﻿29-4 
  EEPORT 
  OF 
  COMMISSIONER 
  OF 
  FISH 
  AND 
  FISHERIES. 
  

  

  failure 
  to 
  recognize 
  this 
  fact 
  is 
  likel}' 
  to 
  lead 
  to 
  failure 
  in 
  an}^ 
  attempt 
  

   to 
  grow 
  03'sters. 
  There 
  is 
  no 
  one 
  03'ster 
  question, 
  but 
  there 
  are 
  many 
  

   oyster 
  questions. 
  

  

  In 
  order 
  to 
  encourage 
  an 
  industrj'- 
  in 
  oyster 
  planting 
  in 
  North 
  Caro- 
  

   lina, 
  certain 
  areas 
  in 
  localities 
  which 
  are 
  known 
  to 
  be 
  or 
  to 
  have 
  been 
  

   productive 
  of 
  oysters 
  should 
  be 
  set 
  aside 
  for 
  the 
  use 
  of 
  planters, 
  and 
  

   provision 
  should 
  be 
  made 
  to 
  guarantee 
  their 
  rights 
  effectively. 
  

  

  OYSTER-PLANTING 
  EXPERIMENTS 
  IN 
  NEWPORT 
  AND 
  NORTH 
  

   RIVERS. 
  

  

  The 
  ''03'ster 
  gardens'" 
  of 
  the 
  North 
  Carolina 
  coast 
  date 
  back 
  to 
  the 
  

   year 
  1840, 
  but, 
  as 
  before 
  stated, 
  they 
  were 
  used 
  mainly 
  as 
  places 
  for 
  

   bedding 
  03' 
  sters 
  for 
  familv 
  use, 
  no 
  attempt 
  being 
  made 
  to 
  carr3' 
  on 
  an 
  

   industr3' 
  for 
  commercial 
  purposes. 
  The 
  3"ears 
  immediatel3" 
  preceding 
  

   and 
  following 
  the 
  oyster 
  surve3^ 
  by 
  AVinslow 
  in 
  1886-1S8S 
  and 
  the 
  

   completion 
  of 
  the 
  railroad 
  from 
  Wilmington 
  to 
  Jacksonville 
  in 
  1890 
  

   witnessed 
  the 
  greatest 
  enthusiasm 
  in 
  oyster 
  planting 
  in 
  North 
  Carolina. 
  

   Hundi'eds 
  of 
  acres 
  of 
  bottom 
  were 
  taken 
  up 
  during 
  this 
  period 
  and 
  

   thousands 
  of 
  bushels 
  of 
  03^sters 
  were 
  planted. 
  In 
  very 
  few 
  cases, 
  

   however, 
  were 
  the 
  results 
  such 
  as 
  to 
  encourage 
  the 
  continuation 
  of 
  the 
  

   operations 
  already 
  begun 
  or 
  the 
  beginning 
  of 
  new 
  ones. 
  A 
  revi\^l 
  

   of 
  the 
  interest 
  took 
  place 
  in 
  Carteret 
  Count3' 
  in 
  1896 
  as 
  the 
  result 
  of 
  

   the 
  success 
  of 
  some 
  of 
  the 
  plants 
  made 
  in 
  North 
  River 
  and 
  Jarrats 
  

   Ba3^ 
  in 
  1891, 
  and 
  man3' 
  entries 
  of 
  ground 
  were 
  again 
  made 
  and 
  con- 
  

   siderable 
  planting 
  done, 
  but 
  in 
  1899 
  there 
  was 
  not 
  a 
  single 
  03'sfcer 
  

   bed 
  an3^where 
  in 
  North 
  Carolina, 
  so 
  far 
  as 
  I 
  have 
  been 
  able 
  to 
  ascer- 
  

   tain, 
  which 
  was 
  being 
  cultivated 
  or 
  which 
  was 
  yielding 
  or 
  had 
  yielded 
  

   its 
  owner 
  an 
  income 
  in 
  an3^way 
  commensurate 
  with 
  the 
  labor 
  and 
  

   expense 
  put 
  upon 
  it. 
  It 
  seemed 
  that 
  the 
  industrv 
  had 
  been 
  given 
  

   a 
  fair 
  trial, 
  had 
  proved 
  a 
  failure, 
  and 
  was 
  now 
  a 
  thing 
  of 
  the 
  past, 
  so 
  

   far 
  as 
  North 
  Carolina 
  was 
  concerned. 
  

  

  The 
  failure 
  is 
  nmch 
  more 
  apparent 
  than 
  real, 
  however, 
  from 
  a 
  sta- 
  

   tistical 
  point 
  of 
  view, 
  for 
  of 
  the 
  v^ery 
  larg'e 
  number 
  of 
  entries 
  of 
  ground 
  

   made 
  for 
  the 
  avowed 
  purpose 
  of 
  03'ster 
  planting 
  comparativel3" 
  few 
  

   were 
  ever 
  so 
  used. 
  In 
  most 
  cases 
  the 
  ground 
  was 
  entered 
  as 
  a 
  specu- 
  

   lation, 
  the 
  purpose 
  of 
  the 
  owner 
  being 
  to 
  hold 
  it 
  until 
  a 
  profitable 
  indus- 
  

   try 
  in 
  03^ster 
  planting 
  should 
  be 
  developed. 
  The 
  improvements 
  put 
  

   upon 
  such 
  beds 
  consisted 
  usuall}' 
  in 
  nothing 
  more 
  than 
  setting 
  boundar3'- 
  

   stakes. 
  The 
  existing 
  adverse 
  opinion 
  of 
  the 
  waters 
  of 
  North 
  Carolina 
  

   as 
  a 
  field 
  for 
  03^ster 
  culture 
  therefore 
  rests 
  upon 
  a 
  ver3' 
  questionable 
  

   foundation, 
  since 
  in 
  the 
  sum 
  total 
  of 
  complete 
  failures 
  such 
  beds 
  as 
  

   those 
  just 
  mentioned 
  form 
  a 
  ver3^ 
  considerable 
  part. 
  

  

  To 
  man3' 
  of 
  the 
  pu])lic-spirited 
  men 
  of 
  the 
  State 
  the 
  outcome 
  of 
  the 
  

   enterprise 
  was 
  ver3- 
  disappointing. 
  There 
  seemed 
  to 
  them 
  no 
  reason 
  

   wh3^ 
  the 
  waters 
  of 
  North 
  Carolina 
  should 
  not 
  be 
  as 
  well 
  adapted 
  to 
  

  

  