﻿23 
  

  

  was 
  of 
  an 
  oval 
  form, 
  flat 
  beneath 
  and 
  rounded 
  on 
  the 
  

   back, 
  so 
  that 
  the 
  resembhmce 
  when 
  the 
  large 
  foot 
  like 
  

   cilia 
  were 
  in 
  motion, 
  carrying 
  the 
  animal 
  about, 
  was 
  

   strikingly 
  like 
  a 
  very 
  minute 
  tortoise, 
  the 
  resemblance 
  

   being 
  heightened 
  when 
  the 
  animal 
  was 
  viewed 
  from 
  the 
  

   side. 
  

  

  Rod-like 
  algae, 
  of 
  minute 
  size, 
  the 
  larvae 
  of 
  Crustacea, 
  

   especially 
  the 
  vast 
  numbers 
  of 
  extremely 
  small 
  larval 
  

   Copepoda 
  must 
  enter 
  as 
  a 
  perceptible 
  factor 
  into 
  the 
  food 
  

   supply 
  of 
  the 
  oyster. 
  

  

  There 
  is 
  no 
  doul)t 
  but 
  that 
  the 
  comparatively 
  quies- 
  

   cent 
  condition 
  of 
  the 
  head 
  waters 
  of 
  these 
  inlets 
  and 
  

   creeks, 
  available 
  as 
  oyster 
  planting 
  grounds, 
  are 
  more 
  

   favorable 
  to 
  the 
  proj^tagation 
  of 
  minute 
  life 
  than 
  the 
  open 
  

   bay 
  or 
  creeks, 
  where 
  the 
  temperature 
  is 
  lower 
  and 
  less 
  

   constant. 
  Practically, 
  this 
  is 
  found 
  to 
  be 
  true. 
  For 
  

   oystermen 
  seem 
  to 
  be 
  generally 
  agreed 
  that 
  oysters 
  

   "fatten"* 
  more 
  rapidly, 
  that 
  is, 
  feed 
  more 
  liberally 
  in 
  the 
  

   head-waters, 
  blind 
  extremities 
  of 
  the 
  creeks, 
  than 
  else- 
  

   where. 
  This 
  notion 
  of 
  the 
  oystermen 
  is 
  in 
  agreement 
  

   with 
  my 
  own 
  observations 
  during 
  the 
  past 
  year. 
  Oyster- 
  

   men 
  also 
  assert 
  that 
  oysters 
  "fatten" 
  more 
  rapidly 
  in 
  

   shallow 
  waters 
  than 
  in 
  deep 
  ones, 
  a 
  point 
  upon 
  which 
  I 
  

   made 
  but 
  few 
  observations, 
  but 
  such 
  as 
  1 
  did 
  make 
  ten- 
  

   ded 
  to 
  contirm 
  such 
  an 
  opinion. 
  In 
  illustration 
  I 
  may 
  

   contrast 
  the 
  condition 
  of 
  the 
  oysters 
  in 
  the 
  pond 
  leased 
  

   by 
  the 
  Commission 
  at 
  St. 
  Jer<mie's 
  and 
  those 
  dredged 
  off 
  

   Pt. 
  Lookout 
  in 
  2(J 
  or 
  30 
  feet 
  of 
  water, 
  on 
  the 
  8d 
  day 
  of 
  

   October, 
  1880. 
  The 
  oysters 
  in 
  the 
  pond, 
  by 
  the 
  middle 
  

   or 
  end 
  of 
  September, 
  were 
  in 
  good 
  condition 
  as 
  to 
  flesh 
  

   and 
  marketable, 
  while 
  those 
  from 
  deeper 
  water 
  off 
  Pt. 
  

   Lookout 
  and 
  but 
  little 
  later 
  in 
  the 
  season, 
  were 
  still 
  ex- 
  

   tremely 
  poor, 
  thin 
  and 
  watery 
  and 
  utterly 
  unfit 
  for 
  mar- 
  

   ket. 
  These 
  differences 
  in 
  condition, 
  it 
  seems 
  to 
  me, 
  are 
  

   to 
  be 
  attributed 
  in 
  a 
  great 
  measure 
  to 
  differences 
  of 
  tem- 
  

   perature 
  and 
  the 
  abundance 
  of 
  food, 
  but 
  mainly 
  to 
  the 
  

   latter. 
  

  

  