THIRTEENTH ANNUAL MEETING. 161 
ee Se See 
United States Fish Commission for 1881 and 1882. So that I 
think that purely artificial methods, as applied to the cultivation 
of oysters in this country, are not altogether without indications 
of success in the near future. 
Lieut. WinsLow: I did not mean that the artificial propaga- 
tion of the oyster might not in the future be brought to some 
practical issue. [ only stated that it had not yet been. But 
while the process of raising oysters by artificially fecundating the 
eggs of the female, will not, probably, soon be made a matter of 
economic importance, the study of the embryonic life of the 
oyster will certainly be of great value to oyster-culturists in the 
future. For instance, the usual method of the oyster farmer is 
to deposit in the spring or late winter months, a certain number 
of ‘“‘spawners” or mature oysters. After those oysters have lain 
on the ground three or four months and the spawning season 
has approached, vast quantities of shells or other suitable 
‘“cultch” are scattered in the vicinity, for the young fry to fast- 
en to. Now it is of the utmost importance that this “cultch” 
should be clean, and consequently the later it is thrown over- 
board the better, as the deposit of sediment is thus avoided. But 
care must be used not to wait too long, else the time when the 
fry attach will be passed. Now as every oyster-man knows 
where an oyster is spawning, if, through the study of the embry- 
ological life of the animal, we could tell him just how much time 
elapses between the spawning and the attachment, we would 
provide him with information of great practical value. For 
reasons such as I have just recited, I think embryological work 
in this direction desirable. Possibly we may also make oyster 
raising through the artificial impregnation of eggs a matter of 
practical importance, but so far as my experience goes, I am in- 
clined to doubt any such consummation, desirable though it 
may be. 
Prof. Ryvper: The results of my own experiments and obsery- 
ations in this matter are I think of some value. I have found 
by more recent study of spat which I obtained in vast abundance 
at Buzzard’s bay that after the fry-shell had grown to the di- 
mensions of 1-go inch or about four times the size of the fry-shell 
