The Pascagoula democrat-star. (Pascagoula, Miss.) 1878-1920, 1891-11-20
GheDemurrM-S {
on OYSTER FARMING.

joel Benton IN Drnkcs Magazine,
The oyster, though u very profit
sl.ell. fish, and widely distributed
has so many enemies and helples
defend itself when young and len
der, that liz chance of escaping eX
iinciion rests almost wholly upoI
lis cultivation aud care 10y artlii
cial methods. This fact has com,
To be so generally recognized il
recent times that all nations oi
whose shores This delicious bivalve
grows, have legislated in lis he
halt, and made many experiment.
Tor increasing its numbers.
In spite, however. of all thai has
been done for II. there is It'll /;
curious diversity of opinion as Il
lis nature and habits Whether Ii
is hermaphordilic or bi-seyual ha,
been warmly discussed, each cen
lentlon having earnest adherentS
Ii is said thai the Romans were
The first TO introduce oyster cul-
lure, and they proceeded with 1t,
according 10 Varro, as if The oyster
had sexes. They found, or claim
ed to find, thai The different breeds
could be improved 10y crossing.
Certain French PSYCHOLOGISTS OF
our time, however, notably Da-
ralnc and Moquin Jandon, uphold
The hermaphrodiIic theory. On
the other hand, M. Q~uartrefaces
and NJ. Blanchard, The cullurlsis of
experience, and The mi"roscOpists,
are all on the Roman side of the
question.
An English writer asserts that
no matter what species of oysters
are placed in The English beds,
where there are natives in excess,
they very soon, 'by interbreeding.
become of a uniform character
the descendants being all practical.
ly native oysters" Certain oyster
culturisls IN France, though, seem
10 have less faith in the persistence
OF their native type against inter
mixture, for a lew years ago they
Joined hands TO prevent the intro
ducllon in French beds of the
inferior Portuguese oyster. Their
claim was that if introduced, il
would soon monopolize the field,
or would, al lest, by crossing, de
slrov the character of their own
oysters" The Portuguese oyster
IS a coarse shelled specimen, and
has a scalloped edge.
The oyster seems, from all ac-
counts, TO be scarcely less prolific,
actually, than The house fly. |; is
estimated that each mother oyster
throws off "lrom Two hundred
thousand to two million oia" an
nually.
The English sy,tem OF oyster
cultivation is still what it has been
for hundreds of years in thai coun-
try /; and there are Two paris 10 II
list. The dredging of The small
oysters, or brood, on the open
grounds, near shore, and The sub
sequent planting of them on the
fatlening beds Of Essex and The
Thames estuary. ID. The culture
of larger beds, in deeper waters,
beyond the ordinary fore stages.
On the southern coasts of Eng
land the first system prevails and
the Thames oysters, which are the
product of it, are by Engllshmen
esteemed the best in The world.
They are. al any rate, rare and
costly. The shell is delicate and
the flesh plump. The Thames
beds are for ialiening anG for
breeding, and receive great care.
Fattening oysters do not really
yield much spat /; and il any fails
it Is left TO its natural fate in these
beds. The nourlShmeni The oyster
gets there is largely from diorto-
macip and minute poIes Of con
ferrR, The latter giving the pre-
vailing delicate green Tint" winch
the English cOnnOisseurs deligh,
in. Bushels of perriwinkles are
scattered over the beds lO keep
back a too excessive growth OF
seaweed, some of which is benefi.
cial.
These beds have produced i'm.
mense quantities of oysters from
lime TO time, which have supplied
other markets than London but
The demand constantly oulgrOws
The supply. To keep il up Young
oysters are brought there from
the Irish and Scotch coasts,
and from The coasts of Northern
France. The English opinion is
that the further South you 90 for
oyster brood the poorer you gel.
a certain rock oyster from Scot
land "has a hrmnesS, richness and
smack Of The sea-" according 10 an
English authority, "that is greatly
preferred by many 10 even The
best Thames natives" Dutch and
American oysters are also trans
ported to The English waters 10 be
fed six or twelve months, and then
marketed.
The second method OF English
oysier-cullure is that which is con.
irolled by certain oyster compa-
nieS, that work "lwo square miles
ground opposite Whiistsble in the
Thames estuary To condense
from Mr.. w. A. Smiths account
presented at the Edinburgh Fish
Exhibition The oyster beds
are With ahout "a f,ihom