REPORT OP COMMISSIONER OF FISH AND FISHERIES. CXXV 



noinenon, concerning which there can be no doubt, seems to occur with 

 sufficient frequency to convince the oysterinen that a crevasse is a 

 desirable thing in the case of seniidepleted beds. 



The density of the water on the coast of Louisiana undergoes great 

 fluctuation, being largely conditioned by the direction of the prevailing 

 wind and the amount of precipitation. In general it is lower in winter 

 than in summer. In the bays, bayous, and lagoons it is increased by 

 southerly or (east of the Mississippi) easterly winds, and lowered by 

 northerly winds and rains. 



LYNNHAVEN BAY, VIRGINIA. 



The experiments, in charge of Dr. H. F. Moore, begun during the 

 last fiscal year at Lynnhaven, Va., looking toward a practical solution 

 of the difficulties encountered in fattening oysters for market, have 

 been continued without as yet having reached definite results. The 

 claire established there has now been in operation about a year, during 

 which time it has been cut off from accessions of sea water excepting 

 during high tide, such as occurs several times during each month. On 

 two occasions the claire has been flooded to a depth of several feet 

 above the dam crest by extraordinary storm tides. Oysters have been 

 kept in the claire during the entire period of the experiment, and from 

 time to time others have been placed in several parts of the pond, but 

 none of them has developed a condition superior to those in the open 

 waters of Lynnhaven Bay, and most of them are decidedly inferior. 

 It appears that in this particular case there is no advantage to be 

 gained by simply inclosing a cove or pond after the method which has 

 been attended with marked success in Europe. The conditions in this 

 pond, therefore, can not be held to favor the experiment, and if it 

 can be demonstrated that the food-producing powers of this claire can 

 be materially increased by artificial means an important advance in 

 oyster-culture will have been made. 



Laboratory experiments appear to indicate that artificial conditions 

 can be established which will tend to increase the rapidity of multipli- 

 cation of the diatoms upon which the oyster mainly subsists, and it 

 now remains to adapt the same experiments to the larger body of water 

 contained in the claire. That this can be done is by no means clear, as 

 certain intermediate attempts during the past year have yielded con- 

 tradictory and unsatisfactory results, and it may take a long time to 

 perfect the proper methods. It is proposed to continue the experiments 

 during the coming year. 



PACIFIC COAST. 



The acclimatization of the eastern oyster (Ostrea virginica) on the 

 Pacific coast and its subsequent increase by natural propagation would 

 prove a great boon to an extensive section ; and the Commission has 

 made a number of experiments to test the adaptability of the shores of 

 the Pacific States to the growth of this mollusk. 



