FIT REPORT OF COMMISSIONER OF FISII AND FISHERIES. 
Disappointment, 22 in Shoal water Bay, and 128 in different places at the 
mouth of Puget Sound, all within the limits of the State of Washington. 
A number of years must elapse before the utility of these plantings 
can be ascertained, and it is probable that several more shipments will 
be necessary to place these little colonies on a self-sustaining basis, but 
the undertaking is sufficiently important to warrant every reasonable 
effort in its behalf. 
The Long Clam (My a arenaria ) . 
A discovery made in regard to the young clam at Wood’s Holl, by 
Prof. Ryder, while at first sight apparently of biological interest 
only, can be turned to good account in case the transplanting or arti- 
ficial culture of that species is attempted. In fact, its distribution to 
different parts of the Pacific coast, where it is not a native, but where 
it has already obtained an accidental foothold, has been seriously con- 
sidered, and an unsuccessful trial in that respect was made by the 
steamer Albatross in 1888. Hitherto, in the transplanting of mollusks, 
the adults generally have been used, and the oyster, most fortunately, 
is able to withstand the hardships of a long journey. The clams, how- 
ever, are more delicate and their transportation for stocking purposes 
has generally ended very disastrously. Respecting his observations, 
Prof. Ryder wrote in December, 1888, that he had discovered a 
byssus and byssal sac in the tip of the foot of the common clam, in 
young specimens collected at Wood’s Holl during the previous summer, 
which fact upsets all previous ideas regarding the life history of that 
species. Instead of the young clam burying itself at once in the sand 
like its parent, it probably suspends itself for a time to weeds or sticks 
or other objects above the bottom until it is large enough to shift for 
itself in its final home. The presence of a byssus in the young of this 
animal seems to be a protective measure, and it will be interesting to 
learn if the giant clam, Glycimeris generosa , of the Pacific coast, is sim- 
ilarly provided in its embryo state. The specimens from Wood’s Holl 
were found on floating timbers among ascidians, and ranged in size 
from less than a millimeter to nearly three-fourths of an inch long. Its 
transplanting while so attached could readily be effected. 
THE CHEMICAL COMPOSITION AND NUTRITIVE VALUE OF AMERICAN 
FOOD-FISHES, MOLLUSKS, AND CRUSTACEANS. 
The first and only extensive investigation of this important subject 
that has been made in this country was begun for the Fish Commission 
about ten years ago by Prof. W. O. Atwater, of Wesleyan University, 
Middletown, Conn., who has continued his observations from time to 
time as funds could be spared for that purpose. Having, moreover, 
a deep personal interest in the successful accomplishment of his task, 
Prof. Atwater has given largely of his time and means without remuner- 
ation, and some financial assistance has also been received from Mr. E. G. 
Blackford, of New York, and Mr. A. R. Crittenden, of Middletown, Conn. 
