The midland journal. (Rising Sun, Md.) 1885-1947, 1938-12-23
THE OYSTER--THE TRUE SYM.
Boil OF GOOD EATING
The Oyster Institute of N. America.
DIR. Lewis Radcliffe, Director
Washington, ID. G
Modern Oyster Farming

Supplementing earlier articles in
this series sntitled EARLY Efforts to
Conserve the Supply" and Water
Farming or Agriculture, refer
ence should be made to modern
oyster farming, our greatest un-
der-water crop. First, let me remind
you that 80 percent of our annual
harvest of more than 14,000,O0O
bushels is produced on the 20 per-
cent growing bottoms which are un-
der cultivation.
There are three classes of oysters
seed grounds, growing grounds and
maturing grounds, each with speciai
adaptations to its particular use
Comparable differences occur IN
agriculture, one type of soil being
we'll adapted to one crop and anoth
er to some other crop.
In preparing for set of BABY
oysters, the bottom is carefully
cleaned by dredging up the loos,
debris of old shells, enemies of the
oysters such as starfish and drills,
etc. Just proir to the spawning OF
the adult oysters, in early summer,
dry clean shells from the shocking
houses are scattered over the bottom
at the rate of about 500 to 1000
bushels an acre. Unless there are
stocks of adult spawners nearby,
adult oysters are scattered over thu
beds on top of the shells.
A single adult female of our ma
tive Eastern oyster may discharge
between 100 and 500 million egs,
during the spawning season. while
| the male may liberate billions oil
mobile sperms. The fortified eggs
grow and develop into resemblance
of the adult oyster as free swim
ming animal. After about IA days
they settle down and If on a shell
rock, or branch, attach themselves
thereto and development proceeds
apace Each tiny individual is term
ed a "spat" and If the shells are
we'll covered with those tiny spat
the farmer has good Set. II the
seed grounds are reasonably safe
from winter storms and ice, the
young seed oysters may remain on
the grounds for their birth for a
year or more, otherwise in the fall
they will be dredged up and moved
to a safer home. The yearling seed
oysters are moved to growing
grounds, being planted at the rate
of about 800 to 500 bushels to the
acre, depending on the richness OF
the set and the character of the
grounds. A year later. the growing
oyster are thinned out, about hal
being moved to another growing
grounds to prevent cfowding and re-
duce mortality. This process is re
| peated so that at the age OF 4
years, the oyster may have been
transplanted two or three times.
However, but small faction of l
percent of the original spat ever
grows to maturity.
At the age of to years FOL
northern oysters, the adult oysters
now of market size are removed lo
maturing grounds usually in waite.
of 2 or fathoms, where there IS
an abundance or 1000 so that tney
will fatten up for market. In south
ern waters the oysters reach mar
ket size much sooner, some in as
short a time as 18 months to 2
years.
While the waterman who harvests
his oysters from free bottoms dur
ing the oyster season, is free to fish
or engage in other occupations dur
ing the oyster season, our oyster
farmer is sending out his boat crews
and laborers to clean the bottoms,
mop up starfish, clear the beds of
other enemies, and other farming
operations. Thus the oyster farmer
is furnishing year round employ
ment to thousands of watermen and
crea ting new wealth for the com
munity in which he lives.