82 THE OYSTER. 



of a natural oyster-bed is not due to the absence in the 

 young of the power to reach distant points. There 

 is another proof of this, which is familiar to all oyster- 

 men — the possibility of establishing new beds without 

 transplanting any oysters. 



I once observed an illustration of this. On part of 

 a large mud-flat which was bare at low tide there 

 were no oysters, although there was a natural bed 

 upon the same flats, about half a mile away. 



A wharf was built from high-tide mark across the 

 flat out to the edge of the channel, and the shells of all 

 the oysters which were consumed in the house were 

 thrown on to the mud alongside the wharf. In the 

 third summer the flat in the vicinity of the wharf 

 had become converted into an oyster-bed, with a few 

 medium-sized oysters and very great numbers of 

 young, and the bottom, which had been rather soft, 

 had become quite hard ; in fact, the spot presented all 

 the characteristics of a natural bed. Changes of this 

 sort are a matter of familiar experience, and it is plain 

 that something else besides the absence in the oyster 

 of locomotor power determines the size and position 

 of a bed. 



Now what is this something else ? 



If the planting of dead shells will build up a new 

 bed, may we not conclude that a natural bed tends to 

 retain its position and size because the shells are there? 



This conclusion may not seem tobe very important, 

 but I hope to show that it is really of fundamental 

 importance, and is essential to a correct conception of 

 the oyster problem. 



Why should the presence of shells, which are dead 



