as oysters. 



Discussion 



Mr. Wells : Mr. President, I do not suppose that very many here 

 are deeply interested in the shellfish industries, and for that reason 

 it has not seemed necessary for me to go into great detail as to the 

 results of the work which we have carried on this summer, or to apolo- 

 gize for not presenting more from the abundance of material. This 

 little paper was prepared by the Commission's publication bureau, ba&sd 

 upon notes which I took; it gives a popular account of what we accom- 

 plished. 



Most of you realize, perhaps, that shellfish culture is very much like 

 agriculture ; if we can obtain abundant seed, the methods from then on 

 are well developed, and the shellfish industries can look out for them- 



