420 



THE POPULAR SCIENCE MONTHLY. 



diminished, no matter what methods man 

 may use for their capture ; and he suggests 

 the establishment of experiment stations for 

 developing fish and other plant-food indus- 

 tries. (Boston: Wright & Potter, 1892.) 



In pamphlets 202 and 203 of the United 

 States Fish Commission Bashford Dean con- 

 tributes some important data concerning the 

 science of oyster culture. The first of these 

 reports deals with the Physical and Biologi- 

 cal Characteristics of the Natural Oyster 

 Grounds of South Carolina. He draws at- 

 tention to the appearance of immense natural 

 but partly obsolete oyster beds on the coast 

 of this State, and explains how oyster culture 

 might be again profitably developed there. 

 In the chapter on the Absence of Oyster 

 Spat in Deep Water, Mr. Dean calls atten- 

 tion to the extraordinary silt suspension along 

 the coast, and points out that this matter is, 

 de facto, one of the causes why oysters do not 

 thrive in the deeper waters. He claims that 

 " to plant in deep waters clean shells as spat 

 collectors would in this region be futile " ; 

 but that an abundance of both oyster seed 

 and oyster food exist in South Carolinian 

 waters, and that in the marginal waters, 

 " from the level of low tide to about a fathom 

 in depth," oyster culture could be very ad- 

 vantageously developed. 



The second pamphlet is entitled A Report 

 on the Present Methods of Oyster Culture in 

 France. This subject is very interestingly 

 discussed, and the result of Mr. Dean's obser- 

 vations will, by comparison, be of pertinent 

 value to those who are interested in the con- 

 ditions, industry, and culture of the oyster in 

 American waters. He tells the entire process 

 of oyster-raising in France, from the time the 

 swimming fry becomes attached to the col- 

 lectors until the grown oyster is shipped for 

 consumption. He also defines the difference 

 between the American oyster and the French 

 "flat" oyster, which is akin to the English 

 "native." The American and Portuguese 

 are monosexual, whereas the "flats" are bi- 

 sexual ; so that, as says Mr. Dean, it is diffi- 

 cult to reconcile the relationship between 

 both species. Both reports are profusely 

 illustrated with photographs of the localities 

 and processes of collection and general cul- 

 ture. (Washington, 1892.) 



Edwin T. Bumble, State Geologist of 

 Texas, in a report of 243 pages, gives an ex- 



haustive treatise on the " character, forma- 

 tion, occurrence, and fuel uses " of the brown 

 coal and lignite of his State. These coals 

 are widely distributed throughout Texas, the 

 coal measures of the " northern central por- 

 tion of the State " occupying an area of sev- 

 eral thousand square miles. Recapitulating 

 the results of his investigations — some of 

 which were made in Europe, for the purpose 

 of comparison — Mr. Dumble claims that 

 " brown coal and lignite, of good quality and 

 under certain conditions, are fully capable of 

 replacing bituminous coal for any and all 

 household, industrial, and metallurgical pur- 

 poses." 



There are instructive chapters on arti- 

 ficial fuel, the composition of Texan coal, 

 and its utilization and formation. And the 

 State Geologist adds that as Texas has an 

 abundant supply of brown coal " equal to the 

 best which has been utilized, and far supe- 

 rior to much that has been used satisfacto- 

 rily in other countries," there is no economic 

 reason why the wonderful coal measures of 

 Texas should not be more fully developed. 

 (Austin: Ben Jones & Co., 1892.) 



Barton W. Everman, Assistant Commis- 

 sioner of Fish and Fisheries, has made inter- 

 esting reports on the advisability of estab- 

 lishing fish-hatching stations in the Bocky 

 Mountain region and Gulf States. In making 

 such an investigation several considerations 

 have to be taken into account. The chief 

 requirement is a constant supply of pure 

 water, " not less than a thousand gallons per 

 minute," at a temperature not exceeding 50° ; 

 but of equal importance is the selection of a 

 stream or spring free from contamination and 

 containing as few as possible of such enemies 

 of the Salmonidm family and their spawn as 

 the blob, etc. The first part of the report is 

 devoted to his investigations in Montana and 

 Wyoming. In some of the mountain streams 

 no trout were found, and in many of those 

 streams there was a marked absence of algae, 

 chara, and other suitable water vegetation. 

 All the tributaries of the Columbia and Mis- 

 souri Rivers were investigated — fifty-nine 

 streams in all — and finally Dr. Everman con- 

 sidered that the most advantageous places to 

 select as a hatchery are Horsethief Springs, 

 Botteler Springs, and Davies Springs. All 

 of these are close to Yellowstone National 

 Park, in Montana, but he prefers Horsethief 



