﻿OYSTER 
  INDUSTRY 
  OF 
  NORTH 
  CAROLINA. 
  803 
  

  

  A?'ea 
  JVo. 
  6. 
  — 
  On 
  May 
  14, 
  1900, 
  the 
  sixth 
  planting- 
  was 
  made 
  in. 
  

   Newport 
  River, 
  on 
  500 
  square 
  feet 
  of 
  stick}' 
  mud, 
  in 
  from 
  3 
  to 
  5 
  feet 
  of 
  

   water. 
  Eighty 
  bushels 
  of 
  shells 
  were 
  evenh^ 
  distributed, 
  giving 
  the 
  

   bottom 
  a 
  coat 
  ?>\ 
  shells 
  in 
  thickness. 
  On 
  the 
  following 
  da}' 
  IS 
  bushels 
  

   of 
  the 
  best 
  single 
  oysters 
  that 
  could 
  be 
  gathered 
  from 
  the 
  edges 
  of 
  

   the 
  Cross 
  liock 
  beds 
  were 
  scattered 
  upon 
  the 
  shells. 
  During 
  the 
  iirst 
  

   season 
  very 
  little 
  growth 
  took 
  place 
  among 
  the 
  seed 
  oysters, 
  but 
  in 
  

   1901 
  they 
  grew 
  rapidly, 
  though 
  not 
  so 
  rapidly 
  as 
  the 
  oysters 
  that 
  

   attached 
  to 
  the 
  planted 
  shells, 
  for 
  it 
  was 
  not 
  always 
  possible 
  during 
  

   the 
  third 
  year 
  to 
  distinguish 
  the 
  oysters 
  that 
  had 
  been 
  planted 
  from 
  

   those 
  grown 
  on 
  the 
  bed. 
  During 
  the 
  summer 
  of 
  1900 
  the 
  planted 
  

   shells 
  became 
  the 
  home 
  of 
  an 
  abundance 
  of 
  animals 
  of 
  different 
  kinds, 
  

   including 
  ascidians, 
  anemones, 
  leptogordias, 
  sponges, 
  and 
  bryozoa, 
  

   but 
  these 
  were 
  all 
  killed 
  by 
  the 
  fresh 
  water 
  in 
  1901. 
  Since 
  then 
  the 
  

   beds 
  have 
  been 
  comparatively 
  free 
  from 
  all 
  animals, 
  excepting 
  bar- 
  

   nacles 
  and 
  a 
  few 
  species 
  of 
  snail 
  which 
  are 
  always 
  common 
  on 
  the 
  

   oyster 
  beds 
  in 
  this 
  locality. 
  

  

  Although 
  nearly 
  half 
  of 
  the 
  planted 
  oysters 
  were 
  dead 
  on 
  August 
  

   17, 
  1900, 
  and 
  the 
  number 
  of 
  spat 
  that 
  attached 
  to 
  the 
  shells 
  was 
  never 
  

   very 
  great, 
  the 
  bed 
  was 
  well 
  stocked 
  in 
  1902 
  with 
  large 
  oysters 
  of 
  

   fairly 
  good 
  shape, 
  many 
  of 
  which 
  were 
  used 
  in 
  the 
  Beaufort 
  laboratory. 
  

  

  Area 
  No. 
  9. 
  — 
  This 
  area 
  of 
  soft 
  mud 
  in 
  Newport 
  River, 
  containing 
  

   400 
  square 
  feet, 
  was 
  planted 
  May 
  31, 
  1900, 
  with 
  50 
  liushels 
  of 
  shells, 
  

   distributed 
  over 
  the 
  surface 
  as 
  evenly 
  as 
  possible 
  in 
  a 
  layer 
  2^ 
  shells 
  

   in 
  thickness. 
  On 
  June 
  12, 
  1900,, 
  there 
  were 
  added 
  15 
  bushels 
  of 
  good 
  

   oysters 
  tonged 
  from 
  the 
  Cross 
  Rock 
  beds. 
  These 
  oysters, 
  everything 
  

   considered, 
  have 
  had 
  the 
  best 
  history 
  of 
  all 
  the 
  plants 
  made. 
  The 
  

   per 
  cent 
  living 
  at 
  the 
  end 
  of 
  the 
  second 
  season 
  was 
  not 
  quite 
  so 
  high 
  

   as 
  in 
  two 
  other 
  cases, 
  but 
  a 
  more 
  rapid 
  g-rowth 
  took 
  place. 
  On 
  many 
  

   of 
  the 
  beds 
  the 
  planted 
  oysters 
  became 
  blunt 
  and 
  thick-shelled, 
  but 
  

   the 
  shells 
  of 
  these 
  were 
  thin 
  and 
  showed 
  rapid 
  growth. 
  The 
  spat 
  that 
  

   attached 
  to 
  the 
  planted 
  shells 
  grew 
  rapidly 
  also, 
  and 
  the 
  oysters 
  were 
  

   well 
  shaped. 
  During 
  the 
  third 
  season 
  they 
  had 
  attained 
  the 
  size 
  of 
  

   the 
  planted 
  oysters, 
  from 
  which 
  they 
  could 
  not 
  be 
  distinguished. 
  

   While 
  no 
  careful 
  examination 
  of 
  the 
  beds 
  was 
  made 
  in 
  1903, 
  this 
  one 
  

   was 
  frequently 
  visited, 
  and 
  bushel 
  after 
  bushel 
  of 
  tine 
  oysters 
  removed 
  

   from 
  it. 
  

  

  Area 
  Ko. 
  13. 
  — 
  The 
  description 
  of 
  this 
  area 
  is 
  given 
  here 
  for 
  better 
  

   comparison 
  with 
  the 
  one 
  just 
  described. 
  It 
  includes 
  400 
  square 
  feet 
  

   of 
  very 
  soft 
  muddy 
  bottom 
  in 
  North 
  River, 
  which 
  on 
  June 
  21, 
  1900, 
  

   was 
  evenly 
  covered 
  with 
  a 
  layer 
  of 
  shells 
  3 
  shells 
  in 
  thickness, 
  63 
  

   bushels 
  being 
  planted. 
  Four 
  days 
  later 
  15 
  bushels 
  of 
  finely 
  shaped 
  

   oysters, 
  tonged 
  from 
  the 
  Cross 
  Rock 
  beds 
  in 
  Newport 
  River, 
  were 
  

   distributed 
  over 
  the 
  shells. 
  It 
  will 
  be 
  noted 
  that 
  the 
  stock 
  for 
  this 
  

   planting 
  was 
  the 
  same 
  as 
  that 
  planted 
  on 
  area 
  No. 
  9, 
  in 
  Newport 
  River, 
  

  

  