River Falls journal. [volume] (River Falls, Pierce County, Wis.) 1872-2019, 1908-11-12
WALARCE JTEAM OYSTER QREDCE MN1Y

is estimated at upward of 6O000 many of them
employed part of the year in other sheres farming
etc definite statistics not available Baltimore is the
most extensive market and New York has considerable
export trade with Europe.
The native oyster of the Pacific coast is small thin
sheed Species In 159 $40 bushels valued at $251-
1872 were marketed principally on the Pacific coast
The European oyster is found from Italy to Norway
It is round thinsheed species, shapely than the
American Species hermaphroditic, first female and
afterwards male prolific than its American rela-
tive and the young undergo considerable development In
the mantle chamber of the mother 1t thrves In water
of full or almost full, organic density.
The oysters of Japan occur in shallow and moderately
bracksh moderately salt water throughout the whole
archipeago and very large salt water species is found
in deep Many other species of Ostrea are ouno
in temperate tropical throughout the world
The oyster family appears to have had it's origin
in some imperfectly known FORMS The family is found
also in the Perman In the Trassic it is represented
by strongly pcated FORM Alectryonia which form
prominent in the Jurasslc and Cretceous
There are also the arcuate shells OF Gryphae
and Exogyra in the Jurassic and Cretaceous Ostrea
itself is known Mesozoc, but it attained its maxi
mum Of and abundance in the Tertiary The SANDY
mars of this period the southwestern United States
often contain great numbers of large specimens
of oysters Owing the exhaustion of the natural beds
and their inability supply the demand for oysters 1t
has been necessary to resort to artificial methods
of production eectng Cd increase in the number OF
eggs fertzed (2) increase in the surfaces aVaaole
fxation and also of the number OF spat attachng
CD the saving of spat and young oysters which would
naturally fall victims enemies and adverse physical
conditions and ( the utilization of barren bottoms
and naturally unavailable food supplies But small
mart Of the area under water suitable for oysters has
been utilized by nature mainly for lack of suitable bodies
for the attachment Of the young In the United States
such barren bottom utilized by clearing 1t of all rub
bsh and either planting cultch to collect the spat or
else Young oysters (seed) that they may improve IN
size shape and quality under conditions safer ana
more favorable than in their original environment In
certain places either method succeed, but commonly
a locality is better adapted to one than the other.
The most suitable bottom for oyster culture consists OF
firm mud or of firm subsratum with thin surface OF
soft mud but stable sandy bottom is usually dehcent
in food loose sand drifts and covers the oysters and
very soft mud ingulfs stiles them or produces in
ferior eIongate stock Mud naturally too SOFT may be
utilized by distributing Shells sand, or other ma
teral which, resting the surface, furnishes
a firm foundation upon which the growing oyster may
renose in security spatcollectng it is frequently
advantageous to hard mud, gravel or rocky bottom
in shoal water adapted to adult oysters from de-
fciency of food The bottom being properly prepared
and its boundaries marked with stakes buoys either
system NAV be adopted to accord with circumstances
Generally dpanng is certain in its results and
Yields quicker to the Seedoysers vary
from "bisers" one-haf inch in diameter to individuals
almost market but ordinarily they between
one and long They obtained from plant
er making specially of seed production or from natural
beds their varying from ten cents to 81 per bushe
the larger cued stock, separate well shaped and free
from rubbish bringing higher prices and giving the best
results