6o6 NEW YORK STATE MUSEUM 



case has this been better exemplified, perhaps, than in the taking- ol 

 marine food. The demand for salt-water fish and mollusks has in- 

 creased at a great rate during the last few years. In all the smaller, 

 as well as in the larger cities and towns of the interior, the demand 

 for fresh mackerel has been added to that for the salted fish. Rich 

 and poor alike have formed a liking for fresh halibut, cod, herring, 

 smelt and shad. Even in a more marked degree has the public de- 

 manded the oyster, first in the can, then in " bulk ", and finally in 

 the shell. The secret of successful canning, put into practice soon 

 after the civil war, led to the distribution of such food all over the 

 Union. Salmon, oysters, lobsters and clams found a great market 

 in this way, and the production assumed enormous proportions. 

 But in most of these cases, the natural supply soon showed signs 

 of failing. 



In Chesapeake bay, probably the -most favorable locality in the 

 world for the growth of oysters, the natural beds gradually failed 

 from excessive dredging. The simple method of transferring small 

 oysters to bottoms where oyster food was abundant, though 

 the conditions were not favorable for reproduction, were resorted 

 to with great success about Long Island, and along the southern^ 

 New England coast. The industry is still growing. In parts of 

 Long Island sound, the " spat ", or swimming embryos, " set " or 

 attach themselves naturally, and oyster life in these regions has be- 

 come much what it is on natural beds. Even the small oysters used 

 in transplanting, are now taken from these beds, and the whole in- 

 dustry has become largely independent of the southern supply. 

 While the conditions of growth are much more favorable in the 

 Chesapeake, the laws of Maryland and Virginia offer little protection 

 to the oyster " farmer ", and a very great revenue is lost to those 

 states. While the supply of oysters was at one time seriously 

 menaced, intelligent methods of artificial propagation have per- 

 manently established the industry on the northern coast. 



With some other forms of marine food this restoration will be 

 much more difficult. It is never attempted in any case till exter- 

 mination has become almost complete. Even with abundant ma- 

 terial for his work, the culturist often finds it hard, or even impos- 



