OYSTER CULTURE EXPERIMENTS IN LOUISIANA. 29 



ive. There were a few mussels and barnacles attached to the planted 

 oysters, but they were not abundant enough to be troublesome. 



The experiments in Falsemouth Bay began on May 6, 1906, and 

 subsequent plantings were made on June 10 and July 17, 1906 ; April 

 12, May 16, June 9, and July 7, 1907, and April 23 and June 5, 1908. 

 The final examination was made on January 23 and 24, 1909. In 

 all, 14 plantings were made, of which 2 were of clam shells, both 

 whole and broken, spread broadcast, 9 were of oyster shells, broadcast, 

 and 2 of oyster shells in piles. 



The quantity of oyster shells planted varied from 200 to 1,000 

 bushels to the acre and the clam shells from 200 to 600 bushels per 

 acre. The clam shells, which were hardly more than 1:^ inches in 

 diameter, were obtained from neighboring shell banks, and many 

 of them were fragmented by wave action. On the whole they did 

 not prove satisfactory, the entire shells being scattered by the waves 

 and the fragments soon becoming so covered with silt and mud that 

 they offered very imperfect places for the attachment of the oyster 

 spat. The oysters produced on these shells were all single and of 

 fine shape, but, as was also observed at Bayou St. Denis, they grew 

 more slowdy than those attached to oyster shells. If somewhat larger 

 and heavier clam shells can be conveniently obtained, they would 

 doubtless make excellent cultch, but the use of the local supply can 

 not be recommended, except for the purpose of hardening the small 

 areas of soft bottom which occasionally occur in the bay. 



From 60 to 90 per cent of the oyster shells were found to bear small 

 oysters at the end of the season in which they were planted, the spat 

 striking in every month from April 11 to July 17. Doubtless shells 

 planted a month earlier and a month or two later would prove as 

 effective as in Barataria Bay, but there is no positive evidence of the 

 fact in this locality. The average number of oysters attached at 

 the end of the season, after they had attained a length of 1 to 2 

 inches, was from two to three per shell, there being some larger clus- 

 ters and a good proportion of single oysters. 



The set was much lighter than in the adjacent waters of Three- 

 mile Bayou, owing undoubtedly to the relative remoteness of con- 

 siderable beds of spawning oysters. This is of considerable advan- 

 tage in avoiding crowding of the growing oysters and promoting a 

 better shape and condition. Should the bay be used extensively for 

 planting shells it will probably be found that the set will be much 

 heavier than now occurs, and to secure the best results it may be 

 necessary to break up the larger clusters produced so as to give the 

 individual oysters room to grow and fatten. Under the present con- 

 ditions from 400 to 500 bushels of cultch per acre appears to be the 

 best quantity to plant, but with any heavy increase in the number of 



