CVIII 



"In view of sucli facts, no oibe who ax3preciates tlie 

 •' magnitude 01 the oyster industry of the Chesa^Deake 

 ''can doubt that the protection of the natural oyster 

 " beds is a matter which is worthy of the most careful 

 "attention. While the manner in which this is to be 

 ' ' accomx)lished is outside the scope of the present paper, 

 " a statement of those favorable and unfavorable influ- 

 " ences which have suggested themselves to me during 

 " my work, may fairly find a place here. 



• • It is well known to naturalists that the number of 

 '•individuals which reach maturity in any species of 

 " animals or plants does not dej)end upon the number 

 " which are born. The common tape-w^orm lays hun- 

 ' ' dreds of millions of eggs in a very short time, yet it is 

 " comparatively rare. The number of children born to 

 " each pair of human beings during their lifetime of from 

 ' ' fifty to eifi'htT years, can be counted on the fingers, yet 

 " man is the most abundant of the larger mammals, and 

 " human population increases quite rapidly under favor- 

 '* able circumstances. This comparison shows plainly 

 " that the abundance of a species is determined, mainly, 

 " by the external conditions to which it is exposed, and 

 " that the number of individuals which are born has 

 " very little to do with it. In the case of the oyster, the 

 " adult is well protected against enemies by the shell, 

 " and as its food is abundant, and is brought to it by 

 " the water, it is tolerably sure of a long life after it has 

 " reached its adult form, but the life of the young is 

 " very jDrecarious ; that of the young American oyster 

 " peculiarly so, since it is exposed to all kinds of ene- 

 " mies and accidents, at a time when it is most helpless. 

 " The protection of the young European oyster by the 

 " ]3arent shell at this time would seem to more than bal- 

 " ance the 2:reater number of e^'gs laid by the American. 



" The most critical time in the life of the American 

 " oyster is undoubtedly the time when the egg is dis- 

 ' ' charged into the water to be fertilized, for the chance 



