OYSTER CULTURE EXPERIMENTS IN LOUISIANA. 9 



them as seed for planting on private beds more favorably situated for 

 their growth to commercial maturity. 



Other beds are, under natural conditions, of little present value 

 owing to an excessive production of oysters. Year after year there 

 is a heavy set of spat and the beds become so crowded with oysters 

 of all ages that all are poor, ill shaped, and practically worthless. 

 The price which such stock will bring in the markets is so low that 

 the expense of culling is prohibitive, and thousands of barrels of 

 potentially valuable oysters die from starvation, smothering, and 

 crowding. 



If not denuded of shells these crowded beds may be improved by 

 a removal of a more or less limited portion of their contents, thus 

 leaving more room and a proportionately greater food supply for 

 the growth of the remainder. The superfluous oysters, if not too old, 

 and, therefore, probably irreparably stunted, serve the purpose of 

 brood and seed stock quite as well as oysters from localities naturally 

 more favorable, the only requisite for the production of well-favored 

 stock of good shape being that the larger clusters be broken into 

 small ones to allow sufficient room for the expansion of the indi- 

 viduals. 



It would be desirable if even the culled seed oysters used for bed- 

 ding purposes w^ere taken largely from those natural beds which 

 do not ordinarily produce fat marketable oysters of the better grades, 

 for if they be of fair shape they will speedily fatten on good bedding 

 grounds however inferior their original condition. This practice 

 would make valuable many oysters which would otherwise remain so 

 poor as to be practically unmarketable, while the oysters of the better 

 beds would be left for the benefit of those who obtain their livelihood 

 directly from the natural reefs. 



This restriction as to the source of the seed supply is probably not 

 feasible in its application to those planters who gather culled seed 

 during the regular season, but it would appear applicable to many 

 cases in wdiich special concessions are granted, under section 19 of 

 act 178 of 1906, permitting the fishing of culled oysters, for bedding 

 purposes only, during the month of May. The discretion lodged 

 with the oyster commission in the section cited would appear to 

 convey the power to designate the reefs from which the seed oysters 

 may be obtained. This provision of the laAv at present applies solely 

 to the waters east of the western boundary of Plaquemines Parish, 

 but it could be extended with profit to other waters of the state, 

 provided that the permits be granted with discrimination and with 

 due regard to the considerations just set forth. 



The foregoing discussion concerns, principally, the conservation 

 of the natural reefs. There are, in addition, several highly impor- 

 tant suggestions relating to the future welfare of the planted beds. 



