The Cambria freeman. [volume] (Ebensburg, Pa.) 1867-1938, 1891-10-02
OYSTER PLANTING.
How the Natives Are Bred on the
Shore OF Chesapeake Bay.
Interesting Facts Concerning the Growth
and Development OF thc Bi-
valves -j-ndcr the Laws
Projection.

When the Chesapeake oystcrman has
put away the tongs and ,lrcigc. tied mp
his boat and balanced his books in the
spring hc Immediately turns his utten-
ton towards laying out new parks or
rrhabilitatiug the old ones, says the
Philadelphia Times. The close of the
season for oysters in the Chesapeake
bay and its tributaries is from April 10
To Scptem Der II, and there Is vast
amount of work to bc performed ere
the tonrman or dredgcr can again hoist
sail ON his pungy or canoe and offer his
cargo for sale in the city markets.
II has been a matter of great concern
among the authorities regarding the de
plcti6n of the oyster crop IN Chesapeake
waters by overdrcd Eiug or through 9th
er sources of apparent destruction. Int
the enactment of wise laws from time
10 time and the rigid enforcement Of
the same have in a measure checked the
wantOn anuihilation of the oyster parks,
and thus, while many new ones have
been laid out. the old ones have had
time IL rccupcratc.
The law prohibits the taking OF
oysters on sunday or at night. and dur
ing the close season not more than hve
bushels per day are permitted to be
taken. and no oysters in the shell are
allowed 10 be sold outside the boundary
of the state of Maryland.
A park consists of five acres of ma
rinc territory, which may be selected
bv any native first taking ont a license
for the same, at any convenient point,
SO as not 70 interfere with or obstruct
navigation The place usually selected
is in the quicsccut waters of some cove
md Sc tAnsriDt- nUTsflnSRS
I'm shallow waters and upon as hard
bottom as it is possible TO secure. ow-
ing to the remarkable tccUndity of the
oyster two or three years Is sufficient TO
,.ffor,l paying park The sandy bot
ON is first covered with several loads
IF oyster shells, which are spread about
.venly. to which the spat may adhere
II the process of generation.
The old parks are carefully gone over
With a light rake in order to remove
he weeds and the accumulation of
ther foreign substances, and clay
pipes. old shoes and pieces of chain
lave been taken up to which adhered
rom fifty t. sixty young fry all the way
rom the size of q thrcc-ccnt piece to a
liver quarter. This ra!liug also has a
cudeucy 20 break up the density and
lllIlttNllltHa ~ tilN ~ tNl' ttALN siiA'A' '1
hem greater facility to attain their
atural shapcs-the elongated shell,
-novvn in oyster purlancc as the eats
onguc," deriving this abnormal shape
rom the fact that compression prevents
Is expanding properly during its
rowth. and many curious freaks in
hape of shell are in the museums,
aused by negligence and failure to re-
ieve this density at the proper time.
The spawn OF the female Is reputed
to produce over one million young, and
itisduring this period that the oyster has
a very thin, dark appearance. 1t is said
that if all the spat should mature the
creeks and coves would bc one vast
mine of oyster shells several feet il
thickness. But from the time this spat
ascends TO the surface until it finally in
creascs IN size and weight and settles
down to the bottom again, it has to en-
counter many difficulties, for floating
about aimlcsSly ON the surface ike Il
great roll Of white ribbon, Il great part
of il is destroyed by storm or by adhcr-
ing to ovcrhanging tree limbs, or being
eaten up by fish: and even after it has
found 4 resting place on the old parks
and developed into the tiny oyster it is
still pursued by its relentless enemies.
the startish and periwinkIe, the latter
boring through the tender shell and
sucking out the oyster In midsummer
this spat may be seen drifting about far
out on the waters OF the Delaware and
Chesapeake bays, and has frequently
been the object of great curiosity among
eNcgrSionists.
An old native at Roaring Point, who
was preparing to go ont 20 his park.
was asked what he thought of the re-
ports concerning the depletion of the
oysters in the Chesapeake bay, re-
moved his pipe from his mouth, and,
with a smile, said:
If the authorities enforce the law as
they have been doing and the people
give more intelligent attention to the
cultivation of the oyster it viii be very
many years yet before the tongs or
dredge fail to take up an oyster in these
waters. Why, bless me, I've no doubt
there are bed. to-day where this drift
spat has settled that have existed for
years in spots under the waters of the
bay that we know nothing of"