PART II. 
Extracts from Report of Investigations made 
from July Jfth to October 20th, 1879. 
The work of the party under my charge was properly the 
•collection of such information as would conduce to the cor- 
rect answers to the following questions : 
1st. Were the oyster beds improving or deteriorating? 
2d. What were the causes for such improvement or dete- 
rioration ? 
3d. How is the deterioration to be prevented or the beds 
improved ? 
In the endeavor to answer these questions it was necessary 
to investigate many problems and to collect much information 
having apparently but little bearing upon the main question, 
but it was my endeavor to limit the extent of the inquiry as 
much as possible and to direct all the energies of the party 
to the decision of the three points mentioned. 
Though the biology of the oyster should be studied, yet 
only so much of it was essential to the work we had under- 
taken as would assist in the solution of the problem pre- 
sented, and consequently it was desirable to leave an extended 
investigation in that line to others and to settle ourselves 
only such points as would, so far as we could see, directly 
assist us in arriving at correct conclusions; 
The investigation conducted during the summer and au- 
tumn of 1878 had shown that the beds were deteriorating 
rapidly, and so far as could be seen the principal cause for 
this deterioration was the over-fishing of the beds. The re- 
maining question to be answered was then, how T the deterior- 
ation was to be prevented. 
