CONTENTS. 



Page- 

 Introduction 5 



Geographical distribution ..'...' 5 



Massachusetts ."'.'."." 6 



Rhode Island " g 



Connecticut ].[[.[.... 6 



New York !."''!"'!' 6 



New Jersey " ^ ^ g 



Delaware g 



^f aryland .W. 7 



Virginia j 



North Carolina .[...[..... 7 



South Carolina 7 



Georgia y 



Florida ..........[.[.[..[...... 7 



Alabama g 



Mississippi ' g 



Louisiana g 



Texas 8 



Output of various regions g 



Description and anatomy .........[.....[ 9 



Classification '. ' g 



External appearance 9 



Anatomical features ' ' 9 



Life history ^9 



Time of spawning ]] ^2 



Reproduction 12 



Growth " j4 



Factors of environment 14 



Temperature of water 14 



Density of water " 25 



Mud, silt, and suspended matter .1 ........... ... . 15 



Tides and currents ' ' ' jg 



Depth of water ] -ij 



Freshets, storms, and ice ' 27 



Food of the oyster 19 



Natiu-al beds '. ..\\ ..[.[[[ 20 



Development and description 20 



Depletion 24 



Cultivation 25 



Artificial propagation 25 



Legal considerations 26 



Procuring ground ..\ .....[.. 26 



Marking beds 97 



Methods of oyster culture 97 



Catchingof spat, or "set"' 97 



Cultch .".'........'.....'...... 29 



Character and preparation of bottom 29 



Time for planting cultch 29 



Location of cultch beds ..[[[[\ 31 



Location of spawning beds ...!!. 32 



General desirability of planting cultch 33 



Planting seed oysters " 33 



Seed 3^ 



Water " oe 



Food - ' - i i '! ^ ^ - ' ^ '-"'!"!'!"'!;!!!!";;; ■ 35 



Bottom Qg 



Sowing the seed .....[....[... 3g 



Care of beds ........[.[[[..... 36 



35286^—21 21 o 



