, 1877-12-02

L m.
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is three fathoms deep, yct you can teel the Maul
titude OF oysters roilng IN bct" cen the drcdge's
| IRON JAWS dhul III = ctolcs lenItn away,
bottom quite as goou Us Luis WOnlu have yield
| ed nothing OF value here Tue urcdge comes Ut
LOADED WITH OYSTERS,
the most OF them ranging III size from silver
quarter to hall-uoIiae piece: hey are now in
their sccoud year, lew IN clusters OF two OF
three, but tue majority single and all showing the
rounded outline which uellghts the oyster-loycr.
Here and there III tue ple Is gaping shell, some
with one valve shorter than the other some
with pi1i-hole through tho purple spot where
the muscle was attached. The former have
been Killed BY star-tsll, tile latter by drills,-
! innucent-.ooklllg creatures DotA OF them, but
! dreadlullY destructive 70 oysters. Fortunately,
the drills contine tnclr attacks to the young
broods when thlnnln@ out is not
SO injurious. INC stars Kill at all
ages. Sometimes they come up from deep
water III swurns as Countless as Colorado grass
hoppers. aud raVa@e an oystcr-plantation rs re-
l6ntlessly rs the latter 10 Inc wheattled5 of
the border. fonner shatple IS engaged i'll re-
planting large tract ".lca Tue stars lnvaded
last spring, when the ohly oysters saycd were
those that were hastily removed ln auvaucc OF
the DESTROYING host. by sach attacks Il man
may lose his entire ioftuhc before his danger is
sspccte:l, anu ~ al t!4ca u Is oliv Dy CONSTANT
! watchfunes5 anl persistent dredging that these
pests as: kept within toltrable limits.
In course ct tune, "ilen 1nc nu'nbsr OF oyster
farmers is largely Increased, 1t may Ee possible,
by united effort anu tbc maintenance of 5pc-
cal police working steam-dredges, to keep the
stars 'inder control: IL NOT 70 cxtsrmltlate them
from these waters, hat 1or many years they are
likely to REMAIN the ...
CHIEF SOURCE OF ANNOYANCE AND LOSS
to this 1'nportant bralch oi industry, Now and
! then boring Wl1etE or ~lnAle will Kill all oid
! oyster, or boring sponge riddle shell and ,il-
! vert Its owner IS stfc'i!ti 10 tue work VI mann
I f.I a ftf%1fs M u
| then Il violent storm Will bury an oystcr-bcd
un.er s,nuthcring ln:a=s OF weeds or mud; or,
II III shallow water, WI ro1l the crop ashore, or
crush 1t - death WIN uFllcd ice; hut these are
| Occasional aud minor cyls compared with the
c=.scess slcpredatlons ot tie stars.
While our host has been rccountlng the troub-
les ami RISKS OF oystef-1aralll'g, his tidy craft
has ca:rlesl US to another ground, from which
| the drcdge brings up Ill attractive lot OF round
! oysters. from two to Tour Years Old. Vast guam
tlt'cs VI oysters III thls SIZE are aslually opened
ut tAr H;1veli anu thc Meats forwarded i'll tubs
AMI barrels to the interior eit.csol New England
Tor il'i''!':d1atc use. ana 81 Late years consd-
cradle demand nus arisen 1or such oysters to Il:
served Oh the isaif-shel! as appctizers urfore u
mcal,-a foreign fashion, w'iici. ii kept within
bounds is not bat one, lor young oysters thus
ssEved arc unspeakaply aauty aud delicious
The general use OF s1lch immature oysters, how
| ever, Is
NOT TO RE coMMEsDED,
since it has nearly rulheu the french oyster
growers, aud Largely Helped to destroy the yll-
uaole natural ri peus along thc scotch aud En-
gllst COASTS. Inc oyster rarely spaWIls heioFc
Lac fourth year. anu II the beds are stripped at
nj earlier aEc, as mas Dceh largely tht case III
Enfote, t1: ial! OF spat necessarily l,ils. As i
rcccnt Eh@!lsh writer has sa1c, speak
lns ol tIe ofsttf'tFeeuefS OF Arcacnon,
atarennc: the Isle de Tic, and other places they
lavc Killed ttlc 9ot'se lof Inc sake I'll its rolus:l
cg%. alrl now We are beginning to be toll that
a:,4lrln o'ster~cullart IS not pay!;!s i'll France,
amusing: how ca ;hcy have spat i there be no
oysters lett 10 cxude II! "~ Even 1t there were
no serious risk u ultimate oarrez11scss lr,1n the
general destruction q miniature oysters, it
WOULD seem NasEeitll, II not WlckeQ, TO Kill theW
at this stage t1rther than may be necessary fur
the thinning out Of areas under cuitlyatlon),
since they are now past the more serious cares
aud CANCERS VI oyster-!arin'ac. AMI III year or
more will have doubled IN Size and greatly im-
proved III quality.
Yonaer is Ill oystcr-sloop nearly loaded with
MAKkErAbLE OYSTERS;
let us run alongside anu LOOK 1T them. How
bright and clean they rise from this sra1clly
bottom, swept ALMOST constantly bY J. tide
that runs like Iulll-r2ce- Encre can be nO
better fattening-gIound. Observe this haud-
some tour ur-ycAr-olu,-a typical Saddle Rock,
nearly as broad as long: and half as TUCK as 1t IS
broau. IL was "eil-IorMcl when transpiauted
u year ago, out INN. oil can see the E1'es Of
the old shell. and how great the nerease in
thckness has oeen. ";th scarcely any change in
area, inc buik ot lis Ale.tt Asls nearly doubled.
THIS six-ycar-old is another beauty, 50 regular
i'll form, 50 healthy in appearAEce; aud the rest
are not unlike it, 1t Is now ut its tcst. 1t might
I've tlozen years Iouecr "ianoue muyn eniarSe-
Ient saTe IN the sh'cKnsss oi ITS shell; Notice
the changes that nave osen wrought III these less
regular 1or'Ils Ill the cllort to attan the typical
oval form. when tratsp'anteu they were thin
dna cruokcu, uurin@ Tue past year Lucy -:aFc
added nothing to their lensth' put very Inuch to
their oFeauth ana L'llchhess. 1lere IS one thlI
had beet !eit too ions on muuuy bottom. and
ii;u ueyeioi'eu i1lso. regular " Shatfshal. III
transplaGtlng, tu1ly IN 'hcil OF on: salse Was
broken on Al tlc emu anu III" beginning Was
mate 1T tile broken euge.
VERY CURIOUS
are the altcfatlons oltch Maue IN Informed
shells III consequence q EenaoSa! Io 2 daicfeht
bottul1,-ali showing tue susceptibility 81 tAe
oyster to changes III the external coroltfon Oh !
It's lie, most renarkaolc Illustration o1 Inc
oysters aDnltl u "lLAstanu !ougn usa;e was
shown III: q specl1nea III Which the shell had
bcesl caught somehow oy as! oystermau'a ton5s
or lrea9c, unflnHeu, ahd Inc waves turneu at !
right angles to the'r normal nos't'on. u spite /
OF this terrible wrench, the anllal not only SUI
vlycd, but constructed q new hinge walled III
Tie exposed a'lgErs, and rearfauScd ITS intgr'iaf
economy to conform to its new condition. When
taken, 1t was alive ana hearty, its eccentric
shape alone drawing attention to Its strange fN-