50 
worms. But this method has its drawbacks from the difficulty of 
transporting them over long distances, and could only be used 
in favourable localities. The most effective as well as the quickest 
method would be the drying process. The oysters should be 
removed from the beds, freed from mud by washing, and then 
placed under a shed or cover of some kind, to protect them from 
the sun’s rays. The oysters should be spread out in thin layers, 
and occasionally turned over, so as to ensure the thorough drying 
of the shells externally. The process may be continued for ten 
days or longer — if the oysters would stand it. They might after 
wards be relaid on the beds, if suitable ground exists on which 
to lay them — that is to say ground having a stony or shelly 
bottom. If they are laid on a mud surface, they will very soon 
be infested again. Another method which might be useful would 
be to remove the oysters into prepared ponds, into which none 
but moderately clear water is allowed to enter, or place them on 
a sandy or pebbly beach in such a position that they would be 
exposed to the sun, and get partially dry between eA 7 ery rise and 
fall of the tide. No doubt if either course was adopted and 
continued for some months, the worms already in the oysters 
would be destroyed. The above mentioned remedies can only be 
applied to oysters that are loose or attached to small objects, such 
as shells, &c. 
So long as oysters are cultivated on the bare surface of the 
mud, they will be liable to the attacks of the worm ; but if some 
solid substratum be provided for the spat to fix upon, and so 
remove them from direct contact with the mud, the oysters will 
have a chance of escaping the disease. 
It would be much to the advantage of men engaged in dredging 
and of the lessees, if they made themselves familiar with the 
worm as it exists in the oyster in a living state. This is com- 
paratively an easy matter. All that is required is a small 
magnifying glass and a vessel containing sea water. If a diseased 
oyster is put in a shallow basin, the worms may be easily seen 
projecting out of their tubes, and the pair of feelers playing to 
and fro in search of food. If a practical knowledge be obtained 
of the appearance of the diseased oyster and the living worm, 
then the shells can be examined during any process carried on 
for the destruction of the worms, and the observer will be able 
to judge as to the effects of the remedy. If after placing a 
diseased oyster in water, and after the lapse of some hours the 
worms are not to be seen protruding their tentacles, it may be 
safely concluded that they are dead ; but to make sure the oyster 
should be opened carefully, and some of the worms taken out and 
placed in a saucer of clean sea water, to see if there is any power 
of movement left in them. 
