﻿XVIII.— 
  AN 
  EXPOSITION 
  OF 
  THE 
  PRINCIPLES 
  OF 
  A 
  RATIONAL 
  

   SYSTEM 
  OF 
  OYSTER 
  CULTURE, 
  TOGETHER 
  WITH 
  AN 
  ACCOUNT 
  

   OF 
  A 
  NEW 
  AND 
  PRACTICAL 
  METHOD 
  OF 
  OBTAINING 
  OYSTER 
  

   SPAT 
  ON 
  A 
  SCALE 
  OF 
  COMMERCIAL 
  IMPORTANCE. 
  

  

  By 
  John 
  A. 
  Byder. 
  

  

  Introductory. 
  

  

  The 
  developments 
  made 
  within 
  the 
  last 
  six 
  years 
  show 
  that 
  the 
  solu- 
  

   tion 
  of 
  the 
  most 
  important 
  problems 
  in 
  oyster 
  culture, 
  by 
  means 
  of 
  ar- 
  

   tificial 
  methods, 
  starting 
  with 
  the 
  egg, 
  is 
  possible. 
  The 
  question 
  of 
  

   questions 
  in 
  oyster 
  culture 
  is, 
  " 
  In 
  what 
  way 
  is 
  it 
  possible 
  to 
  certainly 
  

   secure 
  an 
  abundance 
  of 
  spat 
  under 
  conditions 
  tvhich 
  can 
  be 
  controlled, 
  and 
  

   within 
  such 
  an 
  area 
  and 
  at 
  such 
  a 
  cost 
  as 
  will 
  render 
  it 
  possible 
  for 
  persons 
  

   possessing 
  the 
  proper 
  knowledge 
  to 
  undertake 
  spat 
  culture 
  or 
  the 
  actual 
  

   propagation 
  of 
  the 
  oyster 
  as 
  a 
  business 
  f 
  " 
  

  

  This 
  may 
  seem 
  an 
  extravagantly 
  sanguine 
  view 
  to 
  take 
  of 
  the 
  matter. 
  

   Nevertheless 
  it 
  is 
  true 
  that 
  it 
  is 
  actually 
  possible 
  to 
  begin 
  at 
  once, 
  with 
  

   the 
  knowledge 
  now 
  in 
  our 
  possessiou, 
  and 
  not 
  only 
  be 
  successful, 
  but 
  

   also 
  be 
  so 
  to 
  a 
  degree 
  which 
  must 
  completely 
  revolutionize 
  the 
  business 
  

   of 
  the 
  bed 
  culture 
  of 
  this 
  mollusk 
  in 
  open 
  waters. 
  

  

  L— 
  Historical. 
  

  

  My 
  own 
  conuection 
  with 
  the 
  oyster 
  question 
  dates 
  from 
  1880, 
  and 
  dur- 
  

   ing 
  the 
  years 
  intervening 
  between 
  the 
  latter 
  and 
  1885 
  the 
  writer 
  has 
  

   devised 
  and 
  had 
  constructed 
  no 
  less 
  than 
  twenty 
  forms 
  of 
  incubating 
  

   apparatus 
  in 
  which 
  it 
  was 
  hoped 
  to 
  obtain 
  spat 
  from 
  artificially 
  fertilized 
  

   eggs, 
  such 
  apparatus 
  ranging 
  in 
  size 
  from 
  less 
  than 
  a 
  cubic 
  foot 
  to 
  large 
  

   ponds 
  four 
  feet 
  deep 
  and 
  several 
  hundred 
  square 
  yards 
  in 
  area. 
  The 
  

   basic 
  idea 
  in 
  all 
  of 
  these 
  except 
  three 
  was 
  the 
  use 
  of 
  filters 
  with 
  a 
  con- 
  

   tinuous 
  or 
  an 
  interrupted 
  tidal 
  flow 
  of 
  water 
  through 
  the 
  apparatus 
  ; 
  

   the 
  function 
  of 
  the 
  filters 
  was 
  to 
  confine 
  the 
  fry 
  in 
  the 
  inclosures.* 
  In 
  

   none 
  of 
  this 
  apparatus, 
  except 
  in 
  one 
  form 
  of 
  it, 
  I 
  am 
  obliged 
  to 
  admit, 
  

   was 
  it 
  found 
  that 
  results 
  of 
  startling 
  economic 
  importance 
  were 
  obtained, 
  

  

  * 
  The 
  trouble 
  with 
  filters, 
  of 
  any 
  form 
  whatsoever, 
  is 
  that 
  they 
  soon 
  clog 
  and 
  become 
  

   useless. 
  They 
  can 
  therefore 
  never 
  be 
  successfully 
  used 
  in 
  any 
  practical 
  system 
  of 
  

   propagation. 
  

  

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