42 



tween, and in the vicinity of the beds, furnish the prineii)al 

 breeding grounds for the diatoms which make up the food sup- 

 ply of the oysters, and the distribution of these organisms de- 

 pends almost entirely on the currents. The fact of the depend- 

 ence of the distribution of the food on the currents of the water 

 may explain why one area will support an abundance of oysters, 

 while on another close by, the oysters will never grow rapidly 

 and will always be in much poorer condition. 



In order to assure an abundant supply of food material it 

 is usually best to avoid a region where the bottom is generally 

 hard; that is composed of sand and gravel. The condition on 

 such an area would be excellent for catching spat and would 

 require no preparation of the bottom ; but it has been found in 

 practice that growth is slower on sandy or gravelly bottoms 

 and the oysters are not as likely to get fat in the fall. 



The sort of bottom which fulfills most nearly the require- 

 ments for planting by either method is where there is a firm 

 substratum overlaid with a few inches of soft mud. On such a 

 bottom there is no danger that the oyster will sink deep enough 

 to be in danger of being smothered, while the surface mud wll 

 assure an abundant and continuous supply of food organisms. 



In practice the abundance of the food supply, as well as 

 other conditions, is usually determined by making experimental 

 plants to determine the best growing and fattening grounds. 

 This melhod, while giving a demonstration that is certain and 

 one that will be accepted by the practical culturist in prefer- 

 ence to the results of a preliminary biological survey, is vern 

 wasteful of time and capital and sJiows nothing that could not 

 have heen determined just as accurately and at much less cost 

 by scientific methods. 



PLANTING WITH SEED—PREPARING THE BOTTOM. 



When the areas to be planted have been located and marked, 

 the fil-st step is the preparation of the bottom. Before any of 

 the steps in the planting, properly speaking, are begun, the 

 bottom should be carefully gone over with a dredge and all 

 debris removed. If the bottom is hard or if there is a firm 

 substratum an inch or so below the surface, no further prepara- 

 tion will be needed. 



