﻿OYSTEES 
  AND 
  METHODS 
  OE 
  OYSTEE-CULTIIRE. 
  

  

  By 
  H. 
  F. 
  Moore, 
  

   Assistant, 
  United 
  States 
  Fish 
  Commission. 
  

  

  INTRODUCTION. 
  

  

  This 
  paper 
  is 
  designed 
  to 
  briefly 
  set 
  forth 
  the 
  principal 
  facts 
  relating 
  

   to 
  the 
  subject 
  of 
  oyster- 
  culture 
  in 
  the 
  United 
  States. 
  It 
  embraces 
  the 
  

   practices 
  of 
  proved 
  commercial 
  value 
  as 
  well 
  as 
  a 
  summary 
  of 
  the 
  

   methods 
  and 
  results 
  of 
  investigations 
  which 
  appear 
  to 
  give 
  some 
  prom- 
  

   ise 
  of 
  utility 
  in 
  certain 
  places 
  and 
  under 
  special 
  conditions, 
  or 
  which 
  

   indicate 
  the 
  lines 
  along 
  which 
  profitable 
  experiment 
  may 
  be 
  carried 
  on. 
  

   It 
  is 
  intended 
  primarily 
  as 
  a 
  guide 
  to 
  those 
  persons 
  who 
  are 
  exhibiting 
  

   an 
  interest 
  in 
  the 
  subject 
  and 
  who 
  contemplate 
  embarking 
  in 
  tbe 
  

   industry, 
  yet 
  hesitate 
  on 
  account 
  of 
  unfamiliarity 
  with 
  the 
  methods 
  

   employed. 
  To 
  aid 
  such 
  persons 
  to 
  a 
  more 
  thorough 
  understanding 
  of 
  

   the 
  problem 
  involved, 
  certain 
  matters 
  are 
  considered 
  which 
  do 
  not 
  

   strictly 
  appertain 
  to 
  the 
  practical 
  side 
  of 
  the 
  subject, 
  but 
  which 
  may 
  

   assist 
  in 
  explaining 
  observed 
  phenomena 
  or 
  in 
  indicating 
  the 
  lim- 
  

   itations 
  and 
  possibilities 
  of 
  experiment. 
  Such 
  are 
  the 
  chapters 
  on 
  

   development 
  and 
  anatomy. 
  

  

  Attention 
  is 
  directed 
  chiefly 
  to 
  the 
  eastern 
  oyster, 
  which 
  is 
  the 
  species 
  

   of 
  principal, 
  one 
  might 
  almost 
  say 
  only, 
  interest 
  in 
  this 
  country, 
  and, 
  

   practically, 
  the 
  great 
  problem 
  of 
  oyster-culture 
  applies 
  to 
  it 
  alone. 
  

   For 
  comparative 
  purposes, 
  however, 
  and 
  to 
  round 
  out 
  the 
  information 
  

   presented, 
  it 
  has 
  seemed 
  advisable 
  to 
  incorporate 
  some 
  facts 
  regarding 
  

   the 
  native 
  oysters 
  of 
  the 
  Pacific 
  Coast. 
  

  

  DISTRIBUTION. 
  

   ATLANTIC 
  COAST. 
  

  

  Upon 
  the 
  eastern 
  coast 
  of 
  North 
  America 
  there 
  is 
  but 
  one 
  si^ecies 
  of 
  

   oyster, 
  Ostrea 
  i-irf/iniana, 
  which 
  occurs 
  along 
  the 
  northern 
  side 
  of 
  the 
  

   Gulf 
  of 
  Mexico, 
  on 
  the 
  Atlantic 
  coast 
  from 
  Florida 
  to 
  Cape 
  Cod, 
  and 
  on 
  

   the 
  southern 
  and 
  western 
  shores 
  of 
  the 
  Gulf 
  of 
  St. 
  Lawrence. 
  In 
  

   Massachusetts 
  Bay 
  and 
  on 
  the 
  coast 
  of 
  New 
  Hampshire 
  and 
  Maine 
  it 
  

   does 
  not 
  now 
  occur, 
  though 
  it 
  was 
  found 
  in 
  abundance 
  locally 
  at 
  the 
  

   time 
  of 
  the 
  settlement 
  of 
  the 
  country, 
  and 
  the 
  former 
  existence 
  of 
  beds 
  

   of 
  great 
  extent 
  is 
  indicated 
  by 
  the 
  vast 
  quantities 
  of 
  the 
  valves 
  in 
  the 
  

   ancient 
  Indian 
  shell-heaps. 
  Oyster 
  fisheries 
  are 
  located 
  in 
  every 
  coast- 
  

   wise 
  State 
  from 
  Texas 
  to 
  Massachusetts 
  and 
  in 
  the 
  Maritime 
  Provinces, 
  

  

  265 
  

  

  