Deseret evening news. [volume] (Great Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1867-1920, 1897-12-23
OYSTERS ON TREES.
Surprise Which Awaited Farmer Who Threw
Apple Branches Into the Water.
[washlngton start


Many newspapers recently have been
gravely pointing out the absurdity of a
statement made somewhere by some
body that oysters could be grown sue
oessfully ON trees, and. amusing as IL
may seem, some writers have gone to
the length of extensively endeaNor'
Ing TO show the impossibility of such
thing The originator of the discussion
who first made the claim that oysters
do grow on trees probably had in mind
what is called the Poquonock method
resorted to In Connecticut to catch
oyster spat. In the very interesting
bulletin Of the United states iish COM
mission, entitled, Notes on the oyster
Fishery of Connecticut" written by j.
w. Collins and published In 1871 the
following appears:
In the preceding discussions mention
has been made of nearly all the
methods resurted to in Connecticut 10
brush" or "Poquonock" method, The
latter was discovered by accident
about 1865 on the Poquonock river,
small stream in the town of Groton.
A farmer, after trimming his orchard
and throwing the branches of the trees
into the river, was much surprised. IN
the succeeding autumn, to ma inc
brush covered with oysters. He sug-
gested the employment of the methou
to others, who used any cheap brush
tnat WuS illttNNiit hi 49,
usually placed in the water during May
or June, and the spat secured In this
manner was commonly taken OIL ana
marketed the following winter. or al
least before the second winter. inc
chief reason for this was that the
brush was generally put down in COM
paratively shallow water. about two
and n half fathoms at low tide ana
Il the young oysters were allowed to
remain on IL for two years they would
fall off by their own weight They
We're also exposed to the danger of be-
ing "winterlSilled" during cold weather,
because of being so near the SURFACE.
They were generally large enough to
market in eighteen months or so, say
about the beginning of the second win
ter.
The Poquonock method has been
moderately successful and, perhaps,
is the best for the locality where ii is
employed. There are several reasons
why 1t has not proved entirly success
full among which may be mentioned
the collection of large quantities of
ioelgrass about the flats at the mouth
of the stream, causing stagnation of
the water and producing such condi-
tions that the board of health of the
town has caused the bushes to be
pulled up and destroyed. However
while the bushes could be kept down.
the young oysters have invariably
grown rapidly, probably because the
bottom of the river is very muddy.
One who has had large experience In
the business says that on one occasion
the spat obtained on single bush pro-
duced twelve bushels of oysters. This,
however, is seldom equaled. The Con-
necticut Bureau of Labor Statistics
states that zone bush bore twenty-five
bushels but the average yield is about
FIVE" This statement Is thought to he
rather large with those familiar with
the subject. The consensus of state
ment is that this manner of collecting
a "set" of oysters is less profitable
than generally represented, but that
greater results would result If the
system could he tried in n locality
where the water is less sluggish and
where there would be no official inter
ference