Morning journal and courier., 1881-03-30
Price Four Cents.

was taken back Tho court decided that all the money the town had received under that bargain should be divided to the citizens. This was done, the town only re- serving the cost of the lawsuit. The sum paid to each voter was just sixty-seven cents Some more wealthy citizens thought they should be paid according to their taxable lists. But every man received the same.
 Of course, after this decision there was e general rush for the oysters This has con- was of" A year ago, on little bed, only few rods in extent, twenty-six oyster boats were engaged at one time.
 This condition of things renders natural beds useless, except for procuring very young seed. No oysters are allowed to remain to grow to size fit to be eaten. This turns the attention of all to securing grants of suitable ground for cultivation.
 Persons owning land by the shore have the preference in obtaining ground off against their property. Such owners can also con- trol the seed that is found on their grounds Most of the planters have secured from two to five hundred feet along the shore and running out to the edge of the channel. This makes farm of from three to ten acres
 The planters usually buy their young seed Of the oystermen, at ten cents 8 bushel. They spread these in rather shoal water for the summer, then move them into deeper water as the winter comes on. On one spot, 0SACof good oysters for market were gathered two years after they were laid there as spawn.
 A new law was passed by the State Legis- lature last winter forbidding the taking of any oysters before sunrise or after sunset One guilty under this law is fined one hun dred dollars and forfeits his boats and all his grants. By this it is hoped to prevent steal ing from both public and private beds.
 Thus far none of the channels have, been granted to private owners, nor are any of the grants for over twenty years. For few years past they have been given for only the balance of twenty years, counting from about four years ago. The object is to have the grants all expire at the same time
 The channels in these harbors are occa- sionally deepened by nud-diggers. This al- ways results in great increase of spawn, thus strengthening the proof for the theory that stirring up the bottom is favorable for oyster growth. It furnishes new and clean gravel and shells on which the spawn can easily catch. Cultivation has served to largely in crease the extent and productiveness of nat ural beds. Much of the spawn given of by planted oysters floats away and settles on the public grounds. The value of these grounds has thus been increased tenfold in a few years
 The readiness of oyster spawn to set on every object in the stream that chances to be in the right state of cleanliness is shown by numerous examples. A live turtle was lately caught in Wareham river, on whose back were thirteen live oysters. some of them two years old. In that same vicinity an old hob-nailed shoe was ished up, on which were fftysix live oysters of quite good size. A toad fish had established himself in the in terior of the same shoe, quite filling the cav ity.
 This habit of the spawn in floating of and fastening in unexpected places accounts for the occasional discovery of new beds where none had been discovered years before, as the owner of fowls not unfrequently finds hen has stolen nest in an out of the way place and is finally discovered with her brood fully matched
 Some here have covered the ground with brush and limbs of trees and secured consid- erable seed. One man fastened thousands of shingles to wires and strung the wires in the water along posts. His success was not very great in this experiment He hung his shingles too far from the bottom, or too loosely on the wires.
 It is found that liberal infusion of fresh water is favorable to oyster spawning. Where the water is nearly fresh enough to drink the largest amount of spawn is found to occur.
 In the "Cove'' above Sippecan harbor, and in the streams about Somerset and Wellf1eet, are seen examples of most prolific spawning. The Cove alluded to has several small streams flowing in, besides numerous springs near the shore.
 The selectmen of Marion once granted nearly the whole of Sippecan harbor to pri- vate parties for oyster planting. There are two islands in this harbor, Ram Island and Sheep Island. The plants were put around their shores. The men were getting the seed trom the Cove near by. This created dissat- isfaction and the whole arrangement was broken up at Wareham. Still, many thou sands of bushels of seed have been recently planted in that harbor. It is, as yet, too soon to declare fully the result. But some former trials, on a smaller scale, turned out so well it is reasonable to expect most grati- flying returns.
 The spawn in these coves and river mouths is some years so abundant it can be said to lie in winnows on the bars and shores.
 There are movements toward deeper water z for cultivating, as in other localities, along the Long Island coast.
 The Buzzard's Bay oystermen think they can predict the character of their oysters six months ahead. If they are fat in the fall they claim they will be so all winter and in the spring. If they are lean in the fall they will be lean all winter also
 Some claim oysters keep their shells closed in the winter and lie dormant, like toads or turtles. They only feed and grow in the spring and summer. Oystermen tell by the sound what they are and will be- If they sound full there will be good crop. If the sound is hollow the oyster will be weak and poor. If, as in some cases, a dark moss grows on the shell, the oyster turns black and finally dies
 After careful observation we conclude with the United States commissioner, that Bug zard's Bay oysters are ere long to be impor- tant factors in our country's food supplies.
 The Old Mother in The White House.