Orange County observer. [volume] (Hillsborough, N.C.) 1880-1918, 1884-01-26
SCIENCE AND THE OYSTER
so0s lsterestfna Experiments win the
BivaIve-Artincisl CuIture.

From the Philadelphia Record.l
The oyster has Of late years, from its
great economic value, attracted the at
tention Of scientific men of all countries,
and especially in this country have
many successful experiments been made.
Professor Brooks, Of the John Hopkins
University, made the first successful at
tempt in the artificial impregnation Of
the eggs OF the oyster. A single oyster
lays kout two millions Of yellow eggs,
which are found in the gills Of the pa
rent. They soon commence to move
about by means Of delicate motile fla
ments that almost cover them, and then
are hatched and called fry. They are
now independent-free swimming crea-
lures, but shortly Cease to rove about and
attach themselves to the bottom, the
shel, one-eighth OF an inch in diameter,
being easily discernible. At the end OF
the first year they reproduce, but do not
attain their perfect size for three years.
The incubation Of oyster eggs is the
years, probably, the dealer can 60 10 a
hatchery and order 500, 900, 600 sprat,
more or less. The present difficulty is
not in the fertilization but in keeping
the young alive, and to this end expert
ments are being made in various parts OF
the world.
Another important question affecting
the favor and, consequently, the sale Of
the oyster is its food. Every epicure
knows the difference between Blue
Points, Shrewsbury and Virginia oysters,
and the supposition is that their food is
The cause Of the difference. Professor
r.eidy, President of the Philadelphia
Academy Of Science, SAYS that the oys-
ter, probably, naturally feeds upon the
zoospores of certain algm, such rs
those of the sea cabbage (U1va latissi-
MAJ. This, in his opinion, might
| give the animals the green color
that they often possess, particularly in
the soft parts. So many oysters have
been rejected by buyers who were afraid
Of the green tint that the matter has
been investigated by two French natural
lists, who took perfectly white oysters
and fed them upon water containing all
abundance of green microscopic plant
| (Nartc,4la ostrearia, and they assumed
the green, coppery hue that was sup
posed to be poisonous. Oysters are sup
posed also to contain the green coloring
matter Of plants called chlorophyl, found
| in number of animals. The most care
full tests were made chemically with the
spectroscope and otherwise by various
scientific men, and in no case was the
green color traced to metallic matter OF
found in any way poisonous.
"Is it true" asked the skipper's COM
psnion, "that star fish roll on oyster
bedsY II can't swear to it," was the
reply, "but among istermen it's gen.
exal belief that sea stars get together in
bunches of four or FIVE hundred and let
the sea or ground swell roll 'em up shore
onto the beds, where they break up and
20 for the isters. They kill thousands
of bushels of 'em every year. The way
they work is to close over the shell and
turn their stomachs inside out and suck
the critter right in. They're one OF the
worst enemies the listers have. It's as
tonishin'," he continued, "the number
Of eggs listers lays and how few grows
up. heard gentleman say that out o
| 900 listers about $50 lays eggs, and say
each laid l,OOO, 900, we'd have forty odd
million Young. But he said, on all aver
age, only 400 or 80 Of these grew to per
feet size, 80 for every lister as IS eat over
l,OOO, 900 gifts killed"
Professor Mobins says the productive
ness of the oyster is 100000 times
greater than that Of man, but its capacit,
70 mature 579 times less The European
oyster is far below its American cousin
and about England extremely rare. II
1870 a small bed was discovered at tn,
mouth Of the Thames, near Whitestable
about sixty feet long and twenty wide
and within forty-eight hours seventy -fv'
vessels were anchored over the spot
The bed Is now defunct The beds O
Cancale, on the Normandy coast, are ye
rich. though the following figures shov
the same decline In 1S42 they yieldet
81, ,00O, 900; in 1859 the number was onl,
$1,000, 900; in 1861, 5000, 900; in 1863
2,0OO, 900, and in 1865, 1,OOO,O 600. l
rage for the artificial culture Of oyster
swept over Europe several years ago
promoted principally by Professor Cosse
Of Paris. In the spring Of 1883 he dis
tributed in the bay Of ST. Brieux shell
and heavy fagots over space Of LOO
hectaes Zone hectaer equals 21.4'1
scres), and on these spread 5000. .0o
mother oysters. In the autumn all tE
faSots were, Of course, covered witt
young oysters; for If these oysters wer
- fruitful - the Hslstein oysters Their