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^vitll eluleli. The prevalcut upiiiioii aiuuiig llie oyster men as to 

 the cause of this trouble seemed to be that the large amounts of 

 oyster shells used for eluteli had some detrimeutal chemical effect 

 en the water. In many cases there has sprung up, as a result of 

 this opinion, a decided prejudice against the method of planting 

 clutch, or at least, of using oyster shells for clutch. 



A comparison of the conditions in these and other bodies 

 of water points to another factor as being the cause of the 

 trouble. In the localities where there was the most complaint 

 from this source it was found that the food contents in the 

 stomach of each oyster was very suuill, although the number ot 

 food organisms in the water was about as normal for other 

 bodies of water in the region. Thus it appears that the source 

 of the trouble is to be found in the fact that there was an in- 

 sufficiency of food for each oyster, since the number present 

 called for more food than the barren bottom could supply. The 

 fact that the greater part of the bottom is covered by the oysters 

 or by the sheUs, necessarily limits the number of diatoms that 

 can grow in these bodies of water, as it is known tliat these 

 plants live mostly at the surface of the mud, and multiply when 

 they are at rest on the bottom. As most of these densely crowded 

 bottoms are in nTiarly landlocked bays, it follows that there can 

 be no nearby supply of food materials that can be brought to 

 the oysters, and besides; in most cases the neighboring bays are 

 also densely crowded with oysters, so there can "be no help 

 fiom that source. Except in the deeper bayous where the cur- 

 rents are exceptionally strong, there is not enough food material 

 in the water to allow of the stocking of nearly the entire bottom, 

 if it is expected to grow oysters to maturity on the same bottom 

 en which the dutch was exposed. In this regard, it is seen also 

 that the larger ])odies of water offer the best conditions for the 

 growth of oysters, since there is always a large percentage of 

 the bottom that will be barren of oysters and capable of furnish- 

 ing a supply of food organisms which will be carried about by 

 the currents and thus made available to the oysters on the areas 

 that are incapable of furnishing the food necessary for their 

 rapid growth. 



