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OYSTERS, ''

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BEING

A complete l^istor^ of tl^e titular subject,
e:hakstiVe 01? all points of necessaujbj ai?d
carious ii^foni^atioi^ ffcoii} tl^e Kanliest
to tl^ose of tl^e Pre>sent Time,

with r^un]ei?ob.s additions, facts,

^x

notes,

JOHN R. PHILPOTS,

L.R.C.P. & S. Ediij., J.P.,

VOLLJMK II.

\

^

-

JOHN RICHARDSOX & Co.,

Alcdical Publishers.

LOXDON : 6, Great Riissell Street, ^N . C.

LEICKSTKR : 10, Friar Lane.

1891.

CHAPTER XXVII.

During the progress of Printing, the accumu-
lation of new matter has so far exceeded the number
of pages originally intended, that the book has, for
convenience, been bound in two volumes, although
paged throughout as one.

S US nidi dl LilC Vjrciiiian UU/O.OL \ ili m*-

of Nordeney, &c.), and at the Sleswick coast, it has
been repeatedly tried to introduce French oyster culture,
but without any success. Moebius, a well-known authority
for all that regards the oyster and oyster-culture, believes

that it is the low temperature of the water in winter, and

v 2

CHAPTER XXVII.

OYSTER CULTURE IN GERA1ANY.

GEOGRAPHICAL ADVANTAGES FAVOURING FISHERY CULTIVATION
UNSUCCESSFUL ATTEMPTS TOWARDS THE FRENCH METHOD
MCEBIUS ON THE CAUSE THEREOF HIS SUGGESTED REMEDY.

THERE are many advantages in the geographical position
of the German Empire which considerably favour fishery
and its cultivation. The vast extent of the south coast
of the Baltic, with its multitude of useful fish, which
abound still more towards the south-west, wholly falls within
the limits of the German Empire ; while the coasts of
Schleswig-Holstein, Hanover, and Oldenburg, afford a
considerable seaboard on the German Ocean.

Yet with all these advantages, and many more unneces-
sary to mention here, the oyster industry has hitherto been
unsuccessful.

In his Prize Essay on " Oyster Culture," Dr. Hoek
tells us that " at the German coast (in the neighbourhood
of Nordeney, &c.), and at the Sleswick coast, it has
been repeatedly tried to introduce French oyster culture,
but without any success. Mrebius, a well-known authority
for all that regards the oyster and oyster-culture, believes
that it is the low temperature of the water in winter, and

V2

644 OYSTERS, AND ALL ABOUT THEM.

the violence of the waves during high spring-tides, in-
creased by tempests, which oppose themselves to oyster
culture after the French method. According to him, at
the south-eastern shores of the North Sea, the lowest tides
always occur when the coldest winds are blowing, and a
low temperature of the water is much more dangerous for
oysters placed in shallow than for those found in deep
water. Moebius therefore thinks that the oyster production
of the German waters cannot be augmented by culture, but
that this can be effected in the first place by keeping a
sufficient stock of full-grown oysters on the existing oyster-
beds, and in the second place by ameliorating and enlarg-
ing the places fit for the fixing of the oyster-spat.

" In the Baltic the percentage of salt is too low for the
oyster to live in. Of course there can be no question of
oyster culture there."

Here and there, in this book, the name of Moebius
has been rendered familiar to the reader, and perhaps
aroused some curiosity as to its owner from the fact of the
late great German scientist being respectfully quoted by
such celebrities as Professor Huxley, Dr. Brooks, Lieut.
Winslow, Dr. Hoek, Professor Hubrecht, M. Bouchon-
Brandely, &c. ; and I have now great pleasure in intro-
ducing him to my reader through the medium of quota-
tions from Mr. J. H. Rice's translation of his celebrated
pamphlet, entitled " The Oyster and Oyster-Culture," (#)
trusting that the acquaintance may tend towards a due

(a) Die Auster und die Austernwirthschaft, von Karl Moebius,
Professor der Zoologie in Kiel. Mit einer Karte und neun Holz-
schnitten. Berlin, Verlag von Wiegandt, Hempel & Parey. 1877.
Small octavo, p. 126. Translated by H. J. Rice, B.Sc., by permis-
sion of the author.

OYSTER CULTURE IN GERMANY. 645

appreciation of the famous ostracultural Professor's merit
in his valuable scientific work, and the profoundly instruc-
tive lessons contained therein, the first chapter of which,
treating on German Oyster Culture, gives the following
information under the heading

THE SEA-FLATS.

Among those oysters which are produced in the waters
of the west coast of Europe, the Holstein oyster has, for
more than a hundred years, maintained a well-merited
celebrity. The beds which furnish them lie along the
west coast of Schleswig-Holstein, in a territory only 74
kilometers long by 22 broad. The most and the best
oysters are found on the east side of the island of Sylt
and in the neighbourhood of the islands of Amrum and
Fohr.

Along the northern boundary of the German oyster-
territory, near the island of Rom, and along the southern
boundary, near the islands of Pellworm and Nordstrand,
opposite the city of Husum, there are only a few insignifi-
cant beds. And since the flavour of the oyster is entirely
dependent upon the quality and quantity of food in the
water in which it grows, it becomes necessary, first of all,
to examine into the character of the soil and water of the
Schleswig-Holstein Archipelago. In comparison with the
open North Sea, this portion of our coast is a very shallow
division of the ocean. Along the entire southern portion
of the open North Sea, between Germany, Holland,
England, and Scotland, the general depth is from 35 to 45
meters. In no place in the Schleswig-Holstein Archi-
pelago is the water as deep as this, the greatest depth
being 15 to 20 meters, and this only in the channels which
connect it with the open sea. The floor of this archipelago

646 OYSTERS, AND ALL ABOUT THEM.

is raised above the deep bottom of the open North Sea,
very much like a high table-land. In this table-land
valleys, varying in depth and width, have been cut out
between the islands and the mainland. At high water the
entire floor is covered, but at the end of the ebb tide very
much of this table-land lies dry above the surface of the sea.
These stretches of sea-bottom which thus become dry are
termed " Watten ' : (plains or flats), and from these
" Watten " this archipelago has received the name of
"Wattenmeer" (sea-flats). The water, which during the
ebb tide runs off from the flats, flows in both shallow and
deep channels, called by the sailors " Leien " and " Tiefen,"
partly in a northerly, partly in a southerly direction, into
the open sea, until the incoming flood-tide, which flows in
from both sides twice daily, stops the ebbing water and
turns it back. The water now rises once more. The
Leien and Tiefen can no longer hold it, and it pours over
their banks and over the flats, finally flooding them to such
a depth that small vessels can pass over places where only
a few hours before men and waggons might travel with
perfect safety.

. Along the entire German coast, from Rom
in the north, upon the Danish border, to Borkum in the
west, near the islands of Holland, the sea is of a similar
character. Thus, before the mouth of the Elbe, from
Cuxhafen to the island of Neuwerk, the sea-bottom is laid
bare with every ebbing of the tide, for a breadth of 7 to 8
kilometers. At such times one can reach the island on
foot, on horseback, or with a waggon. In passing over
this flat one finds himself at such times on a level with the
sails of vessels which are passing by upon the sea, and
along the border of the retreating waters and the emerging
sea-bottom one sees scattered flocks of sea-birds hunting

OYSTER CULTURE IN GERMANY. 647

the uncovered worms, mussels, and crabs, before they
withdraw into the earth. When the flats, at the time of
the lowest ebb, are lying, dry and silent, above the water,
one can already hear in the distant depths the roar of the
incoming flood. First it comes in slowly, then faster and
faster, and finally more slowly again, until at the full flood
the water stands over the northern portion of the flats
nearly two meters higher, and over the southern portion,
out from the mouth of the Elbe, nearly three meters higher
than at the ebb.

The tide generally attains three-fourths of its entire
height about three hours after turning. In this short time
immense masses of water move towards the coast, and in
many places currents are formed as swift as the, current of
the Rhine between Coblenz and Bonn, the rate of which is
from 1*5 to 2 meters per second. Yet the ebb-currents
are nearly everywhere stronger than the flood-currents
since they not only carry off the sea-water which has been
brought in, but also the fresh water from the land, which
was checked in its flow during the flood.

Hence the ebb-currents bring about much greater
changes in the soil of the sea-flats than the flood-currents,
and they displace and transport the constituents of the flats
in the most powerful manner, wherever great fresh-water
streams enter the sea, as at the mouths of the Eider, Elbe,
Weser, and Ems. Here the floating buoys and the im-
planted buoy-stakes (Baken), which indicate navigable
water for vessels, are changed nearly every year because of
the changes in the channels.

The principal ingredient of the bottom of this change-
ful sea is quartz sand. In many places there are accumu-
lations of mud, which is very slimy and sticky, and contains
much organic matter. This mud is found along the shores

648 OYSTERS, AND ALL ABOUT THEM.

of the mainland and on the east side of the island of Sylt,
principally at those points where, after the changing of the
currents, the water does not flow fast enough to carry away
all of the muddy material which was deposited upon the
bottom as the tide ran out. Along the slopes which lie
between those portions of the flats, which the tide leaves
dry, and the deep channels are long dry stretches of soil
where the ground is covered with coarse sand, small and
large stones, and shells. At such places colonies of oysters,
so-called oyster-beds, are found, along with many other
sea-animals.

OYSTER-BANKS AND OYSTERING.

By far the greater number of our oyster-beds are never
exposed to view, on account of the muddiness of the water
of the sea-flats, from the continual stirring up of the sedi-
ment upon the bottom. Only when, during the lowest ebb
of the spring-tides, easterly winds drive off a great deal of
water from the land, does the sea along the border of
many beds become so shallow that the oysters can be seen,
and even taken up with the hand. This state of affairs
occurs upon the oyster-beds which are numerous along the
east coast of the island of Fohr, and in one autumn as
many as 20,000 oysters could be gathered from these beds
by hand, and transplanted into deeper waters.

Generally one is obliged to use measuring-sticks or
dredge-nets, in order to tell when he is over a desired
oyster-bed. The measuring-sticks are poles, five to six
meters long, with the lower half divided off, by different
colours, into feet. They are used from vessels, in shallow
portions of the flats, in order to ascertain during the journey
whether the depth increases or diminishes, so that the
vessel may not run aground. The measuring-rod is pushed

OYSTER CULTURE IN GERMANY. 649

down to the bottom, and one can thus easily tell whether
the bottom is composed of soft mud or pure sand, or
whether it is covered with shells.

The dredge used by the oyster-men . . . weighs
from 50 to 60 pounds.

The older oyster-dredgers know the position of all the
oyster-beds with great precision, and they guide their ves-
sels to the desired places by reckonings from high-lying
points of the coast and islands, from light-houses, churches,
windmills, and houses. Their vessels are yacht-like, with
a capacity of from three to six tons. Each one generally
carries two sailors, in addition to the owner.

Upon the Schleswig-Holstein banks there are fourteen
vessels engaged in the oyster business.

. . . . Generally the net (or dredge) is allowed to
drag from five to ten minutes ; then it is drawn up by two
or three men, and the entire contents of the bag emptied

upon the deck From this heterogeneous heap

all the matured oysters are now picked out. As they pass
singly through the hands of the fishermen, the coarsest of
the foreign material is cut and scraped from the shells
with a knife, and then the oysters are thrown into baskets.
In these they are shaken about, in order to get off any
material which has escaped the knife. Ropes are then
fastened around the baskets, which are put overboard, and
raised and lowered in the sea until all dirt is completely
washed from the oysters. They are now for the first time
in the condition in which they appear in commerce.
Despite these manifold cleansings, many oysters, when
they are exposed for sale, are covered with dead and living
animals, ana the peculiar odour which oysters have when
carried into the interior, arises from the death and decay
of the organic material upon the outside of the shells, and

650 OYSTERS, AND ALL ABOUT THEM.

does not pertain to the living oyster itself. In no place
upon the sea-flats do oysters grow upon rocky bottom.
They grow best where there is a substratum of old oyster
and other shells. The most of them lie singly, and they
are seldom found growing together in clumps or masses.
The wide-spread notion that they are found growing
firmly attached to the sea-bottom, and piled upon one
another, layer upon layer, is accordingly false. Upon the
best of the Schleswig-Holstein beds, the dredge must drag
over a surface of from one to three square meters, and
often over a still greater distance, in order to secure a single
full-grown oyster. Over the Schleswig-Holstein sea-flats
there exist 50 oyster-beds of very different sizes. The
largest is not far from two kilometers long, but the greater

number are shorter than this There are no

beds upon our sea-flats which have a greater depth of
water over them than from six to nine meters. Although
all the beds lie within an area 74 kilometers long by 22
broad, yet the nature of the oysters, and especially the
form and solidity of the shell and the flavour of the
animal, differ very greatly. Upon two beds inside of the
south point of the island of Sylt are found oysters which
in fullness and delicacy of flavour are not inferior to the
best English " natives."

WHY ARE OYSTERS NOT FOUND OVER ALL PORTIONS OF

THE SEA-FLATS ?

It is now clear that the fruitfulness of the oyster is
extraordinarily great, and that the extension of oyster-beds
over the entire surface of the sea-flats does not fail of being
accomplished from a lack of young oysters, but from other
causes. It then becomes our duty to investigate into the
characteristics of our sea-flats, in order to determine

OYSTER CULTURE IN GERMANY. 651

whether some portions are more suitable for the growth of
oysters than others ; and whether the saltness, temperature,
and movement of the water, the amount of food which it
contains, and the nature of the ground composing the
oyster-banks, differ in any respect from these same features
as observed in other places over the bottom.

The saltness of the upper layers of the waters of the
open North Sea is from 3*47 to 3*50 per cent. The water
of the sea-flats is slightly less salt, being only from 3 to
to 3*3 per cent. Here upon our sea-flats, and in other
European coast-seas, where the water is less salt, the
oysters acquire a much finer flavour than upon the ground
of the open North Sea, () where they live in water 35
meters or more in depth, with a percentage of salt of
about 3 '5.

That coast-water is, then, the most desirable for
oyster-culture which contains about 3 per cent, of salt ;
and since not only over our oyster-beds, but over our
entire sea-flats, the water possesses this degree of saltness,
neither a lack nor an excess of salt can hinder the exten-
sion of the beds over the whole area. Even less can the

(b) Many oysters are taken north of Germany and Holland, east
of England, and in the channel between England and France. The
German fishermen of Blankenese and Finkenwarder, near Hamburg,
who fish with great dredge-nets for flounders, turbots, and soles, out
from the mouth of the Elbe, often dredge oysters along with their fish.
. . . . Fishermen from Holland and Germany dredge for oysters
here (the North Sea), especially during the months of August, Sep-
tember, and October, and often catch, at a single drag of the dredge,
as many as 1000 oysters. Sometimes great bunches of oysters, grow-
ing attached to one another, are gathered into the net

(S. Metzger's Beitrage zu dem Jahresbericht d. Commiss. zur Unt. d.
deutschen Meere, 1873, p. 171, u. 1875, p. 252.)

652 OYSTERS, AND ALL ABOUT THEM.

temperature of the water hinder their extension, for the
variation is the same over the oyster-beds as at other
points, and it fluctuates, during the course of the year,
from 20 C. above zero to 20 C. below. Nor can a lack
of motion of the water, or of nutriment, be the cause why
the oyster-beds have not, during the past hundreds of
years, extended themselves beyond certain definite limits,
for floating everywhere, in the ebbing and flooding water,
are microscopic plants and animals, and much dead organic
matter, which would nourish large numbers of oysters, just
as they do multitudes of soft clams (mya arenariaj, edible
mussels (mytilus edulisj, and cockles (cardium edulej.
There remains, then, as the single natural hindrance to a
further extension of the oyster-beds, the unfavourable con-
dition of the ground over the greater portion of the sea-
flats. Oysters cannot thrive where the ground is composed
of moving sand, or where mud is being deposited, and one
of these conditions or the other is found over the greater
part of the sea-flats. The number and size of those places
where, notwithstanding the daily ebb and flood currents,
the ground remains unchanged and free from mud, are very
limited. Only along the slopes of certain channels to the
north of the mouth of the Eider do we find united all the
conditions favourable for such places, and only within
these limited districts can young oysters grow to complete
maturity.

CAN THE FRENCH SYSTEM OF ARTIFICIAL OYSTER-
BREEDING BE CARRIED ON IN THE WATERS OF THE

GERMAN COAST ?

. . . . As regards the saltness of the water, the
currents, the food, and even the composition of the soil,
our sea-flats will compare as favourably for the artificial

OYSTER CULTURE IN GERMANY. 653

gathering of the young broods and for the raising of the
same as the Bay of Arcachon, but not as regards temper-
ature and the depth of water.

In the Bay of Arcachon the difference between
ordinary high and low tide is 4/5 meters, and during a
storm a meter more. But along our North Sea coast during
a storm the water rises with the tide even more than twice
as high as during ordinary flood-tide. The power of the
water during a storm, as compared with the power of the
water during an ordinary flood-tide, is much greater along
our coast than in the Bay of Arcachon. Hence, we would
be obliged to give to our oyster-beds a much greater
firmness than the French breeders have to give to theirs.
We would also be obliged to place them so far out in the
sea that they would be entirely covered with water, even at
the lowest ordinary tide, and also give them sufficient
stability to withstand, during a storm, a rise of water of
from 2 to 2 '5 meters, as well as the great and powerful
force of this water-mass. Beds thus laid down would
cost much more than the ditched and planked ones of
Arcachon. But even if they were so placed as to bid
defiance to the most severe flood-storm, they would indeed
hardly suffice to protect the breeding oysters from being
covered with mud and sand ; and thus one flood-storm, or
storm in connection with a flood-tide, might destroy the
accumulated oysters of many generations.

. . . . If the situation of the free sea-flats is not
suitable for the formation of oyster-beds, perhaps there is
still a possibility of artificial oyster-breeding being carried
on inside of the dykes which protect the fertile marsh-land
along the German coast from the encroachments of the
waters of the North Sea. For this purpose basins would
have to be dug out inside of the dyke and placed in

654 OYSTERS, AND ALL ABOUT THEM.

connection with the sea by means of canals. Where these
canals cut through the dyke it would be necessary to build
a gate, in order to prevent the sea-water from passing in
during high tide. Then, oyster-beds could not be laid
down in the neighbourhood of this gate, because it would
serve not only as an inlet for salt water, but as an outlet
for the fresh water from the marsh-land, and so fresh
water instead of sea-water would cover the oyster-beds.

. . . . (In these beds) It is certain that they will
not receive as much food as in the open sea, since they
cannot have nearly as much water as will pass over them
upon the natural beds ; and the quantity of nourishment
varies in proportion to the amount of water which passes
over the beds. In these beds the oysters would also be in
danger of being buried in the deep mud, and in order to
prevent this they must either be changed very often into
clean beds, or else a cleaning pond must be formed
beside the breeding pond. But while the water is rendered
clear by being allowed to stand quiet, yet by this means a
large amount of organic matter which serves as food for
the oysters is taken from it. Especially dangerous, how-
ever, to oyster beds within the dykes would be the cold
during winter weather, for along our North Sea coasts the
water is lowest during an east wind, and at the same time
such a wind is accompanied by the lowest degree of
temperature. Hence, at such times, when a great depth
and a constant change of water over the beds would be the
best protection from freezing, we cannot have high water,
nor can the water then standing over the oysters be
constantly changed ; thus during every cold winter, a large
number of oysters would be sure to perish in their beds.

. . . . In cold weather slime collects upon the
gills and mantle-lobes of the oyster, the power of the

OYSTER CULTURE IN GERMANY. 655

muscles and cilia being weakened by the cold. Accord-
ingly, the oyster is no longer in a condition by means
of its rapidly-moving cilia, and the quick closing of the
valves of its shell, to drive out the particles of slime
brought in with the water. But the power of the cilia and
the elasticity of the muscles are again restored as the
water becomes warmer, providing the cold has not lasted
too long. The gills become clean once more, and respir-
ation and nourishment, which have been disturbed by the
sliming, proceed again as before. If the cold spell is
prolonged, then, in addition to the sliming of the gills and
mantle, there are yet other pernicious results. The shell-
muscle becomes so soft that it can no longer close the
valves. The cilia move slower and slower, and finally,
when the shell-muscle has allowed the valves of the shell
to gape wide open, cease moving altogether. The mantle
and gills become pale in colour, infusoria nest in them and
hasten their destruction, and soon their ciliated layer
separates and disappears. The softest portions of the
body, the generative organs, the liver, and the stomach
quickly vanish, probably consumed by snails, crabs, worms,
and star-fish as soon as they can make their way unhindered
into the open shell. The last part of the mollusc which
is to be found in the shell is the shell-muscle. It remains
free between the two valves, or attached to only one of
them, until finally but a trace of its fibres is to be seen
at the points of attachment, the so-called muscular impres-
sions.

. . . . I have frozen the mantle and gill lobes of
oysters in North Sea water and allowed them to remain in-
closed in ice for an hour at a time, with the temperature of
the water varying in degree from 4 C. to 90 C. below zero.
When the ice had melted, the cilia began to move feebly,

656 OYSTERS, AND ALL ABOUT THEM.

and four hours later, when the temperature of the water had
risen to 50 C. above zero, their movements were once more
fully established. Other gill and mantle lobes which had
been three hours in water of a temperatue of i C. to 2 C.
below zero moved quite lively on the following day. This
recalls to me a very weighty difference between fresh and
salt water, which is often overlooked.

It is generally known that fresh water is densest and
heaviest at a temperature of 4 C. above zero. When any
portion has arrived at this temperature during freezing
weather, its sinks to the bottom of the body of fresh water,
where it remains until the entire mass above it is of the
same density. That portion which first becomes lower in
temperature than 4C. then expands, rises to the surface,
and stiffens into ice as it reaches the temperature of o.

The fact is less known that with sea- water the lower
the temperature the greater the density and weight of the
water. Therefore, it also sinks to the bottom until it
has reached the temperature at which it forms ice, which,
when it holds 3 per cent, of salt in solution, is 2-28 C.
below zero. It is evident, then, that water may be found
at the bottom over the sea flats of a temperature of 2 C.
below zero, while, during the most severe cold, water at the
bottom of the lakes and deeper rivers of North Germany is
found to be constantly several degrees warmer than this.
When, finally, the sea-water, from the surface to the
bottom, has reached its freezing point, it does not become
solid ice for the whole thickness, but thin layers of ice, at
greater or less distances apart, are formed in it. These
layers, which are crystallized from the salt water, are free
from salt, are hence lighter than the surrounding water,
and accordingly ascend to the surface ; consequently, those

OYSTER CULTURE IN GERMANY. 657

animals which live upon the ground of the deeper portions
of the sea-flats remain surrounded by water whose tempera-
ture is 2 C. lower than the freezing point of fresh water.

Our investigation, then, has led to the
grievous conclusion that profitable artificial oyster-breed-
ing, according to the French system, is not possible along
our North Sea coasts. Whoever should attempt to carry
out this system, despite the unfavourable conditions of our
waters and climate, would be certain to find that his breed-
ing oysters were more costly than many English oyster-
breeders have found theirs to be ; for upon the English
coasts the difference between ordinary high tide and the
tide increased by a storm is much less than upon our sea-
flats, the lowest water does not occur simultaneously with
the coldest winds, as along the south-east shore of the
North Sea, and the climate there is milder than upon our
coasts.

CAN NATURAL OYSTER-BEDS BE ENLARGED, AND CAN
NEW BEDS BE LAID DOWN, ESPECIALLY ALONG THE
GERMAN COAST ?

It will thus be seen that the German oyster industry
remains dependent now, as ever, upon the natural oyster-
banks of our coast-seas, where oysters have lived for
thousands of years, and where they exist to-day fruitful and
well flavoured. And in regard to these beds we have now
to consider the important questions :

First. Is it possible to increase their size ?

Second. ' Can we still farther increase the surface of
our oyster-territory by laying down new beds ?

The water in the neighbourhood of the banks, and
over all the stretches between them, has the same
character as over the banks themselves. All that is

658 OYSTERS, AND ALL ABOUT THEM.

necessary, then, in order to increase the size of these beds
is to render the sea bottom between them habitable for
oysters. Old beds increase naturally in size whenever the
the shifting and slimy sea bottom which borders them be-
comes changed into stable and clear ground. This can
take place if changes occur in the force and direction of the
ebb and flood currents. In such cases the extension can
be hastened artificially by placing upon the newly forming,
ground shells of oysters and other molluscs, in order to
furnish just outside the borders of the old bed the most
judicious objects of attachment for the young broods as
they swarm out from the mother oysters.

For the establishment of new beds, within the limits of
the German sea-flats, in places where no oysters are found
at present, it will be necessary to find stretches of sea-bottom
which are free from mud, where the soil is not being con-
stantly shifted about by currents, and where the ebb-tide
will leave at least one or two meters in depth of water over
the beds. But nearly all such places are occupied by
oyster-beds.

. . . . Over the entire German sea-flats lying
south and south-west of Schleswig there can hardly be
found a single place which is suitable for the formation of
a profitable oyster-bed ; for in front of the mouths of the
Eider, Elbe, Weser, Jahde, and Ems the sea-bottom is so
covered with mud, or so subject to change, that oysters
could not live and multiply there.

. Whoever, therefore, would establish new
oyster-beds along the German portion of the coast of the
North Sea, between the Eider and the mouth of the Ems,
must begin his difficult work by changing the ebb and
flood currents in the southern portion of the North Sea, in

OYSTER CULTURE IN GERMANY. 659

order to prepare a surface upon which oysters can thrive ;
for to attempt to adapt oysters to a bottom of shifting sand
or mud is not natural, nor is it conducive to an industry
which is to last for a hundred years. For thousands of
years innumerable young oysters have been scattered from
the oyster-beds over changing mud and sand-banks, and
yet not one has so altered its organization as to become
adapted to such a bottom and transmit its new nature to
its progeny ; they have all been destroyed.

. . . . Along the German coast, in the East Sea,
the sea-bottom, over many extensive tracts, is firm, and
also free from mud. These places possess then, in this
respect, one of the most important conditions for the suc-
cessful formation of oyster-beds. Yet several attempts to
plant oysters in the Baltic have proved entire failures.
. . . . The much talked-of attempt at oyster-breeding
by Coste gave a new impulse to the question of planting
oysters in the Baltic. . . . The water of the Baltic is
not salt enough for the propagation of the oyster. East of
the island of Riigen the water at the bottom contains only
i per cent, of salt, and near the surface still less, since the
rivers bring in much fresh water. West of Riigen, south
from the Great Belt, to near the coast of Mecklenburg, the
water at the bottom contains, indeed, as much as 3 per
cent, of salt, but here also the surface-water everywhere
contains a less degree.

The young oysters, as soon as they had left the mother
oysters, would then ascend to the surface, and thus come
into water which throughout the entire southern portion of
the Cattegat contains less than 2 per cent, of salt, while
they need water with at least 3 per cent, of salt. This I
infer from the fact, that such a degree of saltness is to be

660 OYSTERS, AND ALL ABOUT THEM.

found at all places along the European coast where natural
oyster-beds exist. There are two other conditions of the
Baltic besides the low percentage of salt, which certainly
hinder the growth of the oyster the long-continued low
temperature of winter, and the lack of regular tidal-
currents, the oyster, which is a stationary animal, will
receive daily a greater quantity of oxygen and food in the
water brought to it than it will in an interior sea, where
the water is in less regular motion. These chemical and
physical differences between the North and East Seas
render it not only impossible for the oyster to live in the
latter, but also for many other North Sea animals, of which
I will mention only the lobster, the larger punger (platycar-
cinus pagurusj, and the edible sea urchin (echinus escul-

entus) Nature has already made frequent

efforts to introduce not only oysters, but other North Sea
animals, into the Baltic. Nearly every year fish and other
animals from the North Sea appear in the Baltic, but they
are not permanent, and soon disappear again from our
fauna.

CONCERNING THE PRICE OF OYSTERS.

On the 2ist of September, 1740, the first hundred
fresh Schleswig-Holstein oysters sold in Hamburg for 1*42
marks (about 35 cents) of present money. Later the same
day goo were sold at 1*20 marks (30 cents) s per hundred ;
then 3400 at 15 cents ; and finally, 10,800 at 7^ cents per
hundred. On the i5th of October of the same year, and
at the same place, the first hundred fresh, newly-arrived
oysters, sold for 2*40 marks ; the second hundred for 2*10
marks ; then 1025 were sold for i'8o marks per hundred ;
then 1000 at 1*50 marks; then 2000 at rzo marks; and
finally, 12,500 at 60 pfennige (15 cents) per hundred.

OYSTER CULTURE IN GERMANY. 66 1

These numbers . . . show that it was necessary
to lower the price of oysters very soon after the arrival of
a large importation into Hamburg harbour, if they were to
be disposed of in an eatable condition, and not entirely
lost, because there were no adequate means of transporting
them into the interior. Such a fall in price guarded the
oyster-beds from too destructive fishing. Soon, by means
of steamers and railroads, oysters fresh from the beds
could be spread far and wide into the country ; then
oyster-eaters began to increase in number ; and so, despite
the rapid advance in price, the demand for oysters in-
creased from year to year. ... A cask of Schleswig-
Holstein oysters (700 to 800) was sold, in 1875-' 76, to
oyster-dealers, for 105 marks (about $26'25). Fifteen
years previous the price was only a third of that sum.

CHAPTER XXVIII.

OYSTER CULTURE IN ITALY.

XXXI. A REPORT ON OYSTER-CULTURE IN THE
MEDITERRANEAN, 1878. (a.)

BY G. BOUCHON-BRANDELY, SECRETARY TO THE COLLEGE OF

FRANCE.

OYSTER-CULTUREOYSTERS AT THE GULF OF GENOA LABOURS OF
M. COSTE DESTRUCTION OF OYSTERS IN LAKE FUSARO
MESSRS. GASQUET'S OYSTER ESTABLISHMENT OYSTER PARCS
AT GIENS, BELON, AND AGAY ANALYSIS OF SEA WATER BY
M. SCHUTZENBERGER M. VIAND'S EXPERIMENTS FLOURISHING
CONDITION OF OYSTER-CULTURE IN THE MEDITERRANEAN
CAUSES OF DECADENCE, ETC. ANALYSIS OF SEA WATER BY
SCHWEITZER AND USIGLIO.

IT is to Italy we are indebted for the idea of establishing
in France that branch of industry, so flourishing at the
present time, known as oyster-culture. The Romans were

(a) Rapport au Ministre de 1'Instruction publique sur la Pisci-
culture en France et L'Ostreiculture dans la Mediterranee, par M.
Bouchon-Brandely, Secretaire du College de France. Paris : A.
Wittersheim et Ce.. Quai Voltaire, 31, 1878 (Extrait du Journal Officiel
des 16, 17 et 18 Mai 1878.) small 8vo. pamphlet, p. 103. Only that
portion of the report devoted to oyster-culture in the Mediterranean
(pp. 45 103) is reproduced here.

OYSTER CULTURE IN ITALY. 663

the first to engage in the cultivation of the oyster, and their
methods, inherited by the Italians, have come down to us
without any modification. The method of cultivating this
mollusc at Tarente to-day is the same as that practised in
the time of Sergius Grata. In 1853 ^- Coste visited
Fusaro, and from that remarkable journey of scientific
exploration, it is said, he brought back the elements of the
new industry to which science has assigned general rules
that have since been improved upon by practice, But if,
prior to that time, an exceptionally fine flavour was given
to the precious bivalve at Marennes, Courseuilles, and
Cancale, by a special treatment, we were still ignorant of
the processes of taking the spawn and of supplementing
the loss occasioned by the continued impoverishment of
the beds on our coast, the sources of production which had
formerly been erroneously supposed to be inexhaustible.

Oyster-culture, properly so called, is carried on in Italy
in only one locality, Tarente. The celebrated Lake Fusaro,
to which I will devote a few words hereafter, has become
sterile and has been abandoned. The oysters consumed in
Italy, beyond those received from Tarente, come from the
gulfs of Genoa and Naples, from the coasts of the Adriatic,
and from the ponds of Corsica.

The Gulf of Genoa produces small and delicate oysters,
which are held in high repute. At Naples, near the rocks
of Castel, and in other deeper parts of the gulf, oysters
similar to those of Genoa, are still found, which are desig-
nated, scientifically, under the name Ostrea plicatula. At
neither Genoa or Naples are the banks sufficiently well
stocked to permit the use of the drag, with profit, in
gathering oysters. The fishermen take them by hand,
sometimes at a considerable depth. The products of this
fishery are entirely consumed in the vicinity. Rome,

664 OYSTERS, AND ALL ABOUT THEM.

Florence, and the large towns of the peninsula receive a
part of their supplies from Brindisi and Venice, at which
places some natural beds exist. The oysters from these
beds belong to the common Mediterranean species (Ostrea

edulis).

LAKE FUSARO, NEAR NAPLES.

There is no necessity of our entering here into a retro-
spective examination of the industry of Lake Fusaro. M.
Coste, in the learned report he has published concerning
his mission to the shores of the Mediterranean, has per-
formed this task better than I could do it. But I have
thought it proper not to leave Naples without first endea-
vouring to ascertain the causes which have occasioned the
sterility of this ancient lake and the loss of its secular
industry. The principal cause, as well as the oldest and
most incontestible one, which has at all times occasioned
the greatest disasters, results from sulphurous emanations
arising over certain portions of the bottom during the
eruptions of Mount Vesuvius. At such times as these all
of the inhabitants of the lake are imperiled, but shell-fish
suffer most because of their inability to get out of harm's
way. At various periods of eruption the oysters of Fusaro
have been very nearly exterminated, but so great has been
their fecundity that only a few years were required to enable
the lake to recover its normal productiveness. In addition
to this natural and- inevitable cause, there are others of
more recent origin and less extent, among which may be
cited: (i) the accumulation of vegetable and animal refuse
which has fouled the bottom ; (2) the too extensive culti-
vation of mussels ; (3) the excessive saltness of the water,
and (4.) the insufficient supply of fresh water. Finally, in
1856, the Neapolitan Government, with a view to rendering
Lake Fusaro more healthy as its marshy water propagated

OYSTER CULTURE IN ITALY. 665

the malady so common in certain parts of Italy, viz.,
malaria caused a new canal to be dug at the extremity of
the lake, in order to secure, to the greatest possible extent,
the renewal of the water. It is claimed that this work
hastened the decay of Lake Fusaro. The contact of this
new current with the old resulted in the stirring up of the
materials that had been accumulating in the lake for many
years. Sands were brought down by the current, thus
changing the nature of the bottom. The oyster-culturists,
after vain endeavours to overcome this new misfortune,
abandoned their concessions, and in the year 1869 the last
oysters disappeared from Lake Fusaro.

TARENTE.

From the earliest times the maritime population of
Tarente has busied itself in the cultivation of oysters and
mussels. This industry is carried on in salt ponds which
border the city on the west, and to which the name of
"Little Sea" has been given. Being connected with a
roadstead or open sea, by means of a narrow channel,
sufficiently large, however, to insure the renewal of the
water, the Little Sea (piccolo mare) presents the most
favourable conditions for the production of shell-fish. The
productiveness of this portion of the coasts of the Ionian
sea is proverbial ; fish and shell-fish of all kinds occur
there in abundance, and in addition to the species which
are also common to the Mediterranean and the Atlantic
coasts of Europe, it likewise possesses certain other
varieties peculiar to itself. The Little Sea, which is quite
well sheltered from the sea winds by the eminence on which
the city of Tarente stands, is also protected against the
winds from the interior by the range of hills in the midst
of which it lies. It measures twelve miles in circumference,
and is six miles wide in its broadest part, that is, from the

666 OYSTERS, AND ALL ABOUT THEM.

gate of Naples to the convent of San Francisco (Battentiere).
Its waters are pure ; the bottom is composed of calcareous
sands, and the shores at intervals are covered with sea-
weed, which the fishermen do not molest, and in which
many different species of fish come to spawn and find
shelter. The depth of the Little Sea is relatively great and
its shores are narrow. In its deepest part it measures 17^
to 1 8 meters (about 55 feet). At 2 or 3 meters from the
shore (6 to 10 feet) it is about i meter (3^ feet) deep, and
thence it gradually deepens until at 200 meters (650 feet)
from the shore it is about 6 meters (19^ feet) deep. Seven
small streams whose sources are near at hand flow into the
Little Sea, five into the upper part and two into the lower.
The most important of these are the Galesio, the Oro, so
called from the particles of gold brought down by it, the
Battentiere, and the Adeja. The Little Sea receives, more-
over, the waters of submarine springs, one of which, the
Citrello, has been pointed out by geographers and is very
well known ; it rises nearly in the middle of the sea at a
great depth, but with such force as to agitate the surface
over a space more than 100 meters (325 feet) in diameter.
The quantity of water supplied by this spring must be con-
siderable, and it is even conjectured by some to be a
veritable river which rises there. It is these bodies of
fresh water that insure the prosperity of pisciculture ; for
during the months of July and August the heat is so great
at Tarente and the evaporation so rapid in the Little Sea,
that the water would soon become too salt for the oysters to
live in it.

The temperature of the water in the Little Sea rises in
summer to 27 and 28 C., and even higher at times; on
the 1 5th of September, at 7 o'clock in the morning, my
thermometer indicated 25 C. Its density varies greatly,

OYSTER CULTURE IN ITALY. 667

according as the examinations are made near to or at a
distance from the places where the fresh water enters ;
three or four hundred meters (975 to 1,300 feet) below
where the Citrello emerges I found the hydrometer indi-
cated 2 J, while over the oyster and mussel pares it marked
from 2f- to 3 ; in the roadstead, which likewise receives
the fresh water of the Citro, and near which are situated the
oyster beds that furnish the young oysters, I found an
indication of 3. It was not without astonishment that I
became convinced that oysters could live and thrive in
water as warm as that of the small sea of Tarente ; for it
had generally been admitted that their preservation was im-
possible in water exceeding 23 or 24 C.* In support of
this assertion it was customary to refer to the oysters of
Lake Fusaro, which died in large numbers whenever the
temperature of the water reached such a height as this.
But in reply it may be argued that the oysters of Lake
Fusaro die rather in consequence of the action of volcanic
emanations, or of sulphurous gases, which, under the
influence of a high temperature, escape from the decaying
animal and vegetable remains accumulated at the bottom
of the lake. From this fact it is evident that the heat of
the water on the French Mediterranean coast is not as
insurmountable an obstacle to the establishment of oyster
pares as has been asserted.

The Little Sea of Tarente is leased by the city to a
company that pays for it an annual rental of 38,000 francs
($i i, 600). The oyster pares are situated in the lower part,
where the currents unite, always bringing with them fresh
nourishment and an ever-changing supply of water. They
are in number, twenty-one. Each oyster pare measures

* Professor Oronzio Gabrielle Costa, Del Fusaro.

668 OYSTERS, AND ALL ABOUT THEM.

from three to four hundred paces on each side. The pares
are farmed out by the company to the fishermen, who
devote themselves to the culture of the molluscs, at the rate
of one franc (20 cents) per seven palmes (about 6 feet).
All concessions are marked off by strong posts driven into
the bottom. In the spaces included within this first line of
division there are other parallel lines of posts, arranged at
intervals of fourteen palmes (about 12 feet). Of their uses
we shall hear more further on.

The arrangement of oyster pares is like that of the
pares for mussels, with this difference, that they do not
generally extend quite so far into the sea. Beyond certain
depths oyster culture presents great difficulties and entails
great expense. These pares are divided by stakes into
equal squares of fourteen palmes (12 feet) on each side.
They are entirely devoted to the raising of oysters. Breed-
ing cannot succeed there on account of the large quantity
of mud brought down by the current into the lower part of
the Little Sea. Nevertheless, the adult oysters accomplish
their generative functions there ; but the young ones, on
leaving the mother oyster, do not find collectors suitable
to receive them and fall down upon the muddy bottom ;
the stakes of the pares and the cords which they sustain
are speedily covered with a thin layer of mud, which pre-
vents the young oysters from adhering. Moreover, in the
upper portion of the Little Sea isolated oysters, called
" horse-feet," are sometimes found in the natural state, and
these seem to leave traces of their spawning, doubtless on
account of the purity of the water and the cleanliness of
the bottom. But these molluscs are constantly displaced
by the currents, and it would be quite hazardous to count
upon a regular harvest of young ones. This kind of oyster,
which is still found in very small numbers in the roadstead,

OYSTER CULTURE IN ITALY. 669

is highly esteemed by the Tarentians, who sell them for 15
to 50 centimes (f- to 2% cents) apiece. The beds near
which the oyster culturists of Tarente have placed their
collectors are situated in the large sea. It is not known
whether these beds are of large extent or merely small
aggregations ; their exact limits as well as their actual
situations are unknown. In the month of Way the fisher-
men submerge fascines about two miles from the shore to
serve as collectors. Stones attached to cords serve to keep
them down at a suitable depth in the water, and they are
found and recognized by means of pieces of floating cork.
The fascines are examined fortnightly or monthly. Those
which do not have a sufficient quantity of young oysters
upon them are returned to the water after they have been
cleaned of the mud that may have collected between the
branches, and of all parasites which may have grown there-
on, by leaving them exposed, for one or two days, to the
heat of the sun. Those, on the contrary, on which the
young oysters have attached themselves in large numbers,
are immediately transferred to the pares of the Little Sea.
The spawning season in the Gulf of Tarente is of ex-
ceptional length ; it begins early in May and does not end
until the close of September ; and the yield, dependent
upon the character of the year, may be abundant either at
the begining, at the middle, or at the end of this period ;
there is nothing fixed as regards this. Upon their arrival
at the pare the fascines are suspended from cords stretched
from one stake to another, and kept in the water at a depth
of one, two, or three meters (3 to 10 feet). After having
been there six months, the young oysters have already
attained a length of two or three centimeters (about an
inch). The time has now come to give them more space,
and to place them under more immediate oversight ; the

670 OYSTERS, AND ALL ABOUT THEM.

fascines are untied, the branches taken apart, and those
bearing oysters are placed between perpendicular cords
similar to those used for mussels. The young oysters which
are detached during this operation are placed either in
baskets, on screens, or in nets suspended from the horizontal
ropes, but never on the bottom. This system of breeding
avoids general mortality. At least every four months the
cables and other apparatus carrying the young oysters are
taken up and examined. Those oysters which have become
large enough to sell are removed, and advantage is taken
of this opportunity to give those which ought to remain
some time longer in the pare the cleaning and care which
they need. The growth of the oyster takes place rapidly
and regularly ; from two to two and a half years suffice for
the young oysters to reach a diameter of from 7 to 8 centi-
meters (about 3 inches).

The oyster of Tarente is of good growth ; its shell is
usually rather thick, this being due to the great amount
of calcareous matter contained in the sea-water. This
peculiarity, however, in no way impairs the regularity of
its form.

The number of oysters obtained each year from the
pares of Tarente is estimated at about 10,000,000. Before
forwarding them they are exposed to the air for twenty-four
hours, in order that they may be the more easily cleaned
afterwards. The sale of oysters is absolutely free, whatever
may be their size, or the season. But it is unnecessary to
state that during the summer, the period of gestation,
oysters are never sold. It is, moreover, to the advantage
of the fishermen that their oysters should have attained a
good size before being offered for sale.

The prosperity of the fishermen of Tarente is unfortu-
nately disturbed from time to time. From a volcanic

OYSTER CULTURE IN ITALY. 671

excavation situated below the convent of St. Antoine, and
which is obstructed during long periods of time, surges
sometimes a boiling sulphurous spring, which flows down
into the Little Sea. As soon as this phenomenon manifests
itself, consternation spreads among this population of ten
thousand fishermen, who live exclusively upon the products
of the sea. The Little Sea then takes a reddish tint ; the
water of the springs, lighter than that of the sea, is rapidly
transported by the currents. The fish are able to flee from
this pest, but the oyster, the mussel, and shell-fish in
general are quickly poisoned. When the water is in this
state the fishermen call it "the sea of blood." This
fortunately happens only at rare intervals; but, nevertheless,
within the past twelve years it has taken place twice ;
formerly it had become almost a legend, for it had not
"occurred within the memory of man. (3)

TOULON.

The roadstead of Toulon presents, on first examination,
most favourable natural conditions for the cultivation of

(b) The work lately undertaken in Norway by Lieutenant-General
Wergeland, formerly Minister of War, enables us to further extend the
comparative study of the methods of oyster-culture in the different seas.

There are remarkable differences between the processes in use in
the Mediterranean and in the ocean, but these differences can only be
the more sensibly realized if we go as far as the North Sea. Hitherto,
Vivier-sur-Mer, in the Bay of Mont-Saint-Michel, seemed to be the
most northern limit where oyster-culture assumed all its phases, for, if
at certain more northern points on the Norman coasts, and at a few
stations on the southern and eastern coasts of England, young oysters
have been taken by the aid of scientific appliances, the means of
preserving the spawn are still to be discovered, and these experiments
have not been practically applied.

In connection with the above see the Chapter on " Oyster-Culture
in Norway."

6 72 OYSTERS, AND ALL ABOUT THEM.

oysters, mussels, and edible shell-fish in general. All the
edible species common to the Mediterranean occur there,
and it produced, moreover, in the early part of the present
century, very fine oysters. Gradually, however, the exhaus-
tion of the natural beds there began to be felt, as was the
case with most of the banks along our coasts, and the
deposits which had been of considerable importance were
speedily exhausted. The oysters now taken at Toulon are
isolated ones found in the crevices of the rocks.

Did the ruin of these banks arise from excessive and
unlimited fishing, or must we attribute it, as at Brest, to the
successive transformations which the submarine soil must
have undergone, in consequence of the great works per-
formed in the bay, and the repeated dredgings which stirred
up the sand and the mud, and covered up the solid objects
to which the oysters might have attached themselves ? All
have, doubtless, contributed to this result ; but it is certain
that at the same time the oysters disappeared, several other
edible shell-fish, the mussel, for instance, became rare, and
certain migratory fish which usually visited the shores of
Toulon, as well as some stationary species, deserted the
coast. This state of affairs aroused the solicitude of the
marine administration. The labors of M. Coste had just
then been meeting with great favor in France. Numerous
attempts to introduce into our waters the oyster-cultural
methods, brought by that gentleman from Italy, were
repeated at various points along our sea-coast. The task of
renewing the oyster banks of the roadstead of Toulon, and
making of oyster-cultural experiments there, was confided to
M. Coste about the year 1859. He proceeded in the follow-
ing manner: Spawning oysters, with which he hoped to
accomplish the restocking, were brought from England and
Arcachon, and planted, some at points that had been

OYSTER CULTURE IN ITALY. 673

previously explored, and found to be most favorable for the
preservation and increase of the mollusk, especially near
Seyne, the others in suspended baskets. Collectors,
consisting of fascines or pieces of wood, were placed around
the reproducing oysters. The oysters distributed in the
improvised parks and those contained in the baskets acted
differently; the latter spawned abundantly, and grew rapidly
during the entire summer ; the others spawned but little,
or at least their spawn was without vitality ; they thrived
miserably during the season following their spawning, and
finally perished. This was the fate of them all. This
result, though not a negative one, having been deemed
unsatisfactory, the experiments were, too hastily perhaps,
abandoned.

In order that the fatal influences should not always
exist as a check, to oyster culture in the Mediterranean in
the future, it is expedient to seek the causes that have led
to them. In the first place, it must be remembered that
M. Coste could not do everything. He had charge, simul-
taneously, of the attempts at oyster culture in the ocean and
the restocking of our fresh-water streams ; he was organizing
a model fish-cultural establishment at Huningue, at the
same time that he was pursuing in his laboratory at the
College of France scientific researches, which he afterwards
made known in his lectures; finally, he was engaged in the
preparation of interesting reports. He was thus unable to
observe with all the necessary assiduity the different phases
of the experiment, to watch its progress, and to modify it
in case of need. Notwithstanding the zeal and activity
displayed by the persons to whom he had given his
instructions, were they competent to fill the place of the
master? Secondly, would it not have been preferable to

choose as reproducers oysters from the Mediterranean,

w

674 OYSTERS, AND ALL ABOUT THEM.

instead of the English oyster, whose fine quality and powers
of rapid growth and fattening were incontestable, or the
" gravette r ' of Arcachon, with its fine shape and exquisite
flavor ? These oysters being accustomed to the waters of
the ocean, which differ greatly both as regards saltness
and temperature from those of the Mediterranean, it could
not be expected that they would become acclimated with-
out difficulty, and that the regularity with which reproduction
took place in their native water would not be interrupted.
The proof that these oysters were not suited to this place
is the fact that no trace of them now remains there, while
the indigenous kind, although few in numbers, it is true,
has survived. It has been objected that the varieties may
have become confounded in one type, or, that those planted
at Toulon may have become transformed and have acquired
the character of the native oysters.

The first objection is very easily refuted. It is probable
that the foreign variety may have undergone some modifi-
cation, but this could not have been great enough to have
deceived the experienced eye of a naturalist.

From these facts it must not be inferred that the
acclimation of foreign oysters is neither possible nor
advantageous. There are precedents which demonstrate
the contrary, and it will be sufficient to remind the reader
that the American oyster (Ostrea virginiand] has prospered
well in the basin of Arcachon ; that the Portuguese oyster
(Ostrea angulata) now reproduces naturally in the lower
Gironde, just as it does at Arcachon, and that it does not
suffer from its forced residence in the parks of Saint Vaast-
la-Hougue, where the water is very considerably colder
than it is at the mouth of the Tage, of which this oyster is
a native. In the third place, some indispensable precautions

OYSTER CULTURE IN ITALY. 675

had been neglected. Thus, when the oysters were immersed,
instead of being distributed and separated from one another,
they were piled up in thick layers in the parks. It is known
that the accumulation of too many individuals at one point
is disastrous, unless the conditions for aerating the water
are exceptionally favourable. The spawning oysters were
also exposed to many other dangers. First, their habitation
was soon invaded by mussels. This is by no means of rare
occurrence ; it takes place whenever the oyster and mussel
are brought too near together. In the next place, on
account of the difficulty of keeping the place of experiment
perfectly clean, owing to the absence of tides in the Medi-
terranean, the mud and sand, constantly kept in motion by
the currents, accumulated by turns, and the reproducing
oysters which suffered at the outset, as shown by the small
development which they acquired in their parks, finally
perished. It is the opinion that this experiment should
not be considered as decisive of what can be done in oyster
culture upon our southern shores. I think that if it were
tried again with the more certain methods now employed
the results would doubtless be encouraging. It is private
enterprise, however, that should take the initiative, for to
that in large part is due the great progress realized in the
ocean, and the creation of oyster culture in France.

As I have before remarked, two varieties of oysters live
naturally in the roadstead of Toulon (c). First, there is
the Ostrep plicatula, which also occurs at Genoa, Naples,
and on the coast of Africa ; and, second, the common

(c) It is pretty generally admitted that the oyster called the " Pied
de Cheval " does not constitute a distinct species. It is supposed to
be a common oyster that has grown old and large.

W 2

676 OYSTERS, AND ALL ABOUT THEM.

Mediterranean oyster found at Narbonne, Port-de-Bouc,
Aigues-Mortes, in the enclosures of Leucate, as well as at
Tarente, and in the Adriatic at Brindisi and Venice. The
first is a small oyster, which lives isolated or in groups
attached to the rocks. It never forms, however, what is
known as an oyster-bed ; at least none are known on the
coasts of France and Italy. The shell is small, rough, and
irregular, seldom exceeding a large walnut in size. Its
interior is pearly and of a slightly greenish tint, and the
lower valve is very deep. This oyster is of an exceptionally
fine flavour, which causes it to be much sought for. It is
quite uncommon at Toulon. The second, if it were care-,
fully parked and cared for, would not, as regards fineness
and quality, be inferior to the best on our ocean coasts,
and might compare favourably with the oysters of any
region. The oysters of the pond of Leucate, the very rare
ones taken at Narbonne and in the vicinity of the islands
of Hyeres, with those of the roadstead of Toulon, are the
finest and best furnished by the Mediterranean. When
properly cared for in a pare they attain a size of from 10 to
12 centimeters (4 to 4.5- inches). The shell becomes light,
translucent, hard, and well enamelled on the inside ; it
emits a sound like crystal upon being struck. The lines of
growth are indicated on the exterior by slight and delicate
tubular folds. The oyster is well shaped, without being too
large or too fat, and its exquisite flavour has earned for it
a great reputation among the people of the south, a repu-
tation which would not be merely local if oyster culture
was in favour in the Mediterranean. Finally, I will add
that between the Quimper oyster, which is excellent and of
high repute, and the oyster of Toulon or Leucate, there
exists the greatest analogy.

OYSTER CULTURE IN ITALY. 677

PENINSULA OF GIENS.
ESTABLISHMENT or MESSRS. GASQUET.

Messrs. Gasquet were the first to seriously attempt
putting into execution the happy idea of cultivating other
shell-fish than the oyster and mussel, and the experiments
which they have been making, with the most painstaking
and laudable efforts, since the beginning of the year 1877,
on the north coast of the Peninsula of Giens, deserve to be
made known. The oyster and the mussel are also among
the molluscs raised at Giens. This marine establishment
has been founded on the banks of a concession, measuring
not less than 10 hectares (25 acres). The shores slope
gently, and the sea-weed, with which they are almost
everywhere covered, converts them, as it were, into marine
meadows, similar to the " crassats" of Arcachon, which are
known at Toulon by the name of "'mates''' The soil is
formed of a mixture of clay, sand, and calcareous deposits.
The proximity of aquatic plants for the raising of shell-fish
and other fish offers undeniable advantages, particularly in
the Mediterranean. In the ocean the breeding pares are,
at times, almost entirely uncovered, and the tide furnishes
them with well aerated water. The tide also brings to the
shell-fish confined there abundant and fresh food from all
directions. The case is different in the Mediterranean.
At less than 50 meters (160 feet) from the shore, except
during storms, the bottom is never brought into contact
with the outer air, and the animals which have not the
power of locomotion are forced to feed on little else than
what grows upon the bottom within a very restricted area.
But in the present case aquatic plants tend to render less
noticeable the effects resulting from the absence of tides.
They always set free a small quantity of oxygen and pro-

678 OYSTERS AND ALL ABOUT THEM.

duce multitudes of microscopic insects, which furnish food
to other animals. These were not the only considerations
which induced the Messrs. Gasquet to establish themselves
on the Peninsula of Giens. The numerous kinds of shell-
fish which took refuge in the gulf and the fine oysters
occasionally found there were indications of the possibility
of success.

In connection with the experiments of acclimation
which the Messrs. Gasquet have made on the shell-fish
brought from Cette, experiments which have given the
most favourable results, I have thought it would be inter-
esting to make known the chemical composition of the
waters of the breeding-pares. The following is an analysis
made in the laboratory of M. Schutzenberg, a professor in
the College of France :

Sodium and Potassium . . . . . . . . 1 1-02

Chlorine and bromine .. .. .. .. 21-61

Magnesia 3-03

Sulphuric acid .. .. .. .. .. 5-12

Residuum for i liter (about I quart 61 cubic inches) 41-28

With some slight differences, the water at Cette resem-
bles that at Giens. This fact must be borne in mind, for
it shows that the acclimation of foreign species can only be
obtained without difficulty, when the medium whence those
species are taken closely resembles that in which they are
to be placed. The water of the roadstead has a density of
3 by the hydrometer ; its temperature is very variable ; it
attains, and even exceeds, 24. This is not, however, an
unfavourable condition. Under the action of the heat and
the beneficial influence of the rain-water, the shell-fish
rapidly develop.

OYSTER CULTURE IN ITALY. 679

M. Louis Figuier (" Ocean World," p. 17.) informs us
that " The water of the Mediterranean contains more
salts than that of the ocean.

The following are, according to M. Usiglio who was
one of a commission sent to examine the different kinds of
salt water in the south of France the component parts of
100 gallons of Mediterranean water.

Ibs.

Chloride of sodium .. .. .. .. 29-524

' Chloride of potassium . . . . . . . . 0-405

Chloride of magnesium .. .. .. 3' 2I 9

Sulphate of magnesia .. .. .. .. 2 '477

Chloride of calcium . . . . . . . . 6-oSo

Sulphate of lime .. .. .. .. I 'S57

Carbonate of lime .. .. .. .. 0-114

Bromide of sodium . . . . . . . . '3S6

Protoxide of iron .. .. .. . , 0-003

43735

The density of the water of the Mediterranean is,
according to M. Usiglio, 1*025 when at the temperature of

7 o.

The reason why the Mediterranean contains more
salts than that of the ocean, is because the quantity of
fresh water brought into it by rivers is less than that lost by
evaporation. The Mediterranean must therefore grow
salter with time, unless its water is discharged into the
ocean by a counter current, which would run under the
current coming from the Atlantic by the Straits of
Gibraltar."

A gallon of sea- water contains usually 2,500 grains of
saline matter, of which 1,890 grains consist of common
salt. (" Bloxam's Chemistry.")

68O OYSTERS, AND ALL ABOUT THEM.

Sea-water contains in solution the gaseous, mineral,
vegetable, and animal substances present in the waters of
the rivers which flow into the sea. These remain behind
when the surface water of the sea is evaporated, as it is
continuously, by the heat of the sun, hence perhaps one of
the causes of the present highly saline condition of the sea.
On the other hand, sea-plants and fishes are always
abstracting solid matter from the sea, and adding to
submarine deposits. Probably the sea gains access or has
gained to soluble saline deposits such as those now oocur-
ing in the beds or mines of salt of our own country, and in
the beds or mines containing many saline chemical sub-
stances now worked in Prussia. The suspended matters in
the affluent rivers slowly settle in the sea, and, with the
shells and skeletons of animals, &c., no doubt slowly raise
its floor.

The dissolved solids in sea-water with their names and
proportions are shown in the following Table. The
different rates of evaporation from the surface of the sea in
tropical as compared with polar regions, and in compara-
tively quiet as compared with boisterous seas, and the
influence of dilution by the fresh water of contiguous
rivers, causes some variation in the composition of the
water of different seas and of different portions of the same
sea. The saline taste of sea-water is due chiefly to the
large proportion of common salt present, four and a half
ounces per gallon, its bitterish character to the magnesium
salts. Its greater buoyancy than fresh water is due to its
greater density, one gallon weighing rather more than ten
pounds and a quarter as againt ten pounds in the case of
pure water; in other words, in comparison with 1000 parts
of pure water, the specific gravity is 1027^-.

OYSTER CULTURE IN ITALY.

68l

COMPOSITION OF SEA-WATER.

(The figures show parts per thousand by weight.
Multiplied by 72 they would show grains per gallon.
Specific gravity 1027^-.)

British Channel.

Mediterranean.

Water

(Schweitzer.)
963-741;

(Usiglio.)
962-341:

Chloride of sodium

28-059

29-424

Chloride of potassium

0-766

o-x

Chloride of magnesium

3-666

3-219

Bromide of magnesium

0-029

o-c;6

Sulphate of magnesium

2-296

2-477

Sulphate of calcium

1-406

i"? 57

Carbonate of calcium

0-033

0-114

Iodine

traces

Ammonia

traces

Oxide of iron

0-003

Total . .

lOOO'OOO

1000-000

Traces of silver, lead, copper, &c., have been detected in sea-water.

The industry of Messrs. Gasquet, consists in the
breeding and rearing of the following species : the oyster,
the common mussel and the red mussel, the " double praire"
(Venus verrucosaj, the " simple praire ' (Card it a side at a],
the "clovisse" of Toulon (Tapes decussata\ and the "clovisse"
of Cette (Tapes textiirata], the edible sea-urchin (Toxop-
neustes lividus], and the " violet' 1 '' (Ascidia cynthia).

As we see, the industry which the Messrs. Gasquet,
are attempting to create has an economic bearing, for it
supplies a demand. The pares on the peninsula of Gien
are all surrounded by stakes driven into the bottom, and to
these hurdles are attached. This kind of enclosure serves
the double purpose of presenting an obstacle to the waves,
which beat on the coast, and of acting as a collector or
place of refuge for the spat of the shell-fish. Within the
pares have been placed other collectors, consisting of stones

682 OYSTERS, AND ALL ABOUT THEM.

and tiles covered with a coating of hydraulic cement, which
renders it possible, when the time has arrived, to remove
the oysters from the place of attachment ; this may be
accomplished without the slightest difficulty.

The oysters which Messrs. Gasquet, have introduced
into their concession came from Arcachon ; the largest on
their arrival, measured about 4 centimeters (i^ inches) in
diameter ; the others were still attached to the collectors.
They were imported and parked in the spring of last year,
and at once rapidly grew to be one centimeter in size. But
since the manifestation of this first growth, until the month
of September, at which time I visited the establishment at
Giens, they had remained stationary, and moreover had
given no signs of reproducing. There is nothing strange
in this, for it must be considered that these oysters, which
were still rather young for spawning, had, besides, under-
gone the fatigue of a long journey ; the time they have
taken to recover themselves coincides precisely with that
of their growth and spawning. It is also necessary to add
that a drier year than that of 1877 has been rarely seen.
During more than four months the water of the roadstead
of Giens, naturally salt, has not received the slightest ad-
dition of rain water. In spite of this fact very few oysters
have perished. This is important and promises well for the
future.

Messrs. Gasquet, like practical men, do not propose
to limit their experiments to the oyster of Arcachon ; this
year they are going to obtain a supply of Portuguese oysters
and of oysters native to the ponds of Corsica. They have
taken advantage of the winter season to make important
improvements in their pares. Having learned of the ex-
cellent results obtained by distributing shells and sand over
the bottom of the pares, they have, like Messrs. Mauduit

OYSTER CULTURE IN ITALY. 683

and Solminihac, at Belon, carried calcareous sand mixed
with clay to that part of their establishment where the
young oysters are to be quartered. Boxes, such as are
agreeable to the fry, ingeniously arranged, have been con-
structed to receive the young oysters and other valuable
shell-fish, whose small size would expose them to the attacks
of their enemies. If in the experiments made at Giens,
nothing conclusive has been decided as regards the oyster,
mussels have succeeded perfectly. They have grown very
large during the past year, and have multiplied in a large
proportion. Their spat was so abundant that it was found
attached in quantity to a net several hundred meters (a
meter is 3^ feet) from the breeding beds. The hurdles
surrounding the pare and the slates which served as col-
lectors were also well covered with them.

Such is the result of the fortunate experiments made
by Messrs. Gasquet, in their marine establishment at Giens.
If, as it is to be hoped, shell-fish culture comes to take its
place among the new industries, to them will be due the
honour of having taken the initiative and of having marked
out the path to be followed.

BERRE, CARONTE, THAU, LEUCATE, AND AGAY.

In view of the large extent, 20,000 hectares (50,000
acres) of water known as Lake Berre, it is astonishing that
human industry has not yet taken possession of this little
sea, which, in many respects, is to the Mediterranean what
the basin of Arcachon is to the ocean. By its situation
and close proximity to large centres, which would afford a
market for its productions, and by the richness of its
marine fauna, Lake Berre \vould seem destined to occupy
an important place in fish culture.

684 OYSTERS, AND ALL ABOUT THEM.

Lake Berre presents the best conditions for the breed-
ing of edible shell-fish and other fish. The clovisse, the
praire, &c., live there naturally ; mussels of an excellent
quality are sufficiently abundant to make it profitable for
forty boats to spend a large part of their time in fishing for
them. Nor is the oyster a total stranger to this locality,
for some were formerly found there, and in the neighbour-
hood, near Port-de-Bouc, very fine ones still exist. The
shores are formed of shell sand, very rich in lime, and in
many places are covered with marine plants common to the
most fertile oyster-cultural stations of the ocean, such as
Marennes, Tremblade, the island of Oleron, &c. The lake
receives several streams and rivers, and numerous pure and
fresh springs are found on its banks. Its water, which is
neither too salt nor too fresh, never attains an excessive
temperature so as to endanger the life of the aquatic
animals which industry might confide to it. Its density is
very variable ; in the month of October, 1877, towards the
centre of the lake it ranged from 2. 8 to 3, and on the
banks it was about 2. 5 to 2. 6.

Lake Berre would not, however, in all its parts serve
for the culture of shell-fish or for the establishment of fish-
cultural reserves ; in the first place those localities must be
excepted which are too deep, or at too great a distance
from the shore, and those in which such violent currents
prevail as to render it impossible, as shown by experience,
to maintain there pieces of apparatus, and, finally, the
localities which are most exposed to the northwest winds.
But there are to the west some sections of coast where
violent winds and currents rarely prevail, and it is on one
of these that the commissioner of maritime registry at Mar-
tigues has established a pare, by way of experiment, to
attempt the acclimation, breeding, and raising of oysters.

OYSTER CULTURE IN ITALY. 685

The experiments are still in their infancy, but they promise
a successful issue. The oysters that have been used were
taken in the vicinity of Port-de-Bouc. They were first
placed in baskets submerged at a suitable depth, quickly
attained great vigour, and soon lost the salty and somewhat
muddy taste which they had on leaving the se-a ; but still
more important, not a single loss occurred. The experi-
ment was made only with reference to the oyster, but an
incident occurred which leaves no doubt as to the possibility
of artificially cultivating the mussel in the lake of Berre.
The baskets in which the oysters had been imprisoned,
when placed in the water, at spawning time were covered
in a few days with small mussels.

Let us seek to discover then (for it cannot require a
great deal of time or money), the apparatus to be used in
Lake Berre, in order to collect and preserve the spat of this
mollusc : let the system of ropes which is used at Tarente
and Fusaro with so much success again be tried, if, in this
case, the crawls and the rafts do not succeed, and when the
proper apparatus shall have been found there is a strong
probability, not to say certainty (as is proved by what I have
said above, especially if the rational rules which have been
pointed out by science and practice be observed, and if
suitable localities be chosen), that mussel culture will be
established there, and attain all the prosperity which has
been attained by the sister industry, oyster-culture, at
Arcachon and in the sea of Morbihan.

Below Lake Berre is Lake Caronte, as rich in shell-fish
and other fish as the first named, and finally Port-de-Bouc,
where oyster-cultural experiments were made by M. Viand;
but a dry summer coming, the oysters all perished. Since
Caronte and Port-de-Bouc were placed in more perfect
communication with Lake Berre, however, the fishermen

686 OYSTERS, AND ALL ABOUT THEM.

have remarked that certain kinds of edible shell-fish which
had become very scarce have reappeared in large numbers.

Of the section reaching from the gulf of Fos to Lake
Thau there is nothing to be said. In the latter, in 1865 and
in 1866, M. Coste caused oysters to be placed at points
chosen by himself. He wished to restore to these fine
sheets of water the oysters which had disappeared from
them, and to make Lake Thau an adjunct of the basin of
Arcachon. M. Coste had analyzed the water and found its
composition to be favourable. The first result did not
deceive his expectation. The oysters soon attained a large
size and acquired strength and flavour. They propagated
perfectly, and the spat attached itself to the fagots arranged
for that purpose and to a central rock, which became
covered with them. I will remark in passing that the
breeding of the clovisse has been very successful there. It
is, therefore, an established fact that the oyster is capable of
living and multiplying its kind in Lake Thau. How does it
happen, then, that private industry has not been induced to
come there also by the success of this first attempt, and
that it should have forsaken a work so full of promise ? It
would, in the future, receive compensation for its labours
there.

Among the other maritime stations where it would
seem oyster culture might be profitably carried on, I will
mention Lake Leucate, which has already been pointed out
by Messrs. Coste and Gerbe as likely to become an oyster-
cultural centre, and where, not long ago, there were
well-stocked oyster-beds, producing splendid oysters of
rare beauty and delicacy of flavour, the finest, perhaps, to
be found in the Mediterranean.

The waters of this lake, a large portion of which is
sheltered from the winds, is mixed to a suitable extent

OYSTER CULTURE IN ITALY. 687

with fresh water. The soil is rich in lime, and shell-fish of
all kinds abound. But the level of Lake Leucate is not
always constant ; according as there is a drought or freshet
its extent varies from six to eight thousand hectares
(15,000 and 20,000 acres). It would, therefore, be neces-
sary to take every precaution to prevent the inconveniences
that would result to the oyster culturists from the changes
in level.

Retracing my steps I will pass abruptly from the shore
of Languedoc to that of the farther Provence. I will
mention, as a reminder merely, the gulf of Saint-Tropez,
where M. Coste made unsuccessful attempts, which may
be tried again some day. Then I will stop at a little
station which I particularly noticed in the course of my
mission, and which seemed to me to unite all the natural
conditions desirable for new and decisive experiments in
oyster culture in the Mediterranean, namely, the bay of
Agay. It is not surprising that it had escaped the attention
of M. Coste in his explorations, for at that time it was far
removed from all lines of communication, and frequented
only by the fishermen of that section, or visited by
barques in distress. Now it is on the line of the railway
that connects Marseilles with Genoa. The water of the
bay of Agay extends into a locality where it is protected
from the north-west and north winds. As it communicates
with the sea through a narrow entrance it is likewise
protected on that side from the south winds, which are so
terrible in autumn. A stream brings into it a tribute of
fresh water, thus increasing the chances of success. An
experiment made at a given point in the bay of Agay, with
selected oysters, suited to the nature of the water, a pare
well arranged, well kept, and well watched, an experienced
man to follow up with attention and perseverance the

688 OYSTERS, AND ALL ABOUT THEM.

various phases of this experiment, would show definitely,
I think, what might be obtained by oyster culture on our
southern coasts. If the experiment was successful, as there
is every reason to suppose it would be, it would form a
starting point of information, calculated to establish
oyster-cultural industry in the Mediterranean.

CONCLUSIONS.

Last year I stated with legitimate satisfaction that the
industry of oyster culture in the ocean,, although in its
infancy, was in a flourishing condition, and secured the
existence on our shores of a maritime population of
200,000 souls. What a different spectacle is presented
between Port Vendres and Marseilles. At the former
place it is the picture of a commercial life asserting itself
the dawn of prosperity. I have seen an entire fishing
population engaged with indefatigable activity in all the
labours demanded by the culture of the molluscs, certain
of finding there the reward of their efforts. At the latter
one sees barren lakes,, a deserted beach, and an impover-
ished sea.

The causes of the decadence of our southern shores
are extremely numerous and varied, and it is not for me to
examine them all. The principal causes are doubtless
geological ones. The alluvium transported by the rivers
flowing into the Gulf of Lyons, the total volume of which
exceeds 20,000,000 cubic meters (705,600,000 cubic feet)
per annum, has caused a displacement of the shore line,
the formation of lagoons, their progressive filling up, and
their transformation into marshes which have become
hotbeds of dangerous fevers. The fish, whose spawning
grounds were constantly buried beneath the mud, sought a
more stable shore, and man finally was obliged to flee from

OYSTER CULTURE IN ITALY. 689

its pestilential atmosphere. Now the general situation is
daily improving. The direction and the place of deposit
of the alluvium is known, the portions of the shore which
must be abandoned to the geological phenomena have
been circumscribed, and engineers are successfully resisting
the filling up of the lagoons. Many marshes, moreover,
have disappeared through the action of time, and man has
dried several. The influence of the marshes has diminished
in intensity since then ; and the laws of hygiene, now
better understood, renders it possible to combat more
effectually the paludal poisoning. Thus the reclaimed
lands are beginning to be peopled again, but the popula-
tion is exclusively agricultural. It is useful, doubtless, to
bring these shores, which have been reclaimed from the
water, under cultivation, with a view to rendering them
healthy, and rescuing them from sterility. But why not
open a yet larger field to the activity of the people, who
never fail to improve every new source of making a for-
tune, and give them these aquatic fields, which, like the
land, can receive seed and yield a harvest ? Does not the
sea support multitudes of creatures which man may utilize
as an important part of his food, provided he knows how
to apply them to his use, not only by maintaining them
under his hand, but, also, by encouraging their growth
and multiplication according to well-known laws ?

Reasons of the greatest importance, especially in view
of their relation to the public maintenance, impose upon
us daily more and more the necessity of placing under a
regular system of cultivation the domain of the fluvial and
maritime waters. As regards the rivers and streams, this
necessity was long ago made known, and the art of culti-
vating fish is not unknown to us ; whereas maritime fish
culture, properly so called, has as yet received no attention.

690 OYSTERS, AND ALL ABOUT THEM.

I desire, therefore, to call public attention to the subject of
restocking the lagoons by fish culture, as well as to the
necessity of restocking our rivers.

Oyster-culture in the Mediterranean does not seem to
me to promise so brilliant a future as on the Atlantic coast,
although some stations seem to offer all the conditions
recognized as indispensable to success.

The lagoons of Ferrare, Comacchio, and Venice may
be compared to Leucate, Thau, and those of Aigues-
Mortes. The inhabitants of the shore, however, have
derived great benefit from these salt lakes, and in this no
parallel can be drawn between the two. Whilst on the
French side nothing but solitude and neglect * is seen, the
Italians have not allowed to be lost the teachings in the
art of cultivating the sea which were transmitted to them
by the ancients. If, in the south, they practise oyster
culture as in the last days of the Roman republic, along
the Adriatic and in the Sardinia s they have applied them-
selves to the breeding and preservation of sea fish.

At Comacchio fish culture has from time immemorial
furnished material for a large export trade, and fisheries
are numerous in all the lagoons of the coast.

This is the example to be followed a profitable busi-
ness, in which one can engage without doubt of success.
The soil, the climate, the water being the same in the Gulf
of Venice as in the Gulf of Lyons, the processes need not
be sought for anew. The Italians succeeded with them :

* The average annual yield of the fisheries in Lake Thau amounts
to 300,000 francs (60,000 dois). This is an indication of a certain acti-
vity. (Lentheric, Villes mortes du Golfe de Lyon.)

OYSTER CULTURE IN ITALY. 691

why not apply them upon our Mediterranean shores ?
They might be speedily tested at little expense, and if
found imperfect in any way they could be quickly improved,
just as were the oyster-cultural processes brought from
Fusaro by M. Coste.

Let it not be forgotten that the number of fish brought
to our market is constantly diminishing. A part of the
north of France is dependent upon foreign countries for
its fishery supplies ; in the south, fish of fine quality would
be unknown if the coasts of Corsica and Sardinia, which
are still prosperous, did not furnish their quota. The
native fishery is insufficient to satisfy the demands of a
market which increases day by day, in proportion as rail-
road communication becomes more extended. It can with
great difficulty furnish Paris with little more than half the
fish consumed there, and still fresh sea-fish are considered
the favourite article of food ; a gale of wind is sufficient to
deprive Paris of its supply.* It is apprehended on all
sides that the time will arrive when fish, other than pre-
served fish, will be a luxury which the rich alone can
afford. This situation demands a prompt remedy. It has
seemed to be my duty to point out where it might be
found.

In an exceedingly kind letter I have just received from
Prof. Arthur Issel, who is one, if not the greatest authority
on ostra-culture in Italy, in which he tells me that since his
last publication two new establishments have been founded
in Italy for the rearing of oysters, one at Venice, under the
supervision of Conte Alesandro Ninni, the other at La
Spezzia, with which Prof. David Carazzi is occupied. In

* Maxime du Camp, loc, cit.

692 OYSTERS, AND ALL ABOUT THEM.

the latter establishment young oysters become attached to
fascines in the middle and at the mouth of the Gulf of
Spezzia, whence they are removed to the shallows accord-
ing to the system adopted at Taranto ; that the adhesion of
the young oysters to the fascines is difficult and incomplete,
but the growth eventually is exceedingly rapid, reaching
the dimensions of marketable oysters in one year ; the shell
is thinner and more fragile than those at Taranto, and they
generally have a rose tint on the interior of the shell.

O:

CHAPTER XXIX.

OYSTER CULTURE IN SPAIN, (a)

The Spanish, peninsula has 2920 kilometres of coast,
which, when considering the fisheries, can be divided into
three districts marked by nature by means of slight varia-
tions. The first is comprised between the French frontier
on the Bidasoa river and Mino limit of Portugal, forming
a total length of 1567 kilometres of coast. This is the part
most productive in fisheries industry, and fishing is carried
on by some steamers and chiefly by sailing vessels using
nets, lines, and hooks.

The culture of oyster and other mollusca, as well as the
protection and cultivation of lobsters, is carried on in that
part of Spain. There are also many private establishments
granted by Government to private individuals for the cul-
tivation of mollusca, chiefly oysters ; in consequence of this,
and with the Government's prevision of preventing the
depletion, we hope the ancient natural beds formerly so
rich and now nearly all exhausted by over-dredging will
again acquire their former wealth of mollusca.

(a) "The Fisheries of Spain," by Lieut. -Col. Francisco Garcia Sola.
Papers of the Conferences, held in connection with the great International
Fisheries Exhibition, 1883.

694 OYSTERS, AND ALL ABOUT THEM.

The Government is paying every attention to the matter,
and is laying down, at the expense of the nation, a model
pare of oyster culture in order to teach to those interested
in the subject the most modern processes for the cultiva-
tion of oysters, and so replenish with the products the
natural beds, now almost completely exhausted by, no doubt
culpable abuses.

This district possesses the most favourable conditions
that can be imagined for fisheries, because, owing to the
unevenness of the bottom of the sea, with an exception of
the estuaries, drag-nets cannot be used ; on account of the
geographical position formed by a line from east to west,
where the very many estuaries and small rivers deposit in
great abundance food for fish, due to the fertile lands that
they run through ; and so the inland estuaries favourable to
the increase of the production of fish, there are many good
elements given by nature to that privileged coast.

Some enterprising foreigners, encouraged by the
abusive capture of oysters which is allowed to take place in
Portugal, and by the high prices at which these molluscs
are valued on account of their large size, easy production,
and superior medicinal conditions attributed to them, intend
to utilise the natural beds, and so drag them, heedless of
all wasteful destruction ; but the Government has taken
notice of it, and never will permit any establishments
beyond those applied to the production of this favourite
mollusc.

In his " Basis for Legislation on Fishery Questions,"
Lieut. Col. Sola, speaking of the depletion of oysters in
Spain, says, when we speak of the depletion, or complete
exhaustion of fisheries, it must be understood that these
terms are not used in an absolute sense, but only so far as
they affect the supply for the use of mankind, or in other

OYSTER CULTURE IN SPAIN. 695

words, the output of the industry. The quantity of fish
may be diminished in two ways, in the one case when the
catch exceeds the reproduction, and in the other when the
fish are frightened away from the haunts of the fishermen.
I quite agree with the views so often expressed as to
the difficulties which have hitherto stood in the way of a
proper study of the life and habits of the inhabitants of the
sea, which is the only thing that would conduce to an early
solution of the problem ; but the experience gained from
ascertained facts concerning fisheries, throws enough light
to induce a conclusion, in any rational mind, in one or the
other direction.

With regard to sedentary species, I do not think there
is the least doubt that these can be exhausted by being
overfished, or by improper methods of fishing, since it is
clear that if a natural oyster-bed, for example, be dredged
constantly and no time left for its reproduction, it will
amount to the same thing as if one repeatedly dredged
stones or other inert material that is, the bottom would at
last be perfectly clear of them.

Such an obvious argument as this needs no confirmation
but if any such confirmation were needed, we might cite
what has occurred on the north-west coasts of Spain, where
until the beginning of the present century, so great was the
quantity of oysters in the beds that they were sold at four
cuartos, or a little more than one penny per hundred, while
the present price averages 1 2 pesetas, or 93. yd., for the same
quantity. Even if we take into account the small con-
sumption at that time, owing to the defective means of
communication, this circumstance is insufficient to explain
the enormous difference just mentioned, which points clearly
to the complete exhaustion of the beds.

CHAPTER XXX.

OYSTER CULTURE IN HOLLAND.

OYSTERS ONCE PLENTIFUL OVERFISHING ZEELAND THE SCHELDE
THE YERSEKE OYSTER-BEDS THE DUTCH ZOOLOGICAL STATION
LEASING OF PLOTS IMPORTANT DISCOVERIES RELATIVE TO
SPAT HOPEFUL EXPERIMENTS ARTIFICIAL FECUNDATION.

AT the International Fisheries Exhibition Conference
(London) on June zgth, 1883, Professor Hubrecht spoke
as follows :

About six weeks ago I had the advantage of being
present at a lecture " On Oysters and the Oyster Question,"
which was given at the Royal Institution by one of your
most eminent biologists, Professor Huxley.

It would be very presumptuous on my part to go over
the same ground once more, after that very able discourse
has come under the notice of you all, and I wish to limit
myself to a few statements concerning the oyster fisheries
and oyster-culture in the Netherlands.

Time was when oysters from natural oyster-beds were
very plentiful with us. These beds were situated, partly in
our Southern province of Zeeland, partly towards the North
in the inland sea which we call the Zuyderzee, at the spots
indicated on the map. The oysters were brought to market

OYSTER CULTURE IN HOLLAND. 697

in Amsterdam and were partly exported to Germany, at a
price which bears no comparison at all with what is at
present paid for them.

This having been the state of things a good many years
ago, it is a pity that we have to recognize the fact of one
of these natural beds being nearly destroyed. There is no
serious doubt but this destruction has come about by over-
fishing. The few oysters that are left are only worth the
notice of the Nieuwe-Diep fishermen in the summer time
when they are not employed in any other fisheries, and even
out of their number only a few pay regular visits to those
parts of the Zuyderzee where oysters may happen for the
moment to be just a little more numerous than usual.
There is no regular oyster trade in that part of the country.

The oyster trade with us is for the present concentrated
in the province of Zeeland, where, as was noticed before, a
second natural oyster-bed of some extent has existed. This
bed was very fast on its way towards extermination, and
would certainly have followed in the wake of the Zuyderzee
beds, had not oyster " culture " at the right nick of time
stepped in and replaced "oyster fishing." The already
impoverished regions have since made rapid strides towards
their maximum of productivity, and it is from them that the
large numbers of so-called Dutch oysters or Dutch natives,
which if I am not wrong are high up in the scale of merit
according to the verdict of London palates, are derived.

It was in 1870 that this change of system was effected.
Up to that year fishermen from the small village of Yerseke
and from other hamlets round the so-called eastern arm of
the river Schelde regularly fished and dredged on this bed in
the five winter months (October February). There was a
close time for oyster fishing (during which period it was
strictly prohibited) of no less than seven months, from

698 OYSTERS, AND ALL ABOUT THEM.

March i to October i . Still it was generally accepted that
notwithstanding these measures the bed gradually became
impoverished.

About the same time that it was decided upon to no
longer allow public fishing on these beds, but to give them
into the hands of oyster-culturists, another important
change has been effected in the geographical situation of
the oyster-beds. A railway-dam had been constructed
across the eastern arm of the Schelde where it was
narrowest, and this practically changed the nature of its
waters. It now became, as you will see from this map, a
deep inland bay, instead of being one of the arms of the
Schelde delta, through which part of the fresh water from
this river could flow towards the German Ocean. This
change has of course effected the salinity of the water, and
it may be safely inferred that this has not remained without
influence on the oyster-beds of the eastern Schelde and their
productivity.

The first impulse towards prohibiting public fishing on
the so-called Yerseke oyster-bed was given by private
gentlemen, who in 1867 had visited the Arcachon oyster
regions and who applied to government for aid towards an
investigation of the condition of the Yerseke-bed. The
result was that in 1870 and 1872 Government, or rather the
Minister of the Finances under whose control are also the
fishing waters of the country, withdrew the Yerseke
oyster-bed from public fishery and leased it for purposes of
oyster-culture to private individuals, after having divided it
into plots varying in size from 12 to about 150 acres. The
rent was to be paid yearly, and the time up to which it
might be retained for the same rent was 1 5 years, facilities
being offered to those who wished to give back their
allotted plots before the expiration of the 1 5 years' term.

OYSTER CULTURE IN HOLLAND. 699

In 1885 the whole of the Yerseke oyster-bed, would come
back to Government, and new agreements would then be
decided upon. As this period is now rapidly approaching
it was wisely decided upon by Government not to wait till
1885 before re-letting the bed, but to do so at least three
years before the expiration of the present leases. So last
year this new leasing took place, and the same 7720 acres
which form together the Yerseke oyster-bed and which have
been leased from 1870 to 1885 for a yearly rent of about
ij2o, will in 1885 bring into the Exchequer a yearly
amount of ,28,765. These figures speak for themselves,
and go far towards demonstrating that oyster-culture in the
regions we are speaking of is a success. The new lease
runs for thirty years, with the right on the part of the
lessees to give up their allotments every five years.

The extraordinary increase in value just alluded to of
the different portions of the oyster-bed, has not similarly
affected all portions of that area. I will give you figures to
demonstrate this ; but I must first call to your mind, that in
the practice of oyster- culture, certain areas are principally
devoted to " growing" the oysters, others to collecting the
spat, and that the value of a certain area is principally
determined by the intrinsic qualities which it is supposed
to possess for the one or for the other of these operations.
The collection of the spat essentially consists in the process
of bringing out into the sea- water tiles, like these I have
here on the table, covered by a layer of chalk, which is
afterwards easily removed, together with the young oysters
adhering to it.

These tiles are brought out in millions at the time when
the oyster spat is expected to be most plentiful. If brought
out too early, they get covered with a layer of earthy
deposit, or lose the roughness of their surface, and the spat

700 OYSTERS, AND ALL ABOUT THEM.

will not then fix upon them ; if brought out too late the
spat may have altogether disappeared for that season. It
is thus a very important question when and where to deposit
the collecting tiles. Up to the present, oyster-culturists
have been guided mostly by empirical notions, tradition
and experience having decided what portions of the sea
bottom were most fertile for the collecting of the young.
Theoretically this question is dependent on circumstances
which are, indeed, complicated. It must first be .asked,
where are the oysters that furnish the spat ? secondly, how
long does this spat swim about independently, before fixing
itself ? thirdly, what is the influence of the currents in the
vicinity of the' mother oysters upon the distribution of the
spat over a certain area ?

It has been the object of a series of investigations
planned by the direction of the Dutch Zoological Station,
of which I am a member, to try and get definite and reliable
facts concerning these movements of the spat. I am sorry
to say, that in this respect our results up to the present
moment are rather scanty, although we are continuing
our exertions. One fact is generally accepted, viz., that
exceptionally good localities for spat collecting are those
where there is a strong current of fresh sea-water at each
tide in the immediate vicinity, and where, at the same time,
this current is broken by headlands or other causes, so as
to produce counter-currents of much reduced intensity.
The spots where these counter-currents occur are very
much valued, as are also those deeper pits here and there
found in the sea-bottom, above which a sort of whirlpool
is apt to occur. It would seem that in both these cases
the spat is more easily deposited, is, so to say, precipitated,
on the collecting-tiles or other substances (shells of dead
molluscs, &c.) to which it can adhere. Localities answer-

OYSTER CULTURE IN HOLLAND. 701

ing to the above requirements are found on the spots I will
indicate on the map.

In order now further to bring before your mind how
the value of one locality above another for this and other
purposes of oyster-culture, appears to be gradually estab-
lished by experience, and is, indeed, recognized by those
interested in this industry, I have promised to give you a
few comparative numbers of the sums for which the same
plots were leased in 1870, and will be so from 1885
forwards :-

Allotment No. 162, size 12 acres, was leased

In 1870 for is. 8d. a year; will be in 1885 ^"202 a year.
No. 163 12 ac. ,, is. 8d. ,, ^"227

164 12 135. 4d. ^252

176 12,, ,,,22ios. od. ^508

220 120 ,, ,,^25 i8s. od.. ^33 155. ,,

,,.138 12,, ,,^i8ios. od. ^762105.,,

Others have gradually come down in the market, as for
example-
No. 280 24 acres brought in 1877, ^45 i6s. ; in 1879, l IOs -
,, 415 18 ,, ,, 2 is.; in 18^2, lod.

The fluctuation is, as you see, indeed considerable, and
only rivalled by that mysterious fluctuation of spat, which,
in the breeding season, is carried to and fro at each turn-
ing tide, all through the basin of the eastern Schelde.

A question which we were also eager to answer in
continuing our investigations at the Zoological Station, was
this : From whence is the spat that occurs in such myriads
on the Schelde essentially derived ? The interest of this
question was increased by the fact, that among the oysters
which were dredged on the cultivated beds, the number of
ripe specimens carrying eggs was very rare. This was
partially explained by the fact, that the oysters are gener-

702 OYSTERS, AND ALL ABOUT THEM.

ally collected and sent into the market before the female
generative products have attained their full maturity.
However, this circumstance made it all the more wonderful
that still the so-called fall of spat had, during the last ten
years, been on the whole so considerable, the unproductive
years being generally more the consequence of other cir-
cumstances than of the absence of young oyster larvae at
the right season.

It must, moreover, be specially mentioned, that after
the Yerseke bed had been withdrawn from public fishing,
no obligatory close time for oyster fishing was ever pre-
scribed. The lessees could dredge for their oysters at
whatever time of the year they liked. That they did not
generally do so in summer was, in the first place, for fear
of disturbing the growth, the delicate edges of the shell
being at this period more particularly liable to break ; and
secondly, because the oysters are found to be less palatable
at this time of the year. I hardly presume that they were
already convinced of the truth of Professor Huxley's view,
which he repeated in his lecture above alluded to, and
which I have no doubt is the right one, that a close time
for fishing on oyster-beds may be very serviceable ; but
that there is absolutely no reason to see why it should be
more so during the spawning time than either before or
after.

The great thing appears to be to leave a fair portion
of the oysters on or around a natural bed, wholly undis-
turbed for a series of consecutive years. Now such an
arrangement was never carried out intentionally on the
Yerseke bed, every portion of it and of the whole eastern
portion of the Oosterschelde having been leased for pur-
poses of oyster-culture.

OYSTER CULTURE IN HOLLAND. 703

Continuing our investigations as to the source from
whence the spat might be naturally derived, we were thus

led to suppose that natural beds of a certain extent were
present in the western portion further seaward. Dredgings
were undertaken by means of a government steamer, but
they gave a negative result, and this coincided with what

*

had already been told us by fishermen, i.e., that no such
natural beds existed.

One day, the idea occurred to us, that we were looking
the wrong way, and that what we were searching for was
much closer to us than we expected.

The fact is, and hitherto I have not yet mentioned it,
that a regulation which has been rather strictly attended
to, and which had originally been proposed by those
government departments that are in charge of the main-
tenance of the dykes defending the country against inva-
sions from the sea, runs thus : it is not allowed to use
dredging implements of any description for the capture of fish
or molluscs ivithin a line of 500 meters distance from the coast.
The reason of this prohibition was that the foot of the
dykes running out into the sea is in several spots protected
with specially constructed stone defences which might be
seriously damaged by dredging, and might thus weaken the
dykes, endanger the land behind them, and, at all events,
necessitate expensive repairs. It was the more easy to
enforce this regulation because dredging for oysters within
this 500 meter area, wherever the stone- works had been
constructed, was attended with great danger of losing the
dredge, as it easily got entangled in one way or the other.

Now to this band of nearly a quarter of a mile in
width, which surrounds the Schelde basin on all sides, our
attention was more especially directed. A diver was sent
down at numerous different points, to make the explorations

704 OYSTERS, AND ALL ABOUT THEM.

as thorough as possible. It was thus brought to light that
really, wherever the stone works alluded to stood out on
the sea bottom, which at those localities rapidly sloped
down towards deeper water, there was a more or less
numerous, at some spots even a very profuse crop of
oysters of all ages, which, in consequence of the regulations
above mentioned, had never been disturbed, and bore the
evident traces of this. When at a few localities no oysters
were found on the submarine stone-works, it was to be
ascribed to these having been newly constructed or repaired,
or to their having been covered over with sediment.

The results of these diving operations were mapped
out, and are shown in the diagrams I have before me. The
long band-like patches of oysters follow the stone-works,
and both to seaward and towards the land, where a muddy
bottom is prevalent in their immediate vicinity, no oysters
occur.

The localities that have hitherto been thus investigated
are shown in this map, and I may fairly infer that the
continuation of our researches with the diving apparatus
which are contemplated also in this summer, will enable
us to trace the confines of this natural oyster-bed with
precision.

It is hardly doubted by any of us, nor by the profes-
sional oyster-culturists themselves, who have a more direct
interest in the productivity of the eastern Schelde, that
here, indeed, we have before us the principal source from
whence the spat is yearly, for the greater part, derived,
and everybody appears to be anxious to maintain the
present state of things, and to have the prohibitory clause
against fishing within the 500 meter area most strictly
observed.

OYSTER CULTURE IN HOLLAND. 705

The investigations concerning the oyster questions
which were carried out by means of the transportable
Zoological station, and which have just been alluded to,
also extend in other directions. The anatomy of the oyster
has been carefully inquired into by Dr. Hoek, and I have
before me his elaborate treatise with numerous illustrations.
The embryology of the oyster has been investigated by Dr.
Horst, who is still continuing the researches, part of which
are already published. The physical circumstances are
similarly inquired into, and series of observations concern-
ing temperature and salinity of the water are repeated three
times a day at different points of the Schelde.

In the course of this summer our attention will be more
especially directed to the process of fixation of the larvae
when, at the end of their free life, they settle down on
some hard substance where to develop into a full-grown
oyster. To get hold of the largest number of young
oysters, fixed in this way to transportable apparatus, is a
most important object to all oyster-culturists, and this
problem is before them once every year at the breeding
season. All the different forms and shapes of collecting
apparatus, some of which are here on the table, and which
you will find in great variety in the different departments of
this Exhibition, tend to the same object. Still the process
of being obliged to bring these out into the open sea,
hoping that the invisible spat may fix down upon them in
great quantities, may to a certain extent be compared to a
man trying to catch birds by throwing his hat at a passing
flock.

In order to bring this matter within the reach of man's
voluntary interference, different attempts have been' made
to let the oyster give off its spat in an enclosed space,

where it might be collected at leisure on the apparatus

x

706 OYSTERS, AND ALL ABOUT THEM.

which was deposited in the same enclosure. Such experi-
ments have in our country at least always led to negative
results. However, we are not certain that they were taken
with the necessary precautions, the water being only very
rarely and partially changed. The consequence of this
must have been extensive mortality of the spat by the
water becoming de-oxygenated, and loss of spat at those
whenever so few occasions on which the water was
partially renewed.

In our experiments we wish by all means to eliminate
such sources of error. We have had the free disposition
given to us, during the whole time of the experiment, of one
of the largest oyster pares. It is represented in this figure.
At these points there are inlets for the sea- water that can
be opened and shut, and the volume of water forming the
oyster park is divided by smaller dykes and by wooden
enclosures into several compartments.

One of these has been entirely separated from the
rest, and is specially devoted to the purpose of our experi-
ments. In this separated portion, here indicated by dark
blue, and which has a superficial extent of about a quarter
of an acre, about 10,000 mature oysters are about to be
deposited, the floor of the compartment having been
covered by apparatus for collecting the spat. As long as
the breeding season has not yet so far advanced that the
spat is set free, the water is changed with every tide. In
the meantime we have here put up a steam engine, and by
this we intend to bring about artificial oxygenating of the
sea-water the moment the spat makes its appearance. We
then shut all the exterior inlets of water once for all, and
continue our experiments during the rest of the summer
with the water at that moment contained in the park. In
this way there is ist, no possibility of the spat escaping.

OYSTER CULTURE IN HOLLAND. 707

2nd. No possibility of spat being introduced from outside,
which would interfere with the reliability of eventual
results.

To make a comparative experiment with different
methods of aerating the sea-water, we have divided the
space here indicated in two halves. In the anterior portion
a revolving axis with blades attached to it causes a con-
tinual current, and at the same time introduces a certain
amount of air. In the posterior portion compressed air is
introduced into the water by a very large number of small
orifices through which it is continually pumped, and from
whence the air-bubbles must ascend towards the surface.

In this way we hope to provide our young oyster larvae
with a fair supply of oxygen, to the absence of which we
ascribe the failure of previous experiments. Nobody can,
of course, predict as to whether we shall be more success-
ful, and whether in the breeding season we shall find the
different sorts of collecting apparatus we are going to
experiment with profusely covered with spat ; but still it
was our conviction that we ought to give the question a
fair trial, the more so since the experiments of Bouchon-
Brandely on the French coast have put it beyond doubt
that with the Portuguese oyster (Ostrea angulataj, artificial
fecundation and collection of the spat in myriads is quite
feasible. The market value of the Portuguese oyster is,
however, very low ; the oyster has quite a different shape
from ours, and is generally considered of a very inferior
flavour.

This example, though encouraging, does not, however,
admit of the conclusion that we have equal chances of suc-
cess with Ostrea edulis, our north-European oyster. Part
of the development of the young of the latter species takes
place within the shell ; and as this is not the case with the

X 2

708 OYSTERS, AND ALL ABOUT THEM.

Portuguese oyster, artificial fecundation in the former
species would be very hazardous.

For this reason the plan for the experiment has been
traced in the way I have just explained.

I have dwelt at some length upon these experiments,
because they will bring before your minds the phase at
which the theoretical questions with which oyster culture
has to deal have at present arrived.

As to its practical side, I am afraid time will not permit
me to give you a fair description of the different imple-
ments and processes.

In terminating, I must not omit to mention
that the favourable results of oyster culture in the Schelde
have directed the attention of Government to the re-stock-
ing and the methodic improvement of the Zuyderzee beds,
on the same plan that has been followed since 1 870 for the
less over-fished Zeeland bed. As yet these measures are
not far advanced, but it can hardly be doubted that in the
course of a few years a new source of the prized delicacy
we have been considering to-day will there be opened, the
natural conditions having on the whole remained the same
since the time these beds were so plentiful.

CHAPTER XXXI.

OYSTER CULTURE IN NORWAY.

CHEAP AND DEAR OYSTERS OVER-FISHING AND CARELESSNESS
WARM WATER BASINS DISCOVERED EXPORT OF OYSTERS IN
1 88 1 LIEUT.-GENERAL WERGELAND'S EXPERIMENTS.

M. FREDRIK M. WALLEM (Executive Commissioner for
Norway to the International Fisheries Exhibition, London),
speaking at the Conference on Thursday, July 5th, 1883,
relative to Norwegian Oyster Culture, informed his audi-
ence that " Twenty or twenty-five years ago we had
plenty of oysters, everyone could get a bucket-full for six-
pence. At present the price is two guineas for a barrel of
oysters, and we have no oysters, or scarcely any. Our
oyster banks have been ruined by over-fishing and careless-
ness, and give now altogether no more than three or four
hundred pounds sterling a year to the fishermen. We have
tried pretty hard to assist nature, but commenced too late,
and have not succeeded. A couple of warm water basins,
in which oysters may grow, almost like flowers in a hot-
house, have been discovered on our coast ; spat from these
oyster hot-houses may be planted out on natural banks,
and grow to marketable oysters, but we have not yet
experience enough, and it seems to me that the French
and English systems will not quite answer on our coast,
without some important alterations."

7 10 OYSTERS, AND ALL ABOUT THEM.

The whole export of oysters in 1881 was 6800 kilo-
grammes (100 kilogs.,= i ton), valued at 6800 kroner (18*2
k.,= ;i sterling).

Considering the latitude of Norway, the intense cold
which prevails there during a large part of the year cold
so intense that sometimes the spawning of the oyster on
the natural banks is without results for several seasons ;
and, moreover, considering the distance of Norway from
those countries from whose experiences she might profit,
and from which she might obtain information, it will be
readily seen how numerous are the difficulties to be over-
come in the establishment of oyster culture on the shores
of Norway.

Lieutenant- General Wergeland (formerly minister of
war) was not deterred by these obstacles. After carefully
consulting works relating to oyster culture which had been
published in foreign countries, and procuring exact data
from M. Theodore Soelfeldt, who had come to Paris to
study the French industry, he resolutely set to work in the
month of April, 1877.

Various circumstances appeared to him encouraging ;
first, the presence of the oyster in the North Sea ; second,
the small amount of salt contained in the water of that
sea ; third, the favourable influence of the Gulf-stream on
the climate of these regions ; and finally, the ease with
which shelter may be found in the numerous fjords which
cut into the shores of the peninsula of Norway. A bay
situated a few leagues from Christiania (towards the fifty-
ninth degree of north latitude) was the spot chosen for the
experiment. It was necessary to guard against the incon-
veniences resulting from the early setting in of winter,
from the slight rise and fall of the tides, which at the
syzygies rise but a foot or a foot and a half, and from the

OYSTER CULTURE IN NORWAY. 7 1 1

violence of the storms, which sometimes displace a volume
of water more than 7 feet in depth. On the arrival of
winter in Norway, that is to say, toward the beginning of
September, the young oysters are still too young to resist
the shocks and sudden changes of temperature. It was,
therefore, of the greatest importance that they should not
come into contact with the outer air. These difficulties
were surmounted in the following manner : In the upper
part of the establishment a supply reservoir, fed by a pump,
worked by wind, was dug. Immediately beneath, within a
house which protected it from the rigour of the cold, was
placed a basin for holding the eggs, measuring 8 meters
(26 feet) in length by 6 meters (19 feet) in width. A

f

leaden conduit, furnished at its upper part with a grating
fine enough to stop the passage of harmful fish, and in its
lower part with faucets to regulate the supply of water at
wi-11, brought the two reservoirs into connection with one
another. This tube took several windings, and passed
through an inclosure filled with water, which could be
heated when necessary, so as to maintain the water sup-
plied to the hatching basin of a nearly uniform temperature.
The level of the water in this latter basin was regulated by
means of a tube, the opening of which was covered with a
filter, to prevent the escape of the young oysters. In this
basin 2200 female oysters were placed at the commence-
ment of the season, and, although they had undergone the
fatigue of a long journey, they emitted such a quantity of
spawn that it was found upon the collectors by which they
were surrounded.

The first experiment, as will be seen from the above,
succeeded well, and the system invented by General Wer-
geland, for obtaining larval oysters in inclosed places, could
be developed to any desired extent. The General intends

712 OYSTERS, AND ALL ABOUT THEM.

to try and obtain the spawn of free oysters, if the season
be mild enough to permit, by surrounding with fascines
a natural oyster bed that has been recently explored. He
proposes subsequently to inclose the young oysters in
floating preservative boxes, and to raise them on the spot.

The labours, works, and schemes which I have just
explained, are due to the initiative taken by General Wer-
geland, whose laudable ambition it is to render to his
country the same services which M. Coste has rendered to
France. He is now engaged in restocking, by means of
pisciculture, the large and beautiful lakes of Norway. If
he succeeds, as there is every reason to believe he will,
his country will be indebted to him for the introduction
of a branch of industry for which there is a great future in
store.

CHAPTER XXXII.

OYSTER CULTURE IN AMERICA.

INTRODUCTORY REMARKS THE JOHNS HOPKINS UNIVERSITY
COMMISSIONERS' REPORT, ITS OUTLINE AND OBJECT THE
POSSIBILITIES OF THE MARYLAND OYSTER INDUSTRY THE

CAUSE OF THE EXHAUSTION OF THE BEDS DESTRUCTION OF

OYSTERS PROTECTION OF YOUNG OYSTERS THE RETURN OF
SHELLS TO THE BEDS EXPORTATION OF OYSTERS FOR PLANT-
ING PROHIBITION OF DREDGING PROTECTION OF THE TONG-

ING AND PLANTING INDUSTRIES THE CLOSED SEASON THE
'OYSTER FISHERIES OF TANGIER SOUND STATE REVENUE
FROM OYSTER FISHERY OPEN AND CLOSED DISTRICTS
OYSTER PLANTING OYSTER FARMING PRIVATE CULTURE AND
CULTURE BY THE STATE THE OYSTER FISHERY OF CONNEC-
TICUTPUBLIC BEDS PRIVATE BEDS DEEP-WATER CULTIVA-
TION EXPENSE OF AN OYSTER FARM OYSTER INDUSTRY OF
NEW YORK FORM OF APPLICATION FOR A GRANT THE NORTH
CAROLINA FISHERIES SUMMARY OF WORK INSTRUCTIONS
DELINEATION OF BEDS TIDES SPECIMENS SUBSTRATUM OF
BOTTOM CURRENTS NUMBER OF OYSTERS TO THE SQUARE
YARD JAMES' RIVER THE FISHERY AND ITS EFFECTS
DENSITIES DEPOSITS EFFECT OF GALES AND ICE CONCLU-
SIONS SPECIFIC GRAVITIES THE OYSTER INDUSTRY PRIOR TO
1887 OPERATION OF THE NEW LAW METHOD OF LOCATING
LOTS OYSTER FISHERY ACT, 1887 FORM OF APPLICATION
FOR PRIVATE OYSTER-GROUND CONCLUSION.

" IN North America the oysters are so fine and cheap
that they are eaten daily by all classes. Hence they are
now, and have been for a long time, a real means of sub-

7 14 OYSTERS, AND ALL ABOUT THEM.

sistence for the people. This enviable fact is no argument
against the injuriousness of a continuous and severe fishing

of the beds But as the number of consumers

increases in America, the price will also surely advance,
and then there will arise a desire to fish the banks more
severely than hitherto, and if they do not accept in time
the unfortunate experience of the oyster culturists of
Europe, they will surely find their oyster beds impoverished
for having defied the bioconotic laws." Professor Mobius.

In the compilation of this most important and inter-
esting chapter, I am indebted, chiefly, to the scientifically-
far-famed and highly valuable works of two American gen-
tlemen, namely, Lieutenant Francis Winslow (a) and Dr.
W. K. Brooks fbj, each of whose courteous promptitude in
answering my request for permission to quote from their
" Reports " was only equalled by the generous consent
which characterizes both their replies, and which I cannot
praise too highly, the more especially so since they were
strangers to me. I have, therefore, very great pleasure in
publicly acknowledging and sincerely thanking these emi-

(d) " Report on the Sounds and Estuaries of North Carolina, with
reference to Oyster Culture. By Francis Winslow, Lieutenant U.S.
Navy, Assistant U.S. Coast and Geodetic Survey, Commanding
Schooner Scoresby." Washington (Jan., 1889.)

" Methods and Results;" Report on the Oyster Beds of the James
River, V.A., and of Tangier and Pocomoke Sounds, Maryland and
Virginia. Appendix No. II. Report tor 1881. (Washington,
Government Printing Office, 1882).

(b) "The Development and Protection of the Oyster in Maryland."
By W. K. Brooks, Ph. D., Associate Professor of Morphology in the
Johns Hopkins University. Being the Report written by him as
Chairman of the Oyster Commission of the State of Maryland, and
presented to the General Assembly, February, 1884. (Baltimore :
Publication Agency of the Johns Hopkins University.)

OYSTER CULTURE IN AMERICA. 715

I

nent scientists for their favour, not only in my own behalf
and name, but also in that of my fellow-countrymen at
least that portion of them who take an interest in the sub-
ject of this work, whom these extracts from books not
generally accessible will, I feel assured, serve to interest,
to instruct, and in the near future, perhaps, inspire to imi-
tate the Americans in one of the grandest lessons in
Governmental utility, duty, and wisdom, that the civilized
world is witnessing at the present time.

Let the carping critic snarl his journalistic dissent,
and growl at this " gushing eulogy of spread-eagleism, and
march of Yankee progress in commercial prosperity ;"
neither he nor such as he, nor any right-minded English-
man, can deny the fact that in their seven-league-strides' -
march of progress, the people on the other side of the
Atlantic have, in many things, left the mother country far
behind, and particularly so in oyster culture.

That the English people have failed to participate to
any creditable degree in an industry so important, have
even failed to appreciate its importance, should be a
humiliating reflection to the Government, and is the more
remarkable, and the more bitterly to be regretted, when we
remember the national trait of conquering perseverance
inherent in the British character.

But if

" coming events cast their shadows before,"

then, I am pleased to say that there are not wanting signs
that the public's harmful indifference, and the Govern-
ment's lamentable neglect, are if slowly, most surely
being succeeded by more promising phases of most neces-
sary reform ; so that the signs of the times are pregnant
with healthy hope that oyster culture, in as fortunate an
aspect of successful result on dutiful venture as wealth and

716 OYSTERS, AND ALL ABOUT THEM.

common sense, energy and perseverance, can make it
assume, will, in the near future, form an essential part of
England's commercial progress and prosperity.

In the volumes alluded to there is so much valuable
information, written in so pleasing a style that I am almost
at a loss to know where to begin or where to end, where
to abridge or where to quote in full. And, even with that
problem solved, I regret to say that, in the extraction of
what is really only a mere fragmentary portion of the
scientific works in question, want of space has forced me
to condense even that, but always with care that the reader
should experience no difficulty in following the authors in
their narrative.

Narratives of methods and results relative to oyster
culture, so replete with all that bears the stamp of self-
evidence, upon its appeal to the reader's comprehension of
the subject with all that can and does fulfil the English
ostraculturist's most ardent desire in experimental result
and financial success with all that matter-of-fact-eloquence
that should thrill and rouse our merchants from their slug-
gish apathy, and make them clamour for the adoption of
the American methods, or at least a trial thereof, in most,
if not in all of their developments, by those who choose to
follow their teaching yes, so replete with these and many
more happy outcomes of a wise administration, that I
respectfully venture to commend this chapter to the con-
sideration of our worthy Legislators, convinced that, should
they ever condescend to act upon the American method of
oyster culture, they would merit the right of being con-
sidered benefactors of the British public.

It is not in a spirit of harsh criticism, but in the hope
that our people may be awakened to their own interest,
that I am about to point out the distressing difference

OYSTER CULTURE IN AMERICA. 717

between the lethargic conduct the want of mercantile
self-respect involved in the views of our people and their
legislators, and the extraordinary energy of the Americans.

We live in a highly civilized age, and if we fail to
grasp its spirit we shall go to the wall before the oyster
cultivators of America or France, or even Holland, just as
surely as we are only awakening from the lethargy of our
neglected opportunities to cope with, if not to rival, other
nations, whose native wisdom and patient labour, rewarded
by success, ought to raise the blush of shame upon the face
of every Englishman.

It is true we cannot recall the past, nor can we resist
the progress of events, but we can control it if we will be
wise in time. Wise in time what time ? A year ?
five years, or a decade which ? Now is the Hour !
Granted, " It is never too late to mend ;" but we have had
many of those " now's" and " hours" in time gone by, far
more emphatically warning in their significance than italics
can make them on paper, and they are daily repeating
themselves have we heeded, or do we heed them ?

We have had, and we have still amongst us, able men
of science gentlemen who were and are qualified by an
extensive experience with our fisheries who have published
pamphlets and volumes, and have proved in their Lectures,
that while the reason for the non-success of our ostracul-
tural attempts is perfectly clear and simple, the greatest
ignorance upon this point exists in the minds of the
people.

It is not essential that a patient should know the
nature and cause of his disease, but this knowledge is of
the greatest importance to his physician, and it is of equal

718 OYSTERS, AND ALL ABOUT THEM.

importance that our Oyster Legislators should clearly
understand the true reason for their non-successful adminis-
tration.

I state, then, speaking chiefly of England and Wales
(c) that in spite of the flourishing condition of the Whit-
stable (d) Company, and the second and third-rate Thames
and Medway, Colchester, Rochester, Faversham, and
Ipswich Companies, our Oyster Cultivation is in danger of
extinction, not so much on account of over-fishing, nor on
account of the demand having outgrown the supply, but

BECAUSE OUR OYSTER LEGISLATION NEEDS REFORM.

This is the only possible remedy, which, once obtained,
retained, and sustained, on the basis of the French or
American present legislation there will be no more ostra-
cultural sorrow ; no more vanishing of hard-earned cash
into the at-all-times rather risky and too rapidly sinking
fund of an English oyster-bed ; there will be heard no
more tales of bankruptcy and ruin ; and such an occurrence
(elsewhere stated) as that the expenditure of five hundred
pounds should produce no more than a single oyster,
. would, instead of being a nationally disgraceful fact, be
classed as a fabulous report of financial failure a Miin-
chausen fiasco not possible of actuality, unheard of and
unknown save in the fear-inspiring horrors of a drunken
dredger's delirium.

I am using no figurative language in saying that I have
felt deeply hurt at the callous indifference of tone in which
I have heard read, or giggled over in quotation, the above
sad item from (what, perhaps, I may be allowed to term)

(c) The fisheries of the two other countries being under the juris-
diction respectively of the Scotch Fisheiy Board and of the Inspectors
of Irish Fisheries.

(d) The one bright pearl of England's Oyster Fisheries !

OYSTER CULTURE IN AMERICA. 719

the " Curiosities of Oyster Culture," by some persons with
whom I have come in contact, and have been saddened at
the thought of what the foreigner must think of our faulty
legislation, which involves the quite possible repetition of
such an occurrence, the Quixotic squandering of our wealth,
our stubborn foolhardiness in the persistence of erratic
conduct, or our proverbial long-suffering and patience under
social shortcomings or ministerial maladministrations.

In nothing that I can at this moment think of is the
harmful folly of this more stingingly apparent than in our
system of oyster culture. It is true that the daily papers,
from time to time, have published letters appealing for the
utilization of our foreshores, or suggesting relative remedies
all true enough in their way ; but, unfortunately, they have
been based upon such narrow experience that they are of
little or no value as contributions to a broad, comprehen-
sive view of the problem.

Some of these correspondents throw the blame of our
failures upon over-dredging, or upon the spat having failed
to find a suitable foothold ; others upon climatic influence,
or unpropitious physical conditions ; others again, upon
placing oysters intended for fattening on breeding grounds,
and vice versa ; while the few who have pointed out the true
fault and remedy have done so with a very milk-and-watery
admonition, lest a severer censure should be interpreted as

c

being superfluously radical.

And so, it being unfashionable to blame our Legis-
lators for their very wise ostracultural rules and regulations,
all agree in throwing the blame on someone else, and all
believe that some form of the business in which they are
not interested is responsible for the present state of things,
and should be altered or prohibited.

720 OYSTERS, AND ALL ABOUT THEM.

Having no convenient scape-goat on which to vent
their spleen, the oyster question remains in statu quo, and
the only wonder is that these would-be-reformers do not
imitate the pious oystermen of Wellfleet, on Cape Cod,
who, after they had exterminated their oysters by over- fishing,
laid their loss upon Providence, which had, they said,
punished them for their sins by inflicting a fatal disease
upon the innocent oysters.

The contrast between the views upon the oyster ques-
tion which are dawning upon the British public, and those
which come from a broad-minded consideration of the
question in all its relations, cannot be better illustrated
than by the examples of France (already given), and that
conveyed in the following extracts selected from Dr.
Brooks' Report, in the numerical order of its chapters, as
consecutively as is possible with, and necessary in, the
limited space at my command. And, finally, as " The
Maryland Report" is now very rare, and has been with-
drawn from sale, I will begin by giving the reader a view
of its object, in the following address :

To the Trustees of the Johns Hopkins University.

In accordance with your request, a small edition has
been printed, for the use of the University, of a Report of
the Oyster Commission of the State of Maryland, which
has just been presented to the Legislature of this State.
Its author is one of our own staff, Professor W. K. Brooks,
Ph. D., who has devoted the greater part of his time during
the last eighteen months to the study of the problem of
perpetuating the oyster beds of the Chesapeake. The fact
that he was made a member of the Oyster Commission, by
appointment of the Governor of the State, should not con-
ceal the part which this University has taken in the prose-

OYSTER CULTURE IN AMERICA. 721

cution of the enquiry. Dr. Brooks, for the last six years,
has been the Director of the Chesapeake Zoological
Laboratory, an organization maintained at the expense of
the Johns Hopkins University, for the study of the mani-
fold forms of living creatures which are found upon our
sea-board. As long ago as 1878 he perceived the import-
ance of the oyster, in its economical and in its scientific
aspects, and began a series of prolonged, delicate, and
original investigations, respecting the mode by which the
young are propagated, and the conditions of their early
life. The discoveries which he made were published in
1879, and have been fundamental to further practical
attempts, on the part of Dr. Brooks and others, especially
Lieut. Francis Winslow, U.S.N., Mons. Bouchon-Brandely,
of Paris, and Mr. J. A. Ryder, of the United States Fish
Commission, to secure the successful artificial propagation
of the oyster in large numbers. They have also led to a
study of the conditions which destroy the life of young
oysters, and of the legislation which is requisite for modi-
fying these conditions.

The report which follows discusses all these points.
Its preparation devolved upon Dr. Brooks, as chairman of
the Commission. I am confident that in all that he has
done or said he has been governed by one consideration
alone, a desire to ascertain the exact facts, and to state
them in such a way that others may understand them, and
thus be enabled to protect and develop one of the most
important industries of Maryland.

He desires to have it known that the Report is in
great part a gift by the University to the people of the
State, since it would have been impossible for him to have
prepared it if the Trustees of the University had not allowed

722 OYSTERS, AND ALL ABOUT THEM.

him to devote a year to the work, while they continued to
pay him the salary of his professorship.

D. C. OILMAN,
President of the Johns Hopkins University.

Baltimore, February 22, 1884.

To the Honourable the General Assembly of the State of

Maryland.

The Oyster Commissioners appointed by his Excel-
lency the Governor of Maryland, under the Joint Resolu-
tion of the General Assembly of Maryland, assented to at
the session of 1882, beg leave tt) respectfully submit the
following report :-

The magnitude and complexity of the subject, and the
diversity of the interests which are involved, has rendered
the length of this report an unavoidable necessity, and we
shall therefore "present, first, a summary or abstract of the
results of our examination of the question, and we shall
then give our results and opinions in full. We have there-
fore divided the report into four parts : first, an outline or
abstract of the whole ; second, a statement of the facts
which we have been able to obtain ; and third, the recom-
mendation of the measures of protection which we regard
as necessary ; and fourth, a minority report by Wm. Henry
Legg, stating his objection to some points of the report.

Respectfully submitted,

W. K. BROOKS, JAMES T. WADDELL, WM. HENRY LEGG,

Commissioners.

OUTLINE OF OUR REPORT.

As soon as possible after your Commissioners received
notice of their appointment, they held a meeting for
organization, and decided that their first duty ....

OYSTER CULTURE IN AMERICA. 723

is to obtain accurate information as to the true condition
of the oyster beds of the State by actual personal examina-
tion.

We have accordingly visited fifty-nine of our more
important oyster beds, and have made three hundred and
twenty-six examinations, and have accurately measured and
counted all the oysters upon one hundred and twenty
thousand nine hundred and fifty-eight square yards of
oyster bottom, .... We are therefore in a position
to state the present value of our oyster beds with very great
accuracy ; but the attempt to decide whether this value is
diminishing, and if so, how rapidly, is attended with great
difficulties, as there is no accurate official record of the
condition of the beds in the past. The statements of
interested fishermen, with limited local experience and with
no written records, are clearly of little value in themselves,
and in the absence of official records, we have been com-
pelled to adopt an indirect method of comparison.
. The results of our examination

show an average of one oyster to each four and a quarter
square yards, or more exactly, two hundred and thirty-five
thousandths of an oyster to each square yard. Our examin-
ation therefore shows that within the last three years our
beds have lost more than 39 per cent, of their value.

(And this) fully justifies the worst fore-
bodings, (and shows) that the oyster property of the State
is in imminent danger of complete destruction. Having
reached this conclusion, the next step was to discover the
cause of the injury (and that arrived at by various methods
was found to be), that the depletion of our beds is not
strictly due to any particular method of gathering oysters,
nor to the destruction of the young, nor to the \vorking of
the beds at wrong seasons, but to the great demand which

724 OYSTERS, AND ALL ABOUT THEM.

comes from improved means of transportation, and from
the growth in our State of a great commercial industry,
which has an unlimited and constantly increasing capacity
for utilizing oysters.

No means of protection can have any permanent
value unless they are based upon the fact that the present
demand taxes the beds far beyond their natural productive
power.

Of the ten and one-half million bushels of oysters
which were gathered in our waters in 1880, only 875,000
bushels were used as food by the people of the counties,
and 1,018,000 by the people of Baltimore and other cities
of the State; while 8,675,000 bushels, or more than four-
fifths of the whole, were consumed outside the State.

Those who hold that the people of our tide-water
counties have a natural right to this supply of food may
truthfully assert that, if the sale of four-fifths of our oysters
to people outside the State were prevented, there would be
an abundant supply for our own people ; but all civilized
communities have recognized the advantage of selling their
productions in the best markets, and it is hardly necessary
to point out the fact that it is not a few capitalists, but the
thousands of oyster fishermen, who would suffer most by
the destruction of the commercial business in oysters.
The great mass of the oyster dredgers and tongmen are
supported, not by the local demand, but by the wholesale
dealers, and the destruction of the wholesale oyster business
would deprive these people of the $2,000,000 of earnings
which are annually paid them by the dealers, and would
deprive fully 50,000 persons of their means of support.

Laws to regulate the length of the season, or
the size of marketable oysters, or to compel culling on the
beds, or to restrict the area open to dredgers, or to divide

OYSTER CULTURE IN AMERICA. 725

the beds into open and closed districts, may all result in
temporary improvement, and in the body of this report we
have discussed various measures of this sort, and have
recommended many changes in the existing laws, . . .
. . . . We have given careful attention to the possi-
bility of artificially increasing the supply (of oysters). . .
. . The greater part of this report is made up of informa-
tion upon this subject from various sources, and we believe
that careful examination of it will convince all of the truth
'of the conclusion which we ourselves have reached that
the oyster bottoms of our State are of greater value than
the dry land, and that they will some day support a great
and prosperous population.

Their value in the past has been inconsiderable as
compared with their possible value in the future, for while
the oyster fishermen have never earned much more than
two million dollars a year, it is no exaggeration to state
that our grounds are capable of yielding hundreds of mil-
lions of dollars annually.

In another part of our report we have
shown that, if all the grounds suitable for planting in our
waters could be made as profitable per acre as the oyster
grounds of the State of Rhode Island now are, they would
return annually to their cultivators the sum of six hundred
million dollars, and our beds are in reality far more valu-
able than those of Rhode Island, as our waters are free
from the destructive enemies which there often destroy a
large bed in a few days, and our milder climate protects
our oysters from destruction by ice and frost.

Oyster farming (which is the rearing of
oysters from the egg, and therefore true farming), the most
important source of the oyster supply, is practically unknown
in Maryland.

726 OYSTERS, AND ALL ABOUT THEM.

. The industry is profitable almost beyond con-
ception, and we are told on official authority that a crop of
oysters valued at eight million dollars was raised in this
way upon a French farm of 492 acres ; while upon another
French farm of 500 acres 16,000,000 oysters were taken in
six tides, although there were no oysters to be found there
when the farm was established, five years before.

Ingersoll, in his " Report on the Oyster Industry of
the United States," says that twenty bushels of shells, laid
down anywhere in Barnegat bay, New Jersey, will produce
one hundred bushels of oysters, and a Connecticut writer
gives the following account of the result of three years of
oyster-farming under wise laws, in that State :

" Fifty thousand acres of entirely barren ground, covered
thirty, forty, and fifty feet deep by the waters of Long
Island Sound, have been made into productive oyster beds,
and have multiplied by a hundred-fold the production of
native oysters. Ten years ago tens of thousands of bushels
of oysters were imported from New York, New Jersey, and
Rhode Island, and now hundreds of thousands of bushels
are yearly exported to these States and to Massachusetts.
Millions of dollars are now invested in the industry, thou-
sands of men and women are employed, millions of bushels
are in growing crops, and hundreds of thousands of dollars
yearly come into the States as proceeds of exported oysters.
The oyster authorities have paid more than fifty thousand
dollars in the towns and to the State for grounds to culti-
vate, and pay a yearly tax to a large amount."

According to Ingersoll, 515,000 bushels of seed oysters
were in 1879 taken from trie Chesapeake bay, to be planted
in Connecticut, and three years of wise management have
produced such a change that one firm shipped to San
Francisco, in the spring of 1883, 15,000,000 young oysters,

OYSTER CULTURE IN AMERICA. , 727

which had been reared on the Connecticut oyster farms,
and were used for planting on the Pacific coast. This
State is now able to sell seed oysters to the planters of
adjacent States, besides sending an immense supply to
Europe.

. . . . There is no measure of public policy in
our State which is of greater importance to our people as a
whole, or which is capable of contributing more directly to
our growth and prosperity than this matter of oyster
farming.

The only obstacle in the way of the development of
such an industry among us is the existence of the sentiment
that, since the oyster grounds belong to the whole people,
they are not a proper field for private labour and industry.
Sea fishes have always been regarded as common property,
because it is not within the power of individuals to im-
prove them, or increase their numbers or value ; but this is
not true of oysters. An oyster is as subject to improve-
ment by cultivation as a potato, and the cultivation of
oysters is, therefore, a perfectly proper and legitimate
employment for labour and capital, and the common right
to the beds must in time give way to private enterprise,
just as surely as the common right to the natural products
of the soil has given way before the progress of civilization.

Such a change as this cannot be brought about rapidly
without causing great hardship, and it is therefore best that
it should come slowly ; but the common right of all our
people to the use of the oyster beds is a very different thing
from the right of a portion of our people to exterminate
the beds ; and since it is plain that the interest of the
whole people demands an immediate change in our oyster
policy, your Commissioners believe that steps should now

7 28 ^OYSTERS, AND ALL ABOUT THEM.

be taken to render possible the growth of our oyster farm-
ing industry in the future.

The resolution under which we were appointed says
that we are to lay before the General Assembly such infor-
mation as will enable it to devise laws for the immediate
protection of the oysters. We have therefore brought
together, in the body of our report, from all the sources
within our reach, all the information which we have been,
able to obtain, and your Excellency will there find a brief
sketch of the oyster industry and oyster laws of Europe, of
Canada, and of the Atlantic States of our own country.

Our report also contains many suggestions which we
have omitted from our bill, as they refer to points upon
which immediate legislation does not seem imperatively
necessary.

THE POSSIBILITIES OF THE MARYLAND OYSTER

INDUSTRY.

No one who is familiar with the history of the oyster
beds of other parts of the world can be surprised at the
deterioration of our own beds.

. . . . The immense area covered by our own
beds has enabled them to withstand the attacks of the
oystermen for a much longer time (than those of England,
France, Germany, Canada, &c.) ; but all who are familiar
with the subject have long been aware that our present
system can have only one result extermination.

. . . . It is a shame that the gifts so lavishly
bestowed by nature upon Maryland and Virginia should
receive so little practical appreciation.

There has been no lack of warning, nor can our people
plead ignorance of the true remedy. In (a) paper (referred
to) one of your Commissioners discussed at considerable

OYSTER CULTURE IN AMERICA. 729

length, and warmly recommended, a plan which was em-
ployed two years after by the people of Connecticut on a
very extensive scale, and with such good effect, that the
oyster grounds of that State have been raised in three
years from a position of insignificance to the front rank.

If the importance of shelling our oyster bottoms with
dead and clean oyster shells had been recognized at the
time when we recommended this practice, and if the laws
which are needed for its encouragement had then been
enacted, our oyster supply would now be in no danger of
exhaustion.

The recommendation met with no attention, as it was
looked upon as the impractical view of a student ; but our
people may perhaps be able to learn from the practical
example of Connecticut what they would not learn on the
authority of a scientific paper If our popula-
tion were increased fifty fold, the oysters needed for home
consumption would even then be only a small part of the
supply which our waters can be made to furnish ; and
everyone who is interested in Maryland, all business men
who will be benefited by an increase in wealth and popu-
lation, all farmers who pay taxes to the State, and all per-
sons who own property here, should awaken to the fact
'that our greatest source of wealth is almost absolutely unde-
veloped.

The wealth which is within the reach of our people
and their descendants, from the oyster grounds of the
State, is great almost beyond expression, and it is not too
much to affirm that the money value of the grounds under
the water is equal to that of the dry land.

. . . . Our present oyster policy has had a
thorough trial, extending over a long term of years, and

730 OYSTERS, AND ALL ABOUT THEM.

we may therefore ask now, with perfect propriety, what it
has accomplished.

It has paid a profit of less than 100 per
cent, annually upon the capital invested in the business,
while money thus invested in other States has paid an
annual interest of more than 200 per cent.

It has given employment to about fifty thousand of
our people for part of the year, while our grounds should
give profitable employment to five hundred thousand people
for the whole year.

It has done nothing to encourage migration into our
State, although our natural advantages, if they could be
utilized, would draw to us a very desirable class of emi-
grants.

Our six hundred thousand acres of oyster
ground has paid to the State treasury about fifty thousand
dollars a year, and it has paid about ten thousand dollars a
year to the school fund ; while the Governor of Rhode
Island reports that his State will this year receive a revenue
of over eleven thousand dollars from eleven hundred acres
of oyster ground, none of which is so valuable as that of
our State. On the same basis our revenue should be more
than six million dollars a year.

. The statement that the public treasury of
Maryland receives over fifty thousand dollars a year from
the oyster grounds seems, at first, to imply that the oyster
industry contributes to the general expenses of our govern-
ment, but more careful examination shows that this is not
the case. The revenue is not only very much less than it
should be, but the cost of collecting it is in excess of the
receipts. In proof of this we refer to the following table
of receipts and expenses from this source, between 1878
and 1883.

OYSTER CULTURE IN AMERICA. 731

It will be seen from this table that, while the receipts
for the past five years have been the very considerable sum
of $210,332.24, the expenses have been $217,753.07, or
,420.83 more than the revenue.

732

OYSTERS, AND ALL ABOUT THEM.

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OYSTER CULTURE IN AMERICA. 733

. . . . " The Middle States have some $4,871,000
of capital embarked in the fisheries, employ over 19,000
persons, and return a gross income of nearly $9,000,000.

" The Southern Atlantic States have invested over
$8,000,000 of capital, employ 57,000 persons, and collect
a gross income of $9,562,000.

" It will be noticed that while the Southern fisheries
have nearly twice the capital invested, and employ three
times as many persons as the Middle States, yet the income
returned is only one-eighteenth more than that of their
Northern competitors.

" The gross income of the oyster fishery in the Middle
States is 2 04 per cent, of the invested capital, while in the
Southern States it is only 94 per cent.

" To sum up this distressing exhibit, statistics show that
one oyster from the Middle States is worth four from the
South ; that to get these four oysters, or one for that
matter, the Southern fishery uses from two to three times
as many men as their neighbours and rivals ; and that not-
withstanding the immense yield of the Southern fishery, it
pays not half so much in gross income as that of the
Middle States, and that out of this must come the wages of
double the number of employees."

THE CAUSE OF THE EXHAUSTION OF THE BEDS.

. We state then, in capital letters, that our
beds are in danger,

BECAUSE THE DEMAND HAS OUTGROWN THE SUPPLY.

There are only two possible remedies. Either we
must diminish the demand by killing the packing industry
which has created it, or we must increase by artificial
means the natural supply of oysters.

. . . . The tongmen know that most of the
oysters have been taken away by the dredgers, and they

734 OYSTERS, AND ALL ABOUT THEM.

therefore advocate the prohibition or restriction of dredg-
ing. Ignorant of the fact that in localities where no
dredging has been allowed the natural beds have been
exhausted by tongmen, just as soon as a demand for the
oysters sprung up, they believe that the prohibition of
dredging is all that is needed to restore the beds. The
dredgers, on the other hand, attribute the injury to the
law which allows the tongmen to take oysters for private
use in the summer, forgetting that the beds of Connecticut
are rapidly increasing in value under a law which allows
not only tonging, but dredging as well, all through the
year. The small dredgers and scrapers hold that the
larger vessels are destroying the oysters by the use of
heavy dredges, although the Connecticut farmers find it to
their interest to use on their own private beds far heavier
dredges, which they drag over the beds by steam.

Many of the oyster packers, who carry on their busi-
ness only in the winter, believe that all the damage is due
to the oystermen who fish in March, April, and May ; and
men who have money invested in the oyster business in
Maryland believe that the exportation of oysters in the
shell, and especially oysters for planting in Northern
waters, is the cause of the mischief.

. . . . We can hardly be surprised that our people
should exhibit total ignorance of the true cause of the
destruction, when we recollect that there is not a single
word in any of the laws of Maryland which indicates that
our legislators are aware that the supply of oysters can be
artificially increased, or that there is need for any such
increase.

. . . . Lieut. Francis Winslow . . . recently
published the following expression of an opinion, which is

OYSTER CULTURE IN AMERICA. 735

identical with the one we have given above that the
demand has outgrown the supply.

He says : " No mere restriction of the fishing can
possibly accomplish the desired end. It may prevent the
extinction of the beds as they are now, though that is
doubtful. It certainly will not relieve in the least the
present condition of the market. What should be done is
to adopt a policy similar in essential features to that of
Connecticut. The fishery of that State is one of the few
instances of recuperation on record. I know of many
destroyed oyster fisheries, and I know of a few that have
been rebuilt, and I find one cause common to all failures,
and as common to all successes. In the first instance, the
fishery has been common property, its preservation every-
body's business that is, nobody's and consequently it
has not been preserved. In the second instance, the
fishery has been conducted and owned by persons singly
and together, as private property ; it has been this, that, or
the other man's business, to see to its preservation ; that
is, its preservation has been everybody's business instead
of nobody's, and consequently it has been preserved."

The emergency can be met by legislation to prohibit
dredging and wholesale fishing, and to drive the oyster
business out of our State, but we can hardly conceive a
greater misfortune to our people than this would be. Still,
if this were the only way to preserve our oysters, we should
be the first to recommend it, and thus preserve for the
people of our tide-water counties the supply of cheap
food, which nature has placed within their reach ; but,
fortunately, this is not the only remedy, and it is quite
possible to increase our annual supply of oysters many
hundredfold.

736 OYSTERS, AND ALL ABOUT THEM.

The ignorance of our people regarding the means
which must be employed for this purpose, and their preju-
dices upon the subject, are so great that this cannot be
done immediately, and it is therefore necessary for us to
do all that can be done to preserve our present resources,
and to keep our beds from complete destruction, until our
natural supply can be supplemented by artificial methods.

ON THE WANTON OR UNNECESSARY DESTRUCTION OF
OYSTERS, AND ON THE PROTECTION OF YOUNG
OYSTERS AND THE RESTORATION OF OYSTER SHELLS
TO OUR WATERS.

One explanation which has been urged to account for
the destruction of our oyster beds is the wanton or unneces-
sary destruction of young oysters. Upon the piles of shells
which are thrown out from the packing houses great num-
bers of young shells can often be found. They are, of
course, dead, and as they are' too small to be of any use,
their destruction is a clear loss to our people. It is impos-
sible to prevent this from happening occasionally, as in
many cases the little oysters are so small, and so firmly
fastened to the old one, that they cannot be removed
without destroying them ; and even if the oystermen could
be compelled to throw back into the beds any large oyster
which has small ones fastened to it, there is reason to
doubt whether this would be advantageous, for one full-
grown oyster, like a bird in the hand, is more valuable
than two small ones, which may or may not grow up to
maturity. We believe, however, that in cases where great
numbers of young are fastened to the large ones, the use
or destruction of them at the packing house should be
discouraged. This difficulty will disappear with the growth
of the planting industry, for small oysters will then be

OYSTER CULTURE IN AMERICA. 737

valuable as seed, and they will pass into the hands of the
planters instead of going to the packing houses. The true
remedy, therefore, is the encouragement of planting, and
if our people would develop this business immediately, all
need for special legislation would disappear.

. . . . The destruction of young oysters at the
packing houses is trifling, however, compared with that
which results from violations of the culling laws. When a
dredge is brought up from an oyster bed it usually contains
a few r marketable oysters and great quantities of empty
shells, which are often covered with young oysters. The
law requires that these shall be thrown back upon the beds
where they are taken, under a penalty of three years'
imprisonment, or three hundred dollars fine, or the for-
feiture of the boat used ; but the enactment of this law has
failed to remedy the evil.

It is, and always must be, difficult to enforce a culling
law ; and as the captain of a dredging boat wishes to
improve his time on the beds to the best advantage, and
to make the most of the pleasant weather while it lasts, it
is of course to his interest to fill his boat as quickly as
possible, and all hands are therefore so fully employed in
catching oysters that there is no time to cull them.

Even when a captain is disposed to cull on the beds
he may be compelled, by stormy weather, to run for
harbour, and will then employ his crew in culling the
oysters while lying in harbour. The shells are then
dumped overboard in heaps around the anchorage, and
even if the bottom should by chance be favourable for the
growth of the oysters, they are smothered and killed under
the heaps of shells.

The only way in which this can be prevented is by
making it to the interest of the fishermen to save rather

738 OYSTERS, AND ALL ABOUT THEM.

than to destroy the small oysters, and this can be done by
the encouragement of planting.

. The aim of the culling law is twofold :
first, to preserve the young oysters ; and secondly, to com-
pel the return of the dead shells to the beds, that they may
serve for the attachment of spat. The value of these shells
for this purpose is not very great, as they are usually
decayed and slimy, and covered with sponge ; but it is
undoubtedly true that they are sufficiently valuable to jus-
tify the culling law. The dry, clean shells, which accumu-
late at the packing houses during the winter, are far more
valuable ; and if these could be returned to the beds in
the summer, a great increase in fertility would certainly
follow.

. The improvidence of the people of the
United States in dealing with their oysters, so long as they
were abundant, has been almost beyond belief.

Mr. Earle, of the U. S. Fish Commission,
states that no longer ago than 1879 the oystermen of
Pamplico Sound, in summer, when the weather became
too warm for them to safely carry their oysters to market,
were in the habit of catching " coon oysters," and carrying
boat-loads of them up the rivers to the farmers, who pur-
chased them for from 3 to 5 cents a bushel, and used them
for manure.

In Maryland we have no general law forbidding these
practices, although there are several local laws, such as the
law of 1868, imposing a fine of $500 upon any one who
takes oysters in Worcester county for the purpose of con-
verting them into lime, and the law which imposes a fine
of $10 upon any one who catches oysters for manure in
Somerset county, or any person in said county who pur-
chases oysters for manuring land, from any person who

OYSTER CULTURE IN AMERICA. 739

shall have caught them in the waters of said county. The
wording of the law seems to have been designed to permit
the residents of this county to purchase, outside the
county, oysters to be used for manure, and therefore sug-
gests that a State law may be necessary.

We therefore recommend that a law may be passed
prohibiting, under a penalty of three years' imprisonment,
for each offence, the taking, or sale, or use of oysters as
manure, or to be burned in lime-kilns, or to be used in the
manufacture of iron.

THE RETURN OF SHELLS TO THE BEDS.

As it has taken our people nearly two hundred years
to discover that we cannot afford to destroy oysters in this
way, we can hardly expect them to perceive that clean,
empty shells are also so valuable that their use for lime,
&c., should be prohibited.

One of your Commissioners called attention to the
very great value of oyster shells in 1879, .... and
showed that a great increase of fertility would follow the
return of the shells to the waters of our bay.

The history of the Connecticut oyster fisheries for the
last three years shows that, if this advice had been followed,
our beds would not now be exhausted ; and we therefore
quote the passage from page 29 of the " Report of the
Commissioners of Fisheries of Maryland for 1880," in
which this advice was given, together with the reasons
for it :

" As the young oysters swim to and fro in the water,
they are carried to great distances by the tides and cur-
rents, and reach all parts of the region of water in which
the parent bed is situated. In a favourable year a floating

plank or bush, or piece of driftwood, will be found to

Y 2

7/j-O OYSTERS, AND ALL ABOUT THEM.

become covered with small oysters which have fastened to
it, although it may not be within miles of any natural
oyster bank. The fact that the young may be collected in
this way, in any part of the Chesapeake bay, shows that
the young oysters must settle down upon the bottom in
nearly all parts of the bay, and we should expect the adults
to have an equally general distribution.

" This is far from the case, and nothing would be farther
from the truth than the idea that the bottom of the waters
of the oyster region is uniformly covered with oysters, and
that it is only necessary to throw a dredge overboard, and
drag it along the bottom for a short distance, in order to
bring it up full. Nothing could be a greater mistake, for
both in this country and in Europe the oysters are restricted
to particular spots, " beds" or " banks," which are as well
defined, and almost as sharply limited, as the tracts of
woodland in a farming country. These beds are so well
marked that they can be laid down on a chart or staked
out with buoys, and even in the best oyster regions they
occupy such an inconsiderable part of the bottom that any
one ignorant of their position would have very little chance
of finding oysters by promiscuous dredging. Although
the young are distributed every year, by tides and currents,
to all parts of the bottom, the dredge very seldom brings
up even a single oyster outside the limits of the beds.

" The restrictions of the oysters to certain points does
not appear to depend upon the supply of food, nor upon
the character of the water, but almost entirely upon the
nature of the bottom. The full-grown oyster is able to live
and flourish in soft mud, as long as it is not buried too
deeply for the open end of the shell to reach above the
mud, and draw a constant supply of water and food into
the gills.

OYSTER CULTURE IN AMERICA. 74!

. . . . "The living and dead shells of the adult
oysters furnish the best surface for the attachment of the

J

young, and for this reason the points where oyster beds are
already established are those where the young have the
most favourable surroundings and the best show for life,
and the beds thus tend to remain permanent and of sub-
stantially the same size and shape.

. . . . " It is well known that shell-fish of all kinds
thrive best where the supply of lime is greatest.

. . . . "The dead oyster shell is soon corroded,
and in a few years entirely dissolved by the sea water ; and
I think this fact is another reason why the young oysters
thrive best on a natural bed.

" How far the supply of oysters is limited by the supply
of lime it is impossible to say ; but when we recollect how
important it is that the young oysters should soon find
solid bodies to fasten themselves to, and that they should
protect themselves by strong shells of their own as quickly
as possible, it will be seen that the danger of exterminating
a valuable bed by over-dredging would be much less if the
empty shells were replaced upon the beds."

. . . . If ... a law were passed forbiddipg
the dumping of shells anywhere except upon designated
areas, where they would be useful, we believe that our
public beds could be reshelled without expense to the
State ; and as it is perfectly proper that the packers, who,
by the demand which they have created for oysters to
supply people outside our State, have caused the need for
legislation, should bear the expense of replenishing the
public beds, we recommend that a law be passed to forbid
the use of oyster shells in lime-kilns, or in the manufacture
of iron, or for road making, or wharf building, and that a
law be passed requiring the commander of each police boat

742 OYSTERS, AND ALL ABOUT THEM.

to designate spots in his district where shells may be depo-
sited upon the bottom, and that a law be passed directing
that no shells shall be deposited in our waters from vessels
at anchor, or from vessels which are not under weigh, or at
any spot except those designated for the purpose by the
officers of the oyster police.

EXPORTATION OF OYSTERS FOR PLANTING.

One of the causes to which the destruction of our
oyster beds is often attributed is the exportation of small
oysters into other States. We have tried to gather informa-
tion as to the extent to which this is practised, but it is diffi-
cult to obtain exact statistics Within the last

three years the growth of the oyster farming industry in
Connecticut has caused a very great reduction in the
demand for Southern oysters, as the farms of this State are
now able to supply the local planters, as well as those of
Rhode Island and Massachusetts. The Connecticut farms
have this year furnished " seed " oysters for exportation to
Europe and the Pacific Coast, and quantities have been
sold in New York also. It is not probable that the total
exportation of oysters for planting from the various waters
of Maryland will this year exceed a million bushels, and
the demand from New York and Rhode Island will pro-
bably continue to diminish from year to year, as the supply
from the Connecticut farms increases ; but even a million
bushels is a tenth of our total crop, and there can be no
doubt that the demand which has overtaxed our beds, and
led to their destruction, has been materially increased by
the exportation of oysters for planting, and the question
whether this practice should not be discouraged is therefore
a proper one for discussion.

At present the chief demand for seed oysters comes
from Delaware, and I accordingly quote in full Ingersoll's

OYSTER CULTURE IN AMERICA. 743

statement of the magnitude of the supply used by the
planters of this State :

" PLANTING SOUTHERN OYSTERS IN DELAWARE BAY.
There remains now to be considered the great business of
transplanting and maturing Southern oysters in the waters
off this shore. Though this stock is chiefly owned in
Philadelphia and operated by Pennsylvania, yet its consider-
ation belongs properly here, since the beds are wholly in
Delaware's waters.

" The statistics I give in respect to this were furnished
me chiefly by Mr. J. C. Cleaver, collector of the Chesa-
peake and Delaware Canal Company at Chesapeake City,
Maryland, and refer to the last half of 1879 and the first
month of 1880, completing an ' oyster season.'

" All the Southern oysters which are brought to Delaware
bay or to Philadelphia, both for planting and for immediate
consumption, come through this canal, which leads from
the Chesapeake. There may possibly be half a dozen out-
side trips made (all from Chincoteague island) in the course
of the year, but this is a small exception."

" The vessels as a rule engaged in this traffic are '.wood-
droggers,' schooners of light draught, and able to carry
from 500 to 1500 bushels. During the planting season
they will average about 1300 bushels per load, but when
running direct to market, in winter, carry only 900 bushels,
the difference arising largely from an absence of any deck-
load in the latter case. The number of schooners thus
used varies from year to year ; but the number of trips
during the season reported upon by Mr. Cleaver was 868.
At $100 a trip, charter-pay, these schooners earned that
year, therefore, $86,800. Sometimes an even $100 is given
to make the trip, and sometimes a rate of about $10 a day

744 OYSTERS, AND ALL ABOUT THEM.

is paid, but it amounts substantially to the same thing. In
addition, the charterer pays the canal expenses, consisting
of entrance toll, towage, and dues of 85 cents a ton on
cargo, amounting in all to about $50. The canal thus
receives an annual revenue from this source of about

$4340."

"The schooners range in value from $1000 to 6000.
The owners pay the captain of such a schooner, who must
know all the little creeks and oyster-buying nooks along
the whole Chesapeake coast, and be a capable man at a
bargain for his employers, about $50 a month. The men
in the crews get $25. The provisions supplied by the
owners are said to be abundant and of good quality.

" Among this fleet are about 25 ' role captains,' who own
their vessels entirely, hire their own crew, get cargoes from
the South with their own money, and plant on beds claimed
and prepared by themselves. Attending to their planta-
tions personally, they bring their cargoes to the market in
the fall, in their own schooners or sloops, and leave them
to be sold there on commission. They are thus both
planters and carriers.

" During the fall and winter months most, if not all,
of the vessels go directly to the Philadelphia market, and
their cargoes enter into the immediate consumption of the
city. Sales are made from the hull of the schooner, without
unloading into a warehouse. The number of trips made
for this direct market consumption makes only about one-
fourth of the total recorded as passing through the canal.
Three-fourths of the oysters brought out of the Chesapeake
are intended to be planted, and find their destination in the
beds along the western shore of the bay.

" When a load of oysters for planting arrives
from the South, the owner of the cargo sends on board the

OYSTER CULTURE IN AMERICA. 745

vessel all the men he has, and the schooner then sails back
and forth around and over the designated ground. The
effort in loading is to have as much as possible of the
cargo on deck. It is an easy matter then, as the vessel
proceeds, to shovel overboard ; and as she is constantly
changing her position, and the men shovel uninterruptedly
until the whole load is overboard, the oysters are pretty
evenly distributed. An ordinary crew of five will thus
unload 400 bushels in an hour, for five or six hours in
succession. Adding this expense to his first cost and
charges, a planter who puts down large quantities expects
the costs of his various lots of oysters, big and little
together, will average about 25 cents a bushel."

In discussing this subject, we must bear in
mind the fact that northern fishermen or boats are not
allowed to catch oysters in our waters, and that the industry
contributes to our State Treasury, and gives employment
to our people, for all the oysters which are exported for
planting must be purchased from our licensed fishermen.

. . . . So far as the exported oysters are mature
and marketable for food, it is obviously to our interest to
encourage the business, which is perfectly legitimate. The
only ground upon which the practice can be objected to is
that it leads to the sale by our people of oysters which
would be much more valuable to them if they could be kept
in our own waters until they reached maturity.

. The development of the Maryland planting
industry is ... the true remedy for the evil. But as
this cannot be effected immediately, and as our beds are
not now in a condition to furnish seed for other States,
. . we recommend that for two years our beds shall be
closed on April ist.

746 OYSTERS, AND ALL ABOUT THEM.

A DISCUSSION OF THE PROPOSITION TO PROHIBIT DREDG-
ING, AND AN EXAMINATION OF THE BEST METHOD OF

PROTECTING AND REGULATING THE TONGING AND

PLANTING INDUSTRIES.

The favourite remedy for the difficulty, at least among
those fishermen who are not dredgers, is the prohibition
of dredging. Everyone knows that our beds are deterior-
ating because they are excessively fished, and everyone
knows, too, that most of this fishing has been done by
dredgers. It is therefore natural to conclude that since
the dredgers have done the damage, the prohibition of
dredging will cure the mischief, but this is by no means
true. The great demand for oysters, which has come from
the growth of the packing industry, has been supplied by
dredgers, because the dredge is more effective and econo-
mical than the oyster tongs ; but if dredges had not been
invented, the demand would still have been supplied by
the much more expensive and laborious method of tonging,
and the prohibition of dredging now would simply cause
an increase in the number of tongmen. The beds in deep
water would escape, but they would then be, like many of
the deep water beds of Virginia, of no use to anyone except
pirates, and all the beds which could be reached by tongs
would be as badly off as ever.

In order to show that this is the case, and that where
no dredges are used the excessive working of the beds
with tongs soon causes their destruction, we will here note
some cases where beds have been exterminated with tongs
alone.

. . . . In the early days of the colony of Rhode
Island, oysters were found there in great abundance. No
dredging has been allowed in this State for more than one
hundred years, or since October, 1766, at which date the

OYSTER CULTURE IN AMERICA. 747

taking of oysters by drags, or otherwise than by tongs, was
forbidden under a penalty of ten pounds for each offence,
but the Rhode Island beds are now almost completely
exhausted. They yield no marketable oysters, and the
only place where seed oysters for planting can be procured,
in any considerable quantity, is a space of about five miles
above the Seekonk River, and the preservation of this bed
is due to the fact that the oysters are bright green and are
not marketable. Rhode Island has a great and profitable
planting industry, but the seed oysters which are used for
planting are purchased outside the State. As no dredging
has been permitted upon these beds for so long a time, the
dearth of oysters in waters where they formerly abounded
is certainly due to persistent raking and tonging.

Ingersoll gives the following instructive
account of the extermination, within the last few years, of
another valuable and prolific bed upon the New Brunswick
coast, by rakes and tongs alone :

In 1876, a fisherman says that in two weeks over 4000
barrels of ovsters were taken awav from the beds at Betla-

j

min, in New Brunswick, by ships and schooners which
brought their cargoes from the small raking boats upon
the beds. At this time the oysters were distributed every-
where over the harbour so thickly that every square foot
seemed to be occupied, and the beds swarmed with small
boats, each operated by two men. Four years later, in
1880, the oysters were almost exterminated.

Old men still remember when rich beds were to be
found in Hillsborough bay, in New Brunswick. The
oysters were so abundant that they seemed inexhaustible,
and a tonging boat could take eight bushels an hour.
They have been almost entirely destroyed by tongs alone,
and they now yield only a few bushels a year.

748 OYSTERS, AND ALL ABOUT THEM.

. . . . The early settlers of New England con-
tinually refer to the abundance of oysters, at points where
not a single oyster can now be found. In 1634 William
Wood, in a work on New England, speaks of a great oyster
bank in the Charles river, near Boston, and another in the
Mystic river, each of such size as to obstruct navigation.
The oysters were the long, slender " coon " oysters, which
are still to be found in our own waters on undisturbed
natural beds. Of their size and form he says : " They be
great ones, in form of a shoe-home ; some be a foot long.
These breed on certain banks that are bare every spring
tide. This fish, without shell, is so big that it must admit
of a division before you can well get it into your mouth."
The oyster beds in these two rivers are spoken of by many
of the early writers, but they are now gone so completely
that there is not even a tradition to mark the place where,
in 1634, according to Wood, " the oyster banks do barre
out the bigger ships."

In 1637, Thomas Morton, writing of the Plymouth
Colony, says : " There are great stores of oysters in the
entrances of all rivers ; they are not round as those of
England, but excellent, fat, and all good. I have seen an
oyster bank a mile in length."

In all of these cases the exhaustion of the
beds has been brought about almost or entirely without the
use of dredges, although in a few cases dredges may have
been used to a slight extent.

Enough instances have been given to show that the
prohibition of dredging will not save any bed which can
be reached with tongs, and as the dredge is a much more
scientific, effective, and economical apparatus than the rude
tongs which it has superseded, there does not seem to be
any reason why its use should be prohibited.

OYSTER CULTURE IN AMERICA. 749

. . . . In one way the use of dredges is a positive
advantage to the beds. . . . The dead shells which
are found on an un worked bed are usually so covered with
sponge, slime, and other substances, that they furnish no
clean surface for the attachment of spat ; and as dredging
tends to turn up clean shells, to break up and scatter the
clusters, and to tear away the sponges and other foreign
bodies, it is a positive benefit to the beds. . . . the
teeth of the dredge take hold of the rank growth of the
oyster beds, and, by being dragged through them, loosen
them and give them room to grow and mature properly ;
moreover, beds are continually increased in size, for when
the vessel runs off the rock with the chain-bags filled with
oysters, the oysters are dragged off on ground where no
oysters existed, and thus the beds are extended ; and when
the vessel is wearing or tacking to get back on the oyster
beds, the catch just taken up is being culled off, the cul-
lings thrown overboard (to) form new cultch for drifting
spat to adhere to.

. . . . Many persons who do not advocate the
total prohibition of dredging, believe that the size of the
dredging boats, and the size and weight of the dredges,
should be restricted by law. They give two reasons why
the size of the boat should be restricted, urging that the
large boats are able to work upon the beds when the police
boats cannot venture out, and that their size permits them
to use very large dredges, and thus catch great quantities
of oysters.

The police boats are unfit for service in rough weather,
but that does not seem to be a sufficient reason for render-
ing the dredging boats unseaworthy also, but rather for
constructing better police boats.

750 OYSTERS, AND ALL ABOUT THEM.

It is asserted that the use of large dredges causes much
evil, as they ruin the beds by crushing or smothering, or
burying in the mud, more oysters than they capture ; bu;
the private farmers of Connecticut find it to their advantage
to use much heavier dredges, and their farms improve
under this treatment, although very heavy dredges are
hauled by steam over the beds, even in the spawning
season.

After carefully considering the subject, your Commis-
sioners . . . recommend that dredging be prohibited
upon the public beds in the Potomac River and in Poco-
moke Sound ; but this recommendation is made as a poli-
tical necessity, as the State of Maryland has no power to
prevent illegal dredging in these waters, while she has the
power to prohibit all dredging. We do not believe that
this measure is desirable in itself, but it is the only measure
which it is in our power to adopt.

If the prosperity of the natural beds were the only
thing to be considered, we should, for the reasons which
we have just given, favour the opening of all our oyster
area to the dredgers ; but the welfare of the beds is not the
only thing. The rights of the tongmen and those of the
planters also demand consideration. At present it is well
known that there is inadequate protection for our planted
oysters, and that the law which prohibits dredging in most
of our rivers and inlets is of no effect. Almost every day
the newspapers contain accounts of the piratical incursions
of the dredgers upon these reserved grounds, and the evil
increases from year to year as the large beds in the deep
waters become depleted. The chief duty of the nine sail-
boats of the State fishery force, as at present constituted,
is to guard the tonging and planting grounds from the
depredations of dredgers, and the lack of efficient protec-

OYSTER CULTURE IN AMERICA. 751

tion is usually attributed to their neglect of their duty ; but
the well known fact that Virginia, which maintains no
oyster police, suffers very much more than Maryland,
shows that our navy does afford some protection, and no
one who is familiar with the subject can wonder that the
service is not more efficiently done.

. . . . The complexity and indefiniteness of the
boundary line is in itself a strong temptation to the
dredgers to trespass beyond it ; and while the organization
of the oyster navy is a pressing necessity, the establishment
of a well-defined boundary is a matter of even greater
importance. We have shown again and again in this
report that private cultivation of oysters is the true solution
of most of our difficulties ; but no one cares to engage
extensively in the planting of oysters which may at any
time be stolen by dredgers, and no great growth of the
planting industry can be hoped for until the boundary of
the bottoms reserved for tonging and planting, and closed
to the dredgers, is simplified.

. . . . We also recommend certain changes in
the law relating to tongmen. At present the tonging
license only permits the taking of oysters within the
county where the license is granted ; but as the public
oyster beds are the property of the whole State, and not of
any particular county, we recommend that such a change
be made that any holder of a tonging licence may take
oysters in any waters which are open to the public. As
the State bears the expenses of protecting the rights of the
tongmen, we recommend that all money received for tong-
ing licenses shall be paid into the State Treasury, to the
credit of the oyster fund.

752 OYSTERS, AND ALL ABOUT THEM.

ON THE CLOSED SEASON.

Among the favourite remedies for the destruction of
the oyster beds, the shortening of the season is a favourite
measure, and it has many advocates. This remedy seems,
at first sight, to be an effective one, but a little thought
shows that it is, in reality, of no very great value.

So long as our present oyster policy is maintained, it
will be necessary to have a closed season, to facilitate the
enforcement of other legal measures ; but as it is clear to
everyone that a good number of fishermen, working upon a
bed for a short season, will do just as much damage as a
lesser number working for a longer time, we cannot hope
that laws to shorten the season will, in themselves, effect
any great improvement in the condition of the beds.

. . . . In Massachusetts any resident may take
oysters for family use, between September ist and June ist,
but no one can take them without a permit between June
ist and September ist, although the local authorities have
the power to grant permits to fish for oysters at any time.

Some of the public beds of Rhode Island are open to
residents between September i5th and May isth, while
others are open only between April ist and June i5th, but
no one can take more than twenty bushels in one day.

Connecticut has no closed season, and her public as
well as private beds are fished at all times. The beds in
the river Thames, however, are closed by a local law
between March ist and September ist.

New York has local laws for the closure of the beds of
certain regions at specified times, and some of the towns
have town laws to the same effect ; thus the beds of Great
South Bay are closed by a State law from March ist to
September ist, and those in Harlem River from June ist

OYSTER CULTURE IN AMERICA. 753

to August joth, while the town of Brookham has a town
law closing the beds, which furnish the well-known " Blue
Point" oysters, from June i5th to October ist.

In certain counties of New Jersey, the closed season is
from May rst to September ist ; in others from July ist to
September ist; and in still others from May ist to
October ist.

The public beds of Delaware are closed from April
3oth to September ist.

In Virginia the closed season is from May ist to Sep-
tember ist, but any resident may catch two bushels a day
for family use, and any owner of planted oysters may catch
them at any time, and in any quantity, for family use.

In Maryland no dredging is allowed be-
tween April ist and October i5th, and no oysters in the
shell can be carried outside the State between April ist
and September ist.

It will be seen by examination that almost
the only thing which these laws have in common is the
prohibition of oyster fishing in the summer months, and to
this there are exceptions, as some of the Rhode Island beds
are open only in the summer, while those of Connecticut
are open at all times. This provision, which is borrowed
from the laws for the protection of game, is based upon
the fact that this time is the spawning season. Game
birds soon desert a region where they are disturbed in the
breeding season, and as they lay few eggs and care for their
helpless young, the destruction of an old bird at this time
may result in the death of the whole brood. The pro-
vision of the game law, which forbids the capture of game
during the breeding season, is therefore a wise one ; but
oysters are very different from game birds. They discharge
vast numbers of eggs into the water, but they take no care

754 OYSTERS, AND ALL ABOUT THEM.

of their young ; and while it is true that the removal of too
many mature oysters from a bed destroys its productive-
ness, the time when they are removed is a matter of no
consequence, and over-fishing in December is in this
respect as bad as over-fishing in May.

One of your Commissioners has made a study of the
spawning time of our oysters, and has carried his observa-
tions over several years. He has found spawning oysters.
in our waters in every month in the year except December,
January, and February, and he has had no opportunity to
visit the beds during these three months.

By far the greater number of these oysters, however,
are found to spawn between May zoth and July ist, and
although the temperature of our spring months causes
considerable variation, this period may properly be called
the spawning season.

At any time before May 2oth the disturbance of the
beds can do little harm, and the experience of the Connec-
ticut oyster farmers shows that the thorough raking of the
beds, just before the spawning season, is a positive benefit.
The young oysters cannot attach themselves to dirty and
slimy shells, and if all the sponges, hydroids, and sea-
weeds could be dragged from our beds in April and May,
and if the old decayed and slimy shells could be ploughed
under, and covered with the cleaner shells from below the
surface, by dredging just before the spawning season, the
fertility of the beds would be greatly increased, and there
is, therefore, nothing in the nature of the oyster to demand
the closure of the beds in April and May.

. . . . We show elsewhere that the States where
the oyster industry is most prosperous have found it neces-
sary, and to their advantage, to use the natural beds chiefly
as a supply of seed for planting, and we believe that when-

OYSTER CULTURE IN AMERICA. 755

ever the people of our State are prepared to use our great
natural advantages for oyster culture, it will be wise to
throw open the natural beds in the summer time ; but at '
present such a measure would simply result in the deple-
tion of the beds, without any compensating advantage.

Soon after the young oysters are born they fasten
themselves to stones, gravel, empty shells, living oysters,
and other clean, hard substances. They are at first so
small that they are in no danger of injury by dredgers, and
there is, therefore, no reason why the taking of marketable
oysters should not be continued all summer, if the large
oysters could be taken away without the young ones ; but
these are at first so small that they are invisible, and for
several months they are too small to be removed from the
shells or larger oysters. As it is very difficult to enforce
the culling laws, the opening of the public beds immedi-
ately after the spawning season would cause millions of the
small oysters to be carried away on the shells ; and even if
the culling laws could be enforced, many of the small
oysters would be carried away on the large ones. This
would do no harm, and it would, in fact, be a great advan-
tage, if the small oysters were used as seed for planting ;
but at present most of them are destroyed.

In another part of our report we recom-
mend that each public bed be examined annually, in order
to determine how many oysters it can yield without injury.
This examination should be made in August or September,
in order to learn how many young oysters have settled upon
the bed, and as the analysis and publication of the results
of this examination would require at least two months, the
opening of the public beds should be postponed as long as
possible.

756 OYSTERS, AND ALL ABOUT THEM.

. We therefore recommend that, for the next
two years, the taking of oysters from the public beds be
prohibited from April ist to October i5th, and that all
laws or parts of laws inconsistent with this recommendation
be repealed.

ON THE OYSTER FISHERIES OF TANGIER SOUND.

Your Commissioners believe, as the result of their
personal examination of the State Fishery Force, that one
of the most serious hindrances to the thorough enforce-
ment of our laws is the existence of local laws, giving to
certain counties the right to permit dredging without a
license from the State.

The history of this subject is as follows : In 1874 a
law was passed . . . which . . . gives to the
clerks of the Circuit Court of Dorchester and Talbot
counties the right to issue to any resident of these counties
a license to use any boat of not more than ten tons capa-
city, for dredging in certain specified waters of the Chop-
tank River, upon the payment of two dollars per ton annu-
ally.

(This law seems) to be worded with suffi-
cient care, and the practice of apportioning our oyster
lands out among the counties would be a good one, if the
counties could be relied upon to preserve the beds from
destruction, and to enforce the laws. It is plain, however,
that the people of the State at large should not be taxed to
support a navy, for the protection of property of which
certain counties have the exclusive use, and which pays no
revenue to the State Treasury. Your Commissioners also
submit that they find, by personal examination, that the
local laws are not enforced.

In November, 1882, we visited the waters of Dor-
chester and Somerset Counties, on Tangier Sound, and

OYSTER CULTURE IN AMERICA. 757

found upon the beds hundreds of vessels of more than
ten tons capacity, engaged in dredging for oysters without
displaying a State license number, as required by law.
. . . Out of more than one hundred . . . we
failed to find ... a single one which was licensed,
as required by the local law.

. . . We were informed by George T. Roe, magis-
trate of Deal's Island, Somerset County, that he himself
issued 250 local dredging licenses in 1881, and that this
year, 1882, he knew personally of only two dredgers in his
district who had conformed to the law and taken out
licenses.

. . . In our examination of the oyster beds we
accidentally discovered a practice, which is so dangerous
that it should be prohibited by law. A dredger, who was
arrested by Captain Mitchell at our request, said that he
had not yet received his license, but that he had paid his
license money to the commander of the fishing sloop of
his district, although he had no receipt to show. We
afterwards found the commander of this sloop, and when
brought aboard the steamer and questioned, he admitted
that he did sometimes receive the money for licenses in
this way, but that he took out the licenses as soon after-
wards as possible, and retained them in his possession
until he had an opportunity to deliver them. He also said
that, in such cases, he did not usually give a receipt, as
the dredgers were acquainted with him, and wanted none.

We . . . respectfully submit . . . that a law
be passed to declare that no vessel shall be used to take
oysters in this State, unless it shall have on board, at the
time it is thus used, the license required by law, and that
the penalty for the violation of this law shall be the same
as the penalty for dredging without a license ; and we also

758 OYSTERS, AND ALL ABOUT THEM.

recommend that any fishery officer who shall receive a
license fee from an oyster fisherman without at the same
time delivering to him his license, shall forfeit his bond to
the State, and shall be removed from his position, and
shall not again be employed upon the fishery force.

ON THE STATE REVENUE FROM THE OYSTER INDUSTRY.

As long as our present policy of raising revenue by
licenses is adhered to, we cannot expect any very great
increase, and the depletion of the beds must, in any case,
affect the income of the State.

certain changes should be made in our present
policy.

As there are six or seven hundred dredging vessels, all
of them very much alike in appearance, the only way for
the officers to determine whether dredging boats have
complied with the license law is to observe whether they
display license numbers, and it is assumed that any boat
which is numbered is also properly licensed.

As a duplicate number can be made by anyone with a
paint brush and a little black paint, there must be a strong
temptation to evade the law by counterfeiting the numbers,
or by using old ones, after the license has expired.

We therefore recommend that each officer of the
fishery force be required to keep a daily record of the
numbers of all dredging boats in his district, and of the
beds upon which they are working, and to transmit a copy
of this record, once a week, to the Oyster Commissioners,
who shall be required to enter, in a book kept for that
purpose, after the number of each dredging boat, the place
where it has been seen on each day. Whenever this
record shall show that the same number has been seen in
one day at two distant points, the commander of the fishery

OYSTER CULTURE IN AMERICA. 759

force shall issue an order to all officers to overhaul all
vessels which exhibit this number, and to examine their
license.

ON THE ADVISABILITY OF DIVIDING OUR OYSTER AREA
INTO OPEN AND CLOSED DISTRICTS.

We have shown, in a preceding section, that we cannot
hope for any marked improvement in the condition of our
oyster beds through the enforcement of laws closing them
for certain months in the year.

. the effect of a closed season is simply to
gather the oystermen upon the beds in greater numbers

than ever, at the end of the season If our

waters, or any part of them, should be closed to the public
for a term of years, the oysters would increase and multiply,
and finally restock the beds. It is difficult to state exactly
how long a time would be required, as this depends upon
the condition of the beds. When there are plenty of
mature oysters to supply the spat, and plenty of clean
shells for the young to fasten upon, a few years will suffice
to restore the bed ; but after an oyster bed is thoroughly
exhausted, there is no reason why another natural bed
should ever grow up in the same spot rather than anywhere
else, and in any case the closure of certain districts cannot
increase the supply beyond its natural limits.

. . . . Even if the waters are loaded with spat
from adjacent beds, there is no reason why the young
should gain a foothold on the site of the exterminated bed.
Between the natural beds there are areas where the bottom
is perfectly adapted for oysters, except that there is nothing
for the spat to fasten to, and an exterminated natural bed
is in the same condition. The regrowth of such a bed is,
therefore, exactly like the original formation of a natural

760 OYSTERS, AND ALL ABOUT THEM.

bed, and it must be a very slow process indeed ; how slow,
it is very difficult to say, as we have very little information
which will help us to decide, although we have facts to
show that a century may not be long enough.

. The adoption by the State of a plan to
close certain districts long enough for the beds to recover
would, undoubtedly, delay the work of extermination, but
it would also cause an immediate decrease in the supply.

. . . . We believe that the districting plan is
neither a real remedy nor the best method for arresting the
destruction. It is the best which can be put into force
without delay, but while recommending it, we feel that it
is our duty to call attention to the fact that there is a still
better method, although it is one which would require
considerable time, and the expenditure of large sums of
money.

Under natural conditions each bed is able to yield a
certain number of oysters each year, and whenever this
number is exceeded the bed suffers, and if the practice is
continued it must be destroyed. It makes no difference
whether the oysters are taken in one month or in twelve, or
in one year or in five. The ultimate effect upon the bed is
the same in all cases.

In the absence of measures for artificially increasing
the productiveness of the oyster grounds, or even when
such measures are employed, the only way to effectually
protect a bed is to examine it each year, and to learn how
many oysters it can furnish without injury, and to take such
steps as may be necessary for preventing each bed from
being drawn upon in excess of its capacity.

When the natural beds are small and few in number,
it is easy to do this, and the plan has been employed in
some parts of our own country, and also in many parts of

OYSTER CULTURE IN AMERICA. 761

Europe, where a few guard boats are enough to protect the
beds, and to learn how many oysters are taken from each
one.

If all our oyster area were divided up into
private holdings, the whole could be watched, and its con-
dition and capacity much more carefully and exactly ascer-
tained, than can ever be the case under State management,
and an enlightened system of private cultivation would be
the most sure safeguard against the exhaustion of the beds.

. As it is impossible to state, at present, how
long it will take for any particular bed to become restored,
we recommend that certain areas be closed for an indefi-
nite time, and that no one be allowed to take oysters
within these areas until examination shows that they are

sufficiently restored if the whole of the closed

area were in one place, the residents of the lands bordering
upon it would be unfairly treated, as they would be com-
pelled to go to a great distance for their oysters.

We therefore recommend that .... our waters
be divided into two areas : " A Shore Oyster Fishery," .
. . and a " Deep Water Oyster Fishery," . . . that
no dredging be permitted within the " Shore Oyster
Fishery," but that this be reserved for tongmen and
planters exclusively, although we recommend that a
licensed tongman be also allowed to take oysters on any
grounds where dredging is permitted. We also recom-
mend that one-third of the total area of the "Deep Water
Oyster Fishery " be absolutely closed to the public for an
unspecified time, and that this closed third be divided into
five narrow belts across the bay, separated from each other
by wider belts, where dredging shall be permitted as at
present.

762 OYSTERS, AND ALL ABOUT THEM.

OYSTER PLANTING.

Oyster planting is the placing of small or " seed >!
oysters upon bottoms which are favourable to their growth.
. . . Planting also adds very greatly to the value of
oysters, as they grow more rapidly and are of better quality
when thus scattered than they are upon the natural beds,
and Ingersoll quotes the statement . . . that thirteen
dollars worth of small ''seed'" oysters yielded, after they
had been planted for two years, oysters which were sold
for $114, besides about thirty bushels which were used as
food by the planter's family. Oyster planting can be car-
ried on only on private grounds, and it cannot flourish in
a community which does not respect the right of the pri-
vate owner to the oysters which he has planted.

. . . . The industry does not require a large
capital, and it can be carried on with profit on a very small
scale, although the oysters need constant and intelligent
attention. In all places where it has been employed it has
added greatly to the prosperity of the communities which
have engaged in it, and has greatly increased the popula-
tion of the shores along which it has been encouraged and
protected.

. . . . The history of the oyster industry of Rhode
Island furnishes an interesting illustration of the value of
an intelligent system of planting. All bottoms between
high-water mark and the ship channel are public property,
to be controlled and administered by the State in such a
way as to secure the greatest good to the greatest number

of its citizens The revenue of the State has

been greatly increased, and it is stated that the rentals of
the beds will in time pay all the expenses of the State

government In 1865 oysters sold for $1.75

per solid gallon ; in 1878 the price was $1.15 to $1.10, and

OYSTER CULTURE IN AMERICA. 763

in 1879 it had fallen to 90 or 95 cents. In 1865 the pro-
duct of the State was 71,894 bushels, while in 1879 it was
660,500 bushels.

The area which was used for planting in 1879 was
only 962 acres, yet this area paid 6,582.90 into the State
Treasury; it employed a capital of over 1,000,000; it
paid $125,000 in wages to the people of the State ; it fur-
nished the market with 660,500 bushels of oysters, with
680,500 to the producers, and it gave support to 2400

persons.

OYSTER FARMING IN AMERICA.

The American system of oyster farming, which presents
some features of resemblance to the French system, and
also many diiferences, has grown up as the result of private
enterprise, without any help or any direct encouragement
from government.

The French people are generally held to be the origin-
ators of modern oyster farming, but as an American I take
pleasure in pointing out that our own industry, which is
now so extensively developed in Connecticut, has not been
borrowed from France, but has grown up independently.

Several years before Coste and De Bon commenced
their experiments, the oystermen of East River, having
observed that young oysters fastened in great numbers
upon shells, which were placed upon the beds at the
spawning season, started the practice of shelling the beds,
in order to increase the supply ; and in 1855, or three years
before Coste represented to the French Emperor the im-
portance of similar experiments, the State of New York
enacted a law to secure to private farmers the fruits of their
labour, and a number of persons engaged in the new
industry on an extensive scale.

764 OYSTER.S, AND ALL ABOUT THEM.

. . . . In portions of Long Island Sound, especi-
ally off New Haven, it has been needful to make a crust or
artificial surface upon the mud, before laying down the
shells. This is done with sand.

. . . . I (Ingersoll) quote from the " Report of
the Shell-Fish Commissioners" of Connecticut, for 1882,
the following account of the method of cultivating a pri-
vate farm in that State. I also quote from their -report for
1883 the following statement of the present condition of
the industry:

" The deep-water cultivators proceed in three different
ways to make beds. (i.) The bottom being properly
cleared off, the seed oysters, mixed with the gravel,
jingles, and other shells, just as they are gathered from the
natural beds, are distributed thereon more or less uniformly,
and there left to grow. (2.) Or the bottom is spread over
with clean oyster shells just before the spawning season
begins, and brood oysters, twenty-five bushels to the acre,
are distributed over the bed. (3.) Or, if the bed is in the
neighbourhood of natural beds, the shelled bed is left
without further preparation to catch the spawn as it is
drifted above it. Sometimes the shells fail to ' catch a
set,' and this makes it necessary to rake over the shells the
following year, or to cover them over with more fresh
shells for the next spawning. There is always an abun-
dance of spawn in the waters of the Sound, and when a set
(e) is secured an enormous crop is the result. On a private
deep-water bed, during the past summer, the dredge was
drawn at random in the presence of the Commissioners,
and from an ordinary-size shovelfull there were counted
206 young oysters, in excellent condition, of the average

(e) ' Set ' (in the vernacular of the shore) means the attachment of
the floating spawn.

OYSTER CULTURE IN AMERICA. 765

size of a quarter of a dollar. As many as a hundred young
oysters have been counted growing on a medium-sized
oyster shell.

"The beds are carefully tended, and no pains are spared
to kill all the enemies of the oysters found among them.
By continual vigilance, the private beds are kept compara-
tively free from them. The larger proprietors of deep-
water beds use steamers for this work, as also in doing
their work of planting, raking over and dredging, and they
use larger dredges than the sail vessels can, as they are
also worked by steam, at a great saving of labour and
expense. When the oysters have grown on these beds to
a merchantable size, they are sometimes sold directly from
the beds, but more frequently they are transplanted into
brackish or fresh waters, where they are permitted to
remain for a short period, to freshen and fatten for market.

" The foregoing table affords the ground for the assump-
tion that by the time of the opening of spring work, in
1883, 45,000 acres of ground will have been deeded to
applicants by the Commissioners. These, with the 45,000
acres deeded by the towns prior to May, 1881, will show
an aggregate of 90,000 acres held by cultivators under
State jurisdiction. Of this vast area a large portion has
been cleared up and shelled. One firm laid down 250,000
bushels of shells. Several large growers have laid down as
many as 200,000 bushels each. A still larger number have
scattered a hundred thousand, fifty thousand, and twenty
thousand each. There are about 30 steamers engaged in
the business, besides a very large number of sailing vessels.

. . . . It does not admit of a doubt that the busi-
ness of oyster growing, as carried on in the waters of the
Sound, is exceedingly profitable."

766 OYSTERS, AND ALL ABOUT THEM.

PRIVATE CULTURE AND CULTURE BY THE STATE.

Oyster cultivation may be carried on by the State, or
by private citizens, and as both of these plans have been
tried, we may learn from the history of the industry in
other places which of these plans is most likely to be
successful.

. . . . Nothing, which can be safely intrusted to
private enterprise, should be undertaken by the State, and
the history of the oyster fishing of Connecticut and Rhode
Island, as well as that of France, shows that oyster culture
can safely be intrusted to the private interest of the oyster
farmers.

. . . . (But as) our own people have, at present,
little practical experience in the methods of oyster farming,
and are not yet prepared to engage extensively in the
business, we . . . believe that it will be wise for the
State to set aside a tract of oyster bottom as a State oyster
farm, and to replenish and restock it, in order to exhibit to
our people the value of oyster farming, and to give them
an opportunity to witness the methods of working and the
practical results ; and also in order to obtain a more exact
and definite estimation of the value of our oyster bottoms
per acre. The establishment of such an oyster-farm will
require a large investment of capital for a year or two, but
a system of thorough cultivation for a term of five or six
years could be made to return this investment, besides
yielding a great quantity of oysters for the use of the
public.

. As soon as the State farm is fully stocked
with marketable oysters, which would probably be in about
three seasons, it should be thrown open to the public, but
a record should be kept of all the oysters removed from it,

OYSTER CULTURE IN AMERICA. 767

and it should of course be made to pay back into the State
Treasury the money expended in cultivating it. The best
method of doing this is to collect a tax (say five cents a
bushel) upon all oysters taken from it, and the method of
collecting this tax should be determined by law before the
farm is opened to the public.

The revenue from this source would show whether it
is expedient for the State to continue the business on a
larger scale ; but your Commissioners believe that the true
policy is for the State to do only enough in this direction
to instruct our people in the methods to be employed, and
that the whole matter should then be left to private enter-
prise.

The history of French oyster culture is of very great
interest in this connection. Nearly twenty-five years ago
the French government undertook the cultivation of oysters,
in order to restock the exhausted beds. The government
farms were at first very successful, and they not only proved
that oyster farming is very profitable, but they also served
as a school for the instruction of the public in the methods
of oyster culture. This example was followed by private
cultivators, and the private industry upon the French coast
is now in a very prosperous condition ; but a government
report (Oyster Culture in Morbihan) upon the subject, in
1875, contains the statement that " the worst merchant in
France is the State."

This report shows so clearly the great superiority in
every respect of private enterprise over government manage-
ment, that we beg leave to call attention to the following
extract :

" Coste did not doubt the result ; failure seemed to him
almost impossible ; he foresaw the complete transforma-
tion of the sea coast, and exclaimed, in his letter of March

768 OYSTERS, AND ALL ABOUT THEM.

20, 1861, to the Emperor: 'I thank your Majesty for
having placed me in the front ranks of the greatest enter-
prise of the age, in connection with animate nature.'
Attempts were multiplied, but progress and success seemed
more and more retarded and lessened in the course of
time. The bay of Saint-Brieuc was swept by a tempest.
At Arcachon discouragement seized upon those who, in
the beginning, were most enthusiastic, for little or no
spawn was collected. Coste heard the name of charlatan
sounded in his ears ; his work was ridiculed even by those
whom, in the expectation of success, he had loaded with
favours, and our modern Athenians were lavish in criticisms,
in which neither sarcasm nor bitterness were spared. En-
feebled by his labours and deprived of sight, Coste struggled
on. He hoped against all hope, and maintained that the
application of his principles would even change the social
conditions of the sea-coast communities. His views were
met only by incredulity. He died at his post, despondent,
greatly discouraged, and to the last hour misunderstood by
that multitude who treat with contempt all great ideas
which do not meet with immediate success. While others
were occupied in criticising, a few men laboured faithfully,
and in a few years, between 1868 and 1875, the production
and cultivation of oysters made remarkable progress on the
shores of Morbihan."

" Principal cause of the failure of Coste. It is evident to
all that, in spite of the scientific knowledge, the zeal and
the labours of Coste, his attempts, so far as regards com-
mercial results, were radically fruitless. Nevertheless, he
had at his disposition apparatus, boats, auxiliaries as intel-
ligent as devoted, and also, to a certain extent, the resources
of the public treasury. Still the reason is very simple.
That impersonal being, called the State, is incapable of

OYSTER CULTURE IN AMERICA. 769

creating any industry. It sufficed to relinquish oyster cul-
ture to the culturists, who, although intelligent and well
informed, are, in the majority of cases, neither savants nor
academicians, to insure success, where only failure had been
predicted."

" This is because the State lacks that powerful lever
called individual interest. An occupation is not possible
unless an assured profit may be realized from it. The
merchant alone can be certain of this, from a study of the
markets and the demands of the consumers. The poorest
merchant in France is the State. The State has quite
another part to play. Charged with the protection of all,
it cannot descend from this elevated sphere of general use-
fulness into the arena where opposing interests are con-
tending an arena which it always leaves defeated and
often injured. To abandon its reserve, and endeavour by
taxation to create a national industry, is an act of socialism,
generous, perhaps, but from which others will derive the
benefits."

" Napoleon III., in his youth, had a passion tor studying
these questions, and sometimes lent an attentive earto these
grand socialistic theories : this was why Coste obtained so
much support from the Emperor. Led away by his own
ardour, he did not notice that he was gliding down a fatal
slope, and that he would fall at last, in spite of all his
efforts. If, instead of going to the Tuileries, he had
addressed himself to an association of capitalists, or to the
trade, who could have participated in his confidences, then
oyster culture, disengaged from the shackles of the State,
would, from the beginning, have taken a higher stand and
progressed with surer steps."

"We do not wish to underrate the importance of the
part played by the State, for we are going to appeal to its

770 OYSTERS, AND ALL ABOUT THEM.

aid in another matter ; but we think it should be well
understood that the two domains of industry and of govern-
ment are totally distinct. By confounding them, power-
lessness replaces fertile effort, and the most important work
is crowned only with failure."

" We do not wish in any way to diminish the gratitude
due to those, whether functionaries of State or others, who
have laboured for the creation and development of this
industry ; but we feel the necessity of proclaiming, in a
certain measure, the omnipotence and vigilance of indi-
vidual interest. We believe that, imbued with this thought,
the public administration would desire, even more in the
future than in the past, to free from fetters and obstacles
the pathways along which this industry must move, in order
to attain a high degree of prosperity."

It must be plain to everyone that our hope for an
abundant supply of oysters in the future must rest upon the
growth of a private farming industry, rather than upon State
aid ; and we come now to the question, what shall be done
to encourage private oyster culture ?

.- . . The question of immediate revenue to the

State is a very secondary consideration The

chief danger which is to be avoided is the monopoly by a
few persons of the oyster area, and this danger can be
avoided by granting to any resident of Maryland who
wishes to use it, a small farm for oyster culture. The law
known as the "five acre law" gives to any resident the
right to appropriate five acres of ground, where there are
no oysters, for oyster planting. The holder pays nothing
for the right ; he receives no title from the State, and he
pays no taxes.

We recommend that the State give to each holder of
land under this law a lease or title, like a title to real

OYSTER CULTURE IN AMERICA. 77!

estate, making it his for ever, so that he can dispose of it,
or mortgage it, to obtain the necessary capital for culti-
vating it, and that the nominal fee of one dollar per acre
be charged for the lease. We believe that it would be wise

O

to grant this privilege to all persons, residents or non-resi-
dents ; but we leave this subject for future consideration, as
well as the question whether it is wise to permit one person
to hold more than five acres, by purchase from other holders.
The title should be made as absolute and unqualified as a
title to real estate, but we have not made it so in the bill
which accompanies this report, since many points can be dis-
cussed and settled at some future time. We believe and
recommend, however, that the law should be amended in
such a way as to permit any resident of the State to
appropriate his five acres, whether it contains natural
oysters or not.

THE OYSTER FISHERY OF CONNECTICUT.
The methods employed in this State are of the greatest
interest, for Connecticut has been able, by the adoption of
a wise plan, to build up a great oyster industry in a very
short time, and to place the business upon a sound and
substantial foundation. The natural resources of this State
are as nothing compared with the resources of our own
waters, for, upon the most liberal estimate, her natural
beds do not exceed 5000 acres, all told, . . . (which)
furnish few marketable oysters, and are chiefly valuable as
a supply of seed oysters for planting ; . . . . Three
years of efficient protection, under wise oyster laws, have
produced such a change that the State, which was so
recently compelled to purchase oysters for planting, has,
as we are informed by good authority, this year furnished
seed inconsiderable amounts to New York, Rhode Island,
and New Jersey, besides sending an immense supply to

772 OYSTERS, AND ALL ABOUT THEM.

European planters. One firm shipped, in the spring- of
1883, sixty car-loads of seed-oysters to San Francisco,
from the beds of Connecticut. The sixty car-loads, or
more than 15,000,000 young oysters, had been engaged
by persons employed in planting on the Pacific coast.

A method which is capable of producing such a result
as this, in three years' time, is worth most careful examina-
tion. . . . The waters of the State are divided into two
districts, a shore district, .... and a deep-water
area .... In each area there are natural beds
which are open to the public, and private grounds which
are appropriated to individuals or companies by law, for
the cultivation of oysters.

THE PUBLIC BEDS OF CONNECTICUT.

The natural beds are open to all residents of the State,
at all times except at night ; but no one is allowed to use a
steam boat upon them, or to use a dredge which weighs
more than thirty pounds.

The use of steam vessels, for dredging upon the public
beds, has only recently been prohibited. Steam vessels
are used upon the private oyster beds, and the proposition
to close the public beds to them was warmly attacked, but
was finally adopted, and made a law by the Legislature, in
1881.

" In gathering seed near shore, and somewhat otherwise,
tongs and occasionally rakes (those with long curved teeth)
are used ; but the marketable oysters are nearly 'all brought
from the bottom by dredges of various weights, and slight
differences in pattern. In the case of all the smaller sail-
boats, the dredges having been thrown overboard and
filled, are hauled up by hand a back-breaking operation.
The oysters themselves are very heavy, and frequently half
the amount caught is composed of shells, dead oysters,

OYSTER CULTURE IN AMERICA. 773

winkles, and other trash, which must be culled out, thus
compelling the oyster-men to do twice or thrice the work
which they would be put to if there were nothing but
oysters on the ground. The work of catching the oysters
by any of these methods is, therefore, very tiresome and
heavy, and various improvements have been made, from
time to time, in the way of labour-saving, from a simple
crank and windlass to patented complicated power-wind-
lasses, similar to those used in the Chesapeake boats.
When a proper breeze is blowing, dredging can be accom-
plished from a sail-boat, with one of these windlasses, with
much quickness and ease. In a calm, or in a gale, how-
ever, the work must cease, as a rule."

" Under these circumstances, and as the business
increased, it is not surprising that the aid of steam should
.have been enlisted ; nor perhaps is the controversy which
has ensued to be wondered at, since the introduction of
novel or superior power into some well-travelled walk of
industry has ever met with indignant opposition."

" The first utilization of steam in this business, so far as
I can learn, was by Capt. Peter Decker and Brother, of
South Norwalk, about 1870."

"After the Messrs. Decker's experiment, Mr. W. H.
Lockwood, of Norwalk, not an oyster-man, but an enthu-
siastic believer in steam-dredging, built the steamer Enter-
prise expressly for the business. Her length is 47 feet ;
beam. 14 feet ; she draws 4 feet of water. She handles
two dredges ; has a daily capacity of 150 or 200 bushels."

" These were followed by several other steamers.

. there are now in all seven in Long Island Sound, but
it is generally acknowledged that the most thoroughly
equipped boat for this purpose of the fleet is owned by
H. C. Rowe & Co., of Fair Haven, Connecticut. It is

774 OYSTERS, AND ALL ABOUT THEM.

named the ' William H. Lockwood,' and is comparatively
new, and cost between six and seven thousand dollars.
The dimensions of this boat are : length, 63 feet ; beam,
1 6 feet; draught, 5^ feet. Her boiler is larger and her
engine more powerful than usual, in a boat of her size, and
she can therefore be used for towing, and can force her
way through heavy ice in the winter ; so that her owner is
sure of a supply of oysters for his customers when other
dealers may be unable, with sailing vessels, to get them.
Besides her regular propeller, she has a double engine for
hauling dredges, which hauls all four dredges full of
oysters at once, and lands them on deck, two on each
side, at the rate of 800 bushels a day, if needed. This
employs a crew of ten men, who are protected from the
weather by a housing which covers in the whole deck."

THE PRIVATE OYSTER GROUNDS OF THE STATE OF
CONNECTICUT, WITHIN THE AREA WHICH is UNDER
LOCAL MANAGEMENT.

No person can appropriate more than two
acres. The lands which are thus appropriated are taxed
like real estate. And they may be attached or executed
upon like real estate. The oyster committee of each town
has power to decide upon the sum which is to be paid for
the grounds, and the term of years for which they are to be
leased. No person can gather any oysters upon private
grounds unless they are properly staked or buoyed out, and
marked at each corner with the owner's name.

The removal of oysters from private grounds, without
authority from the owner, is punished by a fine of from
$300 to $500, or by imprisonment for one year ; and the
injury or destruction of the stakes or buoys, or the grounds,
or the oysters upon them, is punished by a fine of from

OYSTER CULTURE IN AMERICA. 775

$50 to $700, or by imprisonment from one month to six
months ; and any boats which are used in violation of
these laws are sold at auction, the captor receiving one-
half the proceeds, and the town the other half.

Certain towns, however, have a somewhat different
law ; thus the town of Guilford has, by special act of
legislature, the right to lease its grounds for ten years, to
the highest bidder at public auction, but it cannot lease
more than five acres to one person.

The grounds which are thus appropriated to private
parties by the towns are not used for farming or propa-
gating oysters, except in a few cases, but simply for plant-
ing, and the seed is either taken from the public beds, or
is purchased from the holders of private grounds in the
area under the jurisdiction of the State, or from persons
outside the State.

The system does not therefore materially increase the
number of oysters, but it does greatly increase their value ;
and it is therefore a great source of wealth to the people of
the State, and nearly all lands adapted for the purpose are
now appropriated.

OYSTER CULTIVATION IN THE DEEP WATERS OF CON-
NECTICUT, ON GROUNDS OVER WHICH THE STATE
HAS EXCLUSIVE JURISDICTION.

The business of planting oysters in Connecticut, under
the provisions which have just been explained, grew so
rapidly that all the available inshore bottom near New
Haven was soon occupied, and these waters looked like a
submerged forest, so thickly were they planted with boun-
dary stakes ; and at last Mr. H. C. Ro\ve ventured out into
the deeper water of Long Island Sound, and inaugurated a
new era in American oyster culture by the establishment of
an oyster farm in water forty feet deep.

776 OYSTERS, AND ALL ABOUT THEM.

This new departure has led to the development of a
new form of oyster culture, which is not planting, but
farming in its true sense, since the " seed " oysters are
seeds in reality, bringing forth after their kind a thousand
fold, and thus building up, on private grounds, what can
be most briefly described as artificial natural beds of
oysters. The movement which has led to this result is the
most important step which has ever been taken in America
towards an enlightened method of managing the oyster
industry. It has been met at each stage by the most
violent opposition, and its history should be of the very
greatest interest to all States which control waters in which
oysters flourish. Mr. Rowe soon had many imitators, and
as oyster culture in deep water cannot be managed on a
small scale, the tracts which were appropriated were
necessarily outside the limit of two acres, which was all
that was allowed by a strict interpretation of the law.

The rapid development of the industry was watched
with angry excitement, and as it was seen that the existing-
statutes had never contemplated anything of this sort,
alterations and amendments rapidly followed one another,
now in the interest of the deep-water cultivators, and now
in the interest of the owners of the small planting tracts
nearer the shore.

The fishermen along shore indignantly opposed the
capitalists, and on the ground that everything under the
water is common property, openly removed the oysters
from private grounds. As there was no survey or exact
delineation of the " natural beds," unlimited stealing from
private grounds was perpetrated, and looked upon with
general favour by the great majority of the fishermen, on
the plea the grounds in question were " natural beds."

OYSTER CULTURE IN AMERICA. 777

The deep-water cultivators, increasing in numbers and
in influence, were able, in 1875, to secure the passage of a
law declaring that in a considerable area of the State there
are no legally " natural beds," and the possibility of suc-
cessfully propagating oysters in great numbers, in deep
water, was soon proven, and the business continued to
grow and to increase in importance, in spite of opposition ;
but so much discontent existed that the following resolu-
tion was passed by the Legislature of 1879. (Want of space
has compelled me to omit this resolution.)

. . . . The following account of the method of
laying out and stocking a deep-water oyster farm in Con-
necticut, and the statement of the attendant expenses, is
copied from Ingersoll's " Report on the Oyster Industry of
the United States."

" The process by which a man secures a large quantity
of land outside has been described. It is thought hardly
worth trying unless at least 50 acres are obtained, and
many of the oyster farmers have more than 100 acres.
These large tracts, however, are not always in one piece,
though the effort is to get as much together as possible.
He obtains the position of the ground, as near as he can,
by ranges on the neighbouring shores, as described in his
leases, and places buoys to mark his boundaries. Then
he places other buoys within, so as to divide his property
up into squares, an acre or so in size. In this way he
knows where he is as he proceeds in his labours. Having
done this, he is ready to begin his active preparations to
found an oyster colony."

. Preparation of a Deep-water Oyster Farm.
" When a cultivator begins the preparation of a deep-water
farm, his first act is to scatter over it, in the spring (about
May), a quantity of full-sized, healthy native oysters, which

778 OYSTERS, AND ALL ABOUT THEM.

he calls ' spawners.' The amount of these that he scatters
depends on his circumstances ; from 30 to 50 bushels to
the acre is considered a fair allowance here, I believe.
The rule is, one bushel of spawners to ten bushels of
cultch. He now waits until early in July (from the 5th to
the 1 5th is considered the most favourable time), when he
thinks his spawners must be ready to emit their spat. He
then employs all his sloops, and hires extra vessels and
men, to take down to the harbour the tons of shells he has
been saving up all winter, and distribute them broadcast
over the whole tract of land he proposes to improve that
year. These shells are clean, and fall right alongside of
the mother-oysters previously deposited. The chances are
fair for catching of spawn. Sometimes the same plan is
pursued with seed that has grown sparingly upon a piece
of ground ; or young oysters are scattered as spawners, and
the owner waits until the next season before he shells the
tract. Sometimes there must be a preparation of the
ground, before any preparation can be begun upon it, by
elaborate dredging or otherwise. Within the harbour, for
instance, considerable muddy bottom has been utilized by
first paving it with coarse beach-sand. No spot where
there is not a swift current is considered worth this trouble.
The proper amount is 200 tons of sand to the acre, which
can be spread at the rate of five-sharpie-loads a day, at no
great expense. The sand forms a crust upon the mud firm
enough to keep the oyster from sinking, and it need not be
renewed more than once in five years."

Expense of an Oyster Farm. In either case, therefore,
the planter's expense has not been enormous. I present
herewith two statements of the outlay under the operations
outlined above, which are as follows :-

OYSTER CULTURE IN AMERICA. 779

No. i. Fifty Acres.

2000 bushels spawners, at 30 cents $600 oo=i25 o o

15,000 bushels shells, at 3 cents . . 450 00= 93 15 o
Planting 15,000 bushels shells, at 4

cents Ooo 00= 125 o o

$1650 00=^343 15 o
No. 2. Sixty Acres.

2000 bushels spawners, at 56^ cents i 130 00=^235 8 4

17,000 bushels shells, at 4 cents .. 680 00= 141 13 4
4453 bushels Bridgeport seed, at 10

cents 445 30= 92 15 5

$2255 30=^469 17 i
i

In a third case, Capt. George H. Townsend gave me
a statement of the expenses of starting a farm of 25 acres,
off the mouth of East Haven River. This was a more
elaborate arrangement, but on the other hand was accom-
plished, through ^L variety of favourable conditions, cheaper
than would have been possible with ground otherwise
situated.

2000 bushels small river oysters,

at 25 cents $5 00=^104 3 4

Spreading same and staking, at 5

cents . . . , 100 00= 20 16 8

600 bushels dredged seed, at 40 cents 240 00= 50 o o
10,000 bushels of shells, put down

at 4 cents 400 00= 8368

$1240 00=^/^258 6 8

" I think it would not be unfair to average the cost of
securing, surveying, and preparing the deep-water beds at

780 OYSTERS, AND ALL ABOUT THEM.

about $40 an acre, or about $4000 for 100 acres. To this
must be added about $2 an acre for ground surveys, buoys,
anchors, &c. But now that he has got his set everywhere
upon this 50 acres of shells, the planter's anxieties have
just begun.

" . The cultivator finds his work as risky as

mining. ' You can't see into the water,' he says ; and the
miner quotes back his proverb, ' You can't see into the
ground.' A sufficient cause may usually be assigned for
the death of large districts of infant oysters, which ap-
peared to get a good start. Starvation is probably the
true explanation. Some evil current bore away from them
the necessary food. In other cases specific causes, the
most potent of which are storms, can be pointed out.

" Vicissitudes and Losses of Oyster Planting. In the fall,
just when the young oyster-beds are in their most' delicate
condition, occur the most destructive gales that afflict the
Connecticut coast. They blow from the south-west, and
if, as occasionally happens, they follow a stiff south-easter,
they produce a cross-sea of the worst character. The water
is thrown into a turmoil to a depth, in some cases, of four
or five fathoms, and everywhere between that and the
beach the oyster-beds are torn to pieces, all boundaries
are dissolved, and windrows of oysters, containing thou-
sands of bushels, are cast up along the whole extent of the
beach. Although so great a disaster as this is rare, it does
occasionally happen, and hardly a winter passes without
more or less shifting of beds, or other damage by tempest.
The burying of beds under drifted sand is more uncommon
off New Haven than easterly ; but in the harbour, where
the bottom is soft, mud is often carried upon the beds to
such an extent as to smother, if not wholly to hide, the
oyster. All that part of the harbour near the mouth of

OYSTER CULTURE IN AMERICA. 781

West River is so liable to this accident that oyster-men
have abandoned that district altogether. It is believed by
many that the beds in the Sound, in water more than
twenty-five feet deep, are safe from disturbance from gales ;
but others decline to put their faith in any depth thus far
planted. Frequently oysters cast up by storms, if attended
to immediately, can be saved and replanted with profit."

" Management of the Oyster Farm. Having secured a
colony of young oysters, upon the stools which have been
laid down for them, they are left alone until they attain the
age of three, four, or five years, according to their thrift
and the trade for which they are designated, by the end of
which time they have reached a large size and degree of
fatness, if the season has been favourable. If, as is largely
done by those planters who live at Oyster Point, the oysters
are to be sold as seed to Providence River or other planters,
they are taken up when only one or two years old. Not a
great quantity of this seed was so disposed of last year
not over 20,000 bushels, I should say. It is not considered,
as a rule, so profitable as to wait for the maturity of the
stock."

THE OYSTER INDUSTRY OF NEW YORK.

In early days, the waters of the vicinity of the city of
New York abounded in oysters, and most of the early
writers speak of their fine flavour, and great size and abun-
dance. As early as 1715 the colonists began to be alarmed
by the diminution of the supply, and it was found necessary
to pass the following law :-

" From and after the publication of this act, it shall not
be lawful for any person or persons whatever, native free
Indians only excepted, from and after the first day of May
until the first day of September, annually, to gather, rake,

782 OYSTERS, AND ALL ABOUT THEM.

take tip or bring to the market any oysters whatever, under
the penalty of twenty shillings for every offence, to be
recovered before any of His Majesty's Justices of the Peace,
who are hereby authorized and required to hear, and finally
determine the same, one-half thereof to turn to him or
them that shall bring the same to effect, and the other half
to the poor of the place where the offence shall have been
committed. And it shall not be lawful for any negro,
Indian, or mulatto slave, to sell any oysters in the city of
New York, at any time whatsoever, under the penalty of
twenty shillings for every offence, to be paid by the master
or mistress of such slave or slaves, to be recovered and
applied as aforesaid."

Ingersoll says this is the first oyster law which was
passed in this country.

Many of the natural beds in these waters have been
entirely exterminated, but notwithstanding the great drain
upon them which has followed the growth of the city of
New York, many of the beds in East River, and upon the
south shore of Coney Island, are still in a prosperous con-
dition, and continue to yield fine oysters for food, as well
as a valuable supply of seed oysters for planting. The
preservation of these beds is no doubt due in part to the
prohibition of dredging, but chiefly to the fact that for the
last fifty years their fertility has been increased by the
practice of shelling them just before the spawning season,
and thus securing the attachment and growth of a great
number of young which would be lost without this artificial
aid.

The methods of oyster farming which are employed
by the cultivators of New York are fully described in our
chapter on oyster farming, and it is only necessary to say
here that these efforts have resulted in the preservation of

OYSTER CULTURE IN AMERICA. 783

beds which, owing to their proximity to the great centre of
commerce and population, have been very heavily taxed by
the demands which have been made upon them.

LAWS OF NEW YORK.

No person who has not been a resident of the State
for six months can take oysters within the State, unless
such non-resident is employed by a resident.

No dredge operated by steam, or weighing more than
thirty pounds, can be used-
No natural bed can be used for planting, or can be
staked off for private use.

No non-resident can plant oysters in the waters sur-
rounding Staten Island, without the consent of the owner,
and no non-resident can take oysters from the natural beds
in the same waters.

No person is allowed to dredge on the natural beds in
the vicinity of Staten Island.

Any owner of land adjoining Harlem River may plant
oysters in front of his property, where the ground is not
occupied, and no person can take oysters from such ground
without his permission, under a penalty of $50.

The penalty for catching or dredging oysters on pri-
vate grounds in East River is a fine of not more than $250,
or imprisonment for six months, or both.

In Queen's county, any resident may plant oysters in
any public waters where there are no natural beds, but no
person can hold more than three acres, nor can he hold it
unless he uses it for planting.

No person is allowed to take oysters in Great South
Bay, Long Island, with a dredge, or in the night, or between
June 15 and September 15, under a penalty of a fine of
$250, imprisonment for six months, and an additional fine

784 OYSTERS, AND ALL ABOUT THEM.

of $600 for each offence ; half the penalty goes to the
informer.

In Suffolk county any five or more persons who hold
oyster lots may form a company or corporation, for the
promotion of oyster culture in these lots.

The towns of Babylon and Islip, in Suffolk county, have
a special law, which is substantially as follows :

" Any person who is of age, and who has been an inha-
bitant of the county for a year, may appropriate four acres,
' where the taking of clams cannot be profitably followed
as a business,' and upon the payment of $i per acre annual
rent and the costs of surveying, he has the exclusive use
of the land for the cultivation of oysters, so long as he
keeps it marked out and remains an inhabitant of the
county ; but he is required to pay his annual rent on or
before the first day of April, and to plant at least 100
bushels of oysters v and shells on the ground, within one
year of the date of his certificate, and in case of failure,
the Oyster Commissioners have the power to terminate the
lease."

"Any person may sell and assign his interest in private
oyster ground to any inhabitant of the county for one year,
but no person can at one time hold more than four acres."

There are three commissioners appointed by the town
auditors, with power to determine what grounds shall be
appropriated, to make surveys and maps, to settle disputes
regarding boundaries, and to receive money.

The unlawful taking or disturbance of oysters on pri-
vate grounds is punished by a fine of not less than $100, or
by imprisonment for not more than sixty days, or both.

There is no oyster police, but the planters have formed
a protective association, and employ private watchmen.

OYSTER CULTURE IN AMERICA. 785

Any inhabitant of the towns of Hempstead and
Jamaica, in Queen's county, may appropriate three acres
of any lands which are not alreadv appropriated for the
cultivation of oysters ; and upon the payment of an annual
rent of $5 per acre, he has the right to use the land for
this purpose so long as he remains an inhabitant of the
towns. No dredging is allowed in these waters, under a
penalty of $100 fine, or sixty days' imprisonment, or
both, and the taking or disturbance of oysters in private
beds is punished by $100 fine, to be recovered by the
owner.

APPLICATION FOR A GRANT TO THE OYSTER COMMIS-'
SIGNERS OF THE STATE OF MARYLAND.

The application of , a resident of the town (or

county) of , in the State of Maryland, respectfully

shows : that he has resided in said State more than one
year next preceding the date of this application ; that the
grounds, hereinafter described, are unclesignated grounds ;
that he wishes and intends to use said grounds for culti-
vating oysters. He therefore respectfully requests that the
said Commissioners, pursuant to - , will grant to him,
in the name and behalf of the State of Maryland, a pe-r-

petual franchise for cultivating oysters in acres of

grounds, located under the waters of Maryland, within the
limits of District No. 6, which grounds are more particu-
larly bounded and described as follows, to wit :

Dated at , Maryland, this day of ,

A.D. jSS .

, applicant.

(Thus far I have drawn solely from Dr. Brooks'
Report ; the remaining portion of this chapter is taken
from Lieut. Winslow's Report, which begins as follows) :

786 OYSTERS, AND ALL ABOUT THEM.

In March, 1886, in consideration of the hydrographic
data to be incidentally added to the archives of the United
States Coast and Geodetic Survey Office, the schooner
" Scoresby," with a hydrographic party, was placed under
the command of Lieut. Francis Winslow, U.S.N., and
Assistant U.S. Coast and Geodetic Survey, to aid in the
development and definition of areas adapted to the culti-
vation of shell-fish in the sounds and estuaries of North
Carolina.

Although the investigated areas lie within the boun-
daries, and are subject to the jurisdiction of a single State,
the cheapening of a universally-esteemed and valuable food
product by the extension of the cultivable area adapted
to its growth renders their development a matter not of
local but of general interest. The extent to which that
interest is affected is implied in the fact .... that
within the brief period of less than three years since the
commencement of his operations, they have resulted in the
development of nearly 600,000 acres of such cultivable
area, capable of producing annually perhaps twice or thrice
the product of the Maryland oyster-beds in 1880; in the
discouragement of excessive fishing, and consequent des-
truction of the shell-fisheries ; in the diffusion of informa-
tion and increase of public interest in the subject, with the
resultant organization of a State shell-fish commission, and
enactment of effective legislation for the protection and
encouragement of the shell-fishing industry, including the
opening for entry and record, by citizens of any State, of
cultivable and easily described areas or tracts for oyster-
beds ; under which law fully 50,000 acres of such areas
have already been taken up by both residents and non-
residents of the State.

OYSTER CULTURE IN AMERICA. 787

. . . . At an early stage in the investigation, it
was discovered that the means at the disposal of the State
were entirely inadequate to the accomplishment of the
desired ends. But a small sum of money was available ;
the State possessed neither vessels, boats, instruments, nor
observers skilled in the methods of hydrographic surveying.
The instruction of assistants would require considerable
time ; the improvisation of material, a large amount of
money. Neither could be done in time to afford any
information for the use of the Legislature, the principal
object of the investigation. A superficial examination of
the waters of the State had indicated that not only were
considerable areas already occupied by oysters, but that in
all probability an enormous additional area was suitable for
the cultivation of the most valuable of American sea-
products.

The continued increase in the demand for oysters all
over the country ; the continued diminution in the supply
from the oyster-growing localities, together with the rapid
rise in prices during the past ten years, showed that an
increase of the productive area was not only desirable, but
would prove a great benefit to the people of the country at
large. The foregoing facts were presented to the Superin-
tendent of the Coast and Geodetic Survey, and a request
was made for assistance in prosecuting the work.

The request was granted, and the schooner Scoresby
and an ordinary hydrographic party detailed to work in co-
operation with the authorities of the State.

. . . . To accomplish the results (of the instruc-
tions and investigation) with the least expenditure of time,
labour, and money, required constant care and forethought.
Work would be suspended in the sheltered localities, when-
ever a chance offered to proceed with the investigation of

788 OYSTERS, AND ALL ABOUT THEM.

the exposed deep-water areas ; and frequently a favouring
gale would cause cessation of all operations, that a hasty
run to port for necessary stores might be made. It was
necessary to go from fifty to one hundred miles for drinking-
water, coal, provisions, and medical attendance, and the
delay consequent upon th'is necessity was most seriously
felt throughout the prosecution of the work. Operations
carried on under such conditions necessarily became dis-
junctive and unfinished : but time only was necessary for
their entire correlation and completion.

The inclement weather peculiar to Pamplico Sound,
and the neighbourhood of Cape Hatteras, caused a great
deal of vexatious delay ; on an average fully one-third of
the working days have been lost from this cause. Coupled
with the bad weather, especially during the spring and
autumn (otherwise the best months), has been the bad
health of both officers and men. Out of the small comple-
ment allowed, the loss of even one man is seriously felt ;
yet it has been a frequent occurrence to have one-third or
one-half the working force incapacitated.

. . . . Notwithstanding the many difficulties with
which the party has had to contend, it is believed that no
other in the field has accomplished a larger amount of
work in the same space of time, or at so small an expense,
as is shown by the following summary of observations and
results :

Summary of Work.

Area of beds located, acres 8,327.90

Area of public grounds located 20,553.1 1

No. miles soundings and dredging lines .... 1,712

No. soundings recorded 150,660

No. angles taken, afloat 1 5,902

OYSTER CULTURE IN AMERICA. 789

No. angles taken, ashore 2 >334

No. stations occupied in boats 5>6 2 9

No. determinations specific gravity 2,500

Total area examined, acres 1,325,419

These results have been obtained with a total expen-
diture, to January ist, 1889, for ''party expenses," of

gi, 227. 88, and of $558.49 for "repairs."

probably nowhere in the world, unless it was in France
after Coste's investigations and experiments, has an exa-
mination and survey been followed so immediately by such
valuable results as has been the case in North Carolina.

Prior to the investigation there existed a few natural
oyster-beds, and an inefficient and precarious system of
cultivating a few hundred acres of bottom, under a law
which offered no inducement to enterprise nor encourage-
ment to exertion, and which afforded no protection to
either public or private property. As a direct result of the
efforts of the authorities of the State, and of the Coast and
Geodetic Survey, the area of the public property has been
extended over fifty per cent. ; the reputation of the stock
has sensibly increased ; the Legislature has adopted a law
which has been generally characterised as the wisest in
existence, and in the short space of a year lands to the
extent of over 50,000 acres have been entered for the pur-
pose of cultivating oysters. The ultimate result cannot be
foreseen. But it is not unreasonable to predict that the
few hundreds of dollars expended on the investigation of
Pamplico Sound and its tributaries will be the means, in
the not distant future, of establishing an industry worth
hundreds of thousands of dollars, employing many thou-
sand people, and supporting many thousand more ; return-
ing a considerable income to the State, and largely increas-
ing the present supply of marketable oysters.

7QO OYSTERS, AND ALL ABOUT THEM.

^

Before commencing the extracts, which, extending
over a wide field of ostreocultural knowledge, must neces-
sarily be brief and fragmentary, it were as well, perhaps,
that I preface them with the " Instructions " acted upon,
and the " Methods of conducting the Investigation," pur-
sued by Lieut. Winslow in its object, so that the reader
may the more readily grasp their instructive purpose, and
comprehend more fully their practical outcome.

Instructions.

" The instructions of the Superintendent, dated August
2, 1878, directed that the investigation of the oyster beds
should include the following :

1. The determination of the positions and areas of
the oyster beds of the Chesapeake and the adjacent waters,
and the depth of water over them at high and low water.

2. The determination of the character of the beds ;
whether natural or artificial ; whether the oysters were
spread all over a given area, or grew in clusters of large or
small size, or were scattered singly or in small groups.

3. The determination of the temperatures of the sur-
face and bottom water at each locality, and the velocities
of the currents.

4. The preservation of specimens of oysters of different
ages, from each locality, and specimens of the bottom and
bottom water.

5. The determination of the existence of any deposit
of mud or other earthy or vegetable material, and the
determination of the character of the bottom beneath the
oyster beds.

6. The determination of the source of the sediment, if
any was deposited, and the means of directing it, if injuri-
ous, away from the beds. Also to determine whether ice
ever rested on the beds, and so destroyed them.

OYSTER CULTURE IN AMERICA. 791

7. The determination of the density of the water, with
special reference to the question of displacement of the
salt water by the fresh water from adjacent streams and

rivers.'

The Superintendent also desired that the examination
should at first be confined to a limited area, and made
exhaustive. Subsequently the investigation was to be
extended, as far as the means at the disposal of the Survey
would permit.

The instructions were received on the 3rd August,
1878. On the 7th of that month the vessel sailed from
Baltimore, Md., to execute them, and the party remained
actively in the field until the i5th October, when the
season closed. As the investigation was novel in design
and execution, and as the difficulties encountered by the
party were mainly due to the absence of all experience and
previous exertions in the same field, I have thought it best
to preface the account of the results of our labours by a
short description of the methods employed in making the
several determinations required by my instructions.

METHOD OF CONDUCTING THE INVESTIGATION.

The examination of the beds was carried on in the
following manner :

DELINEATION OF THE BEDS.

The services of an oysterman of experience, and who
was well acquainted with the localities of the different
beds, was first obtained ; the vessel w r as then anchored in
such a position as to enable her use as one of the points
for angling upon, and her position carefully fixed by sex-
tant angles, upon all points recognizable upon the chart.
At the same time angles were taken upon any object that
might be useful subsequently in fixing positions, either of

792 OYSTERS, AND ALL ABOUT THEM.

the boats or schooner. By carrying forward our own points
in that manner it was possible to dispense with signals,
the erection of which would have occasioned much delay,
and the sacrifice of time and labour, to procure an unneces-
sary degree of accuracy. The boats then ran transverse
lines, more or less open, over the adjacent beds, the size
of the anterior angle and the length of the line depending
upon the supposed size and character of the bed ; our
general method was to work with the tide, and endeavour
to cross the lines as we returned over the ground.

The " oyster pilot" was sent in one boat, and one of
the ship's company, who was an old oysterman, was sent in
the other. They were provided with poles, which were
marked to feet, and continually probed and examined the
bottom as the boat passed over the line. The depth of
water and character of the bottom were recorded as in
ordinary hydrographic surveys. The position of the boat
was frequently ascertained by sextant angles, but as the
"points" were not always well defined, two angles were
not considered sufficient, and angles on all prominent
objects were taken. Occasionally, when in proximity to
the schooner, mast-head angles and bearings were used for
ascertaining the position of the boat, and in a few cases
the bearing and distance of some well defined point of
land was estimated.

At intervals the boat was anchored, her position fixed,
and specimens of oysters, bottom, and water obtained, and
the temperature of the air, and surface and bottom water,
observed ; the character of the substratum of the bottom
was also noted, and the set and velocity of the current
recorded.

The observations for ascertaining the character of the
bottom beneath the surface, and those for temperature,

OYSTER CULTURE IN AMERICA. 793

were more frequently made than the others, and the cur-
rent was measured ojdry at such points as would give a fair
idea of the general set of the flood and ebb tides ; but
whenever an oyster specimen was taken, all the observa-
tions, with the exception of those for strength and direction
of current, were made.

Only general instructions could be given as to the
points on the beds where it was desirable to obtain speci-
mens of any kind, of observations for temperature or cha-
racter of bottom, and much was necessarily left to the dis-
cretion of the officer of the boat, not only with regard to
those points, but also as to the general delineation of the
beds.

So far as it went the work was satisfactory, but there
were three great drawbacks to the use of the boats, viz. :
The time and labour necessary to effect anything with
them, the inability to use the pole with any accuracy in
depths over three fathoms, and the failure of the pole to
discover anything but the solid beds. We attempted to
use with the boats a small and light dredge made especially
for us, but found it impracticable, the largest boat, when
under oars, fully manned, or when under sail in a stiff
breeze, being unable to tow the dredge or even to move
it ; consequently the boats were useless for collecting any
information, except over solid beds in less than three
fathoms of water.

To define the limits of those beds lying in deeper
water and of those not entirely solid, or where the oysters
were scattered either in groups or singly, recourse was had
to dredging with the schooner, using an ordinary oyster
dredge of thirty-six inches width and with twelve teeth.
This method was found to be so much more satisfactory in
all respects, that all the boat work, whenever it was

79-f OYSTERS, AND ALL ABOUT THEM.

possible, was supplemented by dredging lines run by the
schooner. Traverses were made as with the boats, and
observations for ascertaining the character of the bottom,
both of the surface and substrata, observations of tempera-
ture, and the selection of the various specimens, were
carried on.

The position of the vessel, however, was more fre-
quently ascertained than had been customary in the boat
work. The lowest possible rate of speed was maintained
that was consistent with safe and ready manceuvering (a
matter of some difficulty), and the dredge put over at
intervals varying from two to ten minutes, and depending
upon the character and extent of the bed, depth of water,
and ability of the crew to get the dredge in, it being at
times necessary to heave the vessel to in order to recover
it.

The dredge was put over from the weather side, and,
after having dragged a sufficient distance to insure its
bringing up a specimen, should there be any oysters, was
hauled in by hand. The presence of oysters on the bottom
was readily detected by placing the hand on the dredging
rope, the uneven, jumping motion of the dredge as it
gathered the oysters and shells being distinctly perceptible.

The dredge was usually on the bottom from thirty to
forty-five seconds, which length of time was sufficient for
our purpose and sometimes enough to fill the dredge, a
catastrophe which was not desirable. Soundings were
taken along the lines, and, with the character of the bottom,
recorded.

The following form for keeping the record was used
and found to be of great value.

OYSTER CULTURE IN AMERICA.

795

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796 OYSTERS, AND ALL ABOUT THEM.

. At intervals during the day the number of
dredging vessels in sight was recorded for reference, and
subsequently an attempt was made to collect data for the
estimation of the number of oysters taken in a day by each
sail. At each anchorage the current was measured.

From the results given by using the pole in the boats
and the dredge in the schooner, the outlines of the beds
(were) traced on a chart.

. The limit of scattered oysters can only be
considered as approximate, as the lines (on the chart) were
drawn from information received from local oystermen, and
from such observations as we were enabled to make our-
selves the boats (being) unable to ascertain

the positions of any but the solid beds or large clusters,
and the schooner not being able to work in less than eight
feet of water, our ability to determine the area covered by
the scattered oysters was necessarily limited. As that area,
and indeed that of the solid beds also, is variable, changing
from year to year, the line inclosing the scattered oysters
may be considered as accurate as it is necessary to have it.

TIDES.

Considering the great depth of water over the majority
of the beds, it was concluded that the slight variation in
those depths, caused by the tides, could have but little
influence on the oysters, ....

SPECIMENS.

. . . . One specimen of an adult oyster of two
years' growth or more, one of from one to two years'
growth, and one less than a year old, were usually selected

from each locality In their selection we

attempted to reserve such as would indicate the effect of
natural conditions. At the close of the day's work the
oyster specimens were washed in salt water, opened care-

OYSTER CULTURE IN AMERICA. 797

fully with a sharp-pointed, thin-bladed knife, and the upper
valve detached from the muscle, and then replaced. A
small wooden peg was then placed between the bills of the
shell, the valves tied tightly together with twine, and the
oyster wrapped in cotton cloth of a very open texture.
The whole was placed in alcohol. The wooden peg kept
the shell open sufficiently to allow the alcohol access to
the body of the animal, and the cloth wrapper prevented
the destruction or loss of anything of interest which might
be attached to the shell. Six parts of alcohol to four of
water were used, and to each specimen was attached a
wooden label, showing from whence the oyster came.

BOTTOM AND WATER SPECIMENS.
The specimens of bottom were obtained from large
amounts of sand, mud, and gravel, brought up by the
dredge or tongs. When the bottom was hard, an ordinary
bottom specimen cup screwed into a 2 5 -pound lead was
used, but over the solid beds, or where the bottom was of
hard sand, it was very difficult to obtain anything, either
with dredge, tongs, or lead.

The specimens of bottom were secured by using drop-
water cylinders.

All the specimens were tested with a
hydrometer, and the readings reduced to those at the stan-
dard temperature of 60 F.

SUBSTRATUM OF BOTTOM.

The character of the bottom beneath the surface was
roughly ascertained by means of an iron probe, 5 feet in
length, attached to a long wooden staff. The probe was
thrust as far as possible into the bottom, and the compo-
sition and character of the substratum estimated, the dif-
ferent constituents, whether sand, shell, mud, clay, or
gravel, being easily recognized. Owing to the velocity of

OYSTERS, AND ALL ABOUT THEM.

the currents, the speed of the vessel, and the difficulty of
handling a long staff, but few determinations of the cha-
racter of the substratum were made when the depth of
water was greater than three fathoms.

CURRENTS.

The currents were measured by a current meter, or by
an ordinary chip log, though the latter was not used fre-
quently.

*

NUMBER OF OYSTERS TO THE SQUARE YARD.
The number of oysters to the square yard was found
by using a ground log in connection with the dredge.
From the information derived from experienced oystermen,
and from our own examination of those beds that had been
dredged, I was of the opinion that a dredge, when of con-
siderable size, and dragged slowly, usually collected every-
thing met by it in its course. Considering that, at the sug-
gestion of Mr. Rice, I used a small ground log to measure
the distance travelled by the dredge. As that instrument
was exactly one yard in width, it was concluded that it
swept approximately clean one square yard for every linear
yard it passed over. The ground log consisted of a small
lead, a few ounces in weight, attached to a light line 1000
feet long ; between the lead and line was a length of
copper wire of 20 feet ; the line was marked every five
fathoms, and kept in a tub or on a reel ready for use ; the
lead was conical in shape, to prevent its catching on shell
clusters. When the dredge was thrown over, the lead was
dropped to the bottom and allowed to remain there, the
line running out freely until the dredge was lifted off the
bottom, when the line was stopped and the number of
fathoms run off with the number of oysters in the dredge
recorded. The dredge was not^allowed to remain on the

OYSTER CULTURE IN AMERICA. 799

bottom long enough to be filled, consequently none of the
oysters were lost from its inability to receive them.

Though the foregoing method was imperfect, it was
the best that could be devised under the circumstances,
and a similar method was used by Mcebius in ascertaining
the number of oysters on the Schleswig-Holstein bed.
From the very small number of oysters to the square yard,
as shown by the method ; from the small number of oysters
it assigns to the beds ; and from comparison of the latter
number with the number known to have been taken off the
beds during our stay in the sounds, it is evident that the
" number to the square yard," given in the records of the
work, are useful for comparison only ; for in almost all
cases the number of oysters given to the square yard must
be considered as far below the real number. For instance,
the number of oysters on the beds in Tangier Sound, south
of Jane's Island Light-house, was estimated from the data
of the record given by the dredge and log to be 7,994,692,
while from other observations I am positive that at least
2,000,000 were taken from those beds in six days, at the
commencement of the oyster season.

Such could hardly have been the case had there been
but 8,000,000 oysters on the beds, and consequently, we
must regard the " number of oysters to the square yard,"
as shown by the methods used, only valuable as establish-
ing an -initial number and standard by which the increase
or decrease of oysters on the beds may be ascertained^ and
by which one bed or locality can be compared with an-
other. Alone, the results of the dredge and log are value-
less.

TEMPERATURE OF THE WATER.

It was originally intended that the temperature of the
bottom water should be obtained by means of thermo-

800 OYSTERS, AND ALL ABOUT THEM.

meters attached to " drop cylinders," used for obtaining
the specimens of water from the bottom, and six of those
cylinders were fitted at the office with mercurial thermo-
meters, inclosed within the spindle upon which the
cylinder moves, the bulb of the thermometer being a little
above the centre of the cylinder when closed on the lower
disk, and the graduated stem being exposed above the
top, thus allowing the temperature to be read within any
limits that would probably occur.

. The cylinder is closed upon the lower
metal disk by means of a spiral brass spring, which also
holds the cylinder down firmly, thus preventing the escape
of the specimen. The spring acts with considerable force,
and we found that invariably the shock of the closure of
the cup was sufficient to break the mercurial column, and
prevent any reading of the thermometer. Attempts were
made on board the vessel to remedy the evil by diminishing
the strength of the spring, and by placing a rubber buffer
on the lower disk ; but we were unable to prevent leakage,
and subsequently the same difficulty was experienced at
the office.

Owing to the failure of the thermometers in the water
cylinders, and the inability to obtain any apparatus, at so
short a notice, in time to be available for the season's work,
we were forced to use ordinary unprotected thermometers,
furnished by the Coast Survey Office, with corrections
established by experiments made previously and subse-
quently to the work of the party. The thermometers were
fastened to a lead, lowered to the bottom, and kept there
a sufficient time to acquire the temperature of the surround-
ing water. They were then hauled up as rapidly as possible
and the temperature read ; at the same time the temperature
of the air and water surface was noted.

OYSTER CULTURE IN AMERICA. 8oi

Owing to the rapid change of reading when the
thermometers were moved through strata of different
temperature, the observations are only reliable when the
temperatures of the air, surface and bottom water were
identical.

NAMES AND AREAS.

In naming and describing the beds I have used the
local names given them by the oystermen. The term
" rock ' : is with them synonymous with "bed," as they
regard only the solid portions of the area covered by the
oysters. In the following pages the term "rock" indi-
cates the solid, or approximately solid, portions of the bed.
Areas are given in feet and miles. When the latter unit is
used it is the nautical mile of 6080 feet, and not the statute
mile.

OYSTER BEDS OF THE JAMES RIVER, VIRGINIA.

*

The examination of these beds was a very hurried one,
and the delineation must be regarded as merely approxi-
mate, being the result of a hasty reconnaissance.

. . . . Below Deep Water Light the beds of any
consequence are twelve in number, and of a total area
(approximate) of 10.4 square miles. Taking them in order
from Deep Water Light to Hampton Roads, they are the
Mulberry Point Bed, Point of Shoals Bed, Jail Island Bed,
Blunt Point Bed, White Shoal Bed, Thomas's Point Bed,
Kettle Hole Bed, Brown Shoal Bed, Bally Smash Bed,
Naseway Shoal Bed, Cruiser's Bed, and the Nasemond
Ridge Bed.

. . . . In order to determine whether the salt
water over the beds in the river, and especially over the
Mulberry Point, Point of Shoals, and Jail Island Beds, was
displaced by the fresh water of the spring ebbs, specimens

of water were obtained at every two fathoms of depth, on

AA

802 OYSTERS, AND ALL ABOUT THEM.

a section across the river just above Deep Water Light, at

low water, spring tide Comparing the specific

gravity of the water obtained in the sections with that of
two stations below Deep Water Light, which was obtained
nearly at high water, the difference of density was so slight
that it can hardly have any material effect upon the oysters,
and, except during long continued freshets, which occur
sometimes during the spring, the animals in all probability
do not suffer therefrom.

According to the oystermen, during the winter ice
frequently grounds on the shoal spots on the beds, but
never remains there long, unless the weather is of unusual
severity, the strength of the current and the variability of
the climate being sufficient to remove the ice in a short
space of time. As to the amount of damage done to the
oysters by ice, opinions varied a good deal ; the general
impression was that, though the oysters were poorer in
quality and flavour, the ice did not remain long enough to
kill many of them. Only a few persons could be interro-
gated, and they were not very intelligent, but, in the
absence of any opportunity to investigate the matter our-
selves, their opinion is given.

All the beds in the James River are subject to the
deposit of mud and vegetable matter brought down by the

freshets that occur in the spring The spring

freshets always cover the Mulberry Point, Point of Shoals,
and Jail Island Beds, but not always for a sufficient time to
very seriously damage the oysters, the current managing to
sweep off the deposit in time to expose the cultch to the
spat. Occasionally the damage is great ; for instance, we
were informed that during 1871 and 1872 there were a
succession of heavy freshets, which destroyed the fishing
for several years. In 1876, the mud having been washed

OYSTER CULTURE IN AMERICA. 803

away and the cultch exposed, a growth of young oysters
was noticed in all the beds about and above Jail Island.
In 1877 the oysters about Deep Water Light were good,
and probably during the coming seasons (iSyS-'yg) the
catch on all the beds will be large, as at the time of our
observations the oysters were numerous, with the young
growth predominating. Apparently,, then, it requires from
three to five years for the beds to recover from the effects
of heavy freshets, and as the oyster becomes marketable
in about two years, from five to seven years must elapse
from the date of the freshet before the beds can be profit-
ably worked.

. . . . In addition to the deposit by the James
River, the Nasemond Ridge and beds off Pig Point receive
a portion of the sediment brought down by the Nasemond
River ; but other causes not operating, that deposit would
not be sufficient to seriously injure the beds. Below Jail
Island, on the northern side of the river, the beds are not
so much affected by the deposit, and the oysters found on
them are of a better quality than those on the opposite side
of the channel.

Without incurring an expense not justified by the end
sought, there is no practicable means of protecting the
beds from this evil. Natural efforts appear to have suffi-
ciently protected them in the past, and if they are guarded
in other respects, the loss on account of the deposit of
matter brought down by the current, which is but occa-
sional, will not interfere to any great extent with the
industry.

Mulberry Point Beds. These beds comprise an area
(approximate) of 3,656,000 square yards.

Point of Shoals Bed. Comprise an area of 14,941,000
square yards, approximately ; and the Jail Island Bed has

AA2

804 OYSTERS, AND ALL ABOUT THEM.

an area, approximately, of 5,730,000 square yards.
On the shoalest parts of the beds the bottom was found to
be a stratum of shells, with a light covering of mud and a
substratum of hard sand. On these shoal places the
oysters and shells were most abundant. The oysters were
not evenly distributed over the entire bed, but grew in
detached patches and ridges on and in the vicinity of the
shoals, with numerous narrow mud sloughs intersect in
and separating them. The deep water was found over
these sloughs, and, generally speaking, the shallower the
water the larger the number of oysters and the thicker and
more solid the bed, this being especially true about the
boundaries, where the beds rise abruptly from the main
channel, and where great difficulty was found in attempting
to penetrate them with the probe ; while in the interior
portions and in deeper water the surface stratum was of
shells and mud, with six feet or more of soft mud under-
neath.

The oysters on the three beds are of the
class known among the dealers as " snaps." They are
small and poor, single or in small clusters of two or three,
and when not transplanted are used for canning. There
was no sponge or grass attached to the shells, and but very
few of the usual inhabitants of a bed other than the oysters
appeared to be present. Young oysters, of about one
year's growth and under, predominated, and the proportion
of young to mature oysters was greater on the shoal spots
and ridges at the edge of the bed than elsewhere, owing,
probably, to the fact that such portions of the bed being
shoalest, hardest, and cleanest, they offered superior points
for the attachment of the drifting spat.

The oysters from the Jail Island Bed were considered
superior to any in the river for planting purposes, though

OYSTER CULTURE IN AMERICA. 805

no reason was assigned for the preference. The oysters
from all these beds are generally transplanted before being
sent to market. No oysters were found in the main channel,
and in the swash channel only a few, and those widely

separated.

. Blue Point Bed.-T\\e area of this bed is

about 1,125,000 square yards.

Thomas Point, Kettle Hole, and White Shoal Beds.
The areas (approximate) are, respectively, 949,000 square
yards; 1,792,000 square yards; and 1,300,000 square yards.
On the Kettle Hole and Thomas Point Beds no oysters
were found on the shoals when the falling tide exposed
them, but great quantities of broken shells were mixed
with tbe sand ; on all contiguous parts the oysters were

very thick.

. . . . The covering of mud over the animals was

quite light The oysters were single and in

small clusters, and whilst those from the Thomas Point
Bed were small and of an inferior quality, those from
Kettle Hole were larger, of good quality, and with a
moderate amount of white and gray sponge clinging to
them, and on both beds the proportion of young oysters of
less than a year's growth to those mature was very large.

THE FISHERY AND ITS EFFECTS.

The oysters are removed from the beds in the James
River with the tongs alone, no dredging being permitted,
and this may account to some extent for the beds being
made up of patches and ridges of oysters. This formation
is only advantageous in so much as it assists the rapidity of
the current, and in all other respects it is an evil. Beds
such as Cruiser's Rock, Nasemond Ridge, and Point of
Shoals, where the oysters in places are too thick, would be
much improved by using a light scrape or dredge, instesd

806 OYSTERS, AND ALL ABOUT THEM.

of the tongs, in the fishery. If used with moderation, the
surface of the bed would be cleaned, its area extended, the
animals would be more evenly distributed and allowed
more room for development, and the spat, having a larger
and cleaner amount of " cultch" exposed, would probably
attach in greater numbers.

As, however, without stringent laws, rigidly executed,
it would be impossible to keep the dredging within proper
limits, and as there is but little prospect of such a thing
occurring, it is perhaps better, on the whole, that dredging
is prohibited. The mud surrounding the beds is of too
soft a character to permit any great extension of the pre-
sent area, and thus one of the principal advantages of
using the dredge would be lost, while all its evils would be
retained. Even as it is the fishery is carried to excess, and
all the beds, especially those in the neighbourhood of
Hampton Roads, are deteriorating.

THE MUSCLE HOLE BED.

This bed lies on the western side of the channel, south
of the Mud Rock. It extends north and south about three
miles, is from one half to one quarter of a mile wide, and

comprises an area of 3,060,000 square yards

The depth of water is from 12 to 34 feet, and the bottom
very irregular, . . . . The mature oysters were large
and single, and of good quality. A very large proportion
of young growth was noticed, at least one-half the oysters
being of that description. A large number of young, but
few drills (astyris), were found on the hard bottoms of the
central part of the northern portion. On the central and
southern portions of the bed the number both of young
and drills decreased, while they increased greatly on the
western portion. A large amount of red sponge was found,
and in greater quantities about the edges of the bed, especi-

OYSTER CULTURE IN AMERICA. 807

ally the western, than elsewhere, but its presence appeared
to have no effect upon the young or drills. East of the
bed the oysters were of the same general character as those
on it ; the same proportion of young growth was also
noticed ; but there was almost an entire absence of young
and drills. To the westward, as a rule, the oysters were
somewhat larger than^those on the bed, but as many young
growth were present as elsewhere. The number of young
and drills was, however, much diminished, as was also the
amount of red sponge. The number of oysters to the
square yard, the mean of thirty-six observations, was 0.70.
The number to the square yard, on the area occupied by
scattered oysters, the mean of seventeen observations,
was 0.07.

DENSITIES.

Specimens of the bottom water taken on each bed, at
all stages of the tide, have been tested with the hydrometer,
and its readings reduced to a standard temperature of 60
Fahr. These results show a maximum density of the
waters of Tangier Sound of 1.0164, which was found in the
lower part, about the California Rock, at half flood-tide.
The minimum density of i.oui was found in the upper
part of Fishing Bay, with the tide three-quarters ebb.
From the comparison of densities tabulated, it appears
that the state of the tide has but little influence upon the
density, though the depth of the water has, and the preva-
lence of strong winds may increase or diminish it.

. . . . There were no heavy rains during my stay
in the Sounds, and the densities given (in the table) there-
fore show only the condition of the water in that respect
during dry weather. I was informed that there was a
noticeable change in its character about the mouths of the

8o8 OYSTERS, AND ALL ABOUT THEM.

tributaries of the Sounds, after a heavy rain-fall, and the
effect upon the oysters was also perceivable.

The difference between the maximum and minimum
density of the Sound amounts to 0.0053 '> but the difference
between the maximum and minimum density on each bed
will give a more correct idea of the changes to which the
oysters are exposed. The greatest difference is 0.0025,
which occurs on the Shark's Fin and Fishing Bay Beds,
and the least difference on any of the main beds is 0.0009
on the Little Thoroughfare.

. . . . If the change of density over these beds
(as shown by these tables) represents with approximate
accuracy the change of salinity of the water, the fluctuation
is too slight to seriously affect the beds or oysters ; but if
the slightness of the change is due to organic matter held
in solution by the waters of the ebb tide, which would
replace the salt of the flood, there may be a much greater
difference in the salinity of the flood and ebb than has been
indicated by the hydrometer.

CURRENTS.

In reviewing the statements regarding the currents,
Lieutenant Winslow says " that the strongest on both tides
were those over Terrapin Sands during the spring tides,
their velocity being about one mile per hour." As the
observations over the Sound were made during various
states of the weather and of tide, the highest velocity
obtained is probably as great as ever sets over any of the
beds.

The velocity, except within wide limits, however, is
not so important to the oysters as the direction of the
current.

OYSTER CULTURE IN AMERICA. 809

DEPOSITS.

. . . . Those beds lying in the deep water are
particularly free from an undue proportion of mud on the
bottom, the shoalest beds having the thickest mud covering.

If there was a constant and increasing deposit upon
the beds they would long ago have disappeared, or at least
have become of much smaller area ; but the reverse is the
case, the beds increasing in area constantly.

They are, however, exposed to one species of deposit
which is very injurious. Heavy gales occurring in winter
and summer, frequently tear up the large quantities of
grass, sea-weed, and sponge on the sand shoals about the
Sound, and deposit upon the beds. If this occurs in sum-
mer, when there are a small number of dredgers at work,
the effect is very injurious, the "cultch' : being covered,
and the young, if spawned, smothered by the grass, weeds,
sand, and mud which it collects.

. . . . The gales also have the effect of covering
the scattered oysters on the leeward sands, which process
is called " sanding," and, from what I could learn, appears
to be a very injurious one. The oysters are buried, and
the bottom becomes smooth and hard. Where at least
thirty bushels could be taken previous to a gale, not one
oyster could be found subsequent to it. The winter gales
have the greatest effect, owing probably to their greater
severity and direction, which is from the northward and
westward.

. The " sand" oysters are said not to recover
from the " sanding" for several months, and upon their
reappearance are noticeable on account of the whiteness of
their shells. Though there were several very heavy blows
while we were in the Sound, they were not of sufficient
severity to produce the effect spoken of, and if they had

8 10 OYSTERS, AND ALL ABOUT THEM.

been I should not have been able to detect it, on account
of the shallowness of the water in which the scattered
oysters lie, which prevented the schooner's dredging for
them.

EFFECT OF GALES AND ICE.

As there was no opportunity for me to investigate this
question in person, the examination of the beds having
been accomplished during the summer and autumn months,
the following information is derived from the queries put
to the oystermen and persons inhabiting the shores of the
Sound.

. . . . The gales from the eastward, southward
and eastward, and southward, cause an increase of depth
over all the beds, amounting sometimes to two feet, and
the northerly and westerly gales a contrary effect, but not
sufficient to leave any of the natural beds uncovered. . .
Gales from any direction cut away considerably the
leeward shores and points, especially when they are of a
sandy nature.

. Though it is said the amount washed away
from these points is considerable, no additional deposit
was ever noticed on the beds, nor did the gales appear to
affect them in any way other than has already been des-
cribed, except in conjunction with the ice in the winter.

Ice never rests upon the main beds except in a few
isolated cases, where there happens to be a very shoal
spot on the bed ; . . . The injury done to the oysters
by the grounding depends upon the length of time the
oysters are in contact with the ice. If it only touches in a
few places, not much harm is done ; indeed, it is supposed
to protect the majority on the bed by covering them ; but
where there is a contact all over the " rock," the oysters
are killed in a short space of time. The number of points

OYSTER CULTURE IN AMERICA. 8 I I

in the Sound where it is possible for the ice to rest is incon-
siderable, and not many of the animals are destroyed by
the grounding of the ice, though they are affected seri-
ously by its long continued presence.

The winter gales break up the ice fields, and pile them
up in immense masses on the leeward shores and over the
adjacent beds. ... A good deal of damage is done
to the shores by the ice, and the oysters feel the effect,
showing it by becoming what is called " winter killed," or
poor and weak, having a slimy, sickly appearance, when
opened. Many die on the beds from this cause, and after
the disappearance of the ice, ten days or two weeks must
elapse before they are fit for marketable purposes. Ordi-
nary cold weather and a moderate amount of ice is said to
improve the fishing, the oysters appearing to be drawn
more to the surface of the beds, and the shells to sink more
toward the bottom. My informant said this effect was quite
noticeable.

No one that I was able to interrogate had ever seen an
oyster frozen in the water, and the impression was that so
Ions: as the oysters were covered they would recover from

O j J

any ill effects of ice or ordinary cold weather.

. . . . The heavy gales that occur in winter and
summer, though principally during the former season,
increase or diminish the depth of water on the beds some-
times as much as three feet. Strong northerly and north-
westerly gales have the effect of diminishing the depth of
water, piling up any floating ice upon the leeward shores,
and cutting away parts of those shores. Heavy south-
easterly and southerly gales will increase the depth of
water on the beds, stir up the soft muddy bottoms of the
channels and beds

8l2 OYSTERS, AND ALL ABOUT THEM.

Generally speaking, the beds in this (Pockomoke), as
in Tangier Sound, are in too much water to permit their
being uncovered by even the heaviest gale, or to allow
the ice to ground upon them at any time ; but those beds
in shoal water (of about one fathom), and the planted beds,
which are generally in less, are subjected to both evils.
The effect of gales and ice in Pockomoke Sound seems to be
less than that in Tangier Sound, in consequence of its less
extent and smaller area.

GENERAL INFORMATION GIVEN BY OYSTERMEN.

The following information is that derived from the
answers to the questions propounded to the fishermen and
others.

All the oystermen and dealers that were encountered
during the season, so far as was possible, were interrogated.
That which was not pertinent to the subject, or evidently
influenced by self interest or other considerations, has been
excluded.

There has been no material change of the channel
within the memory of the oldest fishermen, nor have they
ever found oysters in the deep water of the main channel
of either Sound. With regard to the improvement or
deterioration of the beds, it was the general opinion that
the beds had been much extended in size, that the quality
of the oysters had improved, both as to size and flavour,
but that the number on the beds had heen very materially
diminished, so much so that it was hardly profitable to
work on the same beds.

. . . . In Fishing Bay, . . . though the beds
as a whole had deteriorated, during the last four years there
had been some improvement on account of a more rigid
observance of" close time."

OYSTER CULTURE IN AMERICA. 813

The cause assigned for the deterioration, and even the
admittance of the fact, depended very much upon the
occupation of the informant. The tongers, or those who
pursued the fishery with tongs alone, were unanimous in
laying the deterioration to excessive dredging, while the
dredgers, or those owning pungies or other vessels em-
ployed exclusively with the dredge, while they admitted
the decrease in the number of oysters, laid such decrease
to the action of natural and unexplained causes, arguing
that the evident extension of the beds and improvement
of the oysters, due to dredging, was sufficient to prove its
good rather than its ill effects.

With regard to the effect of ice in cold weather, every-
one coincided in the opinion that the oysters in deep water
were most affected, and those in shoal or brackish water
were least so. In the same depths and character of water,
those oysters about the edges of " muddy rocks," and close
to muddy channels or sloughs, were most affected by the
cold or a severe freeze. After the latter event the packers
distinguish the deep water oyster by its dark, slimy appear-
ance, and decline it, though at the same' time shoal-water
oysters are in good order, and are accepted.

. . . . Regarding flavour, those from the salt
water were the best, and generally the salter the water the
better the flavour.

With regard to an increased freshness of water, due to
freshets and heavy rains, it was the general opinion that
during the winter season it was not of much consequence,
but that in spring or summer heavy rains or freshets were
very beneficial, especially in the spawning season, hastening
its advent and shortening its duration. An increased fresh-
ness of water always fattened the oysters. Oysters in salt
water were always poor, and oysters were generally poorer

8 14 OYSTERS, AND ALL ABOUT THEM.

after a dry season. Planted oysters above Pig Point and
the Old Rocks, in Pockomoke Sound, have been known to
die from absorbing too much fresh water, and those on the
Old Rocks have sometimes suffered from the same cause ;
but this only occurs during heavy freshets.

With regard to the depth of water and character of
bottom, shallow water was preferred, and sticky mud or
mud and sand, about six inches in thickness over a hard
substratum, was considered the best, though a larger
amount of mud did not matter, provided it was not so soft
as to allow the oysters to sink in it, and had a strong
current over it.

The oysters were said to feed on the flood tide, having
their bills open then and at no other time. No one had
noticed any enemies or animals that preyed upon the
oysters, and all seemed ignorant of the drills and their
destructive effects.

The oysters are " culled," that is, they are separated
from the old shells and other debris, while the boat or
vessel is on or near the bed. Everything except the oyster
is thrown back, sometimes striking the bed and as often
the mud. The young oysters under a year and a half in
growth, and less than two inches long, are also thrown
back.

All persons interrogated were of the opinion that at
least 75 per cent, of the oysters on a bed are taken off each
year, and that no more than 50 per cent, should be removed.
Off the beds near Haine's Point at least 100,000 bushels,
or about 20,000,000 oysters, were taken in the season of
1878. Off the Great Rock about 100,000 bushels were
taken by one hundred boats, in October and November of
1877. The oysters on the Rock at the end of November
were so scarce that but a very small number of boats could

OYSTER CULTURE IN AMERICA. 815

find profitable work on the bed. In the spring, about
75,000 bushels more were taken up and sent north, and as the
oysters were small, they amounted to probably 15,000,000
at least. Exclusive, then, of the fishing done during the
winter months, in one season it is estimated that 30,000,000
of oysters were removed from one bed alone.

Nearly all the oystermen advocate a " close time,"
either from April i or May i to October i ; many con-
sidered a prolongation until November i , and an entire rest
every other year, would be beneficial.

With regard to transplanting the oyster and its trans-
portation, all experienced persons were of the opinion that
delicacy of handling, and freedom from jars, concussions,
and shocks of any kind, were desirable. Oysters when
under hatches have very frequently been killed by heavy
thunderstorms and firing of guns. Any concussion or
sudden shock will prove destructive, if the animals are in a
confined space. Oysters taken up during the summer are
much more susceptible to injury from this cause than those
obtained during the winter.

Oysters are transplanted at any and all seasons, but
generally in the spring and autumn. Oysters obtained by
the use of the " tongs " are preferred to those dredged, and
generally those taken either before or after the spawning
season are most desirable. The dredged oysters are apt to
be broken about the bills, and will die on the planting
grounds sooner and in larger numbers than the " tonged "
ones. Those oysters planted about the Sounds are gener-
ally obtained from " tongers," but those sent to the north,
being in such large numbers, are usually dredged. The
size and age of the oysters to be transplanted depend on
whether they are for early consumption or not. If the

8l6 OYSTERS, AND ALL ABOUT THEM.

former, the larger and older the better ; but in the latter
case young oysters, from one to two years old, are preferred.

Generally, any and all oysters are taken without regard
to age or size. The oysters for the northern planting
grounds are usually taken up as soon as ice clears away,
and are used during the spring. Those transplanted in the
Sound are taken up later in the spring, or during the early
summer or autumn months, and used during the following
winter. Blunt-nosed oysters, with thick shells, do not
thrive on the planting grounds. A change of bottom in
transplanting oysters is not considered of so much import-
ance as a change of water. The planted beds should be
laid at the mouths of creeks and rivers having a rapid cur-
rent. The bottom best for natural beds was considered
best for planted ones.

The spawning season was said to be from May until
August, inclusive, though most of the spawning was done
in June and July. All opinions coincided that the oyster
in shoal water spawned first, but differed as to whether, the
depth being the same, all oysters on the same bed spawned
at or about the same time, as many being for as against the
theory. Currents were said to have no effect upon the
spawning. Oysters of one year's growth, three-fourths of
an inch long, have been seen with the spawn in them, and
oysters on natural beds were thought by the majority to
spawn sooner than the planted ones, though there was not
much difference. Oysters transplanted with the spawn in
them, however, will cease spawning. A wet or warm spring
would hasten the time of spawning, but would not shorten
its duration.

. . . . The young were supposed to "strike"
every three years, though there was but little regularity
about it, a bed sometimes running for ten years with a

OYSTER CULTURE IN AMERICA. 817

young growth on it every year, and then failing to produce
anything for two or three years. Sometimes one part of
the bed will be covered by young, and another totally
barren.

. Ten bushels of oysters were considered a
profitable day's work for a tonger. For a dredger the
number of bushels varied on account of their different
sizes. About 60 bushels were considered a profitable
day's work for the larger vessels, and from 20 to 30 for
smaller craft. The dredging vessels employ from four to
nine men, and the "tonging" canoes one man and a boy.
Tonging could not be carried on profitably in depths
greater than four fathoms in the Sound, and dredging in
not more than six. The dredges vary in size from two to
four feet across the mouth, with from eight to sixteen teeth.
Generally they are made about three feet wide, with twelve
or fourteen teeth, but vary a good deal in weight. My
informant found that, generally speaking, it was more pro-
fitable to fish with the tongs exclusively, for the large
oysters used for barrelling by the dealers, and to dredge
for packing and canning establishments. The tongs are
worked at small expense, and the "barrel' 1 oysters bring
a much larger price, though they are necessarily selected
oysters and more difficult to obtain.

The prices paid during the season of 1877-78 were
about $i per barrel for " barrel" oysters, and from 5 to 40
cents for the ordinary oysters from the beds ; the " snaps,"
or most inferior quality, bringing the lowest price, and 40
cents being paid only for "extra culled" oysters. About
20 cents per bushel would allow a small profit. The
flavour is not generally taken into account, and the degree
of fatness and the size settle the price. Salt-water oysters

8l8 OYSTERS, AND ALL ABOUT THEM.

sometimes command better prices when intended for a
special market, or to supply some unusual demand.

CONCLUSIONS.

The following remarks are simply the conclusions
drawn from certain peculiar features and facts established
by the investigation and testimony, and an attempt to
account for them.

. There are, then, two similar facts noticed
in both Sounds with regard to the presence and absence of
the young and " young growth ;" the former have been
found in deep water and on hard bottoms, the latter in
shoal water, on or near soft bottoms. The character of
the bottom can hardly be of much importance in this case,
. . . . and the only probable cause known to us is the
difference of depth of water.

. . . The class termed " young growth " by us
were from three-fourths of an inch to one-and-a-half inches
long.

. The difference in time of spawning, in
shoal and deep water, is probably due to difference in
temperature, the deeper water naturally being of the
lowest. The establishment or the refutation of this sup-
position, as also that of the difference of the times of
spawning (f) is very necessary, especially of the latter, as
it would afford a sure basis for such legislation for the pro-
tection of the beds as will soon be necessary.

( /) In searching for spawn in the oysters during the latter part of
August and first part of September, Mr. Rice was unable to discover
any except in those from deep water, and that fact, together with the
inference drawn from the preceding paragraphs, leads me to believe the
oystermen correct in stating that there is a difference in the time of
spawning of the shoal and deep water oysters.

OYSTER CULTURE IN AMERICA. 819

Aside from the general absence or presence of young
on particular beds, it was noticed that a much smaller
number were found on or adjacent to the muddy bottoms,
or on the sands where there was much grass or sponge.
. . . . The absence of the young may be very readily
accounted for, if the sponge had formed previous to the
" spatting," as it would prevent the exposure of the
" cultch." The sponge is of very rapid growth, and I was
informed that on an unworked bed it had been known to
become three or four feet thick in a few months. If, then,
it had formed and commenced growing after the "spat-
ting" season, the young would not be as much disturbed
by it as they would if the growth had been previous to their
advent. This is another reason in favour of the theory
that the depth of the water influences the time of spawn-
ing, as the effect of the sponge on the numbers of young
was greater in deep than in shallow water.

The number of drills (astyris) was, generally speaking,
in direct proportion to the number of young, and the
Pockomoke Beds, especially the Bird and Hern Island
Beds, appeared to have suffered most from their ravages.
. . . . Very few star-fish and whelks, and no other
enemies were discovered in the Sounds, and the drills are
probably the only ones that do any considerable damage.

With regard to the beneficial effect, or the reverse, of
fresh water, there can be no doubt that the oysters at least
appear fatter and are superior after absorbing it, though
they become poorer in flavour. In order to test the effect
of fresh water upon them, and to determine if the low
spring tides had any share in causing the decrease in^the
numbers on the beds, a dozen oysters were selected from
the same bed and haul of the dredge. Six of them were
opened immediately, and inspected and found to be rather

820 OYSTERS, AND ALL ABOUT THEM.

poor, of small size and dark colour, but of the ordinary
flavour. The remaining six oysters were placed in per-
fectly fresh water for twenty-four hours, the water being
changed several times during that interval. They were
then opened and inspected. They were alive and in good
order, very fat, or apparently so, and of a creamy white
colour and much swoollen, but of very insipid taste. As the
oysters were alive at the end of a day's immersion in fresh
water, they cannot well be destroyed by the brackish water
of low spring ebbs, to which they would not be exposed for
more than six hours, though a continuance of heavy freshets
might very seriously affect them.

The evil effects of sudden jars and concussions are
probably due to the breakage of the delicate pedal muscle,
which after the spawning season, in common with all other
parts of the animal, is in a more or less weakened condition.

In explaining the fact that the oysters in deep water
are more affected by cold water and ice than those on the
shoals, it is necessary to remember that the lower the tem-
perature of sea water the greater its density, and thus, as the
surface water becomes cooler, it would sink. The freezing
point of salt water is below that of fresh. Therefore the
oysters in the deep water, or, generally speaking, those
remote from the mouths of the streams, may have surround-
ing them water of a slightly lower temperature, depending
upon the amount of salinity, than those oysters near the
creeks and rivers that are surrounded by ice. Again, the
deep water would be much slower to lose or acquire heat
than that on the surface or in less depths, which would
necessarily be affected quickly by all changes of weather.

The statement that the oysters recover and reappear
after the " sanding " process must be received with great
caution, opposed as it is to most experience. That some

OYSTER CULTURE IX AMERICA. 82 1

few may survive is possibly the case, but that the majority
recover, after being covered with sand for any length of
time, is very doubtful.

The testimony of all persons in the neighbourhood o*
the Sounds was to the effect that the beds were deterior-
ating Accepting, then, the statement, it is

necessary to account for the deterioration if possible.

. . . . Briefly, the change in the beds has been a
material expansion of their limits, and a material diminu-
tion of the number of oysters upon them, and therefore the
causes for such changes must be sought among such as it
is known would produce like effects.

Disregarding for the present the agency of man in the
matter, the question is, what natural cause or causes would
both expand the beds and diminish the number of oysters ?
A bed is extended naturally by the drifting spat or " young
brood ' attaching themselves to any clean, hard, and
moderately rough substance contiguous to the bed. The
locomotive powers of the " spat " exist for but a short time,
and, except when assisted by the current, they can only
move a short distance, and unless some suitable object
presents itself for their attachment, they will sink into the
soft bottoms and die.

The principal expansion of the beds, so far as could
be effected by nature, must, however, have been accom-
plished long ago, the beds being surrounded originally,
and indeed at present, by soft bottoms of a character which
would be most destructive to the "brood," unless some
substance was interposed between it and them for their
reception. Natural expansion can only be achieved to any
extent in the manner described, and though probably there
is and has been a slow extension of the beds due to natural,

822 OYSTERS, AND ALL ABOUT THEM.

unassisted causes, their great increase in area during the
last thirty years must be assigned to other agents.

The diminution of the number of oysters may be
effected by several causes. An increased deposit of earthy
or vegetable matter upon the beds would, if in sufficient
quantities to bury the oyster, effect the destruction of both
old and young ; but no such deposit has been noticed, nor
could it well occur without showing its presence in other
ways, principally by changing the channels and causing

shoals, and no such changes have occurred

A change in the character of the water and bottom, which
would probably follow a change of channel, and might
occur without such change, might, by depriving the animals
of their proper food, cause their deterioration and destruc-
tion ; but such a change, though it would certainly diminish
the number on the beds, would do so suddenly, and the
evil effects would be noticed in the oysters remaining, their
quality and flavour, indeed their vitality, being very much
impaired. No such impairment has been observed, how-
ever, the oysters being larger and finer than when the beds
were first discovered. That fact alone will eliminate many
quantities from the equation, for any natural cause injurious
to all the oysters on the beds would be evident at once by
an examination of those found at present. If, however,
the destruction or non-production of the necessary number
of young is accomplished by means that are not harmful to
the mature oyster, a cause is discovered for the diminution

of all, in harmony with the existing facts The

destruction of the young . . by the falling of the
" spat" on unfavourable grounds, the prevalence of heavy
freshets, . . . the ravages of various enemies
all these causes have been in operation continually since
the first formation of the beds, and the animals have sur-

OYSTER CULTURE IN AMERICA. 823

vived and increased while contending with them. There-
fore, an increase of power for injury must be assigned to
one or all of these, to account for the diminished number
of oysters. Probably the " spat" falls on more favourable
ground since the beds were discovered than w r as formerly
the case, owing to the increased amount of " cultch" due
to the fishing of the beds, and aside from that, the con-
ditions surrounding and operating upon the beds are so
similar to those in the past that the loss of the young
could not be much greater from the want of attachment.

Discarding the theories of " the freshets and other
natural causes, the ravages of enemies, including astjris
(and especially the latter as the principal causes), for the
deterioration of the beds," Lieutenant Winslow proceeds :
But as there is also a marked deterioration upon those beds
upon which no drills were found, still another cause must
be at work, and must be sought in the non-production of
the young.

This is caused by the failure of the " brood" oysters,
they having removed or become extinct, thus causing a
failure of impregnation. If the theory is correct that there
is a mutual fecundation, partaken of by all oysters on the
beds, the spermatozoa being formed and milted somewhat
prior to the formation of ova, then it can easily be under-
stood that if the oysters are so much separated that even
the tides and currents cannot bring the spermatozoa within
reach of the adjacent animals, there could be no produc-
tion of young.

Taking for instance the most exaggerated case in both
Sounds, that of the Muddy Marsh Bed, it will be seen that
the set of the current over it not generally from any
adjacent bed, the nearest one being Parker's Rock, which
is over three miles distant ; the oysters on the Muddy

824 OYSTERS, AND ALL ABOUT THEM.

Marsh Bed were very few, and the mass of shells immense,
fgj affording ample surface for the attachment of the drift-
ing " spat," should there be any.

But supposing the oysters on the beds to have been
so much diminished that they were not sufficient for mutual
fecundation, the distance and situation of other beds is such
as to prevent the current from bringing the products of
generation voided on them to the Muddy Marsh Rocks,
and there would be, as was noticed, an almost entire failure
of young. In the same manner, though in less degree, would
the other beds suffer, the amount of spawn voided depending
not only upon the number of mature " brood" oysters, but
upon their distance from each other, and the spaces
separating the beds. This theory is supported by the
investigations that have been made in England, France,
and Prussia, and almost all opinions coincide that the
number of young in any spatting season is dependent
upon the number of " brood " oysters upon the beds.
Indeed, it seems so self-evident a proposition that it is
hardly worth while to experimentally establish it.

(g) To give some idea of this, I quote Lieutenant Winslow's state-
ment (or rather the concluding part of it) relating to the dredging of
the bed in question : " The oysters on the bed and from its vicinity
were of medium size and fair quality, single, and very scarce. Very
few young, no young growth nor drills, and no sponge, grass, or parasitic
attachments of any kind were found, but an immense amount of broken
shell and other debris was brought up by each haul of the dredge. On
one occasion the dredge filled in three minutes ; shells and one oyster
resulted. A similar haul produced a dredge full of shells and five
oysters. As the dredge held about two bushels, the percentage of
debris is thus shown to be enormous. The hauls were made on the
shoal, solid portion of the bed, where, according to most experience,
the oysters should have been most numerous." Report for 1881, p. 35.

OYSTER CULTURE IN AMERICA. 825

It is necessary, then, having accepted the theory, to
determine what proportion of the oysters should be taken
off the beds, and what proportion is actually removed. As
there is no data to my knowledge, derived from observations
made in this country, to determine the first of these two
desired points, it is necessary to turn to the experience of
foreign oyster fisheries for guidance ; and though the
animals and the conditions under which they live are not
entirely similar, yet some information may be obtained
and a line of investigation marked out for the future.

The following is a synopsis of the deductions of (the
late) Professor Karl Mobius, professor of zoology in the
University of Kiel, whose work, in manuscript, on the
oyster was kindly lent me by Professor Baircl. The obser-
vations were made over the Schleswig-Holstein oyster-beds
by government officials, from 1730 to 1852, and were car-
ried on in, practically, the following manner : Each bed
was dredged over in three or six places, according to its
size, and the oysters taken were divided into three classes,
and carefully counted.

The classes were denominated "marketable," "medium,"
and " young growth." The " marketable " oysters were full
grown and mature, from 7 to 9 centimeters in length and
breadth, and 18 millimeters thick. The " medium " were
half-grown oysters, from 16 to 18 millimeters thick and of
less than 9 centimeters in breadth. The " young growth"
were those one or two years old. From these observations
Professor Mobius discovers that there was an average of
42 1 medium oysters to i ooo full grown ones. The average
of all the observations differs very little from the number
given by each, and consequently shows that there was but
slight fluctuation in the proportion in one hundred and
twenty-two years. The medium oysters are considered by

826 OYSTERS, AND ALL ABOUT THEM.

Professor Mobius to be those descendants of the market-
able ones that have survived their most precarious years of
existence, and escaped their principal enemies, and are
consequently likely to reach their full growth. They thus
represent the total number of embryos spawned which have
survived in the struggle for existence.

From his (Mobius') experiments he decides that an
oyster spawns about 1,000,000 embryos in a season, and
that 44 per cent, of the mature oysters give forth " spat."
[Other authorities are of the opinion that only about 10
per cent, spawn ; Professor Mobius' data appear hardly
sufficient to justify his conclusion.]

From the above it is evident that in an assemblage of
a thousand oysters, 440,000,000 embryos will be voided
every season, and of them 421 would survive, or 1,045,000
embryos would be destroyed where one was preserved.
But the medium-sized oysters also spawn, though they
send forth a much smaller number of embryos. Mobius
estimates that the 421 in the community would produce
about 60,000,000 of " spat." It would therefore require
about 500,000,000 embryos to produce 421 medium oysters,
or 1,185,000 to produce one. Regarding these results,
Professor Mobius is of the opinion that no more than 40
per cent, should be removed each year ; but, in my opinion,
in order to maintain the oysters at a constant number in
the above case, no more than 25 per cent, should be
taken, as the one oyster in four would be replaced each
year. No comparison between the Schleswig-Holstein
beds and those on our coast can well be instituted, but as
the beds in Tangier and Pockomoke Sounds are of greater
extent, and as the more extensive the bed the greater the
breeding power, I should consider that, until the annual
number of mature oysters produced is known, it would be

OYSTER CULTURE IN AMERICA. 827

safe to take about 50 per cent, from the beds, supposing
them to be in good condition.

This is but an estimate, and may be an erroneous one,
but certainly it is not too small. It now remains to be
seen what number of oysters are actually removed from the
beds. I regret that statistics of the oyster trade in the
Sounds are not at hand for reference, and also that the
pressure of other work while I was in that locality prevented
me from obtaining them. Such observations as we were
able to make, however, will furnish a basis for a somewhat
rude estimate of the number of oysters and young taken off
the beds during the season.

While in Crisfield Harbour, about the nth October,
we counted fifty-seven sail oyster dredgers. The number
of bushels carried by them was estimated .... and
th.e result for one day was found to be 2408 bushels.

" The day had been a bad one for dredging, and but a
small number of dredgers had been at work, and they had
come into port much earlier than usual ; consequently, the
average and total number of oysters are below the usual

figures Estimating the number of oysters to

be between 150 or 200 (to a bushel) we have for the result
of one day's fishing from 361,200 to 481,600 oysters and
about 486,000 young.

. The vessels were of different sizes and from
different localities, and were classified as sloops, schooners,
and buckeyes. In order to ascertain the number of bushels
to each vessel, the total number of bushels brought in
(2408) was divided by the number of sails (57), which would
give 42 bushels as the average to a sail. A closer estimate
is obtained from Table II., where the number of bushels
assigned to each craft is that given by their master. The

828 OYSTERS, AND ALL ABOUT THEM.

total number of bushels (551), divided by the number of
sail (12), gives 45 and a fraction as the number of bushels
to each sail.

. The total number of bushels taken from
the beds in both Sounds (Tangier and Pockomoke), in
thirteen days, was 47,842, and allowing from 150 to 200
oysters to a bushel (though the number is probably larger),
there would be removed from the Sounds in the very first
of the season from 7,176,300 to 9,568,400 oysters. This,
however, is far below the real number, as the entire area
and number of sail were not visible at the same time.

. Though there were dredgers in large num-
bers at work early in September, and also many during the
entire summer, yet in order that any error may be under,
rather than over estimation, I will consider the working
season to be from the ist of October to the ist of May, and
allow three days in each week for bad weather, which would
prevent dredging. That allowance will leave 120 working
days, and in that time (by the preceding table) over
184,600,000 oysters would be removed from the beds in
the Sounds, supposing them to supply the same number
during the entire season.

. The average number of young to a bushel
was 202. That number represents the number of young
oysters attached to the shells of the full-grown ones

that were removed from the beds 20 and 30

young were frequently found on one shell, and in one case
54 were counted. In estimating the total number removed
from the beds in one day, only those vessels dredging on
such beds as were known to have a large proportion of
young upon them have been considered, and even then the
estimate reaches the astonishing figure of 1,238,790.
These oysters are those of from two to five months'

OYSTER CULTURE IN AMERICA. 829

growth, .... many of them would doubtless perish
(even) if undisturbed, for though all oysters on the beds,
mature or others, would suffer if exposed to unfavourable
conditions, yet many of those conditions would affect the
young and young growth to a greater degree than the
mature and more hardy oysters.

I will therefore suppose that 50 per cent, of the young
taken up would never have reached maturity, and will also
make another and very liberal supposition, that by the i st
of April the young would have reached such a size as would
make it profitable to open them. That would make the
working season, so far as the young were concerned, 1 04
days, and the number of young removed would amount in
that time to 128,834,000, of which about 64,417,000 would
probably have attained their full growth. These young
are 'a total sacrifice, never seeing the water again after
their removal, and generally perishing on distant or
adjacent shell heaps.

Many more are probably destroyed by carelessness in
disposing of the old shells brought up by the dredge. The
dredging is usually across the bed, and the shoal hard
ridges noticed along the edges of the beds on the western
side of Tangier Sound, and on all edges adjacent to muddy
bottoms, are no doubt caused by the dredgers, who, as
they approach the edge of the bed, having dragged across
it, haul in their dredges just before getting over the muddy
bottoms. They then stand on, tack or " wear," and as
soon as on the bed drop the dredges again. In the mean-
time the crews have been busily " culling " the oysters,
and, as likely as not, have thrown over on the soft mud a
far larger number of young attached to the shells than they
have taken off on the oysters.

830 OYSTERS, AND ALL ABOUT THEM.

No account has been taken of the number of mature
or young oysters removed by the tongers, and the estimates
are based upon observations made at the commencement
of the fishing season, when, the prices being low, a smaller
number of dredgers would be at work ; therefore, there is
every reason to believe that the estimate of both classes of
oysters is under rather than above the real number removed.
We have then, aside from the ravages of the drills, a yearly
destruction of over 64,000,000 young, and the removal of
184,000,000 mature oysters, to account for the deterioration
of the beds.

SPECIFIC GRAVITIES.

Before I begin this part of Lieutenant Winslow's valu-
able work, I must, in behalf of my non-scientific patrons,
respectfully solicit the scientific reader's indulgence for
presuming to give a definition of the above title.

According to the Dictionary, specific gravity means
"the weight of a body compared with another of equal
bulk, taken as a standard," but the definition that will suit
my purpose better, and, at the same time, instruct the
reader in a more desirable and comprehensive manner, is
that given by Captain Maury in his very valuable work on
the Sea (h), wherein he shows that the general circulation
of the sea is dependent upon its specific gravity, and the
constant and successful efforts of that element to preserve
an uniform condition, and he illustrates the idea in the
following ingenious manner :-

" Let us suppose a globe of the earth's size, and with a
solid nucleus, to be covered all over with water two hun-

(h] The Physical Geography and Meteorology of the Sea. By
Captain Maury, LL.D., Superintendent of the National Observatory,
Washington. Sampson Low, Son, & Co., London, 1861. Ninth
edition.

OYSTER CULTURE IN AMERICA. 83!

dred fathoms deep, and that every source of heat and of
radiation be removed, so that its fluid temperature becomes
constant and uniform throughout. On such a globe, the
equilibrium remaining undisturbed, there would be neither
wind nor current. Let us now suppose that all the waters
within the tropics to the depth of one hundred fathoms
suddenly becomes oil. The aqueous equilibrium of the
planet would thereby be disturbed, and a general system
of currents and counter-currents would immediately com-
mence the oil, in an unbroken sheet on the surface, run-
ning towards the poles, and the water, in an under-current,
towards the equator. The oil is supposed, as it reaches
the polar basin, to be converted into water, and the water
to become oil as it crosses the tropic, rising to the surface
in the hot region, and returning as before. Thus, without
zvind, we should have a perpetual and uniform system of
tropical and polar currents, though without wind Sir John
Herschell maintains we should have no ' considerable cur-
rents whatever in the sea.' :

Captain Maury then proceeds to show how, by the
rotatory movement of our planet, these currents, instead of
flowing due north and south, are thrown to the right ; and
that, if, in addition to this cause for deflection, you intro-
duce a series of obstacles in the shape of continents,
islands, and shallows, you would easily create those cross-
currents, those variations in volume and velocity, which are
met with in the circulation of the ocean of our planet ; and
he concludes by asking whether the cold waters of our
northern regions, and the warm waters of the Gulf of
Mexico, made specifically lighter by tropical heat, do not,
in their present system of currents, represent in a great
degree the relation of the imaginary oil and water.

832 OYSTERS, AND ALL ABOUT THEM.

Gladly would I avail myself of the opportunity of
quoting further from this interesting and highly instructive
book, but that the tempting pursuit were of too digressive
a nature for the subject in view. But those who read his
work cannot do otherwise than follow the writer into all
the ingenious proofs adduced in support of his views, and
agree with him that the grand currents of the ocean are
occasioned by the endless variations in temperature, specific
gravity, and saltness of its waters, as well as a multitude of
other agencies which extend from the poles to the equator ;
and that, of those causes, the winds represent merely a
unit, and act solely on the surface of the sea, or to the
extent of a few fathoms below it. The rain and the snow
which fall upon its surface serve equally to disturb the
3quilibrium, as well as evaporation in one quarter, conge-
lation in another ; and although the sea has its deserts as
well as the land, yet its waters are far more densely filled
with animal and vegetable life than either the air or terra
firma ; and every creature, every coral, every phosphores-
cent molecule and weed, is ever abstracting or adding to
the component parts of the waters in which they exist ;
their action is as ceaseless as the variations of heat and
cold which cause our atmosphere to be ever in motion,
thus calling for perpetual oceanic currents to undo their
perpetual work.

To give the reader an idea how very particularly and
how thoroughly the coast survey was accomplished by
Lieut. Winslow, I will give an example of one particular
part of his work which may serve as a guide as to what can
and perhaps ought to be done elsewhere.

It is but fair to him to add that I have very much
condensed his Report, which, being rather copious, might
not, upon that account, serve to interest readers on this

OYSTER CULTURE IN AMERICA. 833

side of the Atlantic ; but in this condensation thereof there
will be found as much as is perhaps necessary for all prac-
tical purposes.

" The general examination of the waters of the State,
with reference to their possibilities for oyster culture, was
the most difficult and delicate part of the work. It required
a scrutiny of the water and bottom ; measurement of the
currents ; determination of the specific gravities at various
states of the tides and seasons of the year ; microscopic
examinations of water, bottom, and oysters ; a study of all
the various surveys that have been made from time to

*

time, and a more or less particular examination of the

fauna of each locality In order to carry out

the spirit as well as the letter of the resolution, and make
the examination of as early practical benefit as possible,
included in the general scheme was a project for diffusing
knowledge as to the possibilities of the industry in this
State, and the best manner of utilizing them. So many of
those most directly interested in the extension of the
industry were of the poorer classes, without educational
advantages, that publications alone would either fail of
attention or fail to reach them at all. Consequently, it
was deemed best to put such advice and information as
could be given in the shape of familiar and informal lec-
tures, directed especially to those who were to be most
benefited by the knowledge of the experiences of other
oyster-growing localities. A number of such lectures have
been given with most gratifying success, both as to the
interest of the audience and as to the effect in a practical
way ; quite a number of additional oyster-gardens having
been taken up in the several counties since the middle of
November, 1885, and a very large area during the past year
(1888).

BB

834 OYSTERS, AND ALL ABOUT THEM.

. The character of the water has an impor-
tant, if not the most important, influence upon the life of
the oyster. Chemical analyses are desirable, and in some
cases necessary, but, generally speaking, the determination
of the specific gravity of the water provides a sufficiently
accurate standard for forming either comparisons or
opinion.

The investigations of the Coast Survey in Tangier and
Pockomoke Sounds, tributaries of Chesapeake Bay, and
probably the largest oyster grounds in the world, have
indicated 1.0140 as the standard specific gravity, i.oooo
indicating the density of distilled water at 60 degrees F.
The investigation also showed that the specific gravity of
those waters could fall considerably below the standard
without serious effect, and Count Pourtales, who investi-
gated the subject many years ago, came to the conclusion
that oysters would live in water of as low specific gravity
as i.ooio, which is .013 below the standard here accepted.
Indeed, within reasonable limits, it is not so much the
absolute specific gravity as it is the rate and range of the
fluctuations which must be considered, for oysters can be
accustomed to water of very great or little density ; but
water that changes rapidly from a high to a low specific
gravity, or the reverse, will soon destroy the animals.

In determining the specific gravity of the water, the
delicate hydrometers, devised for this purpose by Professor
Hilgard, late Superintendent of the U.S. Coast and Geo-
detic Survey, have been used. Three are necessary to
cover the ordinary variation between sea and fresh water.
They are described in the Report of the Coast Survey for
1874, Appendix 16.

. . . . All readings of the hydrometer have been
reduced to the standard temperature of 60 degrees F."

OYSTER CULTURE IN AMERICA. 835

Lieutenant Winslow speaks at great length on the
specific gravity of Parriplico Sound, situate on the coast of
Carolina, south of Chesapeake Bay, in North America.
He describes it as an enormous sheet of land-locked water,
comprising with its tributaries an area of 1,149,400 acres.
The general depth of the water is from fifteen to twenty
feet. In the deep water the bottom is soft, but in the
neighbourhood of the shoals and shores it becomes harder,
consisting of sticky mud or sand. There are no rocks
other than " oyster rocks," in this or any of the other
Sounds. There are two small openings into it from the
sea, giving just sufficient amount of sea-water to temper
the extreme freshness that would otherwise prevent the
growth of shell-fish.

It occasionally happens that in the extreme north part
of the Sound, after heavy freshets, the water will become
too fresh, and oysters will either perish or become greatly
impaired in quality ; the average density of the water is
1.0115, which, however, varies greatly with the locality,
weather, and season of the year. The usual practice was
to obtain and test a specimen of water every two and four
hours when under way, and every four hours when at
anchor. The current was measured whenever an anchorage
specimen was taken. There were 2500 specimens of water
tested in this locality.

Considerable variations were found in density in every
locality, and in many the range was abnormally large.
These variations did not appear to be altogether influenced
by the wind prevailing at the time, and both high and low
specific gravities were found in the same locality, with the
wind in nearly the same direction and of nearly the same

force. Neither did the current appear to have the influ-

BB 2

836 OYSTERS, AND ALL ABOUT THEM.

ence to be expected. With an approximately similar cur-
rent the specific gravity at a point will vary considerably.

The condition of the water was found not to be
dependent upon the wind prevailing at any particular
time, but upon the wind that had prevailed ; while, except
in the neighbourhood of the inlets, the exact opposite was
(and is) the case with the currents.

From a careful inspection of the determinations of
specific gravity and observations of winds and currents, the
following are deduced :

Easterly winds will cause high water and high densities.

Westerly winds will cause low water and low densities.

Southerly winds will cause low water and low densities
in the southern part of Pamplico Sound, and high densities
in the northern part.

Northerly winds will have an exactly opposite effect in
each locality.

The greatest density and the highest water will be
found, after continued easterly weather

In the northern part of the Sound, immediately before
the shift of the wind to N.W.

In the southern part of the Sound, immediately before
the shift of the wind to the S.W.

The strongest currents will be found immediately after
a shift of wind.

The weakest currents will be found immediately before
a shift of wind.

This portion of the coast is in close proximity to the
general track of cyclones, and an advancing circular storm
is always felt beforehand, through the influence of the
cyclonic wave, in increasing the height of the tides or
general level of the water. Hence an increase of density

OYSTER CULTURE IN AMERICA. 837

and high water will indicate the approach of easterly
weather.

The average of the density determinations

taken at twenty-three different points west, but within five
miles of the Bluff Shoal, gives 1.0106 as the specific gravity
of the water of the area.

The average of the determinations taken at twenty-
two different points east, and within five miles of the Shoal,
gives 1.0125 as the specific gravity of that area.

In other words, east of the shoal the specific gravity is

0.0019 higher than west of the shoal The

difference in the character of the water is apparently due
to the difference in origin of the water on the east and
west sides of the shoal that on the east coming from
Albemarle, and being influenced by the tidal currents of
the inlets, while that on the west is from the Pamplico and
Neuse Rivers, and is not subjected to any oceanic influence.
. The study of the specific gravities of water
offers an interesting field for investigation at all times, but
in the figures given below the object is the determination
of the average specific gravity of the areas, and the amount
of variation in " a general summary of the results of all
observations, arranged by 27 sections and by counties," of
which the following are the totals :

SUMMARY BY SECTIONS. Area in acres, 1,325,419.
Area upon which oysters can be grown, 756,520. Average
specific gravity, varying from 1.0040 to 1.0230, averaging
about i. 01 12. Extreme depths of water, i to 28 feet, aver-
aging about 1 2 feet. General character of bottom : 7
being spoken of as sand, 14 sand and mud, and 6 mud.

SUMMARY BY COUNTIES. Area in acres : public
grounds, 20,553.11 ; natural beds, 8,327.90 ; suitable ground
(approx.), 583,330 ; available for entry (approx.), 502,000.

838 OYSTERS, AND ALL ABOUT THEM.

GENERAL CONDITION OF THE OYSTER
INDUSTRY PRIOR TO 1887.

The condition of oyster industry of North Carolina, at
the time the present investigation (1886) was begun was
insignificant.

The natural beds of the State comprise some 8000
acres. These beds produced in 1880, according to the
U.S. census, 170,000 bushels of oysters, valued at $60,000,
and afforded employment for 1020 persons and $68,500 of
capital. The yield of the beds was therefore about 20
bushels per acre, and the value of the ground in gross
income $7.00 per acre. As a considerable portion of the
area of the oyster-beds is non-productive at present, either
on account of the inferiority of the oysters or want of a
market for the particular grade of stock they supply, those
grounds that are worked must be yielding somewhat more
than 20 bushels per acre ; but allowing a margin of 50 per
cent, for non-productive areas, 40 bushels per acre are
secured.

According to the report of the Maryland Oyster Com-
mission, the beds of that State comprise an area of 123,520
acres, and the census gives their product as 10,600,000
bushels, or an average of 87 bushels per acre. In 1880
the Maryland oyster-beds were already in a much impaired
condition, and consequently they produced much less than
a natural bed in a normal condition ; but comparing the
average yield of the Maryland beds with that of the North
Carolina areas, a difference of 47 bushels per acre is shown
in favour of Maryland. Either one of two conclusions can
be drawn from this comparison : the fishing in Maryland
was more systematic and thorough, or the beds of North
Carolina yielded much less for the same exertion. Natur-

OYSTER CULTURE IN AMERICA. 839

ally they were more productive, as they were in shoaler
water and the oysters were more easily obtained ; therefore,
if other indications point in the same direction, the evi-
dence as to the proportionally small product must be
accepted as additional proof that the beds have deterior-
ated.

Such additional proof was not wanted. All oyster-
men encountered expressed the opinion that the beds were
by no means in as good condition as in the past, and
invariably the cause was stated to be over-fishery. In
addition, nearly all the beds examined showed an undue
proportion of empty and broken shells, and a correspond-
ing poverty of oysters. This was certainly not due to the
ravages of enemies, as none of any consequence were
found. In the upper part of Pamplico Sound many areas
have suffered, either from a deposit of sediment or from
the action of fresh water, and in a few other localities beds
in shoal water have been damaged by ice ; but with these
exceptions there was no evidence of any deleterious natural
influence having been at work. Remaining, then, was the
influence of the fishery, and the testimony of the fishermen
as well as of the beds was conclusive to the effect that in
many localities the fishery was excessive.

The experience of other localities has been, without
exception, that excessive fishery leads to extinction, and
there was no doubt that the beds of North Carolina, if
they continued to be exposed to an unrestricted fishery,
and obtained no measure of relief, would share the universal
fate and be destroyed.

The beds being in not only an impaired condition,
but threatened with complete destruction, some remedy
was necessary that would counteract the destructive influ-
ence. This could be accomplished by restricting the

840 OYSTERS, AND ALL ABOUT THEM.

fishery, or by endeavouring to increase the number of
oysters on the beds. To restrict the fishery would, in
effect, deprive many of the poorer class of people of a
portion of their substance and means of livelihood ; nor
was it necessary, except in extreme cases, to do so. The
root of the evil was that the demand had outgrown the
supply, and so long as that continued, restrictive measures
would not only be very difficult to enforce (as the periodic
oyster war in the Chesapeake bore witness), but would
cause an increase in the price of a desirable and nutritious
article of food.

Restriction, except in special cases, was, then, not a
practicable or desirable remedy. The other alternative
was to strike at the root, and endeavour to increase the
supply ; and this could be done only by the cultivation of
additional areas which were unproductive. A feeble effort
had been made in this direction, under the authority of
those sections of the Code which permitted individuals to
cultivate tracts of bottom ; of those sections the following
is a brief synopsis :

Section 3390 provides that any inhabitant of the State
may have not more than 10 acres of bottom, provided he
first obtains a license from the Clerk of the Superior Court,
stakes out the ground with substantial stakes, and has not
more than one such bed in a county ; and provided, also,
that the riparian rights of owners of adjacent lands shall
not be affected, nor any natural clam or oyster-bed be
inclosed nor navigation obstructed.

Section 3391 authorizes the Clerk of the Superior
Court, in his discretion, to grant licenses.

Section 3392 authorizes the County Commissioners,
in their discretion, to make surveys of the private beds or
gardens, and declares any owner who is found to have

OYSTER CULTURE IN AMERICA. 841

more than 10 acres, or any natural bed inclosed, to have
forfeited all rights in the premises, and the same penalty
is provided should the owner fail for two years to use his
bed or garden or keep up his stakes.

Section 3393 provides for the punishment of depre-
dators upon the private beds or gardens. These pro-
visions were defective and inadequate in the following
particulars :

1. The grants were confined to inhabitants of the
State, the impression being that the area of suitable and
desirable ground was limited, while, on the contrary, it is
practically unlimited, our investigation having shown some
600,000 acres as available.

2. The tracts which could be taken up were confined
to 10 acres. This was due to the same impression as to
.the limited area of suitable ground. It was unwise, as
success in raising and cultivating oysters is as dependent
upon the fundamental laws of political economy as any
other business, and no business has been known to succeed
when there was no hope of expansion, stimulus to exertion,
or gratification to ambition. Neither has any enterprise a
chance of success, or of becoming of great importance,
when it neither claims nor receives the unremitting and
undivided attention of those engaged in it. Exclusive
attention cannot be given to so small an area as 10 acres.
The results would not justify it. In fact, if the owner
relied upon such a lot alone for his livelihood, he would
probably starve; and, indeed, no one did do so; the business
(if it can be called one) of raising oysters being merely
adjunctory to other pursuits, and men keeping oyster
"gardens" as they did kitchen gardens, and oysters as
they did a few pigs, almost entirely to supply their own
tables. Evidently the oyster interest had no more to

842 OYSTERS, AND ALL ABOUT THEM.

hope from such a state of things than agriculture had from
the kitchen garden.

3. The provision allowing each person but one bed
was unjust. Circumstances or location enabled one man
to take his full 10 acres in a lot, and another but 2 acres ;
but the law allowed but one lot, which should not exceed
10 acres, and thus some men obtained more than others.

4. The provision protecting the natural beds was right
and proper, but worked disadvantageously on account of
the use of a general instead of a specific description of the
areas it was desired to protect. As explained in the first
pages of this report, there is a great difference of opinion
as to what constitutes a natural oyster-bed, and so long as
no legal and exact definition existed to govern those
desirous of establishing artificial beds, more or less inse-
curity was felt.

5. The provision, granting to the Clerk of the Superior
Court discretionary power to issue licenses, had no founda-
tion in justice. It opened the door to favouritism and
partiality, and it is particularly to the credit of the clerks
of the courts of the several seaboard counties that they
did not take advantage of the provision to forward ends
other than those of a public nature.

6. The provision giving the County Commissioners
discretionary power to make surveys was also a disadvan-
tage. Unless the Commissioners chose to act, there was
no means of determining whether the law had been com-
plied with or not.

7. The absence of a requirement that lots should be
surveyed and located with reference to some well-defined
and permanent landmark before the issuance of the license,
was apt to cause confusion of titles and needless litigation.
Many clerks required surveys to accompany the application

OYSTER CULTURE IN AMERICA. 843

for license, but those surveys were rude in the extreme,
and it was the exception and not the rule when they would
plot. In many cases the description of the lot was radi-
cally in error in one case the metes and bounds given
being practically one straight line, and this lot was sup-
posed to contain 10 acres. In numbers of instances no
description at all was given beyond the statement that the
lot lay in such and such a creek or bay, and contained 10
acres. How the area of the lot was determined is im-
possible to conceive. Many lots were said to begin at
a "point," or opposite a "house" or "wharf," but the
general description was that the lot " begins at a stake."
A stake is a perishable object, and frequently disappears.
In such cases the owner sets up another, sometimes in the
same place and sometimes not ; but there was nothing to
.prevent his taking up an entirely new area, or infringing
upon other lots, and nothing to protect him from similar
infringement upon his own.

Two examples of characteristic surveys are quoted :
" Begins at a stake, running N. 66 W., 30 poles ; thence
S. 66 C E. to the shore ; thence with the various courses to
the beginning, containing 10 acres.

The two courses given here are one and the same, and
the description is utter nonsense.

" This is a plan of an oyster-bed layed off for ,

in Creek, in said county, on Hunting Quarters,

containing 10 acres on the east side of said creek, adjoin-
ing the lands of said ."

A rough sketch without courses or distances accom-
panies this description, and naturally no plot can be made
nor its area determined.

In addition, the law required good and substantial
stakes to be maintained, and also that free navigation

844 OYSTERS, AND ALL ABOUT THEM.

should not be interfered with. But stakes of the descrip-
tion required did interfere, to some extent, with navigation
by small boats, and their maintenance was in some locali-
ties a source of complaint.

Reviewing the several provisions of the statutes, it
will be seen that the clerk of the court might or might not
grant a license at his discretion ; that he who obtained the
license for 10 acres might take more than that amount,
and that there was no method of detecting his appropria-
tion of extra ground, unless the County Commissioners
should choose to exercise their powers and cause a survey
to be made ; that those who had honestly taken up nothing
more than the law allowed were constantly in danger of
losing the fruits of their labour through inaccurate surveys,
or through the presence in the area of something or some
spot which some person might choose to consider a natural
bed, and which, for all the owner knew, might be one
within the meaning of the law.

Supposing that the cultivator observed the law and
managed to preserve his property, he was confronted on
his death-bed with more or less inability to dispose of the
ground. The license was good in him and his assigns,
but if his children were already in possession of lots they
could not maintain their title to any additional areas they
might inherit ; nor could neighbours or others purchase
if they happened to have attempted oyster cultivation, and
as already explained, the lots were too small to induce
cultivation by any but those living conveniently near them.
Thus, through the provisions of an act intended to foster
the growth of shell-fish, and at the same time prevent a
monopoly of the ground, the growth of the industry was
checked, its profits rendered hazardous, and a most rigid
monopoly vested in a few people living near the water fronts.

OYSTER CULTURE IN AMERICA. 845

Naturally conditions such as these awakened discon-
tent, not only among those who worked on the natural
beds, but among that better and more influential class who
had made some effort to improve such ground as they
could legally hold. Labouring under insecurity of title,
open to depredation under the guise of law, and confined
to areas so small as to hardly pay the attention given
them, it was surprising that even two hundred and fifty
persons should have had the courage to enter the business.
And, in fact, the only cases where a real success was
achieved was where at least three or four lots, containing
ostensibly 10 acres each, were held in^the same family,
and the property secured by a gun.

In the appendix of the preliminary report, made to
the Governor in January, 1887, is given a list of the
owners of oyster-gardens, and the area, so far as it could
be determined, of each lot. To cure the foregoing defects,
and remove the obstacles which lay in the road to the
establishment of the industry upon a firm and just founda-
tion, I suggested that the following recommendations be
incorporated in a new enactment by the Legislature :

1. That the control of the shell-fish interests of the
State be committed to some body, which should be large
enough to enable it to exercise the semi-judicial functions
which its duties would entail, and yet sufficiently small to
secure executive qualifications and full responsibility.

2. That, as the entire area of the waters of the State
had not yet been surveyed or examined, and as the areas
and positions of all the various natural oyster-beds had
not yet been determined, the several sections defined in
the first part of this report should be accepted and made
legal divisions of the area. The sections had been laid off
with a view to their possible utilization in this way. They

846 OYSTERS, AND ALL ABOUT THEM.

began and ended at points established with all the accuracy
of the most accurate surveyors of the world the officers of
the U.S. Coast Survey and their limits were therefore
clearly and sharply defined. In many the surveys had
been completed, and by adopting those or similar divisions
portions of the area could be opened to entry from time to
time as the natural beds were located, and thus an imme-
diate revenue secured and a portion, if not all, the expenses
attending the installation of the work be defrayed. The
action would be similar to laying off a town in blocks, and
permitting building in each as fast as the grades were
established and public ways defined.

3. That the body controlling the shell-fisheries, after
suitable surveys had been made, and the positions of the
natural beds defined and laid down on proper maps, should
determine upon the areas and positions of the Public
Grounds of the State in each section.

4. That the Public Grounds should include all natural
beds, and such adjacent areas as might be necessary to
provide for such natural expansion as would occur within a
reasonable time, and that a definition should be given to
the term " natural bed."

5. That the body controlling the fishery should have
full power and jurisdiction over the Public Grounds, and
should prescribe such rules and regulations for the govern-
ment of the same as might be necessary.

6. That upon the determination of the location and
area of the Public Grounds in any section, the same should
be published for the information of those whom it might
concern, and that opportunity to be heard should be given
any person who was dissatisfied with the decision as
announced ; and that all objections and protests should

OYSTER CULTURE IN AMERICA. 847

receive consideration, and be substantiated or refuted, if
necessary, by additional surveys and examinations.

7. That the body controlling the fishery, after being
fully satisfied as to all the facts in the case, should come to
a final decision, which should be binding upon all persons
until reversed by due process before the courts, to which
appeals should lie.

8. The body controlling the fishery, after having
determined the positions and areas of the public grounds,
should have power to grant perpetual franchises, for the
fishery and cultivation of shell-fish on any area not within
the boundaries of the Public Grounds.

9. That the Legislature should determine upon a
certain fixed price per acre to be paid, and on its payment
the applicant for ground should be entitled to his franchise.

10. That the body controlling the shell-fishery should
furnish each owner of ground with a survey, plot, and
description of his lot, for the actual cost of making the
same, and should prescribe the place, character, and num-
ber of stakes, buoys, or monuments for ranges which the
owner should maintain, so that there should be no inter-
ference with navigation or the fishery of migratory fishes.

1 1. That all holders of licenses under the old statute,
who had complied with the law, should obtain from the
body controlling the fishery franchises for their grounds,
and that the surveys and locations of the same should be
verified before issuing such franchises.

12. That a regular tax should be levied and collected
on all private grounds, in the same manner as upon other
property.

13. That any private ground which was not improved
within five years should revert to the State.

848 OYSTERS, AND ALL ABOUT THEM.

14. That forms for all applications, grants, assign-
ments, and protests, should be determined upon by some
competent authority, and be adopted for use.

15. That regular books of record and plots of the
grounds should be kept by the body controlling the fisheries,
and that all grants, transfers, and assignments should therein
be recorded.

These suggestions were general, and of course admitted
of elaboration as might be deemed best.

They provided for intelligent supervision of the whole
industry, for the opening of the undeveloped area, for the
maintenance of the rights of individuals and of the public,
and insured even justice to all. They contained the essen-
tial features of the Connecticut law, which had passed
beyond the domain of experiment, and their adoption by
the State would, I believed, bring about great benefits,
and would not, I knew, result to the detriment of anyone.

The foregoing recommendations met with the approval
of his Excellency the Governor, and their general and im-
portant features were incorporated in his message to the
General Assembly. After a most elaborate discussion in
committee, a bill was reported which passed both houses,
and became a law on the 28th of February, 1887. It was
entitled " An Act to promote the cultivation of shell-fish in
the State," and a copy will be found a few pages further on.
OPERATION OF THE NEW LAW.

The Board of Commissioners of Shell-Fisheries having
completed their labours, and the areas in the several coun-
ties, not included within the limits of the Public Grounds,
having been declared from time to time open for entry,
under the provisions of the new oyster law, an immediate
movement towards securing tracts began. The new depar-
ture of North Carolina had been largely advertised through

OYSTER CULTURE IN AMERICA. 849

the press, and much interest was excited among oyster
growers and others who appreciated the importance of the
opportunity offered. Not only were the inhabitants of the
tide-water counties and of the State seeking locations, but
numerous inquiries were received from citizens of other
States.

As will be seen from its perusal, the Act is a very
liberal one, and practically invites non-residents of the
State to enter into the cultivation of oysters, the only dis-
crimination against them being in the prohibition of entry
of ground less than two statute miles from the shore.

The effect of this liberal policy was immediately felt,
and ground has been entered very generally by both non-
residents and others, fully 50,000 acres having been taken
up. . . .

The method to be adopted to obtain a grant is as
follows : The forms for applications, grants, warrants, and
assignments which have been approved by the Attorney-
General, being on file in the offices of the Secretary of
State, and Registers of Deeds of the Counties of Dare,
Hyde, Pamplico, and Cartaret

(i). The person desiring a tract of bottom makes an
application in writing, stating as nearly as may be the
location and area of the desired tract to the Entrv Taker

j

of the county in which the ground lies. The fee is 40
cents per entry.

(2.) The Entry Taker issues a warrant to the Engineer
of the Board of Commissioners of Shell-Fisheries, to sur-
vey andjocate the ground.

(3.) The Engineer surveys the ground, and lays it
down on the general map. His fees are as follows :
For each or fraction of a day employed, $2.
For each acre contained in the lot, 5 cents.

850 OYSTERS, AND ALL ABOUT THEM.

For each corner located, 25 cents.
Mileage at the rate of 5 cents per mile.

(4.) The Engineer transmits to the applicant a certi-
ficate of survey, together with a plot of the ground. A
copy of the form of certificate adopted will be found at the
end of this chapter.

(5.) The applicant transmits to the Secretary of State
the certificate and plot, together with the following sums
of money :

For fees for application of the great seal, postage,

&c., $2.05.
For purchase money for ground, 25 cents per acre.

(6.) The Secretary of State issues a grant conveying a
perpetual franchise to the fishery of shell-fish on the
ground, and records the same in his office, and notifies the
Engineer of the issuance of the grant.

(7.) The owner of the ground records the grant in the
office of the Register of Deeds of the county in which the
ground lies, and establishes his marks defining his boun-
daries. The grant must be recorded within three months
cf its issuance.

The ground must be improved within five years.

METHOD OF LOCATING LOTS.

The corners of the lot are established by taking the
horizontal angles between three established objects, or, in
other words, the location is effected by the method gener-
ally in use in hydrographic surveying, and ordinarily
known as the " three point problem." The corners can
be established on the map, the angles subtended at each
corner by objects on shore, measured by the protractor,
and then by their use stakes or buoys placed in the proper

OYSTER CULTURE IN AMERICA. 851

position on the ground, by finding the point where the
angles measured between the objects agree with those
already determined upon the map. Or this process may
be reversed : the lot can be staked off, the angles measured
at each corner, and then subsequently laid down by the
protractor on the map, and the boundaries of the lot
determined. The method is not only simply and accurate,
but is the only one practicable at small expense. Its
advantages are :

1. Any lot entered and located on the water can be
laid down in its exact relative position on the map, and,
vice versa, any lot located on the map can be laid down in
its exact relative position on the water.

2. There is absolutely no method of making a fraudu-
lent survey, as any fraud on the part of the Engineer could
"'be instantly detected by any examiner, and any misappro-
priation of area by the owner, by moving stakes or buoys,
could be immediately ascertained by re-measurement of
the angles subtended at the suspected mark.

3. After the angles are once ascertained, the stake or
buoy can be re-established, if lost, without difficulty.

4. But three instruments are needed at the most, viz. :
Two sextants and one three-armed protractor. After the
lot is laid down on the maps the area is found either
graphically or by calculation, and the description, giving
metes and bounds and the angles subtended at each corner,
is drawn up. The whole, together with a plot, is recorded
in the record-books of the Engineer. A scale of I0 ^
(equal to about 27.8 yards to an inch) has been adopted
for lots of 10 acres and under, and a scale of 20 ^ (equal to
about 556 yards to an inch) for lots of 100 acres and
upwards. Intermediate scales will be used as necessary.

852 OYSTERS, AND ALL ABOUT THEM.

AN ACT TO PROMOTE THE CULTIVATION OF SHELL-FISH

IN THE STATE.

The General Assembly of North Carolina do enact :

Section i. That the State shall exercise exclusive
jurisdiction and control over all shell-fisheries which are or
may be located in the boundaries of the State south of
Roanoke and Croatan Sounds, and north of Core Sound.

Section 2. In order to carry out the purposes of this
Act, the southern boundary line of Hyde County shall
extend from the middle of Oracoke Inlet to the Royal
Shoal Light-house, thence across Pamplico Sound, and
with the middle line of the Pamplico and Pungo Rivers, to
the dividing line between the counties of Hyde and Beau-
fort, and the northern boundary line of Cartaret County
shall extend from the middle of Oracoke Inlet to the
Royal Shoal Light-house, thence to the Brant Island Shoal
Light-house, thence across Pamplico Sound to a point
midway between Maw Point and Point of Marsh, and
thence with the middle line of the Neuse River to the
dividing line between the counties of Cartaret, Craven, or
Pamplico ; and that portion of Pamplico Sound and the
Neuse and Pamplico Rivers not within the boundaries of
Dare, Hyde, or Cartaret counties, and not a part of any
other county, shall be in the county of Pamplico ; and for
the purposes of this Act and in the execution of the
requirements thereof, the shore line as now defined by the
U.S. Coast and Geodetic Survey shall be accepted as
correct.

Section 3. The State Board of Agriculture shall, at
the next regular meeting following the passage of this Act,
elect three commissioners of shell-fisheries, whose term of
office shall be one year, and the said Board of Commis-
sioners of Shell-Fisheries shall be maintained so long as

OYSTER CULTURE IN AMERICA. 853

may be necessary to carry out the special duties confided
to them by the provisions of this Act, and no longer, and
they shall employ such engineers and clerks as may be
necessary for the execution of the said duties, and fix their
compensation.

Section 4. The Board of Shell-Fish Commissioners
shall make or cause to be made a survey and map of the
area hereinbefore described, whereon shall be shown the
location and area of all the natural beds, and of all the
grounds which may have been occupied under authority of
previous Acts for the growing, planting, or cultivation of
shell-fish, and, upon the completion of the said surveys in,
and maps of, each or any county, the Board of, Commis-
sioners of Shell-Fisheries shall determine the location,
area, limits, and designation of each and every public
ground in the county, and such public grounds are to
include the natural beds, together with such additional
areas adjacent thereto as may be deemed by the Board of
Commissioners of Shell-Fisheries as necessary to provide
for the natural expansion of the said natural beds ; and
having decided upon the location, area, limits, and desig-
nation of the said Public Grounds, the Board of Commis-
sioners of Shell-Fisheries shall publish the same for the
period of thirty days, at the court-house door, and in four
other public places in the county wherein the said Public
Grounds are located ; and any person or persons objecting
to the decision of the Board of Commissioners of Shell-
Fisheries, as published, may file a written protest, stating
the ground for his or their objection, within the said thirty
days, with the Clerk of the Superior Court of the county
wherein the said publication is made, upon payment to the
said clerk of the sum of 25 cents, and at the expiration of
the said thirty days the said Clerk of the Superior Court

854 OYSTERS, AND ALL ABOUT THEM.

shall forward all such written protests to the Board of
Shell-Fish Commissioners ; and in case such protests are
so filed and forwarded, the said Commissioners, or a majo-
rity of them, shall, upon fifteen days' notice in writing,
mail or personally deliver to all parties in interest, hear
and pass upon such protests or objections, in the county in
which the said public grounds are located ; and the said
Board of Commissioners of Shell-Fisheries, having fully
informed themselves of the facts in the case, shall make,
within twenty days of the hearing, a decision which shall
be final, and shall be so considered until reversed on appeal
to the Superior Court. And at all hearings authorized by
this Act the said Commissioners may, by themselves or
their clerk, subpoena witnesses and administer oaths as in
courts of law.

Section 5. The Board of Commissioners of Shell-
Fisheries shall, upon making the said final decision as to
the location, limits, area, and designation of the several
Public Grounds in the county, publish the same in the
county in which the said Public Grounds are located, and
in two newspapers having a general circulation in the
State, and shall announce in the said publication that at
the expiration of twenty days from the first day of publica-
tion the territory within the said county, and embraced
within the provisions of this Act, will be open for entry in
manner and form as hereinafter provided ; and any person
or persons desiring to raise, plant, or cultivate shell-fish
upon any ground in the county which has not been desig-
nated as Public Ground by the Board of Shell-Fish Com-
missioners, may, at the expiration of the said period of
twenty days, make -an application in writing, in which shall
be stated, as nearly as may be, the area, limits, and loca-
tion of the ground desired to the entry-taker of the county

OYSTER CULTURE IN AMERICA. 855

in which the said area for which application is made is
situated, for a franchise for the purpose of raising or culti-
vating shell-fish in said grounds, and the said entry-taker,
having received said application, shall proceed, as with all
other entries, as provided in Section 2765 of the Code as
amended, except that the warrant to survey and locate the
ground or grounds shall be delivered to the Engineer
appointed by the Board of Commissioners of Shell-
Fisheries, and not to the County Surveyor, and the said
Engineer shall make such surveys in accordance with the
provisions of Section 2769 of the Code, except that it shall
not be necessary to employ chain-bearers, nor to administer
oaths to assistants, nor to make surveys according to the
priority of the application or warrant.

Section 6. The Secretary of State, on receipt of the
Auditor's Certificate, as provided in section 2778 of the
Code, shall grant to the applicant a written instrument
conveying a perpetual franchise for the purpose of raising
and cultivating shell fish, in and to the grounds for which
application is made ; and the said written instrument of
conveyance shall be authenticated by the Governor,
countersigned by the Secretary and recorded in his office.

The date of the application for the franchise and a
description of the ground for which such franchise was
granted shall be inserted in each instrument, and no grant
shall issue except in accordance with Certificate from the
Engineer of the Commissioners of Shell Fisheries, as to the
area, limits and locations of the grounds in which the said
franchise is to be granted ; and every person obtaining
such grant or franchise within three months from the
receipt of the same, shall record the said written instrument
in the Office of the Register of Deeds for the county wherein
the said grounds mav lie, and shall define the boundaries

O J

856 OYSTERS, AND ALL ABOUT THEM.

of the said grounds by suitable stakes, buoys, ranges, or
monuments ; but no franchise shall be given in or to any
of the Public Grounds, as determined by the Commissioners
of Shell-Fisheries, and all franchises granted under this or
previous Acts shall be and remain in the grantee, his heirs,
and legal representatives : provided that the holder or
holders shall make in good faith, within five years from
the day of obtaining such franchise an actual effort to
raise and cultivate shell fish on the said grounds ; and,
provided further, that the area hereinbefore described, lying
between two statute miles of the main land or any island,
shall be entered or held only by residents of the State of
North Carolina ; and no grant shall be made to any one
person of more than ten acres of the said territory, and no
person shall hold more than ten acres in any creek unless
the same shall be acquired by devise, inheritance, or

marriage.

And all that territory within the provisions of this Act,
and lying more than two miles from the mainland or any
island, shall be subject to entry by any person ; but no
person shall be permitted to enter in any one period of five
years more than 640 acres.

Section 7. Twenty-five cents, per acre shall be paid
to the State Treasurer for all franchises granted, and all
monies received for the granting of franchises or for taxes
laid on the said grounds or on property thereon shall be
set apart and kept separate for the purpose of defraying the
expenses entailed by the provisions of this Act, and any
monies remaining after the payment of said expenses shall
be paid into and credited to the School Fund.

Section 8. The Secretary of State is hereby empowered
to hire and take upon leases, not exceeding a term of ten
years, in the name and behalf of the State, any such

OYSTER CULTURE IN AMERICA. 857

plot or plots of ground within the State as may be deemed
necessary for the constructing, erecting, setting, main-
taining, and protecting of signals, beacons, bound stones,
posts, or buoys, to be used in designating, locating,
surveying, or mapping any shell-fish grounds ; and any
persons who shall wilfully injure or remove any such
beacon, bound stone, post, or buoy, or any part, appur-
tenance, or inclosure thereof, or any buoy, stake, mark, or
range of any private or public shell-fish ground, shall be
guilty of a misdemeanour.

Section 9. All grounds taken up or held under this
or previous Acts shall be subject to taxation as real estate,
and shall be so considered in the settlement of the estates
of deceased or insolvent persons.

Section 10. The Board of County Commissioners
shall have entire control and jurisdiction over all Public
Grounds lying within the boundaries of the counties ; shall
place and maintain such marks, and shall prescribe and
publish at the court-house door, and at four other public
places in the county, such rules and regulations as may be
necessary for the governance and control of the fisheries
on such Public Grounds.

Section 1 1 . Any person who shall wilfully commit
any trespass or injury with any instrument or implement,
upon any ground designated under this Act, upon which
shell-fish are being raised or cultivated, or shall remove,
destroy, or deface any mark or monument set up by the
Board of County Commissioners, by virtue of Section 10
of this Act, or who shall violate the rules and regulations
prescribed by the said Board for the governance and con-
trol of the fishery on the Public Grounds, or who shall
work on any oyster-ground at night, shall be guilty of a
misdemeanour. But nothing in the provisions of this or

858 OYSTERS, AND ALL ABOUT THEM.

any Act shall be construed as authorizing interference
with the capture of migratory fishes, or free navigation, or
the right to use on any private ground any method or
implement for the taking, growing, or cultivation of shell-
fish.

Section 12. Entry-takers shall make returns to the
Secretary of State of all franchises granted under this Act,
in the same manner as provided in Section 2775 of the
Code, and the provisions of Sections 2777 and 2778 of the
Code are hereby extended, so as to cover the grants or
franchises in ground for raising or cultivating shell-fish as
authorized by this Act, and all applications, grants, war-
rants, and assignments of franchises in or near oyster-
grounds, shall be in manner and form as approved by the
Attorney-General of the State.

Section 13. All grants of grounds under previous
Acts, for the purpose of cultivating shell-fish in the terri-
tory within the provisions of this, are hereby confirmed
and made good in the grantees, 'their heirs and assigns,
provided the holders of said ground shall within one year
file with the Secretary of State certified copies of their
license and surveys, and that the said surveys be found
correct by the Engineer of the Commissioners of Shell-
Fisheries ; and in case such surveys are found to be
incorrect, the ground shall be re-surveyed by said Engineer
as soon as practicable ; and in designating lots, any person
who has made in good faith an actual effort to raise or
cultivate shell-fish on the area for which application is
made, shall have the prior right to a grant or franchise in
said grounds, but nothing contained in this Act shall be
construed to validate any entry heretofore made of a
natural bed.

OYSTER CULTURE IN AMERICA. 859

Section' 14. The Commissioners of Shell-Fisheries
shall keep books of record, in which, shall be recorded a
full description of all grounds granted under the provisions
of this Act, and shall keep a map or maps upon which shall
be shown the positions and limits of all public and private
grounds.

Section 15. Any persons who shall steal or feloniously
take, catch, or capture, or carry away any shell-fish from
the bed or ground of another, shall be guilty of larceny,
and punished accordingly.

Section 1 6. All Acts or parts of Acts in conflict with
the preceding sections are hereby repealed.

Section 17. This Act shall take effect on and after
the day of its ratification.

Ratified February the 28th, 1887.

STATE OF NORTH CAROLINA.

FORM OF APPLICATION FOR PRIVATE OYSTER GROUND.

WARRANT. , COUNTY ENTRY No

Application of of the County of

State of

DESCRIPTION BY SURVEY.
(Courses, true ; distances, statute.)

Begins at a point situated yards from

at which point the following angles are subtended

Thence yards to a point where the

following angles are subtended

Thence yards to a point where the

following angles are subtended

860 OYSTERS, AND ALL ABOUT THEM.

Thence

yards to the beginning, containing acres.

I CERTIFY that the foregoing is a correct description
of area, limits, and location of the ground for which appli-
cation was made under the above entry, and the same lies

than two statute miles from the land, and does

not include any of the Public Grounds as determined by
the Board of Shell-Fisheries

Witness my hand this . . . day of . ... 1 8 ....

Plotted on sheet No by

Plat by

Description by Book p . . . .

CONCLUSION.

Before the inception of the examination of the oyster
area of the State, the industry was not only insignificant,
but had every prospect of remaining so. The examination
and survey have directly or indirectly entirely changed this
condition of affairs. Where widespread ignorance as to
the real condition of matters existed in the past, intelligent
comprehension of all phases of the question is found in the
present. In place of ignorance of the positions and areas
of the natural beds and possibilities of oyster culture, is a
general diffusion of knowledge on both subjects. Instead
of continual strife among those who worked the common
and those who worked the private property, there is prac-
tically general harmony. Where, under cover of law,
robbery of the common property was carried on by one
class and depredations on private property by the other,
now exists a complete restriction of both. The rights of
the public and of the individual are equally protected.

OYSTER CULTURE IN AMERICA. 86 1

In place of what was virtually discouragement of
enterprise in this field, is now liberal encouragement to
all who will venture labour or capital in the development
of the area. Instead of an insignificant business, yielding
little to the individual and nothing to the State, a new
industry, promising wealth and prosperity to the in-
dividual and increased income and importance to the
State, has begun its existence ; and, finally, confidence in
the future may be substituted for the fear of disaster to
the greatest of American fisheries.

The Chesapeake beds may and probably will be des-
troyed through the excessive and illegal fishery they under-
go ; the oyster-farms on Long Island Sound may continue
their struggle with star-fish and inclement weather with
the ravages of man and nature ; but so long as North
Carolina holds open her hundreds of thousands of acres of
territory to the cultivator, the oyster industry of the country,
employing its thousands of people and its millions of capital,
cannot perish.

CHAPTER XXXIII.

THE OYSTER INDUSTRY IN NEW SOUTH WALES.

PROFESSOR RAMSAY, speaking at one of the Conferences
(held in connection with the great International Fisheries
Exhibition of 1883) on the Fisheries of New South Wales,
(a] said, with respect to the oyster production of that
country, that most of the beds are natural beds, and that
very few of them are formed by artificial layings, while all
are under lease, and more or less under cultivation.

He classified the native edible mollusca under Ostrea
glomerata, Gould, O. virescens, 0. subtrigonia, Sow., O. mor-
daoc, .Gld., O. edulis, var.pttrpurea, Hanley.

The Rock-Oysters (he observed) although usually
known under several different names, are now by most
conchologists admitted to be only localised varieties of
one and the same species, Ostrea glomerata. If we accept
this view, then we have only two species which are used
as articles of food 0. glomerata, in its many varieties, and
O. edulis, Z., O.purpurea being only a variety of the latter,
which is identical with the small form known as the
"Native," in the London markets.

(a) "The Fisheries of New South Wales," by Edward P. Ram-
say, Commissioner of the New South Wales Fisheries. (Conference
Papers, &c. William Clowes & Sons, London.)

OYSTER INDUSTRY IN NEW SOUTH WALES. 863

The Ostrea glomerata assumes numerous forms in
various places (which fact was convincingly illustrated by
the exhibition of a collection from 70 different beds and
localities), giving undeniable proof of the wealth which
may be developed by proper legislation, administration,
and cultivation of the oyster-beds in N.S. Wales.

A variety of the same species from Coffin's Bay, in
South Australia, is found in the Adelaide market, frequently
producing irregularly formed pearls of large size but of no
commercial value.

Recent experiments tend to prove that the Rock-
Oyster of the N.S. Wales shores, which is left dry by every
tide, is only a variety of the Drift-Oyster ; and spat taken
from the rocks at low tides, when laid in beds always
covered by the sea, are said to thrive well ; and although
oysters may thrive on natural beds of mud and sand, when-
ever these beds are over-dredged the animals become
diseased by the infiltration of mud into the shells. Steamer
traffic over the shallow water-beds of the Hunter River,
formerly so prolific, has in many cases either deteriorated,
or completely destroyed them. These oysters only live a
few days after being taken from the water, and even when
freshly-opened the animal is of a dirty-white colour, and
quite unfit for food. The black mud stirred up by steamer
traffic, and brought down by the tides or " freshes" in the
river, infiltrated into the shell ; the animal, unable to get
rid of it, deposits a layer of nacre over it time after time,
until the shell becomes formed of thin layers of mud and
nacre, and the animal becomes exhausted, diseased, and
dies.

That natural oyster-beds can be, and are, in fact, being
destroyed daily by over-dredging, and by traffic when
situated in shallow waters, in other countries as w r ell as in

864 OYSTERS, AND ALL ABOUT THEM.

Australia, must be patent to anyone who has taken the
trouble personally to examine into the subject. It is also
clear, from the numerous specimens exhibited from the
Australian waters, that the depth up to 10 or 15 feet is not
material, although the best oysters are obtained from the
shallowest beds, and are grown on a rough, shelly, gravelly,
or stony bottom. The most highly prized in New South
Wales are those from the rocks or beds where the fresh and
salt water mingles at certain seasons of the year ; for in-
stance, at the estuaries of the river and vicinity of fresh

water creeks.

Ostrea virescens is a rare species, only occasionally

found at very low tides on some of the numerous islands
in Port Jackson. Other species (0. crista-galli and O.
imbricata) are obtained from Queensland ; and the " Ham-
mer-head Oyster ' : (Malleus albus, Lam.), &c., are found
on the Australian coasts, but do not find their way into the
market as articles of food.

The value of oysters in Sydney is from 4/- to io/- per
bushel, and are retailed at 6d. to i/- per dozen.

Those who are desirous of obtaining further informa-
tion on this subject will do well to consult the Reports of
the Royal Commission on the (Oyster) Fisheries of N.S.
Wales, 1877, JSS * & c -> an d the " Proceedings of the Lin-
nean Society of New South Wales " for 1881-83, where
several interesting Papers will be found on the subject by
Dr. J. C. Cox, F.L.S., the Rev. J. E. Tenison-Woods,
F.L.S., and Mr. John Brazier, C.M.Z.S.

CHAPTER XXXIV.

THE OYSTER INDUSTRY IN WEST AFRICA.

EDIBLE oysters are found in beds, on the rocks running
out into the sea, which are uncovered at low tide, and on
trees (mangrove). The trade in oysters is large, but chiefly,
in fact altogether, confined to the coast, as their delicate
nature, even when cured as the natives affect, does not
admit of long keep.

The trees on which oysters are usually to be found in
the tropics are of the mangrove family, the nature of which,
with their aerial roots, admits of their growth in the flow of
the oyster spat, which is thus at times in part intercepted,
adheres, and develops into what is commonly spoken of as
the tree-oyster. Mangrove oysters are not as much sought
after as bed or rock-oysters, although they are collected for
the sake of their shells, for the purpose of conversion into
lime.

Bed-oysters are more extensively sought after. A
solitary canoe at anchor over oyster-beds may be seen at
times with no occupant. He has dived with his basket,
and grabs in the mud (so long as his breath will allow him
to remain under) for his prey, until by such repeated efforts
he succeeds in filling his canoe. Women are usually the

buyers and subsequent retailers of such commodity.

cc

866 OYSTERS, AND ALL ABOUT THEM.

Rarely, except for European tastes, oysters are sold open,
but in bulk with shell on. Such as are not disposed of
fresh are cured similarly as are shrimps and fish.

The oyster season, although the mollusc may be taken
at any time, may be viewed to extend, as far as the Gold
Coast colony goes, over six months or so of each year,
during the rainy season. Oyster collectors make yearly
presents to the fetish priests, to invoke and propitiate the
god of fish.

There is a certain danger associated with this industry,
for it has been known that persons concerned in the same
have fallen victims to sharks and crocodiles. The collec-
tion of the raw material can be followed out by any man or
woman. Odd to say, among the Yorubas, he who follows
the oyster industry is considered as of the lowest grade of
society. In the past such a man would be denied marriage
in a family of position above his social estimate. Women
go in for the collection of mangrove-oysters. Papers of the
Conferences held in connection with the great International
Fisheries Exhibition, 1883. " West African Fisheries" by
Captain C. A. Moloney, C.M.G.

O:

CHAPTER XXXV.

OYSTER CULTURE IN CHINA, (a)

IMMUTABLE, immemorial China, on the far western coast
of the Pacific, with its highly developed industries and long
descended customs, the land from which many a product,
both of nature and of art, has found its way to western
Countries, forms an appropriate connection between ancient
and modern times. Amongst other occupations, fishing
received its full measure of attention, and the various forms
under which it is practised are far too numerous to be here
described, though a few of the principal must be noticed.
Rather more than a century and a half ago, the encyclo-
paedia, Koo Kin Too Shoo Tseih Ch'ing, in one thousand
volumes, was drawn up by Imperial authority, and two
articles on fishing are contained in it, under the section
Shuh Teen. A few plates are to be found in connection
with the article ; but most students will probably prefer to
consult the French work of M. Dabry de Thiersant, whose
abundant illustrations are only equalled in interest by the
excellence of the invaluable information conveyed in his
text. The cultivation of oysters is on a very large scale,
and dates from a remote age.

(a) See relative information, pp. 275-77.

CC2

868 OYSTERS, AND ALL ABOUT THEM.

Notwithstanding the enormous consumption of oysters
from time immemorial in China, there appears to be no
diminution of the supply. In the north, on the shores of
the Shantung promontory, at the mouths of the Yangtsze
and Ningpo rivers, all along the coasts of the Fohkien
and Kwantung provinces, and on the seaboard of Formosa,
the cultivation of oysters is carried on with much skill and
success. Considering their dearness and scarcity in Europe,
a thoroughly scientific inquiry as to the methods pursued by
the Chinese would undoubtedly yield important results, fbj

(b) " The Fisheries of China," by J. Duncan Campbell, Commis-
sioner for China. (Papers of the Conferences, &c., International
Fisheries Exhibition.)

CHAPTER XXXVI

STATISTICAL AND OTHER INFORMATION.

EUROPEAN STATISTICS DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THE OYSTER IN-
DUSTRY OF EUROPE AND AMERICA STATISTICS OF THE
UNITED KINGDOM AND CANADA FRENCH AND GERMAN
STATISTICS AMERICAN STATISTICS ICE USED IN THE COOLING
OF OYSTERS CANNED OYSTERS ICE USED IN THE PRESERVA-
TION OF FISH THE LONDON FISH SUPPLY PINNOTERES
AMERICAN RESTAURANTS ENORMOUS SUPPLIES FUTURE PROS-
PECTS.

THERE is nothing living which is more widespread than
the oyster ; it is to be found in every part almost of the
habitable globe. Every sea except the Baltic contains
some sort, and everywhere almost they are used as an
article of food. The immense consumption of these mol-
luscs, principally in Europe, may give some idea of their
astounding fertility, since their abundance appears scarcely
to diminish, despite the considerable quantities which are
taken from the bottom of the sea.

The figures showing one year of the European supply
are not without interest, especially as they point at the
same time to the locality and extent of the various fisheries :

Great Britain 1,600,000,000

France 680,400,000

870 OYSTERS, AND ALL ABOUT THEM.

Holland 21,800,000

Italy 20,000,000

Germany 4,000,000

Belgium 2,500,000

Spain ... 1,000,000

Portugal 800,000

Norway 250,000

Russia 250,000

Denmark 200,000

Givingatotal supply for the whole continentof 2,331,200,000
annually.

Most of these countries consume their own products,
but at least one-half of the Dutch oysters come to England,
while America exports millions of oysters yearly to our
shores.

The main difference between the oyster industry of
America and that of Europe lies in the fact that in Europe
the natives have long since been practically destroyed,
perhaps not more than 6 or 7 per cent, of the oysters of
Europe passing from the native beds directly into the hands
of the consumer.

It is believed that 60 to 70 per cent, are reared from
the spat in artificial pares, the remainder having been laid
down for a time, to increase in size and flavour, in shoal
water along the coast.

In the United States, on the other hand, from 30 to
40 per cent, are carried from the native beds directly to
market.

As the Oyster Statistics of America will occupy a large
portion of this chapter, I deem it best not to interlard
statistical fragments concerning her with those of Europe
(unless where strictly necessary), but to confine myself first
to European countries, beginning with those of our own,

STATISTICAL AND OTHER INFORMATION. 871

with which object in view I herewith present the reader
with a most reliable and exhaustive tabular statement rela-
tive to our Oyster Fishery, which cannot fail in instruction
and interest.

RETURNS OF STATISTICAL TABLES AND MEMORANDA.
(Published by order of the House of Commons.)

From these I quote the Quantities and Values of
Oysters for the years 1886 to 1889 inclusive. This is the
fourth year during which the statistics have been collected
for the whole twelve months ; the collection itself having
been commenced in the spring of 1885. To the tables for
England and Wales are also added tables, for the last
three years, relating to the fisheries in Scotland, and, for
the last two years, to those of Ireland, where the collection
of such statistics was commenced during the year 1887, but
was not made for a complete year until 1888. The method
of collection was generally obtained through the Coast-
Guard Officers, and supplied to the Board of Trade once a
month.

The statistics, it should be remarked, are those of
oysters first landed on the coasts that is of oysters landed
direct from the fishing grounds, excluding all imported
from foreign countries, as well as all oysters that had been
previously landed elsewhere in the United Kingdom.

It will be seen by the following tables that there is a
great diminution both in quantity and value since 1887.
Unfortunately, it is impossible to say how far this is a real
falling-off, owing to the positive refusal of different Com-
panies to make returns ; but it is probable that this refusal
accounts for a very large part of the apparent decline.
Not having any means of compulsion, the Board of Trade
can only note the fact of refusal to make returns.

872

OYSTERS, AND ALL ABOUT THEM.

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STATISTICAL AND OTHER INFORMATION. 873

It must be understood that the figures are of landing
value only.

The coasts of England and Wales have been made
into three divisions, namely, the east, south, and west.
The east coast representing that part from Berwick to
Margate inclusive ; the south coast from Broadstairs to
Mousehole inclusive ; and the west coast from Sennen
Cove to the Scottish Border in Cumberland ; the latter
including the Welsh coast and also the Isle of Man.

SUMMARY STATEMENT

Of the Total Quantity and Value of Oysters returned as
landed on the English and Welsh coasts, from the fishing
grounds, during the years 1886 to 1889 inclusive, together
with the average prices of the same.

There were landed in the year

1886. 45,554,000 oysters, valued at ^135,056.

Valued at 2 193. 2d. per thousand.
,, o 55. i id. per hundred.

,, o os. 8^d. per dozen.

1887. 53,577,000 oysters, valued at ^163,255.

Valued at/^3 is. o^d. per thousand.
,, o 6s. i jd. per hundred.

,, o os. 8fd. per dozen.

1888. 29,230,000 oysters, valued at ^97,704.

Valued at ^3 6s. io^d. per thousand.
,, o Os. 8Jd. per hundred.

,, o os. 9^-d. per dozen.

1889. 36,727,000 oysters, valued at ^103, 837.

Valued at 2 i6s. 5^-d. per thousand.
,, o 53. 7fd. per hundred.

,, o os. 8^d. per dozen.

874 OYSTERS, AND ALL ABOUT THEM.

SUMMARY STATEMENT

Of the Total Quantity and Value of Oysters returned and
landed on the Scotch coasts during the years 1887, 1888, and
1889, together with the average prices of the same.

There were landed in the year

1887. 213,200 oysters, valued at ^970 os. od.

Valued at 4. IDS. rod. per thousand.
,, o gs. id. per hundred.

,, o is. id. per dozen.

1888. 153,400 oysters, valued at ^744 os. od.

Valued at 4. 173. id. per thousand.
,, o 95. 8^d. per hundred.

,, o is. 2d. per dozen.

1889. 316,800 oysters, valued at ,1,470.

Valued at 4. 123. 8^d. per thousand.
,, o 95. 3^d. per hundred.

,, o is. i^d. per dozen.

SUMMARY STATEMENT

Of the Total Quantity and Value of Oysters landed on the
Irish coasts, during the years 1888 and 1889, together with
the average price of the same.

There were landed in the year

1888. 359,190 oysters, valued at 662.

Valued at i i6s. tod. per thousand.
,, o 33. 8d. per hundred.

., o os. 5^d. per dozen.

>. 972,970 oysters, valued at ^"1,549.

Valued at/"i us. iod. per thousand.
,, o 35. 2^d. per hundred.

,, o os. 4^-d. per dozen.

STATISTICAL AND OTHER INFORMATION. 875

SUMMARY STATEMENT,

Showing the Total Quantity and Value of Oysters landed
on the coasts of the United Kingdom, during the years
1 888 and 1 889, together with the average price of the same.

There were landed in the year
1888, in England and Wales, 29,230,000 oysters, valued at

Valued at $ 6s. io^d. per thousand.
,, o 6s. 8^d. per hundred.

,, o os. 9^d. per dozen.

1888, in Scotland, 153,400 oysters, valued at ^744.

Valued at ^"4 173. id. per thousand.
,, o 95. 8^d. per hundred.

,, o is. 2d. per dozen.

.1888, in Ireland, 359,190 oysters, valued at 662.

Valued at 1 i6s. io^d. per thousand.
,, o 35. 8d. per hundred.

,, o os. 5^d. per dozen.

1889, in England and Wales, 36,727,000 oysters, valued at
103,837.

/W *S ' <J I

Valued at 2 i6s. 5^d. per thousand.
,, o 55. 7fd. per hundred.

,, o os. 8jd. per dozen.

1889, in Scotland, 316,800 oysters, valued at ^"1,470.

Valued at ^"4 123. 8^d. per thousand.
,, o 95. 3^d. per hundred.

,, o is. i^d. per dozen.

), in Ireland, 972,970 oysters, valued at ^1549.

Valued at/^i us. io^d. per thousand.
,, o 33. 2^d. per hundred.

,, o os. 4^d. per dozen.

8 7 6 OYSTERS, AND ALL ABOUT THEM.

Total quantities and values :-

1888. 29,742,590 oysters, valued at ,99,110.
1889. 38,016,770 ,, ^106,856.

STATEMENT,

Showing the yield and value of the Oyster Fisheries in the
Dominion of Canada, for the years 1886, 1887, and 1888.

1886. 62,905 barrels, valued at $189,915=^37,983
1887. 61,360 ,, $i87'58o=^37,5i6

1888. 56,234 ,, ,, $163,902= 3,278 8s. od.

FRENCH STATISTICS.

The oyster industry of France employed in 1881
29,000 men, women, and children, in the pares, beds, and
preserves. The number of such establishments on the
Royal demain was 32,364, with an area of 19,891 acres,
and 970 establishments upon private property, with an area
of 926 acres. From them 734,985,770 oysters were dredged
during the season of 1880-81, from September i to June
15, worth 7,061,753 francs ; while the total number of
oysters disposed of during this period amounted to
680,372,750, worth about seventeen millions of francs.
The total includes the oysters dredged in the sea, as well
as those gathered from artificial breeding grounds or pares.

In 1867, the consumption of oysters in Paris was
26,750,775, of which the greater portion came from Cor-
seulles-sur-Mer, and from St. Vaast-de-la-Hougue. (a)
In the " Revue des Deux Mondes," Janvier ler, 1884, it is
stated that the consumption of oysters in Paris alone was
2,000,000.

(a) " Revue des Deux Mondes," " L' Alimentation de Paris,"
tome 75, 15 Juin, 1868.

STATISTICAL AND OTHER INFORMATION. 877

Oysters are imported into Marennes, for fattening and
rearing, from all parts of France, and the number in 1880-
81, including Portuguese oysters, amounted to 130,000,000.
In 1882, Marennes sent out 151,000,000 oysters, represent-
ing a value of 5,900,000 francs.

From the Pall Mall Gazette (August, 1889) I cull the
following statistics relative to Arcachon, 34 miles from
Bordeaux :

" The annual exportation of oysters from Arcachon is
now greater than that from any other place in France.
Last year over 203 millions were exported, of a total value
of ^"178, 887. The oyster beds, as mostly established at
Arcachon, are enclosures shut in by low boards erected on
the seaweed-covered sandbanks of the bay ; they are about
two to three acres in extent, and in them are placed a
certain number of tiles (often as many as 10,000), previ-
'ously dipped in a solution of lime. The infant oysters
collect upon and grow up on these tiles, the number on
one tile being on an average 250, but sometimes reaching
1000. Only about 30 per cent, of the annual number of
oysters cultivated are, as a rule, brought to market for
exportation, for nearly 70 per cent, perish from manifold
causes, viz., frost and other sudden changes of temperature,
bad weather, destruction by predatory fish, as well as from
diseases of infancy. Of the oysters exported from Arca-
chon last year, about 80,000,000 were exported to the
United Kingdom, 100,000,000 to various parts of France,
and about 23,000,000 for breeding purposes to the oyster
farms of Marennes, Tremblade, and Sables d'Olonne.
Arcachon oysters comprise many different kinds of French
oysters, in addition to Portuguese. The latter are con-
sidered the commonest, coarsest kind, while those of
4 Marennes ' are the best. None of the oysters cultivated

878 OYSTERS, AND ALL ABOUT THEM.

at Arcachon are, however, at all equal in flavour to
English or Scotch ' natives/ or to the oysters of Ostend
and Holstein."

And, as a supplementary item, with respect to Poole,
the following from the Poole Herald (July 25, 1889) :

" OYSTER CULTURE. Readers will remember that a few
months ago the Fowley Oyster Fishery Company imported
from the South of France a cargo of about a million and a
quarter of young oysters, which were laid down in the
Company's beds in Poole Harbour to fatten. We are glad
to learn that the experiment has been remarkably success-
ful, that the young oysters have thriven well, and are many
of them already in condition fit for the market."

In the year iSy^'ys (says Mobius) there
were produced in this bay (Arcachon) 112,000,000 artifici-
ally-grown oysters, and in i8y5-'76 about 196,000,000.
This important yield of the last year, as compared with the
poor returns of former years, may be accounted for princi-
pally through two causes :

First. The natural oyster-beds in the Bay of Arcachon
had had complete rest for the entire two years immediately
preceding these rich harvests. During the years iSyo-'yr
they had produced only 4,897,000 oysters ; but after this
period of rest, in November, 1874, 8500 persons assem-
bled, and in the space of three hours, during which time
the gathering was in progress, 40,360,000 oysters were
taken from the sea. A great number of these were trans-
planted, as breeding oysters, to the prepared beds, which
covered altogether an actual area of sea-bottom of 2669
hectares (about 5338 acres).

Second. The former imperfect method of caring for
the oysters had been improved to the extent that the young

STATISTICAL AND OTHER INFORMATION. 879

oysters were protected from their enemies, and care was
exercised that during hot and cold weather they should
always be kept under water.

With the earlier methods very many of the young
oysters were destroyed by their enemies, and often, during
a few unfavourable summer or winter days, when a low
tide left the beds dry, all the young oysters died. The
extraordinary yield of oysters in the Bay of Arcachon, and
at other points along the coast of Brittany, as a result of
the improved method of artificial oyster-breeding, has
very materially lessened the price of oysters in France,
despite the greater consumption occasioned by this abun-
dance. In 1873 oysters sold for 43 francs per thousand,
while in 1876 the price was 25 francs per thousand. On
this account only those oyster-breeders who attend per-
sonally to the work, and are assisted in it by their families,
make anything over and above all expenses. Those who
undertake the breeding of oysters, relying upon outside
help to do the great amount of work necessary, can gain
returns scarcely worthy of the name ; at least this is the
case in the Bay of Arcachon, as I know from trustworthy
sources.

The cost of transforming a hectare of sea-bottom
along this coast into an oyster-bed, together with the
necessary apparatus for oyster-culture, and a guard-vessel
as required by the government, is not less than seven to
eight thousand francs, (b)

The very celebrated rich oyster-beds of the Bay of
Cancale, on the coast of Normandy, have produced, accor-
ding to official reports, the following number of oysters :

(b) " The Oyster and Oyster Culture." Mobius, pp. 18-19.

88o

OYSTERS, AND ALL ABOUT THEM.

Year. No. of oysters.

1800 1,200,000

1801 1,500,000

1802 1,300,000

1803 900,000

1804 1,400,000

1805 800,000

1806 500,000

1807 1,090,000

1808 1,800,000

1809 1,200,000

1810 700,000

1811 1,130,000

1812 1,100,000

1813 600,000

1814 400,000

1815 800,000

1816 2,400,000

1817 5,600,000

1818 5,300,000

1819 6,800,000

1820 6,700,000

1821 6,000,000

1822 11,800,000

1823 18,000,000

1824 20,000,000

1825 20,000,000

1826 25,000,000

1827 28,000,000

1828 33,000,000

1829 31,000,000

1830 36,000,000

183 1 42,000,000

1832 38,000,000

1833 41,000,000

1834 46,000,000

Year. No. of oysters.

1835 43,000,000

1836 40,000,000

1837 36,000,000

1838 44,000,000

1839 42,000,000

1840 52,ooc,ooo

1841 56,000,000

1842 63,000,000

1843 70,000,000

1844 68,000,000

1845 67,000,000

1846 65,000,000

1847 71,000,000

1848 ..... .60,000,000

1849 52,000,000

1850 50,000,000

1851 47,000,000

1852 20,000,000

1853 49,000,000

1854 20,000,000

1855 20,000,000

1856 18,000,000

1857 19,000,000

1858 24,000,000

1859 16,000,000

1860 8,000,000

1 86 1 9,000,000

1862 3,000,000

1863 2,090,000

1864 2,200,000

1865 1,100,000

1866 1,960,000

1867 2,000,000

1868 1,079,000

The records of inspections of the Schleswig-Holstein
oyster-beds have furnished the means by which such an
impoverishment of these rich beds can be explained.
From 1800 to 1815 there were taken yearly from the beds
of Cancale less than two million oysters. The oysters,
both marketable and spawning, had thus an opportunity to
accumulate in greater quantity, to form the increased pro-
duction which occurred in 1822. If the French oysters
live as long as those of the Schleswig-Holstein beds, some
of this stock, which had accumulated during the period of

STATISTICAL AND OTHER INFORMATION. 88 1

comparative rest at the time of the Napoleonic wars, would
have been lying upon the banks as late as about 1830.
From this time on, for nearly a score of years, it is pro-
bable that the ever-increasing yield was the produce of
only those oysters existing upon the beds from 1820 to
1830. From 1840 to 1847 the number of oysters taken
was extraordinarily great evidently too great for the pro-
ductiveness of the beds, since from this time they produced
fewer oysters each year.

The total number of oysters taken between the years
1840 and 1847 was about 512,000,000, being on an average
about 64,000,000 per year. If this average represents the
natural stock of marketable, full-grown oysters upon the
beds of Cancale, then the number taken yearly should not
have been over twenty-six to twenty-seven millions, if it
was desired that this degree of productiveness should be
maintained. This I assert upon the supposition that the
productiveness of the oysters in the Bay of Cancale is no
greater than upon the Schleswig-Holstein banks. If this
productiveness was higher than upon our sea-flats, then
we ought to have at Cancale, not 421 half-grown oysters
for every 1000 full-grown ones, but, for example, 500.
Under these circumstances, the presence of 64,000,000
matured oysters would permit the fishing of 32,000,000
yearly, but no more if the fruitfulness of the beds would
be kept at that number, since such a stock would be abso-
lutely necessary, in order that a sufficient number of young
should be produced to secure the maturing of 32,000,000
yearly.

After the impoverishment of the beds of Cancale, the
inspection officers enforced once more the laws protecting
the oyster, since they did not believe that all the mature
breeding oysters had been taken off the beds. Upon some

88 2 OYSTER.S, AND ALL ABOUT THEM.

of these beds there has already been a very significant
increase of oysters through this action ; for in 1872-' '73
7,300,000 oysters were taken, in i 873^74 9,056,000, and in
i874-*75 9,342,000. To preserve oyster-beds, a stock of
full-grown oysters, for the purposes of propagation, must
be left lying upon the banks. The number thus left must
depend upon the fruitfulness of the oysters of each section,
or, still better, of each single bed. (c)

GERMAN STATISTICS.

. The number of descendants from any one
oyster which . . . arrive at maturity is so small even
upon the best beds, where for more than a hundred years
the finest and most productive Holstein oysters have been
caught, that I am persuaded no one would give credit to
my words if I was not able to substantiate them by means
of figures.

In 1587, Frederick II., King of Denmark and Duke
Holstein-Gottorp, appropriated the oyster-beds of Schles-
wig-Holstein as royal prerogatives, (d) They were then

(c) " The Oyster and Oyster Culture," pp. 19, 37, and 38.

(d) The public order by which the Ducal-King, Frederick II.,
took possession of the oyster-beds of the sea-flats along the coast of
Schleswig-Holstein and Jutland, is printed by H. Kroyer, in his work,
" De danske Ostersbanker," Kjobenhavn, 1837, page no. Translated
into English, through the German, it reads as follows : "We, Frede-
rick, &c., make known to all by these presents, that since it has been
brought to our knowledge that in the waters of the West Sea, in the
fief of Ribe, a kind of fish called an oyster can be found and caught,
therefore we have commanded our liege Albert Frus, superintendent
and guardian at our castle at Ribe, that he permit this kind of fish to
be caught in our name and sent to us ; and in order that a future lack
of them may not occur, we forbid one and all, whoever he may be,
from taking oysters, or allowing them to be taken in that place. We

STATISTICAL AND OTHER INFORMATION. 883

leased, generally, for a long term of years. From time to
time the government caused the banks to be officially
examined, in order to find out their condition and prevent
their depletion by over-fishing. The examination was
conducted by commissioners appointed by the government,
and the dredging carried on in their presence was per-
formed by fishermen specially sworn for the purpose. The
smaller beds were dredged in three, the larger in six dif-
ferent places, and all the oysters taken were divided,
according to size and age, into three classes, known as

1. Zahlbar Gut, or marketable.

2. Junggut, or medium (half-grown).

3. Junger Anwachs, or young growth.

The marketable ovsters are those which are lar^e and

o

full grown. Their shell is at least 7 to 9 centimeters in
length and breadth, and when closed the greatest thickness
must be more than 18 millimeters. The left valve, or the
one which is most curved, is from 6 to 9 millimeters thick
at the point of attachment of the shell-muscle, and also
under the ligament.

The greater number of full-grown oysters are from
seven to ten years of age, yet many older ones are found,
which can be distinguished from the younger ones by the
greater thickness of their shell. Oysters more than twenty
years old are seldom seen. The oldest which I have per-
sonally examined I estimated to be from twenty-five to

except, however, those who take them in our name by the authority of
our liege at Ribe. Whoever shall dare to act contrary to this com-
mand, and he can be justly convicted of so doing, shall be punished
according to his deserts. Each one is then to govern himself accor-
dingly, and guard against transgressing. Given at Skanderborg, the
4th day of February, 1587."

884.

OYSTERS, AND ALL ABOUT THEM.

thirty years old. The left valve, at the muscular impression
and below the ligament, was 20 to 25 millimeters in thick-
ness.

. During the period from 1730 to 1852, ten
records were made of all the oyster-beds of the Schleswig-
Holstein sea-flats. If from these records the numbers of
all the marketable and all the medium-sized oysters are
taken and added together, we will have a series of very
different totals, showing no particular general law. But if
for each of these reports the proportion of marketable to
medium oysters is taken, then we will arrive at the sur-
prising result that this proportion fluctuates but very
slightly during all the records.

The following table gives a summary of the market-
able and medium oysters recorded as caught during each
of the ten investigations. From these numbers I have
reckoned for each record the proportion of medium oysters
to every thousand of those which were full grown.

YEAR OF
RECORD.

NUMBER OF
MARKETABLE
OYSTERS.

NUMBER OF
MEDIUM
OYSTERS.

PROPORTION OF
MARKETABLE
TO MEDIUM.

1730

5394
16,770

7^5

6793
2078

2705
2828

1956

3272

3534

2692

5 2 05
3007

3333
1006

831
1087

797
1552
1673

IOOO
IOOO
IOOO
IOOO
IOOO
IOOO
IOOO
IOOO
IOOO
IOOO

486
310
418
490

484

37

388

417
440

473

/ j
'I734-.

I 74.O .

I 7C6 .

I 7QC .

I7QQ .

1819

1830.

1830.

l8i2.

\s

Total . .

10,000

4 2I 3

Mean proportion

IOOO

421-3

STATISTICAL AND OTHER INFORMATION.

88 5

The following table gives the quantities of oysters
which were taken during these investigations from two of
the largest and most productive beds of the Schleswig-
Holstein coast, the Huntje and the Steenack banks.

YEAR OF
RECORD.

HUNTJE.

STEENACK.

MARKETABLE MEDIUM.

MARKETABLE

MEDIUM.

I72O .

355
'353
3 2 3
73 6
93i
8?
183

3 6 3
40

128

164

874
158

99
66

461
119

i?3
3

64

158

465
26

149
607
261
236

53
1 1

116

69
90

I JO

35
197

106

5^
79
4
58

I734-.

1740 .

17^6 .

1771 .

I7QC .

1700 .

1810.

1830.

l8*2.

Total . .

4499

2181

2082

804

Proportion. .

IOOO

484

IOOO

385

The proportion of marketable to medium-sized oysters
is thus seen to be almost the same upon single beds as in
a mean of all the beds taken together.

In this similarity of proportions between the market-
able and medium oysters, in different years and upon dif-
ferent beds, a natural law is very strikingly manifested.
The medium-sized oysters of any bed consist of the des-
cendants of the marketable ones. They are those members
of the young broods which have escaped the numerous
enemies living upon and around the beds, and which,
despite the numerous attacks made upon their lives, have
grown into very respectable-sized animals.

The medium oysters thus represent the total number
of embryos from the bed which, in the struggle for existence,

886 OYSTERS, AND ALL ABOUT THEM.

have continued to exist. A thousand mature oysters
will produce during a breeding period, ... at least
440,000,000 of young ; but upon the beds alongside of
these 1000 mature oysters are to be found, on an average,
not more than 421 half-grown ones ; so that, as a rule, for
every Holstein oyster which is placed upon the table, more
than 1,045,000 young are destroyed or die; and indeed
even more than this, for not only do those oysters which
are over six years of age produce eggs, but those which are
two and three years old also reproduce their kind to a cer-
tain extent. The younger oysters, however, produce much
less spawn than those which are mature, so I estimate that
those half-grown oysters lying beside the mature ones, on
the same banks, and which are their offspring, will produce
60,000,000 young oysters.

We thus have, upon a surface of oyster-bed occupied
by 1000 full-grown and 421 half-grown oysters, at least
500,000,000 of young produced during the course of the
summer, and of this immense number only 421 arrive at
maturity. The immolation of a vast number of young
germs is the means by which nature secures to a few germs
the certainty of arriving at maturity, In order to render
the ideas of germ-fecundity and productiveness more easily
understood, I will make a comparison between the oyster
and man.

According to Wappaus, (e) for every 1000 men there
are 34-7 births. According to Bockh, ( f) out of every
1000 men born 554 arrrive at maturity, that is, live to be
twenty years or more of age ; thus, on an average, 34*7

(e) "Wappaus, Handbuch der Geographic und Statistik. Band I,
1855, Abth. I, p. 197.

(f) Bockh, Sterblichkeitstafel fur den Preussichen Staat im Um-
fange von 1865. Jena, 1875.

STATISTICAL AND OTHER INFORMATION. 887

children are produced from 554 mature men, or 62-6 chil-
dren from 1000 mature men. Since 1000 full-grown
oysters produce 440,000,000 of germs, then the germ-
fecundity of the oyster is to the germ-fecundity of man as
440,000,000 to 62*6, or as 7,028,754 to i. On the other
hand, the number which arrive at maturity is 579,002
times as great with mankind as with the oyster; for of
1000 human embryos brought into the world, 554 arrive at
maturity, or of 440,000,000 newly born, 243,760,000 would
live to grow up ; while of 440,000,000 young oysters, only
421 ever become capable of propagating their species.
The proportion is then 421 to 243,760,000, or as i to
579,002. I am fully persuaded that these figures represent
the number of oysters which arrive at maturity more favour-
ably than is really the case, since from every thousand of
full-grown oysters it is certain that, on an average, more
'than 440,000,000 young are produced. The correctness
of my argument that the number of oysters which arrive at
maturity is very small indeed, as compared with the ex-
ceedingly large number of germs produced, is corroborated
by the experience of those who have engaged in oyster-
culture in France and England, (g)

AMERICAN STATISTICS.

The North American oyster ... is longer from
the hinge-ligament to the shell-muscle than is the Euro-
pean oyster, .... and the left valve is generally
more curved than with our oyster. . . . During late
years the North American beds have furnished an annual

(g) See, I. Report on the Oyster and Mussel Fisheries of France,
made to the Board of Trade by Cholmondeley Fennel, Inspector of
Oyster-Fisheries. London, 1868. II. Report from the Select Com-
mission on Oyster-Fisheries, 1876, and Chapters 17-22 (England), 23-
26 (France), and elsewhere herein.

888 OYSTERS, AND ALL ABOUT THEM.

average of about thirty million bushels of oysters for mar-
ket ; this is about nine to twelve billions of oysters, since
there are from three to four thousand oysters in a bushel.
In 1859 the number of oysters sold amounted to from six
to eight billions. In 1867 there were over 10,000 men
employed in the oyster trade in Baltimore. The yearly
capital employed in this business in New York was, about
1870, over $8,000,000. (h)

In America the oyster is an institution of great import-
ance. On the sea-board of that vast continent they are

j

found in natural beds of wonderful extent, and are distri-
buted by means of railways and steamboats throughout the
cities and villages of even the far inland districts. Numer-
ous as are the shell-fish shops of London, they are but as
one in ten when compared with the oyster-houses of New
York, in which city oyster-eating appears to be almost the
sole business of life, so many people are to be found
indulging in that pleasure. The custom in America is to
have the oysters cooked, and this culinary process is
accomplished in a variety of ways ; the mollusc being
stewed, fried, or roasted, according to taste. They may
be had cooked in about twenty different ways, in any of
the well-known oyster taverns of New York, at a few
minutes' notice. The great market for oysters in America
is the city of Baltimore, in Maryland, where it is not
uncommon for one or two firms each to " can" a million
bushels in one year ! Immense numbers of these " canned"
oysters are dispatched all over the States, to the prairies of
the far west, to the cities of New Mexico, to the military
forts of the great American desert, to the restaurants of
Honolulu, and to the miners searching for gold on the

(h) " The Oyster and Oyster Culture," p. 60.

STATISTICAL AND OTHER INFORMATION. 889

Rocky Mountains ; whilst fresh oysters packed in ice have
been sent to great distances, (i")

I am reminded here of a very noteworthy fact, warn-
ingly dwelt upon by Mobius (p. 55), relative to the use of
ice for oysters : " If ice is used to keep oysters fresh, care
must be exercised that the water from the melting ice does
not come in contact with the molluscs, or their flavour will
be injured. Care should also be taken, especially with
shelled oysters, that the ice used to cool them off does not
entirely cover them. (/) Preserved oysters, packed in
tin cans, are brought into the markets from North America.
In these the natural flavour, for which the oyster is so
highly prized, is as much destroyed as is that of the
tropical fruits which come to us cooked in sugar. If thev
were not preserved oysters they would hardly find pur-
chasers. They serve merely as suggestions of fresh oysters."

Tempted by the truth and wisdom of Mobius's asser-
tion, I was about to give the following information in a
footnote, but partly on account of its length and partly that of
its instructive interest, I deem it of sufficient importance for
insertion in the text, believing that its analogical pertinence
to the subject will amply atone for the brief digression.

Mr. J. K. Kilbourn, speaking on "Preservation by
Conditions of Temperature," () says : It is well known
(i) " The Harvest of the Sea," p. 263.

( j ) The Romans were in the habit of cooling their oysters with
ice from the mountains : " Addiditque luxuria frigus (ostreis) obrutis
nive, summa montium et maris ima miscens." C. Plinii Sec., Naturalis
Historia, lib. xxxii., 6, 21.

(k) " Fish Preservation and Refrigeration," by Mr. J. K. Kilbourn.
Papers of the Conferences held in connection with the great Inter-
national Fisheries Exhibition. (William Clowes & Sons, London,
1883.)

890 OYSTERS, AND ALL ABOUT THEM.

that freezing completely checks all putrefactive action, and
when in this frozen condition meat or fish can be kept for
an indefinite length of time. A noticeable instance of this
was seen in the salmon brought from Labrador, in the ss.
Diana, in 1881. A part of this cargo was taken from
London to Australia, and after this long voyage across the
tropics, and 200 days out of water, these salmon were
found to be in good condition.

. . . . The advantages to be derived from this
method of preservation (freezing) have not been, nor are
they now, fully appreciated ; public opinion seems to have
settled quietly into the belief of the oft-repeated statement
that it " destroys the flavour of fish to freeze them," and
that "they go bad so quick after they are restored to
normal temperature." Neither of these statements is
well founded, although they may be in accord with the
observations of those who make them.

The flavour of a fish and its keeping quality after
thawing, depend more upon its condition when frozen than
upon the deleterious action of the low temperature in which
it has been kept. It should be constantly borne in mind that
there is no restorative power in any system of preservation.

Inasmuch as a temperature above freezing
does not completely check, but only retards, bacterial
development, (/) it follows that the preserving effect can
only be for a limited period. The duration of this period,

(/) Scbwann, of Berlin, was the first to prove that living germs are
the cause of putrefaction, and in 1837 he made the important announce-
ment that when a decoction of meat is effectually screened from ordi-
nary air, and supplied solely with calcined air, putrefaction never sets
in. Putrefaction, therefore, he affirmed to be caused not by the air,
but by something in the air which could be destroyed by a sufficiently
high temperature.

STATISTICAL AND OTHER INFORMATION. 891

under the most favourable conditions, is none too long,
but it is in a measure dependent upon controllable causes,
and these are worthy of careful consideration.

To extend this period to the utmost limit, it is of the
very greatest importance that the preserving influence
begins as soon as the fish are out of the water, and
before deterioration sets in ; in other words, the animal
or natural heat should be withdrawn, and the fish cooled
from surface to centre as quickly as possible. This
speedy cooling necessitates not only a low temperature,
but room for spreading the fish, or appliances for separat-
ing them into layers, so as to allow free circulation of the
cooled air. Absolute cleanliness in every department is of
vital importance. You may as well lodge a perfectly
healthy person in the bed of a small-pox patient, as to
pack freshly-caught fish in boxes or compartments con-
taminated with the filth and slime of previous putrefaction.
If any fisherman entertains a doubt upon this point, let
him place a row of fish side by side, backs upwards, upon
a filthy board in the bottom of his boat, and he will find
that the bellies of these fish are completely rotten when
the sides and back are apparently sound.

. . . . Packing fish in ice may be fairly considered
as a choice of evils. Some fish, salmon for instance,

These results by Schwann were confirmed by the experiments of
Helmholtz in 1843, by Schroder and Von Dusch in 1854, by Schroder
alone again in 1857, by Pasteur in 1862, and by Tyndall in 1868-9.

In 1872 Cohn of Breslau announced that "putrefaction begins as
soon as Bacteria, even in the smallest numbers, are introduced. It
progresses in direct proportion to the multiplication of Bacteria. It is
retarded when the Bacteria (for example by a low temperature) develop
a small amount of vitality, and is brought to an end by all influences
which either stop the development of Bacteria or kill them." " Fish
Preservation and Refrigeration," pp. 1-3.

892 OYSTERS, AND ALL ABOUT THEM.

appears to bear it better than others, but in no instance
does it improve the quality or flavour.

Fish, when in a perfectly sound condition,
placed in a temperature ranging between 32 and 35, will
remain sound for a long time ; but the range between 35
and 40 may perhaps be considered as debateable ground.
The highest degree of temperature, compatible with safety,
once determined, a constant temperature below this point
will be found to be an essential requisite. ... Piling
fish one upon another tends to shorten the period of pre-
servation, and frequent handling impairs the quality.

Writing on the same subject in the "Lancet"(January,
1890), Mr. J. H. Hamilton (after arriving at similar con-
clusions with Mr. Kilbourn) points out that in the United
Kingdom fish is seldom caught on Saturday afternoons,
and the nets also remain idle all Sunday, so that Friday's
fish does not reach the Metropolis until Monday morning.
He says that much of the best prime trawl-caught fish sold
at Billingsgate is from three to ten days old. Everyone
knows that London fish is very different from fish freshly
caught, and, that what Mr. Hamilton (comments the
"Lancet") has stated may enable us to understand the
cause. Unfortunately it is difficult to suggest an efficient
remedy, (m)

(m) In corroboration of the " Lancet's " lament I quote the following
from the "Morning Post," of no later date than October 22nd, 1890.
" London Fish Supply. At a meeting of the Commissioners of Sewers
yesterday, it was reported that during the four weeks ending September
27th there were 10,757 tons of fish delivered at Billingsgate Fish
Market, of which 5285 tons were sent by sea and 5472 tons by land.
During the same period there were 103 tons 4 cwt. delivered at the
London Central Fish Market. Of the total quantity delivered 150 tons
10 cwt. 3 qrs., or about 2|- per cent, of the total quantity, were seized
by the officers of the Fishmongers' Company."

STATISTICAL AND OTHER INFORMATION. 893

In the Oyster Fisheries of Maryland as many as 600
vessels of about 23 tons each are engaged, in addition to
2000 small boats or canoes. These employ about 7000
men, and if we add those engaged in the carrying trade, it
would give the number of persons employed in the oyster
trade of the State of Maryland as at least 10,000, all
obtaining remunerative employment, (n)

According to the Statistical Summarv bv Professor

* ' j *

G. B. Goode, (o) the Oyster Fisheries of the United States
employs 52,805 persons, and yielded in 1880 22,195,370
bushels, worth to the producer 9,034,861. There is to be
considered an enhancement on 13,047,922 bushels in
passing from producers to market. This enhancement,
which amounts to $4,368,991, results either from replanting
or from packing in tin cans, and increases the value of the
products to 13,438,852. This fishery employs 4155 vessels
valued at 3,528,700, and 11,930 boats valued at 708,330.
The value of gear and outfit amounts to 712,515. The
value of shore property amounts to 5,633,750. The total
capital invested in Oyster Industry is 10,583,295. The
actual fishermen number 38,249, the shoresmen 14,556.
About 80 per cent, of the total yield is obtained from the
waters of Chesapeake Bay.

For every man engaged in the fisheries there is at

least one other man who is dependent to a considerable

extent upon his labours for support. To the class of

"shoresmen' belong (i) the capitalists, who furnish

(n) " The Harvest of the Sea," p. 263.

(o) "The Fishery Industries of the United States," by G. Brown
Goode, M.A., Assistant Director of the U.S. National Museum, and
Commissioner to the International Fisheries Exhibition of 1883. (Papers
of the Conferences held in connection with the Great International
Fisheries Exhibition. William Clowes & Sons, London.)

894 OYSTERS, AND ALL ABOUT THEM.

supplies and apparatus for the use of the active fishermen ;
(2) the shopkeepers from whom they purchase provisions
and clothing; and (3) the skilled labourers who manufacture
for them articles of apparel, shelter, and the apparatus of
the trade. In addition to the professional fishermen, there
is a large class of men who have been called "semi-
professional" fishermen men who derive from the fisheries
less than half of their entire income.

Taking into account all those persons who are directly
employed in the fisheries for a larger or smaller portion of
the year, those who are dependent upon fishermen in a
commercial way for support, and the members of their
families who are actually dependent upon their labours, it
cannot be far out of the way to estimate the total number
of persons dependent on the fisheries at from 800,000 to
1,000,000. Of the twenty-nine States and territories whose
citizens are engaged in the fishery industry, sixteen have
more than a 1000 professional fishermen. The most
important of these States is, of course, Massachusetts, with
17,000 men.

At present the oyster is one of the cheapest articles of
diet in the United States, and though it can hardly be
expected that the price of American oysters will always
remain so low, still, taking into consideration the great
wealth of the natural beds along the entire Atlantic coast,
it seems certain that a moderate amount of protection
would keep the oyster seed far below European rates, and
that the immense stretches of submerged land especially
suited for oyster planting may be utilised and made to
produce an abundant harvest at much less cost than that
which accompanies the complicated system of culture in
vogue in France and Holland.

STATISTICAL AND OTHER INFORMATION. 895

Experiments have been tried, both on the French and
English coasts, to acclimatize the large American oyster,
Ostrea Virginica, or Ostrea Virgmiana, (p) but they did not
succeed, and although when the weather was warm they
seemed to fatten and grow, they still would not spawn or
spat. Large quantities of American oysters are sent over
to Liverpool and other parts of England, and are sold at a
moderate price from i/- to 1/6 was the cost of them in
1876. In 1879, 90,663 barrels of oysters were shipped to
England from New York and its neighbourhood, at a total
value of 90,661.

Mr. Nichols, in his " Forty Years in America," tells us
that oysters are never out of season in New York. They
are brought from the shores of Virginia and planted to
grow and fatten ; so that every quality and flavour can be
produced by the varying situations of the banks, and the
time of planting and the depth of water regulates the season
of the oyster and keeps the market in constant supply.

There is a celebrated restaurant for oysters in New
York, No. 783, Sixth Avenue, and the late proprietor, Mr.
Robert Burns, informed Mr. Marshall, in November, 1879,
that he had then in stock about 50,000, and in holiday time
he kept from four to five thousand oysters. The shells of
one of the large Cow Bay oysters measured 10^ inches in
length and averaged 4^ inches in width, and the fish inside
averaged 6 inches by 4 inches. Mr. Marshall was shown

(p) Mr. Say (q) says, that a small crab (a species of Pinnoteres],
which lives in the shell of the common American oyster, is much valued
by oyster eaters in the United States, and that in opening a large
quantity of oysters these little crabs are collected apart and serve to
gratify the palate of gourmands. They are only seven-twentieths of an
inch long by two-fifths wide, (r)

(q) " Journ. Acad. Sc. Phil.," i, 68.
(r) "Popular Hist. Brit. Crustacea."

896 OYSTERS, AND ALL ABOUT THEM.

15,000 of these monsters stored away in bins in a cellar
under the house. Sometimes even larger specimens are to
be met with. Cow Bay is an inlet of Long Island Sound,
about fifty miles above New York, (s) From information
received in 1883 (says M. S. Lovell), kindly given by the
manager of the restaurant, which is now carried on by a
son of Mr. R. Burns, it appears that since 1879 the business
has been doubled and double the amount of oysters
consumed.

It is not only in seaport towns in America that oysters
are eaten in enormous quantities, but towns a 1000 miles
inland are well supplied, and oyster suppers are as common
in Cincinnati or St. Louis as in New York or Baltimore.
It was stated by Mr. Consul Rainall, in 1869, that eight
millions of bushels of oysters are annually landed at
Baltimore for home consumption and packing, and as many
more to other places. Baltimore is the largest oyster
market in the world. The average consumption for seven
months in the year is 35,000 bushels per day. One firm
alone from October ist till June ist averages 4000 bushels
a day, packing from 16,000 to 25,000 cans daily, hermeti-
cally sealed, containing i Ib. and 2 Ibs. of oysters.

Wading through such an array of facts and figures (as
represented in the tables of Professor Goode, and of which
those quoted herein under his name are only the totals) I
am almost tempted to believe with him, that "A speedy
extermination of this most valuable mollusc will doubtless
result, unless some effective means of protection and
artificial culture are soon employed.

"The preservation of the oyster-beds," he continues,
"is a matter of vital importance to the United States, for
oyster-fishing, unsupported by oyster-culture, will, within a
(s) " Through America," by W. G. Marshall, M.A.

STATISTICAL AND OTHER INFORMATION. 897

short period, destroy the employment of tens of thousands,
and the cheap and favourite food of tens of millions of our
people."

Something may be effected by laws which allow each
bed to rest for a period of years after each season of fishing
upon it. It is the general belief, however, that shell-nsh-
beds must be cultivated as carefully as garden-beds, and
that this can only be done by leasing them to individuals.
This is already the practice in the Northern States, where
oysters are planted in new localities; there is difficulty,
however, in carrying out this policy in the case of natural
beds, to which the fishermen have had continued access
for centuries. It is probable that the present unregulated
methods will prevail until the dredging of the natural beds
come to be remunerative, and that the oyster industry will
then be transferred from the improvident fishermen to the
care-taking oyster-culturists, with a corresponding increase
in price and decrease in consumption. (/)

Yes ! as I have said, wading through Professor Goode's
columns of statistics relative to the United States Fisheries,
and the oyster fisheries in particular, I am almost tempted
to agree with him in his somewhat pessimistic inferences,
but, upon more mature consideration taking it for granted
that "the conclusions gained by Professor Baird tally
exactly with those of Professor Huxley, that the number of
any one kind of oceanic fish killed by man is perfectly
insignificant when compared with the destruction effected
by their natural enemies ; " (#) and that such has been the
course of nature for unknown ages I am the more stead-
fastly inclined to believe in the ostracultural infallibility of

(t) " The Fishery Industries of the United States," pp. 22-23.

(u) Ibid., p. 65.

DD

OYSTERS, AND ALL ABOUT THEM.

America (so long as her Fishery Legislation is efficiently
regulated), and take my creed from Lieutenant Winslow's
bold and patriotic prophecy, which the reader will find at
the end of the chapter on the "Oyster Culture in'America."

CHAPTER XXXVII.

CURIOSITIES OF OYSTERS,

STRANGE CIRCUMSTANCES IN THE EARLY HISTORY OF OYSTERS
GROWTH ON BOTTLES OYSTER GROWING IN A TEAPOT A
STRANGE AGGLUTINATION OYSTERS AND MICE THE FOX AND
THE MUSSEL THE " WHISTLING " OYSTER SIR RICHARD
STEELE'S STORY OF THE OYSTERS.

THE sober oyster is about the last creature one would sus-
pect of forming undesirable connections, or contracting
bad habits. Like Diogenes in his tub he keeps secure
in his shells, and his very appearance is suggestive of any-
thing but the idea of " fast " living. But attachments early
formed are with difficulty broken, and, alas ! for the decep-
tiveness of appearances, the oyster often takes in early
youth to the " bottle" and the " pipe," and sticks to them
through life. Many and curious indeed are the objects to
which these creatures have been known to adhere. As the
dredge of the oyster-fisher is dragged over the submarine
colony, it sweeps up many queer articles besides oysters :
clay pipes, bottles, old boots, horns and bones of animals
are among the miscellaneous catches, and on these a cluster
of oysters are often found to have taken up their abode.
Sometimes, instead of a quiet, stay-at-home life, an oyster

is compelled to become a traveller malgre lui ; if he

DD 2

9OO OYSTERS, AND ALL ABOUT THEM.

chances to have settled on the back of a lobster or a crab

j

he is obliged to join in the excursions of his unwitting
entertainer, whether he likes it or not. Fortunately for
both parties, these Crustacea cast their shells periodically,
or the oyster would become a confirmed rover, and when
he grew to any size his presence would most probably
become very unpleasant to the unlucky crab, who would
be unable to levy any tolls for his locomotive accommoda-
tion.

In Frank Buckland's "Log-book of a Fisherman and
Zoologist," a picture is given of a terrapin that uncon-
sciously carried an oyster on the lower part of his back ?
close to the tail, till it had attained a very large size.

From the above it will readily be surmised by the
reader that the future circumstances of a single brood of
the oyster are marked by a great and often strange diver
sity. Mr. Busk mentions (a] the valve of an oyster-shell
which resembles a combination between an oyster and a
pholas, one of the rock-boring molluscs. He thought
that the oyster had encased the pholas, or, at least, that
the pholas is enveloped in its valve. Professor Henslow,
however, has come to a different conclusion :

" I suspect," he says, " that such is not the case, and
that Mr. Busk has the genuine shell (one valve) of an
oyster only. A specimen of a fossil oyster which I pre-
pared for the Ipswich Museum, a few weeks ago, seems to
explain Mr. Busk's puzzle. This shell (probably a detrital
relic from the Suffolk drift) had attached itself by the lower
convex valve to an ammonite, and as it grew, had taken in
a very complete manner the impression of its whorls.
But the curious result has been that the upper valve, which
(a) " Annals and Magazine of Natural History," March, 1855.

CURIOSITIES OF OYSTERS.

was not in contact with the ammonite, has become par-
tially modelled to represent it. Thus the two valves
together have the double impression of the ammonite, in
intaglio below, and in cameo above. I suspect from this
that Mr. Busk's oyster had grown with the lower valve
(which he does not possess) attached to the outer convex
surface of a pholas, and that the upper valve (the one in
question) has, in consequence, been partially modelled
after it. We must suppose, in these cases, that the mol-
lusc accommodates itself to whatever curvature is impressed
on the lower valve, and then the materials secreted for the
upper valve will necessarily follow the contour thus given
to the animal."

In the Illustrated London Neivs, August 1 1, 1855, there
is an engraving of an old-fashioned champagne bottle,
taken from the wreck of the Royal George, having on it
four oyster-shells or lower valves, all of which are modified
in form by the figure of the bottle. The two more imme-
diately in front, instead of being concave internally, are
convex, moulded, in fact, by the globose body to which
they adhere, so that the oyster, instead of sinking into a
bed, must have been elevated or perched up, and conse-
quently covered by an arched or vaulted valve instead of a
flat valve, the order of things being reversed. The two
other shells show rather how, by the disposition of layer
after layer, the oyster makes the best of an unfortunate
attachment, than display any decided alteration of the
normal character of form. That lying on the base of the
neck of the bottle, though somewhat irregular, is fairly
concave, and is raised up by numerous rough external
layers, acting as a sort of buttress. These shells bear
marks of great age, the oysters having lived and died in
their present condition. Other shells, of different ages,

902 OYSTERS, AND ALL ABOUT THEM.

some small, some mere spat, are attached to the bottom
and opposite side of the bottle.

Another engraving, in the same paper, represents an
ancient Chinese teapot without a spout, but perforated at
the spot from which it once projected by three small ori-
fices, like those of a crow-quill, which, being at some time
at the bottom of the sea, became the abode of an oyster,
either washed into it in the state of spat, or at some sub-
sequent stage of its progress. In this strange abode the
oyster lived and grew, deriving its subsistence from the
water that flowed in through the orifices.

Its dwelling too became a prison, for the mouth of the
teapot was tightly and closely plugged up by the lower
valve of the shell. This part rose abruptly from a lower
flat margin, extending disc-like or ring-like within the
vessel, to its swollen circumference, or nearly so ; hence
the escape of the oyster was impossible, as this substance
fitted the mouth of the teapot like a bung. Its surface is
transversely marked with lines, the result of growth, and
with longitudinal ridges and furrows. It consists of many
layers of lime, placed one upon another, to the thickness
of half an inch ; the whole appearing as if the oyster,
clothed in a shell of thick putty or liquid plaster of Paris,
had tried to break through its prison-house by pressing
upwards, and had thereby converted its shell into a plug,
so as to block itself in, the putty or plaster becoming har-
dened. Such is, at least, the appearance, though not the
fact, for the growth and adaptation of form kept pace with
each other. This singular dwelling was dredged up in
Falmouth River, and is (or was) in the possession of Mr.
Payne, of Blackheath.

The naturalist by whom this specimen was described
mentions an instance in which three oysters, at an early

CURIOSITIES OF OYSTERS. 903

stage of their existence, became agglutinated together by
the union of their convex valves. Thus they grew, accom-
modating themselves to each other, with a certain degree
of distortion, which, with the ruggedness of the surface of
each, and with a crop of acorn-shells affixed thereon,
produced a singular and not unpicturesque effect. At the
time when this specimen came into his hands the oysters
were living, and the valves were opened by the knife for the
ordinary purpose.

Carew (b) mentioned an oyster that closed its shell
on three mice. Some years ago a dish of oysters was laid
in a cellar of the New Inn, at Ashburton, when one of
them, soon opening its shell, was instantly pounced on by
three mice, only, however, to be as quickly crushed by the
valves. The oyster, with the three mice dangling from its
shell, was long exhibited there as a curiosity.

According to an old number of the Inverness Courier,
a still stranger capture was made by a molluscous animal.
At Ardinisgain, on Loch Carron, mussels of an immense
size are found, some of them nearly as large as a man's
shoe. One of these mussels being left exposed by the
retiring tide, naturally enough opened its yawning mouth
when the sunbeams fell upon it, and in this attitude it was
approached by a prowling fox, whose hunger was sharper
than his discretion. The temptation was too strong for
Reynard to withstand ; but no sooner had he thrust in his
tongue between the accommodating shells than they closed
upon it, and he was thus held fast till drowned by the
returning tide.

I think I cannot do better than include in this chapter
the story of the " whistling oyster." One day in the year

(b) History of Cornwall.

904 OYSTERS, AND ALL ABOUT THEM.

1840, the proprietor of the well-known oyster rooms in
Vinegar Yard (which Charles Lamb never passed " without
shaking forty years from his shoulders"), " heard a strange
and unusual noise proceeding from one of the tubs, in
which the shell-fish lay piled in layers one over the other,
placidly fattening upon oatmeal, and awaiting the inevit-
able advent of the remorseless knife. The landlord
listened, hardly at first believing his ears. There was,
however, no doubt about the matter. One of the oysters
was distinctly whistling, or, at any rate, producing a sort
of ' sifflement' with its shell. It was not difficult to detect
the phenomenal bivalve, and in a very few minutes he was
triumphantly picked out from among his fellows, and put
by himself in a spacious tub, with a plentiful supply of
brine and meal. The news spread through the town, and
for some days the house was besieged by curious crowds.
That the oyster did whistle, or do something very much
like whistling, is beyond all question. How he managed
to do so is not upon record. Probably there existed in his
shell a minute hole, such as those with which the stray
oyster shells upon the beach are usually riddled, and the
creature, breathing in its own way by the due inspiration
and expiration of water, forced a small jet through the tiny
orifice each time that he drew his breath, and so made the
strange noise that first caught the ear of his lucky pro-
prietor."

The following, although, strictly speaking, it is some-
what out of place in this chapter, will bear repetition,
because it " points a moral (and) adorns a tale " :

"An intimate acquaintance of Sir Richard Steele dined
with him one day, shortly after he had been married and
set up a carriage. His lady, two or three times at dinner,
asked him if he used the chariot that evening ; to which

CURIOSITIES OF OYSTERS. 905

he only answered, ' Oysters, my dear. ' When the
table-cloth was taken away she said, 'Well, my dear, I'll
take the chariot !' To which he again replied, ' Oysters !'
She dropped a curtsey, and confessed she was in error, and
stood reproved. On retiring, Sir Richard's friend thus
addressed him : ' Sir, absurd as your answer might seem
to others, I know your manner so well that I am assured
there is some moral instruction in your word oysters ; as it
must be some gentle reproof do me the favour to let me
into the secret of it.' ' You know,' said Sir Richard, ' that
we have just set up a chariot ; and being apprehensive that
it might have such an effect on my wife's heart that she
might inconsiderately talk of it too much, thereby betray-
ing a weakness of mind I would gladly have prevented, I
told her a story of a young fellow who had lately set up an
equipage, and had always the vanity to be talking about it,
which was as follows :

" Ned Sparkins, on the death of his elder brother, left
the attorney to whom he was clerk, set up an equipage,
and commenced petit maitre. He was fond of his chariot ;
thus he was seldom out of it, or hardly a moment without
making some mention of it. He was one day talking with
some gentlemen in the Mall, when one of them asked him to
be one of the party to dine at an eating-house near Charing
Cross. ' With all my heart, my dear Sir,' says Ned. ' I'll
step to my servant, and give him some orders about the
chariot, and be with you again in a moment.'

" On this, one of the gentlemen said, ' How can you ask
that puppy to be with us ? We shall hear of nothing but
his chariot. I'll lay half a dozen of claret he talks of
within ten minutes after the time he comes into the room.
' As I think that impossible,' says another, ' It is a bet.'

906 OYSTERS, AND ALL ABOUT THEM.

" Ned by this time joined them again, and they pro-
ceeded to the house. They were scarcely in the room,
when the gentleman who had laid the wager proposed
having some oysters before dinner, as a whet ; but at the
same time feared there were none fresh enough at that end
of the town, and proposed to send down to Billingsgate
for some. It was objected that it would take too much
time, otherwise they approved the notion. ' Nay,' says
Ned, * let that be no hindrance. My chariot is at the
door, and I'll despatch Tom away with it directly ; and he
may be back in half-an-hour.'

" ' You see,' continued Sir Richard, ' the intent of this
story, on how absurd a foundation soever it may be built.
I told it my wife as a family piece of instruction, and you
see that she has good sense enough, on the mention of
* oysters,' to see and confess her error.' :

CHAPTER XXXVIII.

THE PEARL OYSTER.

" What hid'st thou in thy treasure-caves and cells,
Thou hollow-sounding and mysterious Marti ?
Pale glistening Pearls, and rainbow-coloured shells,
Bright things that gleam unrecked of and in vain."

Hemans.

DIMYARIA.

FAMILY MELEAGRINID^E (PEARL OYSTERS, &c.)

MELEAGRINA, LAMARCK PINTADINES (MELEAGRIN^E) AVICULA
(LES ARONDES) CUVIER THE BROAD-WINGED AVICULA (AVI-
CULA MACROPTERA) THE PEARL OYSTER (MELEAGRINA
MARGARITIFERA) MYTILUS MARGARITIFERUS, LINNAEUS
AVICULA MARGARITIFERA, SOWERBY THE ETHERIA OF
LAMARCK THE CHAMIDJE THE ETHERIA SEMILUNATA
HOW PEARL IS FORMED : ITS CHEMICAL COMPOSITION, WHERE
AND HOW OBTAINED AND PREPARED HOW FORMED BY ARTI-
FICIAL PERFORATIONS NOTED FISHERIES FISHING SEASON
PRICE OF PEARLS MOTHER OF PEARL THE PEARL-BEARING
MYA HOW ARTIFICIAL PEARLS ARE MADE "BREEDING
PEARLS" THE AMERICAN PEARL.

UNDER the comprehensive genus Avicula, Cuvier includes
two sections : one, the Pearl-Ovsters, Meleagrina, Lam.

908 OYSTERS, AND ALL ABOUT THEM.

(Margarita, Leach) ; and the restricted genus Avicula,
Lam., of which the Mytilus Hirundo of Linnaeus, a native
of the Mediterranean, and the Avicula macroptera, are
examples.

To the genus Avicula Sowerby also refers the genus
Meleagrina of Lamarck ; regarding the distinctions between
them as of trivial importance. The shell in both is foli-
acious externally, and internally of a brilliant pearly lustre.
The left hand valve is contracted and notched posteriorly,
and so is the right, very slightly. Through the sinus thus
formed passes the byssus, by which the shells are moored
to rocks and stones. The ligamental surface is marginal
and broadest in the centre, and there is generally a small
tooth in each valve near the umbo. Generally this tooth
is most conspicuous in Avicula, but is not always found ;
whilst in Meleagrina it is, on the other hand, often appa-
rent, though sometimes absent. The muscular impression
is nearly central, somewhat circular and large.

As thus characterized, Avicula will comprise two sec-
tions, namely, one in which the species have the hinge-
line considerable prolonged Avicula of Lamarck ; the
other comprising such species as are without that prolonga-
tion Meleagrina of Lamarck.

Cuvier thus defines Avicula (Les Arondes) : The
shell has the valves equal, with a rectilinear hinge, and is
often carried out into wings ; the ligament is narrow and
elongated ; small dentilations often appear on the hinge,
on its anterior part ; and below the angle on the side near
the mouth is the notch for the byssus. The anterior
adductor muscle is still extremely minute.

(a) Those species are termed Pintadines (Meleagrinae)
which have the auricles slightly salient. The term Avicula
(a) M. Deshayes states Avicula to be Monomyarian.

THE PEARL OYSTER. 909

is reserved for those in which the auricles are more pointed
and the shell is more oblique ; they have on the hinge
before the ligament the vestige of a tooth at least, of
which scarcely any trace is perceptible on the Pintadines.

As the two so-called genera thus stand, it may be
convenient to consider them separately, under a family
title ; for even if it be deemed unphilosophical to retain the
two genera, still Avicula seems to be the type of a family
form.

THE BROAD-WINGED AVICULA.

(Avicula macroptera). This shell, when the valves
are represented open so as to display the hinge, will con-
vey a better idea of the general characteristics of the genus
than any verbal details. These shells, as those also of the
genus Meleagrina, are natives of the warmer seas, where
they moor themselves at various depths to the surface of
rocks, old shells, and other submarine objects.

THE PEARL OYSTER.

(Meleagrina Margaritifera.) Mytilus Margaritiferus,
Linnaeus ; Avicula Margaritifera, Sowerby.

The young of this interesting shell are marked with
beautiful foliations, which disappear when the shell has
attained to a large size.

The valves are semicircular, greenish externally, and
lined internally with a layer of the most beautiful nacre.

The foot in this tribe is small, and produces a byssus,
by which the animal attaches itself firmly to submarine
objects. The mantle lobes are free, the shell usually
oblique and somewhat triangular, with the valves unequal,
and the hinge usually without teeth. The ears are com-

<~* j

paratively small ; that is, in comparison with others of the
Aviculaceae.

910 OYSTERS, AND ALL ABOUT THEM.

Nacre, or mother-of-pearl, is the inner part of the
shell of the pearl-oyster or pearl-mussel. This is of a
brilliant and beautifully white colour, and is usually sepa-
rated from the external part by aqua-fortis, or the lapi-
dary's mill.

Pearl-mussel shells are on this account an important
article of traffic to China and many parts of India, as well
as to the different countries of Europe. They are manu-
factured into beads, snuff-boxes, buttons, and spoons,
counters for card-players, and innumerable other articles.
The pearl-mussels are not considered good as food ;
though, after having been dried in the sun, they are some-
times eaten by the lower classes of people in the countries
near which they are found.

The Oriental Pearl-Mussels (Mytilus Margaritiferus),
to which we are indebted for nearly all the pearls of com-
merce, have their principal habitations off the coasts of
Hindostan and Ceylon. The fishing usually commences
about the month of March, and the process is almost the
same as that of Pearl-Oyster fishing. When the mussels
are taken out of the boats, they are placed in heaps on the
shore, where they continue about ten days, till the animals
become quite putrid. They are then opened and searched
for pearls. One mussel sometimes contains many pearls,
a hundred and upwards, large and small ; and sometimes
a hundred mussels have been opened without yielding a
single pearl large enough to be of any value. The pearls
are sorted according to their size, by being passed through
large brass sieves, or through saucers with round holes in
the bottom. After having been sorted, they are drilled ;
and then washed in salt water, to prevent any stains which
might be left by the drilling. The arranging of them on
strings is considered the most difficult task of a pearl

THE PEARL OYSTER. 911

merchant, in consequence of the correctness of judgment
which is requisite in classing them according to their
value.

From the size of the ornaments made of this nacre, or
mother-of-pearl, some idea of the magnitude attained by
the shell fbj may be appreciated. Were it only for the
production of this article, so much in request for all kinds
of " bijouterie," this shell would form an important object
of commerce ; but yielding as it does its nacreous lining in
such abundance and solidity, it affords also those more
valued nacreous drops or nodules called pearls, estimated in
the East, time immemorial, as "of great price " the orna-
ments of Kings.

The article called mother-of-pearl is not a product of
the pearl mussel, but the substance of the shell of another
genus, found in warm seas, where the water is not very
deep ; it is obtained in the Indian Ocean ; but more abun-
dantly, and of the finest colours, in the Red Sea, the seas
on the coasts of China, and the waters of the Eastern Isles.
It is named Nautilus Pompilius, or great chambered sailor
fish. The inner side is exquisitely polished by nature, of
the whiteness and water of pearl itself ; and the outside,
after the external coating has been removed by aqua-fortis
and the lapidary's wheel, has a similar lustre. It is cut
into pieces with a saw, and made into many sorts of trin-
kets. It is also used with great advantage as buhl, in in-
laying the nicer sorts of cabinet work.

(b) Commenting upon the Geology of Patagonia, Darwin says :
" The most common shell is a massive gigantic oyster, sometimes even
a foot in diameter." "Voyage of a Naturalist," p. 170. Whether
these belonged to the Common or Pearl-Oysters is not stated ; most
probably both.

912 OYSTERS, AND ALL ABOUT THEM.

The word pearl, in the Latin and Greek languages, is
expressed by Margarita, signifying purity.

" Of all beautiful things in the world, the pearl is the
rarest and most beautiful. Nothing can exceed it, nothing
can equal it, although they try very hard in ' French ' and
' Roman ' ways, in glassy globules which continually crack,
or in round spots of wax, which, instead of adorning,
adhere to the neck of beauty, and when old age comes
upon it, turn yellow and wrinkled like the skin of a dow-
ager. Nay, nothing can well imitate it, although art has
gone somewhat near it. But to a knowing eye one might
as well seek to imitate truth, or palm away upon the unwary
a copy of true virgin innocence, as to imitate a pearl. We
know all the answers that the dowagers can make ; we
know that the imitations are ' so cheap,' so pretty ; we
know that certain dowagers witness Margaret, Duchess
Dowager of Lancaster sell their real pearls and wear
cunning imitations ; we know that they in vain try to
persuade themselves that the false are as good as the true
ones ; but only look hard at the ornaments, and the
Duchess is abashed. To test false pearls, one has only to
put a true one by them, and the ' difference,' as advertisers
say, ' will be at once perceived.' '

Let us devote this portion of our book to the history
of the pearl. Its very names are pretty. Looloo, Mootoo,
Moolie, MargaritcB, Perks, Perlii, Perlas, Pearls, all sweet,
pretty, mouth-rounding names, but worthy to be applied to
the lustrous and beautiful spheres which we call pearls.
Principium culmenque omnium rerum pretii tenent : " Of all
things, pearls," said Pliny, two thousand years ago, " kept
the very top, highest, best, and first price." What was
true then is true now. There are few things so immortal
as good taste. Let us pay something "on account" of

THE PEARL OYSTER. 913

our debt to the oyster. Having regarded that placid
creditor as an article of food, I now propose to treat him
as an assistant to the toilet. And, looking at him in that
point of view, here is not a bad instalment of the aforesaid

debt, contributed by Barry Cornwall :-

" Within the midnight of her hair,
Half hidden in its deepest deeps,
A single peerless, priceless pearl,
(All filmy-eyed) for ever sleeps.
Without the diamond's sparkling eyes,
The ruby's blushes there it lies,
Modest as the tender dawn,
When her purple veil's withdrawn
The flower of gems, a lily cold and pale.
Yet, what doth all avail ?
All its beauty, all its grace ?
All the honours of its place ?
He who plucked it from its bed,
In the far blue Indian Ocean,
Lieth, without life or motion,
In his earthy dwelling dead !
All his children, one by one,
When they look up to the sun,
Curse the toil by which he drew
The treasure from its bed of blue."

Costly as pearls are, they are merely the calcareous
production of molluscs. Diamonds have elsewhere been
shown to be merely charcoal ; the pearl is little else but
concentric layers of membrane and carbonate of lime. (<:)

(c) The chemical composition of the Pearl is carbonate of lime,
associated with a small proportion of organic matter : it is easily
affected by acids and foetid gases, and may be calcined on exposure to
heat. It possesses a lustre peculiar to itself, which is known as the
" orient." Its specific gravity is 2-5 to 2-7, those found on the coast of
South America, termed Panama Pearls, being somewhat denser than
the Oriental Pearls.

914 OYSTERS, AND ALL ABOUT THEM.

All molluscs are instances of that beneficent law of nature,
that the hard parts accommodate themselves to the soft.
The common naked snail, the mussel, cockle, oyster,
garden helix, strombus, and nautilus, elegant or rough,
rare or common, each illustrate this grand law. The
body of a soft consistence is enclosed in an elastic skin.
From this skin calcareous matter is continually exuded.
This protects the animal, and forms the shell. Where the
waves are rough and rocks superabundant, then the shell
is rough, hard, stony, fit to weather anything ; where only
smooth water and halcyon days are to be looked for,
Nature, which never works in vain, provides but paper
sides and an egg-shell boat, such as the little nautilus
navigates and tacks and steers in.

Besides forming the rousrh outside, the calcareous

exuvium, the mucus of the oyster, and other molluscs, form
that beautiful substance, so smooth and polished, and dyed
with rainbow tints and a glorious opalescence, which, be
it as common as luxury has made it, still charms the eye.
This is the lining of the shell, the mother-of-pearl, nacre.
" The inside of the shell." said old Dampier that old
sailor with a poet's mind " is more glorious even than
the pearl itself."

It is glorious ; it has the look of the morning, and the
tint of the evening sky ; the colours of the prism chastened,
softened, retained, and made perpetual in it : this is mother-
o'-pearl.

To render its bed always soft and cosy, to lie warm,
packed as one might be at Malvern in wet sheets, seems to
be the oyster's pleasure. This singular exuvium, this
mucus, not only creates pleasure, but alleviates pain.
Some irritating substance, some internal worry and annoy-
ance, it may be a dead embryo, or a grain of sand insinu-

THE PEARL OYSTER. 915

ates itself, and, lo ! the creature covers it with this sub-
stance to ease off its unkind tooth, and converts it into a
pearl.

That is the way they are made, these wondrous gems !
And very beautiful is the thought that the most highly
prized of gems should be but the effect of a creature to ease
off a sorrow. Everyone knows Shakespeare's wondrously
fine reflection upon the uses of sorrow and adversity,

which,

" Like the toad, ugly and venomous,

Bears yet a precious iewel in its head."

The precious jewel of the toad, which some critics
and commentators have endeavoured to prove its glittering
eye, has long been exploded. Our old alchemists believed
in the toadstone : we do not. The fable remains in its
pristine beauty ; but here is one truth equally beautiful,
that the adversity of the oyster turns to a jewel so costly
and glorious, that monarchs reckon it amongst the records
of their houses and conquered provinces. May we ever
turn our sorrows and troubles to as good an account ; may
we ever continue to do so, for assuredly some men do.
The best of men are those who are tried bv affliction and

J

trouble, or those who have some deep and secret care,
which they hide in their hearts, and which makes them
wiser and better. Shelley has a theory that poets are made
somewhat after the fashion of pearls, or that, at any rate,
their poetry is so produced. He sings

" Most wretched men
Are cradled into poetry by wrong ;
They learn in suffering what they -teach in song."
We have very little doubt but that the true poetry,
from which the world learns anything worth learning, is so
produced. (d)

(d) " The Oyster," &c.

916 OYSTERS, AND ALL ABOUT THEM.

There have been other theories as to the production
of the pearl, some holding that the interior formation
which we state to be a grain of sand, is a dead ovum which
the fish attempts to exude. This theory, too, has its sup-
porters.

"If," said Sir Everard Home, a distinguished surgeon in
the early part of this century, who was led to study the
structure of Pearls, "if I can prove that this, the richest
jewel in a monarch's crown, which cannot be imitated by
any art of man " (he is rather wrong there : it can be imi-
tated, and wonderfully imitated too), " either in beauty of
form or brilliancy of lustre, is the abortive egg of an
oyster enveloped in its own nacre, who will not be struck
with wonder and astonishment ?"

Wonder and astonishment are words which scarcely
exist now. Science has shown so many wonders that we
are hardly astonished at anything ; but SirEverard's asser-
tion admits of proof. A pearl cut in two exhibits the
concentric layers like an onion, as may be seen through a
strong lens ; and in the centre is a round hole, very
minute it may be, but wherein the ovum has been depo-
sited, (e)

Year by year some thousands of Pearls are cut in half
by working jewellers, and their universal experience is that
a nucleus is always to be found.

On the other hand, the pearlers in the North-West of
Australia state that most of the Pearls broken there have
presented a small golden-coloured cavity, capable of hold-
ing a No. 8 shot. The experience of these pearlers on
the general subject, however, is much inferior to that of

the jeweller.

(e) " The Oyster," c.

THE PEARL OYSTER. 917

The nucleus of the Pearl may be either a grain of
sand, or the frustule of one of those minute siliceous
vegetables known as diatoms, or a minute parasite, or even
one of the ova of the Pearl oyster itself. Around this
foreign body thin layers of nacre are deposited, one after
another, like the successive skins of an onion, until the
object is completely encysted. The Pearl is formed of
concentric layers of carbonate of lime, of extreme tenuity,
but of the same general character as those composing the
shell.

For a lonj>- time it was currentlv believed that Pearls

O *

were found only in diseased shell-fish, and to this day, in
some parts of Great Britain, when a Pearl is discovered in
a mussel or oyster, the edible part is thrown away as unfit
for use, while the Pearl, however valueless, is carefully
preserved. Hence we often find, even at the present clay,
that Pearls are alluded to as " morbid secretions." (_/)

On this subject, Professor Coutance, of the Medical
School of Brest, has some remarks which are at once sen-
sible and amusing : " From the physiological point of
view, the oyster does nothing abnormal in producing the
pearl, since the nacre of the shell is formed of the same
substance. It does not draw from its inside any new mate-
rial to make the pearl, it only employs for that purpose,
perhaps to the detriment of its shell, a portion of the car-
bonated element which constitutes it, or even serves to
repair it. The disease of the oyster is therefore only a
hyper-secretion ; without doubt it is much, and we continue
to lament it as we commiserate a man with a cold in the
brain. Another observation to make is, that nothing is

(/) " Pearls and Pearling Life," by Edwin W. Streeter, F.R.G.S.
(London : G. Bell & Sons. 1886.)

91 8 OYSTERS, AND ALL ABOUT THEM.

changed in the animal who secretes or who has secreted
the Pearl. Any modification in the confirmation, or in the
histological nature of its tissues, does not indicate a
malady, an organic trouble ; the presence alone of the
Pearl is the indication of something abnormal.

And after a few more pages in a similar strain, he
proceeds to say of the Pearl-Oysters, in reference to their
secretions : " Instead of pitying them for it, we may
felicitate them for it. And if we were at any cost to pre-
sume for the calcareous secretion, it would then be neces-
sary to say, how very ill these oysters would have been if
they had not had this malady ! In thinking hereafter of
the rich pendules, ornamented with pearls, in the fine and
delicate ears of an aristocratic beauty, we will think no
longer of an oyster sick, but of an oyster saved. // is more
lively" (g)

So many difficulties surround the study of the Forma-
tion of Pearls, that it is by no means surprising that a host
of conjectures, often of a very fanciful and even wild cha-
racter, have from time to time been promulgated with the
view of explaining the origin of these enigmatical little
bodies. Time was when the oyster was credited with
breeding it by the simple process of yawning at springtide,
and swallowing the " limpid, fertilising dewdrop." Pliny
held this view, and described the " fruit of the oyster" as
"pearls, better or worse, greater or smaller, according to
the quantity and quality of the dew received by these shell-
fish." The early Arabian bards, too, entertained no man-
ner of doubt that pearls were drops of vernal rain, con-

(g) A Chapter, " La Perle," in " Diamants et Pierres Precieuses,"
by E. Jannettaz, E. Vanderheym, E. Fontenay, and A. Coutance.
Paris, 1 88 1.

THE PEARL OYSTER. 919

gealed in oyster-shells ; and Benjamin of Tudela authori-
tatively stated that " in the month of March the rain-water
falling on the surface of the sea is swallowed by the mothers-
of-pearl, and carried to the bottom of the sea ; these, being
fished for and opened in September, are found to contain
pearls." Marbodus, a writer of the first century, set forth
the same theory in his " Lapidarium," as we gather from a
graceful paraphrase of his crabbed verse: "At certain
seasons do the oysters lie, With valves wide gaping toward
the teeming sky, And seize the falling dews, and, pregnant,
breed The shining globules of the ethereal seed." For
the darker shades of colour displayed by certain pearls he
accounts as follows : " Brighter the offspring of the morn-
ing dew ; The evening yields a duskier birth to view."
The erudite author of "Pearls and Pearling Life " points
out that poets have deemed the "chaste and charming
gem " worthy of a more sacred paternity than that attri-
butable to a commonplace rain-drop ; hence their assump-
tion that pearls were formed " from tears wept by angels,
or shed by mortals under circumstances of peculiar trial."
In Mani-Mala, " The Chain of Gems," Rajah Sourindro
Mohun Tagore, only nine years ago, recorded the " general
belief" prevalent, we presume, in his native country
that the pearl originates in clouds, elephants, boars, conch-
shells, fish, serpents, oysters, and bamboos ; the cloud
pearl being the rarest and most valuable of all these
varieties, while that lurking in the serpent's crest is "em-
bosomed in a blue halo of surpassing glory, like the flash
of a polished sword," and may not even be looked at by
" persons void of merit."

The same learned Oriental magnate dilates eloquently
upon the medicinal virtues of pearls, which, ground into
powder, are still prescribed by native practitioners through-

920 OYSTERS, AND ALL ABOUT THEM.

out the East as a sovereign cure for heart-disease, ague,
and indigestion. According to Rajah Sourindro, pearl-
dust not only heals "the ills that flesh is heir to," but
" ministers to a mind diseased." Outwardly applied, it
extirpates leprosy and stops bleeding; taken inwardly, it is
a " sure antidote to poison, drives away all imaginary fears,
and removes all bodily pain." Used as snuff, it dissipates
cataract, and imparts a brilliant lustre to the eyes.

But with the advance of science these crude fancies
and curious fables have gradually passed away. So far as
the lights of our present knowledge can guide us in solving
these difficult problems of the origin and formation of
Pearls, Mr. Streeter submits the following rational explana-
tion :

"The oyster lies at the bottom of the sea, at an angle
more or less considerable, but is generally inclined to the
sea bottom at about 20 to 25. The shell is usually open
about i^ inches, to admit the entrance of water, its owner's
natural sustenance, and the mantle is spread out over the
horny outside lips of the shell. Respiration is carried on
by means of the gills, and any organic particles in the
water which bathes these vascular organs are transferred
to the mouth. Scientists have taught us that ' haemo-
globin,' or the colouring matter of the blood in the animal
kingdom, is the agent, that owing to its great affinity for
oxygen, extracts that supporter of life from the air inhaled.
Of the agent that extracts the oxygen from water, either
salt or fresh, we are, however, still untaught. The water
is admitted between the ' mantle lobes ' into the ' pallial
chambers,' where it is oxygenated : the oyster evidently
retains a considerable amount of gas within itself, many
shells being discovered by the divers, simply by the

THE PEARL OYSTER. 921

betraying bubbles of gas emitted by the oyster, in the act
of closing its shell, The effete water is renewed by diffu-
sion, as there is no regular pulsating movement to eject it.

In most fishes there is a special arrangement to guard
against the admission of foreign substances to the respira-
tory organs, the branchial arches being developed into a
kind of fringe. In the invertebrates, however, there is no
special apparatus for that purpose, and when, after storms
or other disturbing causes, the water becomes thickly
charged with sand, mud, and other substances in suspen-
sion, it is evident that the water admitted within the pal-
lial chamber of the oyster must be equally thick, and it
can hardly be doubted but that some particles of this sus-
pended matter are accidentally retained entangled in the
tissues of the oyster, especially if the latter happen to be
weakened by disease.

The healthier the appearance of the oyster, and the
greater the amount of water emitted when opened by the
knife, the less probability will there be of finding any

Pearl It is within the mantle that many of

the Pearls are found, and the inference is that the interior
surfaces of this integument secrete the fine pearly layers
around the nucleus of what is to become a Pearl ; whilst
the layers of the shell are secreted mainly by the exterior
surfaces of the mantle. With the first layer deposited
around it, the intruder becomes a Pearl, and if this nucleus
is of animal or vegetable matter, decomposition, or pro-
bably absorption, will in time leave an apparently empty
space, the cavity being lined and discoloured by the residue,
a hollow Pearl is thus formed

The oyster is not entirely dormant, and its movements,
together with the varying position of the Pearl within its
tissues, probably regulate the shape assumed by the con-

922 OYSTERS, AND ALL ABOUT THEM.

stantly accumulating layers ; owing, however, to the
inclined position of the oyster, the tendency of the Pearl
is always to work downward through the tissues, towards
the hinge of the shell. Small Pearls often work their way
into the adductor muscle, and, owing to the fibres of this
part being coarse and close, it is almost impossible for a
large Pearl to penetrate them, but numbers of small ones
are frequently found here, bound together like a cluster of
grapes, showing that even within this muscle these Pearls
receive further accretions. In course of time such Pearls
as avoid passing into this muscle find their way downwards
to the lowest part of the oyster, and, according to their
position therein, may or may not find their way out of the
tissues of the oyster into the shell.

Up to this time the Pearl has received regular layers
all over its surface, but rings and other marks of lesser
brightness frequently occur, the result probably of contact
with the coarser tissues of the ovster. For a short time

j

the Pearl is loose in the shell, and it falls into the same
category as a stone, or any other intruder. It is encircled
by the growing layer of shell, and proceeds on its down-
ward course through the shell, like an ordinary " blister,"
(fi) the upper portion receiving further layers, until it is
hidden beneath the shell, which by degrees resumes its
natural shape.

The shell is worn away from the outside at the same
rate that it is renewed within, so that in time the Pearl,
with its surrounding tomb, yields to the general dissolu-

(h) An unnatural excrescence on the surface, often found in the
Meleagrince, and formed in the renovation of their shells by the habit of
the animals burying such intruders as they cannot rid themselves of.
Stones, mud, small shells, wood, and more especially layers of weed,
are thus found embedded in shells.

THE PEARL OYSTER. 923

tion, and the nucleus of the Pearl, if of organic matter,
after having been the cause of infinite annoyance to its
unfortunate captor, is returned to the place from whence

it came.

It may be urged that the layers of shell enveloping
the Pearl or blister are laid equally upon the top of it and
at the sides, and that an unnatural excrescence would still
remain on the inner surface of the shell, long after the
original cause of it has passed away ; but this is not so.
It must be remembered that the laws of development by
which creatures are adapted to cope with the surrounding
conditions and difficulties of their existence are as appli-
cable to an oyster as to any other form of life, and the
same power that taught the oyster to protect itself against
the inveterate attacks of its enemy, the " borer," by in-
creasing the thickness of its shell at the point of danger,
might also teach it to rid itself of an uncomfortable tenant
in its bed, by exactly the reverse process.

Pearls, when of extraordinary beauty, size, or bril-
liancy, will sell for sums which appear extravagant in pro-
portion to what is given for ordinary specimens. The
reason for this is obvious, for no sooner is one of surpas-
sing beauty in the market than it is removed from the
common category, and the price will depend more upon
the fancy of the purchaser than any system of valuation.

The larger, the smoother, the rounder and brighter
the Pearl, the more it is prized. The lustre of Pearl shells
and Pearls is owing to their formation of regular, very thin
laminae, or layers of two very different substances ; one of
these is lime, which is opaque, the other is animal matter,
which is transparent. Thus, the real colour of the one
being pure white, and the other devoid of colour, the light
is divided into different tints at the surfaces of the plates

924 OYSTERS, AND ALL ABOUT THEM.

or layers, in the same way that the solar rays are distributed
in divers colours in the rainbow, by the surface of drops of
clear water.

The Chinese and other eastern nations, knowing the
details of the Pearl-producing process, are in the habit of
introducing small particles under the mantle of the mol-
luscs, and of thus procuring in due time artificial Pearls.
Small metallic figures or images may sometimes be seen,
which have been coated with a pearly or nacrous deposit
through their introduction within the shells of the Pearl
Oyster and others. Pearls being a calculus, or morbid
concretion, are also formed in consequence of some exter-
nal injury which the shell receives, particularly from the
operations of certain minute worms, which occasionally
bore even quite through to the animal. The pearls are
formed in the inside on these places. Hence it is easy to
ascertain, by the inspection of the outside only, whether a
shell is likely to contain Pearls. If it be quite smooth,
without cavity, perforation, or callosity, it may with cer-
tainty be pronounced to contain none. If, on the contrary,
the shell be pierced or indented by worms, there will
always be found either Pearls or the embryos of Pearls.
It is possible, by artificial perforations of the shells, to
cause the formation of these substances. The process
which has been chiefly recommended is to drill a small
hole through the shell, and to fill this hole with a piece of
brass wire, rivetting it on the outside like the head of a
nail ; and the part of the wire which pierces the interior
shining coat of the shell will, it is said, become covered
with a Pearl. In connection with the Pearl-bearing shells
above mentioned, there is also the Unios, or fresh-water
mussels of our own rivers, to which I will presently allude.
As the reader has already been given to understand, in the

THE PEARL OYSTER. 925

opening of this chapter, the Meleagrina is not, strictly and
zoologically speaking, an oyster. The shell is rounded in
form, and usually coloured greenish on the external sur-
face. The animal moors itself by a beard or " byssus," like
the common mussel. The chief fisheries are those of
Ceylon, (i) which, together with the fisheries in the Per-
sian Gulf, were known to the ancients. The chief seat of
the Cingalese fishery exists in the Gulf of Menaar, a bay
on the north-east aspect of Ceylon. It begins in February
or March, and extends over a period of about a month, (j)

(i) Here the greatest of all pearl fisheries has been carried on for
many centuries. They seem always to have been considered the pro-
perty of the King or Kings of Ceylon ; but, since the occupation of the
island by the British, the privilege of fishing on them has been sold
sometimes by auction, the sales being only made for one season.

According to the Queen newspaper for December gth, 1889, " the
last Pearl fishery season in Ceylon could not have been more successful
than it was. The season only lasts 22 days, and during that period
1 1 ,000,000 were brought to the surface by 50 divers, who are paid by
one-fourth of the number caught. This season the whole produce was
sold at the rate of 24$ per 1000 shells. The Government received
^20,000 as their share, and the divers ^6,400. The largest pearls are
worth in Ceylon from ^40 to ^"60, and in Europe they fetch three times
the price, or more."

It is said that the number of Pearl Oysters collected last year (1889)
at these fisheries merely covered the cost of bringing them from the sea
bottom. One reason for the falling off in the returns was the outbreak
of Cholera, which attacked the workers in the spring. Another is
found in the circumstance that, later in the year, a shark carried off one
of the divers ; his fellow-workmen, fearing the same ghastly fate,
refused to enter the water.

(/) Writers vary in their accounts : the author of " The Adven-
tures of an Oyster" says: The pearl fishery always begins in the
month of April, because the sea has then a beautiful tranquillity, and it
is generally continued to the middle or end of May."

926 OYSTERS, AND ALL ABOUT THEM.

It attracts to the coast not only a multitude of the
Cingalese, but crowds of speculators from all parts of the
vast Indian peninsula, whose variety of language, costume,
and manners, is described as very striking and pleasing.
On the eve of the fishery there is a curious and picturesque
spectacle. A mass of huts, composed of a few poles stuck
in the ground, interwoven with light bamboos, and covered
with the leaves of the cocoa-nut tree, is at once seen to
arise on the solitary sea-shore. Bazaars, too, appear in
long rows, gaily decorated, and packed with all varieties of
merchandise ; while there are booths for the sale of strong
liquors, as well as of sweetmeats and native drinks.

Amidst the trading assemblage a temple, with its
cloths, flags, and flowers, has been observed, attended by
its priests, who are no less eagerly seeking for profit by
selling charms to the divers, and which are deemed lucky
for those who intend to make purchases.

They even put forth a claim to temple oysters, which
is yielded to by the divers, most probably from the fear of
refusal involving some malignant influence.

Conspicuous among the assembled crowd, when the
fishing is about to commence, is the shark charmer, who is
supposed to exert some magic power over the monsters of
the deep, and without whose presence no diver will under-
take his task.

He is usually a tall, dark, and long-haired man, bear-
ing on his skin mysterious characters, and with his neck
and arms adorned with strings of heavy beads.

He strongly resembles the "medicine man' of the
American Indians, and the sorcerers of every age, who find
a prey in the ignorant and superstitious. Striking as his
appearance is to such persons, he does not rely upon it for

THE PEARL OYSTER. 927

his influence, but often harangues them on the greatness
of his power and on his marvellous exploits.

In addition to the variety of persons attracted, as has
been seen, to the pearl fishery, there annually arrive troops
of Indian artisans, who are very expert in piercing or dril-
ling the pearls, and who practise their art on the spot at a
very moderate charge. They sit in the open air before
the tent of any person who employs them. Nothing can
be more simple than the implements they use. These are
merelv a block of wood in the form of an inverted cone.

J

which rests on three legs, and whose upper surface is
pierced with circular holes of various diameter, fitted to
receive the pearls according to their size, with a few drills.
Their drill is merely a short, sharp needle, inserted in a
stick, which is made circular at the top, and is set in
motion by a bow, like those used by our watchmakers.
Sitting on the ground cross-legged, they keep the block of
wood between their knees, and apply the drill perpendicu-
larly to the pearl, which they pierce with extraordinary
rapidity and accuracy.

In stormy days the divers cannot proceed. The boats
set off at the signal of a gun, about ten o'clock in the
evening, when the land breeze is in their favour ; they
reach the banks about break of day, and about noon the
sea breeze rises, with which they return to land". A fleet
of about 250 boats are engaged in the fishery, each boat
being manned by about twenty hands, half of whom are to
row the boat and assist the divers, especially in coming up,
when they are considerably exhausted. Of the other ten,
who are divers, five go down at a time ; one company
resting while the other dives. The average depth at which
the oysters are found varies from 60 to 70 feet, and to these
depths accordingly the divers descend, being let down into

928 OYSTERS, AND ALL ABOUT THEM.

the sea-depths by a stout rope weighted by a heavy stone,
weighing about 56 pounds, or more.

When about to descend, the diver seizes the rope
between the toes of his right foot, for by custom he can
use his toes as well as his fingers, and he holds a net-bag
with his left foot. He grasps another rope with his right
hand, and, holding his nostrils with his left, he (naked,
save for a cloth around his loins) plunges into the sea, and
having reached the bottom, the stone is pulled up.

Laid on his face, he quickly gathers the oysters, and
places them within the net. At the end of thirty seconds
he generally signals to be pulled up ; the longest period
possible for the divers to remain under water being stated
to be about eighty seconds. When in the boat again, the
violence of the operation appears by his discharging water,
and sometimes blood, from his mouth, ears, and nose. He
then rests while the others descend.

Each man will thus go to the bottom from three or
four to twenty, and even forty or fifty times a day, bringing
up possibly a hundred shells each time. They are the
poorest of the people who labour in this dangerous way,
and live but a few years, being liable to the bursting of
blood-vessels, drowning, being devoured by sharks, or
dying of consumption. A 'knife is generally carried by
way of protection against sharks, and the native priests on
shore exact fees to keep up a beating of drums, and to
say prayers for the assumed protection of the divers from
their finny enemies.

Well has Mrs. Hemans said :
" Thou hast been where the rocks of coral grow,
Thou hast fought with the eddying waves ;
Thy cheek is pale, and thy heart beats low,
Thou searcher of ocean's caves !

THE PEARL OYSTER. 929

Thou hast looked on the gleaming wealth of old,
And wrecks where the brave have striven :

The deep is a strong and fearful hold,
But thou its bar hast riven.

A wild and weaiy life is thine

A wasting task and lone,
Though treasure-grots for thee may shine,

To all besides unknown !

A weary life ! but a swift decay

Soon, soon shall set thee free ;
Thou'rt passing fast from thy toils away,

Thou wrestler with the sea !

In thy dim eye, on thy hollow cheek,

Well are the death-signs read-
Go ! for the pearl in its cavern seek,

Ere hope and power be fled !

And bright in beauty's coronal

That glistening gem shall be ;
A star to all in the festive hall-

But who will think on thee ?

None ! as it gleams from the queen-like head,

Not one 'midst throngs will say,
' A life hath been, like a raindrop, shed
For that pale quivering ray ! '

Woe for the wealth thus dearly bought !

And are not those like thee,
Who win for earth the gems of thought ?

O wrestler with the sea ! "

" Mr. Marshall, for many years surgeon to the forces at
Ceylon, states that he rarely knew the submersion of a
diver last longer than fifty seconds."

This is about the time that the men in the Bay of
Naples, who dive for small molluscs, and the Greek islan-
ders of the Archipelago, who dive for sponges, remain

under water.

EE

930 OYSTERS, AND ALL ABOUT THEM.

These are the most famous divers in Europe, and are
likely, from their physical structure, sobriety of life, and
constant practice, to carry their art as far as possible.

But a recent visitor says : " There was a move on
deck, the signal flag rose slowly upwards, the Union-Jack
fluttered in the morning breeze, and just as it touched the
masthead a thousand divers, with their stones and nets,
plunged silently in the sea. I shall not easily forget the
sensation I experienced when I saw the crowd of human
beings sink, as by magic, in the depths below, leaving
but a few bubbles to mark their downward path : I pulled
out my watch, a minute elapsed, and not one of all the
thousand appeared ; a minute and a quarter, a minute
and a half, three-quarters, two minutes, still not a
soul arose to the surface. I dreaded some fearful cala-
mity. Two minutes and a quarter had flown ; the drops
of perspiration gathered thickly on my forehead ; my hands
trembled so that I could scarcely hold my watch. I turned
to the Adapanaar the head-man of the district, in his ten-
oared cutter, in which I stood in an agony of anxiety, but
he was sitting calm and quiet as an oyster, How gladly
my heart beat when I saw, first a dozen heads and shoul-
ders, then fifty, then five hundred and more, ascend to the
surface, bubbling and spluttering, as they well might, after
such a submarine excursion.

" The old shark charmer had stationed himself from the
commencement of the diving on the stern of his boat,
which was in the centre of the fleet ; occasionally he mut-
tered a charm, flourishing his long arms about in his
accustomed manner ; but at intervals he descended to sip
something from a cocoa-nut shell bottle. At one of these
times loud cries arose of ' The shark ! the shark !' A poor
diver, lacerated grievously by the monster, was dragged

THE PEARL OYSTER. 931

into a boat, and fishing was stopped for that day. The
inspector sent for the shark charmer, who stated with the
greatest effrontery that there were some spirits adverse to
the powers he possessed ; and that during the brief time of
his taking a little refreshment one of them had broken his
charm, and unclosed the jaws of the shark." {Adventures
of an Oyster.}

The owners of the boats wait and superintend the
landing of the precious cargoes, the oysters being carried
to shore, and heaped in pits, which are lined with mats, to
prevent them coming in contact with the earth itself, or
else they are laid in piles on mats of esparto grass, or they
are deposited in spaces of ground called coultos, enclosed
with poles and transverse pieces of bamboo, but open to
the air.

In about ten days the oysters become thoroughly
decomposed, the smell in the neighbourhood of the putre-
fying heaps being said to be almost unbearable by a
stranger unaccustomed to the scene, yet the health of the
precarious but crowded population gathered there is in
nowavs affected.

j

"During two years that I did duty at the fishery," says
M. de No6, " I never saw a soldier of my regiment sick ;
Europeans and Sepoys all enjoyed good health ;" and it
has been remarked, on other authority, that in this climate,
where the effects of vegetable decomposition are so fatal
and so rapid, those of animal decomposition are almost
innocuous.

The object of thus allowing the molluscs to decompose
is that of insuring their being easily opened and examined
in the soft putrefying state, without fear of injuring the
concretions they may contain ; for they could not be

opened while alive without great force and more trouble :

EE 2

932 OYSTERS, AND ALL ABOUT THEM.

but when they begin to putrefy they fly open, and, of
course, the pearls are taken out without injury, They are
then placed in troughs made of the trunks of trees, hol-
lowed, and sea-water is thrown over them. The pearls
are now readily shaken out and washed, by men who stand
on one side of each of the troughs. The largest are care-
fully picked up, and washed repeatedly with clean water ;
the next in size and quality are merely taken from the
trough, and spread out on white napkins to dry in the sun ;
and it is not till this is done that any attention is paid to
the smallest pearls, which are generally left to the care of
the women, who pick them up and dry them. The shells,
after being cleaned, are split into layers for the sake of the
nacre of which they are composed. This nacre is com-
mercially known in three forms the " silver-lipped ' ; of
India, China, and Peru ; the " bastard- white/' and the
" bastard -black " nacre.

The first mentioned is the most valuable ; it is im-
ported in cases weighing from 25olbs. to 28olbs. each.

The second kind of nacre is imported in casks of
about 25olbs. weight ; this latter variety is coloured yel-
lowish or greenish, or may exhibit reddish or bluish tints.
The nacres are used chiefly for the purpose of inlaying
wood and marqueterie work. Pearls should be of a clear
white, and highly glistening ; this lustre is called their
water. So we say in Europe ; but in the East those tinged
with a little yellow are preferred, especially as they are
reported never to change their colour.

The Cingalese prefer those which are rose-coloured,
and the Indians and some other orientals the yellow pearls.
Besides pearls of these three colours, others are found
of a delicate blue tint, while some have a golden and others
a silvery hue.

THE PEARL OYSTER. 933

The white are apt to degenerate to a very dingy yel-
low, after forty or fifty years' wearing. The Ceylonese
paint them with powder of pearls, and (as already men-
tioned respecting the mytilus margaritiferus] drill them
with great dexterity, so that they may be strung ready
for use.

Pearls are valued according to the squares of their
weights. If a pearl of one carat be worth io/-, a pearl of
six carats will be worth thirty-six times as much, or ^"18 ;
for the square of 6, that is 6 multiplied by itself, is 36.

The uninitiated are often deceived by buying, as
genuine productions of nature, articles which are mere fab-
rications, or artificial pearls. Some pretend to unite several
small pearls into one large one, which is impossible. From
the scales of some fish a silvery matter may be obtained :
this is dropped into a hollow bead of very thin glass, and
the appearance is so nearly that of the real pearl that none
but a practised eye can distinguish the difference. Nay, a
thin skin from the eye of the mackerel may be stamped
into a half-globular shape, which, when set, may deceive
the inattentive. The French are very dexterous imitators
of pearls, and the pastes they make of a certain powder,
united with isinglass, possess the weight, the lustre, and
nearly all the properties of real pearls.

"The pearl-fisheries of Ceylon are under government
control and inspection, the coast being officially inspected
each season, The fishings may be let, or may be retained
in the interests of the government of Ceylon. Of late
years the Ceylon pearl-fisheries have been unproductive,
chiefly, it must be presumed, from over-fishing and the
want of definite knowledge respecting the habits of the
oysters, with a view to their cultivation and due preserva-
tion. In 1797, the first year in which the government

934 OYSTERS, AND ALL ABOUT THEM.

obtained the control of the fisheries, the annual produce
was ^~ i +4,000, and in the following year, 1798, it rose to
,194,000. But these favourable conditions after that
period at once fell off, until the beginning of the present
century, when the fishing prospects again improved, the
ground being let to private speculators under certain wise
restrictions as to the extent of ground to be fished. (/)
During the ten years 1863-73, the pearl fisheries of Ceylon
again greatly declined, but they revived in 1 874, and a good
return was again obtained from these fisheries in 1877.
James Steuart, Esq., of Colpetty, in his Notes on Ceylon,
gives much interesting information regarding the Ceylon
pearl fisheries. This gentleman remarks that in 1851 it

(/) I regret that the able and well-informed writer of the above
highly interesting contribution to Messrs. Blackie & Son's "Popular
Encyclopaedia," whose valuable aid I gratefully acknowledge, did not
chronicle the said restrictions, because I feel assured that they were not
only " wise," but even as wisely applicable at home, at the present
time, to the more prolific cultivation and produce of our edible oyster as
they were then, in that far distant land, to the Pearl Oyster. At least,'
I judge so from the one I now quote from a very useful book of general
information, and which, though probably one of the actual " wise
restrictions " referred to, cannot be too emphatically impressed upon
the minds of all our oyster-fishing cultivators as a WARNING not to be
slighted. Here it is : " The bank where the pearl fish abound lies
about twenty miles out at sea, opposite the Bay of Condatchy. The

government does not allow the whole bank to be fished in any one

*-

season, but it is divided into four portions, one of which suffices for a
year ; thus, as the fishers make progress through the whole, each por-
tion has time to recover the devastations made upon it. The number
of beds is about fourteen, of which the principal bed, or bank, is ten
miles in length and two in breadth ; and the best fishing is in six or
eight fathoms of water. The produce is variable : in some years to the
value of two hundred thousand pounds sterling, and in others, less than
^30,000."

THE PEARL OYSTER. 935

was first determined by the late Dr. Kelaart that, although
the pearl-oyster had no power of detaching its byssus from
the rock, it yet could detach itself in turn from the byssus,
and could move to another spot, there to form a new
byssus. (/) This power of changing the position may
therefore in some degree have affected the apparent scar-
city of the oysters in certain parts of the fishing-grounds.

(/) It may interest the reader, by the way, to learn that from the
most remote periods of antiquity the byssus, by which the Great Pinna,
or Sea "Wing (Pinna nobitis), affixes its shell to rock or stone at the
bottom of the sea, has been spun and woven into different articles of
dress. For this purpose the shells are dragged up by a kind of iron
rake, with many teeth, each about seven inches long and three inches
asunder, and attached to a handle proportionate to the depth of water
in which the shells are found. They are found in great abundance in
the Mediterranean, and in the sea near some parts of the coast of
America. When the byssus is separated, it is well washed, to cleanse
it from impurities. It is then dried in the shade, and straightened with
a large comb ; the hard part from which it springs is cut off, and the
remainder is properly carded. By these different processes it is said
that a pound of byssus, as taken from the sea, is reduced to about
three ounces. This substance, in its natural colour, which is a brilliant
golden brown, is manufactured in Sicily and Calabria (with the aid of
a little silk to strengthen it) into stockings, gloves, caps, waistcoats,
and other articles of extremely fine texture. All these, however, are to
be considered rather as curious than useful, and the manufacture of
them is now almost a thing of the past.

(m) In interesting connection with this I quote an instance which,
to the ignorant, would doubtless seem a corroboration of the above, and
which idea the writer of the newspaper paragraph quoted below seems
to have been impressed with. My information gives no date because
the extract bore none, but from its tenour it was apparently recent, and
(from the date of issue of my authority) would prove to be the early
part of June, 1889. I give it verbatim :-

STRANGE IMPORTATION OF OYSTERS. Some thousands of

936 OYSTERS, AND ALL ABOUT THEM.

The pearls appear to vary in colour and size, accord-
ing to the nature of the ground on which the oysters rest,
and in the kind of food supplied to them. The pearls are
sometimes of so inferior a quality that the cost of fishing is
hardly or not at all repaid.

When the pearls are found adhering to the valve or
shell, they are carefully detached with pincers ; more com-
monly they are found imbedded amid the putrefying tissues
of the oysters, the soft parts being carefully examined,
boiled, and strained, so as to detect and secure the more
minute pearls, which would otherwise be overlooked. The
pearls found attached to the nacre of the shell are of
inferior quality, and are disposed of by weight. The finest
pearls are those found within the soft parts of the oysters.
These latter are generally large, and occur singly. They
are termed virgin pearls, or paragons, and are sold at so
much per pearl. They are generally of spherical or pear
shape, and are subjected to a preliminary process of being
polished by being rubbed in a bag with powdered nacre.
Thereafter the mass of virgin pearls is passed through a
series of copper sieves, the meshes of which are of various

oysters have just been imported into Liverpool in a most unusual
manner. It seems that the steamer Dodo, just arrived from the West
Coast of Africa, was placed into the Queen's Graving Dock, and when
the dock became dry it was found that the bottom of the ship was
plated with thousands of oysters. Many of the bivalves were of large
size and in capital condition. The circumstance was soon known, and
in a short time crowds of people invaded the Graving Dock with
buckets, baskets, and other receptacles, and quickly set to work strip-
ping the steamer of her strange passengers. The oysters are said to
have been of excellent quality. After all these oysters were, probably,
nothing else but Ostrea multistriata, sometimes found on ships' bot-
toms from Africa.

THE PEARL OYSTER. 937

sizes, with the view of separating the larger, and of thus
fixing a standard of size and worth. There are generally
twelve sieves, set one within the other, and each is pierced
with a certain number of holes, varying from 20 to 1000.
The pearls which do not pass through any sieve containing
above eighty holes are of the larger size, and are named
first-class, or mill pearls. Those which lie between the
sieves containing from 100 to 800 holes, are known as
vivadce pearls, or those of the second class. Those which
pass through the remaining sieves, and at length reach the
1000 holed sieve, are the seed or dust pearls, and are of
comparatively small value, being sold by weight or mea-
sure, to be converted into powder. The larger pearls are
threaded, and are exposed for sale in rows. The American
pearl-oysters are opened by knives, and the pearls are
sought for at once among the fresh tissues of the animal
a process which, though less certain of securing the con-
cretions, is yet said to have the merit of obtaining them in
a fresher state, and less liable to discolouration.

The Indian pearl-fisheries of the Bay of Bengal, those
of Japan, of China, and of the Eastern Archipelago, are
estimated to yield an annual produce of about ^"800,000.
The fisheries of the Isle of Bahrein, on the coast of Arabia,
in the Persian Gulf, produce about ^"240,000 annually ;
all the Arabian fisheries yielding an annual total of about
.350,000. The South American pearl-fisheries of the
Mexican coasts, and of the Islands of Panama, Margarita,
&c., were formerly in high repute. In the time of Charles
V. of Spain these fisheries sent pearls to that country of
the value of ,160,000. The present value of the South
American fisheries is stated as averaging about ,60,000
annually.

OYSTERS, AND ALL ABOUT THEM.

From the Detroit Free Press (Sept. 6th, 1890), I have
culled a more detailed and reliable account, which I have
much pleasure in quoting :

" The Wisconsin pearl craze is not of recent date," said
Charles T.