BIOLOGY AND NATURAL HISTORY 157 



conditions, there is some overlapping between seasons. The individuals 

 engage in the occupation that offers the greatest immediate financial returns. 

 The Pamlico Sound area is exceptional in that there is no concentration 

 of the industry in any one locality. There are at present approximately 25 

 shucking houses in a variety of locations. Some are found along small creeks 

 in remote places, others at some distance from good navigable waters and a 

 few in good locations from the standpoint of a harbor and transportation 

 facilities. The industries in the north have been developed, on the whole, 

 around a central location. To cite a few examples, in the Chesapeake Bay 

 area Baltimore was the first marketing center; then the Hampton Roads 

 area in Virginia and Crisfield, Maryland, were developed as marketing 

 centers. In the Delaware Bay area, the oysters have been marketed for 

 many years through Bivalve, New Jersey, where at present there are located 

 15 shucking houses within the radius of one m.ile. Circumstances have 

 dictated the use of much hand labor in carrying out some of the activities 

 concerned with the industry in North Carolina, because of the locations 

 and lack of facilities, and thus prevent the use of labor saving devices and 

 mechanization. 



DISCUSSION 



Many factors favor North Carolina as an oyster producing area. The 

 first and perhaps most important is an abundance of seed. This has been a 

 factor in limiting the supply of marketable oysters in other states. The 

 abundance of available sets of oysters in Core and Bogue sounds and other 

 localities has not been utilized and remains undeveloped. The natural beds 

 have in general been supplied by a natural restocking. 



The quality of oysters is generally good and compares favorably with 

 oysters from the northern areas. Winslow (1889) says of the oysters in the 

 New River area, "Probably no better stock can be found anywhere in the 

 world." Galtsoff and Seiwell (1928) state that the beds along the Neuse 

 River produce oysters of good quality and from the Point of Marsh area, 

 "the oysters are well shaped and appear to be of excellent quality." Condi- 

 tions have changed in some of these areas but many beds at present produce 

 high quality oysters. 



North Carolina appears to be ideally situated, geographically, for oysters. 

 It is located about midway between the extremes in the range of distribu- 

 tion. The winters are not severe, nor are the summers extremely hot. These 

 conditions have a definite relationship to the growth and feeding of oysters. 

 It is possible to produce an oyster of marketable size in two years or less. 

 This growth rate is close to the minimum. Although oysters throughout the 

 south are in general not as firm in body as northern oysters, the North 

 Carolina oyster can compete with northern oysters. The fact that North 



