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them. Such bottom need no comment as they are ready for any 

 oysterman, A few years ago there was a rush to get leases on 

 the old depleted reefs. The reasons were obvious. 1st, it Is 

 the general opinion that where oysters haye been grown in the 

 past they are apt to thrive in the future; and, 2nd, here were 

 grounds that might naturally be soft, yet the old reef has formed 

 a layer of oyster sheUs. Such bottoms have been mostly, if not 

 entirely, leased at the present time. 



There are many acres of bottom where the conditions are 

 quite favorable to oyster culture, but which are more or less soft. 

 Such bottoms, if not too soft, can readily be built up by throwing 

 on a few loads of shells for a foundation. Oyster shells are 

 preferable for this, since they will not sink so readily as the 

 smaller so-called clam shells. After a bed is formed, small shells 

 may be thrown there for cultch in the spring of the year. Thus 

 an oyster bed may be started, where before the bottom was too 

 soft; and whatever cultch was planted would sink below the 

 mud. 



Besides these, there are large tracts of land where the bot- 

 tom is so soft that it is impracticable to start an oyster bed 

 under any circumstances. Such a bottom is illustrated in the 

 case of the experimental bed started at the Gulf Biological Sta- 

 tion, which was approximately one hundred feet square, where 

 one thousand bushels of clam shells were planted and on top 

 of these seventy-five bushels of living oysters. These were 

 planted in the summer, and the following spring, absolutely no 

 sign of the bed could be found, even by running a long pole 

 into the mud. Such bottoms are best left alone, especially since 

 there are such large areas of bottom that can be utilized with 

 little or no work in preparation. 



The number of shells that ought to be planted per acre varies 

 according to the condition of the bottom. On hard bottoms 

 where there is no chance for sinking, 50 or 60 bushels per acre 

 are sufficient. If more are planted, it not only results in un- 

 necessary labor, but also in overstocking the area. By overstock- 

 ing we mean crowding the oysters in a bed to such an extent 

 that there is insufficient food in the water to permit each oyster 

 to grow to its maximum size. 



V/O 4 



o/o 



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