THE OYSTER-INDUSTRY. 95 



This writer asserts that twenty ye<irs previous — which wovihl make it about 1833 — ^East river oysters were almost 

 unknown in New York markets ; and that it was not until about 1843 that any planting was engaged in. The 

 character of this planting is not indicated ; but I have no doubt that, whatever was the date of its origin, the 

 credit of first truly propagating oysters from seed caught u])on artificial beds or prepared receptacles, belongs to 

 the men of City island. It had been a matter of common observation, that any object .tossed into the water in 

 summer, became covered at once with infant oysters. The sedges along the edge of the marshes, and the buoys, 

 stakes, and wharfjiiles were similarly clothed. If the circumstances were favorable, this deposit survived the 

 winter, and the next spring the youngsters* were large enough to be taken and trans])laiited. It was only a short 

 step in logic, therefore, to conclude, that if objects were thrown thickly into the water, on purpose to catch the 

 floating spawn, a large quantity of young oysters would be secured, and could be saved for transjilanting at very 

 slight expense. The next question Avas: What would best serve the purpose? Evidently nothing could be better 

 than the shells which, year by year, acciimulated on the shore from the season's opening trade. They were the 

 customary resting-places of the spawn, and at the same time were cheapest. The City island oysterman, therefore, 

 began to save his shells from the lime-kiln and the road master, and to spread them on the bottom of the bay, 

 hoping to saA'e some of the oyster-spawn with which his imagination densely crowded the sea- water. This happened, 

 1 am told, more than fifty years ago, and the first man to put the theory into practice, it is remembered, was the 

 father of the Fordham Brothers, who still pursue the business at City island. In 1855, Captain Henry Bell, of Bell's 

 island, planted shells among the islands off the mouth of Norwalk river, and a short time after, under the protection 

 of the new law of 1855, recognizing private property in such beds, Mr. Oliver Cook, of Five-Mile river, Mr. Weed, 

 of South Norwalk, Mr. Hawley, of Bridgport, and others, went into it on an extensive scale. Some of these 

 gentlemen appear never to have heard of any previous oi^erations of the sort. Discovering it for themselves, as 

 it was easy and natural to do, they supposed they were the originators ; but if any such credit attaches anywhere, 

 I believe it belongs to the City island men. It was soon discovered that uniform success was not to be hoped for, 

 and the steady, magnificent crops reaped by the earliest planters were rarely emulated. Many planters, therefore, 

 decried the whole scheme, and returned to their simple trausiilauting of natural bed seed; but others, with more 

 consistency, set at work to improve their chances, by making more and more favorable the opportunities for an 

 oyster's egg successfully to attach itself, during its brief natatory life, to the stool jirepared for it, and afterward to 

 live to an age when it was strong enough to hold its own against the weather. This involved a closer study of the 

 general natural history of the oyster. 



_ The first thing found out was, that the floating spawn would not attach itself to, or " set" (in the vernacular of 

 the shore), upon anything which had not a clean surface; smoothness did not hinder — glass-bottles were frequently 

 coated outside and in with young shells — but the surface of the object must not be slimy. It was discovered, too, 

 that the half-sedimentary, half- vegetable deposit of the water, coating any submerged object with a slippery film, 

 was acquired with marvelous speed. Thus shells laid down a very few days before the spawiiiug-time of the oysters, 

 became so slimy as to catch little or no spawn, no matter how much of it was floating in the water above them. This 

 taught the oystermen that they must not spread theii- shells until the midst of the spawning-season; that one step 

 was gained when they ceased spreading in May and waited until July. Now, from the 5th to the 15th of that 

 month is considered the proper time, and no shell-planting is attempted before or after. This knowledge of the speed 

 with which the shells became slimy was turned to account in another way. It was evident that the swifter the 

 current the less would there be a chance of rapid folding. Planters, therefore, chose their ground in the swiftest 

 tideways they coidd find. 



The mere manner of spreading the shells was also found to be important. If they are rudely dumped over, 

 half their good is wasted, for they lie in heaps. The proper method is to take them from the large scow or sloop 

 which has brought them ashore, in small boat-loads. Having anchored the skiff, the shells are then flu-ted 

 broadcast in all directions, by the shovelful. The next boat-load is anchored a little farther on, and the process 

 repeated. Thus a thin and evenly-distributed layer is spread over the whole ground. Just how many bushels a 

 man wiU place on an acre depends upon both his means and his judgment. If he is shelling entirely new ground, he 

 wiU spread more than he woidd upon an area already improved ; but I supi)ose 250 bushels to the acre might be' 

 recommended as an average quantity. Having spread his shells in midsunnuer, the planter, by testing them early 

 in the fall, can tell whether he has succeeded in catching upon them any or much of the desired spawn. The young 

 oysters will appear as minute flakes, easily detected by the experienced eye, attached to all parts of the old shell. 

 If he has got no set whatever, he considers his investment a total loss, since by the next season, the bed of shells 

 will have become so dirty that the spawn will not take hold if it comes that way. Supposing, on the contrary, 

 that young oysters are found attached in millions to his cultch, as often happens, crowding upon each old sheU 

 until it is almost hidden, what is his next step ? 



•There is no word in the northern states for infant oysters, except the terms "set", "spat", "spawn", etc., all of which belong 

 originally to the eggs or spawn of the oyster, and not to the young, hut are frequently and confusedly applied as well to the half-gromi 

 niollusks. In the south the name "blister" (referring to its smooth, puffed-iip appearance) is given to the infant oysters, and serves to 

 distinguish them from "seed", "ciUlens", and "oysters", which represent the successively larger sizes and stages of growth. 



