THE OYSTER FISHERY OF CONNECTICUT. 
483 
of mud, its gills are filled and suffocation ensues. This happens even if the water 
is only slightly muddy. For this reason muddy grounds are not suitable for the 
bedding of small oysters or for the collection of spat. Large oysters are not so liable 
to injury, as they are generally able to get their “ bills ” or “ nibs ” above the mud in 
which they are imbedded. Indeed, oysters grow much more rapidly in the vicinity 
of muddy grounds if they are large enough to escape injury from their surroundings. 
Excellent results have been obtained with ground of this character by distributing 
gravel over it in the proportion of about 200 tons per acre, or enough to prevent the 
oysters from sinking into the mud. 
39. Stagnant tvater . — Injury to oysters by stagnant water is comparatively rare. 
The only place where Mr. Stevenson found this had occurred was on the Poquonock 
River, in the town of Groton. There the current is checked by eelgrass, and during hot 
weather it sometimes becomes peculiarly offensive and causes the death of the oysters 
within the limits of the stagnant water. 
40. Freshets . — The danger arising from freshets is the opposite of that incurred 
from stagnant water. In some cases, oyster beds located at or near the mouths of such 
streams as the Thames and Connecticut Rivers are damaged by an excess of fresh 
water and heavy currents during the spring freshets. Not only does the water at such 
times destroy the oyster directly, but it is claimed that it develops a vegetable growth 
resembling a fungus which covers some of the beds and smothers the bivmlve. This 
result can not be prevented, except by removing the oysters as soon as possible after 
the beginning of the freshet, a process attended with great difficulty and sometimes 
impracticable. 
41. Destruction hy starfish . — Next to bad weather and the consequent dangers 
which beset the young oyster, the most destructive agency in Connecticut waters is the 
starfish [Asterias forbesu), known in different sections by the various names of ‘‘ sea- 
stars,” “ five-fingers,” “ crossfish,” “ sun-stars,” and “ stars.” It is believed this pest 
destroys more oysters than all other agencies combined, except bad weather. 
The starfish does not occur in fresh water, nor is it found in brackish water in 
numbers sufficient to be harmful ; therefore, the so called inshore grounds, particularly 
in the estuaries of rivers, do not suffer seriously from its attacks. Indeed, it was not 
until about 1882, when the grounds in the deep waters of the Sound had been stocked 
with oysters, that its enormous abundance and destructive power were fully under- 
stood. Large areas had been prepared for oyster beds, but many of the cultivators 
had so much ground that they could not attend to it properly, and, through neglect, it 
became a favorite breeding-place for starfish. No contrivance had been made suitable 
to cope with this destructive animal. One oyster-planter estimated the damage on 
one of his beds at $90,000 in six months, though in the same time he expended $9,000 
in catching “ stars.” 
There is a wide variation in the damage sustained from starfish by different firms 
and in different seasons. One firm having a product of $100,000 annually, estimated 
its loss in 1889 at only a few hundred dollars. The previous year, however, its beds 
were suddenly infested with myriads of “ stars,” and it was estimated that $15,000 
worth of oysters had been destroyed before the actual condition was known. Another 
firm, with a yield of about $175,000 in two years, 1888-89, lost only about $2,500 worth 
from attacks of starfish. The diminished loss is due to the fact that these firms keep 
their steamers almost constantly patrolling (he oyster beds. 
