Morning journal and courier., 1883-08-17
Friday, August 17, 1883.
OYSTERS.

Before long we shall all be eating oysters again. The English begin to eat oysters
 August 4, and this is where they have 8 very
 decided advantage over the people of this
 glorious country. who must wait until Sep
 tember, unless they spell the name of the
 present month ..Orgust The beginning of the oyster-eating period being near it is cheering to hear that the .::cropn is likely to be good one. and that all along the Con-
 necticut coast oyster cultivators are rejoicing in the very favorable ''set' they have this summer.
 Experience has taught number of impor- tant and interesting facts regarding oyster production. Every summer all oysters above seven months old throw out spawn. It is claimed that a fAir-aized parent will give forthe ven four millions in season. This indicates the great quantity of e4seeds, which must be floating in the water between May and October. These are sent forth earlier or later according to the warmth of the weather. A degree of heat being need full to occasion the spawning, shallow water exposed to the sun will furnish ssseed'' sooner than the deeper and cooler bays. and gulfs.
 
 ping quickly about up and down between the surface and the bottom until the conditions are favorable for it to fastsn upon some clean object, such as stones, gravel, shells or sticks. During this period various fishes eat multitudes of them. These baby oysters are so small that they can only be seen through powerful magnlfying glass. Gould they all be induced to fasten upon suitable ob. ject the production would be almost unlina- ited- To provide for this the shells that formerly were used to make roads and lime arc now carefully saved to spread on the bottom for new beds. In some locali- ties brush and sticks are put down for the same purpose. One man at the head of Bug zard's Bay has hung thousands of shingles by wires across the mouth of Cotait Greek and thus caught the spawn. Any creek in which oysters are planted and which has swift flowing mouth will furnish vast num- bers of seed. Thus Indian Creek at Milford has enabled MT. William M. Merwin and others to secure vast amounts of spawn An infusion of fresh water seems to be necessary for the best results in oyster raising. That is shown by the beds that are so generally found at or near the mouths of rivers and l where streams of fresh water mingle naoEe or less with the salt in bays and gulfs.
 A rainy or showery summer is most favor- able for good ''set." A dry season disap- points the hopes of the eultivator. Fresh water from the rivers or clouds. causes the spawn to ''set" very quickly. This helps to account for the abundant 'tset'' at the pres- ent time. Frequent and powerful showers have visited Connecticut. They have passed over Long Island Sound. They have also kept the streams well supplied. Hence the joy of the oystermen. Singular effects are sometimes seen and furnish proof that much spawn floats on the surface and is made to stick by shower of rain. At points where sudden showers at high tides cause spray to dash upon rocks, s'sets'' are found ten or twelve feet above high water mark. Such have been known to live there year or two if mild winters followed the sunmsr.
 The enemies that assail oyster beds along | the Connecticut shore are mainly s'borers" and ''fve-fngers." or "starfsh" The first l kills the young oyster by boring 8 hole | through the shell into his heart He seems | to have tool with which he can cut a hole as smoothly as a machinists drill could do l it. The beds in shallow water are liable | to destruction by sand, which severe storms | move from the bottom upon them. When | the water is lashed by long.continued and | heavy winds the waves are so high and. 1 have such deep furrows that the sandy l grounds shift. Thus beds worth thousandsst of dollars to-day in twenty.four hours may 1 bs entirely destroyed.
 To get an oyster crop through the various l stages risks and perils to 6 market requires l hard labor. unwearied watchfufness and | much skill It takes from three to five years l to get much return foE the outlay made. If | all works faverably the gain is large. If l there is failure it is almost 8 total failure. l Connecticut planters are doing 8 good busi- | ness in furnishing seed out of the State and | sven for foreign countries. Rhode Island l planters have had seed from our waters for a | number of years. The so-cslled natural" 1 beds are chiefly useful now as sources of | seed supply. The oysters are not left on | them long enough to attain size sufficient for | eating. The old time clammers along our shores are now largely engaged in gathering | seed for planters.