Savannah morning news. [volume] (Savannah) 1868-1887, 1884-04-02
OYSTERS IN sYNAPUxANT BAY.
Sailing Oyer Fifty Miles of Cultivated
Beds in Maryland.

Deus III naFylanut
This bay, says a SynapuXant Bay, Md,
special of the oath inst, to the New York
Times, is the largest of the system ofbays
lying between the ocean and the main
land and between the Delaware and the
Chesapeake Bay. Winter Quarters is
under the beach, about eight miles from
the mainsand affords an excellent harbor
for the small sailing craft mostly in use
on this bay. 1t derived its name from
the fact that it was here that the
English during the Revolution, when
driven from the Maryland and Virginia
peninsula, established themselves for the
winter to await the arrival of the trans
ports which were to take them hence in
the spring. At that time and for fifty
years or more after there was an inlet
from the ocean near here, but where the
inlet then was Is now only portion Of
what are here called the Levels-a stretch
OF sand beach almost as hard rs concrete
pavement and perfectly level, extending
along the shore for upward of ten miles,
and about one mile wide. Nearly every
easterly storm sends the waters of the
ocean over these levels into the bay.
During the seasons enough of the ocean
water finds it's way into the BAY to make
" y
very best nature for producing oysters of
excellent quality, both for size and flavor.
This is why the oysters from this bay are
generally better in quality than those
from any other Of the bays of the system
above described. Last season the oysters
which were gathered i'm Parker's and
Johnson's Bays-two small coyes situated
almost opposite to this place, along
the main - were the finest that
came from this side of the pen
lnsula. This season, however, the oysters
from those bays, and, in fact, nearly all
the oysters from this shore, have been of
very poor quality, although there were
some good oysters from the beach side of
the bay. There has been an unusual fall
Of rain this winter, and the water of the
bays has been fresher than the oysters re-
CURED, but the seas breaking over the
beach have, in measure, kept the water
of the planting grounds on the beach side
of the bay salter than on the opposite
side, and perhaps this may account for
the better condition Of the oysters taken
from this side.
have sailed to-day for fifty miles over
planted oysters all the time, excepting for
five or six miles, when j passed over the
natural beds. Not less than 100000 acres
OF this and ChincOteague bays are ''taken
up by 0ySter-planters, and as we sail
along we are continually sweeping over
small pine bushes which mark the bound
aries OF beds. Upon these beds not less
than half million bushels of planters
were placed last season, and, if the fore
bOdings of some who are largely inter-
ested in oyster cultivation prove incOr-
rect, and these bays are not
OVer-planted, not less than 1,500, 900
bushels of choice oysters should be
gathered for market from this bay
during the next fall and winter. But
so general is the belief that these bays
are overstocked, together with the I'M
prohtableness of the business this winter,
that there will not be half the quantity Of
oysters planted this spring that there was
last. The business of oyster planting is
comparatively a new one here Five
years ago there were few plants brought
from the Chesapeake to these bays, and
there were no grounds staked out on this
the largest of the bays. Now there are
very few acres of the bays suitable for
the planting and cultivation of oysters
that have not already been taken up by
planters or spectators.
The Legislature of Maryland, during its
session this winter, chartered two cOrpO-
rations, which contemplate improvements
of an important character. The first. and
one of not much Importance, is the Syna-
puXant Beach Railroad Company. The
other-and both corporations are con-
tr0lled by the same persons, mostly of
BaltimOre-is the Inlet and Oyster Plant
ing Company. Prof. Huxley has stated in
some OF his papers that one acre Of good
bay waters would yield more food pro-
ducts than three acres of land, and the
organizers of these companies are GER
tainly impressed with the belief that
these bays are valuable for oyster
planting and clam cultivation. By
the conditions of their charter they
are compelled to open an inlet from the
ocean TO the bays, at a distance of not
less than three miles from Ocean CITY.
For this the State grants them half Of
Isle Of Wight Bay, the most nOrtherlv bav
OF this system Of bays. There is no inlet
from the ocean north Of ChncOteague,
and Isle Of Wight Bay is fully 40 miles
north of that inlet, and the water Of that
bay and Of more than half Of Synapuxant
Bay is so fresh that oysters cannot grow
and the proposed new inlet is expected to
salt the bays, and thus convert upward
Of 10000 acres Of bays into oyster and
clam planting and cultivatlng bottoms.
Should the inlet be cut and successfully
kept open, the oyster and clam produce
ton OF these bays will very nearly be
doubled.
The wild geese resort to the E'levels'' in
great numbers during the winter. and
this is a favOrite hunting ground of sports
men. This month is somewhat late i'm the
season to find them here in great abund-
ance, yet from where our yacht Law at
anchor we could see great numbers Of
them, and few rifle balls sent among
them by one Of our party caused many
hundreds Of them to fly away, but after
circling around for half an hour or more
they returned to their feeding grounds
among the small ponds Of the levels.
A stroll Of three miles along the ocean
shore opposite this harbor reveals the
wonderfully destructive force of storms
along this coast. Within that three miles
we passed the wrecks Of six fine vessels,
all of which have been cast ashore with
in two years. Besides these wrecks the
remains of many others are to be seen.
| The government has established life-say-
ing stations all along the beach, at short
distances apart, and from point only a
few miles below four Of these stations are
IN sight. Our party gathered up
| enough Cumberland coal to do our cook
ing for week or more, and there
will be enough Of this coal on the
beach to supply a family with fuel for
several years TO come, as two large
| schOOners laden with it were wrecked on
the outer bar last year, and the ocean is
continually washing it up on the beach.
| There is tradition in this country Of the
/ celebrated Captain Kidd, but so far no
/ company has been Incorporated to dig for
/ 1t, although the language Of a little Of
/ that bold sailor to his brother is quoted,
/ in which an accurate description Of the
. L. -