The Oysters 



Oyster Culture. — The oyster industry in this country began 

 with the wasteful exploitation of extensive natural beds found in 

 Chesapeake Bay and about Lx)ng Island Sound. That day soon 

 passed. Scientific research into the life history of an oyster is 

 the foundation upon which our belated and still imperfect system 

 of oyster culture rests. The oyster-grower pores over the latest 

 Government bulletin on the subject. The oyster crop repays 

 scientific cultivation ; new beds are planted to supply the ever- 

 growing demand. Methods are being improved every year. 



Careful coast surveys have been followed by the extension 

 of the present oyster-growing areas, and the establishment of beds 

 in new regions deemed suitable for this purpose. The southern 

 and western coasts have at various points been successfully 

 colonised by the oyster of the Chesapeake. 



There is no attempt at completeness in the following account 

 of oyster culture, based upon observations made in the spring 

 of 1906, on Great South Bay, Long Island, near the end of the 

 oyster harvest. Whoever desires all the facts and figures can 

 get them easily. Oyster culture is a science; its study has produced 

 a great body of literature on the subject. The report of the United 

 States Commission of Fish and Fisheries for 1892 contains "A 

 Bibliography of Publications in the English Language relative 

 to Oysters and the Oyster Industries." 



Planting Oysters. — In making new beds men follow Nature's 

 pattern. Choosing a location free from too severe currents, 

 supplied with food, and ranging in depth under eighteen fathoms, 

 the oyster-grower cleans away debris and prepares a shell bottom 

 for the spat to light upon. It is often found that areas thus pre- 

 pared will soon be full of young oysters, though no "seed" is laid 

 down. The young fry drift far from their home grounds, and 

 alight in localities suitable for their development. 



"Clutch" and "stool" are technical terms applied collectively 

 to any clean, firm body placed in the water for the attachment 

 of spat. Oyster shells are most commonly used, being thrown 

 broadcast from boats over the area intended for a new bed. 

 Where mud is likely to submerge single shells, they may be 

 dumped in heaps. Hard bottoms require the least quantity of 

 shells. Muddy bottoms may require several "sowings," which 

 gradually form a solid crust above a muddy sub-stratum. 



Oystermen go to the east end of Long Island and get boat 



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