OYSTER CULTURE IN AMERICA. 809 



DEPOSITS. 



. . . . Those beds lying in the deep water are 

 particularly free from an undue proportion of mud on the 

 bottom, the shoalest beds having the thickest mud covering. 



If there was a constant and increasing deposit upon 

 the beds they would long ago have disappeared, or at least 

 have become of much smaller area ; but the reverse is the 

 case, the beds increasing in area constantly. 



They are, however, exposed to one species of deposit 

 which is very injurious. Heavy gales occurring in winter 

 and summer, frequently tear up the large quantities of 

 grass, sea-weed, and sponge on the sand shoals about the 

 Sound, and deposit upon the beds. If this occurs in sum- 

 mer, when there are a small number of dredgers at work, 

 the effect is very injurious, the "cultch' : being covered, 

 and the young, if spawned, smothered by the grass, weeds, 

 sand, and mud which it collects. 



. . . . The gales also have the effect of covering 

 the scattered oysters on the leeward sands, which process 

 is called " sanding," and, from what I could learn, appears 

 to be a very injurious one. The oysters are buried, and 

 the bottom becomes smooth and hard. Where at least 

 thirty bushels could be taken previous to a gale, not one 

 oyster could be found subsequent to it. The winter gales 

 have the greatest effect, owing probably to their greater 

 severity and direction, which is from the northward and 

 westward. 



. The " sand" oysters are said not to recover 

 from the " sanding" for several months, and upon their 

 reappearance are noticeable on account of the whiteness of 

 their shells. Though there were several very heavy blows 

 while we were in the Sound, they were not of sufficient 

 severity to produce the effect spoken of, and if they had 



