720 
‘land-locked salmon had descended from the sea- 
salmon, though the latter was probably the ancestor 
of the former. 
Dr. W. M. Hudson, of the Connecticut shell-fish- 
eries commission, gave an interesting account of the 
great work in progress in extending the area of the 
oyster-beds in the waters of Connecticut by sowing 
shells, together with a small proportion of live oysters, 
over the bottom, in waters not before productive. The 
statistics presented by the author showed that this 
industry had developed within a very short period to 
amazing proportions in his state, mainly through the 
enlightened administration of the commissioners, and 
the enactment of good protective laws by the state 
legislature. The speaker also gave a synopsis of the 
laws regulating the ownership of the beds, which 
he said were working admirably, and concluded by 
saying that the worst enemies of the oyster in his 
state were the star-fishes and human poachers, being 
‘undecided in his own mind which of the two was 
the worse. Steps were being taken to have all the 
star-fishes which are dredged destroyed. 
Lieut. Francis Winslow, U.S.N., read a long paper 
on the present condition and future prospects of the 
oyster-industry, in which he showed that the beds of 
Virginia and Maryland were being depleted by exces- 
Sive dredging, and commended reparative measures, 
such as were in successful operation in the waters of 
Connecticut. His paper was illustrated by a large 
and important series of charts, upon which were 
mapped almost all of the oyster-beds of the eastern 
coast of the United States, showing the depth of 
water in which the beds lie, and, as far as possible, 
their present condition. 
Mr. G. Brown Goode presented a paper on the 
oyster-industry of the world, which is seated chiefly 
in the United States and France. Great Britain has 
still a few natural beds remaining, and a number 
of well-conducted establishments for oyster-culture. 
Canada, Holland, Italy, Germany, Belgium, Spain, 
Portugal, Denmark, Norway, and Russia have also 
oyster-industries, which are comparatively insignifi- 
cant, and, in the case of the last two countries, hardly 
worthy of consideration in a statistical statement. 
Recent and accurate statistics are lacking, except in 
two or three instances. A brief review by countries, 
in the order of their importance, was presented. The 
oyster-industry of the United States was shown to 
employ 52,805 persons, and to yield 22,195,370 bushels, 
worth $30,438,852; and that of France, in 1881, em- 
ployed 29,481 persons, producing oysters valued at 
$3,464,565; the industry of Great Britain yielded a 
product valued at from two to four millions of pounds 
sterling; Holland was shown to have a considerable 
industry in the province of Zealand, and to have pro- 
duced native and cultivated oysters to the value of 
$200,000; Germany has an industry on the Schleswig 
coast valued at about $40,000; while the products of 
other European countries mentioned was too insig- 
nificant to deserve a place in this brief abstract. An 
estimate of the total product of the world was pre- 
sented as follows, the figures being given in the num- 
ber of individual oysters produced : — 
SCIENCE. 
Countries. No. of oysters. 
United States! . 5,550,000,000 
Canada . 22,000,000 
Total for North America . ; 5,572,000,000 
France . i 680,400,000 
Great Britain 1,600,000,000 
Holland. 21,800,000 
Italy . 20,000,000 
Germany . 4,000,000 
Belgium 2,500,000 
Spain . 1,000,000 
Portugal 800,000 
Denmark . 200,000 
Russia . 250,000 
Norway 250,000 
Total for Europe . 2,331,200,000 ~ 
The oyster-industry is rapidly passing from the 
hands of the fishermen into those of oyster-cultur- 
ists. The oyster, being sedentary except for a few 
days in the earliest stages of its existence, is easily 
exterminated in any given locality; since, although 
it may not be possible for the fishermen to rake up 
from the bottom every individual, wholesale methods 
of capture soon result in covering up, or otherwise 
destroying, the oyster banks or reefs, as the commu- 
nities of oysters are technically termed. The main 
difference between the oyster-industry of America 
and that of Europe lies in the fact, that in Europe 
the native beds have long since been practically de- 
stroyed, perhaps not more than six or seven per cent 
of the oysters of Europe passing from the native beds 
directly into the hands of the consumer. It is prob- 
able that sixty to seventy-five per cent are reared 
from the seed in artificial parks, the remainder hav- 
ing been laid down for a time to increase in size 
and flavor in shoal waters along the coasts. In the 
United States, on the other hand, from thirty to forty 
per cent are carried from the native beds directly to 
market. The oyster-fishery is everywhere carried on 
in the most reckless manner; and in all directions 
oyster-grounds are becoming deteriorated, and in some 
cases have been entirely destroyed. It remains to be 
seen whether the governments of the states will reg- 
ulate the oyster-fishery before it is too late, or will 
permit the destruction of these vast reservoirs of food. 
At present the oyster is one of the cheapest articles 
of diet in the United States; while in England, as has 
been well said, an oyster is usually worth as much as, 
or more than, a new-laid egg. It can hardly be ex- 
pected that the price of American oysters will always 
remain so low; but, taking into consideration the 
great wealth of the natural beds along the entire At- 
lantic coast, it seems certain that a moderate amount 
of protection will keep the price of seed-oysters far 
below European rates, and that the immense stretches 
of submerged land especially suited for oyster-plant- 
ing may be utilized, and made to produce an abundant 
harvest at much less cost than that which accompa- 
nies the complicated system of culture in France and 
Holland. » 
Mr. J. A. Ryder thought that purely artificial 
1 On the basis of 250 oysters to the bushel. 
an 
[Vou. TI1., Nore 
