Virginia citizen. (Irvington, Va.) 1891-1921, 1903-12-18
OYSTER FARMING.
Another Extract From Pro-
fessor Brooks Report.


Below is given another extract from
Professor Brooks chapter on the oys-
ter. He shows theoretically how the
barren, muddy bottoms, even in the
deep water, msy be made productive
and expresses the opinion that the
bay might be made to produce each
year as much as has been produced
10 all the past years of the oyster
industry, which he estimates at 40O,-
600, 900 bushels.
The oyster dredgers state, with
perfect truth, that by breaking up
the crowded clusters of oysters and
5y scattering the shells the use of
the dredge tends to enlarge the oys-
ter beds. We shall now give de-
scription of the means which have
been employed in different places TO
accomplish the same result more eff
iciently and methodically.
The oyster is well known to be
enormously prolific, single one Civ
ing birth in one season to many mil
lion young, and it is obvious that the
annual supply would be enormously
increased if all the young which
are born could be raised to maturity.
Unfortunately this is not the case,
and under state of nature millions
of oysters are born for each one
which grows to maturity. Mobius
has shown that in Europe each oys-
ter which is born has only one
chance in l,145, 900 of rexching ma
turity; We have shown that the
chances of each American oyster are
very much less.
One of the most important dis.
coyeries of the last 80 years is that
it is quite possible to save many OF
these oysters by artificial means, and
experiments which have been carried
on in France, as we'll as in many
parts of our own country, prove tha,
this can be done, successfully and
economically, on very large scale.
Soon after it is born the young
oyster fastens itself to some soliG
body. Itis st first so small that i,
is smothered and killed at once if i,
falls upon muddy or Shiny bottom
and its only chance for life in the
discovery of some perfectly clean
hard body upon which to fasten.
Many young oysters are killed by &C.
cidents or enemies after they have
fastened themselves, but by far the
greater number perish through fail.
ure to find proper places for attach.
ment; and the whole secret of oyster
culture is to furnish proper bodies
for the attachment of the young.
At present no spat collector seems
to be better adapted for use in our
waters upon hard bottoms than oys.
ter shells, and they are now the
cheapest collectors that Can be used.
In order to serve this purpose the
shells must be perfectly clean; and
as the old dead shells, which have
lain for long time upon the oyster
beds are torn to pieces by the boring
sponge and covered with mud and
slime, hydriods, seaweed and spongei
they are much less effective than
those which are placed in the water
just before the spawning season.
The shells should be deposited in
the early summer--in June, JULY
and August-in localities where
there is enough current to sweep the
swimming young past them. A
hard bottom is to be preferred, bul
this method may be employed with
great advantage upon any soft bot
toms which are near the surface. Ir
this case the shells should not b,
uniformity distributed, but placed in
piles or ridges. If these ridges are
properly arranged with reference t
the direction of the current they
will produce secondary currents and
will thus cause the soft mud to flow
off between them. In this way any
bottom which is bare or nearly bar.
at low tide aud which is exposed Il
the wind aud waves may in time b,
swept nearly clear of mud. Each
time the tide comes in the mud il
stirred mp and suspended in the
water, and as the tide ebbs this sus
pended matter is swept into the
/ channels between the ohstrpcf;ou.