556 



MARINE PRODUCTS OF COMMERCE 



oysters are white in appearance and their meat almost completely fills the shell 

 cavity. They are usually called "fat" although the actual fat content in the oyster 

 is low. Since American oysters are commonly sold by bushels, the production of 

 "fat" oysters with high content of solids is very important to the industry. Varia- 

 tion in the yield of meat, expressed in pounds per bushel, in various oyster-produc- 

 ing states is shown in Table 119. 



Table 119. Yields of Meat of Market Oysters in Pounds per Bushel 

 IN Different States, 1945. 



High yield of oyster meat depends on several variables, such as the quality of 

 the ground, the skill in the cultivation or oyster farming, salinity of water, and 

 season. Unattended public reefs usually produce oysters of poor quality and very 

 low yield. 



Cultivation 



Oyster culture or oyster farming probably originated from the first attempts 

 of primitive man to gather live shellfish and place them at an easily accessible 

 place in shallow water near his dwelling. 



Thousands of years before the Christian era the growing of oysters was known 

 in China. In Europe the Romans practiced it with great skill and bragged about 

 the quality of the oysters served at the feasts of their emperors and nobles. In 

 the United States the planting of oysters began about 100 years ago. As prac- 

 ticed at present oyster farming consists of several operations. First the bottom is 

 acquired through lease from the state and is cleaned and planted with shells, 

 gravel, or other material to catch young oysters. After the set is obtained and 



