﻿PART 
  II. 
  

  

  Extracts 
  from 
  Report 
  of 
  Investigations 
  made 
  

   from 
  July 
  Jfth 
  to 
  October 
  Wth, 
  1879. 
  

  

  The 
  work 
  of 
  the 
  party 
  under 
  my 
  charge 
  was 
  properly 
  the 
  

   collection 
  of 
  such 
  information 
  as 
  would 
  conduce 
  to 
  the 
  cor- 
  

   rect 
  answers 
  to 
  the 
  following 
  questions 
  : 
  

  

  1st. 
  Were 
  the 
  oyster 
  beds 
  improving 
  or 
  deteriorating 
  ? 
  

  

  2d. 
  What 
  were 
  the 
  causes 
  for 
  such 
  improvement 
  or 
  dete- 
  

   rioration 
  ? 
  

  

  3d. 
  How 
  is 
  the 
  deterioration 
  to 
  be 
  prevented 
  or 
  the 
  beds 
  

   improved 
  ? 
  

  

  In 
  the 
  endeavor 
  to 
  answer 
  these 
  questions 
  it 
  was 
  necessary 
  

   to 
  investigate 
  many 
  problems 
  and 
  to 
  collect 
  much 
  information 
  

   having 
  apparently 
  but 
  little 
  bearing 
  upon 
  the 
  main 
  question, 
  

   but 
  it 
  was 
  my 
  endeavor 
  to 
  limit 
  the 
  extent 
  of 
  the 
  inquiry 
  as 
  

   much 
  as 
  possible 
  and 
  to 
  direct 
  all 
  the 
  energies 
  of 
  the 
  party 
  

   to 
  the 
  decision 
  of 
  the 
  three 
  points 
  mentioned. 
  

  

  Though 
  the 
  biology 
  of 
  the 
  oyster 
  should 
  be 
  studied, 
  yet 
  

   only 
  so 
  much 
  of 
  it 
  was 
  essential 
  to 
  the 
  work 
  we 
  had 
  under- 
  

   taken 
  as 
  would 
  assist 
  in 
  the 
  solution 
  of 
  the 
  problem 
  pre- 
  

   sented, 
  and 
  consequently 
  it 
  was 
  desirable 
  to 
  leave 
  an 
  extended 
  

   investigation 
  in 
  that 
  line 
  to 
  others 
  and 
  to 
  settle 
  ourselves 
  

   only 
  such 
  points 
  as 
  would, 
  so 
  far 
  as 
  we 
  could 
  see, 
  directly 
  

   assist 
  us 
  in 
  arriving 
  at 
  correct 
  conclusions. 
  

  

  The 
  investigation 
  conducted 
  during 
  the 
  summer 
  and 
  au- 
  

   tumn 
  of 
  1878 
  had 
  shown 
  that 
  the 
  beds 
  were 
  deteriorating; 
  

   rapidly, 
  and 
  so 
  far 
  as 
  could 
  be 
  seen 
  the 
  principal 
  cause 
  for 
  

   this 
  deterioration 
  was 
  the 
  over-fishing 
  of 
  the 
  beds. 
  The 
  re- 
  

   maining 
  question 
  to 
  be 
  answered 
  was 
  then, 
  how 
  the 
  deterior- 
  

   ation 
  was 
  to 
  be 
  prevented. 
  

  

  