218 
BULLETIN OF THE BUREAU OF FISHERIES 
crates were in the water, 11 of them were broken and carried out by the tide. All 
losses occurred in the crates planted on the western side of the river, where they were 
exposed to the action of waves. Those on the eastern side were well protected from 
heavy seas and sustained the test successfully. 
Examination of the crates disclosed that scallop shells were not suitable for 
planting in the crates. In many of the crates a considerable portion of them was 
washed out, while those in 
the center were so ground 
up by the action of waves 
that they formed a solid 
mass of debris, which pre- 
vented the penetration of 
the larvse. Much better 
results were obtained with 
oyster shells. 
When the counting of 
spat was begun on August 
24, the spat had reached 
one-fourth of an inch in 
diameter and were easily 
noticeable on the surface of 
the shells. 
The first problem to 
be studied was the distri- 
bution of spat within the 
crate. For this purpose 
the crate was divided into 
four horizontal zones or 
levels (fig. 14), and the 
abundance of spat in each 
zone was determined. In 
some of the crates a por- 
tion of the shells was washed 
out, and the remainder 
could be divided into three 
zones only. At every level 
shells touching lines A, B, 
and C (fig. 14, A) drawn 
from the center to each cor- 
Fiquee 13. — Shelled beds and planted crates at Station III, Wareham River. noT . it. j. w£>r-n nnm 
Places from which samples of shells were taken are shown by o. Figures indicate 01 me Crate, Wei G num- 
average number of spat per bushel of shells. Location of crates is shown by bered from Center Outward 
triangles , , „ 
and counts were made of 
the average number of spat per square inch of both shell surfaces. The results 
of the count of spat in one of the crates are presented in Table 6. The distribution 
of spat in various crates shows some variation, but it was noticeable that in all 
cases the concentration of spat at the top of the crate and in its corner was con- 
siderably greater than in its inner parts. From examination of shells taken from 
different portions of the crates, it was apparent that the oyster larvse do not pene- 
