September 28, 1883.] 



SCIENCE. 



441 



thej' are uot inappropriately termed b3- the 

 fishermen, were ))atclies of suitable gronnd 

 upon which these bivalves had lived for ages, 

 and, dying, left their shells to be overgrown 

 by successive generations. Matted together 

 bv this living cement, the successive layers of 

 dead shells and associated cUbris gradually 

 rose toward the surface, covered with dis- 

 torted, misshapen bivalves in masses like those 

 of the Floridian ' coon oj-sters.' These beds 

 were se[)arated prctlj' sharply from the ad- 

 jacent muddy bottoms, a differentiation which 

 the vertical increase tended to intensif}". 

 Horizontal increase doubtless took place, but 

 very slowly. From an economical stand-point 

 the oysters upon these beds were inferior on 

 account of their inconvenient shape and exces- 

 sive crowding. Among the various conflicting 

 statements drawn out by investigations into 

 the oj'ster-industry, one fact seems to be 

 generally admitted hy fishermen and by ex- 

 perts ; namely, that a moderate amount of 

 dredging over the original ' oyster-rocks ' was 

 beneficial. This dredging extended the area 

 of the beds, 1°, bv dragging the dead shells 

 and ' cultch ' over upon adjacent muddy bot- 

 toms, and placing it where new spat could settle 

 and grow ; and, 2°, by distributing the living 

 oysters more sparsely over the ground, so that 

 thev had a chance to grow into regular and 

 even shape and relatively larger size. It is 

 recognized bj- dealers, — even when the dredg- 

 ing has been carried on, as at present is the 

 case in the Chesapeake, to a disastrous extent, 

 — that the few remaining oysters which are 

 obtained are of larger size and finer flavor than 

 common. 



Since the trade in oystere began, the beds 

 ha\e imdergone great changes in area and pro- 

 ductiveness, until, at present, in two years, 

 on certain beds, the product has diminished in 

 tiie ratio of six to one, the market-price has 

 nearly doubled, while the demand is constantlv 

 increasing. If it were not for supplies re- 

 ceived from other sources, the oyster-eaters 

 of cities about the Chesapeake would have to 

 pay nearly' European prices for their favorite 

 shell-fish. 



It is true that there are numerous laws on 

 the statute-books of Maryland and Virginia ; 

 that police steam-launches and men have been 

 enlisted and a sort of war enacted, in time 

 of peace, by state authorities, — all ostensiblv 

 in protection of the oyster-beds. Actually the 

 laws are a dead letter ; dredging is boldly car- 

 ried on in close time before the eyes of the 

 ' oyster police,' without the offenders being 

 molested ; and the onl}- occasion for active 



measures arises when a Virginia dredger tres- 

 passes in Maryland waters, or vice versa. 

 Gore IS then apparently in demand, liut, in 

 spite of vehement protestations, turns out 

 almost as scarce as oysters. 



It was upon this state of things that Lieut. 

 Winslow entered, when he undertook this work 

 without previous experience, or any knowledge 

 of the biological questions involved, except 

 such as might be gleaned from the valuable little 

 work of Moebius on the North Sea fisheries 

 of Europe. Many of the observations which 

 he was directed to take, are, in the present 

 state of our knowledge, productive of no 

 definite result, though eventually thej- maj* 

 prove very useful. Thus, observations of the 

 specific gravity and temperature of the water 

 at the bottom and surface, when the total 

 depth was only a few feet, ma}' be said to be 

 almost absolutely fruitless. It is well known 

 that our common oyster flourishes in water 

 which varies at different seasons from the 

 freezing-point to 80° F., and that similar difl'er- 

 ences of specific gravitj* must occur between 

 the extremes of its geographical range. Con- 

 sequentlv the differences, in summer, of frac- 

 tious of degrees of temperature in the water 

 over oyster-beds, are of no consequence what- 

 ever. What these changes of temperature 

 mav signify, when taken in connection with the 

 act of spawning or the development of the 

 embrj-o, is quite another question, purely bio- 

 logical, and which can be properlj- treated only 

 b}- a biological expert of high rank and long 

 experience. 



The result of these superfluous observations 

 and det,ailed description of each individual 

 bed, even condensed as the}- are, as far as 

 possible, by the author, is to overload the text 

 with details of no interest, and thus to obscure 

 to the re.ider the value of the investigation, the 

 really interesting facts, and the merits of the 

 investigator, which are neither few nor small. 

 They will amply repay any one who has 

 patience to wade through the mass of details, 

 and pick out those of present value, of which 

 there are many. Space forbids any attempt 

 to summarize them. A large area of the beds 

 was delineated, and the apiiroximate number 

 of marketable oysters upon them determined. 

 Profiles of the beds were obtained in numerous 

 instances, and the character of the subsoil, or 

 bottom under the beds, determined as were the 

 conditions of sedimentation. Nearly .all the 

 beds examined are described in detail. Valu- 

 able biological data were obtained through the 

 efforts of Dr. W. K. Brooks and Mr. H. J. 

 Kice, most of which have been already made 



