REPORT OF COMMISSIONER OB" FISH AND FISHERIES. CXXXl 



it woyld therefore appear that vessels equij)ped as is usual for market 

 fishing for "ground fish" could obtain full cargoes in a few days. 



The foregoing investigations were in charge of Dr. H. C. Bumpus, 

 who gives an account of them in an article in the Fish Commission 

 Bulletin for 1898, entitled "The reappearance of the tile-fish." 



NARRAGANSETT BAY, RHODE ISLAND. 



For a period of three weeks in October and November, 1898, the 

 Fish HawJc was engaged in a special investigation of the* waters of 

 Narragansett Bay, for the purpose of determining the distribution of 

 the star-fish in relation to the depth, temperature, and salinity of the 

 water. Supplemental to this a study of the general biological conditions 

 prevailing at different localities in the bay and in Block Island Sound 

 was undertaken; 121 stations were selected for a careful examination 

 of their biological and physical features, and extensive collections 

 were made with the beam trawl. The inquiries show that the species 

 of star-fish destructive to the oyster-beds occurs only within the bay; 

 that there are certain localities in which the star-fish congregate and 

 multiply with remarkable rapidity; that from these breeding stations 

 the young are distributed to the oyster-grounds; that these nurseries 

 might be destroyed at moderate expense; and that probably there is no 

 invasion by star-fish from beyond the limits of the bay. The collections 

 of invertebrates furnish data for a permanent record of the animal life 

 at the present time, and will be of value in determining the effects of 

 sewage and manufacturers' waste on the animals of the bay. The work 

 was carried on at the request of the Rhode Island Commissioners of 

 Inland Fisheries, and has been referred to in their report for 1898. 

 OYSTER-FATTENING EXPERIMENTS. 



The experiments in the fattening of oysters at Lynnhaven Kiver, Va., 

 noticed in previous reports, were continued throughout tlie year under 

 the direction of Dr. H. F. Moore, during whose absence in Puerto Rico 

 Col. W. W. Blackford, of Lynnhaven, took charge of the observations. 



By the end of the last fiscal year it had been fully determined that 

 no advantage was to be gained by simply inclosing a pond, after the 

 French method, and depending on the natural fertility of the water to 

 produce the food essential for the rapid fattening of the oysters placed 

 therein. A year's exjierience had shown that oysters under such con- 

 ditions remained poor and lean, and were far inferior to those on the 

 beds in the open waters of the river. 



With these unfavorable conditions confronting the experiment, it was 

 determined to attempt to increase the fertility of the inclosed water 

 by adding fertilizer, in order to supply the pabulum required for the 

 growth of the diatoms on which oysters feed. Accordingly, at inter- 

 vals between June 28, 1898, and February 24, 1899, about 1,000 pounds 

 of ordinary commercial fertilizer were put in the pond, which covers an 

 area of 2 acres. The first lots were spread broadcast, while the last 

 were deposited in marshy places at the head of the claire, so as to 

 gradually leach into the i)oiid, and thus approximate more closely the 



