The Seattle post-intelligencer. [volume] (Seattle, Wash. Terr. [Wash.]) 1888-1914, 1889-09-15
the OYSTER IT ZONE.
Conditions Under which He il
Successfully Cultivated.


The oyster Is raised with extreme
care and precaufion- The planters
select several acres of water 1t favor
able locations near the shores into
which the oysters are thrown 20
spawn, and where the crop is raised
the egg Of the oyster Is something
IKE that of the 6sh. II .spasters
out" . white milky substance and
rises 70 the surface. bat soon settles
down. catching upon the first sub
stance It meets be.ow. The egg viii
grow upon . block of wood, stone, tin
can or hard rubbish of any kind.
Oystermen, however, frequently throw
into this plantation some thousands
OF shells, well dried, vhitened and
split BY the action of the sun, and
this method Is considered q favorable
one 70 the growth of the oyster. In
about two or three weeks the egg has
become about the size Of Q small bird
shot At three months it is about the
size OF buckwheat, and in . year il is
nearly the size of half q dollar. liz
ceases 70 grow in cold weather. and
sometimes the water may become too
cold for II 70 hive 1t all In the spring
it grows rapidly, and experienced
oysterInen and planters saw that the
oyster Is fit for market after three
years growth, and in fact that the
oysters yearly presented for sale are
rarely over that age. Yet others de-
clare that oysters have not reached
full maturity until seven years old.
The enemies Of the oyster are the
starfish and the weik, ai.nelida worms.
stingAree, skate. mu sei-, wrinkles, gray
mullets, peri~iakle,w eakiisn, sea grapes
and species Of >sislu aud drill and the
spider crab, winch shares the shell
with its osDer. aud IL is said Goes no
harm or good. liz WAS thought q
bad omen 1t one time. a. il warned
its host Of the approach oi the enemy,
but this is not true. lie busycon
caranta or couch is an enemy. 1t
mounts an oyster and flies Q hole in
the nib, through which il inserts . 81
phon and SUCKS out tie yitais Of the
occupant. Tie tiiii or smaller shell
bores . hole In the hsck OF the
oyster and thus u. Il oy il. The drum
fish crushe- young oysters in its
powerful jaws and ievours them shell
and all. This l. ihe "a, 1t destruc-
tive enemy. A sths oil of drumfish
often destro, $ IN entire I'd of oy sters.
The starfish Is another destructive
enemy. In some iocll,ties the i've
fingers, as they are @ mmonly called,
are apparently absent season after
season. Then they come in immense
hordes, rolling ia like great balls anu
finally spreading out over the beds.
ThAv AAC n st AZ IN. 1aU
and valuable beds.
Sedimentary deposits affect oysters,
but those in deep water are less liable
to the annoyance. Heavy gales in
winter and summer frequently tear up
large quantities of grass, seaweed and
sponge on the sand shoals about the
Sound and deposit it upon the beds OF
the oysters on the Ieeward sands,
which is very injurious to the success
of the oyster. A few years ago 40,-
OO0 bushels at keyport were smoth-
cred by being covered with sand.
Earthquake shocks also kill oysters,
and a heavy thunderstorm is fatal.
Heavy pounding on q vessels deck
will kill oysters in the hold. Boats
passing over an oyster bed at their
feeding time will cause them to cease
their feasting. The refuse of the roll
ing mills and print works in the vi
cinity of Taunton, Mass, destroys
them. The sawmills of Lawrence and
the oil works of Elizabeth, n. j., are
fatal. The oyster cultivation between
East river and Sandy Hook is also
greatly damaged by the sewerage and
waste of the factories of Jersey City,
which have SO corrupted the shallow
water along the Bergen shore as to
ruin those planting grounds.