31 



of shells are dragged over and a few perhaps spilled out of the net. 

 In this way the reef spreads and in the course of a few seasons 

 may be very much larger than its original size. If dredging were 

 carried on in Calcasieu Pass the reefs would become wider and 

 longer than they are, and there is no reason why a continuous 

 bed of oysters from the head to the mouth of the pass might not 

 be brought about. If this were done the' bed of the river would in 

 a few years be solid and firm from one end to the other and the 

 danger from mud would be considerably lessened. 



As important as the increase in size is the increase in the value of 

 the catch. Oysters taken from beds which are dredged every seas- 

 on, rarely suffer from overcrowding, as the dredges in their passage 

 over the beds break up many of the clusters which they strike and 

 liberate large numbers of oysters from the oppressive conditions 

 under which they have theretofore grown. Experiments have 

 shown conclusively that such oysters are able to regain a normal 

 well rounded shape. 



But the dredge is useful in yet another way. In Calcasieu Pass 

 the question is not so much to increase the total number of oysters, 

 as to increase the value of those which are there. Besides break- 

 ing up clusters of overcrowded shells the dredge kills a great many 

 young oysters, and this is most desirable in a locality where spat 

 may settle on clean cultch in such excessive quantities as happened 

 in my experiments. By killing a large number of young oysters 

 either by crushing them or by turning them under so that they are 

 suffocated by the mud, the chances of the survivors to grow nor- 

 mally and to secure an abundance of food, are greatly increased. 



If dredging accompanied by yearly additions of clean shells to 

 the beds, w^ere practiced, the value of the Calcasieu natural reefs 

 would be greatly increased in a short time without great expense. 

 The danger of freshets, of course, cannot be avoided, but the 

 yield from the artificially improved beds would be so much better 

 in good years than it is now, ^nd no worse in poor ones, that the 

 comparatively small investment would yield a large interest to the 

 community.* 



II. 



The Possibility of an Oyster Industry. 

 The other suggestions which I have to make are not for the 

 improvement of the natural beds already in existence but for the 



*The great objection to this plan is the existence of a law against the use of a 

 dredgp. As the purpose of dredging in the present case is not to capture oysters 

 but to cultivate t&em. A steam rake or a harrow would serve equally well. 



