54 



In most parts of the Louisiana oyster fields there is always 

 an abundance of spat so that years with no set, such as have 

 been of frequent occurrence in the North, are practically un- 

 known in this section. In most places the liability of the set 

 being too heavy is much more to be expected than that there 

 will be a scarcity of the spat. 



WORKING THE BEDS. 



Many of the oyster planters, especially if they have extens- 

 ive beds, are content to allow the oysters to remain without any 

 attention until the time when they are to be taken from the 

 bed for the market. In some regions where the growth is slow 

 and when collectors that would offer a place for the attachment 

 of a few spat only had been nsed, this neglect might not result 

 in any great amount of crowding and consequent lessening in 

 the value of the oysters; but in this state, where the growth 

 is very rapid, and the danger of crowding consequently great, a 

 plant made with clutch should be worked over each year if the 

 greatest returns from the investment are to be received. In 

 practically every section of the oyster fields there is, as has 

 been previously mentioned, a set of spat each year, and if the 

 beds are not worked over frequently the younger growth will 

 crowd the older ones so that within 4;wo or three years from the 

 time when the clutch was put down the plant will be in the 

 same condition as a natural reef that has never been worked. 



The growth of oysters in this section is so rapid that within 

 one year from the time when the clutch has been put down, 

 many of the oysters will be large enough to be marketed with 

 profit. In Avorking over the beds it will be found that enough 

 cf the oysters may be saved for sale to cover the expenses of the 

 labor involved, while the improved condition of those left on 

 the bed will make the final returns much greater than would 

 have been the case if there had been no time given to working 

 the plant. Not only will the condition of all the oysters be im- 

 proved, but the actual number of bushels of oysters taken from 

 the bed will be increased. 



It will usually be found that the young oysters present 

 on a plant when it is first worked are sufficient to stock an area 

 considerably larger than the original bed. When the surplus 



