﻿OYSTER 
  INDUSTRY 
  OF 
  NORTH 
  CAROLINA. 
  277 
  

  

  men, 
  and 
  950 
  tong 
  boats 
  were 
  engaged, 
  and 
  more 
  oj^sters 
  were 
  caught 
  

   than 
  ever 
  before 
  in 
  the 
  historj^ 
  of 
  the 
  North 
  Carolina 
  industry. 
  Many 
  

   new 
  and 
  extensive 
  beds 
  were 
  discovered, 
  and 
  the 
  suppl}'- 
  of 
  oysters 
  

   seemed 
  to 
  be 
  inexhaustible; 
  2,450,000 
  bushels 
  were 
  taken, 
  900,000 
  of 
  

   which 
  represented 
  the 
  catch 
  of 
  the 
  tongers. 
  

  

  Increased 
  preparations 
  were 
  made 
  for 
  the 
  season 
  of 
  1899-1900, 
  but 
  

   instead 
  of 
  conditions 
  such 
  as 
  had 
  existed 
  the 
  previous 
  year, 
  it 
  was 
  

   found 
  that 
  oysters 
  were 
  very 
  scarce 
  and 
  difficult 
  to 
  dredge, 
  and 
  only 
  

   those 
  oystermen 
  who 
  had 
  had 
  considerable 
  experience 
  were 
  able 
  to 
  

   make 
  a 
  profit. 
  The 
  total 
  catch 
  during 
  the 
  entire 
  season 
  was 
  about 
  

   1,900,000 
  bushels, 
  of 
  which 
  the 
  tongers 
  caught 
  nearly 
  half. 
  On 
  the 
  

   beds 
  where 
  a 
  dredger 
  could 
  take 
  100 
  to 
  800 
  tubs 
  of 
  oysters 
  per 
  day 
  

   during 
  the 
  season 
  of 
  1898-99, 
  the 
  same 
  men 
  with 
  the 
  same 
  equipment 
  

   in 
  December, 
  1900, 
  could 
  average 
  but 
  about 
  50 
  to 
  100 
  tubs. 
  

  

  The 
  oystermen 
  had 
  different 
  ideas 
  as 
  to 
  the 
  cause 
  for 
  the 
  shortness 
  

   of 
  the 
  crop, 
  some 
  attributing 
  it 
  to 
  overfishing 
  of 
  the 
  beds 
  during 
  the 
  

   breeding 
  season 
  of 
  the 
  oyster, 
  others 
  claiming 
  that 
  the 
  oysters 
  had 
  

   been 
  killed 
  by 
  the 
  severe 
  storms 
  which 
  occurred 
  in 
  August 
  and 
  

   October 
  of 
  1899. 
  

  

  At 
  the 
  request 
  of 
  Prof. 
  J. 
  A. 
  Holmes, 
  the 
  Fish 
  JIaicl 
  was 
  ordered 
  

   to 
  the 
  section 
  in 
  Pamlico 
  Sound 
  where 
  the 
  greatest 
  damage 
  was 
  

   reported, 
  with 
  instructions 
  to 
  ascertain 
  the 
  exact 
  cause 
  or 
  causes 
  of 
  

   the 
  diminished 
  catch. 
  It 
  was 
  hoped 
  that 
  the 
  investigation 
  would 
  sug- 
  

   gest 
  some 
  practical 
  means 
  for 
  rapidly 
  replacing 
  exterminated 
  03^sters. 
  

  

  The 
  storms 
  mentioned 
  above 
  were 
  the 
  most 
  violent 
  and 
  destructive 
  

   that 
  have 
  visited 
  the 
  coast 
  of 
  North 
  Carolina 
  for 
  many 
  years. 
  In 
  

   each 
  case 
  the 
  wind 
  blew 
  chiefly 
  from 
  the 
  southeast, 
  producing 
  very 
  

   heavy 
  seas 
  in 
  the 
  wide, 
  unbroken 
  stretch 
  of 
  Pamlico 
  Sound, 
  which 
  

   lay 
  in 
  its 
  path. 
  The 
  huge 
  waves 
  broke 
  all 
  along 
  the 
  western 
  and 
  

   northern 
  shores 
  of 
  the 
  sound, 
  but, 
  as 
  a 
  glance 
  at 
  a 
  map 
  will 
  show, 
  

   the 
  Hyde 
  County 
  coast 
  was 
  exposed 
  to 
  their 
  greatest 
  fury. 
  

  

  SW^AN 
  QUARTER 
  BAY. 
  

  

  Geneixd 
  eonditio7is. 
  — 
  Section 
  16 
  of 
  the 
  Winslow 
  survey, 
  extending 
  

   from 
  Bluff 
  Point 
  on 
  the 
  east 
  to 
  Rose 
  Baj^ 
  on 
  the 
  west, 
  was 
  therefore 
  

   selected 
  for 
  first 
  investigation. 
  

  

  The 
  survey 
  of 
  this 
  section, 
  which 
  lasted 
  from 
  January 
  22 
  to 
  Febru- 
  

   ary 
  28, 
  was 
  conducted 
  in 
  very 
  much 
  the 
  same 
  way 
  as 
  those 
  of 
  Newport 
  

   and 
  North 
  rivers, 
  except 
  that 
  in 
  the 
  present 
  instance 
  only 
  those 
  beds 
  

   were 
  surveyed 
  and 
  charted 
  which 
  are 
  situated 
  in 
  places 
  most 
  exposed 
  

   to 
  the 
  action 
  of 
  storms, 
  namel}', 
  the 
  public 
  grounds 
  numbered 
  on 
  

   Winslow's 
  charts 
  38, 
  40, 
  41, 
  42, 
  46, 
  and 
  48. 
  Signals 
  were 
  erected 
  on 
  

   shore, 
  the 
  same 
  sites 
  being 
  selected 
  when 
  possible 
  as 
  were 
  occupied 
  

   by 
  the 
  signals 
  used 
  in 
  1887-88 
  by 
  Winslow. 
  During 
  the 
  survey 
  the 
  

   Fish 
  Jlawk 
  was 
  anchored 
  in 
  Swan 
  Quarter 
  Bay, 
  the 
  work 
  being 
  

  

  