BIOLOGY AND NATURAL HISTORY 145 



the drain. During the early 1920's, the cull laws were more rigidly enforced, 

 shell plantings were conducted, and many areas temporarily closed to fish- 

 ing were opened at spaced intervals. During Governor Morrison's adminis- 

 tration from 192 1 to 1924, one and one-half million bushels of oysters and 

 shells were planted. This shell planting program apparently had an influence 

 on the rise in production in 1923 and was expected to be of continued 

 benefit. However, following the 1923 production of 560,000 bushels, a 

 decline occurred to a little over 400,000 bushels in 1928. There are perhaps 

 two reasons for this decrease in production. In 1924 an epidemic of typhoid 

 fever occurred in some midwestern cities which was presumably caused 

 by the consumption of oysters. The panic which resulted in the oyster mar- 

 ket along the eastern coast had a marked effect on production figures for 

 the next few years. Scallops were rapidly gaining a ready market in North 

 Carolina; therefore many of the small fishermen undoubtedly devoted their 

 efforts to gathering scallops instead of oysters. The slight gain in production 

 in 1929 was probably correlated with the prosperity of the times. Follow- 

 ing the onset of the depression, production of oysters fell to an all-time low. 

 The hurricane of 1933 caused untold damage to the outer banks, completely 

 ruined the oyster beds in the Harbor Island region, and caused serious 

 damage in other localities. In 1934 the State transplanted 825,000 bushels 

 of seed oysters and planted 78,567 bushels of shells under the direction of 

 Dr. H. F. Prytherch (Higgins, 1936). All the replanted areas were then 

 closed for a period of two years. The opening of these areas in 1936 resulted 

 in an increased production to the level of 1929. Since 1936 there has been a 

 gradual decline until the period 1942 to 1946, when production gained 

 slightly, presumably because of the unusually high prices received for 

 oysters throughout the war years. During 1947 there was a gradual decline 

 in production possibly because oysters were in a poor condition until late 

 in the season. In the fall of 1948, with the opening of the season, oysters 

 were in good condition and the market was favorable. There was some 

 concern about a scarcity of market-sized oysters in Pamlico Sound after 

 the season had been open for a month; however, production increased over 

 the 1947 season. 



The production figures, from available State and Federal statistics, for 

 oysters through the years from 1880 to 1945 are tabulated in Table 2. The 

 general trend in production with a maximum just before the turn of the 

 century and a gradual decline in the ensuing years parallels the trend for 

 the Chesapeake region. 



NATURAL HISTORY 



An understanding of the biology and life history of the oyster is impor- 

 tant in oyster culture in order to carry out successfully a conservation 



