Marshall County Republican., 1868-05-21
All About Oysters.

Oyster raising, as q science, with us, is
yet in its infancy; our domain is so exten-
sive, and the growth of these shell-fishis so
rapid, that the simple planting of few
stakes to mark the boundaries of each own
er, and the scattering broadcast of shells
or young seedlings, gathered from the pub
lie beds, Is all that is thought to be required
To surround great sea space of many
leagues with costly wall of granite, in
closing parks where many thousand men
can cultivate their oyster beds with the
nicely of flower garden, as they are do
ing near the Island of Rhe, at La Rochelle,
France, or as it was done many centuries
ago by the Romans, is a work that but few
of our oystermen would think Of doing.
In some of those parks, the oyster spawn
Is taken from the mother as soon as laid
and stored up in vats. After the spawn
has developed itself into the tiny oyster,
it is spread on sand beds as level as floor.
Upon these the salt water is let on with
great care so as not to disturb them too
violently, and thus smother the young seed.
Weeks of watching with the cautious
solicitude of the gardner watching his
tender hot-house plants, are given to this
interesting and most important part of the
oysterman's duty. When these are about
two years of age they will again be trans
planted to other beds and finally gathered
for the market. The age of the oyster can
be easily told by the rims or successive
layers on the shell, as with the rings on
the trunk of a tree, each ring or layer
marking years growth. AT four years
of age they are fit for the market, and
though they increase in size up to their
eighth and tenth year, epicures think the
fOur-year-old the best.
The oyster is never so palatable as VIII z
eaten directly from the shell, in its own
liquor, without addition of any sort Chief
among the enemies Of the oyster is the
star-fish, which float down in swarms, and
do great damage in short time to the
beds. The whelk. or small periwinkle, is
pest which bores its way directly
through the shell, and thus sucks the life
blood of the bivalve.
The oyster is found all along the eastern
and western shores Of your continent, as
far north as Maine, and south as the Equa-
tor. Great natural beds abound in the
deep waters; off the coast of Massachu-
sets and of Georgia beds OF shells are
found sufficiently large enough to form
break-waters, and to wreck vessels On
the Pacific coast, inland, great beds of pet
rified oyster shells are found, some of
which are thirty miles long and sixty feet
in depth. Epicures consider the American
oyster the finest IN the world. The annual
supply of the Lon lon market is set down
at sO0,OOO,00O year. In Paris the an
nual supply reaches over 200,OOO,OOO
bushels year. The color of the oyster
shell varies with the locality in which it is
found. Those on muddy bottoms are
usually dark; on rocky beds they will be
dark-gray, sometimes with bright vermil.
ion streaks. The French oyster is green
ish without and within; while those of
the Eastern seas are sometimes of all the
colors OF the rainbow. The oysters in
which pearls are found come from the
tropics|and the mother Of pearls is shell
of the oyster.-Erchange '-i'i ,.f'