98 THE OYSTER. 



of IngersoU's account of its origin, development, and 

 present methods : 



" I have no doubt- that, whatever was the date of its 

 origin, the credit of first truly propagating oysters from 

 seed caught upon artificial beds or prepared recepta- 

 cles, 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 wharf-piles 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 

 transplanted. It was only a short step in logic, there- 

 fore, 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 transplanting at very slight 

 expense. The next question was — What would best 

 serve the purpose } Evidently, nothing could be bet- 

 ter than the shells which, year by year, accumulated 

 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 oys- 

 terman, 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 save some of the oys- 

 ter spawn with which his imagination densely crowded 

 the sea-water. This happened, I 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 Ford- 

 ham Brothers, who still pursue the business at City 



