REPORT OF COMMISSIONER OF FISH AND FISHERIES. 121 
The rivers in whose basins most time was spent were the New 
and Greenbrier branches of the Great Kanawha, and the Guyandotte 
and Big Sandy, independent affluents of the Ohio. All of these are 
fine streams, flowing through picturesque mountain sections. The 
water averages slightly warmer than in the Monongahela basin; and 
the beds are for the most part rocky, but in places there are stretches 
of mud, sand, and gravel. Within very recent times the fish life of 
this region was extremely abundant, but is now becoming scarcer 
each year. The influences which are here proving inimical to the 
fishes are the same as those operating in the northern parts of the 
State, mining and lumbering. Thus the fish throughout almost the 
entire length of the Bluestone River have been greatly diminished 
by coal-mining. In some counties logging and coal-mining have 
together wrought the complete destruction of fish and fishing in fine 
streams that were formerly celebrated for their abundance of excel- 
lent fish. The employment of dynamite for fishing purposes has 
been common in places and has resulted in much useless destruction 
of fish life. The conditions in this State call for action and energetic 
measures on the part of the local authorities if it is intended to pre- 
serve the remaining food and game fishes. 
EXPERIMENTS IN REARING LOBSTERS AND CLAMS. 
The special lobster and clam investigations begun in the previous 
year were continued during the summer and fall of 1900, and sub- 
stantial progress was made in devising methods for carrying on the 
eultivation of these important food animals on a large seale. The 
work was under the direct supervision of Dr. H. ©. Bumpus, who was 
assisted by Dr. William C. Kendail, of the U. 8. Fish Commission; 
Dr. A. D. Mead, of the Rhode Island Fish Commission; Prof. J. L. 
Kellogg, of Williams College; Mr. George H. Sherwood, Mr. J. E. 
Wells, and Mr. Thomas Bb. Gould. Experiments were conducted at 
Woods Hole, Gloucester, and Duxbury, Mass., at Wickford, R. I., and 
at several points on Casco Bay, Maine. At Wickford the Commission 
had the active cooperation of the Rhode Island fishery authorities and 
was much aided thereby. Some remarkable results were achieved in 
the planting of clams, and it may be said that the feasibility of private 
clam-culture has been established, and that the business of growing 
clams for market gives promise of rich pecuniary returns on many 
parts of the east coast. The problem of rearing lobsters in large 
numbers is still receiving attention, with prospect of ultimate success. 
In June, 1901, arrangements were being made to renew the lobster and 
clam experiments at several favorable points. 
OYSTER-FATTENING EXPERIMENTS. 
During the year the experiments in fattening oysters on artificially 
nourished food have been continued at Lynn Haven, Va., with more 
x 
favorable results than have heretofore been attained. Kaech year 
