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ffftSfctf ) EU&&SR$m TOW? c?r, V cU .rc APTORBD" jr- l & 3' fi f t SB h1 rM ifo rfrmnw x- M r" LiS" SEVERAL HUNDRED, THOUJAHO QUSHEL6 OF OYSTER' SHELLS Ol.li bI with n fringe," ho ) oiled through n liolo In the wall. It was 11! -02 a. m., Septombor I. 1908. mill tlin Urn! riialiimnr fcf tho o)ntor Bonsnn had broken the screen of m story which nurrotuidH the cntranr A w w K Ktf ?; 1 ft $&& ttPsVMil w ry&te -mf .U.C tLfys m iw m tms ; WSKl ffl: w 'Tj.v t. ssr-w S k- SK 'A m WM ?' dS rM ak r lvvaTVW cofYWHT 3Y iwoefthooD t.uHotBMK m MPEm &t E&g, b'n SK. KM ,oa j?HUft Or - !; li2 J & fW$ SiZ $&: W- (' ' -: MH3 ?'"- .jS "-2Mb; tt' . sftfi wx3 .r ?K S. && a Hi :' a: Stf -. w v 43 A n w?j ysrt MitflPE;! vcr Xi V5.w JfEYE- CW 7 OYSTER PECK OF A STEA1 DREDGE. I tho bivalves Into tlio dally menu of the man who pulitimzos the "hash-houses" of the bis tliy The innn who yelled through the hole In the wnll was I'.o waller and an answering grunt irom the blackness within told the man with the iipion and the man with the uppetlto that tlio cook understood that what wns wtr.tcd was half n dozen oysters, fried, with a liberal background of broken crnckora lolled In the yolk of nn Tlio remarkablo thing about tho Utile Incident rolated above Is that oyster IIhIiIiir In the waters of tho east bi'gaii nl midnight. August 31, yet at 12:01' n, in., Septum Inn 1 lust two minutes aftor the long pilings had beun ilnipod Into (ho bods, u thousand miles away a cu'slomor had been nble to successfully gnthor a full sized uuml of tho delleney. In fact the llmt oystor fanner In tho Chosapoake bay p lied up his first bivalve at the same time that the ros taut nut patron wins doliiK tho samo. the only difference 1).'Iik In the dlstanco. This talc mlKlit load Hkoptlcal persona to bellovo (hat r-pher oysters am maniifacturotl uowadnys or else tho inhlulitht ndmlior of tho mussel was beliiK fud the produce of 1907. The eater know that It was September 1 and Hint oys ters appear durlni; each month the spolliui; of which . ontalus mi It Hence he felt perfectly safe as tho oys f n oik' by one slid fiom (he fork into his mouth. S. IoiiMsih toll us that many of the big denleis In oysters iuvk idnys are puttlim tho holdover pioduct or the pro Moiis ar Into refi monitor plants In onler that the In tirlur IoiirIiik, for the delicacy previous to Septembor 15 inai In satiated It Is Just about the mlddlo of Soptem li( tth.Mi wh first ixnsiii to taste the entch of tho year. Tioui then on until the llrst of Mn). Including Sentouibar, OrtiiUe,, November, Docember, January. lVbruary lots of oyiter. in IVbrimry; It has two Us March and April, we have the bivalve stowed, fried, baked, raw and In numerous other edible and luudlhlo wa. Hut scientific ftlonds tell us to take our oysters In Houp fur i he first two weeks of tho oystor season. This, they say, will eradicate all possibility of evil effects. The man who has a cousin who Is well ncnualutud with the hrothor of n jouiig lady who onco found a pearl In it rnw ovstor of courso will revolt from tho edict that early Hoasou blvulves should bo eaten cooked, because boiling destroys tho luster of tho pearl and renders It valueless. However there are fow who do not rollsh oyster soup, oven If they 'simply CAN'T bear oystor,"' so many fol lowed out tho scientific ultimatum. Hosi.iurnnt statistics have It that fried ojsteis are tho most palatable to tho ineu and womoii who patronize restaurants. Next comes tho oyster stow nnd thou tho oscallopod oyster, followed In succession by the raw and tho baked product. Scarcely less oxcltlnK than tho rush for n western boom town slto Is thu dash of tho oystormon for tho beds aftor midnight or tho 31st of August. According to law, not it boat must move until the 1st of Septouiber has ar rived. Klrst to roach tho oyster bods, and llrst to gather a car go and sprint for tho wharf, moans first In tho market. ConscQuently the oysternien strain ovory nervo to win In this blvnlvular race. Midnight of August 31 finds tho Hoot ready for tho run. Kvery oys toruinu has his boat as trim and ready us care can make It. When the clock has ticked the mouth of August from the calendar tho race Is begun. It Is n run of sev eral mllos from the t 1 A LARGE JTEAM OYSTER DREDGE jli ti$ gfe W & m EK2W8H Ml V- L t&i STEAnrtG SLOWLY OVER AN OY6TER BED stinting point to t10 oyster beds, and tho few who are privileged to be pirsont whon the fleet gets under way participate In as pretty a moonlight rnco as Is to be soon on tho witter. With every stitch of canvas set, the boats Bklm along In tho silent night, every sklppor oxortlng liimsolf to the limit of his seamanship to cieep ahead of tho field. To Insuro an even race to all. a United States guard boat watches tho start and sees thnt no captain moves until tho legal time. The bont also accompanies tho fleet to watch the Ashing ami prevent any piratical tilcks whon the bods are vouched. Hnch oysternmn must fish In his own ground when the boats roach the beds. How thoy nn able to find their own particular fishing giouud In tho dark Is a mystery to the yaudsmati. Sometimes they mistake some ono else's bed for tholrs. Hence the presenco of tho guard bont to prevont trouble between rival i?klppeis who. either lutentloualiy or by mlsluke, attempt to fish on tho same ground. in rocont years many of the sklpiri-j or oystor boats have been fitted with Btoam mid gasoline eugtnos to boat tholr rivals who hao to depend on sail power alono. A curious collection of engines worn at tlrstr soon on tho bonts. Discarded gasoline machines thnt would havo found their wu to the scrap heap but for the oystor men had been oiled up and put In tuadliioss for the son son, nnd steam ougiuos that woro never designed for murine work helped the fortunate skippers who owned them to show n clean pair of heels to the sailing craft whon tho grand rush for tho oyster bods bognn. Now that tho oyster seaoon Is well under wny nnd tho mollusk Is obtainable fiesh from tho waters of tho east ern const of the Tutted States, tho topic of bivalves Is naturally nn engrossing ono with the oplcuro. Tho rea son that fishermen cannot pluck oysters between April and September Is because the months of May, June, July and August are the spawning months. Sometimes tho bivalves arc transplanted during tho season and then tho reproduction Is often arrested. An average oyster will produce 10,000,000 eggs nnd n very largo one 00,000,000. When rlpo the sexui.l products oozo from tho genital openings nnd fertilization r o s ti 1 1 s from their accidental meeting In tho tvnter. Segmenta tion results In five or six hours In the production of n ciliated gas t r ti 1 n, a c ii p shaped f ree swlmmfng organ Ism, often car ried by the cur rents to found now nnd remote beds. An embry onic shell soon appears, and tho 1 1 1 1 1 o oyster sinks to tho bot tom where. If fa vornbly situated, It becomes nt tnclicd by Its loft valve and g r a d u ally assumes the adult form. Tho recently attnqhed spat Is 1-80 to 1 00 of an inch In diameter, ami Its subsequent growth vnrles with Its envlronnunt Single oysters on firm bot tom become round and deep, but those in clusters or on soft bottom grow Irregular and elongate. On undisturbed natural bods they grow In clusters, and tho beds repose, aB n rule, on n muddy substream upon which they havo been built mi fiom a comparatively small nucleus by tho flxntlon, year after ear, of the young upon tho shells of their prodecessoiB. Oysters live from nbovo low-water marlc to n depth of 15 fnlhoius, wiioro density lo botweon 1.002 nnd 1.025 tho optimum being from 1 .01 1 to 1.022, and In a rango of temporaturo which in Chesapeako bay oxlends from 32 dogroos K. to 00 degrees R Tho embryos and fry re quire more equable and stable conditions, the tempera ture required being between C3 degrees R nnd 80 degiees R Tho host nnd most productive hods nre commonly In strong tldul currents, wh'ch disseminate tho fry and food and keep the old shells clean enough to catch tho spat. Diatoms constitute about 90 per cent, of tho oyster's food, the rest consisting of other small plants and animals, nnd In tho breeding season of Its own eggs and fry. Tho lat ter nio eaten by othor mollusca also, and from its attach ment until it tenches u large size tho oyster Is preyed up on by starfish, drills (Urosalplnx), drumflsh, rnys, and other aggresslvo enemies, while It wages a passive fight against starvation and suffocation with mussels, barnit ales, bpoiigos, worms, aquatic vegetation, nnd othor pro lific or luxuriant organisms growing on the beds, Ostrou Ylrglnlcn occurs from tho Oulf of Saint Law rence to tho ttoptcs, but between Cape Hreton and Cape Cod tho Sheepscot river, Maine, Is Its only locality. It has also been Introduced In San Francisco bay, whore It broods to a limited extent. Tho greatest production Is In Chesapeake bay, where the principal yield Is from the natural beds. Most of tho oysters from New Knglnnd and from Now York and the outer coast of New Jersoy are prpducod by planted bods; tho eutlro yield ot tho l'nclflc coatt Is similarly de rived, nnd there has been recontly a considerable increase In oystor cultiiro In New Jersoy, Virginia and other states. The number of uoons engaged In the Industry Is estimated at upward of 00,000, but as many of them aro employed part of the year In other fisheries, fnrmlng, etc., deflnlto statistics aro not nvnllablo. Ilaltlmoro Is the most extensive market and Now York has a considerable export trado with Europe. Tho native oyster of tho Pacllic coast Is a small thin shelled species. In 1901 159,310 bushels, valued at $251, 192, wero marketed, principally on tho Paclflc coast. The European oyster Is found from Italy to Norway. It Is n round thin-shelled species, moro shapely than tho American species, and hermaphroditic, first female and afterwards male. It Is less prolific than Its American rcla tlvo and tho youns undergo considerable development In tho mantle chamber of tho mother. It thrives In water of full or almost full, organic density. Tho oysters of Japan occur In shallow and moderately brackish or moderately salt water throughout tho wholo nrchlpelago; and a very largo salt water species Is found in deep water. Many other species of Ostrcn aro found in temperate and tropical seas throughout tho world. Tho oyster fnmlly appears to have had Its origin In some Imperfectly known forms. The family Is found also In the Permian. In tho Trlasslc It is represented by .v strongly plicated form, Alectryonla, which form becomes moro prominent In tho Jurassic and Cretaceous. There aro nlso the common nrcuato shells of Qryplmo and Exogyra in tho Jurassic and CretaceoiiB. Ostrca Itself Is known in tho Mcsozolc, but It attained Its maxi mum of Blzo and ubundanco In tho Tertiary. Tho sandy mails of this period In the southwestern United States often contain great numbers of very largo specimens of oysters. Owing to tho exhaustion of tho natural beds and their innblllty to supply tho demand for oysters, It has been found necessary to resort to nrtlflclnl methods of production, effecting, (1) an Increaso In tho number ol eggs fertilized; (2) an Increase In tho surfaces avallablo for flxntlon, and also of tho number of spnt attaching; (3) tho saving of spnt and young oysters which would nnturnlly fall victims to enemies and advorso physical conditions; and (1) tho utilization of barren bottoms nnd naturally unavailable food supplies. Hut a smnll part of tho area under water sultnble for oysters has been utilized by nature, mainly for lack of sultnble bodies for tho attnehmont of tho young. In the United States such barren bottom Is utilized by clearing It of all rub bish and either planting 'cultch' to collect tho spnt, or elso young oystcre (seed), that thoy may Improve In size, shape, and quality under conditions safor and moro favorablo than in their original environment. In certain placo3 elthor mothod may succeed, but commonly a locality Is better adapted to ono than tho other. Tho most suitable bottom for oyster culture consists of firm mud or of a firm substratum with a thin surface ot soft mud, but stable sand) bottom ls usually deficient In food, loose sand drifts and covers tho oysters, and very soft mud Ingulfs nnd stifles them or produces In ferior elongate stock. Mud naturally too soft may bo utilized by distributing over It shells, sand, or othor ma terial, which, resting on or near tho surfneo, furnishes a firm foundation upon which tho growing oystor may repose in security. For spat-collecting it Is frequently advantageous to use hnrd mud, gravel, or rocky bottom In shonl water, 111 adapted to adult oysters from de ficiency of food. Tho bottom being properly prepared nnd its boundaries marked with stnkes or buoys, either system may bo adopted to nccord with circumstancos. Generally seed-planting Is moro certain In Its results and yields quicker returns to tho grower. Secd-oystorB vary from "blisters" one-half Inch In diameter to Individuals almost ready for market, but ordinarily they are between one und three Inches long. They are obtained from plant ers making a specialty of seed production or from natural beds, their cost varying from ten cents to $1 per bushol, the larger pullod stock, sepatate, well shaped, nnd freo from rubbish, bringing hlghor prices aud giving tba best results. t