126 Our Food Mollusks 



roundings. From twenty-five to fifty bushels of these 

 are usually placed on an acre. 



Seed oysters having been spread on beds where they 

 may complete their growth, sometimes require little at- 

 tention; but usually their safety depends on constant 

 vigilance and care. Much also depends upon the locality. 

 In the year 1882 several of the Connecticut oystermen 

 prepared beds in deep, salt water far from the shore. 

 When oysters planted on these began to be removed, it 

 was found that great numbers of starfish were present, 

 and in succeeding years they became more and more 

 numerous. This was the beginning of an affliction that 

 has continued to the present time. Starfish are terribly 

 destructive to oysters, the soft parts of which they con- 

 sume, and no really effective means of destroying them 

 has been devised. Other enemies, to be referred to later, 

 also demand the oysterman's attention, especially in salt 

 waters. 



There is also work to be done on the brackish water 

 beds. Much of this arises from the spawning of the 

 oysters themselves, which are more prolific in such 

 waters. An oysterman plants young that must grow 

 three or four years before being marketed. During the 

 following July a great many embryos may appear. The 

 shells of the planted oysters may be quite free from 

 slime, as often happens in brackish water. The spat 

 collects on them and begins to grow. In another year or 

 two the beds are covered with clustered oysters which, if 

 allowed to remain longer, tend to destroy each other. 

 Survivors will be stunted, ill-shaped, and poor. The en- 

 tire contents of clustered beds must be dredged and culled, 

 and a part of it removed to other bottoms. 



In the care of planted oysters there are still other con- 



