Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1886-07-10
HATCHING OYSTERS AND CRABS.
The Fish Commissions Work in the
Chesapeake Bay.

THE MATCHING STATION AT ST. JERoMEs-
HOW THE OYSTERS ARE CULTIvATED-THE
MISSION OF THE FISH HAwK-CRAB FOR THE
PACIFIC COAST.
The fish commission and it's attaches are now
fairly started their summer work. Prof
Baird and a party of dozen scientists and in
vestigatOrs have gone to Woods Holl to con-
tinue the work which has been prosecuted there
very successfully for several years. The Fish
Hawk has gone to st. Jeromes, on the Chesa-
peake, and the Lookout has been engaged for
some time in the lower Chesapeake, where ex-
periments in Matching crab and Spanish mack
eral are going on.
At the Matching station at ST. Jeromes the
main work going on Is the experiment in oyster
culture. st. JeromeS is at the mouth of St
Jerome's creek, about 81 miles from Baltimore
and six miles, north of Point Lookout, at the
mouth of the Potomac. This station was estab-
lished about six years ago, principally Tor the
purpose of experimenting in the artificial prop
agation of the oyster. A number OF small
ponds have been eXcavated there. At this
season the spawning oysters are procured and
the spawn or eggs taken from them artitically
in accordance with the methods devised and
described by Profs. Brooks and Ryder
HOW OYSTERS ARE CULTIVATED
CATER the young oysters are Matched" said
Major 7. Is. Ferguson, of the fish commission, to
aSTAR reporter, they are deposited in ponds in
which are placed various kinds of COLLECTORS
such as used on the coast of France and
Germany. The young oyster, after swimming
about near the surface for some time attaches
itself TO these collectors, where they are al
lowed to remain until the TALL, when they are
taken from the collectors and put in wire cages
called caiSsonS, in tended to protect them from
their enemies, which are very numerous, while
the shell is soft and easily broken. 1t is neces-
sary remove the oyster Spat from the col
lectOrs, as often AS two three hundred are
found Ia the space OF a few square inches. In
this crowded condition they would very soon
smother each other as their size Increased In
the earlier stages, during the past few years, it
has been deemed important to establish be-
yond all doubt the efficacy OF artificial
propagation, and with this in view the
ponds were cut OF from the
to enter the ponds only through a most perfect
system OF t1ltration, which eliminated the posi-
pity q the oyster spat coming in from the out
ters appearing on the collectors were from the
spat arliticiaily produced. The result during
the last season was y large collection of spat
which nave grown to sizes Of IRON one r. Two
inches in diameter. As tine young oyster thrives
best, ana appears to attach itself to the collec-
tors more readily, when they are placed In
rapidly moving waters or currents, hereafter
the gates OF the pond, Will be opened SO as to
allow the free now o. water over the collectors,
oysters artificially produced"
OYSTER SHELLS AS COLLECTORS
"1n addition to the experiment. hitherto tried
at st. Jeromes," continued Major Ferguson.
'this year the system OF spat culture designed
the matter OF oyster culture special attention,
under the direction OF the fish comm issiou, will
be put into practice. The spawning pond has
been arranged this season with q circuitous
cana! attached TO 1t: In this canal are placed
bleached oyster shells. All of the water pass
Ing into and out OF the spawning ponds have to
pass throught these basket collectors. and it is
hoped that as = large surface of oyster shells Is
exposed the floating spat will readily attach
them selves 70 these snclls. II this is found to
on the oyster grounds without the necessity of
detacbtng the young oysters. as they would be
considerably tntpped by the scattering OF the
shells. In the canal, which is about $50 feet