204 
BULLETIN OF THE BUREAU OF FISHERIES 
thereh, 1930). Each of the shells on the top, bottom, and sides of the baskets was 
covered with from 100 to 200 spat; those in the layer just inside caught from 10 to 50 
spat each, and those in the very center from 2 to 10 spat each. It was evident that 
the shape of the basket should be changed to enable the oyster larvae to penetrate 
more easily and attach on the shells in the center. 
CRATE COLLECTORS 
In 1926 an inexpensive shell container was designed for this purpose. It is trian- 
gular in shape (fig. 1) and is constructed of spruce lath spaced 1% inches apart. Three 
square sides, each 2 by 2 feet, are wired together after the bottom is put in place. 
The bottom is 6 inches above the ground, but the length of the legs can be increased, 
if necessary. The capacity of the container is 2 bushels, and it covers 2 square feet 
of bottom. To protect the wood from the attack of shipworms and other wood- 
boring organisms, the lath is coated with a mixture of quicklime and sea water, to 
which is added enough fine 
sand or mud to give the 
consistency of thick cream; 
after this treatment, the 
crate can be used several 
times. 
Planting of the con- 
tainers is a simple opera- 
tion and can be carried out 
in different ways, depend- 
ing on local conditions. 
Containers already filled 
with shells can be delivered 
at high tide on the grounds 
and thrown overboard; or 
in case of planting on tidal 
flats, the containers are 
stuck in the bottom and filled with shells afterwards. In the case of very soft bot- 
tom, the length of the legs can be correspondingly increased. 
Experiments with lath containers were carried out in 1925 and 1926 in Milford 
Harbor, Conn., Wellfleet Harbor, and Wareham River, Mass. The results of these 
experiments have shown that, in order to insure better penetration of the oyster 
larva,, the size of the container should be reduced. Some of the containers planted 
in Wellfleet Harbor and Wareham River, where they were exposed to strong wave 
action, were destroyed or washed away. At the same time, the experiments have 
demonstrated that by using the containers the catching of seed oysters over a given 
area of bottoms can be increased materially. 
BOTTOM 
ELEVATION 
Figure 1. — Lath container (crate) for oyster shells. The three sides are constructed 
the same and are wired together after the bottom is put in place. Laths are spaced 
iyi inches apart 
WIRE BAGS 
At the suggestion of Prytherch, a new type of shell container was built and 
tested out in 1927. The container consisted of a bag of chicken wire having a mesh 
of iy 2 to 2 inches and was filled with oyster, scallop, clam, and sea scallop shells. The 
wire bags had a capacity of 1 bushel and were cylindrical in shape, with a length of 
36 inches and a diameter of 12 inches. The method employed in constructing the 
