Richmond dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1884-1903, 1895-11-21
OYSTER FARMING.
Some Observations by Nr. EiIingcr.
IF TON Island.

Of FoN Island.
Mr.. William Elinser. OF Fox Island.
who has been investigating oyster plant
ing at the North, writes at length ON the
subject to the Baltimore sun. Mr. Film
ger says:
The object Of this communication Is 10
place before your readers the inyostiga-
tons of the writer made during "A s0journ
among the oyster-plantors OF the North.
To relate the origin and the develop
ment Of a splendid Industry, % tell how
these intrepid men vresttd success from
bleak sh3re9 and waste bottoms, infested
with enemies so numerous ami voracious
that only 10y making a faithful ana unre-
hitting fight against them can oysters
De grown at all.
II such achievements make US of the
Chesapeake. pOssessCrs OF the best and
safest oyster area in the world, blush for
our suplneness, they may also act as
spur 10 make us overcome IL.
After describing the rise and progress
OF the oyster industry at the North, Mr..
Ellinser adds:
OYSTER FARMING
so far / have used the word planter. >
There il more appropriate one-one
which Will convey to your readers
better idea OF oyster culture and will
perhaps. raise their estimate Of its ma
ture and value. Properly speaking. the
so-callod oyster planter Is an oyster
farmer. Farmer Is the word Let any
one 30 over the ground | have, let him
hear the Oyster-farmer as / have; talk Of
preparing a piece OF ground under the
water for new crop. of cultivating it
after II l. under way. Of destroying the
oysters enemies almost as a farmer
would pOtato-bugs; Of raising seed 10
use himself or sell 10 others. Of trans
planting or thinning out a crop, Of how
after crop had been made or trans
planted. ii were best TO let the ground
lay fallow for a season. Of how pieces
Of ground not over 100 yards from each
other will produce a thicker or thinner
shell. and consequently more or less
meat or this or that shape; hence, more
or less desirable for this or that purpose;
how much dredge should weigh If used
on this or that sort OF bottom. aye,
II he were to hear the thousand and
one points discussed pro and con. just
al intelligent farmers do when they meet
and compare notes, better conception
would be had Of oyster-farming, Of the
forces il calls into play, and OF the fu-
ture that is in store for IL. for just as
surely as there seems to be no limit T.
human intelligence. just so surely Is there
none 10 the objects which engage its
activities. People somewhat familiar
with oysters imagine oyster culture TO
consist OF throwing something into the
water for spat 10 catch on, and next
TO market the oysters. II the practical
work OF the Oyster-farmer were better
understood. the merit Of his Industry
would be more greatly appreciated. Our
brother farmers working the valleys and
hillsides OF Virginia would then claim us
as their own, and legislators would not
overlook us or give Us half-hearted en-
cOuragement
THE TROUBLE IN VIRGINIA.
speaking from actual experience.
know that the hindrances TO oyster-cul-
ture in Virginia do not find their reason
half so much in the opposition Of GER
tain oyster-men as 10 The Indifference
of the people of the interior. our oyster
men are not all fools or pirates. Oyster
planting in the North found oys,ermen
its bitter enemies: most Of them are
now its best friends. our industrious,
temperate. and provident oystermen will
be among The planters OF the future. and,
so far as the disOrderly class is concern
ed, il will not cost One-tenth as much 10
land them in the penitentiary. or some
worse place. az it costs our northern
friends TO fight stariish.
Il asked one of the brainiest planters
Of Connecticut. a peer in the realm of
Intelligence, whether. in the event OF the
exhaustion Of the oyster-rocks Of the
Chesapeake, the northern planters could
supply the demand. lie promptly respond
ed: NO, We have not the area
I'VE Of the Chesapeake have the area,
no storms, no starfsh-drills, or wrinkles,
a salubriOus climate, a country where
land and water vie with each other in
the production Of the finest food, and,
while. in my opinion, the day will never
come when tn intelligent planters Of
the North will fail 20 make every acre
OF available oyster-area produce a salts
factory return, the time may come when
they and their stalwart sons may wish To
overstep their restricted territory and
share with us the magnificent results 10
be wrought out OF the farms lying waste
under our waters-possibilitiss which now
lie dormant in the lap OF a lovely though
slumbering mistress What will the royal
Chesapeake be when Virginia awakens?
The answer Is found In Connecticut