﻿OYSTER 
  REGIONS 
  OF 
  APALACHTCOLA 
  BAY, 
  ETC. 
  213 
  

  

  places. 
  The 
  Bulkhead 
  and 
  Cat 
  Point 
  bars 
  have 
  lately 
  furnished 
  about 
  

   all 
  the 
  oysters 
  brought 
  into 
  market, 
  although 
  some 
  few 
  have 
  been 
  

   taken 
  at 
  Porter's 
  Bar, 
  to 
  the 
  eastward. 
  

  

  The 
  destruction 
  of 
  the 
  beds 
  in 
  St. 
  Vincent 
  Sound 
  and 
  Apalachicola 
  

   Bay 
  was 
  due 
  somewhat 
  to 
  their 
  being 
  overworked, 
  but 
  i)rincipally 
  to 
  

   the 
  following 
  causes: 
  The 
  freshet 
  of 
  1893, 
  the 
  liurricane 
  of 
  October 
  

   8, 
  1894, 
  a 
  very 
  severe 
  freeze 
  in 
  the 
  latter 
  part 
  of 
  December 
  of 
  the 
  same 
  

   year, 
  and 
  another 
  very 
  heavy 
  hurricane 
  on 
  February 
  13 
  and 
  11, 
  1895. 
  

   There 
  had 
  been 
  previously 
  (in 
  January, 
  1880) 
  a 
  lieavy 
  freeze 
  that 
  

   killed 
  many 
  oysters, 
  so 
  that 
  few 
  were 
  taken 
  the 
  following 
  season, 
  and 
  

   in 
  18SS 
  a 
  freshet 
  seriously 
  affected 
  the 
  beds. 
  

  

  It 
  seems 
  to 
  be 
  the 
  general 
  opinion 
  that 
  the 
  beds 
  are 
  deteriorating 
  

   at 
  Platform, 
  Bulkhead, 
  and 
  Cat 
  Point 
  bars, 
  where 
  oystering- 
  is 
  going 
  on 
  

   at 
  present, 
  and 
  the 
  reason 
  assigned 
  is 
  that 
  the 
  beds 
  are 
  overworked, 
  

   the 
  demand 
  being 
  too 
  great 
  for 
  the 
  supjjly. 
  As 
  far 
  as 
  known, 
  tliere 
  

   seem 
  to 
  be 
  no 
  enemies 
  of 
  the 
  oyster 
  on 
  the 
  beds, 
  unless 
  the 
  boring 
  clam 
  

   mentioned 
  by 
  Mr. 
  Moore 
  in 
  his 
  report 
  and 
  the 
  alga'- 
  found 
  on 
  the 
  

   oysters 
  of 
  the 
  East 
  Hole 
  Bar 
  may 
  be 
  called 
  enemies. 
  Mr. 
  Moore's 
  

   examination 
  of 
  the 
  specimens 
  revealed 
  the 
  fact 
  that 
  the 
  barnacles 
  and 
  

   mussels, 
  which 
  have 
  been 
  spoken 
  of 
  as 
  being 
  found 
  in 
  great 
  numbers 
  

   on 
  all 
  the 
  beds, 
  grow 
  with 
  such 
  rapidity 
  and 
  wedge 
  themselves 
  between 
  

   the 
  shells 
  of 
  the 
  oysters 
  so 
  closely 
  that 
  they 
  must 
  in 
  many 
  instances 
  

   cause 
  the 
  death 
  of 
  the 
  oyster. 
  

  

  The 
  oysters 
  are 
  affected 
  by 
  long-continued 
  dry 
  weather, 
  becoming 
  

   salty 
  in 
  taste, 
  and 
  in 
  freshets 
  they 
  become 
  white 
  and 
  milky. 
  Both 
  con- 
  

   ditions 
  affect 
  their 
  sale. 
  Heavy 
  gales 
  bury 
  them 
  completely, 
  but 
  other- 
  

   wise 
  very 
  little 
  deposit 
  of 
  mud 
  or 
  silt 
  is 
  noticed. 
  During 
  the 
  heavy 
  

   freezes 
  the 
  oysters 
  that, 
  after 
  being 
  frozen, 
  are 
  covered 
  up 
  by 
  water, 
  

   recover, 
  but 
  those 
  left 
  uncovered 
  die. 
  

  

  Of 
  the 
  beds 
  to 
  the 
  eastward 
  of 
  the 
  limits 
  of 
  the 
  work. 
  Porter's 
  Bar 
  was 
  

   formerly 
  said 
  to 
  have 
  oysters 
  resembling 
  northern 
  oj^sters, 
  but 
  it 
  

   now 
  has 
  very 
  few 
  oysters 
  on 
  it, 
  owing 
  to 
  the 
  fact 
  of 
  its 
  having 
  been 
  

   covered 
  uji 
  in 
  a 
  hurricane. 
  There 
  are 
  very 
  few, 
  if 
  any, 
  oysters 
  on 
  

   Sneed's 
  Bar 
  or 
  Silva's 
  Bar 
  at 
  jjresent. 
  

  

  The 
  oysters 
  are 
  said 
  to 
  grow 
  better 
  in 
  a 
  deptli 
  of 
  water 
  of 
  about 
  4 
  

   feet 
  at 
  low 
  water 
  than 
  at 
  any 
  other 
  depth, 
  and 
  they 
  thrive 
  and 
  grow 
  

   faster 
  in 
  a 
  tideway 
  than 
  in 
  still 
  water. 
  

  

  Tongs 
  are 
  used 
  entirely 
  in 
  getting 
  oysters, 
  and 
  it 
  is 
  contrar^^ 
  to 
  the 
  

   State 
  law 
  to 
  use 
  a 
  dredge 
  of 
  any 
  kind. 
  It 
  is 
  estimated 
  in 
  tonging 
  that 
  

   the 
  average 
  i)ro])ortiouor 
  dead 
  shells 
  to 
  live 
  oysters, 
  taken 
  on 
  the 
  beds 
  

   worked 
  at 
  present, 
  is 
  about 
  two-thirds 
  of 
  shells 
  to 
  one-third 
  of 
  oysters, 
  

   and 
  the 
  proportion 
  of 
  the 
  larger 
  to 
  the 
  smaller 
  oysters 
  is 
  one 
  market- 
  

   able 
  oyster 
  to 
  two 
  small 
  ones. 
  The 
  numl)er 
  of 
  oysters 
  to 
  the 
  bushel 
  

   brought 
  into 
  market 
  is 
  about 
  140 
  to 
  KJo. 
  The 
  best 
  age 
  for 
  market 
  is 
  

   from 
  three 
  to 
  five 
  years, 
  and 
  flavor 
  is 
  not 
  taken 
  into 
  account 
  in 
  the 
  

   market 
  price, 
  but 
  only 
  size 
  and 
  fatness. 
  It 
  is 
  found 
  that 
  about 
  2 
  per 
  

   cent 
  of 
  the 
  oysters 
  have 
  oyster 
  crabs 
  in 
  them. 
  

  

  