234 THE WEALTH OF THE SEA 



brush the dirt from them. If conditions are right, 

 the tiny larval oysters settle to the bottom and attach 

 themselves to the shells that the oysterman has 

 planted. At this stage the little oysters are so small 

 that they are invisible to the naked eye. In most 

 localities, in the autumn, the oystermen move the 

 shells, to which the young oysters have attached them- 

 selves, to deeper water where the little shell-fish will 

 be safe from the winter's storms. Even there the 

 oysters are not entirely free from danger, for many 

 enemies prey on them. The starfish, to which every 

 visitor to the sea-shore is attracted, is one of the most 

 persistent. The villainous creature wraps itself 

 around the oyster, strangling it. When the oyster has 

 been killed, its shell opens, and the starfish eats the 

 fresh meat. The oysterman must watch his oysters or 

 the starfish will eat them all up. When the starfish 

 becomes troublesome, the oysterman mops his beds 

 with huge stocking-yarn mops. The back of the star- 

 fish, which is rather thorny, becomes entangled in 

 the mop, which is then drawn to the surface and im- 

 mersed in boiling water or treated in some other way 

 so that the starfish are killed. 



Another powerful enemy of the oyster is the 

 mussel. Mussels, like oysters, fasten themselves to 

 shells or other objects, and often attach themselves to 

 the shell of a young oyster. Sometimes a number of 

 small mussels completely surround an oyster and 

 grow so fast that they smother it. To rid the oysters 

 of mussels, the oystermen must dredge up the oysters, 

 pick off the mussels, and then return the oysters to 

 the bottom. 



