Improved Means or Appliances for Collecting and Retaining Spat in Oyster Culture.
Year: 1893

page_text: Date of Application, 13th Apr., 1893
Complete Specification Left, 15th Jan., 1894-Accepted, 3rd Mar., 1894
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improved Means or Appliances for Collecting and Retaining Spat in
Oyster Culture.
I, LENT JOHN WATTS of 90 High Street, Colchester in the County of Essex
Contractor do hereby declare the nature of this invention to be as follows:-
My invention has for its object to provide means or appliances for use in oyster
culture by which spat is collected and retained without the accumulation of mud
or scum which is so objectionable in ordinary devices for the purpose.
Appliances according to my invention moreover enable me to retain the spat in
any part of the water whose temperature is best suited to the development or
growth of the spat. Moreover I obtain a very extended surface in a relatively
small space. According to my invention I provide frames upon which I stretch
or support reticulated or perforated material upon which I suspend or by or in
which I support the "cultch or shells or other like substances to which the spat
will adhere as the water passes in contact with the said cultch or the like. I may
construct the frames in such a way that they can stand at the bottom of the pit
river or other place or so that they constitute screens suspended by flotation at any
suitable depth for example the devices may be made triangular or in the form of
flat frames with wire or other netting stretched across. The cultch or matter on
which the spat is to be collected I attach to the said netting in any suitable way
for instance in the case of cultch by passing a wire hook through the butt or hinge
part of the shells and attaching this to the netting preferably so that the shells
somewhat overlap each other and stand somewhat at an angle to the netting or the
frames and netting may constitute boxes in which the cultch or the like is contained.
The devices may be weighted or provided with floating appliances as desired for
instance they may be weighted on the one hand and provided with a floating device
on the other so that they can be supported in any desired position and be readily
moved from place to place as desired.
Dated this 13th day of April 1893
J. H. JOHNSON & Co.,
47, Lincoln's Inn Fields, Agents.
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improved Means or Appliances for Collecting and Retaining Spat in
Oyster Culture.
I, LENT JOHN WATTS of 90 High Street, Colchester in the County of Essex
Contractor, do hereby declare the nature of this invention and in what manner
the same is to be performed to be particularly described and ascertained in and
by the following statement :-
My invention has for its object to provide means or appliances for use in oyster
culture by which spat is collected and retained without the accumulation of mud
or scum which is so objectionable in ordinary devices for the purpose. Appliances
according to my invention moreover enable me to retain the spat in any part of the
water whose temperature is best suited to the development or growth of the spat.
Moreover obtain a very extended surface in a relatively small space. According
to my invention I provide frames upon which I stretch or support reticulated or
perforated material upon which I suspend or by or in which I support the "cultch"
or shells or other like substances to which the spat will adhere as the water passes
ID 77

page_text: in contact with the said cultch or the like. I may construct the frames in such a
way that they can stand at the bottom of the pit river or other place or so that
they constitute screens suspended by floatation at any suitable depth-for example
the devices may be made triangular or in the form of flat or curved frames with
wire or other netting stretched across. The cultch or matter on which the spat is
to be collected I attach to the said netting in any suitable way for instance in the
case of cultch by passing a wire hook through the butt or hinge part of the shells
and attaching this to the netting preferably so that the shells somewhat overlap
each other and stand somewhat at an angle to the netting or the frames and netting
may constitute boxes in which the cultch or the like is contained or packed. The
devices may be weighted or provided with floating appliances as desired for
instance they may be weighted on the one hand and provided with a floating device
on the other so that they can be supported in any desired position and be readily
moved from place to place
as desired.
And in order that my said invention may be fully understood I shall now
proceed more particularly to describe the same and for that purpose shall refer to
the several figures on the annexed sheets of drawings the same letters of reference
indicating corresponding parts in all the figures.
Figures 1, 2 and 3 represent in front elevation end elevation and plan respectively
a number of cultch holding frames constructed according to my invention arranged
parallel one to another in slanting position on the bed of a river or oyster culture
ground and Figures 4, 5 and 6 are similar views shewing the frames arranged in
triangular form. Figure 7 shews in sectional elevation an arrangement of floating
frames constructed according to my invention. Figure 8 a plan of the same and
Figure 9 an elevation at right angles to Figure 7. Figure 10 shews modified
constructions of the cultch holding frames.
Referring to Figures 1, 2 and 3 the frames A are made of wood in the form of
narrow or flat boxes or crates with closed ends and bottoms and having their two
parallel sides open and covered with wire netting B or other suitable reticulated
material. Any desired number of these boxes or crates may be connected together
side by side and in a slanting direction by means of bars C and D at top and
bottom, spaces about equal to the thickness of the boxes or crates being left between
the said boxes or crates through which spaces the water can flow and light be
admitted and eddies formed. The interior of these boxes or crates may be filled
with cultch as shewn at E or the cultch or shells may be suspended from the netting
as shewn at F by means of hooks passed through the butts or hinged parts of the
shells and attached to the netting. The frames A are supported on the bed or
bottom of the river or place of culture and are preferably arranged to incline one
half the number in one direction and the other half in the opposite direction as
shewn in Figure 1, by this arrangement a very extended surface for the collection
of spat is provided in a comparatively small space while the spat will be collected
without the objectionable mud and scum as is the case with ordinary devices for the
purpose. The frames may be secured in position on the bed of the river or the like
by any suitable means for instance by means of projections or flukes G as shewn in
Figure formed on or fitted to the bars D by which the several frames are
connected together.
Instead of arranging the frames or crates parallel to each other as in Figure 1
they may be connected together in triangular form as shewn in Figures 4, 5 and 6
the frames forming the legs of the triangle being connected together at top by
bolts and nuts a or other suitable fastenings and at their lower ends to the outer
ends of another frame arranged horizontally to form the base of the triangle. Any
desired number of these triangles may be connected together by means of bars D
bolted or otherwise attached to the lower ends of the legs of the triangles as shewn in
Figure 4 and flukes G may be provided on the bars D to engage with the bed or
bottom of the river or the like so as to retain the frames in position and resist the force
of the tide. The cultch E may be placed inside the frames or crates A between the
netting as in the previously described arrangement or the said cultch may be

page_text: suspended from the net work as shown at F and if desired one side only of each
frame or crate may be covered with netting from which the clutch may be
suspended, the frame constituting the base of the triangle serving as a kind of tray
to contain the cultch as shown at A. I have found by experience that spat floats
at various depths of water and nearer the surface in warm still water than it does
in flowing waters I have therefore found it advantageous in some places to
suspend by floatation the frames or containers for the cultch at a suitable distance
above the ground or bottom of the river or the like. As shewn in Figures 7, 8
and 9 the receptacles for the cultch or shells consist of wire netting B connected to
and stretched over beams H and 1 so as to form V shaped pockets or troughs with
reticulated sides and ends as shewn. The beams H and I to which the wire netting
is attached are secured at their ends to balks L thereby forming a rigid floating
structure carrying the reticulated receptacles containing the clutch or shells below
the surface of the water. The cultch or shells are preferably placed in the
receptacles with their convex sides uppermost so as to more effectually collect any
spat that may come into contact therewith. The structure may be maintained in
position by anchors or equivalent means connected by chains M to the balks L, and
it may be weighted in any suitable way so as to sink it beneath the surface of the
water to any desired extent. Or instead of sinking the whole structure beneath
the surface of the water, the receptacles for the cultch may be fixed to the balks L
by any suitable means for instance by hangers N as shewn in Figure 10, at any
desired depth below the surface.
Instead of making the reticulated receptacles for the cultch, V shaped as shewn
in Figure 7, it is obvious that they may be made of any other suitable form, for
example they may be rectangular as shewn at A2 in Figure 10 or circular or of
curved form and may be connected to the balks L in any desired numbers, and in
any suitable manner.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed I declare that what I
claim is :-
1st. For use in oyster culture, frames having stretched thereon or attached
thereto wire netting or other suitable reticulated or perforated material to which
cultch is attached or suspended or in or by which is contained or supported, cultch
or shells or other like substances to which spat will adhere as the water passes in
contact with the said cultch or the like the said frames being made to stand on the
bottom of the river or other place of culture or suspended by floatation at any
suitable depth below the surface of the water, substantially as hereinbefore
described.
་
2nd. For use in oyster culture, frames in the form of flat crates or boxes, having
stretched thereon wire netting or other suitable reticulated or perforated material,
containing or carrying cultch or shells or other like material to which spat will
adhere and means for holding the frames in position on the bottom or bed or
foreshores of the river or place of culture or for suspending them by floatation at
any required depth below the surface of the water substantially as hereinbefore
described.
3rd. For use in the culture of oysters, triangular or curved shaped frames, having
wire netting or other suitable reticulated or perforated material stretched thereon
or attached thereto containing or carrying cultch or shells or like materials to
which spat will adhere and means for holding the frames in position on the bottom
or bed of the river or for suspending them at any desired depth below the surface
of the water, substantially as hereinbefore described.
DL: KL af Lun 1001