﻿29 
  

  

  Bwim 
  at 
  various 
  deptlis, 
  their 
  danger 
  from 
  accidents 
  and 
  ene- 
  

   mies 
  is 
  greatly 
  diniinislicd, 
  and 
  their 
  chance 
  of 
  reaching 
  

   maturity 
  increases 
  hundreds, 
  and 
  probably 
  thousands 
  of 
  times. 
  

  

  My 
  experiments 
  show 
  that 
  there 
  is 
  no 
  difficulty 
  in 
  develop- 
  

   ing 
  them 
  up 
  to 
  this 
  point 
  in 
  the 
  house 
  in 
  small 
  aquaria, 
  and 
  

   in 
  carrying 
  them 
  safely 
  past 
  the 
  most 
  precarious 
  part 
  of 
  their 
  

   lives, 
  and 
  freeing 
  them 
  from 
  all 
  their 
  greatest 
  dangers. 
  

  

  Although 
  the 
  mortality 
  at 
  these 
  early 
  stages 
  is 
  so 
  excessive, 
  

   the 
  number 
  of 
  young 
  which 
  pass 
  through 
  them 
  safely 
  without 
  

   help 
  is 
  very 
  great, 
  and 
  if 
  there 
  were 
  no 
  other 
  dangers 
  and 
  

   uncertainties 
  there 
  would 
  be 
  no 
  need 
  of 
  measures 
  for 
  their 
  

   protection. 
  As 
  they 
  swim 
  to 
  and 
  fro 
  in 
  the 
  water, 
  they 
  are 
  

   carried 
  to 
  great 
  distances 
  by 
  the 
  tides 
  and 
  currents 
  and 
  reach 
  

   all 
  parts 
  of 
  the 
  region 
  of 
  water 
  in 
  v/hieh 
  the 
  parent 
  bed 
  is 
  

   situated. 
  In 
  a 
  favorable 
  year 
  a 
  Heating 
  plank 
  or 
  bush, 
  or 
  

   piece 
  of 
  drift-wood, 
  will 
  be 
  found 
  to 
  becoine 
  covered 
  with 
  

   small 
  oysters 
  which 
  have 
  fastened 
  to 
  it, 
  although 
  it 
  may 
  not 
  

   be 
  within 
  miles 
  of 
  any 
  natural 
  oyster 
  bank. 
  The 
  fact 
  that 
  the 
  

   young 
  may 
  be 
  collected 
  in 
  this 
  way 
  in 
  any 
  part 
  of 
  the 
  Chesa- 
  

   peake 
  Bay 
  shows 
  that 
  the 
  young 
  oysters 
  must 
  settle 
  down 
  

   upon 
  the 
  bottom 
  in 
  nearly 
  all 
  parts 
  of 
  the 
  bay, 
  and 
  we 
  should 
  

   expect 
  the 
  adults 
  to 
  have 
  an 
  equally 
  general 
  distribution. 
  This 
  

   is 
  far 
  from 
  the 
  case, 
  and 
  nothing 
  could 
  be 
  farther 
  from 
  the 
  truth 
  

   than 
  the 
  idea 
  that 
  the 
  bottom 
  of 
  the 
  waters 
  of 
  the 
  oyster 
  regions 
  

   is 
  uniformly 
  covered 
  with 
  oysters, 
  and 
  that 
  it 
  is 
  only 
  neces- 
  

   sary 
  to 
  throw 
  a 
  dredge 
  overboard 
  and 
  drag 
  it 
  along 
  the 
  bottom 
  

   for 
  a 
  short 
  distance, 
  in 
  order 
  to 
  bring 
  it 
  up 
  full. 
  Nothing 
  

   could 
  be 
  a 
  greater 
  mistake, 
  for 
  both 
  in 
  this 
  country 
  and 
  in 
  

   Europe, 
  the 
  oysters 
  are 
  restricted 
  to 
  particular 
  spots, 
  " 
  beds 
  " 
  

   or 
  " 
  banks," 
  which 
  are 
  as 
  well 
  defined 
  and 
  almost 
  as 
  sharply 
  

   limited 
  as 
  the 
  tracts 
  of 
  wood-land 
  in 
  a 
  farming 
  country. 
  

   These 
  beds 
  are 
  so 
  well 
  marked 
  that 
  they 
  can 
  be 
  laid 
  down 
  on 
  

   a 
  chart 
  or 
  staked 
  out 
  with 
  buoys 
  ; 
  and 
  even 
  in 
  the 
  best 
  oyster 
  

   regions 
  they 
  occupy 
  such 
  an 
  inconsiderable 
  part 
  of 
  the 
  bottom 
  

   that 
  any 
  one 
  ignorant 
  of 
  their 
  position 
  would 
  have 
  very 
  little 
  

   chance 
  of 
  finding 
  oysters 
  by 
  promiscuous 
  dredging. 
  Although 
  

   the 
  young 
  are 
  distributed 
  every 
  year, 
  by 
  the 
  tides 
  and 
  currents, 
  

   to 
  all 
  parts 
  of 
  the 
  bottom, 
  the 
  dredge 
  very 
  seldom 
  brings 
  up 
  

   even 
  a 
  single 
  oyster 
  outside 
  the 
  limits 
  of 
  the 
  beds. 
  

  

  