Washington standard. [volume] (Olympia, Wash. Territory) 1860-1921, 1883-07-20
OYSTERS ON TREES
! Novel Industry ON til" Poquonoc River
Artificial Propagation of Oysters on
Trees

Poquonoc river is broad arm Of
Long Island Sound, penetrating the
Connecticut coast few miles east
of New London, dividing the great
level sea meadows for three or four
miles inland. Around the head of
the river, where trout stream tum-
bles over IA mill wheel into the slug
gi,h waters Of the estuary. are the
scattered farm houses of Puuuonoc
hamlet. The tide rises the whole
length of the river. For years the
waters of Poquonoc river have been
noted As producing the most delicious
oysters known i'll the world. They
outranked the famous Blue Points, -
selling readily ia the New York
restaurants at so a barrel, when the
latter might be bought for s.. The
demand was far in excess Of the
supply. On account of the thick
black mud that plastored the bed of
the river, and which is fatal to oyster
culture, only Il small margin of the
bottom. "a rocky strip far in shore,
could he utilized by the oyster
growers. Annually the oysters that
had attached themselves to the rocks
and other distractions over this dis
trict were knocked off and sold at
tempting prices, but there We're not
enough of them 1t WAS not until
three or four years ago that speech
lative and inventive Yankee devised
a plan for extending the oyster cul-
tivation upon the mud bottoms He
went into his woods and cut down Il
forest of tough, wiry white birches.
dragged them to the bank, bore them
in his boat upon the river, and
dumped them overheard. taking care
that they should lie left at proper
intervals on the bottom He had an
idea that the oyster spawn would
come sailing along in the season,
catch hold Of the birch boughs, and
grow into fabulous fortune for him.
The idea was good one, but not per
fected. He allowed the birch to lie
a suitable time and then pulled them
up. Every bough and twig was
thick with half grown bivalyes, but
the weight of the growing shells had
dragged the brush down into the
fatal mud. and the oysters had per
ished by the million.
Enlightened by his failure he made
another trial He planted the birches
upright on the bottom, setting them
at an angle with the current. The
submerged trees. as described in the
judicial finding. were from fifteen TO
twenty feet in length, and the butts.
which were three or four inches in
diameter, were thrust three or four
feet into the mud Their tops Just
pricked through the waves at low
tide. 1t is stated in the report of the
Oyster Commission of the State tina.
each female oyster will produce in
the breeding season from 9,0OO,0O0
to 40,000,000 eggs. which float with
the current and attach themselves as
spat or spawn to any obstacle they
encounter. In the breeding season
that followed the planting of the birch
trees, millions; billions of spat came
floating down the current of Poquonoc
river to the submarine forest. 1t was
just what they wanted, ready made
home. They drifted as thick as snow
flakes to the bending boughs and
plant twigs. Singly, they were SO
small as to be almost invisible, but
their legions speckled the trees with
brownish patches. Finally every
branch and twig was covered, but
apparently there was no diminution
in the army of floating emigrants
The new comers multiplied on the
speckles already attached. until there
were dozens in a bunch. 1t requires
two years for an oyster spawn or spat
to reach maturity. From mere
speck it will grow in a month or six
weeks to the size of quarter of Il
dollar. In two years an acre of brush
will produce 1000 bushels of full
grown oysters. The trees bowed
under their load of growing shells,
but the elastic wood kept the fruit
clear of the mud. At the end of a
few months it was seen that the
oyster orchards promised an astonish
ing harvest. All the oyster men
along the river were anxious TO try
their hand at the new style of oyster
farming Under the law of the State
the mud bottom on each side OF the
100 foot channel was staked and set
off in plats to dozen or more appli
cants, TO be planted with oyster
trees. Soon both sides of Poquonoc
river, from its head for long way
toward the sea, was bristling with
sunken birches wavingan ebbing and
flowing welcome to the drifting spat.