OYSTER CULTURE EXPERIMENTS IN LOUISIANA. 51 



the strike was so prolific that they were hadly clustered, of bad shape 

 and so poor in quality that they were of small value for market 

 purposes. Oysters planted conunercially in contij^uous waters were 

 of the same character. To he of much value this fjrowth would 

 require culling, the breaking up of the clusters and replanting less 

 densely, preferably on harder bottom than most of that in the vicin- 

 ity, and where the currents are stronger and food more abundant. 

 It is not certain that this would be commercially profitable under 

 present conditions. The oysters at present raised in this vicinity are 

 suitable for canning purposes only. 



13. In Falsemouth Bay a good strike occurred throughout the 

 spring and summer in the three consecutive years of the experiments. 

 The oysters produced exhibited a rapid growth, were in small clusters, 

 and produced 7 pints of perfectly drained meats per standard bushel, 

 an equivalent of over a gallon as measured at the shucking houses. 

 They were nearly all extra selects, and the locality appears to the 

 authors to be especially valuable for the production of oysters for the 

 raw trade. There is a large area of hard bottom in the bay, and while 

 the quality of the oysters would probably deteriorate if it were all 

 planted, a considerable proportion, especially near the openings of 

 the bayous discharging into Mississippi Sound, could be planted with 

 confidence of good results. The only drawback to the oysters raised 

 on the experimental beds was that the shells were rather brittle and 

 sometimes broke in shucking. 



14. At Bayou St. Denis, in Barataria Bay, the oysters raised on 

 the experimental beds from planted shells were as fine as any that 

 are grown on the Atlantic coast. They grew rapidly, had round, 

 deeply cupped, rather heavy shells, and were very fat. Owing to 

 the thicker shells they produced proportionately less meat than the 

 preceding, but "turned out" about 5i pints, thoroughly drained, 

 per bushel, an equivalent of about 7 pints shucking-house measure- 

 ment. They were equal in quality to the famous '' Lynnhaven Bays " 

 of Virginia, which sell for $3 or more per bushel in the northern 

 markets, and they can be produced in much larger quantity per acre. 

 They are readily salable in the shell as barrel stock. 



15. At Bay Tambour, on the contrary, while there is a good set, 

 the young oysters are soon killed by the snail or borer. Seed oysters 

 2 inches or possibly not less than 1\ inches long appear to be inunune. 

 The seed oysters planted at this place grew rapidly and attained a 

 condition little if any inferior to those at Bayou St. Denis. A con- 

 siderable area of the southern part of Barataria Bay and the con- 

 tiguous waters has similar characteristics and a number of leases 

 have been taken in that vicinity since the beginning of the experi- 

 ments. Nearly 100,000 standard bushels of excellent oysters were 

 produced on planted beds in Barataria Bay as a whole in the season 



