OYSTER-CULTURE IN SOUTH CAROLINA. 
329 
CONCLUSION. 
While the survey described in the foregoing pages was not as detailed or 
exhaustive as it could have been made had there been more time available for that 
purpose, yet the results obtained in the areas examined are approximately accurate 
as well as sufficiently extensive to serve as a basis for the development of oyster- 
cultural operations. Of the total area surveyed, the natural oyster beds cover only 
a very small proportion. The proportion of natural oyster ground suitable for the 
production of marketable oysters is still less, being limited to the narrow space below 
low tide adjacent to the ledges now occupied in part by the detached raccoon oysters 
and to a few localities in the deeper water where the density is moderated by the 
inflow of a sufficient quantity of fresh water. These latter conditions obtain in St. 
Pierre Creek and New River, as has already been explained. 
In order to establish more extensive beds recourse must be had to other bottoms, 
on which oysters do not occur at present, but which seem suited to the purpose by 
reason of their firm consistency and their abundant food supply. Owing, however, to 
the high specific gravity of the water in most places of that character, or to other 
causes now unknown, it is doubtful if such beds would prove self-sustaining through 
the natural attachment of the spat to the shells or cultch deposited in the deeper 
water. While the Georgia oyster -planters, up to the present season, have been unsuc- 
cessful in obtaining a set of spat on the shells provided for that purpose, the oysters 
transplanted by them from the tide ledges to deeper water have prospered in the latter, 
notwithstanding its high density, and the mortality has been no greater than would 
be expected from the changed conditions of their environment. It is probable that 
the South Carolina planters will have to rely, in the stocking of their grounds, upon 
the raccoon oysters living on the adjacent ledges or in the few other favored spots 
which have been described. While a rather uniform density, somewhere between 
1.014 and 1.018, is considered preferable, oysters are successfully cultivated in water 
of a much higher density. 
The extensive marshes and flats, which compose so large a proportion of the low 
lands along the coast, probably offer the best advantages for oyster-culture by the con- 
struction of tidal ponds somewhat on the principle now resorted to in some parts of 
Europe. With the natural limitation of oyster growths to the area between tides, 
t his region evidently commends itself to the attention of oyster-growers, who could 
thus not only control the flooding of their beds but also maintain a close supervision 
upon their stock. As a rule, the oysters do not attain their best condition in South 
Carolina until late in the winter and early in the spring. But few persons in the State 
are now interested in the oyster industry, and the planted area is very small, not 
amounting, outside of the creeks south of Winyah Bay, to more than about 150 acres. 
The principal natural enemies of the oyster which fell under our observation or 
were called to our attention are the conchs, drumfish, and sheepshead, the first men- 
tioned being the most dreaded by the planters. Starfishes and drills were also seen, 
but they appear to do little if any damage. All of these natural enemies seem to be 
chiefly restricted to water of a high density, and none were found in the fresher areas 
represented by New River and St. Pierre Creek. 
