NATIONAL FISHERY CONGRESS. 293 



conclusions are set forth in a recent article in the -United States Fish Commission 

 Report for 1897, by Dr. H. F. Moore, to which students of this subject should refer. 



It has been estimated that a large female American oyster in perfect condition can 

 furnish 60,000,000 eggs in one season, yet it is possible that only a dozen of these 

 will reach adult age. The European oyster produces only about 2,000,000 eggs. 

 Oysters are fond of the tranquil waters of gulfs formed by the mouths of rivers. 

 They are sensitive to light, as is proven by their closing the valves when reached by 

 the shadows of a boat. 



ENEMIES. 



The oyster has many enemies. The starfish and borer are not found in Florida, 

 but the oysters of this State are exposed to storms that cover them with sand; to 

 freshets that deposit mud upon and kill the young as well as the mature; to freezing, 

 which destroys those exposed by the tide, yet if the tide covers frozen oysters before 

 thawing they will not be killed; to droughts, which starve them. Mussels grow with 

 such rapidity, wedging themselves closely between the shells, as to starve the oysters 

 .to death by preventing, them frpm opening their mouths to take food. The adult 

 oyster also feeds upon the spawn. The drumfish, the sheepshead, the crab, the oyster 

 bird, are all destructive influences and tend to prevent the development of more than 

 a minute percentage of the fertilized eggs. Even a heavy storm, as well as thunder, 

 checks spawning and often destroys the spat. 



OYSTERS IN FLORIDA. 



The first landing of white men in this State found the Indians acquainted with 

 the edible value of oysters, which had no doubt always furnished food for the aborigines, 

 as evidence has been found showing the prehistoric use of oysters in this State. The 

 principal oyster-beds on the Atlantic side of Florida are found at or near Fernandina, 

 where oysters are plentiful ; the Indian River region comes next, with the best condition 

 at the southern end of the river. New Smyrna, at the mouth of Mosquito Inlet, is 

 especially adapted to oysters, but very few are found in Lake Worth, and none of any 

 consequence until the gulf at Hillsboro Bay is reached, where the natural conditions 

 are excellent; then Sarasota Bay and Charlotte Harbor; then Cedar Keys and Crystal 

 River, iii which vicinity the physical features are preeminently favorable for oyster 

 cultivation. Experiments in transplanting were- tried near here some few years ago 

 and with some success, but were abandoned on account of depredations. Some oysters 

 are found near St. Marks and in Ochlocknee Bay; none in St. Joseph Bay; St. 

 Andrews furnishes a fine oyster to a limited extent, but they will not bear shipment 

 on account of their soft thin shells. Escambia Bay has some good oysters and here 

 transplanting was also tried, but failed on account of depredations. Oyster-planting 

 can not flourish in any community where the moral rights of the owner are not respected. 

 Favorable oyster-grounds formerly existed in Perdido Bay, but a hurricane in 1896 

 virtually destroyed the oysters in this region. There are also isolated beds along the 

 Atlantic and Gulf coasts. The more extensive beds have been of late years near Apa- 

 lachicola, but they have been impaired by gales, freezes, and freshets. The extent, 

 conditions, and peculiarities of the oys'ers of the west Florida coast I shall not com- 

 ment on, but leave to Lieutenant Swift, who has carefully studied the region. 



The influences threatening the permanency of the oyster supply of this section, 

 as elsewhere in Florida, are not so much the consumption of full-grown oysters as the 

 destruction of the young and the failure to protect the spat in the spawning season. 



