i8 



last freshet, provided another destructive one does not occur in 

 the meantime, the leefs will be restocked sufficiently to make 

 tonging as profitable as it ever was. 



CONDITIONS UNDER WHICH A "SET" MAY BE 

 SECURED. 



In the language of oystermen a "set" is a collection of yomig 

 oysters, or spat, attached in such quantities to the ""cultch," or 

 material used to catch them, (shells, gravel, fagots, et?.) ar. jus- 

 tihes the hope for a profitable yield even if the majoritv shouM die 

 before rcachmg matui ity. The value of a set varies with the local 

 conditions whicli determine the chances of survival. Tims two 

 young oysters on a shell would be a set if they were certain to 

 survive, whereas too on a shell if they were doomed to an early 

 death, would not constitute a set worth having. Under favorable 

 conditions f re m 15 to 20 }0ung oysters on a single shell is con- 

 sidered a set. 



The conditions which determine whether a set shall be secured 

 are not perfectly understood. It frequently happens that of two 

 plantings of cultch made under what appears to be similar condi- 

 tions, the one secures a set, and the other, even though it be only 

 a short distance removed, may remain barren. Such occurrences 

 are so frequent that intelligei>t oystermen usually withhold their 

 opinions regarding the fitness of the locality until the desired set 

 has been secured. Experience teaches that even then there is only 

 a likelihood, not a certainty, that the same good fortune will repeat 

 itself. 



In spite of the many uncertainties connected with the problem 

 of securing a set a few conditions are a sine qua non, and where 

 these obtain are certain to favor the culturist. Among these con- 

 ditions are the presence of spawning oysters somewhere near 

 clean cultch, and the existence of currents to transport the free 

 swimming young to it. After this has been done, and the young 

 oysters have metamorphosed and settled down for life, while no 

 longer dependent on the currents for transportation, these never- 

 theless still enter vitally into their lives. Being fastened to one 

 spot, the oysters cannot prey upon their food, but this must be 

 brought to them. The microscopic plants upon which they feed 

 are washed about by the currents and are entrapped by the thous- 

 ands of vibratile filaments on the gills of the oysters. Not only 



