REPORT OF THE COMMISSIONER OF FISHERIES. 13 
The experiments in St. Bernard Parish, especially in False-mouth 
Bay, were equally successful, and thousands of acres there have been 
shown to be suitable for oyster culture. Owing to the isolated situa- 
tion of the region, however, the field is less favorable for small opera- 
tors, and developments will probably be in the hands of persons 
financially able to take large leases. 
Barataria and False-mouth bays alone, though producing nothing 
when the experiments were undertaken, are capable, if properly 
utilized, of yielding a quantity of oysters equal to the entire output 
of Louisiana at the present time. 
The oyster- fattening experiments at Lynnhaven Bay, Virginia, 
have been more satisfactory than in the preceding year, but the quan- 
tity of oysters fattened was less than in 1907. The difficulties en- 
countered in this work, which is both commercially important and 
unique, have been many, and it is evident that some of them are not 
yet overcome. Nothwithstanding the work of many investigators, 
both in this country and abroad, knowledge of the feeding conditions 
of oysters is very imperfect, and it is probable that the present ex- 
periments may have to await a more thorough understanding of 
underlying principles. The development of a certain and effective 
means whereby oysters can be fattened for the market is of highly 
practical importance to the oyster industry. 
The Bureau has continued the cooperation with the Coast and 
Geodetic Survey and the Maryland Shellfish Commission in the 
survey of the oyster beds of Maryland, and the work should be 
practically completed during the fiscal year 1910. This oyster survey 
is the largest, most accurate, and most elaborate work of the kind 
ever undertaken. 
In response to the request of the Virginia authorities, the Bureau 
at the end of the fiscal year entered on a survey of the natural oyster 
beds of the James River to determine accurately their present con- 
ditions and prospects. The location, condition, and administration 
of these beds has been a matter of controversy ever since the present 
boundary lines were established, and it is hoped that the work now 
underway will furnish data for such legislative and administrative 
action as may be necessary to secure their full value to the State 
and its citizens. 
INVESTIGATION OF FRESH- WATER MUSSELS. 
The extensive fishery and the important manufacturing interests 
dependent on the pearly fresh-water mussels of the Mississippi basin 
and other regions have induced the Bureau to undertake a compre- 
hensive study of the biology of these mollusks and the physical char- 
acters of the waters they inhabit. The investigation is timely because 
of the serious depletion of the supply owing to the great demand 
for the shells for button making and to the indiscriminate waste 
68427°— 11 2 
