American Mature Heries
Group IV. Working with Neture
SHELL-FISH INDUSTRIES
BY
JAMES L: KELLOGG
PROFESSOR OF BIOLOGY IN WILLIAMS COLLEGE
ILLUSTRATED
NEW YORK
HENRY HOLT AND COMPANY
IgIo
COPYRIGHT, 1910,
BY
HENRY HOLT AND COMPANY
Published February 1910
Go.a25e732
PREFACE
It was suggested to me that I should try to prepare
this account of our food mollusks for three groups of per-
sons, namely, those who eat them, those who may be or
desire to become directly interested in their culture, and
those who may have an interest in the biological problems
involved in their artificial control. This suggestion I
adopted, and many times since have wondered at the reck-
lessness of my courage in attempting a performance of so
varied a character. I recall vividly the impression made
on my youthful mind years ago on witnessing the evolu-
tions of three beautifully matched horses and the graceful
feat of James Robinson in riding them around a ring.
Though in my wildest childhood imaginings I never
dreamed of attempting or desired to attempt so skilful
an act, I have in the last months, at a period of life -hat
should conventionally be characterized at least by sedate-
ness, experienced the disquieting sensation of having actu-
ally attempted much the same kind of a performance in
thus endeavoring to present several topics that might hold
the attention of readers possessing widely different in-
terests. While desiring to exhibit these subjects so as to
bring out their most interesting features, I, of course,
have been compelled to present them for brief intervals
one at a time, thus always giving two-thirds of my
readers an opportunity to yawn. If, however, it should
happen that the other third is interested, I shall be amply
paid for my effort.
ili
1V Preface
While the first three chapters, that deal with some ana-
tomical, developmental, and physiological facts, may re-
quire closer attention than some of the others, they are de-
signed in part to make clearer several subjects treated sub-
sequently. That on anatomy has been made as simple
as possible, and the illustrations are new. The short ac-
count of a few ciliary mechanisms in the third chapter is
from my own observations, and previously I have pub--
lished only those on Venus. It may be that even the
small part of my cilia work here presented will be of some
interest to biologists, for the subject itself is practically
new.
A relatively large amount of attention has, of course,
been given to the oyster. My own interest in the form
began nearly twenty years ago, my attention being
directed to it by the late Professor W. K. Brooks, the
great naturalist and great teacher, who will always be
remembered in Maryland as the father of oyster culture.
My first efforts, made together with another of Dr.
Brooks’ pupils, were directed toward a solution of the
problem of rearing the swimming embryo in small in-
closures to the stage in which it became attached, and in
spite of the ingenuity of my friend, we failed dismally. |
For that reason I write with some feeling the chapter
on rearing the oyster from the egg. I may perhaps be
allowed to state that from many wanderings along our
coast, I have been enabled to gain a more or less exten-
sive personal knowledge of oyster culture and familiarity
with parts of the oyster field described. It has seemed
to me that the person who eats oysters—and who does
not ?—might be interested not merely in the manner of
their production and preparation for market, some de-
scriptions of which have appeared, but also in the oyster
Preface Vv
fields on our shores, no connected account of which has
been published so far as I know. So I have given con-
siderable space to the history and present condition of
our oyster territory, and have ventured some suggestions
concerning its future development.
The chapters on the life history of the soft clam, Mya,
the conditions governing its growth, and on clam culture,
constitute an account of my own work begun in 1808 at
a time when practically nothing was known concerning
the biology of the form except through analogy. This
work was suggested by Dr. H. C. Bumpus, now Director
of the American Museum of Natural History of New
York, for the United States Fish Commission. In
Rhode Island, successful experiments on the growth of
Mya have also been carried on by Professor A. D. Mead.
The short account of the growth of the hard clam, Venus,
is also from observations that I published in 1903. Sev-
eral facts concerning the life histories and growth of the
soft clam, hard clam,and scallop have been supplied by my
friend and former pupil, Mr. D. L. Belding, Biologist of
the Massachusetts Fish and Game Commission, who has
had these forms continually under observation since 1905,
and who has experimented on a very large scale. Some
of these facts Mr. Belding has not yet published. Some
observations by Mr. J. R. Stevenson, another of my
pupils, have been quoted.
The attempt has been made to present the great possi-
bilities of clam culture, and to call attention to legislative
changes that are necessary to inaugurate it. Biological
knowledge assuring its success is at hand, while many
thousands of acres in New England entirely adapted to it
now lie barren and unproductive. It would be fortunate
if by some means there might be extended to other parts
Vi Preface
of the country, where these forms are now unknown in
the markets, a knowledge of their great value as food
mollusks, for our entire coast line is capable of producing
either the soft or the hard clam.
Mr. Roosevelt uttered a great truth when he stated that
the most important problem confronting the nation is the
conservation of its natural resources; and the wonderful
awakening of the people to that truth, for which he more
than any other person is responsible, is one of the most
important events that has occurred in America during a
century of waste and extravagance. An attempt has here
been made to show that even the resources of the “ great
and wide sea, wherein are things creeping innumerable,”
are very far from being inexhaustible, as many seem to
imagine; but also that some of its useful forms may, by
directing the processes of nature that are at the same time
productive of so great bounty and so great waste, not
only be conserved, but made to produce even on waste
places greater harvests than ever before existed.
Acknowledgment for the use of figures is gratefully
made to the United States Bureau of Fisheries, to various
state fish commissions, to the Johns Hopkins University
Press, and to the American Museum of Natural History
of New York. All but one of the text figures are my
own, and, with a few obvious exceptions, are drawn from
my own preparations.
WILLIAMSTowN, Mass.,
January, 1910.
CONTENTS
CHAPTER I
SEA FARMING
A national inventory of resources—Waste by earlier genera-
tions—Extinction of undomesticated food organisms in-
evitable—Achievements in the domestication of terrestrial
animals and plants—Sea farming—What has been ac-
complished—What may be hoped for
Cuapter II
NOTES ON THE ANATOMY OF THE FOOD
MOLLUSKS
The shell—Its parts—Pearls—Attachment of the oyster—The
mantle—The digestive tract—The palps or lips—Mouth,
stomach, and intestine—The vascular system—The heart
—The excretory organs—Sexual organs—Hermaphrodit-
ism—The nervous system—The foot—Creeping, digging,
and spinning the byssus—Swimming by means of the foot
—Structure of the gills of Mytilus, Pecten, and Ostrea .
Cuapter III
DEVELOPMENT
Structure of the male and female cells—Preparation of the
ovum for fertilization — Fertilization — Segmentation—
Formation of organs—Attachment . Aula
Cuapter IV
CILIARY MECHANISMS
The food of bivalves—The normal process of feeding—The
gills as food collectors—Transfer of food to the mouth
by gills and palps—The mud problem and its solution
—Cilia tracts on the mantle of Venus leading backward
in the mantle chamber—How mud is discharged from
vil
PAGE
II
39
Vill Contents
PAGE
the mantle chamber—Cilia tracts on the side of the
visceral mass—Mud collected by the gills—The palps
organs for determining whether coliected material shall
be carried to the mouth or away from it—Ciliation of
organs of the oyster—Selection or rejection of material
determined by its volume—Experiments—Automatic selec-
tion of food by the gills of Pecten—Special organs for
the wrejyection of mud) in) Pholas’ 5 5° 49
A CHAPTER V
OYSTER CULTURE IN EUROPE AND JAPAN
Ancient shell heaps—Oyster culture in antiquity—European
flat and Portuguese oysters—Destruction of natural oyster
beds in Europe—Scientific experiments of M. de Bon and
M. Coste—Great initial success of oyster culture in
France—Early disaster to the industry—Ignorance of the
biological factors involved—Revival of the industry—
Spat collectors—The breeding season—Caring for the
growing oysters—Oyster culture between tide lines—
Oyster parks and their construction—Racks for the young
—The “greening” of oysters—Final preparation for
market—Japanese oysters—The use of bamboo collec-
tors—Growth of the young BAUS re Weed 00 Mae ia 68
CuHaptTer VI
CONDITIONS GOVERNING OYSTER GROWTH
—OYSTER PLANTING IN AMERICA
Why European methods will not be employed in America—
How American is different from European oyster cul-
ture—Biological conditions governing oyster growth—
Bottom to be selected for oyster culture—Food require-
ments—The effect of a variable salinity—Oyster planting
—‘Seed” oysters—Time required for growth—The
amount of seed to be planted—Method of planting the
seed—Gathering the seed—Natural beds as sources of
seed—Former use of Chesapeake seed in the North—
Irregularity of the set in northern waters. . . . gl
CuHapTer VII
REARING OYSTERS FROM THE EGG
A method of artificial fertilization of oyster eggs—Wide-
spread interest in the discovery of Professor Brooks—
Impracticable modifications of the method by others—
Contents ix
PAGE
Origin of the belief that artificial fertilization might
simplify oyster culture—Persistence of this hope to the
present time—Liberated embryos gathered on collectors
in France—Experiments in America—Oyster and clam
culture have nothing to gain from artificial fertilization
Prem e Ma eas ots eee cee a SS age Vs Os TOG
CuHapter VIII
OYSTER CULTURE IN AMERICA
True oyster culture not extensively practised—Advantages
from the capture of seed on collectors—Collectors em-
ployed in America—When collectors or “cultch” should
be spread—Slime—Care of growing oysters—Labor
necessary for success—Varying methods in different
fields—Nature of the labor of the northern culturist . 118
CHAPTER IX
IMPLEMENTS AND THEIR USES—BOATS—
THE PREPARATION OF OYSTERS
FOR MARKET
Tongs and their uses—Nippers—Patent tongs—The use of
dredges—Opposition to the use of the dredge—Form and
sizes of dredges—Hand and steam windlasses for draw-
ing dredges—Boats—Tonging boats—Schooner rigged
vessels—The lugger—Steam vessels—The “Early Bird”
—Increase in the number of steam vessels—A demonstra-
tion of the superiority of steam power—Preparing oysters
for market—Cleaning and culling—The freshening of
oysters—Bad features of the practice—The matter of
taste and the flavor of oysters—“* Shucking ’—Washing
the “meats ’’—Containers, tin cans, barrels, pails, bottles
—-sSpippine-—soteamed. Oysters: -.. «5 4) 8 sO
CHAPTER X
NATURAL ENEMIES OF THE AMERICAN
OYSTER
The starfish in the north Atlantic—First recognized as a
dangerous oyster enemy in 1882—Structure—Its migra-
tions—Its food—How the starfish opens an oyster or
clam—Removal of starfish from oyster beds by means of
tangles—The oyster drill—Formerly not numerous—The
drumfish—Sheepshead—Rays and skates—Crabs—The
oyster crab—Mussels—The boring sponge—The boring
clam—Sea-weeds and hydroids—Oyster diseases . . «. 147
x Contents
CHAPTER XI
BIVALVES IN RELATION TO DISEASE
PAGE
Typhoid fever—Sources of infection—Contamination of
water over oyster or clam beds—How bivalves strain
disease organisms from large quantities of sea water—
Need of caution in eating uncooked bivalves—Danger in
the freshening process—How it may be prevented—
Safety rests largely on the demands of the consumer . 166
CHAPTER XII
THE NORTHERN OYSTER FIELD—HISTORICAL
Natural oyster beds north of Cape Cod—Kitchen middens in
north New England—The Damariscotta shell heap—His-
torical records—Why natural oyster beds have disap-
peared—Early extent of natural beds in New England
and New York—Cause of the depletion of the natural
beds—The beginnings of oyster culture in America—
Early laws governing the oyster industry—Lease and
sale of bottoms—The fear of monopolies—The futility
Ot «the Close: /S€aSON Hu) fea, yen! aly’ (ye) cu aes
CHAPTER XIII
PRESENT CONDITIONS IN THE NORTHERN
FIELD
American and European oysters compared—The use of
southern seed—Oyster laws—The old method of local
control—The new method—Surveys of barren bottoms as
well as of natural beds—Definition of a natural bed—
Incontestible titles and the settlement of disputes—Other
features of present Connecticut oyster laws—Direct
revenue plan not in favor—Activities on Long Island
Sound—Deep water culture—Mergers—Monopoly—W ork
during the summer—Northern markets . . . . . 186
CHAPTER XIV
THE CHESAPEAKE
Historical—Record of the oyster industry fragmentary—
Origin of the present packing business in Maryland—In
Virginia—Estimated production of the Chesapeake in
half a century—Belief that the supply was inexhaustible
—Special Maryland Oyster Commission of 1882—Report
of Professor Brooks—Destruction of the natural beds
by excessive dredging—Record of the decline of the in-
Contents Xl
PAGE
dustry—Production in Virginia exceeds that of Mary-
land—The Chesapeake oyster in politics—Laws not en-
forced—Oyster pirates and their raids—Oyster culture
impossible—How the crews of the pirate vessels were
recruited—Their treatment by dredging captains—Present
and future of the Chesapeake industry—Ineffectual polic-
ing by “oyster navies”—No surveys of barren bottoms
—Natural beds still the chief source of the supply—Plant-
ing on the increase—Features of Maryland’s oyster laws
of 1906—Survey of the natural beds by the new Oyster
Commission—Criticism of the new law. . . . .
206
CHAPTER XV
THE NORTH CAROLINA FIELD
Physical characters of the region—Oyster reefs—How oysters
form islands—Why natural oyster beds do not appear
between tide lines in the northern field as in the
Carolinas—Why, in North Carolina, natural beds seldom
form below the low tide line—Oyster clusters—‘ Rac-
coon” oysters and how they are formed—Small oysters
from clusters available for seed—Formation of river
tonging beds—Possibilities of oyster culture in Pamlico
Sound—Extension of natural beds—The appearance of
the Baltimore dredgers—Destruction of the natural beds
Dredging by non-residents prohibited—Cull laws not en-
forced—The future of the industry in North Carolina . 229
CHAPTER XVI
THE GULF OF MEXICO
Florida—Natural beds between and below tide lines—Laws—
Alabama—Mississippi—Rapid development of the_ in-
dustry in Louisiana—Subsidence of the shore line—Great
area available for oyster culture—Nature of the coast
east of the Mississippi River—Chandeleur Islands and
Sound—Rapid growth of oyster culture west of the delta
—Silt deposit—Experiments showing that the softest of
bottoms may be reclaimed—Great deposits of small shells
—Ideal collectors—Rapid rate of oyster growth—Oyster
enemies—Destructiveness of floods from the Mississippi—
Advantages in the conditions in: Louisiana—Wise laws—
Production rapidly increasing—Texas—Natural beds—
PrespecisfOnstie ttire- sn) ba ey 8 ws eee Sa A5E
CuHapter XVII
THE PACIFIC FIELD
‘The native Pacific oyster—Atlantic animals introduced into
the Pacific—Planting the native oyster in Washington—
Xil
Contents
Depletion of the natural beds in Puget Sound—Introduc-
tion of the Atlantic oyster in San Francisco and Willapa
bays—Failure of reproduction—Low temperature—Ac-
climatization—Stock companies for rearing oysters in
Washington BIN Viking eG ae ee
Cuapter XVIII
THE SOFT CLAM—DISTRIBUTION AND
CONDITIONS CONTROLLING IT
Former abundance in New England—Present scarcity—
Vernacular and “scientific” names—Character of clam
bottoms—Digging clams—Action of disturbed clams—
Conditions necessary for the growth of Mya—Effect of a
shifting bottom—A tenacious soil necessary—Clay, a
growth of alge thatch—Water currents and the food
supply—Effect of close segregation—Good effects of
digging—Great variation in salinity not harmful—
Enemies few SP Waraeek! I) ele ree et se
CHAPTER XIX
DHE Lip EiStORY. OF EE SOT GeAM
The breeding season—Destruction of the swimming young—
Settling to the bottom—The byssus—Attachment and its
purposes—The creeping period and its dangers—Destruc-
tion by small starfish—Beginning of the burrowing habit
—Byssus attachment in the burrow and its purpose—.
Atrophy of the byssus—Final descent into the ground
CHAPTER XX
THE GROWTH OF THE SOFT CLAM AND
SOME NOTES ON CLAM CULTURE
First experiments on the growth of Mya—The plan followed
—Determination of the amount of growth—Specific
example—Table showing growth of planted clams—Ex-
periments by the Massachusetts Fish and Game Commis-
sion—Early attempts at clam culture—The Bridgeport
experiment—Towns allowed to rent flats—The Essex
experiment—Peculiarities of the clam set—Immense
segregations and their causes—Sources of seed for plant-
ing—How seed clams may be planted—Amount of seed
to be used—Barren flats available in Massachusetts—
Public and private ownership of clam shores—Present
absurd laws—Advantages of clam culture not possessed
PAGE
269
276
290
Contents Xiil
PAGE
by oyster culture—Introduction of Mya into California
and Washington—Its rapid eiie ghia Natiye clams
Otathe Pacinescoast )..) sess Oeics dees ear tin | Ph Ge
CHAPTER XXI
THE HARD CLAM
Names—Methods of capture—Marketing—Decreases in num-
ber—Development—First experiments on growth—Creep-
ing—Effect of sea-weed over beds—No growth in New
England during the winter—Value of a strong current—
Wide variation in salinity possible—Few natural enemies
—Demand for the “little neck”—Culture methods not
encouraged—Monopoly and destruction of the industry by
shore towns in New England—Need of legislation—Ob-
taining seed—Planting on Fong Island—Possibilities in
hagdeclamimculttirese yo ’ See RC hs Aa Ew pee 17 1
CHAPTER XXII
THE SCALLOPS
Only the adductor nanerle used for food—Freshening or bloat-
ing by marketmen—Names—Two Atlantic species used
for food—Distribution—Eyes—Swimming habits—The
warm water scallop apparently does not migrate—Method
of capture—Decrease in number—Development—Swim-
ming by the foot—Spinning the byssus—Bearing of byssus
attachment on distribution—The creeping stage in bi-
valves—Rate of growth depends on food-bearing currents
—Growth ceases in winter—Actual rate of growth—
Normal length of life—Its economic bearing—Biological
problem involved—How to determine whether a_ scallop
has spawned—Economic waste in not dredging in-
dividuals that have spawned—Legislation needed—
Enemies—Results of scallop culture doubtful—Waste of
food in America—Failure to utilize marine food mol-
lusks and fishes—The inhabitants of the sea not all be-
WOMAN COMPTOL || yo tw Die Oe. cs See Dean = S88
Neem Om, Lo UMN My eters tl eter EN ie nae). (SOS
DEST OF “PLATES
XV
FACING
PAGE
ANATOMY OF THE RouND CLAM or “LitTLE NecK” . . .— «<2
ANATOMY OF THE OYSTER : 24
THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE AMERICAN OYSTER 44
Tite CoLLecTors IN PLACE ON A TIDAL Fiat at AuRAY, FRANCE 82
ARCACHON, FRANCE. OysTER PARKS witH Low CLay WaALLs’ 82
ARCACHON. PARKS WITH SOMEWHAT HIGHER Watts Con-
TAINING CASES FOR THE GROWING YOUNG . 82
NEwty ARRANGED COLLECTORS OF BAMBOO ON A TIDAL Fiat
CX) ASSIS? Sag Sh ge A Res OE mS ed NB a em as DN 2
OysTeR PARK oR GROWING GROUND IN JAPAN 88
OpyEcTs TO WHICH SMALL OysTERS Have ATTACHED . 120
An Iron Mast Hoop From CHESAPEAKE Bay COVERED BY
THOUSANDS OF OYSTERS OF VARIOUS SIZES 120
A FLEET oF GASOLINE ToncinG Boats 1n Hampton Roaps, VA. 130
‘ToNGERS AND CULLERS AT WorK ON PAMLICo Sounp, N. C. 130
A NortH CaroLInA DREDGING SCHOONER, SHOWING DREDGE
PPLPANMENVINDEASS © Mish fs ew ja 134
DRAWING A More MoperN Drepce py STEAM POWER ON THE
MEW YORK OVSTER'GROUNDS .° . . . 5 134
STEAM DREDGING VESSEL ON LoNG ISLAND Sounp . 136
STEAM DREDGING VESSEL OWNED AT NEw Haven . 136
New York STEAM DREDGING VESSEL TOWING THE DREDGES 136
A PowerFUL IcE-BREAKING STEAMER OwNeED aT New Haven,
Conn. 140
Tue Larcest oF THE NoRTHERN OySTER FLEET. .. 140
MivcteR ClusteR COVERED WITH Mussets. . . . . . 162
Tue NATURE OF THE CROWDING IN OYSTER CLUSTERS . 162
LaporaTtory EMPLOYEES TONGING AND CULLING CLUSTERED
Petes IN LOUISIANA fs 05 4 wk eR
Xvi List of Plates
FACING
PAGE
Natura GrowtH oF “Coon Oyster” CrLusTErS BETWEEN
Tipe) LINES In. SouTH: CAROLINA , .. . < \~ SIR
SHELLS OF ARCA WITH YOUNG OysTERS ATTACHED . . . 262
SINGLE Oysters ATTACHED TO SHELLS OF A SMALL CLAM... 262
Hotes oF Lonc-NEcK CLAMS VERY THICKLY SET IN A BEACH 282
LonG-NECK CLAMS DuG FrRoM BENEATH ONE SQUARE Foor OF
AS GREAR RS 2A) 2M er 2 ee ke
INCREASE IN SIZE IN ONE YEAR OF CLAM ONE INcH LONG
WHEN? PLANTED ©. fics oars, bes Wen. ce a BL) ewe pe
INCREASE IN VOLUME IN ONE YEAR OF CLAMS IN AN EXPERI-
MENTAL BED Witm SLIGHT CURRENT <« . . «| 3) uesOa
Box SUSPENDED FROM A Rarr NEAR A CLAM FLAT FROM
May 15 Untit OcTOBER I5 OF THE SAME YEAR... 312/|
GrowTH oF Mya 1n Two YEARS ON I-I00 OF AN ACRE OF A
BARREN PELAG® oe ee a ce
CHAPTER I
SEA FARMING
q F one were to construct a classification of the
“(| units of society, he could perhaps most con-
veniently group them as pessimists and opti-
mists. It is difficult to determine which is
the larger group. One is apt to say in his haste that all
‘men are pessimists. Whether this really is true or not,
chronic fault-finders certainly are not rare, and all know
where to look for the glowing face of the optimist.
Every one knows the cheerful friend who, while urging
one to go fishing with him, would turn his back on the
‘black cloud rising in the southwest and call attention to
‘the little patch of blue remaining in the east to prove the
impossibility of rain. On large matters of national
interest, as well as in small affairs, the American public
has had a long training in optimism. Popular writers,
and orators on platform and stump, have always taught
us that ours is the greatest of nations in achievement, and
that our natural resources are limitless and inexhaustible.
It may be that general intelligence is sufficiently ad-
‘vanced to warrant the introduction of a third group into
this classification. Whatever name may be given to the
group, it includes those who, instead of constructing argu-
ments to substantiate opinions, are interested only in what
is true. They employ the simple and common sense
method of modern science, stripping themselves of
2 Our Food Mollusks
prejudice and desire, and attempt to see things only as
they are.
Assuming this reasonable attitude as fully as possible,
it is well to consider on its merits the question of the
future sources of the world’s daily bread. Since Malthus,
more than a century ago, showed that population tended
to outgrow subsistence, pessimists have declared universal
famine to be near, while optimists have refused to con-
sider the matter seriously, or believed that if the worst
should occur, some chemist would succeed in synthesiz-
ing proteids from inorganic matter, or that something
else would turn up to relieve the situation. While there
is certainly no immediate occasion for alarm over the
matter, the recent inauguration of an attempt to make a
national inventory of all of our resources is a triumph of
common sense.
Heretofore the young continent has produced a vast
amount of human food that it has been necessary only to
gather, while other natural resources—metals, gas, oil,
coal, lumber, and fertile soils—have seemed to be limitless
in quantity. Viewing the present conditions as they are,
without unwarranted encouragement or discouragement,
it is very clear that preceding generations, giving no
thought to those who were to follow them, destroyed and
wasted, without substantial benefit even to themselves,
sources of natural wealth that, carefully conserved, might
have provided comfort for many generations. If there is
any excuse in the fact that our ancestors believed it to be
impossible to destroy our natural resources, there is none
for those of the present generation whose greed is delib-
erately and mercilessly cleaning up what remains, and
leaving a far-reaching inheritance of ruin. Our criminal
waste and our indifference to the fate of future genera-
Sea Farming 3
tions, have been said, and probably with truth, to be with-
out precedent in the history of peoples.
The best of our forests is gone, and their actual extent
reduced by at least three hundred millions of acres. In
lumbering and manufacturing, we waste from one-half
to two-thirds of each tree. The method of lumbering is
responsible for incalculably destructive fires that often de-
stroy even the soils on which they occur. Nearly all of
the waters of the deforested areas go to the seas in dev-
astating floods, while summer brings its droughts. In
the South alone, millions of acres of rich agricultural
lands have been gullied beyond repair. The wonderful
valleys west of the Cascades in Washington and Oregon,
now attracting wide attention because of the peculiar fer-
tility of their soils, and possessing probably more than a
fourth of the available water-power of the nation, are en-
dangered by the ruthless destruction of forests. It is
estimated that a billion feet of natural gas—an ideal fuel
—is every day allowed to escape from the earth unused,
and that from one to two tons of coal are wasted in
mining each ton that is marketed. Worse than all else,
soils are being robbed. Agriculture is now practically im-
possible in New England, and farm values in the agricul-
tural state of Ohio have suffered a decrease of sixty
millions of dollars in a decade. All recall the wanton
nature of the extermination of the buffalo and the
|passenger pigeon. Water-fowl are now rarely seen
where, thirty years ago, migrating flocks stretched from
horizon to horizon. The wonderful run of the salmon
in the rivers of the Pacific slope has until recently been
\believed to afford an inexhaustible supply of valuable
food. Beside being put to this use, millions of pounds of
salmon and herring have each year for a quarter of a cen-
4 Our Food Mollusks
tury been utilized on the Pacific coast in the manufacture
of fertilizer. Cod, mackerel, shad, and other valuable
food fishes of the Atlantic, within the memory of men
now living, were many times as abundant as now. At
the present rate of decrease, the lobster must soon disap-
pear from our eastern coast. Nearly every natural oyster
field on the Atlantic has been destroyed. Most of the
clam flats of New England, once immensely productive,
are now almost barren.
But in spite of these depressing facts, there are many
hopeful conditions to which attention should be given.
Our natural resources may be separated into two groups,
namely those consisting of materials accumulated through
eons of time, which are replaced only by the infinitely
slow processes of nature, and resources that may be made
rapidly to perpetuate themselves under human direction
and control. ‘To the first belong ore deposits, petroleum,
gas, and coal. These, once consumed, are gone forever,
The second group includes organisms useful to man.
Obviously the resources included in the first group should
be used judiciously and without waste, in the knowledge
that substitutes for them will one day be required. Those
of the second group may never disappear.
While wanton destruction and waste are always deplor-
able, it must be admitted that even with the greatest care,
animals and plants useful to man would, if allowed to re-
main under natural conditions, soon become too few in
numbers to meet his requirements. The butchery of our
buffalos by hide-hunters and European “ sportsmen ”’
naturally excited strong disapproval, but it hurried by
very few years their extinction, that was inevitable from
the occupation of their ranges by stockmen and agricultur-
ists. The great multitudes of pigeons inhabiting the
Sea Farming 5
northern states east of the Mississippi half a century ago,
met their fate largely through the destruction of their
nesting and feeding places. Fishes, oysters, clams, and
other animals propagating in a natural state, have rapidly
decreased when used for food. Even the most prolific
have proved to be anything but inexhaustible. But even
if these forms had been used without waste, their final
failure as sources of food would have been merely post-
poned. This inevitable destruction only becomes deplor-
able when it fails to be accompanied by an effort to do-
mesticate, or in adequate measure to control the perpetua-
tion of the vanishing form; for such effort in the past has
in nearly all cases been marvelously successful. Man’s
achievements in domestication have been possible largely
from the fact that he has nearly always been able to
overcome in great measure the vast wastefulness of na-
ture. In a natural state, seed is produced in profusion,
but its growth is left largely to chance, and its destruction
is enormous. Usually with little effort on man’s part,
intervention results in a rapid increase in the number of
individuals.
Whenever terrestrial animals and plants have been do-
mesticated, the achievement has consisted not merely in
accelerating the rate of reproduction, but in controlling
nearly every condition on which their lives depended, with
an effect so far-reaching that most of them bear so little
resemblance in structure and habit to their wild ancestors
that the relationship would hardly be suspected. Indeed,
the original forms from which many of them were de-
rived, have been lost to human tradition and are entirely
unknown. How great some of these changes are is il-
lustrated in the many known descendants of a wild
mustard plant. Among them are the numerous vari-
6 Our Food Mollusks
eties of cabbages, cauliflowers, brussels sprouts, kales, and
kohlrabis, that are so different from each other and from
their common parent, in the character of stem, root, leaf,
and flower, in size, and in color, that it is difficult to be-
lieve what is known to be true concerning their relation-
ships. Great changes equally useful to man, have also
been made in animals on which he has come to depend,
numerous examples of which will occur to any one.
But these great results have been worked out on the
land. Is it possible to hope that the waters also may be
jade productive in any similar manner? The available
land area will soon be occupied, but here is an immense
expanse of shallow water along our shores that has al-
ways yielded a large amount of food. Is it possible that
this also may be converted into fertile and productive
gardens and pastures?
Though man domesticated food organisms long before
recorded events began, as some prehistoric remains prove,
he has not yet seriously given his attention to the possi-
bilities of sea farming. It is true that along certain lines
immensely important results have been obtained, but that
it would be possible greatly to extend them is not to be
‘doubted. The whole subject is one that has been in-
sufficiently considered. It might be urged with some
show of reason that as yet there is no necessity for the
development of sea farming, becauge our land area is still
sufficient to meet all requirements of food production.
But within the next decade or two all of the wheat land
and probably all of the arable soil of the North American
continent, not covered by forests, will be occupied, and
while this is capable of supporting a population very much
larger than the present one, it would be the part of wis-
dom now to turn to the sea, in order to determine to what
Sea Farming 7
extent it also is capable of producing organisms under a
system of artificial culture.
It may also be argued that man is unable successfully to
give intimate attention to aquatic or even to semi-
aquatic forms. It might be asked, for example, why
frogs, that are sold in great numbers in some markets,
‘have not been improved by domestication ; or why fishes
reared from artificially fertilized eggs have not been so
bred that it would be possible for them to abandon their
natural habits of feeding and migration, to mature and
reproduce themselves in captivity. In the first case, the
answer is that selective breeding, which perhaps would
‘not be difficult, has not been attempted. It is perhaps not
impossible that our markets may some day display
gigantic frogs that will require water only to drink. As
_to the fishes, the only cases in which the attempt has been
_made to modify structure and habit, have not shown re-
sults different from those obtained in terrestrial forms, as
is proved by the very curious modifications exhibited in
' the numerous varieties of Japanese gold-fishes. It must
be admitted that the domestication of aquatic forms wiil
be attended by many difficulties not encountered on the
land, but there is no good foundation for what appears
to be the common belief that an attempt to domesticate
them may not be worth the undertaking.
It is possible that some marine animals, on account of
their habits, can never be really domesticated. Such are
_ fishes that make long seasonal migrations, or that, as the
salmon, make one migration into fresh water to spawn
and perish, at a definite period in life. But even in these
cases the human agency may become vastly helpful in the
matter of their propagation. At various points along the
Atlantic coast, the eggs of shad are hatched in the sta-
8 Our Food Mollusks
tions of the United States Bureau of Fisheries, and cared
for through the early period of life, during which de-
struction is greatest in a state of nature. The losses
under this care are few, and the young fishes, now much
better able to care for themselves, are liberated to pass the
remainder of their lives in a natural state. There are
good reasons for the belief that the shad would have be-
come practically extinct years ago, if this method of
artificial propagation had not been practised. The num-
bers of several species of fishes are maintained in the
same manner.
In the case of one marine form not included in the
group of fishes, very remarkable success has attended the
employment of culture methods. The culture of the
native oyster of the Atlantic coast, the simple beginnings
of which date back only half a century, affords the one
great demonstration that we at present possess of the possi-
bilities of sea farming ; and the extent and value of the in-
dustry depending on it are very significant. It is the pur-
pose of the following chapters to set forth the achieve-
ment of the oyster culturist, and to show that other food
mollusks, now rapidly disappearing, may also be made
very much more abundant than they ever have been under
natural conditions.
And why should this work not be extended? To be-
gin, we should know that the sea contains immense quan-
tities of nutritious and palatable food, of which no use
is made. The Agricultural Department is searching all
the corners of the earth for useful plants with a view to
habituating them to our own soils and climates. Why
should the effort not be made to introduce on our own
shores marine food organisms from other seas? Probably
quite by accident, our eastern long neck clam was in-
Sea Farming 9
' troduced on the Pacific coast, where it has now spread
over large areas. Why may not some of the more
valuable of the bivalves of the western coast be reared
_artificially in the colder waters of the Atlantic? The
_ Japanese possess a larger and better oyster thanthenative
_form of the Pacific, found in Washington and California.
It is perhaps not superior to our eastern oyster, but the
latter is not able to reproduce in the cold Pacific waters,
in which possibly the Japanese form would thrive. The
state of Louisiana is about to make the attempt to estab-
lish the hard clam or “‘ little neck,’’ found near the Chan-
deleur Islands, on its coast west of the delta of the Mis-
sissippi, where shore bottoms are now entirely barren, but
on which conditions seem to be favorable for the ex-
istence of this valuable food mollusk. There are nearly
everywhere similar opportunities to utilize waste and bar-
ren places on our shores. And without becoming unduly
optimistic over the matter, we are probably warranted
in expecting that, when the experiments are made, many
forms beside the cod, the shad and other fishes, the oyster,
and the clam, will prove to be more or less perfectly
responsive to the new conditions that the human agency
shall determine.
A most auspicious beginning has been made of what
may in time become the.artificial control of very many
useful marine organisms. Why should the sea and its in-
habitants be regarded as essentially untameable? There
is something about the vastness of its resources that ap-
peals strongly to the imagination. Who is able to stand
unmoved before the awful demonstration of power that
the waves make on a shore? We possess no means of
measuring the force of the tides. Even those who pro-
fess to be shocked at the thought of utilitarianism in con-
IO Our Food Mollusks
nection with nature’s grand displays of force, may find
poetry in the thought that, by methods, some of which are
already known, much of this vast and purposeless waste
of energy may be made to undergo a magical transforma-
tion into comforts that would lighten the heavy load of
human toil, and make human experiences happier and
more ennobling. The potential fertility of the sea, also,
is sufficient, when use shall be made of it, largely to
supply man’s greatest need.
CHAPTER TI
MOTES ON THE ANATOMY OF THE FOOD
MOLLUSKS
OME time before the publication of Darwin’s
‘Origin of Species” in 1859, a few natu-
ralists had come to believe that similarity in
structure in different species of animals or
plants could be explained only on the assumption that
these species were more closely related to each other than
to other species. To them it seemed unlikely that the
‘many points of resemblance in structure and habit to
be found in comparing scores of varieties or species
‘of violets, for example, could mean anything but a rela-
‘tionship between them. From the analogy afforded by
different breeds of domesticated animals, known to be
derived from a common parent form, it seemed reason-
able to assume that several kinds of thrushes, or of crows,
of squirrels, hares, or similar groups of species differing
only slightly from each other in nature, had descended
one from another or from common ancestors.
But this view was then founded merely on analogy
and met with little favor. The world continued to hold
tenaciously to the still less reasonable hypothesis that each
species of animal and plant had originated independently
in an act of special creation. According to this tradi-
tional belief, no relationship existed between different
species. The Creator of the animate world had decided
Is
12 Our Food Mollusks
upon several types of organisms, and each new creation |
was made to conform more or less closely to one of them. |
Having become a religious dogma, this idea was so firmly |
fixed that it required a revolution in popular thought to |
destroy it. The publication of Darwin’s first great book |
accomplished this end.
The “ Origin of Species’ showed how natural forces |
now in operation might produce new species from parent |
forms. It presumed that the same forces had been |
operating on organisms in the same way since the dawn
of life. According to this view, all living organisms have |
a real relationship to each other, recent or remote. Asa
rule, great differences in structure indicate distant, as
great similarities indicate close relationships.
On account of fundamental similarities in develop-
ment, structure, and habit, which exist among oysters,
clams, scallops, mussels, and other members of the lamelli- |
branch family, no naturalist now doubts that they
descended from some common ancestor, which, however,
must have lived in the very remote past, as man meas-
ures time. What this ancestral form was, is not posi-
tively known; but naturalists have agreed on what must
have been the general characters of many of its organs. |
Why they should have a positive belief in regard to a
creature that no one ever saw, even in fossil form, is a
long story; but the reasons for it, if they were explained,
would probably be satisfactory to most minds.
Among the very few bivalves here considered, it is
not easy to determine which, in its structure, conforms
most closely to the hypothetical ancestor. It is not the
black mussel, with its aborted foot and anterior adductor
muscle, and its sexual glands in the mantle folds. It is
not the scallop, in which much of the body is modified to.
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Anatomy of the Food Mollusks 13
conform to the swimming habit. Certainly it is not the
degenerate oyster that has completely lost the organ of
locomotion, and the anterior adductor muscle. Probably
it is not the soft clam, for in it, also, the ancient foot is
greatly reduced. Of the short list, the hard clam, Venus
mercenaria, probably has a greater number of organs that
are most like those of the ancestral bivalve, though some,
like the gills, depart much farther from the primitive con-
dition of those organs than do those of the mussel and
‘scallop. But because Venus, not by any means one of the
more primitive of living bivalves, is somewhat the more
simple of the species here described, it may illustrate best
some of the anatomical characters common to them all.
The Shell. The hard protective covering of Venus
consists of right and left parts known as valves. It is
composed of carbonate of lime, which is deposited in a
viscous secretion poured out by the fleshy mantle fold
lining its inner surfaces. On the shore, one sometimes
“finds valves of clams or other bivalves, recently dead,
that are united on the upper or dorsal side by a piece of
stiff, elastic substance, resembling rubber. This is known
as the shell ligament. The position of its attachment to
the shell is represented in Figure 1 (/).
Just within the ligament, each valve bears prominent
ridges or teeth that fit into corresponding depressions in
the opposite valve. This mechanism, serving to hold the
two parts of the shell in their proper relative positions, is
called the hinge. It may be noticed that the shells of
dead bivalves are always open at the under or ventral
margin. In the living animal, lying quite undisturbed
in the water, a slight gaping of the valves may also be
observed; but when the animal is disturbed, the valves
14 Our Food Mollusks
close. An attempt to pry them open will show that they
are held together with great force. The closing mecha-
nism consists of two cylindrical bundles of muscle fibers,
known as the anterior and posterior adductors, running
directly across from one valve to the other. The ends
of these muscles, severed from the left valve, are shown
in the figure (a a and pa).
The functional relations of ligament, hinge, and
muscle, may be understood by referring to the text figure
(Figure 2), which repre-
sents a transverse section of
the shell in the region of
hinge and ligament. The
rubbery ligament (/) occu-
pies such a position and is of
such a width, that when the
adductors (a m) contract,
the hinge (/) acts as a ful-
crum, and the ligament is
stretched. On the relaxation
of the muscles, the mechani-
Fic. 2—Transverse section of cal contraction of the liga-
the shell of Venus to show ment, acting on the hinge,
relations of ligament (/), causes the lower edges of
eee pene Soe oe tie shell to separate.
Examining the outer sur-
face of a valve, there is to be noticed, far dorsalward and
forward, in Venus, a rounded prominence, the umbo, so
called on account of its fancied resemblance to the boss of
a shield. Its position on the shell varies in different
bivalves, and in some it is very inconspicuous or absent
altogether.
From the umbo as a center, concentric lines of growth
—_.
Anatomy of the Food Mollusks DS
spread over the entire outer surface (Figure 64). Each
represents what was, at one time, the edge of the shell.
A cross section of a tree trunk reveals similar concentric
growth lines. Each line in the section marks the cessa-
tion of growth in the fall and its resumption in the spring,
so that the years of a tree’s life are recorded in them.
From such an analogy it might be assumed that the
growth lines on a bivalve shell indicate its age, also; but
the analogy is misleading. Most shells, like that of
Venus, possess fine and closely crowded, as well as con-
spicuous lines, all irregularly arranged. While they rep-
resent successive deposits of lime, many are formed in a
summer, and no idea of age may be had from them. Dif-
ferences in their distinctness and size are probably due to
the irregular action of weather, tide, temperature, and the
abundance or scarcity of food.
The mantle edge secretes a thin, dark colored, rubbery
coat that is applied to the outer surface of the shell. This
probably is produced to prevent the dissolution of lime,
especially in the young. In some bivalves, this cuticle,
as it is called, is so thick and tough that it performs its
function perfectly throughout life; but in most cases it
wears away, especially on the older part of the shell, and
the lime is slowly dissolved. The addition of new shell
to the inner surface may keep pace with this, but in the
case of clams living in foul mud, in which humus acids
are abundant, the shell is sometimes perforated and the
animal dies. Very little of the cuticle is to be found on
the shells of adult oysters, clams, or scallops.
Closely connected with the addition of new layers to the
inner surface of the shell, is the formation of pearls.
These precious structures are merely shell formations un-
attached to the valve. Their shape has much to do with
16 Our Food Mollusks
their value. Their hue and iridescence also are im-
portant. Most of the pearls of commerce come from the
so-called pearl-oyster of the Indian Ocean. This mollusk,
however, is only distantly related to edible oysters.
Pearls have been found in the bodies of most bivalves,
and those from several species are valuable. Fresh water —
clams, especially in the streams and lakes of the central
states, produce pearls of great beauty. Every one has
found them in our oysters. These are usually small,
though sometimes very symmetrical in outline, but are
not valuable, as they are not iridescent.
Pearls, really abnormal shell growths, are formed by
the introduction of some foreign object between the
mantle and the shell. This body becomes a nucleus about
which the sticky secretion of the mantle accumulates.
Just as in the case of the shell layers, lime is deposited
in this sticky coating. Successive layers are added and
the pearl gradually increases in size. The foreign bodies
acting as centers about which the pearly layers are ac-
cumulated, have been shown, in some cases, to be small
parasitic worms. It is easy to determine experimentally,
however, that an inert body like a grain of sand, will also
become coated with pearly layers. Professor Brooks, in
his book on the oyster, writes of the miraculous origin of
the sacred clam shells of the Chinese Buddhists. He
says:—‘* The inside of the shell has a beautiful pearl
luster, and along it is a row of little fat images of Bud-
dha, squatting with his legs crossed under him, and his
elbows on his knees: they are formed of pearl precisely
like that which lines the rest of the shell, a little raised
above its surface, and outlined in faint relief, but they
are part of the shell, with no break or joint. In the
process of manufacturing them, the shell of the living
Anatomy of the Food Mollusks iy;
animal is wedged open, and thin images, punched out of a
sheet of bell-metal, are inserted. The animal is then re-
turned to the water, and is left there until enough new
shell has been formed to cover them with a varnish of
pearl thick enough to cover them, and to hide the metal,
while permitting the raised outline to be seen.”
Pearl growth is really very common. Fresh water
clams, of which there are scores of varieties, exhibit it
with great frequency. But usually it will be found that
the pearl has become fastened to the shell. Even when
these growths are large, they cannot be removed and
ground into a symmetrical form, because abrasion of the
surface destroys their luster. It is only the large, sym-
metrical growths, which have not been glued to the shell
during their formation, that have great commercial value,
and these are relatively very rare.
There is often considerable variation in the shapes of
shells, especially in oysters and long-neck clams. This is
often due, in the case of the former, to the close crowding
of individuals, and in the latter, to pressure against ob-
jects in the walls of the burrow. When young oysters
crowd each other closely, after their attachment, the di-
rect effect is that the shells grow narrow and become
greatly elongated. If aclam in its burrow presses against
an unyielding obstruction, the growing shell will be dis-
torted by conforming to the outline of the object.
Right and left valves are normally symmetrical in most
bivalves, but in the oyster there is a great inequality. The
animal is attached by the left valve, which is very much
larger than the right. It forms the stony box in which
the soft parts of the body lie, and the right valve is little
more than a lid to the box. In the embryo, the valves are
of the same size, and are perfectly symmetrical. This
18 Our Food Mollusks
was undoubtedly the condition of the distant ancestors
of the oysters, which were unattached. The habit of at-
tachment is of great value, for oysters are permanently
held in favorable localities above the soft mud of the bot-
toms, which might otherwise smother them.
The primary function of the shell, of course, is protec-
tion. But in spite of its hardness and toughness, it some-
times fails. There is a mighty and unceasing struggle in
nature in which every organism strives to obtain necessary
‘nourishment, and at the same time to protect itself against
its enemies. The shells of bivalves have become strong,
but at the same time their enemies, which must in some
way obtain food or perish, have developed special organs
for crushing or penetrating them. The jaws of the drum-
fish of Atlantic and Gulf waters, for example, have be-
come so powerful that they are able to crush even the
strong shell of an oyster. But it is interesting to observe
that there is difficulty in doing this; for if the task were an
easy one, these fishes might be able to cause the extinction
of the race of oysters. Drumfish are able to dispose of
small oysters which the oyster culturist has separated and
scattered over the bottom to grow, but they experience so
great difficulty with oyster clusters on the natural beds,
that their mouths are often badly lacerated in their
desperate attempts to obtain food from them. The
sheepsheads, fish with jaws armed with large, hard
teeth, crush the relatively thin shells of young oysters.
Among the deadliest enemies of bivalves are some of
their own distant cousins, snail-like mollusks which pos-
sess, in the end of a proboscis, a rasping or boring organ
which slowly cuts through the hardest shell, and allows
the creature to feed on the pulpy tissues within.
There is at least one phase of what is called the struggle
Anatomy of the Food Mollusks 19
for existence among organisms that popularly is very
little appreciated. It is that the battle, which never ceases,
is, in almost all cases, nicely drawn—so delicately bal-
anced through long periods of time, that any slight ad-
vantage on one side or the other may result in the more
or less complete extinction of one, or even of several
interdependent species. At one time newspaper reports
informed us that ordnance and projectiles had become so
perfected that the armor of war vessels afforded little
real protection. Later it was stated that armor-plates had
been made so hard and tough that they could be pene-
trated or broken only with great difficulty. Yet improve-
ments in both go on, and the layman understands that
there is a nicely balanced contest for supremacy between
them. Everywhere in nature, also, weapons of defense
and offense are slowly being perfected, but in the test of
actual warfare. A harder armor in the oyster and other
mollusks might possibly deprive drumfish and certain
marine snails of so much food that their ranks would at
least be reduced; and stronger and harder jaws in the
drumfish might result in the annihilation of oysters liv-
ing in the warmer waters of our coast. This balance in
the struggle among organisms sometimes is upset, and
fossil remains show that, as a consequence, many great
races, both of animals and plants, have suddenly declined,
and then completely disappeared from the earth.
The Mantle. ‘This structure has been referred to as a
flap or fold of tissue that grows out from each side of the
body, expanding so as to line the inner surface of the
shell. Figure 1 shows the edge of the mantle lying
parallel to the margin of the shell; but a much better idea
of it is given by Figure 3, which represents the body of
20 Our Food Mollusks
the oyster lying in its left valve. Here, as in many bi-
valves, the margin is provided with projections or ten-
tacles, capable of some extension, and acting as sensitive
touch organs. Certain parts of this edge are sensitive to
changes in the intensity of light, and in the scallop there
are developed eyes so perfect in function that moving ob-
jects are seen at a distance of several yards. It is evi-
dent that this is the only part of the body where visual
organs would be of any use.
In the two forms here ‘illustrated, the mantle folds be-
low are separate from each other. In some bivalves, the
soft clam for example, there is an extensive fusion of the
edges, so that the mantle chamber becomes an enclosed
space.
Venus is a form that spends most of its time burrowed
in the bottom just deep enough to cover the shell. As in
all other burrowing lamellibranchs, two tubes, the
siphons (Figure 1), grow out from the mantle posteri-
orly, their purpose being to reach up to the water.
Through the lower one a stream, bringing food and
oxygen, enters the branchial or mantle chamber. After
passing through the gills, the water is discharged through
the upper tube. These siphon tubes are very long in the
soft clam, which burrows many inches into the bottom.
In addition to these functions, the mantle of forms ©
that possess a large, distensible foot, serves as a blood |
reservoir, and thus probably functions as the chief organ |
of respiration; for the blood here is separated from the
water only by the very thin mantle walls.
The Digestive Tract. Referring again to the figure’
illustrating the hard or round clam, it will be observed
that the mantle fold, the two gill folds that hang down on”
Anatomy of the Food Mollusks 21
the sides of the body, and the body wall itself, have been
removed so as to expose the digestive tract and other in-
ternal organs. In most animals that possess a tubular
digestive tract, the mouth is to be found at the forward
or anterior end of the body, and the rule holds in this case.
Usually, also, this opening into the digestive tract is
situated in a modified part of the body that may be called
a head. This was probably true of the very early an-
cestors of the bivalves, but as the result of the develop-
ment of a shell completely covering the body, the head of
all living bivalves has disappeared as a distinctly modi-
fied region. For this reason they are sometimes called
Acephala.
The mouth is not shown in either of the illustrations,
but its position in the oyster is indicated. The opening is
hidden by a pair of huge folds or lips, one placed in front
of, and the other behind it. These labial palps extend,
right and left, far out from the mouth, and are shown in
both figures. In Figure 3, the front or anterior palp on
the right side has been partially removed, and the inner
surface (that nearest the mouth) of the inner palp is
exposed. The organs are so situated that they may come
in contact with the anterior margins of the gills. The
latter are collectors of the microscopic food, which they
pass forward, by ciliary action—cilia being minute hairs
that cover various surfaces and have a rapid lashing
movement—to the inner surfaces of the palps. Over
these, in turn, it may continue forward to the mouth.
As will be shown later, when material is too abundant on
the palps, it is not directed to the mouth, but to tracts
that carry it out of the body.
The mouth, having the form of a funnel, leads directly
into the cesophagus. This tube may be traced backward
22 Our Food Mollusks
to its opening into the stomach. As represented in the
figure, the latter appears as a simple dilation of the di-
gestive tube. Surrounding it on all sides, are the digestive
glands, which pour their secretion into it through short
but wide ducts. The digestive glands constitute what ~
is commonly called the liver in anatomical descriptions of
many invertebrate animals; but it is not similar to the
liver of vertebrates, either in structure or function. Its
secretion has the power of rendering fluid and changing
chemically the digestible parts of the food. The gland
is always of a dark color, that varies somewhat in dif-
ferent bivalves, and every one has noticed it in the rup-
tured bodies of oysters and clams.
The intestine arises from the posterior end of the
stomach. Its course is downward and backward, and
in the lower part of the body it bends in a way character-
istically different in different bivalves, before finally as-
cending to the region in front of the heart. Coursing
straight backward on the dorsal side of the body, it passes
directly through the heart in most bivalves, and then
over the posterior adductor muscle where it ends, the anal
opening of the tube being so situated that the strong
current of water leaving the body immediately carries
away the fecal matter. The parts of the digestive tract
in other bivalves have much the same arrangement.
The Vascular System. It rarely happens that the
blood of invertebrate animals is colored, though there
are one or two exceptions to it even in the bivalve group.
In our edible mollusks, it is a nearly colorless fluid, cir-
culating through the body along very definite paths. As
in all other cases, it carries liquid food obtained from the
walls of the digestive tract, and oxygen received in the
gills and mantle, to all the living tissues of the body. At
Anatomy of the Food Mollusks 23
the same time it gathers up waste material resulting from
muscular activities, and as it flows through the walls of
the excretory organs, or kidneys, certain cells of the
latter have the power of removing these substances.
The heart is situated on the dorsal side of the body
under the hinge of the shell, in Venus. By opening the
delicate wall of the chamber in which it lies, it is seen to
be made up of three parts. On the mid-line of the back,
is a large sac, with filmy muscular walls, which is called
the ventricle. It is by the contraction of these walls that
blood is forced to various parts of the body through two
arteries, one running forward, and the other backward.
Joining the ventricle on either side are two auricles, sacs
even more filmy and delicate. Their office is to pump into
the ventricle blood which they receive from the gills.
It has been stated that the intestine courses through the
ventricle from before backward. This is true of the
clams and of most other bivalves. But in the oyster and
scallop, the heart has been moved to a position below the
intestine. The oyster’s heart may very easily be found by
picking away the thin wall just in front of the large ad-
ductor muscle so as to expose it as it lies in its chamber
(Figure 3). It is the common belief among oystermen
that the adductor (pa) itself is the heart, and that when
it is cut, the animal is at once killed. The fact is that if
one valve of the shell is very carefully removed, and the
animal is placed in a favorable current of water, it will
continue to live for days.
The Excretory System. The organs for removing
waste matters formed as a result of muscular and other
activities are usually difficult to observe. In the simplest
cases among our edible mollusks, they are dark colored
tubes, one on each side of the mid-line of the body, open-
24 Our Food Mollusks
ing by one end into the chamber in which the heart lies,
and by the other to the exterior of the body near the’
base of the gills. Their position is shown in Figure I, 1.
Waste matter is extracted from the blood as it flows
through the walls of these kidneys, and is discharged to
the exterior through the outer opening of the tube.
These nephridia, as they are technically called, may be.
seen directly exposed as conspicuous swellings on the
under side of the large adductor muscle of the scallop,
but in the other forms their examination is difficult.
The Sexual Organs. As a rule, our edible mollusks
are of separate sexes, though there are no secondary
sexual characters that will enable one to distinguish
male from female. The small warm water scallop (Pec-
ten irradians), found from Cape Cod to Texas, is her-
maphroditic, that is, possesses both male and female
sexual glands. Hermaphroditism is a very common
condition among lower animals and among plants ‘t
where it occurs, it usually happens that the two kin... of
sexual cells come to maturity at different times, in order
to prevent self-fertilization. The breeding together even
of nearly related animals, usually tends to produce weak
offspring. The sexes are separate in the northern or
giant scallop, and in Venus and Mya. This is also true
of the oyster, while its near relative, the European flat
oyster, is hermaphroditic.
Because the losses among young bivalves are so enor-
mous, immense numbers of eggs are produced. Fifty
or sixty millions would be a conservative estimate of
the actual number discharged by a large female oyster
during a single breeding season. Though the eggs are
minute, they are large enough to be distinguished by the
unaided eye. The sexual glands constitute the greater
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Anatomy of the Food Mollusks 25
part of the pulpy body, being packed around the diges-
tive tract, extending down into the base of the foot, in
the quahaug, and backward in the oyster and scallop so
as nearly to surround the adductor muscle. The ducts
through which the sexual cells are discharged, open, one
on each side of the body, near the bases of the gills,
though in the scallop and some other lamellibranchs,
the opening is into the tube of the nephridium.
The breeding season comes in the late spring and early
summer. All through the winter the body is swelling with,
the accumulating sexual cells, and it is then, of course,
more valuable as a food. For several weeks the sexual
products are gradually discharged. By the middle of
the summer the body has become comparatively thin and
watery, especially in the soft clams, and remains so until
fall or early winter. Oysters, and probably clams also,
living in the warm waters of the Gulf of Mexico, continue
to spawn through the summer, and the former, in these
localities, produce a few eggs during every month of
the year.
It is often asked why oysters are not generally mar-
keted and eaten during the summer months, but the
reason is not that oysters are then somewhat less full
and nutritious, although that happens to be the case.
Reason plays no part in determining many human habits
and customs. The answer is simply that it is the custom
to eat oysters in winter and not in summer. It is the
custom south of Long Island Sound to eat “little necks ”
—small, hard, or round clams—during the summer, and
to refrain from eating long neck clams. Just as it is the
custom, across the sound in Rhode Island, and in other
New England states, to use the long neck clams during
the summer in the famous clam-bake. The truth is that
26 Our Food Mollusks
none of the bivalves are quite so good for food from
July to September ; but the critical insight of the person
who declares an oyster stew or a clam-bake in August
to be failures from a gastronomical point of view, is
very much to be questioned. There is no very good
reason, except the difficulty of transporting and keeping
long neck clams, why all of our food mollusks should
not be marketed during the summer.
The Nervous System. In a great many inverte-
brates, the central nervous system possesses one chief
ganglion, or pair of ganglia, situated in the anterior part
of the body. But in the bivalves there are three pairs
of large ganglia: one, the pair of cerebrals, in the region
of the mouth; a second, the pedals, in the base of the
foot; and a third, the viscerals, close against the under
side of the posterior adductor muscle.
The ganglia of the cerebral pair are often separated,
being placed on the right and left sides of the mouth.
These are connected by a strand or commissure of nerve
fibers crossing in front of the mouth. The two pedal
ganglia, connected with the cerebrals by a pair of com-
missures, are partially fused together. They supply the
muscles of the foot with nerves. The viscerals are the
largest, and are fused together into a single ganglion
from which nerves are given off to the gills and mantle.
A pair of commissures also unites visceral and cerebral
ganglia.
Structurally this nervous system seems to be simple,
when compared with that of higher animals, and one is
apt to lose sight of the very complex functions that it
really performs. The responses of the attached and
greatly degenerated oyster seem to be few and simple.
Superficially regarded, its functions, except those per-
Anatomy of the Food Mollusks 27
formed automatically by cilia, over which the nervous
system has no control, are almost limited to opening and
closing the shell. It will be shown, however, that even in
this degenerated form, many wonderful responses of the
nervous system to various stimuli occur, by means of
which this automatic ciliary mechanism is rendered ef-
fective in inducing activities that result in the acceptance
of microscopic food particles from the water, and the
rejection of useless material.
The Foot. This organ, which is characteristic of the
Mollusca, is simply a muscular thickening of the under
or ventral wall of the body. It varies greatly in size,
shape, and position in various bivalves, but the chief
features of its primitive form are probably represented
in Venus. MHere the entire ventral wall is thickened,
forming an organ having some resemblance to a plow-
share, the point projecting forward. Though the adult
hard clam, and many others having a similar foot, seem
more or less completely to have abandoned the habit of
creeping, a few adult bivalves possessing a locomotor
organ of the same general character use it for that pur-
pose, sometimes covering considerable distances. The
very young of the long neck clam, mussel, and scallop
possess a foot much like that of the adult Venus, and all
are active creepers. Later in life the organ becomes
relatively much reduced in size and modified in form, and
in each the creeping habit is gradually abandoned. Be-
cause of the early form and function of the foot in these
species—and the same will probably be found to be true
of many other bivalves—it may be assumed that the
ancestral organ was large, covering the entire ventral side
of the body and projecting far forward, and that its
primary function was that of creeping.
28 Our Food Mollusks
The descendants of these ancient forms, adapting
themselves to various new modes of living, found new
uses for the foot which gradually became modified to
perform these functions more perfectly. Burrowing was
one of these habits. It is well demonstrated by the
young of the long neck and little neck clams, that thrust
and worm the sharpened anterior end of the foot into the
bottom, then expand it so that it acts as an anchor.
Special muscles (shown in the figure of Venus) extend-
ing from the base of the organ to an attachment on the
shell, then contract and draw the body down into the
bottom. This is repeated until the desired depth is
reached.
In the black mussel and the young of the shallow
water scallop of the Atlantic, the foot performs a very
special function, that of shaping and attaching the an-
chor threads of the byssus. The byssus gland is an
organ developed in the ventral tissues of the foot, near
its posterior margin. It produces a viscous secretion
that hardens in coming in contact with water, forming
threads of great strength. It is also present and func-
tional in young little neck and long neck clams.
In the smaller scallop and black mussel, there is a
groove on the under side of the foot, extending from the
opening of the byssus gland to the end of the foot, where
it expands into a diamond-shaped cavity. This cavity
remains open below, while the groove is temporarily
converted into a closed tube by the folding together of
its edges. The foot is stretched out from the body, the
end placed against some foreign object, and the fluid
is poured out through the tube. When this is opened,
water comes in contact with the secretion, which instantly
hardens into a thread, and the foot is withdrawn to be
Anatomy of the Food Mollusks 29
extended in another direction. The process is repeated
until several threads are formed. Though the mussel
remains attached during its life, it is possible for it to
cast off the byssus at its base and form a new one. The
scallop has the same habit, but attaches less frequently
after attaining the adult condition. In the clams the
byssus disappears early in life.
Still another use is made of the foot in a few cases.
The large sea-clam (Mactra) of the north Atlantic
coast, is able to leap a distance of several inches, when
out of the water, by a quick movement of the organ,
and it is not difficult to see how such a habit may, at
times, be useful to it. There are some cases in which
bivalves are able even to swim short distances by a rapid
paddle-like movement of the foot.
Finally it is to be noticed that in the oyster, the foot,
although present in the very young, early begins to dis-
appear, and soon completely vanishes. This is presum-
ably the result of the mode of life inaugurated by the
attachment of the shell to some object on the bottom, for
the foot is then of no use.
The Gills or Branchiae. The gills are the most
complicated organs of the lamellibranch body. They,
like the foot, have been greatly changed from the primi-
tive condition to conform to various modes of life which
characterize different species. So many of the activities
of bivalves depend on them, and so much also concern-
ing their functions is of importance to those who use
oysters and clams for food, that they should be thor-
oughly understood. No one, for example, who knows
how these organs continually strain from the. water the
minutest solid particles, and hold them tenaciously, can
have any doubt about their power to collect the organ-
30 Our Food Mollusks
isms of typhoid fever and other germ diseases, especially
intestinal diseases, from infected waters.
The organs are exposed when the mantle flaps are
lifted, and there are seen to be two of them on each side
of the body, one lying nearly over the other. In the
figure of Venus, they are represented as being cut off
near their bases. In the oyster the gills have been moved
from this position on the sides of the body so as to lie
in four parallel folds on its ventral margin (Figure 3).
Behind the body the four gills unite so as to separate
a space above, the cloacal chamber, from the large mantle
chamber below. With the unaided eye, it may be seen
that each gill is vertically striated. Although at first
sight a gill appears to be a solid fold of tissue, closer
examination shows it to be made of two plates or
lamellze (from which the name Lamellibranchiata, some-
times given to the bivalve group, is derived), which en-
close a space between them. Each lamella, also, is com-
posed of a great number of parallel, hollow rods, the gill
filaments, placed regularly, side by side, so that the plate,
as represented in a diagram (Figure 4), has a re-
semblance to a picket fence. Each filament corresponds
to a picket, the lamella to the fence, and the entire gill
to two parallel fences. The spaces between the filaments
allow water to enter the interior of the gill.
In one important respect, the iliustration of the par-
allel fences fails. If we trace a single gill filament from
the base of a lamella down to the free lower margin of
the gill, we will find that it does not end there, but bends
and continues upward as one of the filaments of the other
~ lamella.
As these rods or filaments are very delicate and much
elongated, their regular position might easily become dis-
Anatomy of the Food Mollusks at
turbed if there were no means of binding them together.
Such a means is always provided, but it is different in
different bivalves. The two halves or lamellz of the
gill must also be bound together by cross partitions to
prevent their spreading apart, and they, too, are always
present.
The simplest gills among our edible mollusks are
found in the black mussel (Mytilus edulis). A single
WES ESQ GMS
THA
Fic. 4.—Diagram of the gill of the mussel (Mytilus
edulis). The filaments (f) are bound together
by round patches of cilia shown at c. Trans-
verse bands of tissue or interlamellar unions (i),
hold the two walls or lamelle of the gill together.
filament, isolated from the gill, is shown in Figure 5.
The reference-letter b is placed at its point of origin from
the body, b is the descending, and a the ascending
limb. At the bend, which marks the lower edge of the
gill, the filament is notched, and many of these notches
placed side by side form a groove on the gill margin,
along which food is carried forward to the palp. One
of the interlamellar unions is shown at ‘7 w.
The relative position of the filaments is shown in
32
Fic. 5.—Single
filament of
the gill of
the black
mussel. The
reference-
letter 0
marks the
point of
origin from
the side of
the body, d
is the de-
scending
and a the
ascending
limb of the
filament, iu
an inter-
lamellar
union, and c
one of the
patches of
cilia uniting
contiguous
filaments.
Our Food Mollusks
Figure 4. The two rows of tubes represent
the outer and lamellae. Along
regular horizontal lines are found the inter-
filamentar unions (c). They are small,
rounded patches, slightly elevated from the
sides of the filaments, the cells of which bear
long cilia or hairs. These tufts of cilia are
placed opposite each other on contiguous
filaments, and are intermingled much as one
might interlock the bristles of two paint
brushes by pushing them together. This
intermingling of straight hairs is sometimes
disrupted, but they have a slight oscillatory
movement, and on being brought in contact,
soon work together as before. ‘The inter-
lamellar unions (7 w) are bands of tissue
reaching across the cavity of the gill, and
uniting the two limbs of the same filament.
The gills of Pecten (Figure 6) are es-
sentially like these, but are more specialized
in that, at fairly regular intervals, a filament
has become greatly enlarged, in order to
support firmly the interlamellar partition
which it develops. Another difference is
that the filaments between these, instead of
lying in a straight line, bend outward in
a fold. Such an arrangement allows of a
greater number of filaments in a gill. The
interfilamentar unions in the scallop are
ciliary, but the cilia, instead of appearing on
patches as in the mussel, are borne on spurs
that project from the filament into the in-
terior cavity of the gill, as shown at c s.
inner
Anatomy of the Food Mollusks 33
In the giant or northern scallop, cilia unite some of
the filaments near the free margin of the gill, but near its
_ Fic. 6.—A portion of the gill of the scallop (Pecten irradians)
“showing the folding of lamellae. The reference-letter f
designates one of the filaments. The letters cs indicate
ciliated spurs that are sectioned, and iw an interlamellar
union.
base they are joined by bands of fine tissue, thus form-
ing a much more stable union. This growing together
of adjacent filaments becomes very much more extensive
in the clams and the oysters.
Comparing the gill of the little neck clam, Venus, with
that of the scallop, we find the same folding of the
lamellz, and largely developed interlamellar partitions.
But the filaments are small and all of the same size. The
greatest difference in the two cases is that in Venus
the filaments have grown together very extensively on
their inner margins, leaving mere slits here and there
where water may enter the gill. A very curious struc-
ture is found in this gill. Thin walled sacs grow from
the interlamellar partitions and the filaments into the
34. Our Food Mollusks
interior chamber of the gill. They contain blood and
are probably developed to facilitate its oxygenation.
While the oyster has become, through degeneration,
one of the simplest of lamellibranchs in general struc-
ture, its gills are among the most highly modified and
perfected to be found in the group. In a general way,
this may be explained by saying that the extensive de-
generation of certain organs has resulted from the habit
Fic. 7—The gill of the oyster (Ostrea virginica). Reference-
letters bs indicate blood spaces; f’ and f” enlarged fila-
ments at reentering angles of lamellar folds; other letters
as before.
of fixation, and that this mode of life has made special
demands on the gills, which have been rendered more
complex in consequence.
Comparing the diagram of the oyster gill (Figure 7)
with the others, the folding of the lamellz seen in the
scallop gill, is developed to the greatest degree. Be-
tween folds as in Pecten, a single filament is greatly
enlarged (f'), and at regular intervals a large interlam-
ellar partition appears, uniting the inner edges across
the gill chamber (f”). As in the little neck gill also,
Anatomy of the Food Mollusks 35
the filaments have grown together by their inner edges,
leaving slits here and there for the ingress of water.
Figure 8 represents a cross
section of several filaments in the
fold of a lamella of the oyster
gill. Four of these filaments
have grown together along their
inner margins. If the section
had passed a little higher or lower
on the gill, one or more of these
would have been shown to be free
from the others. Several free :
filaments are shown in the figure, Fic. 8—Transverse sec-
and between them water enters tions of several fila-
the sintetior of ithe ;eill. | But ie pec yr
above and below the plane of the ner edges of four of
section, these also would be united these is shown, and
with contiguous filaments for ‘heir common blood
; space is indicated at b.
shorter or longer distances.
Gill filaments, when greatly magnified (Figure 9),
show essentially the same structure in nearly all lamelli-
branchs. They are tubes for the circulation of blood,
and their walls are single layers of cells as shown in the
sectional views of the oyster and scallop gills. Each fila-
ment contains a pair of rods of secreted, rubbery sub-
stance that give stiffness to the slender tube, and probably
tend to keep its blood space (b) open. The cells of the
wall are modified on the outer edge of the filament.
Some of them bear an immense number of cilia (f c),
which are protoplasmic hairs having an excessively rapid
lashing movement that produces currents in the water,
and also removes foreign particles from the surface of
the gill, At the margins of this tract are rows of cells
36 Our Food Mollusks
bearing greatly elongated cilia. In the majority of
lamellibranchs, are found two such rows, but in some
cases there are four, two on each side. Among the cells
that bear the small frontal cilia, are certain ones that have
become gland cells (gc) producing a large quantity of
sticky mucus which they pour out on the surface of the
filament.
The functions performed by these complicated gills
are many. ‘They are breathing organs, and were prob-
Fic. 9.—Transverse sec-
tion of a single fila-
ment of the gill of
ECC tenmenmnnaaiarns:
Structures designated
are:—fc, frontal
cilia; gc, gland cells;
Sc, straining cilia;
and b, blood space.
ably developed originally for that
purpose alone. Blood, that is con-
tinually streaming through the
many filaments, is brought so close
to the water surrounding the gills
that oxygen borne by it enters the
fluid by diffusion and is then car-
ried to all parts of the body. But
it is necessary that water surround-
ing the gills should frequently be
changed because its oxygen is
quickly exhausted. In many aqua-
tic animals the gills move back and
forth to agitate the water, or
special organs are developed to
direct a current upon them. Here
a very powerful current of the
most effective sort is produced by
the gills themselves. The cilia lash
in such a way as to drive water
between filaments on both sides of the gill into its inte-
rior. The passageway is indicated by the arrows in the
figures of the oyster and scallop gills. The current does
not pause here, but continues swiftly upward toward the
Anatomy of the Food Mollusks a7
base of the gill, where it enters a tube which is without
obstructing interlamellar partitions, and leads backward
to the cloacal chamber. ‘This has been described as a
space above the four gills and behind the main portion
of the body.
Into this cloaca all four gills continually pour their
streams, which unite to form a powerful current that
leaves the body either directly between the unmodified
mantle folds, or through the dorsal chamber of the
siphon tube. As a large amount of water is in this way
being constantly forced out of the body, a correspond-
ing volume is being drawn in. It enters directly be-
tween the mantle folds into the gill chamber, or, in the
clams, is drawn into it through the ventral tube of the
siphon. So rapid is the stream in all forms, that with-
out doubt many gallons of water flow through the gills
daily.
It is interesting to notice that this greatly perfected
pumping mechanism never ceases its activity during the
life of the individual. The cilia are not under the control
of the nervous system, and the direction of their beat-
ing is never changed or apparently slackened. There is
but one way to prevent the streaming of water through
the body, and that is to close the shell or contract the
siphon so as completely to close the gill chamber.
Now it happens that this inflowing stream bears many
minute marine plants that these shell-fish use for food.
They are not so numerous but that a large amount of
water must be strained to enable the animal to obtain
enough of them for its nourishment and growth. These
organisms are small enough to pass through between
the gill filaments and so out of the body again; but on
coming in contact with the gill, they are instantly en-
38 Our Food Mollusks
tangled in the mass of mucus produced by the gland
cells of the filaments.
Cilia now carry the mucus, with its captured organ-
isms, down to the margin of the gill, or in some cases to
its base, where it is passed forward along ciliated tracts
toward the palps. The palps, on touching the margin of
the gill with their inner ciliated surfaces, remove the
mass, which travels toward, and finally into the mouth.
In addition to aerating the blood, then, the gills have
become modified into food collecting and food trans-
porting organs also.
The gills of the European oyster and several other
bivalves also, serve as baskets, in the female, into which
the eggs are discharged. Here they are held until they
have passed through the early stages of development.
This, however, does not occur in any of our Atlantic
food mollusks.
CHAriEeR 11
DEVELOPMENT
N view of the present vast extent of knowledge
concerning the minute structure of animals
and plants, it seems almost incredible that the
beginnings of such studies had hardly been
made within the lifetime of persons now living. It was
not until nearly four decades of the nineteenth century
had passed, that the epoch-making fact was established
that the bodies of all organisms were composed of living
units which were, and still are, called cells.
The term cell is really a misnomer, for it implies an
investment or wall enclosing an empty space. The older
observers discovered that the stems of woody plants
were composed of bodies having thick walls that in each
case surrounded an empty cavity. These bodies they
properly called cells, but the units of structure which
they had discovered were really only walls, the essential
or living parts within having disappeared. Such empty
spaces are not found in animal bodies or in the living
and growing parts of plants.
Cells that compose the body of an animal or plant are
not all of the same sort, as are the bricks of which a
building is constructed. Some are nearly spherical,
others are flattened or are elongated into fibers. Most
of them are minute, but there is a great variation in their
39
40 Our Food Mollusks
relative size. They are thus differentiated in structure
because they have become adapted to various uses.
So far as we are able to judge, all cells, whether ani-
mal or plant, are essentially similar in their nature. Each
is a body of living protoplasm, usually with a jelly-like
consistency, but with a minute structure that is difficult
to determine. Each cell mass contains a small spherical
or ovoid body called the nucleus. This is a part of the
living substance, and is complicated in structure. It is
a constant and essential part of the cell.
Among the cells of the bodies of animals and plants
are those set apart to perform the function of repro-
duction. The essential feature of sexual reproduction
is the union of two ceils, usuaily one from each of two
parent individuals, to produce a new cell which, by mul-
tiplication, builds the body of the offspring.
These two sexual cells that thus unite, differ from
each other in size and in structure. The female cell, or
ovum, as it is called, is usually spherical and often rela-
tively large from the presence of secreted yolk or food
substance. With this the body of the early embryo is
to be fed until it possesses a digestive tract, and has some
means of capturing its own food; or, in animals in
which the young develops within the body of the parent,
until it forms organs by means of which it can, in a
parasitic fashion, take its food from the body of the
mother. Because they carry the food substance, ova are
inert, and must be sought by the male cells.
The spermatozoa, or male cells, are exceedingly minute.
In structure they are much the same in nearly all ani-
mals. Each is a single cell containing a nucleus. This
latter body forms what is known as the “ head,” and the
remainder of the cell is extended from it in the form of
Development 41
a fine thread and is called the “tail.” The object of
such an extreme modification of the cell becomes clear
when it is observed that its tail or flagellum is capable of
a violent lashing movement that propels it rapidly
through the fluid in which it finds itself after being dis-
charged from the body of the male. This cell is modified
for swimming in order that it may meet the ovum, and
its great motility also enables it to penetrate the latter
when contact with it has been effected.
For a time the male cells possess great vitality, though
their life is short if they fail to meet the ovum, for they
carry no food. Even in higher animals, where, in per-
forming their function, they are neither exposed to the
air nor to a change of temperature, they will live for a
time outside the body, and apparently are not injured by
many salts in solution, recover from the effects of nar-
cotics, and may even regain their motion after being
frozen.
The necessity of such great vitality is especially clear
in the case of marine animals like oysters, clams, starfish,
and many others, where there is no union of the sexes,
but a mere discharge of sexual cells into the water where,
often under adverse conditions, they must find each
other.
The ovum and spermatozoon of the oyster,and also the
male cells of the quahaug and scallop, are represented
in Figure 10. With slight changes this figure would
represent equally well the sexual cells of other bivalves—
and, in fact, those of almost any sexual animal. The
ovum is seen to be relatively large, with a conspicuous
nucleus (), and bears minute granules of yolk. The
long flagellum or tail of the spermatozoon drives the
cell with the nucleus forward. The latter structure has a
42 Our Food Mollusks
slightly different shape in different bivalves, as indicated
in the figure.
After becoming mature in the sexual glands of bi-
valves, usually in the early summer, both male and fe-
male cells are discharged into the water. Both may be
O a b Cc
Fic. 10o—Ovarian ovum of the oyster (0)
showing nucleus (”) and nucleolus (’').
The relative size of the male cell is repre-
sented by the small figure lying near it.
There are also shown, greatly magnified, the
spermatozoa of Ostrea (a), Pecten (b),
and Venus (c).
carried by currents. The ova are passive and gradually
sink, but the spermatozoa very soon begin to swim.
They are vastly more numerous than the eggs which they
are intended to find. Though a single spermatozoon
only, unites with an ovum in normal cases, it might ap-
pear that conditions are such that comparatively few
unions would take place, and the opinion is sometimes
expressed that such probably is the case. There is, how-
ever, no good reason for such a belief. Males and fe-
males with full glands, may be stimulated experiment-
ally by employing certain changes in the surroundings
Development 43
in such a way as to cause the discharge of both sexual
products simultaneously. In nature, as they lie close to-
gether, such a stimulus as a rise in temperature probably
brings about the same result, and it is quite possible that
few ova fail to be found by spermatozoa.
An ovum unites with a single spermatozoon only.
When the two cells finally meet, the activity of the flagel-
lum soon forces the nucleus or head into the body of the
ovum. The flagellum itself does not enter. Its function
being completed, it is cast off.
In the American oyster a curious phenomenon appears
just at this time. The nucleus of the ovum divides and
a small cell containing half of it, separates from the
ovum. The process is soon repeated, and a second small
cell appears beside the first. These polar cells, as they
are called, are shown in Figure 11, II to VI, and are des-
ignated by the reference-letter p. They have no part in
forming the body of the embryo, and though they remain
attached to it for some time, they finally are lost. The-
oretically their nature can be very satisfactorily ac-
counted for. The formation of polar cells has been wit-
nessed in most animal eggs. It precedes fertilization,
and is referred to as the maturation of the ovum.
The male and female nuclei now lying within the
ovum, move toward each other, touch, and finally fuse
to form a single new nucleus. Once more we have an
ovum with its nucleus, but it is now a complex of male
as well as of female elements. This wonderful process
is still called fertilization, a term given to it when it was
supposed that the male cell simply stimulated or excited
the ovum to produce a new individual. We now know
that it has an equal part with the ovum in forming the
body of the young.
44. Our Food Mollusks
The new cell, called the fertilized ovum, or, better, the
oosperm, now begins a process of division that results in
a large aggregate of cells, which gradually group and
arrange themselves into the form of organs, in which
form, position, size and function, conform to the con-
ditions characteristic of the species.
There is nothing in nature so marvelous as this mi-
nute fragment of living substance. It was formerly be-
lieved that the oosperm was a fully formed individual in
miniature, possessing all the organs of the adult body,
and that, like a plant bud, it merely expanded and un-
folded during development. In reality it is a simple cell,
undifferentiated in structure, and yet possessing the most
wonderful potentialities. If we place side by side the
fertilized ova of the simplest and the most highly special-
ized of many-celled animals, we are able to discover
only minor differences in structure, such as are easily ac-
counted for by secondary causes—a greater or less ac-
cumulation of yolk and the like. Even the fertilized
ova of plants are essentially similar to these. And yet
we know that each holds in its minute body, when living,
the hidden power to set in motion and to continue a long
series of marvelous transformations, ending in one case
in the production of a sponge, or in another of a human
being. The marvel of it was recognized before Paley, a
century ago, wrote :—“ A particle, in many cases minuter
than all assignable, all conceivable dimensions; an aura,
an effluvium, an infinitesimal; determines the organiza-
tion of a future body; does no less than fix whether
that which is about to be produced, shall be a vegetable,
a mere sentient, or a rational being: an oak, a frog,
or a philosopher.”
The oosperm possesses the power of self-division, a
Fic. 11. The development of the American oyster, after
Professor W. Kk. Brooks.
ik ae i
ae
nnn.
Development 45
power that its cell descendants retain. The man-
ner of its division or segmentation in the American
oyster will illustrate the process in the group of the bi-
valves, and, briefly following the description of Pro-
fessor Brooks, is as follows :—
About an hour after the male cell has entered the
ovum, the latter becomes somewhat enlarged at one end
—that to which the pole cells are attached. The nucleus
of the ovum divides, the two nuclei separate, and a con-
striction of the body of the cell separates it into two cells.
The cell to which the pole cells are attached soon di-
vides, and a stage represented by II in Figure 11 appears.
Here are shown one large and two slightly smaller cells.
Preceding every division, there is a division of the
nucleus, so that every cell always contains a nuclear
body.
Even thus early in development, it is possible to de-
termine a difference in the fate of these cells. From the
single larger one, will arise the digestive tract, and
from the two smaller, will be formed the outer wall of
the body.
In the course of a few minutes, if the temperature is
not below 70° Fahrenheit, the two smaller cells divide,
forming four, each of which is about half the size of the
cell from which it is derived. Again after a pause, there
is another division of the small cells. One more division
gives us the segmenting egg represented by VI, in which
one large cell is partially covered by a cap of several
smaller ones. ,
The multiplication of the smaller cells continues, and
they spread still farther over the surface of the larger
one. The latter finally divides, forming an inner layer.
The relative positions of these parts is illustrated by VII,
46 Our Food Mollusks
which represents a section cut through the center of the
mass. The outer cells, darkly shaded in the drawing,
will form the wall of the body, the inner ones the di-
gestive tract. The reference-letters s ¢ indicate a pit or
cavity, now wide open to the surface, but later nearly
closed, which becomes the stomach. ‘The reduced open-
ing is the primitive mouth.
Up to this time, the shape of the embryo has ap-
proached that of a sphere, but it now changes, assum-
ing a form like that represented by VIII. The outlines of
surface cells are shown here, but in subsequent figures
they are omitted. At one end of the body the surface
cells throw out some protoplasmic hairs, or cilia, which
begin a lashing or rowing movement so violent that
the embryo is raised from the bottom, where it has
been lying, and swims upward to the surface of the
water.
From two to four hours have now elapsed since sper-
matozoon and ovum united. As in the case of many
other animals, the rate of segmentation depends on tem-
perature. When this is‘lower than the optimum, devel-
opment is retarded, and may be stopped altogether. The
swimming embryos of the oyster are greatly affected by
cold, and a heavy shower or cold wind coming when they
are gathered at the surface, may kill them all. This ap-
parently often happens on the north Atlantic coast, and
probably accounts for the failure of the ‘‘ set of spat”
which sometimes occurs in restricted localities, or even
generally, in certain years. Such a failure is almost un- —
known in the Gulf of Mexico. On the other hand, the
reproduction of the eastern oyster is almost entirely
prevented in the cold waters of the Pacific, where it is
planted and is able to grow.
Development 47
Soon after the embryo begins to swim, the valves of
the shell appear as minute secreted plates one on each
side of the body. In other bivalves, the shell rudiment is
at first unpaired. These shells grow rapidly at their
edges, and soon cover the body. Sheets of cells grow
out to line the shell valves on their inner surfaces, and
become the mantle folds. The part of the body bearing
the cilia projects as a rounded disk which is called the
velum. Muscle fibers form by the elongation of cells in
mantle and velum, and by their contraction, these parts
may be entirely withdrawn within the shell.
In the meantime, internal changes have occurred. Ac-
cording to Professor Brooks, the primitive mouth closes.
In about the same locality, the surface of the body then
pushes in to form a pit. The bottom of this unites with
the anterior end of the stomach. These walls are broken
through, and the stomach and the new mouth become
connected. Posterior to the mouth a second pit from the
surface of the body touches the stomach. Its cavity in
the same way becomes connected with it, and there are
formed the anal opening and the rudiment of the intes-
tine (X and XI, oysters about three and six days old
respectively ).
Up to this time, the embryo has subsisted only on the
food yolk deposited in the ovum during its growth in
the parent’s body. Consequently it has not increased in
vclume. With the formation of mouth and anus, it be-
gins to capture organisms in the water and to digest
them, and rapidly increases in size.
An interesting feature of the development is the for-
mation of a foot which is never used, because the embryo
becomes attached before it is large enough to make use of
a creeping organ. An anterior as well as a posterior ad-
48 “Our Food Mollusks
ductor muscle also appears. Subsequently the foot and
anterior adductor degenerate and completely disappear.
During the formation of the shell the small oysters
leave the surface of the water and continue for some time
to swim at lower levels. About the sixth or seventh
day after development begins, they settle to the bottom,
and, if fortunate enough to come in contact with a hard,
clean surface, attach themselves by a sticky secretion
of the mantle. In the figure, XII represents such a re-
cently attached oyster, and shows the finger-like rudi-
ments of the inner gill, which is the first of these organs
to form. The velum with its cilia, having now become
useless, soon disappears.
The early development of two or three others of our
edible bivalves has now been studied, and it appears that
the succession of changes in each is very much like that
of the oyster, as would be expected. But because of
differences in the manner of living in adults of different
species, we find diversities of structure appearing soon
after the swimming stage. The details of the early life
of some of these forms are not yet known, but many ob-
servations have been made on the growth and habits of
the attached oyster, the small soft clam, and the young
scallop, and these will subsequently be mentioned.
CHARIER Ty
CILIARY MECHANISMS
LITTLE more than a century ago, a remark-
able book on Natural Theology was published
by William Paley, an English ecclesiastic. It
presented an argument for the existence and
benevolence of a personal deity, and was founded on
some of the phenomena of nature. In essence, Paley’s
argument was that the existence of any contrivance in
nature necessarily involved the existence of a designing
mind which created it, and he described many mecha-
nisms which are, without doubt, constructed for very
definite and particular uses. This argument was not
new in Paley’s time. It had previously been presented
in published form by a Dutch writer, and undoubtedly had
existed in some form in man’s mind since an early period.
But Paley developed it elaborately and with great success,
and it has ever since had a powerful influence on the
common conceptions of the Creator and the universe.
Nevertheless the world has generally come to agree
with Huxley’s statement that Paley’s argument from
design, as he evidently intended to apply it, received its
death-blow from Darwin’s “ Origin of Species,” which
accounts in quite a different manner for the appearance of
mechanisms in nature. What Paley really accomplished
for the theology of his time, was the damming up of the
flood of knowledge that later destroyed the greater part
49
50 Our Food Mollusks
of it. It was the irony of fate that the lasting benefit
of his labor was to natural science, the deadly foe of
theology, by fixing in the mind of the thinking world, as
nothing else had done, knowledge concerning the utilities
of mechanisms, the usefulness of parts, and the adaptation
of the whole organism to its environment—foundation
facts in Darwin’s explanation of the origin of species by
natural selection.
So it has happened that the structure and operation of
mechanisms in animal and plant bodies have received
much attention from biologists, and have often excited
great admiration for the complexities and beauties of
their adjustments. Illustrations of mechanisms may be
had from any group of organisms, though the more in-
tricate ones are to be found, as might be expected, in
the bodies of higher animals or plants.
They are often very complicated, however, in more
lowly forms. Judging from the jocular references to
the placidity of the oyster and the happiness of the clam
that no popular writer has ever been able to avoid when
mentioning them, the common notion seems to be that
these are inert, structureless, functionless masses of pulp,
living the simple life reduced to its lowest possible terms.
But in the chapter on anatomy, it was shown that a semi-
automatic ciliary mechanism exists in the members of the
bivalve group for straining food particles out of the
water and passing them to the mouth. That such a
function was performed, has been known for a long time,
but it was first observed by the writer that there exists
in connection with it another and even more complicated
mechanism, depending largely on the nervous system for
its operation, by means of which mud and other useless
matter collected by the gills may be carried away from
Ciliary Mechanisms 51
the mouth and out of the body. It is because this mech-
anism is so intricate and so beautifully adapted to the
environment in which bivalves live, and because few facts
concerning it have yet been published, that a short de-
scription of it, as it appears in the common food mol-
lusks, will be given here.
But first, brief mention must be made of the minute
food organisms which the animal allows to pass into its
mouth. Then it may be noted how it deals with the un-
desirable mud particles, also brought by the incoming
- stream, and how it rids itself of them without checking
the flow of water into the body.
There are reasons for believing that, from the begin-
ning, lamellibranchs lived on floating organisms that
they were able to take from the water. However that
may be, all living forms whether creeping, attached, or
burrowed in the bottom, now derive their nourishment
entirely from microscopically small organisms brought
to the body by the action of the gills.
The food forms thus captured and consumed, belong,
with few exceptions, to a universally distributed group
of plants known as diatoms. They are single-celled or-
ganisms, but possess some structural modifications of
great complexity. The bit of protoplasm constituting
the living part of the body is enclosed in a case of pure
glass, made of two pieces nearly equal in size, one fitting
into the other like a pill-box into its cover. This case is
often sculptured with extremely minute and exquisitely
regular markings, definite patterns characterizing many
species. In outline they vary from circular disks to
slender rods (Figure 12). On account of their beauty
and variety, they are the stock subjects for exhibition by
amateur microscopists.
52 Our Food Mollusks
As might be expected, all localities are not equally
favorable for the growth of these plants. Temperature
has much to do with the rate of their multiplication.
Fic. 12.—Diatoms found in the stomachs of oysters. (From the
U. S. Bureau of Fisheries.)
They are numerous enough in the cold waters of the At-
lantic coast above Cape Cod to support large areas of
long neck clams, but their numbers are much greater in
Ciliary Mechanisms 24
warm waters like those of the Gulf of Mexico. They
are more numerous in the shallow waters of coast lines
than in the open sea, probably because the salts in solu-
tion, forming a necessary part of the material required
for their nourishment, exist in sufficient quantities only
near the mouths of rivers or small streams which, in
turn, have derived them from the soil. The tempera-
ture of the water on extensive flats and in shallow estu-
aries, also, is higher than in the open ocean. As a re-
sult of this distribution of diatoms, bivalves are most
numerous in comparatively shallow waters near the land.
The normal process of feeding, when the water is free
from mud, is much the same in all bivalves. Imagine
an oyster, for example, lying with valves open in water
containing only diatoms. The cilia on both surfaces of
each gill continually drive water from the branchial
chamber through the spaces between filaments and into
the gill interior. Here it passes upward to the base of
the gill, falls into the epibranchial space, and is forced
backward and discharged from the body above the gills.
Now and then the stream bears a diatom to the gill
surface. On touching a filament, it instantly adheres to
the sticky mucus produced by the gland cells. This
mucus, with its entangled diatoms, is then moved
by the gill cilia down to the free edge of the gill,
as indicated by the arrows on the gill surface in Figure
3. It now proceeds forward on the gill margin until
the palps are reached. The material is transferred from
the gill to the ciliated inner surfaces of the palps, and
proceeds directly across their ridges toward, and finally
into the funnel-like mouth. So much of the function of
the gill and palp cilia has been known to biologists for
many years, but practically nothing more has been ob-
54. Our Food Mollusks
served, though there are several variations in the method
of directing food to the mouth. ‘The fact that palps in
all forms also possess ciliated tracts leading away from
the mouth, and that the sides of the visceral mass and
the walls of the mantle possess complicated ciliated sur-
faces, has been very generally overlooked.
In some bivalves certain gill faces or lamelle carry
the captured organisms to the base, instead of to the
margin of the gill, where they also are borne along
ciliated paths leading to the palp surfaces; and in one
case among our food mollusks, that of the scallops, the
transportation on the gill faces may at one time be to the
bases, at another to the edges of the gill, and without any
reversal of the ciliary action. The figure of the oyster
also shows a tract at the gill base that leads to the palps.
One who carefully observes oyster beds or clam flats
at different seasons, notices that there are often great
changes in external conditions. Even where tide cur-
rents are strong, thus mixing waters, there is consider-
able variation in temperature during the summer, and
the average difference between summer and winter tem-
peratures on the north Atlantic coast of course is great.
Continued cold checks the growth of diatoms, and so les-
sens the amount of bivalve food. Though it has not
been carefully studied in most forms, it has recently been
shown that scallops and little neck clams do not grow at
all during the winter in northern waters. Whether this
is true of warm southern waters is not known, but prob-
ably it is not. It is a safe prediction that the growth of
all bivalves living on the shore of the Gulf of Mexico '
will be found to be uninterrupted. There are also great
changes in the salinity of water, especially near the
mouths of rivers entering the sea, and oysters par-
Ciliary Mechanisms if
ticularly are sensitive to such changes. Along the shore
of the Gulf of Mexico, near the mouths of the Missis-
sippi and other rivers, the water for days at a time may
be nearly fresh enough to drink.
It is sometimes difficult to determine the precise effect
of such changes on the inhabitants of the bottom, but
there is one condition, frequently observed, the response
to which in the case of bivalves, we are now able to de-
scribe in detail. This condition is the periodical loading
of the water with mud, that occurs on all coasts. It may
be observed even on the Maine coast in regions where
there are practically no beaches or flats, and where the
bottoms are very generally rocky; and almost every-
where along the coast of the Gulf of Mexico, but espe-
cially near the mouth of the Mississippi, the water is
clear one day and fairly thick with mud the next. The
phenomenon is undoubtedly due to the irregular dis-
charge of rivers and to tide currents.
It may readily be understood that water bearing s Sus-
pended mud or fine sand presents a serious problem to
the bivalve feeding on microscopic plants strained from
it, and if the gill apparatus that collects them were the
only one to deal with them, mud as well as food would
necessarily be carried into the digestive tract as long as
the shell was allowed to remain open. This ingestion of
mud or sand normally occurs in some animals that are
able to digest the organic matter included in the mass,
but, with the exception of one known genus, the digestive
organs of shell-fish are evidently not suited to perform
such a function. There are two ways in which the prob-
lem may be solved. While the water is muddy, the /
shell may be closed so as entirely to prevent it from
entering the body, or the flow may be allowed to con-
56 Our Food Mollusks
tinue and the mud strained out and discharged from the
mantle chamber instead of being taken to the mouth.
But an objection to closing the shell for long periods is
that aeration of the blood ceases when the water stops
flowing. It is true that some lamellibranchs may live
for days or weeks out of the water, when the tempera-
ture is low, but they seem to be injured by such treat-
ment, at least in the adult state. Probably for this rea-
son, the second plan is the one that has been adopted.
Bivalves persist in keeping the shell open, thus allow-
ing water to enter the branchial chamber, even when
bearing mud in considerable quantity. On entering,
many of the suspended particles are brought in contact
with the inner faces of the mantle and the wall of the
visceral mass. Now all of the free surfaces of the
mantle chamber—mantle, visceral mass, and gills alike—
produce a sticky mucous secretion, so that particles
adhere to any of these surfaces that they happen to
touch. Let us first inquire into the disposition of those
that are lodged against the inner mantle wall.
Figure 13 represents the inner surface of the mantle
(m) lining the left valve of the shell of the hard clam,
Venus. All other parts of the body have been removed.
If a few grains of powdered carmine or fine sand are
allowed to settle through the water upon a living specimen
prepared in this way, they may be seen to adhere to the
mantle wherever they touch it, and then, together with
the mass of mucus in which they are held, they begin to
move in the direction indicated by the arrows of the
figure.
This movement is due to the action of cilia, lashing
continually in definite directions, and uncontrolled by
the nervous system. Everything is moved downward,
Ciliary Mechanisms 57
finally reaching a sharply defined tract parallel with the
mantle edge. Here the stream is directed backward to
a point just below the opening of the incurrent siphon
(is). It will be remembered that the siphon is a pair
of tubes formed as a growth from the mantle, and that in
the living clam, a strong stream of water enters the
Fic. 13.—Ciliation of the mantle of the round clam or “little neck”
(Venus mercenaria). The arrows indicate the directions taken
by foreign particles in the mantle chamber that come in contact
with the mantle wall. The palps are represented at p.
lower one. If a mass of material being moved by the
mantle cilia were brought in contact with this stream,
it would be swept far back again into the mantle cham-
ber, so it comes to rest in this small bay below the siphon,
where a considerable quantity of it may collect. What
is to become of it? It could not easily be carried di-
rectly outward between the edges of the mantle, because
the entire shell is covered in the bottom. The only
58 Our Food Mollusks
path to the exterior is through the lower tube of the
siphon, and cilia could not possibly move the mass
against its powerful incoming current.
When a sufficient quantity has collected, the clam
suddenly contracts the adductor muscles, the result being
that some of the water filling the spacious mantle cham-
ber is thrown out in a strong jet through the lower
siphon tube, and the waste material being in so favor-
able a position for it, is discharged. All bivalves seem
to have this habit of periodically discharging water from
the mantle chamber, and for the reason given. Long
neck clams, if steamed or baked immediately after be-
ing taken from their burrows, usually contain in the
mantle chamber a very annoying amount of sand. But
if they are allowed to stand over night in a bucket of
clean water, the sand is removed. In effecting its re-
moval, a large part of the water of the bucket will be
found on the ground where it has been thrown, some-
times to a distance of several feet, by the powerful jets
directed out of the siphons.
Though there are always differences in details, the
mantle ciliation of all lamellibranchs so far examined
is practically like that of Venus. Apparently its sole
function is the removal of objectionable matter from
the body.
The ciliary tracts of the side of the body are repre-
sented in Figure 14. Mud particles or fine sand grains
adhering to its surface are carried backward to the
point +, where they fall on the mantle, which disposes
of them as described. The figure also illustrates the
position of the labial palps and shows the striations or
ridges on the inner face of the posterior one, across
which food is carried to the mouth.
Ciliary Mechanisms 59
But the mantle and sides of the body collect com-
paratively little of the mud from the water, for the
stream that rushes into the gills brings to their surfaces
the greater part of it. Probably none of it is allowed
to enter, but all is caught by the mucus on the gill sur-
faces. It now is carried downward on all the gill
Pa
ea
= lr cd
Fic. 14.—Cilia currents on the side of the visceral mass of the
round clam, Venus. The currents on the inner surface of
the palp are also shown.
lamellze to the edges of the gill, in Venus, and, falling
into the grooves on their margins, is conducted swiftly
forward toward the palps. The position of these organs
is seen to be such that the edge of the inner gill lies be-
tween them.
In one case-at least, among bivalves (Yoldia), the
gills possess a special mechanism by means of which col-
60 Our Food Mollusks
lected material may, if it is desirable, be transported di-
rectly to the epibranchial chamber and out of the body;
but in all of our food mollusks, the gills can only collect
and transport to the palps any material, whether food
organisms or mud particles, that comes to them in mod-
erate quantities. If the mass of material 1s very great,
it may sometimes fall from the gill margins to the mantle
walls, instead of going to the palps.
But in all cases in which the labial palps receive ma-
terial collected by the gills, they determine whether it
shall go into the digestive tract or be sent out of the
body. Their inner surfaces are seen to bear fine parallel
lines, the direction of which is indicated in Figures 3 and
14. These ridges are ciliated and the hairs lash in such
a direction that food crosses over them on its way to
the mouth. The palps being muscular and capable of
extensive movements, receive material from the gill edge
simply by placing their inner surfaces against the gill,
and the mass of mucus with its particles is easily lifted
off and carried onward.
But on the lower edge of each palp, as shown in the
figures, is an unstriated margin very strongly ciliated,
that sweeps directly away from the mouth. Now when
large quantities of material are delivered by the gills, the
palps at once respond by moving these margins into such
a position that they, instead of the ridges, remove the
gill collection. Then, swinging down, with their loads
of accumulated waste, the palps cast the material off
from their free tips into the mantle chamber. Here the
undesirable collection is picked up by the mantle cilia,
and disposed of in the manner already described. This
ciliated margin of the palp, then, is the special organ for
switching the mud accumulation on to the outgoing track,
Ciliary Mechanisms 61
It is practically the same in other lamellibranchs, though
in some cases the entire mechanism is much more com-
plex than in the little neck or oyster.
Though diatoms and useless particles are sometimes
brought to the gills at the same time, an examination
of the stomach contents of any bivalve will show that
there has been a selection of the food organisms and an
exclusion of mud or fine sand. The latter are some-
times found in the stomach, but in small amounts. When
this mixed mass of food and mud is brought, it is not
possible to separate them, and the whole is rejected and
sent out of the body. It thus happens that the bivalve
ceases to feed when the water is muddy to a certain de-
eree, though it still allows water to enter the mantle
chamber, presumably for the sake of the oxygen it
bears.
It appears that the animal is not able to distinguish
food from mud particles either by the gills or palps,
but the selection of food results directly from the dif-
ferences in the response of the palps to varying quan-
tities of matter transported to them by the gills. Under
favorable conditions, diatoms are collected a few at a
time, and are sent across the palp ridges to the mouth.
In muddy water the particles increase in number until
the palps respond by diverting everything received to
the outgoing tracts.
This may be proved experimentally, though the
operator must exercise care and skill. Very fine grains
of carmine, dropped on gills or palps of any bivalve, in
very small quantities, may be observed, with the aid of a
glass, to pass into the mouth. This simulates conditions
favorable for feeding, when diatoms are steadily
strained, a few at a time, from clear water. When
62 Our Food Mollusks
larger quantities of carmine grains are used, their num
ber finally causes the palps to reject them, the ciliate.
margins often being folded over so as to sweep clea:
even the striated surfaces of the palps, if carmine has
fallen directly on them, and they are able to clean them-
selves in still another way that cannot be described here.
Fic. 15.—Cilia currents on mantle (m) and palp (p) of the
oyster (Ostrea virginica).
The general direction of currents and the possible
routes for food or mud in the mantle chamber of the
oyster will be understood without description by a study
of Figures 3 and 15. ‘The gills are represented as hav-
ing been removed in the latter figure, their former line
of attachment to the mantle being shown by the line C.
It will be seen that undesirable matter is cast out of the
body over the edges of the mantle between the points 4
and B, and that this is the most favorable region for such
a discharge. If farther back, as below C, this would
Ciliary Mechanisms 63
have to be accomplished directly against the incurrent
stream of water. The palps function, as in Venus, in
disposing of material that they receive from the gills.
There is a widespread belief that oysters and clams
may be fattened with such substances as corn-meal.
Even those well acquainted with the subject often have
supposed that bivalves had the power of taking such ma-
terial into the mouth. The following is a statement
on the subject published in an authoritative and valuable
- guide to oyster culture :—
‘““Experiments have been made with a view to feeding
the adult oysters upon corn-meal or some similar sub-
stance, but such attempts have been of no _ practical
value. There is no doubt that they would eat corn-
meal or any other substance in a sufficiently fine state
of division to be acted upon by the cilia. The oyster
is incapable of making a selection of its food, and prob-
ably any substance, nutritious, inert, or injurious, would
be swept into the mouth with complete indifference ex-
cept as to the result. Corn-meal and similar substances
would doubtless be nutritious, but their use must be so
wasteful that the value of the meal would be greater
than that of the oyster produced.”
In view of the account of the feeding habits of
bivalves here given, these statements require some inter-
pretation. _ Corn-meal ground to microscopically small
particles might be taken into the mouth of oyster or clam
if brought to the gill surfaces a very little at a time, but
even in a laboratory experiment, it would not be easy to
arrange these conaitions properly. In such experiments
as those to which the writer of the quoted paragraph
refers, in which corn-meal, as ordinarily ground, is
merely thrown into the water over the bivalves, or even
64 Our Food Mollusks
in cases in which it is placed directly in the mantle cham-
ber, a very small amount of it, if any, would ever reach
the mouth opening. Moreover, it has been found that
clams refuse to allow such substances as very finely
eround fish or shrimps even to enter the mantle chamber
through the siphons. Mere contact of such materials
with the sensory end of the incurrent siphon causes
violent contractions of the adductor muscles, and of the
siphon also.
Though the same general plan is followed in all, there
are many curious modifications of these ciliary mecha-
nisms that are characteristic of different bivalves, and
they occur on palps, mantle, or gills. One of the most
astonishingly ingenious (if the word may be permitted)
of these, is an arrangement on all the gill surfaces of the
scallops, by means of which foreign particles, strained
from the water, are automatically directed toward the
palps and the mouth, when few, and upon outgoing
tracts whenever they increase to a certain number.
To understand the operation of this mechanism, it
should be noticed that the gill surfaces are thrown into
marked folds, as described in the chapter on anatomy.
These folds extend from the bases to the margins of the
gills, and between them are deep grooves (Figure 6).
The surface cilia of the filaments near the middle of the
folds lash toward the free margins of the gills, while
those in the grooves between the folds lash in the op-
posite direction, toward the gill bases (Figure 16).
When the stream that rushes between the filaments into
the interior of the gill brings particles to its surface a
few at a time, the majority of them fall into the grooves
(g), and are then carried to the base of the gill. Here
they go to a ciliated tract leading to the palps and
Ciliary Mechanisms 65
mouth (m). This is the
normal food collecting pro-
cess.
But when much material
arrives on the gill, it not
only falls into the grooves,
but adheres to the surfaces
of the folds (f) as well.
Everywhere it seems to
stimulate a copious secretion
of mucus, and the whole
mass, both in the grooves
and on the folds, becomes
continuous. Now begins a
struggle between opposing
tracts. The material in the
grooves is pushed toward the
base and that on the folds
toward the free edge of the
gill, as at b. The tension on
the string of mucus becomes
so great that finally—and in-
variably—it is lifted up out
of the grooves and all is
borne to the edge of the gill
(c). Now, too, the whole
gill is responding to the
stimulus of a large quantity
of foreign matter on its sur-
face, by writhing and sway-
ing from side to side.
If it is the inner gill that
has made this collection,
” TTT
1.
, ANN: aa
y risa: E od
PAN. Rena
ate Le
Ny faq
ty |
iri H pect pe
Wn
Fic. 16.—Three folds of the
surface of the gill of the
scallop (Pecten irradians)
to illustrate automatic action
of cilia in bearing small
quantities of material to the
mouth on the tract marked
m, and large quantities away
from the mouth and to the
mantle wall from the edge of
the gill.
66 Our Food Mollusks
it transfers its mass to the outer, or casts it off into
the mantle chamber. The outer gill often touches the
mantle, the cilia of which relieve it of its burden and
carry it away.
Thus the gills as well as the palps of Pecten reject
material when it is too abundant, but the process in this
case is purely automatic. The course taken by foreign
matter is determined by its volume, and so certainly that
the experimenter is soon able, when allowing carmine
particles to settle on the gill, to predict which path they
will follow on reaching its surface.
There are few known mechanical contrivances of
animal bodies more wonderful than this self-operating
mechanism of the Pecten gill. Cilia, in all animals
above the Protozoa, or single celled forms, lash only in
one direction. Yet here is a ciliated surface that auto-
matically selects from the water what usually is suitable
for food, and rejects that which is not suitable, carrying
the first toward the mouth, and the other in the opposite
direction, the matter being determined wholly by the
quantity of the material.
It is possible here to make only the brief statement
that some bivalves develop special organs the ciliated sur-
faces of which are constructed to cope with peculiar
conditions of the environment. Such, for example, is a
filmy membrane that grows out from the posterior sur-
face of the body wall in a species of Pholas in the
Gulf of Mexico. This organ rolls itself into the form
of an inverted trough, and, collecting mud from the sides
of the body, carries it under cover, directly against the
incurrent stream, out into—and_ perhaps _ entirely
through—the lower siphon tube to the exterior. This
special apparatus is apparently necessary in this creature
“
Ciliary Mechanisms 67
that lives in water often very heavily laden with mud.
One might search far among organisms to find a con-
trivance more strikingly ingenious, and its utility is so
perfectly evident that it would no doubt have enrap-
tured Paley, had he possessed knowledge of it.
CHAPTER Vi
OYSTER CULTURE IN EUROPE AND JAPAN
EUROPEAN OYSTER CULTURE
HERE is abundant evidence that marine mol-
lusks were extensively used for food by man
before historic times. In many parts of the
world ancient shell heaps, some of them of
immense proportions, are found near waters that are
still capable of producing the same forms. These are so
disposed and so constructed that it is certain that they
are not natural accumulations on what was formerly
ocean bottom, but the work of human hands. This con-
clusion is substantiated by the fact that among the shells
of clams or oysters or marine snails, the bones of aquatic
and land animals are often found, together with primi-
tive weapons or domestic implements. Such shell heaps
are common on our Atlantic coast, and on some of the
islands off the coast of California, there are mounds of
shells of great extent that contain mortars and pestles,
the bones of fishes, seals, whales, and implements and
ornaments of various kinds. Indeed, on the island of
San Nicholas there is said to have existed as late as the
nineteenth century a primitive tribe of people living after
the simple fashion of hundreds of generations of an-
cestors, and making the last contribution to vast shell
accumulations. Nothing in history is more ghastly than
68
Oyster Culture in Europe and Japan 69
the destruction of that race, nor more strange and
pathetic than the rescue, after eighteen years of solitude,
of its single survivor.
There are two species of oysters native to European
waters. The flat oyster, Ostrea edulis, is found on the
northern shores. It is
rounded and flat, and
its shell has a diameter
Che but two or three
mches (Figure 17).
It is hermaphroditic—
that is, both male and
female organs are de-
veloped in each indi-
vidual.
Its cousin, the Por- / NO
tuguese oyster, O. an- Fic. 17.—European flat oyster (Ostrea
gulata, found on the edulis). (This and the following
southern shores, is not figure are modifications of figures
by Professor Bashford Dean.)
so highly esteemed as
the flat oyster. It is said naturally to be elongated, even
when not crowded in clusters. It is very small (Figure
mo). he Sexes are separate.
These oysters have been cultivated since ancient times.
Pliny, who may be called the father of a class of dis-
credited nature observers that still flourishes, states that
at the beginning of the seventh century oysters were
artificially reared with great success in Lake Lucrin; but
there is evidence to show that he had in this case been cor-
rectly informed. M. Coste, a French naturalist, and the
originator of modern oyster culture in Europe, describes
two funeral vases, one found at Pouille and the other
near Rome, which prove that oyster embryos were col-
70 Our Food Mollusks
lected and reared in ponds in the time of Augustus, for
on these vases are designs in perspective, representing
oyster ponds and objects used in the capture of oysters.
There are also inscriptions that
make the meaning of the artist cer-
tain. The simple methods of oys-
ter culture in use to-day at Lake
Fusaro and the Gulf of Tarente
are apparently identical with those
of the Romans of two thousand
years ago. Stakes are driven into
the bottom enclosing small rectan-
gular spaces. These are connected
by means of ropes from which are
suspended bundles of twigs. On
this brush the swimming young of
the oyster attach. They are left
in this position to grow to mar-
ketable size, or are removed and
spread out in wicker baskets,
Fic. 18.—Portugese Which also are suspended from
oyster (Ostrea ropes. As tides are not great,
auauiote )- they are seldom exposed.
Oyster culture, as it is carried on in various parts of
the world to-day, is everywhere essentially the same
process, but what may be called modern methods are of
independent origin in Europe, in Japan, and in our own
country. During the first half of the nineteenth cen-
tury, natural beds in Europe and America were still large
enough to satisfy the demands of the markets, but in the
last fifty years very rapid social changes have occurred,
one result being that many of the luxuries of previous
times became common necessities, especially in our own
Oyster Culture in Europe and Japan 71
country. Among other things, the demand for oysters
increased enormously. This soon resulted in the de-
struction of natural oyster beds, and the development of
artificial means of supplying the market.
In the early part of the nineteenth century, natural
oyster beds were numerous on certain parts of the
French and English coasts. The history of their de-
struction 1s valuable, because it shows how entirely mis-
leading statistics may become in matters of this kind.
In Cancale Bay, on the northern coast of France, com-
paratively few oysters were taken during the last of the
Napoleonic wars, and the beds, having been undisturbed,
had become very extensive. In 1817 dredging began
again without interruption from English war vessels,
and during that year, great numbers of oysters were
marketed from these beds. Year after year they in-
creased. Every one connected with the industry
came to regard the natural beds as inexhaustible. A dec-
ade passed, then a second and a third, and each year the
supply was greater than the last, until, in 1843, seventy
million oysters were marketed. If, during that time, any
warning voice had been raised, it certainly would not
have been heard. If any one had been able to attract at-
tention by his statement that the beds were becoming ex-
hausted, he would have been effectually silenced by the
statistics. It would have been useless to show that each
year the number of fishermen was greater, and that the
time and labor required in obtaining a boat-load was
rapidly lengthening. The significant thing to consumers
would have been that oysters in the market were increas-
ing in numbers.
This has been the experience in our own country, where
the people may control such conditions more directly,
9 fP Our Food Mollusks
and perhaps more easily, than would have been possible
in the monarchical France of that day. The marvelous
natural wealth of Chesapeake Bay, as well as that of
other great natural oyster fields, has been nearly de-
stroyed, and the naturalist who was able to predict the
present condition with perfect certainty, had studied the
natural beds and the habits and life history of the oyster
while the public studied the display in the fish markets,
and, perhaps, statistical statements concerning the num-
ber of oysters brought to them. Fortunately artificial
beds have proved to be much more prolific than the
natural bottoms, but in nearly all cases, oyster culture
has been resorted to only after the natural supply has
been practically destroyed.
The inevitable change came to the Cancale Bay fish-
eries in the middle of the century. From that time the
supply failed with great rapidity, as it usually does in
such cases, until, in the year 1868, only about a million
oysters were obtained, where, for so many years, more
than fifty times that number were dredged each season.
The natural beds had been practically destroyed through
excessive dredging. |
A similar destruction occurred at about the same time
in the districts of Marennes, Rochefort, the island of
Oleron and elsewhere on the French coast, and also in
the oyster bays of England. Everywhere the cause was
the same.
For such a condition of affairs two remedies are al-
ways possible. The supply may again be increased by
enforcing a long close season, or a new and artificial in-
dustry may be developed. Obviously the latter is the
only practicable course to pursue. All of the more
valuable sources of the world’s food are founded on arti+
\
Oyster Culture in Europe and Japan 73
ficial propagation. Wheat, corn, and many other do-
mesticated food plants, do not even exist in a wild state.
Under domestication there is almost no limit but land
area to the possibilities of their increase. The world’s
supply of beef, pork, and mutton, being under man’s
control, is limited only by the amount of grain and hay
that he is able to raise for feed. Why should he not
also be able to control many of the animals of the sea,
that bears a vast supply of nourishment on which they
may thrive?
France adopted a wise policy. Dredging was greatly
restricted, but investigations were begun in the hope that
the beds might be reclaimed by artificial means. As a
first step, M. de Bon, Commissioner of Marine, was di-
rected, in 1853, to attempt to restock the old beds of the
Rance and Saint Malo. This he did by transplanting
oysters from the Bay of Cancale. He was an acute and
accurate observer, and able to detect the significance of
what he saw. The transplanted oysters not only flour-
ished, but some of them, placed on beaches where they
were exposed at low tide, were able to reproduce them-
selves as when continually immersed. It then occurred
to De Bon that if the young oysters, or “ spat,” could
be collected here and placed on favorable and _ con-
venient bottoms, the laborious process of dredging could
be done away with altogether, and that oysters could be
reared without the use of boats, and marketed at
pleasure.
It was a great idea, and De Bon at once began to
devise some feasible means of capturing the swimming
oyster embryos. Constructing platforms of planks,
some inches above the parent oysters on the bottom, he
covered them with bundles of twigs, in the hope that the
74. Our Food Mollusks
swimming young might find in this brush a suitable sub-
stance on which to attach. This hope was fulfilled, the
experiment became widely known, and the beginnings of
modern oyster culture had been made in Europe.
At the time of these observations, M. Coste, Professor
of Embryology in the College of France, became greatly
interested in the ancient and primitive culture methods
which he had examined at Lake Fusaro, in Italy. He
seems to have been imaginative, energetic, optimistic, and
persuasive. He conceived the idea of transporting this
obscure Italian industry to the depleted shores of his own
country, and attracted a great deal of attention by the
publication of his views in 1855. He suggested means
similar to those employed in Italy for collecting the
“ spat,” and proposed that a trial of them be made in the
salt lakes in the south of France.
He succeeded in interesting Emperor Napoleon III,
who two years later commissioned him to make experi-
ments along the lines which he had suggested. On mak-
ing a tour of the French coast, he received a great sur-
prise on viewing the work of De Bon. There, before
his eyes, were flourishing oysters, not only transplanted,
but reproducing themselves in an exposed position be-
tween tide lines, and this he had formerly declared could
not occur. With a mind fired by the possibilities re-
vealed, he published a report to the Emperor, in which
he drew a vivid and optimistic picture of the entire coast
of France converted into a great oyster garden and
bearing an inexhaustible supply of food.
M. Coste now constructed beds at various points in the
Bay of Saint Brieuc, deposited mature oysters over shells
previously spread on the bottom to serve as collectors,
and suspended bundles of brush for the same purpose.
Oyster Culture in Europe and Japan 75
At the end of the spawning season, these collectors were
well, covered with young oysters. He now began in
earnest the task of reclaiming the coast, and large areas
at Toulon, Brest, and Arcachon, were covered with
oysters, many of them imported from England for the
purpose. Now, too, stimulated by the success of Coste,
private interests began rapidly to develop the new in-
dustry, especially on the coasts of Normandy and Brit-
tany. Beds were constructed in many localities, and the
work proceeded with great enthusiasm.
In many places the initial successes were gratifying.
It became certain that oysters transplanted from natural
beds to other bottoms would grow well, in the majority
of cases, though often they did not spawn. So much
had been gained, however, that for three or four years a
spirit of great expectation prevailed.
Then, in the following years, came reverses, dis-
appointments, failures, and disasters. Fishermen de-
spoiled the natural beds. Storms scattered the oysters
that had been planted in the shallow waters. The beds
of Saint Brieuc, especially, suffered from wave action,
the brush collectors being torn from the bottoms, broken,
and swept away. The natural beds had become so
greatly reduced in supplying breeding oysters that
regions formerly producing every year a good set of
young became barren. Apparently the brilliant plan of
Coste had failed. Discredited, disappointed, and finally
completely discouraged, he died, perhaps not dreaming
that in time—not quickly, as he had hoped, but in the
course of normal growth—the conditions which he had
predicted were, in large part, to be realized.
One fact of importance, underlying these events, has
received little or no attention. It is not simply that the
76 Our Food Mollusks
life and experience of Coste afford a beautiful example
of the dangers of optimism, though that is an important
subject on which much might be said. It is that the
most important element in this disaster to an industry
which, with rare good fortune, had begun so auspi-
ciously, was the failure to study the oyster from a
biological point of view at the very beginning. Had
Coste known that the European oyster is able to re-
produce only in water of a certain definite degree
of salinity, or density, and that such waters are to be
found in comparatively few localities on the French
coast; had he discovered that the oysters’ food is abun-
dant only in certain localities, where peculiar conditions
are necessary for its production; had he investigated the
bearing of tide currents on the distribution of food and
of oyster embryos; in short, had he known the oyster
in relation to its surroundings, the greatest of his dis-
appointments would never have occurred, and the in-
dustry itself, instead of being discredited and retarded
by arousing public suspicion against claims made in the
name of science, would have grown without loss of time
and wealth.
The present application of these reflections is to those
well-meaning critics of our institutions founded for the
purpose of promoting a scientific study of animals and
plants useful to man. Our state agricultural schools,
and our state and national fish commissions, often pub-
lish at public expense, technical papers that seemingly
have no bearing on any economic problem. This is
sometimes the subject of adverse comment, but not so
frequently as in the past. It is cause for congratulation
that the public is learning that a detailed knowledge of
the nature of organisms and their relations to their sur-
Oyster Culture in Europe and Japan 77
roundings is the first logical and necessary step toward
their control by man. We are beginning to give these
institutions credit for the great benefits that have been
derived from their researches.
After its disheartening experience, the French in-
dustry began to revive. One extremely important
feature of its subsequent growth was the lease of oyster
grounds by the state to individuals. What had for-
merly been public property, now came under the control
of private interests, ambitious to make it as productive
as possible. These also were afforded protection, and as
a consequence, capital was invested in large amounts.
That this was the only wise course to pursue, has since
been proved in every country in which an oyster industry
has been developed, and it is because such a policy has
not yet been adopted by any of our Atlantic states
toward the clam industry, that it has declined into its
present state. Common sense indicates and the histor-
ical record proves that this is one of the fundamental re-
quirements for the artificial rearing of any form.
Slowly the important facts concerning the conditions
necessary for the increase of the oyster were learned and
applied. It was found that a method, successful in one
locality, might not succeed in another. Each region
had its own peculiar problems, and these were solved one
after another by patient experiment. It is recorded that
in 1871, at Arcachon, 1,450 acres of public ground were
leased in private holdings. In 1875, there were 2,434
concessions, covering 6,625 acres. Their number in-
creased at various points, and to-day the industry is a
very extensive one.
French culture methods of the present are more com-
plicated than those employed in our own country. This
78 Our Food Mollusks
is especially true of the means used for the capture of
the swimming embryos. There are but two places on the
French coast where oysters spawn regularly in abund-
ance. Here, at Arcachon and Auray, attention is given
chiefly to the collection of the young, which are sent to
various parts of the coast to be reared in what are called
parks—walled areas between tide lines.
The collection of young oysters is a very much more
serious problem in European waters than in our own.
There the great salinity of the water restrains the repro-
ductive process, while in almost all localities where our
oysters are found, they are extremely prolific, and it is
interesting to observe that when they are transported to
European waters, they also become sterile. The water
is very muddy on European shores. On settling, this
mud forms so soft a bottom that young oysters sinking
on it perish at once. A hard object to be used as a
collector is also very quickly coated with mud and slime,
so that an oyster embryo that has succeeded in at-
taching, is in danger of being lost even here. After this
coat has formed on the collector, attachment is impossi-
ble. For this reason, the American method of covering
the bottom with clean shells to capture the spat would
be relatively ineffective.
Where waters are least muddy, bundles of twigs are
employed, after the ancient practice of the Romans. In
shallow water, where these can readily be handled, some
of the sediment may be washed off, giving sufficient time
for attachment. If oysters are well spaced on the
branches, the bundle may be allowed to remain sus-
pended during the period of growth. If they are closely
set, the twigs may be broken into small pieces and spread
on some hard bottom, or in racks that have been pre-
Oyster Culture in Europe and Japan 79
pared for them. Board platforms, placed one above an-
other with slight spaces between, are also used in the
collection of spat. After the young adhering to these
have attained a sufficient size, they are removed by means
fia knife.
Brush and boards, however, will not serve in most
localities, because both so rapidly become coated with
slime. In the development of the industry it became
necessary to devise some other form of collector that
would overcome this difficulty. The object that proved
most successful was a roofing tile. The form of tile
now commonly in use is a little more than a foot in
length, about six inches wide, and has a slight are of
about one-fifth of a circle. When these are placed in
the water with the hollow or concave side down, very
little slime attaches to that surface, which is thus favor-
able for attachment (Figure 19).
The young oyster is very firmly cemented to the ob-
ject to which it is attached. To remove it from a tile
would usually necessitate the breaking of the shell, and
this would result in its death. To allow it to remain on
the tile to grow to marketable size, would be impracti-
cable for several reasons, chief among which is that so
many young usually attach to a single tile that they
would crowd each other, and the growth of all would be
interfered with. When tile collectors were first used,
therefore, they were broken into pieces after the attach-
ment of the young, and in such a way that an oyster was
borne on each piece. This required much skill and labor,
and the destruction of the tiles made the process ex-
pensive.
After a time an extremely ingenious plan was devised
which made the tile collector almost perfect for
80 Our Food Mollusks
European oyster beds. The idea was to cover the tiles
with a crust of some substance that could easily be re-
moved after the oysters had become fixed to it. After
some experimenting, a cement was invented that an-
swered all requirements, and it is in use all along the
coast to-day. It is a mixture of quick-lime and sea
water to which is added enough fine sand or mud to give
it the consistency of thick cream. Into this, dry tiles are
dipped, and coated with a layer of the mixture having a
thickness of about a millimeter. The coat is thoroughly
dried before the collector is placed in the water. After
several weeks of immersion, it softens somewhat by the
action of the sea water, and, though still firm enough to
adhere while the tile is being handled, it flakes off
readily in the process of removing the young oysters.
This is effected by means of a flat knife-blade. When
the crust bearing the spat has thus been removed, the tiles
are stored to be coated and used again during the next
spawning season. In this way the same collectors are
used for several years. At Arcachon and Auray it is
estimated that each tile annually affords attachment to
about two hundred oysters.
The spawning season is not sharply limited. As in
the case of the American oyster, some young appear in
the water at almost all times of the year. But the great
majority are produced in the early summer, and it is a
matter of great importance to the French culturist to
determine the time of their appearance. If tiles were
immersed for any length of time before spawning be-
gan, even their concave surfaces would become so con-
taminated with slime, that attachment would be inter-
fered with. Salinity of the water, temperature, and
other conditions that vary from year to year, determine
i
Oyster Culture in Europe and Japan 81
the spawning time, so that there can be no set date for
the laying of the collectors. By close observation, the
most favorable time is determined each year for the cap-
ture of the maximum number. This is usually near the
end of July, and the spat continue to appear in numbers
until the middle of August.
Two hundred small oysters might perhaps be left with
safety on the surface of a single tile during the winter
months when growth is not rapid. Indeed, this is often
done in the warmer southern waters; but on the north
coast there is always great danger from frost. As the
collectors are so placed that they are exposed at low tide,
many of the young would be killed by the cold; so in Oc-
tober, when the shells have attained a diameter of half
or three-quarters of an inch, they are removed from the
tiles and shipped to the éleveurs, or culturists, who place
them in water deep enough to preserve them during the
winter.
The young are hardy enough to endure a journey last-
ing three or four days, especially at this time of the year.
From the collecting places, they are sent to all parts of
the French coast, as well as to neighboring countries.
Great numbers are sold in England, where, however, the
fact is concealed as carefully as possible, because, like
any other people, the English consider their own
products superior to others. The collection and_ sale
of spat is so extensive as to be an important industry in
itself, and this is a feature of oyster culture that should
be much more extensively developed in our own country.
An American oyster culturist would probably be ap-
palled by the adverse conditions that confront the in-
dustry in European waters. He himself has much to
contend against, but his task is not difficult in compari-
82 Our Food Mollusks
son with that of the European culturist. There is one
fundamental difference between the two industries. In
America, except on the Pacific coast, oyster grounds are
all below the tide lines, and some are in very deep water.
In Europe they lie between the tide lines. Deep water
farming is not possible on the coast of Europe, but there
is no natural condition that would prevent the employ-
* ment of European methods here.
But the time can not yet be seen when it may be profit-
able to utilize the beaches for oyster culture in America,
though the imagination is excited when one views the
immense wastes of salt marsh bounding much of our
Atlantic coast, that might, if expense were no object,
probably successfully be converted into innumerable
oyster ponds. Whether or not the utilization of our
marsh lands will ever be attempted, the difficulties that
have been overcome by the European culturist are very
interesting. He leases a plot of ground on a flat that
is exposed for a considerable period each day at low
water, and in most cases much labor is necessary to pre-
pare it before it can be used for rearing young oysters.
Enemies are numerous. Among them are the starfish
that infest the bottom—slow-moving, harmless appear-
ing creatures, but the most voracious and deadly of the
foes of the oyster; crabs, the powerful claws of which
are able to crush the fragile shells of the young; and
drilling mollusks that pierce the shell even of adult
oysters and consume the soft part enclosed within.
These also must be avoided or destroyed. To all this
may be added the fact that bottoms are often so soft
that they will not bear more than a man’s weight. Such
a condition alone might seem sufficient to make oyster
culture impossible.
RR Re i atts map
Fic. 19. Tile collectors in place on a tidal flat at Auray,
France.
Fic. 20. Arcachon, France. Oyster parks with low clay
walls. Water is retained in those at the right at the low
tide, that at the left being emptied for repairs.
Fic. 21. Arcachon. Parks with somewhat higher walls con-
taining cases for the growing young. Figures from Pro-
fessor Bashford Dean, U. S. F. C. Bulletin.
Oyster Culture in Europe and Japan 83
The difficulties that have been enumerated are met by
converting the ground into a series of basins by means
of walls or dikes. These ponds are variable in form
and in area, but are usually rectangles of two or three
hundred square yards. The walls are often simple and
inexpensive. Very shallow basins, like those shown in
Figure 20, are easily constructed. To form the wall,
parallel lines of planks are held in position on edge by
means of wooden pegs. Parallel lines of stakes are also
sometimes employed, the space between being filled with
soil. If tide currents are strong, stones are used with
the other filling material, in order to give sufficient
strength to the wall. In some localities it has been profit-
able to build walls of solid masonry, but this construction
is usually resorted to only when a large area, to be
flooded to a considerable depth, is to be shut off from the
sea. The height of the wall varies from a few inches
to several feet. At some favorable point in the wall,
a gate is constructed that, when closed, may retain the
water that enters at high tide. ~
The bottom of the basin must now be prepared. In
the better parks, the center is made a little higher than
the margins, where trenches are often dug, in order that
sediment, settling on the bottom, may be carried
into them. When the gate of the full basin is opened,
the current leaving the inclosure by these is sufficient to
carry away much of the soft silt. After the bottom has
been roughly shaped, it is sometimes hardened by pound-
ing, and is covered by a layer of clay or sand and gravel.
If the soil in the walls is pervious, these also are lined
with clay in order that water may be retained.
It is interesting to observe that bottoms, originally of
the softest mud, are easily reclaimed and made hard and
84 Our Food Mollusks
firm by a covering of shells or of sand and gravel, and
that this covering need be only a few inches in thickness.
Shifting sand on which oyster parks are built is also
held in place by a layer of clay.
In the simple basins illustrated in Figure 20, oysters
of sufficient size are spread over the bottom and left to
grow. At low tide they remain covered, and may thus
continue to feed until a new supply of water comes with
the flood tide. They are also protected from the sun of
summer and the frost of winter seasons. Not all sedi-
ment will drain away, even though the gates are opened
frequently, and though the bottoms have been arched
from center to margins. When a quantity of mud has
collected, oysters are removed, from one basin to an-
other until the bottom has been cleaned.
But the entire process of removing young oysters
cannot be carried on in basins as simple as those shown
in the illustration. So much mud is deposited that small
oysters would be smothered. These seed oysters are
from half an inch to an inch in diameter, and must be
protected from sediment until they are much larger.
This necessity for the protection of the very young
has led to the construction of racks or boxes designed to
suspend them above the bottom. It is very important
also to insure a free flow of water within the boxes, so
these are made with narrow wooden sides, the tops and
bottoms being constructed of galvanized wire netting.
The top netting is fastened to a wooden frame provided
with hinges, or so fitted that it may be lifted off. The
box is then suspended a few inches above the bottom on
stakes.
Such boxes are represented in Figure 21. Evidently
they are roughly and cheaply made, but a large number
Oyster Culture in Europe and Japan 85
would be required to provide a means of livelihood for
the most unambitious éleveur, and his initial expense
would be considerable. But, properly cared for, these
boxes serve for many seasons. If carefully tarred each
year, they may be kept in use for ten, or sometimes
twenty years. Occasionally more elaborate boxes are
constructed that hold a number of trays, but all are built
on essentially the same plan.
Not only are these cases necessary as a protection
against mud, but there is great advantage in their posi-
tion on the flats between tide lines; for, being exposed
at low water, oysters may readily be placed in them,
sorted from time to time, and finally removed. The
cases, also, may be repaired with ease., When cases
are used in enclosed parks, it of course is necessary that
the surrounding walls should be high enough to hold
sufficient water to cover them.
The young oysters that have been removed from tile
collectors are at first spread evenly, but closely, in the
bottom of the cases, and as they increase in size, are re-
moved a few at a time and placed in other cases in order
that all may have food and a sufficient amount of water
for aeration. The number of food organisms brought
to the growing young varies in different localities along
the shore, and for this reason there is a difference in the
length of time during which they must be kept. In some
localities, two years are sufficient, while in many others
they must be cared for during a third, a fourth, or even
a fifth year, before attaining marketable size.
It sometimes happens that lamellibranchs of various
species, living in certain localities, collect in the gills and
in parts of the mantle, a quantity of chlorophyl, the
green coloring matter characteristic of most plants.
86 Our Food Mollusks
Green oysters appear in certain basins along the Eu-
ropean coast, and the color has happened to strike the
popular fancy. Such oysters are practically unmarket-
able in America, where they also appear, though they
are as wholesome as any others; but in Europe, and in
France in particular, they are very highly prized by
connoisseurs on account of their ‘‘ peculiarly delicate
and delicious flavor ’’—which, if it exists at all, does
not arise from the green coloring matter.
Most of the green oysters found in the European
markets come from Marennes in France. Here in the
tide basins are great numbers of green diatoms, organ-
isms used by oysters for food, that collect in such num-
bers that they form what is termed a “ moss.” To this
is ascribed the green color assumed by oysters growing
near it. Here it was discovered by the culturists that
the “moss” developed most rapidly in very muddy in-
closures in which water was seldom changed. These
basins, or claires, are usually situated so high as to be
filled only once or twice during the month. The tem-
perature of water held in such a manner rises several
degrees, and this condition is found to be very favorable
to the multiplication of diatoms. But while it produces
oyster food in great abundance, the water loses so much
of its oxygen during its stagnation, that it affects oysters
adversely. Those individuals that are able to endure
the conditions, are said to fatten rapidly, but the mor-
tality is usually great, being in most cases at least
fifty in a hundred. There is an extreme variation in
the rate at which the green coloration is acquired
by the living oysters, the necessary time in some
claires being two or three weeks, in others as many
months.
Oyster Culture in Europe and Japan 87
Great attention is paid to the appearance of these
oysters before they are marketed. After a period of
rapid feeding, there is apt to be some outward sign of
the dark colored matter contained in the digestive tract.
In order that this may be removed, the oysters are placed
in inclosures containing clear water, and allowed to re-
main for a week or more, during which time very little
food is consumed. ‘They are then removed, and not only
are the shells thoroughly scrubbed with a brush to re-
move any trace of mud, but any marked roughness is re-
duced by a process of scraping. It is not necessary to
contrast their appearance with that of oysters marketed
in the shell in America.
OysTER CULTURE IN JAPAN
Oysters have been cultivated in Japan for several cen-
turies. We are told that in ancient times a certain clam,
Tapes, was gathered in the Sea of Aki and kept,
awaiting shipment to market, in inclosures made of
bamboo. It was discovered that in certain places young
oysters attached to the brush of the bamboo, and that
their position was so favorable for growth that it became
profitable to capture them in this way, and rear them in
inclosures. Thus, gradually, oyster culture displaced
the Tapes industry.
Two species of oysters grow on Japanese shores. The
one that occurs most commonly and is reared by the cul-
turists, is known as Ostrea cucullata. It has the gen-
eral appearance of our Atlantic oyster, but is somewhat
smaller. Its cultivation is practised most extensively in
the Inland Sea,
88 Our Food Mollusks
On the southern and eastern coasts, a very Stuail
oyster, possibly a variety of O. cucullata, grows in great
numbers in the shallow waters of bays and inlets. The
shell rarely attains a length of more than two inches.
This oyster encrusts the rocks between tide lines, and
cannot be removed without breaking the. shell. The
fishermen therefore go among the rocks at low tide, and
open the oysters without attempting to detach them.
Another distinct species, Ostrea gigas, an extremely
large and heavy form, is found in a few localities on the
Japanese coast. It seldom occurs in very shallow waters,
where other oysters are commonly found, but at a depth
of ten or twelve fathoms. Though this oyster is used
for food, it is so rarely taken that it does not often ap-
pear in the market. Its habit of life in deep water per-
haps has made its culture impossible.
Because the habits of all oysters are very similar, the
methods employed in rearing the Japanese oyster, though
entirely independent in origin, are essentially like those
of Europe and America. In the Inland Sea, as else-
where, oysters require for the process of reproduc-
tion the comparatively fresh waters of bays receiving
streams from the land. On the Japanese coast, as in
Europe, localities having waters of the optimum density
are limited in area and more or less narrowly defined.
At certain points, however, it is possible for the culturist
to obtain his own set of young, and rear them for mar-
ket on a single small plot of bottom which he has
rented. In Europe it is almost everywhere necessary
for him to purchase his young oysters from another
who possesses ground on the very few bottoms favorable
for oyster reproduction.
Japanese culturists havé not adopted the tile collector
USNs Selects
ur uvsq pslolyseg Jossajoig Woy saimsry ‘uvdef ut punoi3s surmois 10 yard sajshQV “fz ‘OKT
Oyster Culture in Europe and Japan 89
of the European industry, but retain the ancient and ef-
fective brush collector. For this, the light, strong bam-
boo is employed. It serves its purpose admirably, and
is easily obtained. Short pieces, usually bearing their
branches, are thrust into the bottom between tide lines.
In this position they are easily examined and kept in
order. There is little trouble from mud, or the forma-
tion of slime. The collectors, arranged in lines or clus-
ters so as best to be exposed to the currents, are set out
in the early spring, and young oysters begin to appear
near the middle of April and continue to attach for some
weeks. The character of such a collecting ground is
well shown in Figures 22 and 23. Here the bamboo
rods are arranged in long rows, three or four feet in
height.
If left to themselves, young oysters, greatly crowded
on the stakes, would not be able to attain a rounded
form, and very many would perish. So those oysters
that have attained a certain size are detached from the
collectors and removed to a deeper bottom, that has
been prepared for them. On this they are immersed for
a longer period each day and grow more rapidly in con-
sequence. Oysters are from one to two years old when
thus spread on the bottom, and remain for another year
or two before attaining marketable size. Very few
enemies trouble them. One or two species of boring
mollusks appear at certain points on the coast, but these
may easily be removed at low tide. The starfish gives
little trouble.
Usually the larger oysters from such a bed are re-
moved from time to time, and placed in still lower beds
where they are uncovered but once or twice each month,
and here they attain the greatest possible rate of growth.
go Our Food Mollusks
In this way are produced fine, large oysters much like
our own in size.
Many natural conditions make oyster culture easier in
Japan than in Europe. The coastal waters are less
muddy; there is no necessity for artificial ponds; oysters
reproduce over a large area; the cheap bamboo 1s a good
collector, and is easily handled; and there are few
natural enemies to contend against.
It is fortunate, also, that oyster grounds in Japan are
not exploited as a government monopoly, but are rented
to private interests, for it is only in this way that the
greatest success in such an industry is possible.
CHAPTER VI
CONDITIONS GOVERNING OYSTER
GROW TH—OYSTER PLANT-
ING IN AMERICA
M)YOTER culture in America is very simple as
compared with that in Europe. There it ts
difficult to obtain the young, or the “ seed,”
and laborious and costly methods are resorted
to in effecting its capture, and in protecting it during the
period of its growth. Here seed is abundant, growth is
vigorous, and bottoms are naturally better adapted to
the industry.
The complicated methods, necessary for success in Eu-
rope, will not be employed in this country until the price
of oysters is relatively very much higher than it is there.
These foreign methods if introduced on our shores,
would reclaim much marshy shore-land now entirely un-
productive, and the American oyster would undoubtedly
respond to the treatment as the foreign form does.
Nevertheless, it will be many decades before the simpler
American method will be superseded by any other on our
coasts, if indeed the event ever occurs.
There are two reasons for such a belief. One is that
the area along the American coast available for oyster
culture after the less expensive American method, is
enormous. No one can now accurately estimate its ex-
tent. It includes not only the territory formerly occu-
pied by “wild” oysters, but also great tracts where
gl
92 Our Food Mollusks
oysters have never existed, and which may be discovered
by intelligently directed experiment. Already many of
these have been determined in Long Island Sound, where
oysters are successfully cultivated miles from shore,
and under water as deep as one hundred feet. Else-
where on the coast, these unoccupied areas have hardly
been considered; but in certain localities, as in Pamlico
Sound, and about the delta of the Mississippi, they will
undoubtedly prove to be very extensive.
For yet another reason, European methods can hardly
obtain in this country. Extensive oyster culture abroad
would, on account of the labor involved, be impossible
without a social caste system. This is everywhere pres-
ent in Europe, and, to a genuine American, presents an
appalling state of affairs. Even in republican France,
society retains a real reverence for its princes and its
counts, and every other nation but Switzerland staggers
under the heavy burden of an idle and expensive aristoc-
racy. Below its members in the scale are the middle
classes, the trades people, subservient to their superiors,
and often brutally contemptuous of the under stratum,
the common people. The latter, born into humility, sel-
dom have independence bred into them, but calmly sub-
mit to their heaven-sent estate. And they obediently la-
bor for a pittance that an Americanized Oriental would
scorn. It is this one condition that makes oyster culture
possible in Europe.
Labor of that character would be necessary if the
same method of oyster culture were to become profitable
in the United States. That it ever will exist here is im-
probable. It is, however, interesting to observe that
European social customs continue to have a great influence
on our own. Some of us believe that they do things bet-
Conditions Governing Oyster Growth 93
ter there. Waves of fashion in dress, and manners, and
social customs, sometimes degrading enough, continually
roll toward our shores from abroad. Though these
break and spend their force largely on the northern
coast, some of them continue westward across the con-
tinent as very noticeable ripples. Not all of them are
alarming, and some sinister ones may hardly succeed in
crossing the ocean, but they are all worthy of attention.
Much more interesting is the growing aristocracy of
wealth that is desperately striving to establish itself
among us, and it is inevitable that there should be many
who regard it complacently. A little too frequently in
speech, and even in the editorial writings of leading jour-
nals, appear such phrases as “ our middle class” or “ our
common people.’’ Even this attempted social segrega-
tion of the few persons of great wealth, however, is not
disturbing in view of the fact that, with every year,
democracy more clearly appears to be the fundamental
element of the nation’s life.
The chief differences between the oyster culture of the
continent, in Europe, and that of our own shores, are
that here oysters are cultivated below tide lines; we
neither employ tile spat collectors, construct reservoirs
for the growing young, or for the growth of diatoms on
which they feed, nor build racks on which to support
them above the bottom. Small oysters from natural
beds are spread on suitable bottoms to mature, or the
swimming young are captured on simple collectors, and
planted in the same way. There has been little change
of procedure since the days of the City Island men who
began oyster culture in America, because natural condi-
tions have remained so favorable that a change has not
been necessary.
94. Our Food Mollusks
Success in oyster farming, however, is not so easy of
attainment as it may appear to be. There are a great
many necessary details to be learned, especially in regard
to the natural requirements of the oyster. One should
be able to recognize suitable bottoms. Water currents
must be considered. One must know the varying ef-
fects of muddy water on mature oysters and swimming
larve. A low temperature of the water in the spring
or early summer, while not apparently harmful to adult
oysters, may be sufficient to prevent reproduction. In the
north, water less than a certain depth may be dangerous
in winter. It is important to know the extremes of
salinity within which oysters can live. The successful
oyster farmer should also know the optimum density for
adult and young alike. The amount of food in the
water, of course, vitally affects rapidity of growth and
the condition of oysters. Thus it is not always easy to
select areas that conform to all the conditions necessary
for success.
For many reasons the character of the bottom must be
carefully considered. A rocky or very uneven surface is
out of the question, but bottoms rough from the presence
of small obstructions are sometimes made suitable for
oyster planting, even in deep water, by a thorough scrap-
ing with dredges.
Over the greater part of the oyster territory bottoms
are more or less muddy, and the nature of this mud must
be determined. On many of the best northern oyster
grounds there is but a thin surface layer of it covering a
firmer foundation. This, without any preparation, is
found to afford a secure resting place for planted oysters.
In many parts of the Gulf of Mexico, however, the bot-
tom is composed of mud so soft and oozy that a pole may
Conditions Governing Oyster Growth 95
be driven into it, by force of hand alone, to a depth of
several feet. It is very generally believed that such con-
ditions cannot be overcome, the assumption being that
any kind of pavement placed on it would sink below the
surface. That such is not true, will be shown in the
discussion of the Louisiana field. In parts of Long
Island Sound, where mud is deep but not so soft as in
the Gulf, bottoms have been successfully prepared by
paving with shells or with sand and gravel. Bottoms
naturally sandy are also often selected by the oyster
farmer, but under shallow water, where they may be
shifted by wave action, they are unsafe. It is specially
desirable that the bottom should be firm, to withstand
wave or tide action where spat is to be gathered on col-
lectors, for the young are quickly smothered in a quan-
tity of mud that would not seriously affect mature
oysters.
The oyster finds almost its entire food supply in
diatoms of various species. These are floating plants,
microscopically small, which derive their nourishment
from substances brought down in solution from the land.
Their distribution along the coast is universal. They are
not confined to the surface, but may be found at all
depths. Every one has noticed the brown coat left on
the surface of a clam flat when it is exposed at low
water. When examined, this is found to contain vast
numbers of diatoms, though it is not by any means en-
tirely or even chiefly composed of them, as sometimes
stated.
The amount of available oyster food over a given area
depends largely on water currents. Where there is no
current, oysters quickly exhaust the water about them
of the food that it carries. A current continually re-
96 Our Food Mollusks
plenishes the supply. Up to a certain point, the more
rapid the current, the greater will be the amount of
available food. But one current bears more food than
another. Salt water, for example, that flows out from
shallow marshes during the ebb tide, usually bears great
numbers of diatoms because the marshes are warmer
than the sea water outside, and the higher temperature
stimulates a rapid multiplication of these organisms.
Food is sometimes so abundant that a rapid current is
not necessary. For this reason it is not possible to give
a rate that shall be most favorable for oyster growth
in all localities.
The presence of suspended silt in the water is a con-
dition to be observed with care. It is an especially im-
portant problem in the Gulf of Mexico. There it is
found that oysters often thrive and reproduce in local-
ities where, much of the time, the water is very muddy.
But it is also true that currents in such places are too
rapid to deposit much of their silt. In more quiet
waters, where mud slowly collects on the bottom, ma-
ture oysters may be able to exist, but even a slight deposi-
tion is fatal to newly attached spat. Finally, there are
many places where mud collects so rapidly that life on
the bottom is impossible. Much experience is needed to
enable one to recognize these conditions, when searching
for available bottoms not already occupied by oysters.
Oysters will grow in water having a summer tem-
perature so low as to prevent reproduction. At several
points on the coasts of Washington and California, small
Atlantic seed oysters grow to marketable size. The
summer temperature is much lower than on the Atlantic
below Cape Cod, and the sexual products mature only in
certain warmer coves. Experiments made many years
Conditions Governing Oyster Growth 97
ago in North Carolina and in the Chesapeake, indicated
that reproduction practically ceased when the tempera-
ture during the breeding season fell below 60° Fahrenheit,
and that the swimming stage was rarely reached when
the water was warmer than 80°. But it is probable that
the minimum temperature at which reproduction is pos-
sible is nearer 70° than 60°, and it takes place in water
above 80° in certain parts of the Gulf of Mexico. If the
facts were known, it might possibly be found that there
were variations in minimum, optimum, and maximum
temperatures, oysters having accommodated themselves
to the varying conditions in different localities.
Because of danger from frost or ice, oysters are not
left in very shallow water where the winter temperature
is low. Young oysters, especially, are susceptible to ex-
treme cold.
Though a determination of the salinity of the water,
and a systematic observation of its variations, would be
of value to oyster culturists, few have interested them-
selves in the subject. It is nearly as easy to observe
salinity as temperature. All that is necessary is a simple
case containing two glass floats (Figure 24), with hollow
bulbs so weighed that in distilled water, each sinks until
the surface of the water reaches the zero point on a
scale borne in the stem. The density of distilled water
is read 1.000.
The salt in solution in sea water prevents the float
from sinking to so great a depth as this. If the water,
in a test case, reaches the numeral 9 of the scale, the
density is read 1.009. This scale measures densities
from 1.000 to 1.011. The second float bears a scale
registering densities ranging from 1.010 to 1.021, the
range for both covering variations likely to be found
Fic.
24. — Salino-
A glass
bulb weighted
with shot and
carrying a scale
for measuring
the amount of
Salt sie sea-
water.
meter.
Our Food Mollusks
The floats are about
eight inches long, and nothing else is
required but a vessel that will hold a
column of water of that height, in
which the apparatus may be immersed.
Temperature corrections are not neces-
sary in ordinary observations.
Surface and bottom densities often
vary greatly, and obviously that at the
bottom is the one of greatest interest
to the oysterman. It may be obtained
by sinking a corked vessel and then re-
moving the cork by means of a cord.
Oysters are brackish water forms.
Their natural distribution has always
been close to the shore where waters
are fresher than in the open Sea. ali
other conditions are favorable, they
will exist in very salt water, but grow
little, and do not reproduce. On the
other hand, mature oysters have been
known to live for some time in water
nearly fresh. Such an _ experience,
however, is always harmful. It some-
times happens, as in the Carolina field
and in the Gulf of Mexico, that long
continued freshets cause widespread
destruction. On a considerable part
of the latter shore, especially, the
freshening of the water is a con-
tingency on which the oyster culturist
must take his chances.
over oyster beds.
The extremes of salinity between which the growth of
Conditions Governing Oyster Growth 99
mature oysters is possible, are greater than those limiting
reproduction. The optimum has not been precisely de-
termined in either case. When food and temperature
conditions are favorable, growth apparently is most rapid
in water with a salinity varying from about 1.012 to
1.016. There may be no very narrowly limited opti-
mum salinity, but whatever its limits, it 1s possible that
they are not the same on all parts of the coast.
In the matter of reproduction, also, very few experi-
ments have been made to determine the optimum salin-
ity. Some observations made several years ago indi-
cated an optimum much lower than that of growth, and
these are usually quoted. It would naturally be expected
that the most favorable density for growth would also be
best for reproduction, and recent observations confirm
this. Where it has been noticed by a trained observer,
the best set of spat occurs in water the density of which
varied between 1.010 and 1.017. Whether or not there
is an optimum of narrower limits, is not known.
Sudden changes of density, so common everywhere
in shallow water near the shore, are always harmful and
sometimes fatal. Swimming embryos, for example, are
often destroyed by a fall of rain. Though the resulting
change of temperature may play a large part in it, it is
possible that the sudden change of density is also very
harmful. Recent experiment has proved that the trans-
planting of oysters to water of a different density,
whether greater or less, has a bad effect even when the
difference is slight. If the difference is considerable,
oysters may cease to grow or may die. These effects are
specially marked on mature individuals. The very young
attached oysters are better able to adapt themselves to
such changes.
100 Our Food Mollusks
It thus appears that the conditions necessary for oyster
growth are numerous and more or less sharply defined.
Some writers extolling the peculiar advantages for oyster
culture afforded by certain untried waters, have had the
belief that oysters would grow and multiply anywhere
in them. But the required conditions are as exact as
those governing the production of wheat, or cotton, or
rice. It is a fortunate circumstance that the require-
ments are met by so great a part of our Atlantic and Gulf
shores. ' Nevertheless there are many localities on these
coasts where one or more of these conditions are lack-
ing, and where an attempt at oyster culture might result
in failure.
It need not be said that where oysters flourish in a state
of nature, the conditions are fully met. If one were to
use only such a locality for his oyster garden, a careful
study of the conditions governing growth would be un-
necessary ; but the application of such a study has shown
that vast tracts that have never borne oysters, only lack
some requirement that may be supplied by the culturist.
In this way, the productive territory has been greatly ex-
tended, and is yet capable of vast expansion.
OYSTER PLANTING
For the sake of convenience in description, the methods
of rearing oysters employed in America may arbitrarily
be separated into two groups, those that have to do with
oyster planting, and those employed in oyster culture.
Oyster planting, as here defined, consists in gathering
oysters from one locality and spreading them out in an-
other to grow. It is the only culture method employed
over a considerable part of both of our coasts. In oyster
Conditions Governing Oyster Growth to!
planting, the number of oysters is not increased, but only
those are used that have been produced under natural and
unmodified conditions.
The term oyster culture, on the other hand, may con-
veniently be applied to that process that increases the
number of oysters by artificial means, as when artificial
collectors are employed to capture the young that would
perish if nature were not thus aided.
In some cases oyster culture has become diversified, a
division of labor being effected, in which certain individu-
als devote their entire time and energy to increasing the
number of oysters by means of artificial collectors, while
others complete the process by caring for them during
their growth.
Usually a barren bottom is selected for planting, as the
laws of most states reserve the natural beds for seed.
When this has been cleared, and if necessary, made firm
by the deposition of shells or sand and gravel, small
seed oysters are spread evenly over its surface. These
are allowed to remain until they have attained a market-
able size, when they are gathered and sold. This method
is carried on extensively, and often gives large returns for
the money and labor invested.
Seed oysters vary greatly in size. Sometimes the al-
most microscopic young, newly attached to the shells of
adults or to pebbles, are employed. In other cases, oysters
two or three inches in length are planted. The usual size
of seed oysters is perhaps about that of a silver half-
dollar.
There are some evident advantages in planting large
seed oysters. The first is that they need to grow for a
relatively short time. More important still, they seldom
need to be disturbed until they are ready for market.
102 Our Food Mollusks
When large, they usually have been culled, or separated,
after they have been taken from the natural bed, and con-
sequently grow more rapidly and assume a better shape
than if closely crowded. On the other hand, increase
in the size of large oysters is relatively slow, and the
amount of increase is not great. A bushel of very small
seed may eventually produce ten bushels or more of mar-
ketable oysters, while seed may sometimes be so large as to
yield but two or three bushels from the one planted.
The most important feature of the planting of small
seed is the possibility of its great increase in volume. In
Europe, seed oysters as small as one’s finger nail are
carefully separated from each other when removed from
the collectors on which they have become attached. But
the price of labor in this country, when compared with
the market price of oysters, precludes the possibility of
employing such methods here. So very small oysters
are planted still attached to the collectors—shells or
gravel—and allowed to grow for some time closely
crowded as they are.
Usually a time comes when they should be removed
from the bottom and separated in order to prevent crowd-
ing. This is accomplished much more easily and with
smaller loss with oysters that have been growing for a
year or two than with very small seed. Planters natur-
ally differ greatly in their methods. Some will allow
small seed to do the best that it can without attention,
and finally dredge and sell the oysters that have been able
to attain marketable size. Others really cultivate the
beds, culling the oysters and removing useless shells, sea-
weed, and other obstructing material, and they receive
larger returns, because their oysters are of better shape
and size.
Conditions Governing Oyster Growth 103
There has always been much discussion among those
who are interested in oyster culture over the relative ad-
vantages of different sections of the coast, especially as
they concern rapidity of growth. But it is evident from
the statements that have here been made, that the length
of time during which planted oysters must be left in the
water to mature, depends on several factors that must
vary even in neighboring locaiities.
One might ask how long planted oysters must be al-
lowed to grow in Long Island Sound as compared with
the Gulf of Mexico, before attaining marketable size.
But to answer accurately would require a volume of com-
parisons and averages. The rate of growth may be twice
as fast on one bed as on another a mile or two distant,
for it depends on the nature of local currents, tempera-
ture, salinity, the character of the bottom, and the num-
ber of oysters placed on it. The size of the seed when
planted would make it necessary to leave one lot six or
eight times as long as another. As a matter of fact, this
time in northern waters varies from six months to three
or four years.
The question of relative rapidity of growth in certain
specified localities is one worth determining when pos-
sible, and some known cases of increase, from the time
of the attachment of the embryo, will be mentioned in
another place.
After the culturist has prepared the surface of his bed,
he must determine the number of oysters to be planted on
it. If there are no other beds in the immediate vicinity
on which the matter has been tested, he may need to ex-
periment in order to determine how great a number the
waters will support. The greatest danger is from over-
crowding, for when numbers reach a certain limit, the
‘104 Our Food Mollusks
food supply will not be sufficient for maximum growth.
In Long Island Sound the limit is from three hundred to
six hundred bushels for an acre of bottom. It is quite
possible that some waters in the South may yet be found
capable of supporting a greater number.
On the shore of the continent in Europe, oysters are
planted between tide lines. There they are spread out
evenly on the ground at ebb tide, or arranged by hand in
racks. On our shore, all planting is done below the tide
lines, so seed oysters must be thrown overboard from
boats. The planter tries to spread his seed as evenly as
possible. If he has a large area to cover, he temporarily
divides it into small plots, by stakes in shallow water,
and by buoys in deep, and then plants one plot at a time.
Let us suppose that he has but a few acres that are to be
planted from skiffs, and that he desires to spread about
three hundred bushels of seed oysters on an acre. If he
does his work carefully, he temporarily divides an acre
into sixteen squares that are somewhat more than fifty
feet on a side. Loading a skiff with eighteen or nine-
teen bushels of seed, he takes it to one of the small
squares, and, with a shovel, flirts the cargo as evenly as
possible over the area. A like amount, spread in the same
way on each of the other squares, gives him an evenly
seeded acre bearing about three hundred bushels. The
advantages of even planting are obvious, but the work is
not always done carefully.
Those who practise planting on a large scale, especially
in the deeper waters of Long Island Sound, employ steam
vessels for towing scows, loaded with seed, slowly back
and forth over an area marked by buoys, while a gang of
men on each scow unloads it by means of shovels.
In northern waters especially, planted areas are very
Conditions Governing Oyster Growth 105
extensive, and one naturally asks where the planter ob-
tains his seed. When the states with oyster shores passed
laws allowing individuals or companies to buy or lease
bottoms for oyster culture, they very generally reserved
the natural beds for common seed grounds. Serious
trouble has arisen everywhere because of the difficulty in
formulating a satisfactory definition of a natural bed.
But the plan of reserving wild oysters was essentially a
good one, because they usually assured a set of spat.
Planted oysters, of course, also spawn, but it might hap-
pen in any locality that there would be few or none of
them left during the breeding season. Planters are usu-
ally allowed to gather small oysters from natural beds
for planting. These are culled and placed on new bot-
toms. In the North, where this has been practised for
many years, the natural beds in some localities have be-
come depleted; but in Connecticut, the greatest of seed
producing states, there are still six thousand acres of
natural beds that usually yield a large number of seed
oysters.
Many years ago the planters of New England and New
York conceived the plan of purchasing seed from the
South. There were many localities, especially in the
Chesapeake, where the set of spat was abundant and
rarely failed. There was then no planting done in Mary-
land or Virginia, and the business of transporting seed to
the North became, and for many years remained, a very
great one. To-day, however, it has quite passed.
There were two reasons for this. The people of Vir-
ginia finally woke to the fact that if it paid to transport
seed to the North for planting in the relatively unfavor-
able waters there, it certainly should pay to plant the seed
already at hand on barren bottoms in their own fertile
100 Our Food Mollusks
waters. Laws were passed giving citizens rights to pri-
vate holdings, and the planting industry was established.
The second reason for the decline of seed transportation
from the South was that northern oystermen learned to
supply their own needs, and even, finally, to produce more
seed at home than they required, thus allowing them to
export to Europe and to transport to the Pacific coast.
This was accomplished when certain companies and in-
dividuals gave up oyster planting for collecting alone.
As on all oyster coasts, there are several specially favored
localities in Long Island Sound where young oysters
may be collected in great numbers. In such places avail-
able bottoms are utilized for obtaining the young on col-
lectors, and the material so gathered is sold to planters.
Much seed is also taken from natural beds.
This business of collecting and selling seed in northern
waters is sometimes remunerative, but it is precarious, be-
cause the set is irregular and beyond control. The total
number of oysters in Long Island Sound has been increas-
ing rapidly for many years, but there has not been a pro-
portionate increase in the set of young. During the sum-
mer and fall of 1899 there occurred a very profuse and
long continued set of spat. This year is still spoken of
as “the year of the great set.” Attachment was not con-
fined to the vicinity of natural beds, but occurred in deep
water as well. The phenomenon was so general that the
price of seed oysters became very low. The industry asa
whole was greatly benefited by the condition, but dealers
in seed made less from it than did the planters.
No marked changes in natural conditions were ob-
served during the next year, but they must have ex-
isted, for the spawning season was a failure. Hopes for
the following season, also, were not realized. Up to this
Conditions Governing Oyster Growth 107
time, oysters from the set of 1899, now two years old,
continued to be taken from the natural beds and planted.
It was thought that the season of 1902 would surely
bring relief, but no relief came, and the whole industry
began to suffer.
It may be imagined that shells from the natural and
artificial beds were anxiously examined for newly at-
tached oysters in the early summer of 1903, and that
alarm was felt when none appeared. The summer and
then the fall wore away, and the fourth lean year proved
to be the leanest of all. There was no set on the natural
beds. Five years previously the great Stratford and
Bridgeport natural bed alone had yielded more than
400,000 bushels of seed oysters, and on this year it did
not produce a bushel. The matter had become serious
for all northern planters, for seed from the Connecticut
beds had for years supported not only the planted areas
of the state, but also very largely those of Massachusetts,
Rhode Island, New York, and New Jersey. In the
waters of these states, three years, on an average, are
required for the maturing of seed oysters. Those planted
during “the year of the great set’ were now marketed,
and a long delay in the future was inevitable.
Again no changes in natural conditions were noticed,
but the season of 1904 brought a harvest of young
oysters that was nearly equal in volume to that of 1899.
This time dealers in seed received large returns for their
labor. Planters everywhere, not yet discouraged, bought
every bushel that could be produced, and the price of seed
rose to an unprecedentedly high level. More than a dol-
lar a bushel was often paid, and the average price for the
entire season was nearly seventy-three cents. Planters
were compelled to wait long for returns, but the industry
108 Our Food Mollusks
was safe once more. The set of 1905 was small and
much scattered, as was that also of the year following.
The oysters of the natural beds produced very few young.
In a few localities the set was good, while neighboring
beds were barren.
Such a sequence of events excites the interest of a
biologist as well as that of an oyster culturist. Though
oystermen have observed no marked changes in the
natural surroundings of the oysters that at one time pre-
vent and at another stimulate reproduction, such changes
undoubtedly occur. It is possible that a close observer
who should, for a long period, keep a daily record of
salinity and temperature, and all other conditions known
to effect reproduction, would be able to offer a simple and
satisfactory explanation of irregularities in the appear-
ance of young oysters; or he might be able to discover
some other factor, now unknown, that causes the phenom-
enon. Whether, after having found the explanation, he
would be able to suggest a remedy for the present state
of affairs, is another matter; but at least it is certain that
the remedy will not be discovered until the cause of the
trouble is known.
GHAPTER Vil
REARING OYSTERS FROM THE EGG
T has been suggested that the set of spat might
be made certain by an artificial fertilization of
the eggs. It is perhaps not to be wondered
at that this possibility has for many years
proved very alluring, not only to oystermen, but also to
some biologists who have been interested in the life-
histories of bivalves, because of its novelty, and because it
would give so great control over natural processes.
Nearly every one who has written about oysters within
the last quarter of a century, has referred.to this proposed
method, and many have become enthusiastic over its pos-
sibilities.
If a score of millions of young oysters may be brought
into being in a tumbler of water—as they may with the
greatest ease—and if these, or any considerable number
of them, may be caused to attach and be reared to matur-
ity, one of the greatest obstacles to oyster culture will be
overcome. Truly, it is a fascinating suggestion, but to
the present time it has become nothing more. Because it
has attracted so much attention, because it still is prac-
tically an unsolved problem for the American oysterman,
and because it really is not so necessary to the industry
as it has been assumed to be, a few rather unusual com-
ments on it may not be out of place.
109
Wes
f
Psi
I1IO Our Food Mollusks
Previous to the year 1879, the anatomy of the Amer-
ican oyster had been studied very little, and nothing was
known of its breeding habits or development. A few
European biologists had found that the oyster of their
northern coast was hermaphroditic, that the eggs were
fertilized and developed within the body of the parent,
and that they were retained there for some time. It was
supposed that the American oyster was structurally and
functionally very much like its European relative.
In the year mentioned, the late Professor Brooks of
the Johns Hopkins University, made some observations on
our form that have become classic, and in their publica-
tion showed, among many other things, that the Amer-
ican oyster is unisexual, and that the eggs are fertilized
and develop outside the body of the female. He also dis-
covered that it was possible, at will, to bring about the
union of the sexual cells in a dish of water, and to ob-
serve the process of segmentation and the formation of
organs. He was not able, however, to devise means of
keeping the swimming embryos alive until they had be-
come attached.
In performing the experiment, Professor Brooks
simply opened the ovaries of a mature female with a
scalpel and pressed the almost microscopic eggs into a
dish of water. From a mature male he obtained a few
drops of the spermatic fluid in the same way, and mixed
them with the ova, the great majority of which became
united with male cells.
Attention was at once attracted by this experiment.
In the light of what had been accomplished in fish culture
by means of artificial impregnation, possibilities seemed
great in this case. Others took it up with enthusiasm.
Before very long what purported to be an improvement
Rearing Oysters from the Egg III
on the original process was published. This designated
the original method as “ barbarous,” because crude, and
singularly enough, it attracted much attention from those
interested in oyster culture, though in reality it meant
nothing.
It was merely a detailed description of a method of
procedure by which one might be able to press mature
eggs from the ovaries or the spermatic fluid from the
testes of oysters without actually rupturing the sides of
their bodies, after the manner of stripping the sexual cells
from the bodies of fishes. But even if artificial fertiliza-
tion had possessed some practical value, this added
nothing whatever to the method employed by Professor
Brooks, for unlike the fish that may not be injured in the
stripping process, the oyster to be treated must first be
opened by severing the adductor muscle and tearing off
one valve of the shell, and not so many eggs can be ob-
tained. This publication mentioned some anatomical
facts and referred to implements that might be employed.
It dealt simply with artificial fertilization, and proposed
no method for the care of the embryo. Its author almost
certainly did not regard it as a real contribution to oyster
culture—indeed, he stated his opinion that the artificial
fertilization of oyster eggs would probably never be prac-
tically important. Without doubt, if he had had any idea
of the immense amount of attention that it was destined
subsequently to attract, of the mistaken interpretation it
was to receive, and of the false hopes that it was to
waken, he would not have published it. But matters of
that sort never can be foreseen, and it was launched on
a very remarkable career.
Shortly afterward there appeared in a publication also
designed to encourage the oyster industry a further de-
I12 Our Food Mollusks
velopment of the operation, by another writer. It was as
impracticable as the one just mentioned, and perhaps even
more complicated. After long-continued and patient ex-
periment, this investigator had met only with discour-
agement in his attempts to carry the swimming embryos
to the period of attachment, and apparently not being op-
timistic concerning the possibilities of artificial fertiliza-
tion, he also stated that he formulated this method only
for those who would persist in the attempt to make some-
thing of it. He reached one conclusion that was sound
when he stated that “it will at any rate do no harm to
liberate a few millions of embryos [obtained] in this
manner over a bed.”
It is strange that some person living on the shore has
not appeared, during the last quarter of a century, with
curiosity enough to crush a few oysters with a stone,
and shake them in a bucket of water in imitation of the
above mentioned experiments. If he had done so, the
chances are that he would have succeeded as well in ob-
taining swimming embryos, and gotten nearly as far
toward a solution of the practical problem of rearing them
as any one has to the present.
The unfortunate thing concerning these publications is
that they have been read and copied and read again by
the really intelligent element among oystermen and others
who were interested, until the popular mind from New
England to Texas seems perfectly possessed with the
idea that the culture of oysters—and clams, also—from
artificially fertilized eggs may, with a little more experi-
ment, become a great achievement of science that will
give wonderful practical results. After twenty-five years,
shell-fish commission reports still refer to it hopefully.
The commissioner of one great oyster state, for example,
Rearing Oysters from the Egg 113
writes in his report for 1906, of these early and
abandoned efforts to obtain practical results from artifi-
cial fertilization as if they were recent, and concludes
with the statement that “ Meanwhile those engaged in
the industry are watching these experiments with the
greatest interest and hopefulness.” If those engaged in
biological work are sometimes regarded as impractical,
it was not so in this case.
It is true that some advance has been made beyond the
mere production of the swimming young. In 1881,
Lieutenant Winslow, U. S. N., published the statement
that he had found it possible to bring about the fertiliza-
tion of the eggs of the Portuguese oyster, in which as in
our own, the sexes are separate. A year later M. Bou-
chon-Brandeley, a Frenchman, who seems not to have
known of Winslow’s statement, showed that he had been
able not only to cause the fertilization of the eggs of the
Portuguese oyster, but also to catch the young on col-
lectors.
This was a great achievement, but it depended on a
condition that would make it impracticable in American
oyster culture. M. Bouchon-Brandeley had at his dis-
posal a very large fish pond excavated in a marsh. The
water in this had a depth that varied from three to six
feet. Several times a week, for a period of two months,
artificially fertilized oyster eggs were placed in it, and a
set was obtained on the collectors. He proved, too, that
the attached young were really those that had been lib-
erated, and not those borne into the reservoir from out-
side waters. Since that time a few repetitions of the ex-
periment in large French claires, seem also to have been
successful.
This French experiment excited much interest in this
114 Our Food Mollusks
country, and many attempts were made to repeat it here.
The first of these was made in 1883 by Professor John
A. Ryder, in a small pond on the shore of the Chesapeake.
The excavation was a little more than twenty feet square,
and about three and a half feet deep. Water from the
bay was led into it by a ditch. In order to exclude young
swimming oysters from the entering water, it was caused
to flow through a sand diaphragm constructed in the
ditch. After stakes, suspending shell collectors, had been
placed in the bottom, artificially fertilized oyster eggs
were poured into the pond from time to time. About
seven weeks after the beginning of the experiment, the
collectors were found to bear young oysters varying
from a fourth to three-fourths of an inch in diameter;
but the set appears to have been so meager as to have
offered no encouragement to oyster culture. In sum-
marizing his results, Professor Ryder concluded, ‘“ The
writer does not think that the rearing of oysters from
artificially impregnated eggs will ever be a profitable
business.”
Similar results were obtained from ponds constructed
on the shores of Long Island Sound and elsewhere, but
none were really successful, and some were entire failures.
The accounts of most of the experiments are too vague
and imperfect to be valuable. for example, a “ good
set’ was obtained in a Long Island pond two hundred
and eighty feet long and one hundred feet wide, and con-
taining from two to six feet of water. But we do not
know the observer’s idea of a good set. From the ac-
count one must assume that water was led directly into
the pond from the harbor near at hand, and that no at-
tempt was made to exclude swimming oysters from it.
Some years later that harbor was literally paved with
Rearing Oysters from the Egg is
growing oysters from which such young might have been
derived, and perhaps was at that time also.
All attempts to keep young oysters alive in tanks or
aquaria until the time of attachment, have proved to be
failures, though it is claimed in one case, that a few
spat became attached in a tank containing somewhat more
than two hundred cubic feet of water.
Laboratory experiments have been made, in which
water was caused to flow steadily and rapidly through a
series of aquaria. Filters of sand and other substances
were provided to prevent the escape of the young oysters;
but although the water was rapidly renewed, and the tem-
perature kept constant, they perished, many of them be-
coming entangled in the filter.
Thus it seems probable, from observations already
made, that the chances are much against the future dis-
covery of facts that may make it practicable in America
to rear oysters from artificially fertilized eggs. It has
been shown that the young of our oyster will become at-
tached in large and deep ponds so constructed as to pre-
vent the deposition of mud on the collectors, but most of
those who have conducted the experiments admit that
they do not solve the commercial problem involved.
The matter might appear in a different light if it had
been shown that the set in the reservoirs was much
greater than in open water. It would be interesting to
know, also, if a set could be obtained in a pond from
artificially fertilized eggs in one of those occasional
seasons in which it more or less completely fails on
outside oyster beds. But even if these were demon-
strated facts, they probably would be of little commercial
value.
Usually the natural set is sufficient. If it fails in one
116 Our Food Mollusks
locality, a neighboring shore most often produces enough
seed to meet the demand. When widespread failure
continues for three or four years, an abundant supply of
seed certainly could be obtained from other parts of the
coast. Failure is most common in the North, but the
New England planters might obtain seed in an emergency
from the Chesapeake, the Carolina sounds, or even from
the Gulf, where the set is practically always good. The
present difficulty in this is simply that seed is not yet
gathered for sale in large amount on these sections of the
coast. All coasts do not fail at the same time. During
the lean years in Long Island Sound following the large
set of 1899, seed oysters were very numerous along the
shores of Pamlico Sound and elsewhere, and were left un-
touched.
When the oyster industry shall have become as greatly
developed in other sections as it now is in the North,
and when everywhere the gathering of seed shall have
become an extensive business, there will be no possibil-
ity, with present means of transportation, of suffering in
any section from the lack of it. The seed problem, when-
ever it arises, will, in the future, be solved in this man-
ner. Natural oyster seed is, and probably always will be,
sufficiently abundant to supply all demands. It is only
necessary to gather it from natural beds or on collectors
and distribute it cheaply, and without doubt this can and
will be done.
There have been many ardent expressions of the hope
that the time might soon arrive when long neck and little
neck clams shall be reared for market from artificially
fertilized eggs. It would be well if that hope might now
be completely destroyed. With these forms such a prac-
tice is an impossibility. The culture of clams by any
Rearing Oysters from the Egg lig
method has not yet been seriously attempted, though sim-
ple and successful methods have been tried and proved ex-
perimentally. When these are put into practice on a
large scale, there will be seed clams for planting, and
without lack, but they will not have been reared from arti-
ficially fertilized eggs.
CHAR OER Vil
OYSTER ‘CULTURE IN AMERICS
MORE or less arbitrary distinction has been
made between oyster planting and oyster cul-
ture, the latter being defined as a method by
means of which the number of oysters are in-
creased by artificial means above that produced under
natural conditions alone. Except in Long Island Sound
and in the region about the mouth of the Hudson, true
oyster culture is still rarely practised in this country. In
Maryland, Virginia, North Carolina, and the Gulf states,
the universal opinion appears to be that while natural
beds continue to exist, seed should be obtained from them.
All these states possess extensive natural beds. In most
cases oysters are still taken from them directly to mar-
ket, and where planting is practised, they furnish the
seed. The idea seems to prevail, also, that the New
England and New York oystermen are driven to the
use of collectors because their natural beds are so nearly
destroyed.
It should not escape attention in the southern states
tliat there are some important advantages in the method
of gathering spat upon artificial collectors. The first of
these is that the number of oysters is increased. Such an
increase may not seem necessary at present in most places,
and the fear, sometimes expressed, that it would glut the
118
Oyster Culture in America 119
inarket, is certainly without foundation; for it would
come gradually, and the market might easily be made
much more extensive than it now is. Nothing but good
could come to the industry from its gradual extension and
improvement. Again, seed gathered on collectors, while
somewhat more expensive, is in every way superior to
seed from natural beds. It is of uniform size. When
planted, it all comes to maturity at nearly the same time.
Young oysters so gathered are best able to withstand
changes in environment encountered when the transfer is
made to planting grounds in different localities. The in-
crease in volume, also, is much more rapid and relatively
much greater when the small seed from collectors is used.
On the other hand, oysters taken from natural beds
for planting, are of all sizes and ages. To put the seed
into good condition for planting, it should be separated
from oysters of larger growth. To grade oysters taken
from a natural bed according to size, requires much labor.
Usually all are planted together. The young must grow
with the old, which are often weakened by the changed
conditions, and grow slowly. Many of these old oysters
are ill-shaped, and can be very little improved.
More important still, the development of a branch of
oyster culture for the collection of seed, would give
stability to the whole industry. If the natural set should
fail at one point, seed might be obtained at another, and
probably not distant locality, where it had been collected
for sale. Under such conditions there would be no lean
seasons in the oyster territory.
Before the beginnings of oyster culture were made in
Europe, the method of cukure employed to-day had been
established in our own country. From the fact that the
young become attached to any clean, hard, foreign body
120 Our Food Mollusks
accidentally present in the water (Figures 25 to 28), the
practice arose of purposely throwing objects on the bot-
tom to capture them. Naturally, old oyster shells ac-
cumulated on the shore suggested themselves as collectors,
and from that day to this, they have been the most gen-
erally used of collectors in America.
Shells are cheap, and are to be had near oyster grounds.
Firm bottoms are usually selected for spat collecting, but
the young are sometimes secured on soft ground. This
is possible because the shells settle with their concave or
inner surfaces uppermost. The edges of the shells are
thus held above the mud, and even when the deadly silt ‘is
sufficient to kill those attached to the upper faces, others
continue to exist on the under side of their margins.
The great disadvantage in using the oyster shell for a
collector is that it is so large that a great many young
may attach to it, and so tough that it cannot be broken to
separate them. A large cluster may thus arise on a single
shell, the individuals of which, from crowding, die or be-
come elongated; and it is only after they have attained a
considerable size that the cluster can be broken apart
without great loss. But, on the whole, the oyster shell
has proved to be the best of available collectors on the At-
lantic coast.
There are some shells that are superior to it in many
respects. Such are the thin, brittle shells of the scallop,
the mussel, and the small “‘ jingle shells ’’ found on some
beaches. If these are used where currents are not strong
enough to bear them away, oysters that grow on them
will break them into bits as soon as pressure is developed
from crowding. In quiet waters these shells are ideal
collectors because of this fact that the clusters formed
on them will separate automatically without handling ; but
Fics. 23-27. Objects to which small oysters have attached.
From N. Y. Forest, Fish and Game Commission.
Fic. 28. An iron mast hoop from Chesapeake Bay covered by
thousands of oysters of various sizes. From Va. State Board
of Fisheries.
ie Ne ee tama, Set nat, a Ses LL ET GE Bic
Oyster Culture in America 121
very unfortunately they are not to be had in large quan-
tities.
Large parts of the Gulf oyster field possess an ad-
vantage over the Atlantic coast that some day may prove
to be very important, in its immense deposits of small
shells. These could hardly be improved on for the pur-
pose of collecting oyster spat. They are hard, but so
small that clustering on them would be impossible. At
the same time, they are heavy enough to remain unmoved
in a strong current. These will be described in another
place.
In certain parts of Long Island Sound, water-worn
pebbles or fragments of crushed rock are employed as
collectors, or “cultch.” Though this material is some-
what more expensive than shells, its pieces are so small
that oysters cannot cluster on them. It cannot, how-
ever, be used on soft bottoms, unless enough of it is em-
ployed to act both as pavement and cultch. On hard
bottoms, from five to six hundred bushels are spread
over an acre—somewhat more than when shells are
used.
Rarely spat is collected over very soft bottoms where
the water is shallow. This is accomplished by driving
the bases of saplings into the mud, leaving their branches
immersed. Now and then a heavy set is gathered on
them. If oysters are allowed to grow where they have
attached, they are likely to fall into the mud because of
the decay and softening of the bark. For this reason,
the brush is usually removed soon after attachment is
accomplished.
It is possible to use many other kinds of material for
cultch. Scraps of tin and tin cans, for example, serve
the purpose well when they are available, and very suc-
122 Our Food Mollusks
cessful results have been obtained from them. Though
a great many young may attach to a can, the corrosive
action of the salt water soon reduces it to fragments,
thus freeing the oysters before they have begun to crowd
each other and eventually the cultch is entirely de-
stroyed.
It would be possible to manufacture saucer-shaped col-
lectors of thin sheet-steel, gypsum, cement, tar, or as-
phaltum, that would be successful where currents were
not rapid—the targets or “clay pigeons” used by trap-
shooters would be ideal for the purpose—but the cost, in
any case would be prohibitive, and it is not likely
that any form of cultch will be discovered or invented
that will take the place of the shell collector in our
waters.
One of the things learned early in the practice of
oyster culture was that collectors may be placed on the
bottoms only after the breeding season has arrived.
Usually it will not do to plant the shells at any conven-
ient season during the year to await the appearance of
swimming embryos. The reason for this is that they
soon become covered by a slime upon which the young
oysters are unable to attach. The material which thus
coats all exposed parts of the shells is composed of ma-
rine algz, diatoms, hydroids, or sponges. These organ-
isms are apparently able at all seasons to establish them-
selves, and their growth is rapid. It is therefore neces-
sary to have the collectors ready on shore, and to spread
them on the collecting grounds after the oysters have
begun to spawn. Spat then attaches before the slime
coat has formed.
If, during July, August, or September, the spat has
failed to attach on the collectors, it may be necessary to
‘
i
Oyster Culture in America 123
dredge all the cultch and expose it to the air so that the
slime organisms may decay, dry, and flake off the shells
before they are again planted.
Most of the slime organisms, however, inhabit rela-
tively salt water only, and collections placed in brackish
water may for a long tyme remain free from this organic
coating. It thus happens that young oysters become at-
tached to the shells of others that may have been grow-
ing in brackish water for some time. This explains why
the clustering of oysters is more rapid where the water
is relatively fresh, in or near the mouths of streams,
than in deeper and salter water.
When a farmer has plowed his field and planted his
corn, he must still expend much labor on the growing
plants if he expects to harvest a good crop. Thistles,
ragweed, cockles, and other weeds spring up with the
corn, and if they are not plowed under and kept down
until the corn is high enough to shade them, much of the
crop becomes stunted or perishes. If planted too thickly,
the struggle among the corn plants would bring the same
results.
So it is in rearing oysters. Only labor insures a good
crop. This should seem reasonable, for one’s experiences
teach him that he seldom receives benefits without work-
ing for them. By analogy, he should hardly expect an
- exception in this case, but the fact is that a great many
who have undertaken the cultivation of oysters seem to
have had this very expectation. Analogy is usually a
poor form of argument, but it is safe in this case.
In ignorance of the methods of the thrifty Connecti-
cut oyster grower, many a prospective culturist on other
coasts has taken a few boat-loads of “coon” oyster
clusters from a natural reef, dumped them on a barren
124 Our Food Mollusks
bottom, and left them to work a miracle for him. He
has then been ready to declare that oyster culture is a
delusion. Talk of that sort is not uncommon to-day in
some quarters, but at many points on our long shore line,
that type of oysterman is learning his lesson from his
more intelligent and more thrifty neighbors. Success in
oyster culture requires work.
There is one extreme variation in this work that de-
pends partly on the condition of the industry. The na-
ture of the labor required when one collects and sells seed
and another plants, is different from that required of
one who must depend entirely on his own efforts. Sta-
bility arises from cooperation, but the isolated oyster
farmer is apt to suffer many hardships. But the great-
est variation in the work necessary for success in oyster
culture arises from differences in local natural conditions.
It has been proved by several failures that it is impos-
sible to follow successfully in Pamlico Sound precisely
the same methods that have succeeded in Connecticut.
Oyster culture in Jamaica Bay is not exactly like that
at New Haven. In Long Island Sound the work on deep
beds is not like that near the shore. Culture is, of course,
everywhere the same in its main features, but the neces-
sary details, that are essential, vary with the. locality,
and must be discovered by experiment. This fact should
be kept in mind, especially on the Gulf coast, when the
time comes for introducing all phases of oyster culture
there. The chief thing necessary everywhere to assure
success is painstaking labor.
An examination of the labors of the Long Island
Sound oystermen, who have carried oyster culture to
the highest point of perfection in this country, shows
them to be extensive. After the preliminary work of
Oyster Culture in America 125
preparing the bottom for planting, which has already
been mentioned, the seed demands attention. If a
planter has obtained his seed from a natural oyster bed,
it will be more or less clustered, and these masses are
made up largely of decaying shells, of hydroids, sponges,
and other organisms. The clusters are culled, the living
oysters, of many sizes, being gathered together, and the
débris is thrown away.
When shells, or some other form of cultch, have been
used for collecting the young, they are sometimes left
without being disturbed until some of the oysters have
grown to marketable size. In such a case the oysters,
when dredged, are culled, the smaller ones being re-
turned to the water to complete their growth.
Usually, however, the young are all removed soon
after attachment and placed on other bottoms where ex-
perience has shown growth to be more rapid. The cul-
turist sometimes plants them closely, for small oysters
require a relatively small amount of food: but they must
soon be removed and spread over a greater territory.
The process of dredging and replanting is often re-
peated two or three times.
Those who carry on the most extensive business, own
tracts in various localities. If they have obtained a set
of the young near shore, these may be removed to deep-
water beds several miles out in the sound. If a culturist
owns no bottom on which a natural set is likely to occur,
he sometimes spreads his cultch, and on it places “ breed-
ers ”—mature oysters about to discharge the sexual cells.
This is—or should be—done with due regard to the
salinity and temperature of the water, and some time be-
fore the breeding season normally begins, in order that
the oysters may become accustomed to their new sur-
126 Our Food Mollusks
roundings. From twenty-five to fifty bushels of these
are usually placed on an acre.
Seed oysters having been spread on beds where they
may complete their growth, sometimes require little at-
tention; but usually their safety depends on constant
vigilance and care. Much also depends upon the locality.
In the year 1882 several of the Connecticut oystermen
prepared beds in deep, salt water far from the shore.
When oysters planted on these began to be removed, it
was found that great numbers of starfish were present,
and in succeeding years they became more and more
numerous. This was the beginning of an affliction that
has continued to the present time. Starfish are terribly
destructive to oysters, the soft parts of which they con-
sume, and no really effective means of destroying them
has been devisetl. Other enemies, to be referred to later,
also demand the oysterman’s attention, especially in salt
waters.
There is also work to be done on the brackish water
beds. Much of this arises from the spawning of the
oysters themselves, which are more prolific in such
waters. An oysterman plants young that must grow
three or four years before being marketed. During the
following July a great many embryos may appear. The
shells of the planted oysters may be quite free from
slime, as often happens in brackish water. The spat
collects on them and begins to grow. In another year or
two the beds are covered with clustered oysters which, if
allowed to remain longer, tend to destroy each other.
Survivors will be stunted, ill-shaped, and poor. The en-
tire contents of clustered beds must be dredged and culled,
and a part of it removed to other bottoms.
In the care of planted oysters there are still other con-
Oyster Culture in America 127
ditions that often call for labor. Two or three varieties
of sea-weeds frequently appear on the bottoms, often
attached to the oysters themselves. In a current, these
are matted down so as to interfere with the feeding pro-
cess, and if allowed to grow, may become a serious
menace. Strong currents frequently drag rubbish of
various kinds on to the beds, and waves from heavy
winds may cause the bottoms to shift. Oysters in this
way are frequently “sanded,” but even if completely
covered, they would continue to live for some days, so
they may be saved if cared for in time. All of these
conditions the successful culturist must heed. There
is nothing to be done but to dredge the entire crop, scrap-
ing the bottom clean. Then sea-weed and rubbish are
removed, and the oysters are returned.
For still another reason it is often of advantage to
disturb the oysters. There are bottoms on which they
increase in size, but fail to fatten. Indeed, on most of
the deep water beds, oysters do not attain so favorable
a condition as in fresher water. In order to improve
them as much as possible before marketing them, many
culturists remove their oysters in the spring from the
less favorable deep water to warmer and fresher shore
beds, where fattening rapidly takes place during the
summer. Such oysters are callel “ harbor plants,” and
though now often in a more favorable position for strain-
ing the bacillus of typhoid out of the water, they are
plump, and are sold for a higher price than that obtained
for the “ sound stock.”
Perhaps it has appeared from these statements that
the oyster-culturist’s year is not made up of days of idle
waiting for his crop to mature. He has his “ slack sea-
son,” to be sure. In some years starfish may give him
ok Our Food Mollusks
little trouble. The set of spat may be so abundant as
to make planting operations easy and certain of success.
But there are always strenuous weeks of harvesting; rub-
bish and sea-weed may collect on the crop, or a hurri-
cane may descend upon it at any time; and he, like the
farmer, must be observant and always prepared to battle
against enemies and the weather if he expects to be
~ successful. Rewards are often large, but are only to
be had as the result of much labor.
It will be interesting to compare the labors of the
oyster and clam culturists—when the latter come into
being. The returns to the clam culturist undoubtedly
will be large, and the labor that he will be compelled to
put on his fields will be trifling as compared with that of
the oysterman.
CHAPTER IX
IMPLEMENTS AND THEIR USES—BOATS—
Tia PREPARATION: OF OYSTERS
FOR MARKET
et] IE expense to the oyster culturist of provid-
ing himself with appliances for carrying on
his trade is slight as compared with that in
many other fields of labor. He must have
boats, large or small as the magnitude of his undertaking
demands. But besides these, there is little else that he
must purchase if he does not himself attempt to market
his crop. Oysters are removed from the bottom by
means of tongs and dredges, the former being used in
shallow and the latter in deep water.
Tongs are of the same general pattern everywhere on
the coast. As shown in Figure 48, two long wooden
shafts or handles are crossed like scissors blades and
held together with a “pin,” or “pivot.” The lower
end of each shaft bears an iron head fashioned like a
garden rake. Just above this is a basket-like arrange-
ment of small iron rods that prevents oysters from falling
when the two rakes are brought together.
Tonging is done from boats the length of which
seldom exceeds twenty-five feet. These are usually fitted
with a plank on either side level with the gunwale and
extending from stem to stern. On this the tonger stands
and lowers the head of the tongs to the bottom (Figures
129
130 Our Food Mollusks
29 and 30). With his hands on the shafts three or four
feet above the water, he opens them, then pressing down-
ward on the bottom, brings them together again. This
operation is repeated several times until the weight in-
dicates that the rakes have gathered a full load of shells.
The tongs are lifted and the load is allowed to fall on
the culling board placed across the boat back of its
middle.
The sizes of tongs vary with the depth of water in
which they are used. The shortest have a length of
about twelve feet. It is obvious that a heavier load may
be lifted from shallow than from deep bottoms; so in
order to make the area of the “ grab” sufficiently large
the heads of the short tongs are usually about thirty
inches wide.
To the inexperienced, ten or fifteen feet might seem to
be the greatest depth at which oysters could be taken by
this means, but as a matter of fact, they can be tonged in
thirty feet of water. As a rule, however, tongs are sel-
dom used in water more than twenty-five feet in depth,
and the greater number are taken at a depth of less than
fifteen feet.
Tongs are obviously the implements of the poorer
oystermen, who have not the means to purchase large
boats from which dredges may be used. But they are
also frequently used in oyster culture by those whose
operations are extensive; for oysters are often planted
in water too shallow to float dredging boats. On the
shallow natural beds of Chesapeake Bay, Pamlico Sound,
and the Gulf of Mexico, a great many men make a living
by the use of oyster tongs. The figures will give an idea
of their occupation.
When oysters are greatly scattered in shallow water,
Fic. 29. A fleet of gasoline tonging boats in Hampton Roads,
Va. From State Board of Fisheries, Va.
Fic. 30. Tongers and cullers at work on Pamlico Sound,
IN] C2 irom thewds Ss E. Go Report:
Implements and Their Uses 131
they are sometimes secured one at a time by light tongs
having very narrow heads. ‘These are called “ nippers,”
and can only be used where the water is clear and very
quiet.
A modification of the principle of the tongs is em-
ployed for use in deep water. There are many deep beds
in the Chesapeake and its larger tributaries that are in-
accessible even to dredges. Such beds may easily be
reached by the so-called patent tongs, invented by a
Maryland oysterman in 1887. Every one is familiar
with the mechanical principle involved in a pair of
ice-tongs. The iceman lifts on the handles to secure a
erip on the load to be lifted, and the heavier the piece
of ice, the tighter this grip becomes. Imagine that rake-
heads, with teeth pointed inward, are fastened to the
ends of such a pair of tongs where the calks or spurs are
placed, and one has all but a few details of the patent
oyster tongs. A rope is tied to each handle, and these
are fastened to a single rope a few feet above. Before
being lowered into the water, the tongs are locked open
by a simple device. This lock is disengaged when the
weight of the tongs rests on the bottom, and a pull on the
rope causes the rakes to come together. The heavier
the load, the tighter it is grasped. In order to scrape
the bottom with force, weights are attached, or the tongs
themselves are made of heavy material. This necessi-
tates the employment of a windlass. The area of the
bottom scraped, or the extent of the “ grab” of the tongs
now manufactured is one square yard, and the imple-
ment has proved to be very useful where oysters are
numerous.
The dredge is much the most important implement
used in American oyster culture. It does its work so
132 Our Food Mollusks
thoroughly and so rapidly that it sustains a never-end-
ing chorus of protest against its employment all along
the Atlantic and Gulf coasts. Naturally, this is largely
from the tongers engaged in the laborious task of com-
peting with it on what seem to be very unequal terms.
But the dredge is also sometimes condemned by much
more influential and generally well-meaning persons,
who see in it a menace to the industry, at least where it
depends on natural beds. State legislatures have lis-
tened with attention, and the influence on them of this
cry against the dredge is still recorded in the oyster laws
of almost every coast state.
Many now living may remember the profound dis-
turbance in the minds of some, caused by the introduc-
tion of such labor-saving devices as the combined reaper
and binder for harvesting grain. They seemed inevita-
bly to involve the end for the farm laborer. To persons
who formerly held this view of the matter, the frantic
appeals for help that each year come out of Kansas when
the grain harvest approaches, must have a strange sound.
The oyster dredge bears much the same relation to
tongs that the reaper does to the old-fashioned cradle.
The reaper gathers the crop, but the cradle is still useful
on small areas, and on the edges of large fields. Oyster
culture can never be what it should be without the unre-
stricted use of the dredge. If the industry is to depend
on natural beds, it may be well to restrict its use, but
there is no part of the coast where these conditions
should be allowed to exist. On the northern coast, where
states have been so educated in the matter as to have
perceived the wisdom of leasing—or better still, of sell-
ing—oyster bottoms to culturists, there has been granted
with the property right, the equally sensible right to
Implements and Their Uses 133
work upon the property without greater restrictions than
are placed on the farmer who is allowed to cut his grain
with a reaper. This seems like common sense and com-
mon justice, but there are still those who are strongly
prejudiced against the use of the dredge.
But the old conditions are fast passing. There was
too often just cause for complaint against the use of the
dredge when state laws set apart some natural beds for
the use of tongers only, and others for dredgers. But
now that any citizen, in most states, may lease or buy
bottoms in deep or shallow water, to which he confines
his operations, and in which he is supposed to have the
protection of the state, he should be allowed to handle
his own crop as he chooses, so long as he injures the
property of no one else by so doing.
The implement is very simple in construction. In the
foreground of Figure 31, a dredge is shown lying on the
deck of a North Carolina dredging boat. It consists of
a rectangular iron frame from the corners of which
rods lead forward and join at a distance of about three
feet from the frame. The towing rope is attached at this
point. Fastened all around the frame is a sack con-
structed of iron rings which is dragged behind it. The
lower side of the frame that rests on the bottom, is
sometimes provided with teeth that turn the oysters up-
ward into the sack.
The size of the dredge varies greatly. The one just
referred to is about three feet wide, and probably weighs
about thirty pounds. This is near the minimum size. In
Chesapeake Bay such dredges are employed on boats
having a capacity of from three to four hundred bushels.
On larger boats dredges more than five feet wide are
used. These weigh about one hundred pounds and will
134 Our Food Mollusks
hold five bushels or more. ‘The average capacity of
dredges used on steam vessels by Connecticut oystermen
on private grounds, is ten or twelve bushels, but some
are of immense size, and capable of gathering thirty
bushels at a haul.
Almost everywhere at present, except in Long Island
Sound, sailboats are used for towing the dredge. There,
the more powerful and more reliable steam power has
come into general use, and it probably will not be long
before the example of the northern planter will be fol
lowed elsewhere, though the cheaper, if more primitive,
sail power may never be entirely abandoned.
Two masted, schooner-rigged vessels, such as is shown
in the illustration, have long been employed in Chesa-
peake Bay, in Pamlico Sound, and elsewhere. These
carry two dredges that are hauled by hand winches or
windlasses bolted to the deck back of the foremast. Op-
posite each windlass, three or four feet of the rail are
removed, and level with the deck there is placed a bar
or, more commonly, a roller, over which the dredge rope
plays. When the oyster beds are reached, dredges are
thrown over and dragged until it is supposed that they
have been filled.
Each windlass has two long handles and is operated
by four men. The dredge, with its load, is hauled upon
the deck and emptied. From natural beds a great
amount of waste material is brought up with the oysters.
When dredging is done in the daytime, the dredge load
is at once culled, the oysters being stowed below the deck,
and the waste thrown overboard. At night, culling is
dispensed with until daylight.
When the bed has been crossed, the boat tacks, haul-
ing the dredges across once more. In this way the work
Fic. 31. A North Carolina dredging schooner, showing
dredge and hand-windlass. From Dr. Caswell Grave in
WES. IE CG, INeponre
Fic. 32. Drawing a more modern dredge by steam power on
the New York oyster grounds. From a Report of the N. Y.
Forest, Fish and Game Commission.
Implements and Their Uses be Us
in the Chesapeake is continued day after day until a
load has been secured. ‘This usually means two or three
weeks of dredging. The boat then puts in to market.
While the dredges used. by the oystermen of Long
Island Sound are of usual pattern, their operation has
been greatly perfected. On many of the modern steam
vessels as many as four of them are handled simultane-
ously, and the winches, instead of being operated labor-
iously by hand, are controlled by steam power. By this
means dredges are drawn in very rapidy. They are usu-
ally much larger than those drawn by hand, and the
number of the boat’s crew is greatly decreased.
Reference has been made to the tonging boat, which
is of much the same pattern everywhere. Every one is
familiar with the common schooner and sloop rigs.
These are found on the oyster grounds from New Eng-
land to Texas. The hulls of these boats of course vary
in size, in depth of keel, and the use of center-board, con-
forming to the nature of the oyster region. A brief
reference to an unusual and specialized form may not
be out of place.
At the present time in Louisiana, many schooners and
sloops are employed by oystermen, and under the intel-
ligent and progressive management now in force, the
more modern power boat is being added to the oyster
fleet. But not long ago the oyster boats were all of a
class seldom seen on our coasts, which, from its Medi-
terranean rig, was known as the “lugger.’’ A few of
these boats may still be seen on the oyster grounds.
The lugger, varying from sixteen to forty feet in
length, is decked over fore-and aft, the center being left
open. There is one long mast carrying a large, nearly
square sail that is suspended from a long yard. The
136 Our Food Mollusks
lcwer corners of the sail are secured at the bow and
stern on travelers, so as to work across the deck. There
is no jib. In sailing close to the wind, yard and sail are
drawn so as to lie nearly parallel to the keel. It is said
that these boats are superior even to schooners and sloops
in beating to windward. Before the wind, yard and sail
are swung across the boat. They are fast sailers, and
may be handled quickly; but the long yard is apt to give
trouble in squalls, and it is said that the danger of cap-
sizing is great.
The most highly specialized craft employed in the
oyster industry, are to be found in Long Island Sound,
and vessels of a similar sort will doubtless eventually be
employed over much of the oyster territory. As early
as 1874, an oyster planter of Norwalk, Conn., put steam
power into one of his sloops for the purpose of towing
oyster dredges. The advantages of steam power in this
work would seem to be obvious. It may be used as an
auxiliary to sail power, the latter being employed alone
in weather favorable for it. It may be used on calm
days, and is at command at all seasons, and in every
sort of weather. Its power may be made as great as
desired, and is easily controlled. Steam may be used not
only for propelling the boat, but also for drawing in
the dredges. But the expense of installing boilers and
engines is relatively great, and this, with operating ex-
penses, may have convinced oystermen at this time that
steam would not be profitable. At any rate, when Cap-
tain Decker began to convert his sloop into an oyster
steamer, he was ridiculed by all the oystermen in the
region, and the failure of his experiment was predicted
with the utmost confidence.
But, contrary to all expectations, its success was im-
Fic. 33. Steam dredging vessel on Long. Island Sound.
From a Report of the R. I. Shell-fish Commission.
Fic. 34. Steam dredging vessel owned at New Haven. From
a Report of the R. I. Shell-fish Commission.
Fic. 35. New York steam dredging vessel towing the
dredges. From a Report of the Forest, Fish and Game
Commission.
Implements and Their Uses 137
mediate and complete. Captain Decker owned about
sixty acres of bottom in deep water that he had been un-
able to use, largely because he could not keep it free
from starfish. With his new boat, that proved to be able
to operate large dredges rapidly, he thoroughly cleaned
his ground, and after oysters were placed on it, was able
to handle them easily and to keep down the numbers of
their foes. The result of this first attempt to use steam
power on an oyster boat in America was a tenfold in-
crease of the boat’s capacity for dredging oysters with-
out great increase in operating expenses.
When this fact was realized, as it was immediately,
a great cry was raised by all the oystermen along the
shore against the employment of steam in the oyster in-
dustry. The state legislature became convinced that
something should be done to reassure these conserva-
tive petitioners, so it prohibited the use of steam power
on the natural beds, and that prohibition remains to-day
in Connecticut.
But a revolution in American oyster culture had been
inaugurated, and has resulted in an enormous increase
in the number of oysters produced, and in the reclama-
tion of much of the deeper area of Long Island Sound.
Steamers to be used in oyster culture at once began to
appear in Connecticut and New York, and have steadily
increased in number, size, and efficiency ever since.
The little converted sloop “ Early Bird’’ measured
but seven tons. In 1880 there were six steam oyster
vessels in Connecticut, one of them measuring thirty
tons, net. Five years later the number had increased to
forty-eight vessels, averaging twenty-seven tons—but
three tons less than the greatest in 1880. By 1887 there
were fifty-seven oyster steamers in the Connecticut field,
138 Our Food Mollusks
but for some years following, the increase was very slow.
By this time there were probably as many steam ves-
sels as the condition of the industry in Connecticut de-
manded, and they increased in number slowly as it grew.
Growth has been steady, and each season sees a few
steamers added to the fleet. In 1903 there were about
one hundred of them; in 1906 one hundred and fourteen,
and that rate of increase may be maintained for some
time.
The average displacement of the steamers employed
by the oyster culturists to-day is nearly thirty tons, net.
Several of them recently built have a displacement of
more than a hundred and forty tons, or nearly ten times
the average size. The tendency seems to be toward the
construction of larger and more powerful vessels.
It should be stated that there is still much work on
the oyster field that can be done by schooners, sloops,
and small boats, and that there has also been a steady
increase in their number.
This demonstration of the utility of steam in northern
waters should be of great value to culturists in those
fields where steam vessels are not yet in use. So much
of the success of northern oyster culture has depended on
the development of these boats that it is of prime im-
portance that their construction and the nature of their
work should be studied by, and generally known to, the
culturists in the Chesapeake, the Carolina sounds, and in
the Gulf of Mexico. Unfortunately, publications on the
subject are few and meager.
The great superiority of steam-driven vessels may be
indicated by a brief statement of what one of them 1s
actually able to accomplish. This vessel is of seventy-three
tons displacement. It has a length of eighty-three feet,
Implements and Their Uses 139
a beam of twenty feet, and a depth of six feet. It car-
ries a crew of eight men. Its original cost was sixteen
thousand dollars, and a hundred dollars a month pur-
chases fuel, water, and oil.
The carrying capacity of the vessel is twenty-five hun-
dred bushels of oysters, and it is able to dredge eighteen
hundred bushels a day from beds under thirty-five feet
of water. In order to equal a single day’s catch by this
vessel, it 1s stated that it would be necessary for the sail-
ing vessel of average size employed by the oystermen in
Long Island Sound, carrying a crew of three men, to
dredge the same bottoms for nearly two and a half
months.
The fearful tortures to which the crews of many
dredging vessels in the Chesapeake have in the past been
subjected by their masters, form an interesting subject
that will be referred to later. To these cruelties have
been added the sufferings caused by exposure to winter
weather. Under the most humane treatment, the lot of
the crew of a dredger with exposed decks is a hard one.
In the North especially, where winters are so severe, the
limit of human endurance is required of the crew of an
open boat. In contrast, life on a modern steam dredger
is pleasant. It is housed over so as to afford almost
complete protection to the crew, no matter what the
weather may be. The four dredges are hauled by steam
winches, and powerful propelling engines make frequent
visits to port a certainty.
One extremely important advantage possessed by the
steam dredger that should not be overlooked, is that its
owner is able at all times during the winter to deliver
his oysters when he has promised to do so. If he is to
dredge them from deep water and in the middle of the
140° Our Food Mollusks
sound, neither ice nor storm can prevent him. The
work is done so rapidly that dates may be set for the de-
livery of large quantities. Market demands may be met
at once. On the other hand, the market is not glutted,
as is the case when several sailing vessels, that have been
weeks in obtaining a cargo, happen to reach port to-
gether.
The recent increase in the number of gasoline boats
everywhere on the coast is one of the most remarkable
phenomena that the shore has witnessed in many de-
cades. Naturally, these boats have become very useful
in the oyster industry. But fuel for the new motors,
whether gasoline or alcohol, will be too expensive for
large boats, and steam will have no rival here.
In many instances, the preliminary work of prepar-
ing oysters for market, begins when they are dredged.
In the Chesapeake, for example, where dredging for
market until the present time has been done only on nat-
ural beds, state law requires the culling of oysters on the
beds in order that empty shells and young oysters may be
returned to the bottoms. This culling makes handling
more easy and rapid for the dealers who receive the
cargo. In other localities, culling of the material taken
from private beds may, for various reasons, be done on
shore.
Oysters are usually very muddy when taken from the
bottom, and must be cleaned. On the steam dredgers the
greater part of the mud is removed before the dredge
load has reached the deck. The older winches or wind-
lasses were provided with what is called a positive clutch
—the same device that is employed on well windlasses
to prevent them from turning back and lowering the
bucket. Now what is called a friction clutch is em-
Fic. 36. A powerful ice-breaking steamer owned at New
Haven, Conn. This vessel is capable of dredging 1,200
bushels of oysters an hour in water forty feet deep. From
a Report of the Conn. Shell-fish Commission.
Fic. 37. The largest of the northern oyster fleet. This ves-
sel, drawing six huge dredges, has a capacity of 8,500
bushels of oysters a day in forty feet of water.
Implements and Their Uses 141
ployed. It may be only partially released and acts as a
brake to stop the descent of the dredge. THE AMERICAN
OYSTER
vf HAT may be called the balance of nature—
.@y = is
‘Gam the interdependence of organisms on each
other—as it appears in a multitude of forms,
is one of the most striking and interesting of
the phenomena that the naturalist observes. These vital
relations among living things are frequently complex, in-
volving many different species of both animals and plants.
They are not fixed, but even without man’s influence,
are subject to many changes.
One of the conclusions derived from the study of the
interrelations of organisms is that every animal and
every plant has enemies that may injure or destroy it.
These enemies are not of a single species, but many.
Wild rabbits, for example, in order to exist must escape
from foxes, wild members of the cat family, minks,
weasles, hawks, snakes, and many other vertebrates; and
in addition to these they must contend against a host of
insect and worm parasites. The list does not end here,
but includes many deadly bacterial and perhaps proto-
zoan parasites. While this may seem to be an extreme
case, one may be perfectly certain that even the eagle and
the lion, that we are accustomed to think of as fearing no
foe, are subject to attack by many deadly enemies.
Animals and plants in nature have, through the action
147
148 Our Food Mollusks
of natural selection, developed many means of protec-
tion, some of them very extraordinary, so that a balance
is established that allows a species to survive. But when
man makes his appearance, and domesticates wild plants
or animals, these equilibriums are disturbed, and com-
plicated results follow.
While these conditions might be illustrated by scores
of interesting examples, that might be selected from the
observations of naturalists, it is sufficient to call atten-
tion to the fact that the agriculturist is constantly waging
a war on numerous enemies that attack every animal or
plant that he attempts to rear, and that would destroy
them without his intervention. Not only is this true,
but often when one foe is conquered, an entirely new
one appears. It is an ever changing and never ending
warfare.
Naturally, the oyster culturist does not escape the ne-
cessity of fighting oyster enemies, and there are many of
them. Fortunately, natural surroundings are not greatly
changed by the methods of the culturist, but even the
slight changes that are necessary, have facilitated the
attacks of some enemies, and led to their rapid increase.
Natural oysters in dense clusters are more or less pro-
tected from the attacks of starfish, drumfish, boring
mollusks, and other foes, but when spread out singly on
smooth bottoms, are easily destroyed. Fortunately the
distribution of no oyster enemy is as extensive as that
of the oyster itself. Some of these foes exist only in
salt water, while others seem to be limited in their dis-
tribution by temperature.
In the most northern of the Atlantic grounds, the
common starfish is by far the most destructive of the
oyster’s foes. Fortunately it is a truly marine animal,
Enemies of the American Oyster 149
and is killed quickly when immersed in fresh water. It
is not abundant in sea-water that is only slightly fresh-
ened. On the other hand, the oyster is naturally a
brackish water form. The natural ranges of the two
forms, then, are not the same, but overlap. It thus hap-
pens that almost the whole of Chesapeake Bay and the
shore of the Gulf of Mexico, while salt enough for
oysters, are too fresh for starfish, and in these regions
this curse of the northern industry is practically un-
known.
It was not until about 1882 that it was recognized as
a serious menace to the northern industry. The reason
for this was not the sudden appearance of the form at
that time, but simply that the industry had previously
been confined to comparatively fresh waters near the
mouths of rivers, or streams, where the creature found
difficulty in perpetuating itself. It is usually on the
outer beds only that oystermen have great trouble with
the pest.
The starfish or “ five-finger ” certainly does not reveal
its real character by its appearance, for among the shore
animals, few are seemingly more harmless. Its body
is made up of a central circular disk, a little more than an
inch in diameter in the species inhabiting Long Island
Sound and neighboring waters. From this there radiate
symmetrically five arms or rays, each five or six inches
long in a large specimen. The wall of the entire body
is composed chiefly of short rod-like plates of lime joined
together at their ends by muscles, and in such a way as
to form a network. Borne on these plates of the skele-
ton, and projecting outward over the entire surface, are
a great many short, blunt, spines.
The mouth is situated on the under surface in the
’
150 Our Food Moilusks
center of the disk. Radiating from this on the under
side of each arm, and extending to its tip, are grooves
from which project a great number of fleshy tubes, each
provided with a disk-like sucker at its end. These are
the tube feet, and are used in locomotion.
One would hardly imagine, after examining a dried
specimen, with its hard, unyielding body, that it might
be capable of much bending in any part. But the living
animal is able to bend these arms upward, downward and
sideways, to an extreme degree, by the contraction of
muscles connecting the plates of the skeleton.
The animal creeps on the bottom with great delibera-
tion. Six inches in a minute is fair speed for a large
Enemies of the American Oyster ISI
individual. Its locomotion is accomplished by thrusting
out a number of the sucker feet in a definite direction
and attaching them by their ends. The feet may be ex-
tended an inch or more. After attachment these con-
tract, other feet that have been tenaciously holding to
the bottom at the same time detaching, and the body is
slowly pulled along. Thus, many feet, acting independ-
ently, reach out in the direction of locomotion, attach,
and then exert a pull by contracting, while all the time
other feet that have already contracted loose their hold
and then reach out again. Slow as these movements
are, they result in migrations of considerable extent,
that often surprise and trouble the oyster culturist.
One other anatomical feature is of interest in this con-
nection. Nearly the entire interior of the central disk
of the body is occupied by the stomach, while the arms,
or rays, are nearly filled by great glands that secrete a
large quantity of digestive fluid. The starfish feeds
principally on barnacles and bivalve mollusks. The
mouth, merely an opening unprovided with teeth, and
capable of expanding to a diameter of little more than
half an inch, even in large specimens, is not intended
to receive the bodies of animals preyed on. Sometimes
however, very small mollusks are taken into the stomach,
shell and all, but probably not often. Without teeth or
other organs for breaking the shell, and with a small
mouth—merely an opening through a muscular mem-
brane—how is it possible for a starfish to devour an
cyster as large as itself?
Various opinions have been expressed on the matter.
It has been supposed that the starfish reaches the soft
parts of the oyster by inserting some part of its hard
body between the valves so as to keep them wedged open.
152 Our Food Mollusks
It has also been stated that they break off the edges of the
oyster’s shell so as to make an opening to the interior.
A mere examination of the body of the starfish would
show this to be impossible. They have been thought to
kill their prey by some poison, and even to dissolve the
shell by some acid.
The whole performance of disposing of the oyster
may be witnessed in an aquarium, and appears to be as
follows. Slowly creeping on to its victim, the starfish
wraps its rays about it, at the same time taking up such
a position that its mouth is nearly opposite the shell
edges. The oyster responds even to this cautious and
gentle caress by contracting its adductor muscle and clos-
ing its shell. The contraction of the muscle may be
made so powerful that 1f one should attempt to pry the
valves apart, the tough shell might break without caus-
ing the muscle to yield.
The starfish cannot match such a sudden demonstra-
tion of muscular strength. It simply camps on the trail
in oriental fashion. If it cannot win now, it may later,
and it invariably wins. Scores of its feet are attached to
each valve of the shell. Apparently they contract so as
to exert a gentle pull in opposite directions, and against
the oyster’s powerful muscle, which in time becomes
fatigued. Eventually it yields altogether, incapable of
further effort, and the valves of the shell gape open. It
is possible that the sucker feet have each in turn en-
joyed periods of rest during this siege. At any rate,
their gentle insistence conquers in the end.
The shell valve will not open far, and the digestible
part of the mollusk’s body is still some distance away—
but not out of reach. It is a physical impossibility for
the captor to get the great mass of food into its
Enemies of the American Oyster 153
stomach, so to overcome the difficulty, nature has made
it possible for the stomach to go to the food. The
greater part of this sack-like organ is made of a very dis-
tensible wall. This now begins to roll out of the mouth
and between the valves of the oyster’s shell in the form
of a great thin sheet. It is spread over the soft tissues
of the victim’s body, the great digestive glands connected
with the stomach cavity, pour out their secretion through
the tubular passage remaining in the center of the sheet,
and the food is rendered fluid and absorbed without be-
ing disturbed from its position within the shell. When
the meal is finished, the muscular part of the stomach is
slowly contracted and rolled back through the mouth
into the body.
The starfish would not be so great a menace to the
oyster industry if its appetite were not so nearly insati-
able. It may live for months practically without food,
but having the opportunity, it will creep from one
bivalve to another—whether oyster, clam or mussel—
without observing a between-meal period, and thus be-
comes extremely destructive. A small star has been ob-
served to devour more than fifty clams somewhat smaller
than itself in six days, and increased in size at a very
rapid rate.
It may be interesting to notice that this gluttonous
habit, certainly one of the most remarkable observed
among animals, begins in infancy, even at a time when
the arms are as yet mere rudimentary lobes on the sides
of the minute central disk. Figure 57 represents such a
precocious infant engaged in the destruction of a baby
clam. That this is beginning a life of ravin early, may
be indicated by the fact that the bodies of the two ani-
mals together measured less than two millimeters across.
154 Our Food Mollusks
At this age the shell of the clam was quite transparent,
and the protruded stomach of its infant destroyer was
observed spread out within it. Newly attached oysters,
also, as well as those of larger growth, are destroyed in
the same manner by starfish of various sizes. They are
never too small to escape.
Professor A. D. Mead has demonstrated the fact, in-
teresting both from a biological and economic stand-
point, that the growth of small starfish is proportionate
to the amount of food that they consume. Beginning an
experiment with two starfish of the same age, and with
bodies about the size of a pinhead, if one is starved,
it may still be living at the end of a month, but of course
will not have grown. ‘The other, if well fed, will, in the
same length of time, have become large enough to cover
a silver dollar. It was formerly supposed that starfish
became sexually mature only after a period of six or
seven years. It is now known that they reproduce on
attaining a certain size, and size, as indicated above, de-
pends directly on the amount of food. The result is
that a female starfish may, if large enough, begin to ex-
trude eggs during its second summer, and many by that
time attain the required size.
Oyster culture would be quite impossible over a large
part of the northern field if starfish were left to them-
selves, yet to keep down their numbers is a very diffi-
cult task. When not excessively numerous in shallow
water, the culturist sometimes takes up the larger in-
dividuals one at a time on a spear.
The real damage is done when starfish move together
in great numbers, as they often do. Traveling but a
short distance each day, a great army of them may creep
over a bed, utterly destroying it. In deep water their
Enemies of the American Oyster 155
presence may not be discovered until the damage is done.
It is thus necessary for the culturist to exercise eternal
vigilance. The number of these enemies that must be
dealt with in certain localities may be imagined when it is
stated that one oyster planter in six years removed from
his deep water beds ten thousand bushels of them.
There is considerable variation in their number, due to
changes in environment. It sometimes happens that a
CESS SSS S
Fic. 39—Tangle of frayed rope or
pieces of cotton waste used in col-
lecting starfish on oyster beds.
Drawn from a figure published by
the U. S. Fish Commission.
year or even more may pass without the appearance of
great numbers. At another time they become very
abundant.
The removal of these pests has always been a very
156 Our Food Mollusks
difficult matter, and no entirely satisfactory method has
been devised for accomplishing it. Several devices have
been tried and abandoned. ‘Two chief means of dealing
with them have been employed. In one case everything
lying on the bottom is removed by dredges. Ordinarily
this is too expensive, unless oysters thus dredged are in
need of culling. The second method is one recom-
mended by the United States Fish Commission, and is
universally employed; indeed, the oyster industry could
hardly exist in New England without it.
Naturalists had for many years used a large mop made
of frayed rope ends for entangling and raising spiny
animals from the sea bottom. It was a modification of
this that the Fish Commission naturalists recommended
to the Connecticut oystermen. ‘The starfish tangle, as
shown in the accompanying illustration (Figure 39),
consists of an iron or wooden bar from which depend
several chains or wires. On the latter, mops of frayed
rope or cotton waste are hung. ‘The tangle is dragged
over the bottom, the spines of the starfish catch on the
mops, and the load is hoisted to the deck of the vessel
and plunged into a tank of hot water.
The tangle does not sweep the bottom clean of star-
fish, but by its use their number is kept within bounds.
There is no danger that the pest may ever get beyond
control. There is great occasion for the southern planter
to be thankful that he knows nothing of such an oyster
foe.
There are several species of snails that are destructive
to bivalves. Among these the large winkles or conchs
of northern shores do very little damage; but some of
the smaller forms, particularly the oyster drill, cause
large losses here and there along the Atlantic coast.
Enemies of the American Oyster Tay
The shell of the oyster drill, represented in Figure 4o,
has a length of an inch or somewhat more. When the
fleshy parts of the body are extended one may observe
the flat muscular “ foot,’ and projecting forward above
it, a proboscis-like extension of the head, on the end of
which is the mouth. Just within the mouth
opening, in a position corresponding to that
of the tongue of higher animals, is developed
a band of minute, hard, sharp teeth, which
together constitute what is known as the
lingual ribbon.
When at work on the shell of an oyster
or clam, the foot may be seen to adhere
firmly to it, while the mouth is everted suf- Fic. aes
ficiently to expose the ribbon. This is irosioin i
pressed against the shell, and a slow, rotary cinirea).
movement is begun that finally results in the Drawnfrom
drilling of a clean, smooth hole directly spell
through it. Some of the results of this work are shown
in Figure 64. It is now only necessary for the drill to
remove the soft parts of the victim’s body by means of
the proboscis or manubrium, which is thrust through the
aperture. ;
The drill, or Urosalpinx, is most destructive to young
oysters. It seems to be unable to bore through the shell
of large individuals. While not nearly so destructive as
the starfish, it does much damage, because it is continu-
ally at work, and is so small that it falls through the
mesh of ordinary oyster dredges. In order to prevent
this, dredges are sometimes covered with fine-meshed
nets.
Like starfish, oyster drills were formerly not numer-
ous on the New England oyster beds, but in recent years
158 Our Food Mollusks
have increased greatly. In New York Bay and in the
Chesapeake, they are abundant. Many also are found
in Pamlico Sound. In the Gulf of Mexico they are ab-
sent, but it is claimed by oystermen in Louisiana that a
larger drill, Purpura floridana, is sometimes very de-
structive. There seems to be much doubt concerning the
accuracy of this statement.
Another enemy of the oyster having a wide range, and
often being destructive, is a member of a group of fishes
Fic. 41.—The Drumtish (Pogonias chromis). Outline of a
figure in Dr. Jordan’s “ Fishes.”
popularly known as croakers. This species, Pogonias
chromis (Figure 41), is called the drumfish, from a
deep, croaking noise that it makes while in the water, a
noise probably connected with the large air bladder.
The drum is a food fish, though its flesh is coarse,
and sometimes it attains a weight of nearly one hundred
and fifty pounds. It is found all along the Atlantic
coast, and is abundant in the Gulf of Mexico. It gives
comparatively little trouble in New England waters, but
farther south, especially in the Gulf, it is often very an-
Enemies of the American Oyster 159
noying. It is a bottom feeder, and by means of its
powerful jaws is able to crush oysters of considerable
size. The interesting statement is made by oystermen
that the drum is unable seriously to injure clustered
oysters on natural reefs because, in attacking a cluster,
its mouth is soon lacerated by the sharp edges of the
shells. It is only when oysters are culled and scattered
singly on prepared bottoms that they become easy vic-
tims of this enemy.
Drumfishes are perhaps not more numerous in Louisi-
ana waters than elsewhere in the Gulf, but because
oyster culture has only been seriously attempted here,
their depredations have been specially felt in this state.
Their attacks are not constant, and it has been observed
that there is greatest danger to the beds immediately
after planting, and that if no attack is made during the
first few days, there is little subsequent danger of it. It
has been suggested in explanation of this fact that after
oysters have sunk slightly into the mud and have been
sprinkled over with sediment, they become inconspicuous
enough to escape observation by the fish.
There seems to be but one means of protection against
these fishes, and that is to build a stockade or fence about
the beds that they cannot pass through. ‘This is done in
some parts of the Louisiana field.
Other fishes sometimes make trouble for the oyster
farmer. In warmer waters, from the Chesapeake south-
ward, a valuable food fish, the sheepshead, often feeds
on young oysters, crushing them by means of its large,
blunt, incisor-like teeth.
Rays and skates abound all along the coast. They are
bottom feeders and their bodies are greatly flattened and
spread out laterally. Several of these destroy oysters,
160 Our Food Mollusks
crushing them with strong jaws that are covered with
short, hard teeth. The list of oyster enemies in .this
group of fishes includes the common skate; the sting ray,
or “stingaree,”’ as it is usually called on the shore, a
form that bears a long, dagger-like spine on the base of
the tail; and it is supposed, also, the “devil ray,” an
enormous creature having
a width of eighteen or
twenty feet, and weigh-
ing, in some cases, as
much as twelve hundred
pounds. The latter, how-
ever, has been reported as
an oyster enemy only
from Port Eades, Louisi-
ana, where it is known as
the “stone cracker ”’—
though there is probably
not a stone large enough
to crack within a hundred
miles of Port Eades.
Oystermen believe that
crabs destroy young oys-
ters, and this is probably
true in some cases. The
Fic. 42.—The sting-ray (Dasyatis pinch of the claws of
sabina). Outline of a figure in many crabs is powerful
Ee Onde ace eS enough to break the shell
of small oysters. It is observed that they gather in
crowds where oysters are being planted, apparently at-
tracted by broken individuals. It is possible that they
also attack the uninjured young, though accurate ob-
servations on this point seem to be wanting.
Enemies of the American Oyster 161
Mr. Ingersoll calls our attention to the fact that “ Al-
drovandus and others of the naturalists of the Middle
Ages entertained a singular notion relative to the crab
and the oyster. They state that the crab, in order to
obtain the animal of the oyster, without danger to their
own claws, watch their opportunity when the shell is
open, to advance without noise, and cast a pebble between
their shells, to prevent their closing, and then extract the
animal in safety. ‘ What craft,’ exclaims the credulous
author, ‘in animals that are destitute of reason and
voice.’ ”’
Every one who eats oysters has observed the small
oyster crab that lives in the mantle chamber. Only the
female is found within the oyster’s shell, and the male
has rarely been seen. This small creature is not an
enemy, but simply a guest. It has been suggested that
she consumes organic particles brought in by the water
currents; but it may be that the masses of mucous secre-
tion that collect in the mantle chamber constitute “ the
chief of her diet.’ This, however, is proposed without
actual observation to support it.
Members of the mussel family—near allies of the
oyster—while they do not prey on their cousins, often
smother or starve them. They frequently become fear-
ful pests to the oyster culturist, especially in southern
waters. Their young, finding a suitable lodging-place
on oyster shells, congregate on them in numbers, at-
taching by the many tough fibers spun by the byssus
gland. They may become so numerous as completely to
cover the oysters and prevent the opening of their shells,
which, of course, means death. Even if this does not
occur, they strain out of the water the same organisms
that the oysters must have for food, and the latter fail
162 Our Food Mollusks
to grow. Figure 43 well illustrates this condition of
affairs. At the right, appear the gaping shell edges of
an unfortunate that has succumbed to the extreme neigh-
borliness of mussels and barnacles. It may easily be
imagined after one has by experience measured the force
necessary to tear the muscles away from their attach-
ment, what a great task of culiing is before the oyster
culturist whose beds have become infested with these
bivalves.
The boring sponge is another animal that finds lodg-
ment on the oyster shell, and injures its host indirectly.
Cliona sulphurea is a sponge mass sometimes six inches
in diameter at its base, attaching by strands of root-like
tissue that excavate channels within the substance of
the shell. While this is not done with the purpose of
using any part of the oyster’s body for food, the honey-
combed shell may accidentally be perforated, making it
necessary for the oyster to consume all of its energies in
secreting new shell substance, or the shell may break, ex-
posing the inner body, which leads to death. Cliona oc-
curs frequently enough in northern waters, in the Chesa-
peake, in the Carolinas, and in the Gulf, to be recognized
as a foe to the oysters.
In a similar manner the shell of the oyster is per-
forated and weakened by the boring clam (Martesia
cuneiformis) in the Gulf of Mexico. This creature in
infancy bores into the shell and excavates a chamber
which is used as a dwelling place. A few of these ani-
mals infesting a shell make it as fragile as when bored by
the sponge Cliona.
In brackish and salt water alike, there are almost
everywhere certain sea-weeds that attach to objects in
the water, such as stones or shells, and produce great
Fic. 43. Oyster cluster covered with mussels.
Fic. 44. The nature of the crowding in oyster clusters. [ig-
ures from Dr. H. F. Moore, Document, U. S. Bureau of
Fisheries.
Enemies of the American Oyster 163
masses of vegetation. Sometimes oyster shells become
covered by such weeds as the sea lettuce (Ulva), spread-
ing out great sheets of tissue that are held flat on the
bottom in tide currents.
These plants are not parasitic, but may interfere with
oyster growth by preventing the access of food-bearing
currents. When oysters so covered are dredged, it is
necessary to strip the weed off, and in the Gulf, certain
weeds with cylindrical fibers are brittle enough to break
into small pieces, and these, getting into the ‘“ meats”
during the shucking process, though harmless, make
them quite unsalable. From this cause beds are some-
times temporarily abandoned.
In the brackish waters in which oysters thrive best, the
shells rarely become covered with a growth of hydroids.
These animals with their root-like bases, their branching
bodies, and beautifully colored spreading zooids, greatly
resemble gardens of miniature flowering plants; but
they have no beauties for the oysterman. Feeding on
minute swimming animals, and merely resting on the
shells, they do not harm the oysters, but it is difficult to
clean the shells of them, and both on “ shell stock’ and
oysters for shucking they are a nuisance.
Like other animals, oysters seem to be subject to cer-
tain diseases, one of which, at any rate, is known. In
the Chesapeake, and probably all waters to the south,
there sometimes appears in the pulpy visceral mass, a
swarm of small worm parasites. These seem not to be
known to oystermen, who may, however, have noticed
the very poor condition of certain individuals that are
really diseased. It was left to a biologist to show that
disease existed.
The presence of the parasite Bucephalus prevents the
164 Our Food Mollusks
formation of the oyster’s sexual products, so that in the
breeding season, its body appears thin and watery, and
observations have shown that under adverse conditions,
such as long-continued freshness of water, that is a severe
test of vitality, the mortality on infected beds is much
greater than elsewhere. This organism seems not to exist
in northern waters, where ineffectual search has been
made for it.
It is possible that future study may reveal other organ-
isms causing disease in oysters, but extensive epidemics
apparently do not occur among them. Any such parasitic
forms, causing diseases in the oyster, would probably al-
ways be quite harmless if taken into the human digestive
tract. The germs of typhoid, that may be carried by the
oyster, of course do not harm it. Distantly related or-
ganisms do not have the same diseases.
The list here given is a fairly complete catalog of the
ovster’s enemies, and when it is considered that very few
of them exist in the same region, it would seem that the
oyster crop was nowhere menaced by destructive agencies
more than is the farmer’s wheat or corn. On the whole,
it may be doubted 1f the menace is anywhere so great.
Yet any one who has a wide acquaintance with the
human inhabitants of the shore, has known some who
illustrate the fact that those who live on the bounty of
nature without other effort than that needed to gather
what she has prepared, are apt to be improvident and un-
successful. A great many oystermen complain that
their business is a poor one—and it is. But those who
have gone to the sea with the energy requisite to suc-
cess anywhere, and with the intelligence necessary to as-
sist and direct nature, have found her, like wisdom itself,
“easy to be intreated, full of mercy and good fruits.”
Enemies of the American Oyster 165
In spite of enemies and bad seasons, many an energetic
oysterman, beginning with small capital, has built up a
comfortable fortune. There is a constantly growing de-
mand for this form of food, and there are hundreds of
niles of fertile bottoms, now barren, where, with com-
paratively little labor, it may be produced, and other
fortunes will be made on them.
CHARTER OG
BIVALVES IN RELATION TO DISEASE
-|] ECENTLY great popular interest has been
awakened in regard to shell-fish, and par-
ticularly oysters, as carriers of the micro-
organisms that cause certain human diseases.
The daily press, and especially popular magazines, have
published numerous articles that might well have proved
to be disquieting, on the dangerous conditions existing
on oyster beds or in waters in which oysters are stored
or freshened. On the other hand, some claiming to be
competent authorities, have publicly stated with much
positiveness that oysters cannot transmit diseases, and it
may well puzzle the average reader to know where the
truth lies. Because oysters are so highly prized, and are
so generally consumed uncooked, the matter of the pos-
sible danger that may lie in them has excited a growing
desire to know the facts.
Newspaper and magazine science should be received
with caution and discrimination, but it now happens very
much more frequently than formerly that popular
scientific articles are prepared with due regard to matters
of fact, and are sometimes presented by eminent author-
ities. Though much that has been written on the possi-
bility of the contamination of oysters and clams may
have had the appearance of exaggeration, the truth has
usually been stated. One human disease at least, greatly
166
Bivalves in Relation to Disease 167
feared on account of its insidious and dangerous nature,
is without doubt sometimes communicated to man by
oysters, and certainly may frequently be so transmitted
both by this form and by other shell-fish that are eaten
uncooked.
Typhoid fever, known and dreaded nearly everywhere,
is caused by a rod-like bacterium or bacillus that enters
the body through the digestive tract. Several sources of
infection are very well understood. The most common
is drinking water, and many epidemics of the disease
have been traced to it in ways that do not admit of doubt.
Milk, also, is often the medium by which it is introduced,
but here the real sources have been proved to be the per-
son handling the receptacles for it or, more often, the
water in which cans or bottles have been washed. The
recent epidemics of army camps also have shown that the
organisms may be introduced into the digestive tract on
solid food. In such cases flies that have gathered in-
fected material on their appendages alight on food ready
to be eaten, and leave some of it there. It is probable
that the bacillus of typhoid passes through the digestive
tract of the fly without being injured, and if allowed to
do so, the fly deposits its digestive tract discharges on
food. Within a considerable distance of a typhoid fever
patient—or convalescent for that matter—these
creatures, formerly regarded merely as pests, become
deadly enemies. It may also be stated as a fact that
epidemics are sometimes caused by eating uncooked
oysters. Several times they have been traced directly
to that source. The evidence collected on that point in
this country and abroad is conclusive, and a biological
study of the habits of this and other bivalves clearly in-
dicates the way in which the transmission is accomplished.
168 Our Food Mollusks
It is just as certain that clams and mussels taken from
polluted waters may as readily bear the organisms of
typhoid, but except the “little neck,” these are not so
often eaten uncooked, and for this reason the fever is
not so frequently contracted through their agency.
One of the important facts concerning the disease is
that vast numbers of typhoid bacilli leave the body of
the patient in the digestive tract discharges and in the
urine, and more important still, that a convalescent from
the disease is as dangerous to others as a patient, if not
more so, for the organisms continue to appear in the dis-
charges from his body for many months after recovery.
With this knowledge of the nature of the disease, and
the organism causing it, its extermination seemed pos-
sible, and the statement was made and often repeated
that for every new case of typhoid there should be a
hanging. But recently discovered facts indicate that
certain persons at least, after having suffered from the
disease, may continue for many years, and perhaps for
life,*to pass typhoid bacilli from the body, and that this
may be true even when the disease occurred in so light
or obscure a form that its true nature was not recog-
nized.
While there is much criminal carelessness in the mat-
ter, especially where there is a convenient sewage system,
the discharges from the bodies of patients are some-
times disinfected before being disposed of, as of course
they always should be, but this is probably never true of
convalescents, and typhoid carriers are a constant menace
wherever they may go. The result is that the sewage
from almost any city constantly contains some of these
organisms which remain alive in it for a long time.
Even when sewage is treated in disposal plants, organ-
Bivalves in Relation to Disease 169
isms from the human body may sometimes be found in
the water that runs away from them to our rivers and
harbors and bays, in very many of which, along the
coast, are oyster and clam beds. It is altogether prob-
able that other intestinal diseases may also be dissem-
inated by shell-fish taken from polluted waters, but not
so much is known of this as of typhoid fever.
It is explained in the chapter on the feeding habits of
shell-fish that large quantities of water are constantly
being drawn within the shell and into the interior of the
basket-like gills. Even the minutest of solid particles
borne by this stream are stopped on the outer surfaces of
these organs and caused to adhere in masses by the pres-
ence of a sticky mucus. The organisms of diseases,
though very minute, are not small enough to escape.
Several gallons of water every day pass through the gills
of every full grown oyster or clam, and every solid
particle is removed from it and remains in the body.
- This collected material is then passed on to the mouth,
and once in the digestive tract of the bivalve, the organ-
isms dangerous to man probably are eventually killed by
the digestive fluids. But because the collecting process
never ceases, at least when the creatures are continually
submerged as are oysters and little necks, they may be
present on the gill surfaces at all times. The shell sur-
faces also afford lodging places for them, and to handle
them is not safe. The organisms probably are not at all
injured by the gill secretions, and, carried into the human
digestive tract when a raw oyster or little neck is eaten,
will multiply and cause the disease. It is thus plain that
even if relatively few in the water, the chances are that a
dangerous number of. disease organisms will be strained
out of it by these shell-fish.
170 Our Food Mollusks
It may not be pleasant to contemplate these facts, but
that there is here a teal menace to health is not any
longer to be questioned, and the more generally it is un-
derstood the better. Between twenty-five and _ thirty
millions of bushels of oysters alone are annually sent to
market from our shore beds, and it may seem strange
that, under the conditions, any considerable number of
the inhabitants of this country escape some terrible dis-
ease contracted from eating shell-fish. While typhoid
fever, often very difficult to diagnose, is more prevalent
than is generally realized, there is no necessity for alarm
but only for caution in this case. The reason that there
is not more danger from bivalves is that, while they are
wonderfully efficient mechanisms for straining danger-
ous organisms out of the water, such organisms prob-
ably do not accumulate in living masses by multiplication
in their bodies, but are perhaps soon destroyed by the
digestive fluids. Only those that happen to be on the
gills or other surfaces of the body at the time of market-
ing are dangerous. Again, long neck clams, quahaugs,
scallops, and even oysters, are usually cooked before being
eaten, and any dangerous organisms that they may bear
are thus killed. A healthy human body, also, is able
to withstand many an invasion of them without danger
if they are not too numerous.
But caution certainly is necessary, and it is well to
know something of the source of this food when pos-
sible. There is slight danger from little necks or other
clams not taken in the mouths of harbors or rivers bear-
ing sewage. The same is undoubtedly true of oysters
taken from the majority of beds along our coast. But
the trouble lies in the fact that before food mollusks are
marketed they are almost invariably placed for a few
Bivalves in Relation to Disease I7I
hours in fresh water to undergo what the oystermen
term the drinking process. Oysters sold in the shell as
well as those that have been shucked are usually sub-
jected to the fresh water treatment. To make delays
and the cost of transportation as slight as possible, the
localities selected for this are almost without exception
in harbors or river mouths near large markets. In very
many cases such waters bear the sewage of cities of hun-
dreds of thousands of inhabitants.
It should be recognized that this source of danger to
the public health could easily be removed. A _ strong
popular sentiment against the process of freshening
oysters might lead to its voluntary discontinuance by
dealers, or to legislative prohibition, and the enforce-
ment of laws against the practice would largely do away
with the danger. The end might perhaps be attained if
intelligent health officers were empowered to forbid the
sale of such as are taken from, or stored in, contam-
inated waters. The State Board of Health of Massa-
chusetts is the first to prevent the sale of shell-fish from
certain dangerous bottoms.
It is a curious fact that many persons who may be will-
ing to accept the truth of statements on the nature of in-
fectious diseases and their transmission, yet regard the
dissemination of such knowledge almost with resent-
ment, apparently because it is disturbing to peace of
mind, and may have a tendency to interfere with careless
habits. Who has not heard remarks of this nature :—
“Our fathers lived in comparative safety, but science has
surrounded us with deadly germs. We are afraid of
the crystal water from the old oaken bucket, and drink
what comes through the mains with protesting fears.
We are worried because we do not know the source of
172 Our Food Mollusks
our lettuce and celery. Flies and mosquitoes that we can-
not escape have become more deadly than serpents. We
cannot keep the dust from our houses, and are assured
that germs lurk in it. The church, the theater, the cars
are germ-laden, and we are not able to draw a comfort-
able breath. Away with such nonsense! We must live,
and the germ theorists are trying to make existence 1m-
possible.”
But there is little advantage in trying to hide from the
fact that recognized dangers to health and life are more
numerous than they were in former times. The cheer-
ful thing about it is that such knowledge has revealed
so many avenues of escape from them that were before
unknown. Some dangers of course remain to be faced,
but fear of them is ordinarily unwarrantable, and famili-
arity with them should not breed fear any more than con-
tempt, but only caution which, when it is habitually prac-
tised, ceases even to make one uncomfortable. It might
be supposed that even a dissection of the body of an
oyster would result in a loss of appetite for it as an
article of food, but expert testimony may easily be had
to the effect that this is not true; and knowledge of the
fact that some oysters carry typhoid bacilli does not alter
the flavor of unfreshened salt water individuals that one
is reasonably certain have come to his table directly from
deep waters far from shore.
While every one must take some risks in eating and
drinking, there is little excuse for foolhardiness, and
precaution usually costs little. So far as oysters are con-
cerned, the reasonable person will even be willing to do
what he can to assure himself of the source from which
they come, and will require a statement from the packer
who supplies his retail dealer concerning the position of
Bivalves in Relation to Disease 173
his oyster beds and the directness with which oysters
are transferred from them to the shipping containers.
If this is not possible, he will not eat his oysters un-
cooked. He will also examine the containers employed
by his retail dealer, and ask to see those in which the
oysters were shipped, especially when they are shucked.
One fact concerning oysters that are to be eaten un-
cooked cannot be too strongly expressed. It is that, as
the preparation of oysters for market is now usually
carried on, it is never safe to eat those that have been
freshened or bloated. Those coming directly from salt
water beds far removed from shore are likely to be safe
if ordinary care has been taken in washing and _ icing
them. Some dealers are already beginning to take great
precautions against the possible infection of the oysters
that they handle, and a little discrimination on the part
of the consumer would soon add to their number. The
matter of safety rests largely with him.
CHAPTER XU
THE NORTHERN OYSTER FIELD—
HISTORICAL
w= YOR the sake of convenience, the oyster coast
§} «may arbitrarily be divided into several fields.
What may be called the northern field in-
cludes the shores of New England, New
York, and New Jersey. The second includes the Ches-
apeake, the third the Carolina and south Atlantic shores,
the fourth the Gulf of Mexico, and the fifth the Pacific
coast. A brief account of the history of the industry
and natural conditions peculiar to each of these fields will
be given.
Cape Cod is an interesting part of our Atlantic coast
to the biologist, because it tends to separate two faunas
and floras. The warm gulf stream, turning northward
through Florida Strait, follows the shore closely until it
reaches this cape, and is then deflected away from the
shore. From the north, the cold arctic current descends
along the coasts of Labrador and Newfoundland, a por-
tion of it continuing southward closely hugging the Nova
Scotia and Maine coasts, and finally ending in Massa-
chusetts Bay on the north side of Cape Cod. Because
of the resulting differences in temperature, many marine
animals and plants are found on one side of the cape,
that are not able to exist on the other. There are, how-
174
The Northern Oyster Field r75
ever, many forms that inhabit the cold and warm waters
alike, and among them are the oyster and the soft
clam.
At the present time the ‘‘ wild ”’ oyster is practically ex-
tinct north of the cape, a circumstance that might lead one
to believe that these icy northern waters are not congenial
to it, and there is much foundation for such a belief.
Its growth and reproduction are much more rapid in
warmer waters, but are not impossible in some of the
sheltered bays even of Maine. A quarter of a century
ago a few scattered oysters, the descendants of native an-
cestors, were known to exist a few miles up from the
mouth of the Piscataqua River in New Hampshire, and
it is possible that some of them still remain. It is also
true that the oyster has existed and may be found even
to-day farther north than the extent of our coast. In
the Gulf of St. Lawrence lies Prince Edward Island, and
between it and the shore to the south is the shallow
Northumberland Strait. At the mouths of many of the
small rivers entering this, both on the mainland and on
the island, are oyster beds of considerable size.
This fact alone would suggest that at one time natural
oyster beds connected this isolated northern region with
those south of Massachusetts Bay, and many interesting
facts, especially those collected by Mr. Ernest Ingersoll,
substantiate that theory. It is perfectly certain that for
a long time before the first Europeans visited this con-
tinent, oysters flourished at a few points on-the north
New England coast, and that they were still abundant
at the time of the arrival of the early colonists.
Our knowledge of the matter comes largely from
numerous mounds of oyster shells that dot the shore.
Such ancient collections, found in many parts of the
176 Our Food Mollusks
world, and especially on sea shores, have always ex-
cited great interest, and have told many tales of
ancient peoples, as well as of the inhabitants of the
sea.
The Danish Kjokkenmoddings, or ‘“‘ heaps of kitchen
refuse,’ among the first to be studied, were formerly
supposed to have been accumulated by wave action, and
some have suggested that our own “kitchen middens ”
were also merely beach deposits thrown up in great
storms or by the action of ice. But the critical eye
would at once see that in the majority of cases their
form and position alone preclude the possibility of such
an origin, and examination has revealed among the
shells and rubbish not only the bones of many beasts and
birds, but also stone implements, pottery, and even the
charred remains of ancient fires.
Such shell heaps are found all along the Pacific coast,
from the Gulf of St. Lawrence to the Florida keys on
the Atlantic, and nearly everywhere on the Gulf of
Mexico. Many of them are of immense size. In Flor-
ida, there are vast repositories, the accumulations of
ages. On the Chesapeake, single heaps often cover
many acres, in some places to a depth of twenty feet.
In the northern oyster field, there is a great kitchen mid-
den at the mouth of the Damariscotta River in Maine,
the contents of which are estimated at eight million cubic
feet. It, like other shell heaps, contains many relics of
the native peoples who formed it, and without doubt
marks the gathering-place of Indian tribes, many of
which probably came from a distance to attend great
feasts.
So numerous are these shell collections along the
Maine coast that even the summer visitor, cruising in his
The Northern Oyster Field rv?
small boat among its rocky islands, that rise straight up
from the water, or in its innumerable bays, with their
steep, wooded shores, may easily discover them for him-
self, if he will explore the backs of the little beaches
that he comes upon here and there. The same is true
of the coast of Nova Scotia. The shells that he finds,
often covered by a growth of large trees above them on
the bank, are usually those of the soft clam; but there
are also many heaps all along the coast made almost en-
tirely of oyster shells. The immense pile on the Dama-
riscotta, for example, is composed largely of them. This
proves that the oyster is indigenous to these cold north-
ern waters. The shells are not those of a northern or
of an extinct species, but of our modern American
oyster.
In addition to the evidence afforded by shell heaps,
the records of the early colonists contain many refer-
ences to extensive oyster beds on this northern shore
that they found on their arrival, and from which, for
many years, they obtained food. Ingersoll says that
there is abundant evidence that, at the time of the com-
ing of Europeans, oysters were flourishing in the Bay of
Fundy, at Mt. Desert Island, at the mouths of Georges,
Damariscotta, and Sheepscott rivers, in Maine; in Ports-
mouth Harbor and the Great Bay of Durham River, in
New Hampshire; in the Parker, Rowley, Ipswich,
Charles, and Mystic rivers, and at Weymouth, Barn-
stable, and Wellfleet, in Massachusetts.
That oysters in a natural state do not now exist north
of Cape Cod as formerly, is due to two chief causes.
Their numbers were greatly reduced by excessive tong-
ing, and silt, washed from cultivated fields, was de-
posited at the river mouths, thus making it impossible
178 Our Food Mollusks
for the oyster young to exist as in the earlier time, when
the waters were clear.
The early settlers also found oysters in great abun-
dance all along the shore southward from Cape Cod.
Natural beds were present in many parts of Buzzards
and Narragansett bays, and almost everywhere on the
Connecticut coast. Just across the sound on the western
half of the Long Island shore, they were equally numer-
ous. The bays on the sea side of Long Island also
contained many oysters. All about Manhattan Island
they were very abundant, occurring on both sides of
East River and the Hudson, extending up the latter as
far as Ossining. The waters about Staten Island bore
a rich harvest. In New Jersey, Barnegat Bay, the long,
river-like body of water that parallels the shore line,
afforded suitable conditions for oyster growth, as did
the much larger Delaware Bay, south of it.
The early colonists on the northern shore established
themselves near the coast. It was natural that they
should for some time depend largely on the sea for their
food. Agriculture on a scale proportionate to their
needs had to be developed in the face of great difficulties.
On the other hand, the waters contained fishes in in-
credible numbers, beaches and flats were crowded with
clams, and almost every shallow bay and river mouth
supported extensive oyster colonies. These could be ob-
tained at all times of the year. Even in New England,
with its terrible winters, clams were dug from the
beaches, and oysters were sometimes taken through the
ice:
But finally oysters became so scarce in Massachusetts
Bay that before the end of the seventeenth century laws
were passed taxing those exported, and prohibiting
The Northern Oyster Field 179
oyster tonging by outsiders. These measures, however,
were insufficient, and natural oyster beds soon disap-
peared entirely. They persisted longest at Wellfleet,
near the end of the cape, but their destruction came,
even here, from excessive fishing about the year
1775-
The natural oyster growth on the shores of Con-
necticut, Long Island, and Manhattan Island, was so
extensive that it was long before there was any anxiety
about its depletion. From the time the country was
first settled, however, there was a steady decline, and
early in the nineteenth century it began to attract at-
tention.
Meanwhile it had been observed that any hard, smooth
body thrown into the water near oyster beds in the early
summer became covered with young oysters. The pos-
sibilities of human control over natural processes
wrapped up in such a simple phenomenon, would escape
the attention of the great majority of men. To see the
possibilities there presented, required imagination—and
imagination under intellectual control, such as has ad-
vanced science at all times. And a few East River
oystermen proved themselves to be real scientists, when,
on this simple natural phenomenon, they built up a
method of artificial oyster culture that brought material
well-being not only to themselves, but to a great number
of their countrymen as well. It should not be forgotten,
as has been pointed out by Professor Brooks, that before
the people of France, England, Belgium, or Germany
discovered a method of controlling and vastly improving
the natural production by the sea of a great source of
human food, these men had found it, and had put it into
practice.
180 Our Food Mollusks
In the year 1855 a few East River oystermen began
to spread clean shells on some of the unproductive bot-
toms near City Island. This was done under the pro-
tection of a very wise law, passed in the same year, that
gave them the right to occupy and control certain definite
tracts on the river bottom. Multitudes of young oysters
settled on these shells, and were transplanted and cared
for until they had become large enough to be marketed.
In this way there arose a method of controlling the
natural production of the water that is similar to that
practised on the land.
We cannot depend on a natural, undomesticated
growth of land plants or animals for food. In nature
one generation usually gives rise only to an equal number
of descendants that reach maturity. But grains and
fruits placed on waste places, in soil that has been pre-
pared for them, are made to reproduce many fold, and
swine, sheep, and cattle that, under natural conditions,
could not long maintain numbers great enough to be of
use to man, with protection from him, appear on a
thousand hills. And American oyster culture, though
simple, affords the essential element of protection from
destructive natural agencies that has covered desert
places with plenty. Compared with the achievements of
agriculture those of the early sea farmers seem simple;
but it should not escape attention that it had always been
the common belief that the organisms of the sea were un-
tameable. It required bold thinking, unfettered by the
prejudice of generations, to conceive of the possibility of
adding such a realm to man’s dominion.
Connecticut and other northern states with waters
suitable for oyster growth, followed New York in enact-
ing laws fostering the new industry. By their protection
The Northern Oyster Field 181
there was built up an artificial source of supply while
that of nature was being destroyed. It must not be sup-
posed, however, that this was accomplished without a
struggle. Everywhere there was strenuous opposition to
the sale or lease of bottoms, particularly from those
whose living depended on the gathering of oysters from
natural beds, and the lawmakers very wisely decided
that the industry was possible only under private own-
ership, as in the case of agriculture.
But some of the colonial charters had reserved all
beaches below high tide line for the State. There were no
private beach rights or rights to shore bottoms under
water. Probably no one desired rights to such bottoms
until oyster culture was developed. By that time the
idea had been fixed by tradition that the sea was and
‘should be the common possession of all. So objection
was made not only to the sale or lease of bottoms bearing
oyster beds, but also barren bottoms on which oysters
had never been known to grow. Oyster culture has had
to contend against this principle at all points along the
entire coast. This state of mind is typically set forth
by Mr. Ingersoll, who describes the efforts of a New
Brunswick fisheries inspector to convert the natives to
the idea of oyster culture, which of course involved the
lease of bottoms. They had destroyed the natural beds
by excessive raking, but would not hear to a lease. The
cnly argument that he elicited was “ My grandfadder
rake oysters, my fadder he rake oyeiers when he want
*em, and by Gar! I rake him too.’
One of the great objections to sale or lease was that
monopolies would thereby be fostered. This objection
to the lease has been used in every state possessing oyster
bottoms. As a result, the earlier laws allowed the lease
182 Our Food Mollusks
only of a small plot to a single person. Connecticut, for
example, allowed but two acres. Ordinarily these were
quite insufficient for the support of a family, but it was
not difficult to evade this provision when a man was al-
lowed also to develop the adjacent acres leased by “ his
sisters, his cousins, and his aunts.’ In this way a single
person often came to control a large area.
It was soon found that such monopolistic holdings
not only worked no injury, but were of great benefit to
every one in the neighborhood including those who
worked only on the public beds, who found the rapidly
extending markets and high prices obtained by the large
holder much to their liking. More liberal laws in this
state finally allowed the unlimited lease or sale of barren
bottoms. This has proved to be the wisest possible pro-
vision.
One interesting provision of the earlier oyster laws
that has, in some states, been preserved in those now in
operation, is the close season. Where this is in force,
oysters may not be dredged or marketed during the sum-
mer months. Southern states particularly should note
that experience in the northern field has proved the futil-
ity of the close season as a protection to the natural beds,
and should recognize the injustice of allowing a culturist
tc market a commodity, produced on his own property,
only during a limited season. It is an unjust and purpose-
less restriction.
The entire futility of a close season as a provision to
preserve natural beds, is well illustrated by the destruc-
tion in early days of natural beds near New Haven,
Conn. This has been graphically described by Mr. Inger-
soll as follows :—
“The fishing was done mainly for each man’s winter
The Northern Oyster Field 183
supply, and nobody paid much attention to any regula-
tion of it beyond the close-time in summer. Gradually,
however, these public river oysters became more rare and
coveted. The law was ‘ off’ on the first day of Novem-
ber, and all the natural beds of the state became open to
any person who wished to work them. In anticipation
of the date, great preparations were made in the towns
along the shore, and even for twenty miles back from
the sea side. Boats and rakes and baskets and bags were
put in order. The day before, large numbers of wagons
came toward the shore from the back country, bringing
hundreds of men with their utensils. Among these were
not unfrequently seen boats, borne in the rigging of a
hay cart, ready to be launched on the expected morning.
It was a time of great excitement, and nowhere greater
than along the Quinepiac. On the day preceding, farmers
flocked into Fair Haven from all the surrounding country
and brought with them boats and canoes, of antique pat-
tern and ruinous aspect. These rustics always met with
a riotous welcome from the town boys, who hated rural
competition. They were very likely to find their boats, if
not carefully watched, stolen and hidden before they had
a chance to launch them, or even temporarily disabled.
These things diversified the day and enlivened a com-
munity usually very peaceful if not dull. As midnight
approached, men dressed in oilskin and carrying oars,
paddles, rakes, and tongs collected all along the shore,
where a crowd of women and children assembled to see
the fun. Every sort of craft was prepared for action,
and they lined the whole margin of the river and harbor
on each side in thick array. As the ‘ witching hour’
drew near, the men took their seats with much hilarity
and nerved their arms for a few moments’ vigorous
184 Our Food Mollusks
work. No eye could see the face of the great church
clock on the hill, but lanterns glimmered on a hundred
watch-dials and then were set down, as only a coveted
minute remained. There was a hush in the merriment
along the shore, an instant’s calm, and then the great bell
struck a deep-toned peal. It was like an electric shock.
Backs bent to oars and paddles churned the water. From
opposite banks, waves of boats leaped out and advanced
toward one another in the darkness, as though bent on
mutual annihilation. ‘The race was to the swift and
every stroke was the mightiest.’ Before the twelve blows
upon the loud bell had ceased their reverberations, the
oyster beds had been reached, tongs were scraping the
long-rested bottom, and the season’s campaign upon the
Quinepiac had begun. In a few hours, the crowd upon
some beds would be such that the boats were pressing
close together. They were all compelled to move along
as one, for none could resist the pressure of the multi-
tude. The more thickly covered beds were quickly
cleaned of their bivalves. The boats were full, the wag-
ons were full, and many had secured what they called
their “winter’s stock’ before the day was done, and
thousands of bushels of oysters were packed away under
blankets of sea-weed, in scores of cellars. The first day
was the great day. By the next day the rustic crowd had
departed, but the oysters continued to be sought. A
week of this sort of attack, however, usually sufficed to
clean the bottom so thoroughly that subsequent raking
was of small account.”
To-day natural sources of supply in the northern field
amount to little except for seed that they produce. The
same has long been true in Europe. There are still enor-
mous natural oyster reefs in the south Atlantic and Gulf -
The Northern Oyster Field 185
fields, but they cannot last. Where there is such great
abundance, it seems to be difficult to believe that it is
not inexhaustible. Though it must disappear, its place
will undoubtedly be taken before that event by a better
and much larger supply such as now exists in the North.
Boston.
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ihe PRESENT CONDITIONS IN THE
Ai NORTHERN FIELD
# \F one were to sit before a large map of the
United States and, compass in hand, compare
the extent of other parts of the Atlantic and
Gulf shore line with that extending from Del-
aware Bay to Narragansett Bay, which comprises what
may be called the northern oyster field, he would dis-
cover, if he were not already acquainted with the fact,
that in extent the latter is relatively a very short stretch
of coast. To be sure, this is merely a matter of miles,
but it must be admitted, after measuring the irregular
shore lines of inland waters connected with the sea, that
there are many of them between the Delaware and the
Mexican boundary.
186
Conditions in the Northern Field 187
But a very large part of this is actually or potentially
a part of our oyster territory. Here is a wonderful suc-
cession of bays, estuaries, sounds and lagoons, vast
nurseries in which multitudes of marine animals and
plants flourish; where conditions for shell-fish growth
in particular are unrivaled, and of these the oyster is
most widely distributed and naturally most abundant.
Our attention is often called in a deprecating manner
to the enthusiastic admiration of many Americans for
the big things possessed by their own country. Even if
this state of mind might be regarded as a national char-
acteristic, it would be possible to suggest more grevious
and less patriotic sentiments held by some of those who
number themselves among the judicious. Perhaps
something may be said for pride in the great achieve-
ments and great resources of one’s own land even when
its expression involves comparisons.
Possibly it would do no harm to make the statement
for the benefit of such enthusiastic Americans, that no-
where do oysters grow so rapidly, nowhere are they so
abundant, nowhere may they be so easily cultivated, and
nowhere is the oyster area of such vast extent, as on our
Atlantic and Gulf shores. In truth here is very much the
largest thing of its kind in the world.
They may also know, if they choose to pursue the mat-
ter, that there are to-day immense oyster covered areas
in the South that lie undisturbed, that natural beds in the
Chesapeake have been tonged and dredged for nearly
three centuries without becoming entirely exhausted;
that in northern waters cultivated areas have taken the
place of natural beds, and are producing more and finer
oysters than before; and that much larger tracts, on
which oysters formerly never grew, are yielding a har-
aay
188 Our Food Mollusks
vest equally abundant and valuable. As a home for
mollusks useful as human food, no other shore is com-
parable to this.
Even in size, the eastern American oyster has a great
advantage over its European cousin. Some, having be-
come familiar with the diminutive oyster obtained
abroad, may question the superiority of mere size in our
native product. There is much, it may be said, in dainti-
ness and delicacy. Hence the popularity of Blue Points
and other baby oysters that formerly found no favor in
American markets. On account of their very small,
thin, rounded shells, these are in great demand. But it is
a safe statement that the average American who has
experienced the Blue Point flavor in New York, could
/not sit down in Norfolk to half a dozen large, fat, adult
Lynnhavens, which afford not only the finest flavor, but
also something to eat, without declaring the superiority
of the latter. However the matter of superiority as an
article of food may be decided, the fact remains that the
American oyster, north or south, will become as large
as the Lynnhaven if allowed to grow under favorable
conditions, while a large native oyster in European waters
is an impossibility.
The flat and the Portuguese oysters of Europe have a
shell but two or three inches long and are very thin.
The eastern American oyster, on the other hand, some-
times attains a length of a foot or more. “‘ There be
great ones,” wrote William Wood of Massachusetts in
1634, “‘in form of a shoe-horne; some be a foot long.”
A shell fifteen inches long was taken from the Damaris-
cotta shell heap in Maine. Oysters six or seven inches
long and more than four inches wide are sometimes
found in our markets.
Conditions in the Northern Field 189
Oysters from some localities are thin shelled, as in the
eastern end of the Great South Bay, the home of the
Blue Point. Usually the shell is thick and heavy. Its
thickness depends on the amount of lime in solution in
the water. In the Carolina sounds and southward, as
also in the Gulf of Mexico, natural oysters are charac-
terized by relatively small and much elongated shells.
But without question, all of these variations in appear-
ance are due simply to local differences in environment,
and there is a single species, Ostrea virginica, on the At-
lantic and Gulf coasts. In this form the sexes are sepa-
rate. It is sometimes stated that an individual may
change its sex, being male one year and female another,
but there is no foundation for such a statement.
One important element in the development of the
modern industry in the North was the aid received from
the Chesapeake. The planting of small oysters never
began anywhere until the natural beds had been practi-
cally destroyed. The demand for small seed oysters then
outgrew the supply.
As early as 1825, a few small seed oysters from Ches-
apeake Bay were transferred to waters near Staten Island.
At about the same time the town of Wellfleet on Cape
Cod had sent to Buzzards Bay and then to Connecticut
for seed oysters. Finally it began to receive them from
Virginia, and during the decade following 1850, from
one hundred to one hundred and fifty thousand bushels
were transported each year from the Chesapeake to beds
near this town. The Civil War made it impossible to
obtain much seed, and Wellfleet did not subsequently
recover its position as an oyster center.
During these same years just preceding the war, Nar-
ragansett Bay, Long Island Sound, New York Bay, and
190 Our Food Mollusks
Delaware Bay each had come to depend on the Chesa-
peake for its seed. Each year half a million bushels
were used in Narragansett Bay, and an equal number at
New Haven, while nearly a million bushels were trans-
ferred to the west or Delaware side of Delaware Bay.
Even after the war this great business continued.
But in the course of time, the Connecticut oystermen
perfected the methods of capturing young oysters in their
own waters. By the year 1880 the transportation of
southern seed to the northern field had fallen off greatly.
Ever since, there has been a steady decline, and to-day
very little Chesapeake seed is planted north of Delaware
Bay. On the other hand, the Connecticut culturists now
are able not only to supply the entire northern field, but
are sending an increasingly large quantity of seed to the
Pacific coast as well as to Europe.
Instead of suffering from the loss of this business, the
Virginia shore of the Chesapeake, from which the greater
part of the supply had come, really gained by it. Soon
after the war, planting began in that state, and at present
the supply of seed from the natural beds of the lower
Chesapeake is barely sufficient for the needs of those
there engaged in the industry.
It is seldom possible for a legislative body deliberately
to plan the organization and future development of an
industry, and to formulate laws establishing the plan,
before the industry exists. Such a feat was accom-
plished with every prospect of success, by the legislature
of Louisiana, when it formulated its present oyster laws.
The result will be to avoid years of wasteful experiment
and controversy and to add rapidly and permanently to
the wealth of the state.
But this was only possible because other states had
Conditions in the Northern Field 191
slowly and painfully solved the problems involved in
modern oyster culture. It was necessary for New York
and Connecticut to legislate and repeal and legislate
again until their present wise and effective laws govern-
ing the oyster industry had been developed. ‘This, of
necessity, was a matter of slow growth. Unforeseen ob-
stacles continually arose. Interests clashed, and many
difficulties had to be adjusted by the courts. New ques-
tions arose with the development of the industry, and a
wise general policy of legislation came only after a long
course of demonstration and education. Not all that is,
desirable has yet been gained, but a great and valuable
source of wealth has been established.
The interest of the outsider still centers about the state
of Connecticut. From the beginning it has been the
~ leader in accomplishment on the oyster field and in legis-
lation. Neighboring states, and then those more distant,
have followed its example. It has been necessary for
them to do so in order to keep in the field. It may be
observed that in Connecticut it has really been the indi-
vidual culturist and not the state that has led in the won-
derful development of the oyster industry. The culturist
has demonstrated his needs and the state has wisely sup-
plied them by legislation. On the other hand in Louisi-
ana and more recently in Maryland, the state itself has
become the leader; and this also is undoubtedly wise, for’
neither state contemplates ownership of the industry.
The plan is simply to insure the success of private in-
terests that may engage in it, and this, under the laws
that have been formulated, seems to be assured.
It may be interesting to contrast the old with the newer
plan of state control over the oyster industry in Connec-
ticut. There is still much to be learned, by states that
192 Our Food Mollusks
have not had the experience, from a history of the prog-
ress that has been made in oyster legislation.
Previous to the year 1880, a system of local control
over Connecticut waters was in operation. ‘The state
relegated to the towns the disposal, under certain limita-
tions, of shore privileges on their boundaries. The select-
men, or an oyster committee in each town, were given the
power to “designate” suitable places in the waters of
the town for the planting or cultivation of oysters, clams,
or mussels. But the holding of each person was not to
exceed two acres.
The plan was an utter failure from many causes. In
the first place, no protection was afforded the culturist.
Without it oyster culture is impossible. Planted oysters
were stolen with perfect impunity because there were no
laws punishing the act, which was everywhere regarded
as a joke. The towns appointed no officers to protect
leased bottoms.
In the majority of cases the holdings were not even
mapped, and titles to the land were very insecure.
There were no hydrographic surveys. When boundary
stakes were lost in storms or removed by ice, contentions
among adjacent owners were inevitable, and no legal de-
cisions of such quarrels were to be had. Non-residents
were not permitted to lease bottoms. Quarrels over
town boundaries arose, and the rulings of one town com-
mittee were different from those of another. If, in spite
of all these difficulties, one were willing to risk capital in
an attempt at oyster culture, he was able to do nothing on
two acres of bottom. The result was open and wholesale
fraud in gaining control of other holdings than his own.
Concerted action by culturists, necessary to establish and
maintain a large market, or to protect the oyster terri-
Conditions in the Northern Field 193
tory from starfish and thieves, was impossible under the
conditions imposed. Inadequate and absurd as this plan
of local control now appears to have been, it was adopted
by the majority of the states possessing oyster shores;
and even to-day the same ancient and farcical laws pre-
vent the establishment of a soft clam industry in New
England.
Since 1880 there has been a gradual change of plan in
Connecticut, New York, and in other states, but the old
method has not yet been entirely abandoned. Waters in
the immediate vicinity of towns, on the shores of some
states, are left in their care, though the powers of select-
men and oyster committees are limited in such a way that
local regulations must conform closely to the general plan
governing all waters of the state. On application from
the town, the Superior Court may appoint a committee
that shall locate natural beds, and the town may then
grant perpetual franchises in barren bottoms to be used
as oyster beds. A town is not allowed to grant oyster
bottoms to its own residents alone. This feature of the
system of control is cumbersome and unnecessary, and
should be abandoned. But the state now maintains con-
trol of the greater part of the oyster territory within its
boundaries. While it has reserved six thousand acres of
natural beds, the remainder of the bottom is held for
sale.
The real beginning of the present prosperity of the
industry was inaugurated by an elaborate survey of the
waters of the sound, based on the triangulations of the
United States Coast Survey. Large maps, clearly de-
fining all holdings, are published from time to time by
a state Oyster Commission, and are available to any one
desiring them.
194 Our Food Mollusks
That such a survey is a necessity does not yet seem to
be realized by some of the southern states. Without it
an incontestible title is impossible, and in Connecticut
it has put an end to a most fertile source of discontent
and strife that arises everywhere when the sale or lease
of bottoms is in question. There has been in every state
a strong demand that the natural beds be reserved as
public property. But what is a natural bed? The an-
swer is clear when natural oysters lie thickly massed,
but there are few such tracts. Such areas, once existing,
have been tonged and dredged until oysters are few and
scattered. Are they still natural beds?
The definition of a Maryland judge has been accepted
everywhere on the coast. According to this, a natural
bed is a bottom on which oysters propagating by nature
are numerous enough to afford a living wage to the oys-
terman. This is arbitrary and indefinite, but it cannot
be bettered. Its acceptance does not settle specific cases,
for it does not and cannot determine what constitutes a
living wage. The public is determined to retain its
“ rights” to natural beds, and culturists desire to buy or
lease the bottoms. Who shall decide between them?
In this matter the legislature of Connecticut did a
very wise thing. It provided its Oyster Commission
with a survey of the bottoms, and gave it power to de-
cide, after a careful examination, what bottoms con-
tained natural oysters sufficient for a daily wage, and
what did not. This they did fairly, but of necessity,
quite arbitrarily, defining and charting the outlines of all
the natural beds in the state. They then proceeded to
sell and lease the remainder. When their boundaries
were contested, the State Supreme Court upheld them.
That was the end of the matter.
Conditions in the Northern Field 195
Other states have followed the example of Con-
necticut in this. Even Maryland has recently had the
courage to do so, and if the decisions of its Oyster Com-
missioners in establishing boundary lines are upheld by
the state courts, much future trouble will be avoided.
The amount of land that may be owned or leased by
an individual or corporation in the state is now not lim-
ited by law. The ancient fear of an oyster monopoly
seems to have disappeared. Titles to oyster grounds
may be transferred. If grounds are found by experi-
ment to be unsuitable for oyster culture, they may be re-
leased to the state. Speculating with oyster grounds is
made illegal, and such a practice is difficult, for grounds
not occupied in good faith for the planting or cultivation
of oysters, may revert to the state at the end of five
years.
A perpetual franchise for the cultivation of oysters on
barren ground may be had from the state at one dollar
an acre. It has not been the plan in Connecticut to re-
ceive a large revenue from the sale of land, but rather
to vest the great wealth of the industry with the citizens.
In this way taxable property on shore is greatly in-
creased, and a small tax also is levied on the oyster beds.
In order to determine the amount of this tax, owners
must make an annual statement of the value of their
property, and the Oyster Commissioners declare a tax of
one and a half per cent. on the valuation given. Some
revenue also is derived from licenses granted to boats
which, with thirty-pound dredges and tongs, are allowed
to take oysters from the natural beds. This direct rev-
enue, however, amounts to comparatively little. The ac-
cepted view of the situation seems to be that a five
million dollar business in the state is a better investment
196 Our Food Mollusks
than a smaller one that would pay a larger direct tax for
its existence. Rhode Island and some other states have
adopted the latter plan.
The market value of Connecticut oyster beds varies as
real estate values do everywhere. The valuation prob-
ably ranges from one to forty dollars an acre, and in a
few cases is much greater.
One of the most important features of the Connecticut
law is the provision it makes for the protection of own-
ers of private beds. A number of state police are em-
ployed to protect private grounds, and are given the
power of sheriffs in making arrests and seizures.
The law also provides that sheriffs and constables, as
well as oyster police, shall, and that any other person
may, seize any boat or vessel illegally used in dredging,
wherever found after the offense has been committed,
within one year. If now such property is proved to
have been used contrary to law, it is sold, and half the
proceeds is paid to the person making the seizure.
If every other state owning oyster grounds possessed
such a law as that of Connecticut directed against oyster
thieves, and would enforce it, that form of larceny, so
exasperating in some localities, would be controlled. It
provides a maximum fine of five hundred dollars, or im-
prisonment for one year. American criminal proceed-
ings are notoriously lax everywhere, and it is not sur-
prising that arrested men are often discharged, and that
others have their cases appealed; but on the whole, prop-
erty in Long Island Sound is as well protected as on the
land. Fines and imprisonment are also provided as pen-
alties for injuring oyster inclosures or buoys used in
bounding them.
The other states of the northern field possess oyster
Conditions in the Northern Field 197
laws that are, in many of their essential features, similar
to these; and though much revision may become neces-
sary, it may be stated in a general way that the northern
field has solved the legal problems involved in the in-
dustry.
It is interesting to observe that one very desirable
provision is omitted from the oyster laws of all states in
the Union having mollusk industries. It is one for the
protection of the public against shell-fish contaminated by
the germs of human diseases, and certainly one that
should everywhere be demanded. While the laws of
several states prohibit the discharge of sewage into fresh-
water streams, none refer to the contamination of salt
waters on their boundaries by this means. Neither is it
illegal to offer for sale shell-fish taken from such waters.
The danger, especially from typhoid fever, is great in
such cases, and there is little excuse for this neglect.
As one leaves the Connecticut shore at New Haven or
Bridgeport, he may have the feeling that he is putting out
to sea, for the sound is a large body of water. But soon
he begins to notice that he is passing many odd-looking
buoys. Before long it becomes evident that these are
not stationed for the purpose of marking navigation
channels, for they are too numerous, and as he looks
about, he observes that the water is covered with them
in every direction as far as the eye can reach.
Almost all the way to New York the vessel plows
along among cultivated fields, the presence of which
would be unknown except for these boundary marks.
When their significance is understood, one soon obtains
a definite impression of the great extent of the oyster
farms that have been constructed in these waste places.
It is difficult, however, to realize that here also, as on
198 Our Food Mollusks
the land, there has been a preparation of the ground, a
sowing of seed, and a cultivation in preparation for a
harvest. The impression is strong that there can be
little depth of water over these farms, and that naviga-
tion here by large steamers would be perilous, but the
largest of vessels might pass safely over much of the
field.
Naturally, oyster farmers first chose their fields near
the shore, where the majority of the natural beds had
existed. When these were all occupied, they ventured
farther into the sound. ‘To-day one sees from the steam-
er’s deck that some of the oyster grounds have been ex-
tended to the middle of the sound, or to the boundary
line between Connecticut and New York. Some of these
are more than six miles from shore.
Perhaps the thing that most astonishes one is the in-
formation he obtains concerning the depth of water over
many of these cultivated acres. Only a few years ago,
no one would have supposed it possible that oysters ever
could be taken economically from a depth of more than
seven or eight fathoms, yet to-day, in some places, they
are planted in and readily removed from bottoms cov-
ered by a hundred feet of water. Such a depth, it is
true, 1s exceptionally great, but it is hardly less wonder-
ful that a very large part of the planted area in the
sound is seventy or eighty feet in depth. The great
majority of the beds are under water from twenty to
eighty feet. It may ever be surprising to learn that the
shore-loving, brackish water oyster can exist at all at so
great a depth as a hundred feet. The fact, however, is
that it has been taken from a natural “rock” in Dela-
ware Bay at a depth of more than five hundred feet.
The achievements of the deep-water culturist, that
Conditions in the Northern Field 199
seem not to be generally appreciated, are made possible
by the recent development of mammoth steam dredging
vessels. The finest of the fleet of the eighties, housed
over, operating four steam dredges, and having a daily
capacity of five hundred bushels, could almost be carried
on the deck of some of the vessels now owned by the
same company. Figure 37 gives a view of one of these
powerful ice-breaking boats. It steams out regularly
to distant farms, perhaps in Narragansett Bay or eastern
Long Island, where its owner has leased bottoms, and
neither weather nor ice fields seriously interfere. In one
day it is able to dredge eight thousand five hundred bush-
els of oysters in forty feet of water, and during the next
it can, from the most distant point, deliver the cargo at
its owner’s packing establishment at New Haven.
One may imagine the nature of the protest that would
come from the Chesapeake oysterman if a few vessels
of this sort were suddenly to appear on his own oyster
territory. He would expect his Maryland rocks to melt
like snow in April, and his expectation would be realized.
Yet he boasts that the immense reaches of Chesapeake
Bay comprise the greatest oyster field in the world;
and undoubtedly he is right. How, then, is it possible
for vessels of this sort to operate in so small a body as
Long Island Sound, where natural conditions for oyster
growth are so much less favorable, without destroying
the industry? Here they are busily occupied from fall
until summer in taking immense cargoes from the bot-
tom, and yet the industry actually increases from year to
year. This forest of buoys explains the matter, for
among them during the remainder of the year these ves-
sels and many smaller ones are engaged in sowing a
distant harvest. The future will perhaps see a similar
200 Our Food Mollusks
fleet in the Chesapeake that will bear to market cargoes
of which the oystermen of the present do not dream.
One notices, on passing up and down the sound, that
oyster beds are more numerous at its western end. LEast-
ward there are not so many planted areas, though in time,
trial may prove much of this barren region to be suitable
for oyster culture. One to whom figures have some sig-
nificance would be interested to know that besides the
shore, which is still under the jurisdiction of the towns,
there are seventy thousand acres of bottom under cultiva-
tion in Connecticut, and that in order to carry on the
work, there is employed a fleet of more than one hun-
dred steam vessels, aided by nearly four hundred sailing
craft.
In New York, including Long Island, the cultivated
area is nearly half that of Connecticut, and there are still
large barren tracts that may prove to be of value to
oyster culture. Here, as in Connecticut, most of the bot-
toms are owned by individuals or companies.
Parts of Narragansett Bay in Rhode Island, have
long proved to be valuable planting grounds, and there
all bottoms are rented by the state. Bottoms less than
twelve feet in depth are reserved for residents only at an
annual rental of ten dollars. Deeper bottoms are rented
for five dollars to non-residents, as well as to residents, of
the state. By this plan, thirteen thousand acres now
bring an annual revenue of ninety thousand dollars to
the state treasury.
While in each of these states the cultivated area will
be enlarged, no one can estimate its possible future ex-
tent within narrow limits; but at the present rate of ex-
pansion, these limits, whatever they may be, will soon be
reached.
Conditions in the Northern Field 201
An important question arises in the mind as one views
the field of this industry that has become so extensive.
Are these cultivated acres owned by many as on the land?
or have the smaller holdings been merged into large ones?
Is the business of such a nature that the modern in-
dustrial method of combination may be profitable to it?
A citizen of Maryland or Louisiana, where the fear of
an oyster monopoly has been a consuming one, might
be interested in the answer.
There has been a merging of holdings, and on a large
scale, over the entire northern field. In Connecticut, for
example, 338 persons owned 68,000 acres of oyster land
outside the town districts in 1893. Eleven years later,
in 1904, the area had decreased somewhat, being 66,000
acres. It was owned by 180 individuals and companies.
The number of owners had thus decreased nearly one-
half. It is now somewhat smaller than in 1904, and
the number of acres is larger. Some of these companies
hold very large tracts, owning and leasing bottoms in
more than one state. One, for example, controls 13,000
acres in Connecticut, 5,000 in New York, and more than
4,000 in Rhode Island—a total of more than 22,000
acres. This being true, it may appear that the northern
oyster field is perhaps already in the hands of a few
great corporations, and that the poor man can have little
part in the industry except as an employee.
But this is not the whole truth. There is another fact
that completely reverses such a conclusion. Not only
are there a great number of small holdings within the
limits of towns, but even in the sound, more than one-
sixth of the holdings are of less than fifteen acres—some
of them but two or three acres—and they are owned and
planted by “the poor man,’ who conducts his business
202 Our Food Mollusks
in perfect independence and security by the side of his
powerful neighbor. If he is thrifty and understands his
business, he makes it a success. He does not owe his ex-
istence as a small culturist to the benevolence of the large
corporation, but to wise laws, and to the nature of the
industry itself, which is so extensive on the Atlantic and
Gulf coasts that a crushing oyster monopoly is an im-
possibility, and probably always will be.
When, from personal observation, one has gained
some conception of the great extent of the cultivated
areas in the northern field, he is lost in wonder that seed
could be found sufficient for its sowing. But it must be
remembered that three, four, and sometimes five years
are necessary for the maturing of the crop, so that it is
not necessary to seed the entire area each year. The
method of capturing the spat has already been described.
A large corporation may secure its young oysters both on
its deep water farms and on its property near shore, but
most of it is taken on the comparatively shallow areas.
While Connecticut culturists have heretofore supplied
almost the entire field, Rhode Island planters are now
beginning to discover that, even with the high rental they
must pay, the planting of shells for a set of young is
profitable. Since 1903 seed collecting has become an
important factor of the industry in Narragansett Bay.
Thus the sound and the bays in the northern field have
become centers of great activity. During the summer
large fleets are engaged in the planting of breeding
oysters and shells or crushed rock for the collection of
spat, in cleaning bottoms or hardening them with sand
and gravel, in dredging, culling, and transplanting oysters
to growing or conditioning grounds, and in dragging
mops for the capture of starfish. In the winter all are
Conditions in the Northern Field 203
busy in dredging and carrying oysters to the shucking
houses and shipping centers.
There are several large markets and distributing cen-
ters in the northern field. Chief among these are New
Haven and New York. In the former city are the
establishments of fifty dealers, who together own thirty
thousand acres of planted ground in the state of Con-
necticut, and control an area equally great in Rhode
Island and New York.
Many oysters fresh from the water are shipped un-
opened to nearly all parts of the United States. The
greater number are opened at the packing houses. Some
of the larger companies are able to ship nearly a thou-
sand gallons of “meats’”’ in a day. These are washed,
cooled, and sent out in barrels or tubs in a perfectly
fresh condition.
Packers have learned that their business depends
largely on extreme cleanliness. Dirty receptacles used
in preparing or shipping oysters make certain their
early loss. Consequently barrels, tubs, or pails returned
to the dealers are most thoroughly cleaned and coated
inside with a water-proof preparation that of itself does
much to insure cleanliness.
New York City, also, is a large distributing point,
and the West Washington market, on the Hudson River,
has become its center. It is thus described by one of the
state Oyster Commissioners:—‘‘ On the river side of
the market there is an enclosed basin where boats may
be secure while unloading their cargoes of shell-fish.
The unique and commodious house-boats which are
moored to the docks are picturesque objects, quite
familiar to residents of the city. These barges are really
two-story houses, built upon scows or floats with ex-
204. Our Food Mollusks
tensive expanses of floors or decks upon which large
quantities of stock may be stored, assorted, opened, and
shipped. The ends of these houses fronting the street
may properly, perhaps, be called bows, and are con-
structed with more or less attention to architectural ef-
fect, so that the facades are not unattractive. Upon the
top, or cornice, of each boat, usually extending across
the entire front of the structure, is the sign of the firm
doing business within. These boats are fixed with more
or less permanency in their berths, and have every ap-
pearance of busy establishments of trade. They rise
and fall with the tides, which keep them on a level cor-
responding with that of the decks of the boats of the
oyster-carrying fleet, thus facilitating the loading and
unloading of stock. These houses may be moved from
place to place, when necessary, by tow boats.”
Philadelphia, being situated on the Delaware River,
is the chief market for the product of Delaware Bay.
Many of the oysters from the New Jersey bays are sent
to New York.
In New Jersey there are three separate oyster regions
The most northern, Raritan Bay, is really a part of New
York Bay, and the industry there is much like that of
other parts of that body of water. On the ocean side of
the state, Barnegat Bay lies parallel with the shore like a
river separated from the open water only by a low ridge
of sand. Its waters are brackish, and support a large
number of oyster beds. The third oyster district is the
eastern shore of Delaware Bay. This body of water,
some thirty miles wide at its lower end, has always pro-
duced many oysters, and planted beds may be found cov-
ering large areas both on the New Jersey and Delaware
shores.
Conditions in the Northern Field 205
Seed for these beds was formerly brought from the
Chesapeake, but in recent years, oystermen have fol-
lcwed the example of Connecticut culturists, and now
produce much of their own stock for planting. Some
planters, however, still depend largely on the natural beds
for their supply.
Thus during the past few years a great industry has
been developed on the barren bottoms of these northern
bays. Each year it contributes many millions of dol-
lars to the wealth of the states that have fostered it.
But its benefits are not confined to one region. Its meth-
ods, and the vexed experiences of its development may
be avoided in other regions where an industry has yet to
be established. The more serious problems have been
solved by the northern culturist.
CHAPTER: XLV t
THE CHESAPEAKE
™@\N ERY one is familiar with the frequently re-
2 j peated statement that Chesapeake Bay is the
4] most extensive and prolific oyster territory
in the world. The statement is undoubtedly
true. When one compares it with the northern field,
the marvel of its natural fertility is astonishing. The
colonists of New Amsterdam left many enthusiastic ac-
counts of vast stores of “ brave oysters’ that Providence
had provided for them in their new home. “ The oyster
bankes,” it was written by a New England colonist, “ do
barre out the bigger ships.” And yet even in early
colonial times, these natural beds became so im-
poverished that laws were formulated to prevent
their entire annihilation. In the beginning, oysters
became an important article of food of the inhabitants of
Maryland and Virginia also. As population increased,
greater and still greater numbers were removed from
the waters of the Chesapeake. Inland towns began to
be supplied. Oysters were transported by wagon, as
roads extended into the interior. Finally, when rail-
roads began to lead northward, and westward across
the Alleghany Mountains, the ever increasing supply of
oysters found a market in the rapidly growing territory
far from the coast. Decade after decade passed, millions
of bushels finally being marketed every year, and now,
206
The Chesapeake 207
after almost three centuries of tonging and scraping and
dredging, the wonderful natural beds of the Chesapeake,
though sadly depleted, still exist, and still supply the
greater number of the oysters marketed from the bay.
Lying within the boundaries of Maryland and Vir-
ginia, the Chesapeake has a length of nearly two hun-
dred miles. In Maryland it is, roughly, from five to
208 Our Food Mollusks
ten miles wide, and, in Virginia, its shores are from fif-
teen to thirty miles apart. The shore line is everywhere
very irregular, with extensive bays, and entering from
the west are wide rivers like the Patuxent, Potomac, Rap-
phannock, and James, the mouths of which are brackish
water estuaries, most favorable for oyster growth.
In no body of water would necessary conditions for
oyster growth be present everywhere on the bottom. It
has already been shown that the requirements are many
and exact. Even the most skilful culturist cannot make
it possible for oysters to grow everywhere in the Chesa-
peake; but the relative amount of favorable bottom as
compared with that of other oyster fields, where oyster
culture has been practised, is very large. If intensive
and scientific oyster culture were employed here, as it is
in Long Island Sound, the result would astonish the
world.
Only a very fragmentary record of the early industry
in this bay has been kept. The importance of so great
a natural source of wealth has been recognized, and the
legislative bodies of Maryland and Virginia have formu-
lated and revised numerous oyster laws; but until com-
paratively recent times, it has apparently been deemed
unnecessary to record information on any phase of the
business. Indeed, no one seems to have been particularly
interested in the biological conditions in the bay, or in
more than his own part in the industry.
Following the method of the archeologist, which is al-
most the only one available for gaining information on
the industry before the middle of the nineteenth century,
we are able to obtain a vague idea of the proportions of
the oyster trade in the indefinite past from the fact that
accumulated shells were used at an early period not only
The Chesapeake 209
in supplying lime for building and for the construction of
beautiful shell roads, but, in some cases, to build the very
foundations of towns from the bottom of the bay.
It is true that Maryland, in 1882, appointed a com-
mission to inquire into the condition of the industry in
her waters—providing it with no means for making a
survey, and paying no attention whatever to the valuable
report returned by it. Since that period the main facts
concerning the industry have been recorded.
During the first quarter of the last century there seems
to have been a brisk local trade in the opening and sale
of oysters in cities and towns near the bay. But in this
early time began the shipping of oysters to the northern
field for planting and for opening. It has already been
stated that this trade increased in magnitude until
checked by the Civil War. Out of it grew the present
packing business of the Chesapeake, and in the follow-
ing manner:—A few far-seeing and energetic oyster
culturists of Connecticut, recognizing the great natural
resources of the bay, and the possibilities of a market
with Baltimore as a center, established branch packing
houses in that city in 1834. These pioneers of the mod-
ern business, with characteristic energy, began to estab-
lish wagon lines for the distribution of their product,
extending them as far west as Pittsburgh. With the
construction of the Baltimore and Ohio, and other rail-
roads, this distribution was enormously facilitated,
oysters were plentiful, and these firms conducted a great
business.
Writing of the establishment of the first packing
houses, Mr. Ingersoll, who had collected all available
data for his census report of 1880, continues :—‘‘ A few
years later, Mr. A. Field, also a native of Connecticut,
210 Our Food Mollusks
began to sell oysters, which he first steamed and ‘then
hermetically sealed in tin cans. This preparation was
received with favor, and the new trade grew very rap-
idly. Records furnished by C. S. Maltby inform ts
that in 1865 1,875,000 bushels of oysters were packed
raw in Baltimore, and 1,360,000 bushels were preserved.
In 1869 he numbers in Maryland 55 packers, who, at 500
to 2,500 cans per day, put up 12,000,000 to 15,000,000
cans in a season of seven months, using 5,000,000 bush-
els. Sixty ‘raw’ houses that year employed 3,000
hands, while the packers gave employment to 7,000 per-
sons. Large quantities of canned oysters were annually
sent, at that time, by steamship to Havana.”
Mr. Richard Edmonds, describing the industry of the
same period, wrote in regard to it:—‘‘ The raw-oyster
business has always been more profitable and less subject
to the vicissitudes of trade, although there are many
losses from spoilt oysters when the weather happens to
turn suddenly warm. Raw oysters, after being opened,
are packed in small, air-tight cans holding about a quart,
and these are arranged in rows in a long wooden box,
with a block of ice between each row, or they are emptied
into a keg, half-barrel, or barrel made for this purpose.
When the latter plan is pursued, the keg or barrel is filled
to about five-sixths of its capacity, and then a large piece
of ice is thrown in, after which the top is fastened on as
closely as possible, and it is at once shipped to the West,
usually by special oyster trains or by express. Packed
in this way, with moderately cold weather, the oysters
will keep very well for a week or ten days. During the
most active part of the ‘raw’ season, there are daily
oyster trains of from thirty to forty cars from Baltimore
to the West, where nearly all the Baltimore oysters are
The Chesapeake om
consumed. From the shores of the Chesapeake Bay as
far as Detroit there is scarcely a city or town (connected
with any of the great trunk lines) which is not supplied
with Maryland raw oysters. Farther west, and to a
considerable extent in European countries, the demand
is supplied by steamed oysters. The oysters used in the
raw trade are of a finer quality, and consequently com-
mand better prices than steamed.”
When this was written, there were forty-five packing
houses in the city of Baltimore. During the winter of
1879-80, these firms marketed more than seven million
bushels of oysters, the production of other firms in the
state raising the total to ten million bushels.
The packing business of Virginia began very much
later than that of Maryland. It was not until 1859 that
-an establishment was founded in the city of Norfolk.
The time and place, however, were unfortunate for the
new venture, for shortly the war began that paralyzed
every industry, transformed a garden state into a wilder-
ness, and covered its waters with hostile fleets.
No one but a Virginian knows how the state suffered
in that conflict, though it is mournful enough to an out-
sider even to-day to see so much of its formerly fertile
interior grown over with jack pine and broom straw,
worn out because of the poverty of its owners, or gullied
beyond repair. But one very important source of rev-
enue remained after the conflict. The natural oyster
beds that had for many years suffered from excessive
tonging, had been resting for four years, and were now
densely packed. Prices were high, and a great many per-
sons now engaged in the tonging of oysters.
Immediately on the cessation of hostilities, packing
houses began operations in Norfolk, and the industry in-
212 Our Food Mollusks
creased for several years. Very few oysters have ever
been canned in Virginia. The early trade, like that of
to-day, was largely in opened oysters that were sent
north in a fresh condition, where they were usually sold
as northern stock. In 1880 the state produced nearly
seven million bushels, and more than sixteen thousand
persons were engaged in the industry.
There seem to be no definite data bearing on the pro-
duction of the entire bay before the year 1880. The
notes of one Baltimore packer estimate the total produc-
tion of the bay at 6,944,500 bushels in 1865, of which
Maryland produced 4,879,500, and Virginia 2,065,000
bushels. It is stated by Professor Brooks that in 1875
the bay produced 17,000,000 bushels. The census esti-
mate for 1880 was slightly more than that. Professor
Brooks believed that the average for fifty-six years fol-
lowing the establishment of the packing industry in Bal-
timore, was at least 7,000,000 bushels a year, or, during
the period of little more than half a century, a total of
392,000,000 bushels. This is an enormous production,
and all the more wonderful because the greater part of
it was from natural beds.
But high tide in the Chesapeake industry was reached
soon after the formulation of the tenth census estimate
in 1880. On account of the continued fertility of the
waters decade after decade, the inhabitants of Maryland
and Virginia seemed to have become convinced that they
were inexhaustible. Some, however, were able to see
that a continuation of dredging, as it had always been
carried on, would eventually bring destruction to the
natural beds. Influenced by those who had this belief,
the Governor of Maryland in 1882 requested the late
Professor W. K. Brooks of Johns Hopkins University
The Chesapeake 213
in Baltimore, a naturalist of world-wide reputation, to
accept the position of chairman of a commission to ex-
amine and report on the condition of the natural beds in
the Chesapeake, and to suggest measures needed for their
protection or improvement. Professor Brooks had al-
ready, in 1878, completed an important biological study
of the American oyster. By a long-continued observa-
tion of the animal in its natural state, he had become
thoroughly acquainted with its needs and with the nature
of its surroundings. No other person was so well fitted
for the task, which he accepted, and for which the uni-
versity gave him leave of absence.
In 1884 he published an exhaustive report, in which
he showed that, with the methods then employed in gath-
ering oysters, the Chesapeake industry must decline, and
eventually cease to exist. He used the historical and
biological arguments with such skill and force that it
seems impossible that an intelligent person could have
followed them without conviction. The report attracted
the most respectful attention of many citizens, but had
no effect on those directly engaged in the industry, and
they held the balance of political power in Maryland.
In 1891 Professor Brooks published an interesting
and less technical account of the natural resources of
Chesapeake Bay in a book that deserved wide popular in-
terest. Even at that time nothing had been done in
Maryland to promote oyster culture, and the natural re-
sources were very rapidly declining. Fifteen years more
passed before the state saw that the vast wealth of its
waters had dwindled dangerously near to the vanishing
point. Then, nearly a quarter of a century after this
condition had been shown to be inevitable, it was com-
pelled to listen to reason, and, in 1906, made an attempt
214 Our Food Mollusks
—not a thorough-going one, by any means—at reform.
“A prophet is not without honor, but in his own coun-
try, and among his own kin, and in his own house.”
The record of the decline in the Chesapeake since 1885
is very incomplete, but that kept by the transportation
companies and the packing houses of Baltimore indicates
its nature. During the season of 1885-6 more than three
and a half million bushels of oysters were shucked in the
city of Baltimore. In 1889-90 the number had fallen
below two and a half millions. In 1893-4 it had de-
clined to a little more than one and a half millions. For
the next four years it remained nearly the same, and
hopes began to be entertained that the low mark had been
reached, and that the natural beds of the Chesapeake
would continue to yield a harvest of at least that amount.
But in 1899-1900 the supply hardly exceeded a million
bushels, and the following season fell below the million
mark. Since then the same steady decrease has been
maintained, if more slowly, yet none the less certainly.
This falling off in the business of the packers was not
due to any increase in what is called the shell trade,
or to the establishment of new packing houses elsewhere,
but simply to the fact that the natural supply of the bay
was nearly exhausted. It was stated by the railroad
companies that during the decade between 1890 and
1900, the shipments of oysters in the shell had decreased
three-fourths in volume.
But the decline was even more rapid than indicated by
these figures, for in 1889 the Baltimore packers began
to send dredging vessels down the coast to Pamlico
Sound in North Carolina, where they taught the un-
sophisticated native oystermen something about the
dredging of oysters, and incidentally nearly ruined the
The Chesapeake 215
natural resources of the sound in short order. Oysters
dredged there were all taken to the packing houses in
Baltimore, where they were shucked, sold, and
counted in the fragmentary records of the business as
Chesapeake oysters. Thus the prophecy of the commis-
sion of 1882 was fulfilled. Its report was not merely a
warning. It showed the decline in the great industry to
be unnecessary. It explained the simple course to be
pursued that would increase the production of oysters to
a vast extent; and there is even more reason to-day than
there was in 1884 for the belief that every prediction of
vast success and fortune contained in it might by this
time have been realized by the state of Maryland had
it chosen to develop a thorough-going system of oyster
culture.
The history of the industry in Virginia’s part of the
bay is not so depressing. Much of the bottom is shal-
low, and is worked by tongers. In 1879 dredging on
natural oyster rocks was prohibited, though allowed on
private grounds. But in spite of the fact that only tongs
were employed, the natural beds rapidly became depleted.
At this time planting was allowed by the state, but few
availed themselves of the privilege. Naturally, planting
could not well flourish when there was great doubt as to
the limits of natural rocks as distinguished from barren
bottoms. Planting had also been allowed in Maryland
for many years, but very few had dared to invest labor
and money in it.
In 1892 a survey of the natural oyster beds was made
in Virginia. These were staked out, and though their
boundary marks have long since disappeared, the good
effects of that designation have been felt ever since. If
a triangulation survey of the barren bottoms had been
216 Our Food Mollusks
made at the same time, a much greater stride in advance
would have been taken.
Maryland was still the proud leader of all the oyster
producing states in 1891. Ten years later she had re-
linquished this position to Virginia, from which were
marketed nearly eight million bushels in 1901. Of these
more than three million bushels came from private beds.
The Virginia oyster planter still has his serious troubles,
but the practice of planting has become so extensive
that the market does not depend entirely on the natural
rocks, and hence possesses much stability.
Of late years it has everywhere become the habit to
refer to the upper Chesapeake as the dead goose that
laid the golden eggs. When modern oyster laws are be-
ing demanded in other states, Maryland is exhibited as
the horrible example of the effects of faulty legislation
on the oyster industry. Her natural resources have
largely been wasted, and almost perfect lawlessness has
been tolerated on the bay.
No one has ever supposed that the people of Mary-
land were peculiarly indifferent to the destruction of the
natural treasures buried in her bay. They have known
what they were losing, and why, but, like the American
public everywhere, they were long-suffering in patience.
An American from any other part of the country knows
without being told that such a state of affairs is probably
to be explained by what was the fact in this case—that
the Maryland oyster had been deeply involved in politics.
When a sufficient number of persons become interested
in the lumbering of pine, spruce, or fir, these become fac-
tors in state or even national politics. The same is true
of such sources of natural wealth as metals, coal, petro-
leum, ‘and many others. This happens because those
The Chesapeake 2g.
who are most directly interested desire all that may be
obtained, and in getting what they can as rapidly as pos-
sible, usually waste much more than they get. They
resent public interference, and, when necessary, pur-
chase immunity in one way or another of political ma-
chines—an old story the world over.
The oyster industry has been of the greatest im-
portance to Maryland and Virginia. It supports thou-
sands of shuckers, tongers, and dredgers. The business
of the oyster dredger is to get oysters where they grow,
and he has always attended to it—as one writer has put
it, “ regarding neither the laws of God or man.” All
that he has ever desired from the public is to be let alone.
The tonger, for whom certain shallow waters have been
reserved, has asked nothing more. Each of these has
often maintained his ‘‘ natural rights’ against the other
by means of rifles, and both have taught the oyster
planter, whose unnatural business, it has seemed to them,
might glut their markets, and whose unholy purpose has
apparently been to take the bread out of the mouths of
the honest poor, that Maryland, at least, was no place for
him.
The “ rights ”’ of these men have been looked after in
state legislatures by those whom they have sent by their
votes, and restrictive laws have seldom been passed.
Some years ago the statement was made in a government
document that one candidate for the Virginia legislature
promised the oystermen that, if elected, he would defend
any of them in the courts free of charge should they
transgress any of the state oyster laws; and every one
has always believed the situation to have been worse in
Maryland than in Virginia.
Until 1906 the oyster laws of Maryland aimed at little
‘
218 Our Food Mollusks
but the prevention of quarrels between tongers and
dredgers, and the collection of revenue by means of
licenses. To enforce the laws, it has been necessary to
support an ‘“‘oyster navy.” The plan of collecting a
revenue has always been a favorite one. Just previous
to the passage of the new oyster laws, the state was able
to collect about forty thousand dollars—at an expense of
more than sixty thousand. The revenue plan has usually
operated in this way in Maryland. A law to compel
culling on the beds where oysters were dredged has been
on the statute books for years, but it has been observed
only when convenient. In short, such oyster laws as
Maryland has possessed, have rarely been enforced. It
must be said, however, that on so extensive an area as
the Chesapeake, where public sentiment was overwhelm-
ingly against existing laws, their enforcement was prac-
tically impossible. It is an interesting problem whether
the provisions of the new statutes can be enforced more
successfully than were the old.
Many hard things, to be found in newspaper files,
magazines, and government reports, have been written by
citizens of Maryland and Virginia concerning the oyster
pirates of the Chesapeake, especially of their almost in-
credible lawlessness and cruelty, and hard as these state-
ments are, those who have been at all familiar with the
conditions in the bay in former times, will probably
agree with the statement of Mr. Ingersoll, who in-
vestigated the oyster industry previous to 1880, that he
believed them to be just.
Other states, in past decades, have tolerated politics as
bad as those of Maryland. There are still localities
where even dynamite and the sawed-off shotgun may be
used against life with comparative impunity; but the
The Chesapeake 219
social conditions that obtained on the Chesapeake for
many years were so unique that one is quite at a loss to
understand how they could have escaped the attention of
the modern magazine story writer. During the quarter
of a century or more since the grim and grizzled pioneer
and the polite but dreadful cowboy, with his ‘
shooter,” have become extinct, they have been celebrated
as typical western characters in a deluge of magazine
literature by eastern writers, and the flood continues un-
abated to this day. The equally picturesque bad man in
their midst has entirely escaped attention, perhaps be-
cause he has so recently been with them. It remains for
some Pacific coast writer, who has never crossed the
Coast Range, to exploit the wild oyster pirate of the
Chesapeake. There will be color for his tale in the facts
when he obtains them, and fiction will not be necessary.
It has been stated that shallow waters along the shore
lines have long been set apart by law for tonging, while
it is intended that dredging shall be carried on elsewhere
in deeper water. While tonging is slow work that can
only be carried on in good weather, thousands of men
have been engaged in it.
One of the functions of the state police is to prevent
dredging on the tonging grounds, but the bay is so ex-
tensive that a very large force would be required to ac-
complish it. With the pirates banded together for
mutual protection, and especially under the cloak of
night, tonging grounds may be dredged with safety and
profit when they yield more than those in deeper water.
Night dredging on forbidden grounds has not always
been necessary. We are told, for example, that during
the winter of 1879-80 a large fleet of dredgers entered
the Rappahannock River in Virginia, and began opera-
fsixc=
220 Our Food Mollusks
tions on the tonging grounds. Incensed at this act, the
tongers made an attempt to drive them off, but the
dredgers were well armed and able rapidly to concentrate
forces when necessary. The scattered small boats of the
tongers were driven to cover, and for weeks obliged to
keep at a respectful distance. The Virginia legislature
being in session, voted to supply the shore men with a
cannon and small arms, but before these arrived, dredg-
ing operations had been completed, and the pirate fleet
had sailed away.
Tongers have always been practically helpless against
these raiders, but the greatest sufferers have been the few
bold men who have attempted to plant oysters on leased
bottoms in Maryland, or in Virginia, near the Maryland
line. Professor Brooks records the experience of a Vir-
ginia culturist who had incautiously leased about seventy
acres a short distance from Maryland waters. At the
expense of more than four thousand dollars, he had
shelled the bottom, obtained a large set of young oysters,
and had employed watchmen during their growth. Two
years after the bottom was shelled, the crop was
estimated at three hundred and fifty thousand bushels,
and valued at more than one hundred and twenty thou-
sand dollars. The dredgers were perfectly willing to
witness this wonderful demonstration of the fertility of
the bay under oyster culture. It proved to be a fine har-
vest for them. There were no inter-state complications,
like the threatened warfare between Louisiana and Mis-
sissippi some years ago over a trespass on oyster ground,
and there was no redress. The culturist lost a fortune,
and that was the end of the matter.
It is interesting to notice who these buccaneers and
their crews were, and what were their relations to civ-
The Chesapeake 221
ilized society. In the denunciatory accounts of them by
their fellow citizens, that one may find, not all vessel
owners were attacked. They seemed to have had knowl-
edge only of the number of trips made by their cap-
tains. Some of the captains also are said to have been
honest and law-abiding, “ but it is an unfortunate fact,”
we read, ‘that such form a very small minority.”
It may be gathered from the reports, that captains of
dredging vessels were forced by the demands of vessel
owners to disregard the oyster laws. They were re-
quired to deliver oysters within a limited time. That
meant that they must take them from the most con-
venient localities, and that they must dredge day or night
in all kinds of weather. It meant that crews were to
be driven without mercy, and that no one should be al-
lowed to have any rights in the bay. Such a system re-
sulted in the selection of as merciless a band of pirates to
captain most of the vessels of the oyster fleet, as ever
ruled a deck on the high seas.
The cruel treatment of crews on these vessels has al-
ways been a frequent subject of comment, and yet there
were ways of getting them together. In the majority of
cases, when a ship-owner or a captain desired a crew of
seven or eight men, he simply placed an order for them
with a shipping agent. This person, on making a round
of the saloons and dives near the “ basin’ in Baltimore,
was usually able to round up a sufficient number of men,
often irresponsible from drink, and these he delivered
on deck at about two dollars a head. The only qualifica-
tion in the acceptance of a hand was evident muscular
ability—when muscles should be under control—to turn
the crank of a windlass. Crews of this sort—vagrants,
thieves, and murderers—declared in an account by a na-
222 Our Food Mollusks
tive of the Chesapeake shore to be “ one of the most de-
praved bodies of workmen to be found in the country,”
made good men for the work in hand.
But the worst feature of the fearful business was the
virtual kidnapping of newly arrived and ignorant for-
eigners for this killing work. Shipping agents were al-
lowed to meet the immigrants in New York and Phila-
delphia, and, with promises of pleasant and remunerative
employment, lured them to Baltimore in large numbers,
and delivered them to dredging captains. There they
entered into an abject slavery, from which it was not pos-
sible to escape, at least until the end of the voyage. The
work was cruelly hard, being chiefly at the windlasses
used in drawing the heavy dredges, and in culling the
loads that were dumped on deck. Winter on the Chesa-
peake is cold and stormy, and the men were compelled to
work on an icy deck that was entirely exposed to wind
and spray. In 1880 the average pay for this was said
to be about eleven dollars a month.
Along the shore one hears many gruesome tales of
mysterious disappearances, and even of open murders
of members of these crews. Stories are told of unspeak-
able cruelties on board the vessels, and of the maroonings
of entire crews on isolated shores, perhaps to save the
amount due in wages. That such barbarities were prac-
tised on the bay probably few good citizens of Maryland
doubt, and yet complaints have been rare and redresses
still less numerous. Without doubt there were some
humane captains among the Baltimore dredgers, and
many such in the lower part of the state; but the opinion
of those best acquainted with the conditions seems to be
that, as a class, they have established a record of crime
and cruelty that has rarely been equaled in this country.
The Chesapeake 222
Conditions governing the oyster industry in Virginia
and Maryland are in a state of transition from depend-
ence on the wild crop to oyster culture. A great and
radical change is contemplated in the latter state, while
the former is slowly continuing progress inaugurated
years ago.
There are several reasons for the slow progress of
oyster culture in Virginia. The industry has reached that
stage where its natural beds are as much a curse as a
blessing. According to the Baylor survey of 1892, these
beds covered an area of two hundred and twenty-six
thousand acres. These have dwindled to small propor-
tions; their size cannot be accurately estimated. Over
large areas oysters are scattered, and many of the orig-
inal rocks are now quite barren. Yet nearly every one
clings desperately to the idea that the future industry de-
pends on their preservation as natural beds.
The result is that all the energies of the state are ex-
pended on policing this territory—in an attempt to en-
force the close-season, and to prevent the sale of small
oysters by tongers to planters—instead of affording some
protection to the oyster culturist, who is making a seri-
ous effort to succeed. As it is, the oyster ‘‘ navy ”’ 1s too
small to enforce the laws on a quarter of the public ter-
ritory alone.
Another reason for slow development is the absence
of a triangulation survey of barren bottoms available for
oyster culture, and the consequent insecurity of title. The
oyster laws are so confused and so conflicting, contain
sO many exceptions and special and local provisions, that
no one has a definite idea of his rights.
The state is committed to the plan of raising the great-
est possible direct revenue from the industry, and gives
195 Our Food Mollusks
practically no return of any sort. This will prove to be
a short-sighted policy.
The fear of an oyster monopoly is very general and
very acute. Not enough bottom is leased to one in-
dividual to invite extensive oyster culture, and non-
resident capital is not allowed to develop any of the ex-
tensive and barren areas in the bay. All of the oyster
producing states have at some time placed this prohibi-
tion on the oyster industry—but never on one conducted
on dry land. It would be interesting to know what is
the economic principle involved in the discrimination.
While there is a considerable area covered by planted
oysters in Virginia, the chief source of supply is still the
natural rocks or beds. Planting is not at present- in-
creasing, and partly for the reason that the business of
rearing seed for sale has not yet been established. Plant-
ing in the deeper parts of the bay has not yet been given
a fair trial. True oyster culture—the capture of the
young on collectors and its rearing for market—has been
tried, and with success, but is not yet extensively prac-
tised.
Criticisms of the Virginia industry should lead no
one to be pessimistic concerning it. In actual production
the state is one of the great leaders. Large and flourish-
ing packing houses are numerous, and some of the
brands marketed by them are of the greatest excellence.
Methods of state control, that change only with the
gradual modification of public opinion, are slowly work-
ing through that series of experiments to the conclusions
that other states have already reached. Communities,
like individuals, seldom are benefited by the experiences
of other communities. But the time probably will soon
come in Virginia when dependence will be placed on a
The Chesapeake 225
cultivated rather than on a natural crop, and to the
great benefit and satisfaction of every one concerned.
Public attention is now attracted to Maryland. For
so long a period the first among the oyster producing
states, it was the last to recognize the importance of
oyster culture. The reason for its long delay is that its
natural supply has been astonishingly great, and public
opinion did not force a change in method until these
natural oyster nurseries were very greatly depleted, and
on the way to early extinction.
In April, 1906, the Governor of Maryland signed an
act “to establish and promote the industry of oyster
culture in Maryland; to define, survey and mark natural
oyster beds, bars and rocks, to prescribe penalties for the
infringement of its provisions, and to establish a per-
manent shell-fish commission.”
Previously, an act known as the “ five-acre law” al-
lowed citizens of the state to select a small plot on bar-
ren bottoms for planting oysters, “twelve months
peaceable possession”’ to constitute a sufficient title
thereto. Although many such small tracts were taken
at one time or another, the bedding or culture of oysters
practically did not exist in the waters of the state.
Among the features of the act of 1906 may be noticed
the following :—
No non-resident, or any corporation or joint stock
company will be permitted to lease or acquire by assign-
ment any lands for oyster planting or cultivation.
All natural beds or rocks are excluded from the
operation of the act.
A Shell-fish Commission is created.
A triangulation survey of natural beds (but not of
bottoms for lease) was provided for.
526 Our Food Mollusks
All bottoms not included in natural beds were set aside
for lease.
Boundaries of natural beds, as determined by the Com-
mission, may be decided by Judges of Circuit Courts.
Within the territorial limits of any of the counties, no
person shall lease or acquire more than ten acres. One
hundred acres may be acquired in the bay outside county
lines.
The terms of lease are twenty years, rental being one
dollar an acre for the first and second years, two dollars
‘for the third, three dollars for the fourth, four dollars
for the fifth, and five dollars a year for the remainder of
the term.
No right is given to redeem or purchase land so leased.
Severe penalties are provided for injury to state buoys,
and for the theft of oysters from leased bottoms.
The state fisheries force shall prevent violations of the
act.
The Commission appointed by the Governor was of
great efficiency. One of its members, a professional
biologist who had had extensive experience in oyster
work and a complete knowledge of the entire subject of
oyster culture, took charge of the field work.
By an act of Congress, it was directed that members of
the Bureau of the Coast and Geodetic Survey, and the
Bureau of Fishes, should aid the Maryland Shell-fish
Commission in making the survey of the natural oyster
beds in Maryland. This aid was promptly given, the ex-
penses being met by a special appropriation from the na-
tional treasury. It is a fact not generally noticed, per-
haps, that federal aid in oyster investigation and sur-
veys, has frequently been extended to states, which, in
some instances, have profited largely by it.
The Chesapeake 2a,
It is safe to say that no natural beds have ever been
so carefully examined and charted as have those of
Maryland. Their limits have been drawn liberally in
favor of tongers and dredgers, and are marked by per-
manent buoys. The Shell-fish Commission has pub-
lished expert advice in regard to specific areas open for
lease, on which conditions for planting or for seed collec-
tion seem to be favorable. They have designated other
areas as of doubtful value. They have given reasons for
some previous failures under the “ five-acre law ’’—due
to ignorance of biological conditions necessary for the
attachment of spat. By experiment, they have shown
to doubters among the oystermen that abundant seed
may be captured on collectors in the Chesapeake as well
as in Long Island Sound. They have done everything
that any similar body of men could do, under the condi-
tions, to inaugurate a new and prosperous era for Mary-
land.
But some of ihe legislative conditions probably are
anything but favorable, and it is safe to predict that
oyster culture will have a very slow growth in the state
until changes are made. Experience has shown that
oyster culture which shall produce the best stock, and be
able to market it with certainty when it is demanded, can
only be carried on by large interests. With several
thousand acres, on which natural conditions vary, an in-
dividual or a company may obtain a set, transplant it to
growing beds, move it again, if necessary, to fattening
grounds, always have oysters ready for market, operate
vessels that can obtain them quickly and at any time, and
thus keep the market steady and certain. Those on
whom perfect reliance can be placed in the delivery of
the best goods, will always have the best markets.
228 Our Food Mollusks
Under the present system, Maryland can have only
small planters, who may succeed one year and fail an-
other. Holdings are not large enough to warrant the
employment of suitable boats. Most of the planted
oysters will be tonged or “scraped” after the old
fashion, and only in good weather is such work possible.
If leases should become numerous, much litigation will
arise because boundaries are insufficiently surveyed and
charted. Prices will rise and fall as many or few bring
in their harvest, and these small and poor planters will
have the greatest difficulty in protecting themselves
against dredging vessels.
The foremost desire is still for direct revenue to the
state. The direct revenue system of Rhode Island is
very attractive about the Chesapeake, but Narragansett
Bay is small enough to be policed efficiently, and cap-
ital is invested only because the state offers unlimited ter-
ritory and has allowed much of it to be taken by non-
residents. Many of the essential conditions are differ-
ent in Rhode Island, and it is doubtful if, even there, the
state profits by its industry as does Connecticut, in which
bottoms are sold, but where taxable property has de-
veloped indirectly under the great increase of the oyster
business.
But in the course of time—after the natural oyster beds
have been destroyed—the tonger and the dredger of the
natural crop will have disappeared. All opposition to
oyster culture having vanished, the Chesapeake, rich with
food for an unlimited oyster growth, free from the most
destructive of oyster enemies, with its safe and unvary-
ing natural conditions, will prove to be of greater value
to the people on its shores than mountains full of silver
and gold.
aX AMINING a map of North Carolina, one
finds a long, narrow strip of land that, ex-
tending southward from the Virginia shore,
bounds more than half the coast line of the
state. This sandy barrier, more than two hundred miles
long, and formed by the action of waves, is wide and per-
manent enough effectually to shut off from the sea a
series of large, shallow sounds. On the north is the nar-
row Currituck Sound. This communicates at its south-
ern end with Albemarle Sound, that reaches inward from
229
220 Our Food Mollusks
the ocean for a distance of sixty miles. Still farther to
the south, and connected with Albemarle, lie the more
extensive waters of Pamlico Sound. Continuing down
the coast, one finds the much narrower Core and Bogue
sounds.
The map shows that the ocean barrier effectually shuts
off the two northern sounds from the sea. Opening into
Pamlico Sound, however, are two large, and several
smaller inlets, and through them so much salt water en-
ters, that characteristic marine shore animals and plants
are found growing in abundance on its bottom. Be-
tween Core and Bogue sounds, also, is a large inlet, and
the waters of these are salt.
One other physical feature of the region, shown on the
map, is of great importance in a study of its biological
conditions. It is that several large and many small
rivers enter the sounds on their western shores. As one
might surmise from an examination of the map alone,
Currituck and Albemarle sounds are nearly fresh, and
oysters and clams are not able to live in them.
But oysters do not breed readily—aindeed, are not able
naturally to maintain themselves—in water having the
salinity of the open sea. Successful growth demands
within somewhat narrow limits, a mixture of sea and
fresh waters, and it is because these natural requirements
are very nearly met in Pamlico Sound and near the
Bogue Sound inlet, that they become profitable fields of
study to one interested in the future development of the
oyster industry.
The coast of South Carolina is quite different from
that which has just been noticed, in that most of it is un-
broken. At the city of Charleston and just above the
Georgia line, however, there are bays with many rami-
The North Carolina Field 231
fications, and in these there are natural oyster beds.
Though the oysters are generally of poor quality, several
canneries have been established in the state to supply a
local market. The possible production of these bays un-
der culture methods merits attention, but reference to it
will be omitted from this account, only the larger and
more promising field in North Carolina being considered.
This latter in some respects is strikingly different from
the fields farther north on the Atlantic coast. It also
differs from the oyster areas of the Gulf of Mexico, and
in most ways, perhaps, to its disadvantage. It is with-
out doubt the poorest of the large Atlantic oyster
grounds, and yet it is valuable, and under culture meth-
ods fostered by wise legislation, may in the future be-
come much more so.
The map will show much irregularity in the western
shore-line of North Carolina’s oyster area. Many bays,
or, as they are called locally, rivers or creeks, lead into
broader waters from surrounding marshes. In these
rivers are usually many oysters, and their peculiar posi-
tion or distribution would excite the interest of a north-
ern oysterman; for they are found only along the river
banks, and are very generally absent from the bottoms.
Not only is this true, but the majority of them lie within
the limits of the high and low tide lines, and as a conse-
quence are exposed to the air for long periods each day.
The average vertical distance between tide levels over
this field is about three feet.
When the bank of a river or creek rises abruptly from
the low tide mark, a narrow line of oysters, all exposed
at low tide, will be found along its surface. But often
the banks are so low that the rising water flows over
them and covers an extensive area on each side, thus
222 Our Food Mollusks
forming tidal flats that may be partially or completely
covered with oysters (Figure 49).
Islands are formed in many of the channels, often so
numerous that there remain only narrow streams be-
tween them. Though these rise only a few inches above
the high water line, they are frequently covered with |
grass in the center. Around their margins are oyster
fringes, here, as elsewhere, extending from the low to
the high tide level.
It has recently been shown by some very interesting
observations conducted by Dr. Caswell Grave, that these
islands are formed by the oysters themselves. In the
beginning of the process there may have been an open
channel, the river banks alone being fringed with
oysters. A river bank, of course, does not lie in a per-
fectly straight line. Here and there parts of it project
into the current. Now oysters growing on such points
are very much favored, because the currents are a little
more rapid there. This means that aeration is better,
and especially that a greater amount of food is brought.
Consequently these favored oysters grow more rapidly
than others. Their number, also, increases more rap-
idly here, for the reason that the more active current
keeps their shells comparatively clean, thus affording ob-
jects for the attachment of the young. A greater number
of swimming embryos, also, will be brought to the pro-
jecting point by the swifter current than to other parts
of the river bank. From time to time, winds, waves or
ice, break clusters of oysters from the point. They roll
down toward the channel, many of the oysters continu-
ing to live and grow. Year after year these clusters ac-
cumulate on the bottom beyond the point. Sediment
gradually settles among the lower shells, while new gen-
Fic. 48. Laboratory employees tonging and culling clustered
oysters in Louisiana. Note the character of tongs and
culling board.
Fic. 49. Natural growth of “coon oyster” clusters between
tide lines in South Carolina. Professor Bashford Dean,
(UL, Sy Ty (C. ieknubleiara,
The North Carolina Field 233
erations of oysters attach to the upper ones, so that
finally the living oysters are raised first to the low and
then nearly to the high tide line. In this manner, the
point, advancing on the foundation that it itself prepares,
thrusts itself in the form of a narrow reef out into the
current, and its advance will continue until the direction
of the current is changed, or its force is checked.
In the meantime, the current has become so slow at the
point on the shore from which the reef began to grow,
that most of the oysters in that locality have died.
There is here, then, no longer a living crust of oysters
on the reef to protect it from erosion, and gradually the
rising and falling tides wear through it, and cut it down
until the remainder of the reef has lost all connection
with the shore from which it arose, and has become an
island. This widens somewhat, waves now and then
throw detached oysters on to its center, floating matter
catches there, grass begins to grow, and it gradually rises
above the ordinary high tide line. Around its margins —
oysters still continue to grow between the tide lines.
Such a process requires many years for its completion,
and even after an island is formed, it probably is still sub-
jected to slow but unceasing changes that are in some
cases constructive, in others destructive. In many of the
bays or rivers, all stages of growth, from the small and
inconspicuous point to the fully developed island, may
be observed.
To one familiar with other fields where oysters never
are found fixed between the tide lines, but exist only on
bottoms that are continually immersed, these peculiarly
elevated reefs, and bottoms so generally barren, are very
curious. Two questions at once arise in his mind.
First, why do not oysters naturally establish themselves
234. Our Food Mollusks
on beaches and flats in the Chesapeake or Long Island
waters, as they do here? All Atlantic oysters are of one
species, and in all regions their habits are probably
identical; yet in one place they grow and reproduce on
periodically exposed flats, and in the other, only on the
bottom below tide lines. The answer is that they do at-
tach between the tide lines in the northern fields, but that
very early in the terrible northern winter, every such un-
fortunate perishes from cold.
But a second question is not so easily answered. Why,
in these marginal waters of the Carolina sounds, do
oysters not more often appear on the bottoms below the
tide lines? Farther north it is only in such a position
that they establish themselves. Several suggestions
have been made concerning conditions that might ex-
plain the phenomenon. The most plausible is that the
water is so heavily burdened with silt, frequently depos-
ited, that very young oysters are smothered, even when
not actually covered by it, possibly, it has been suggested,
because their gills become encumbered with mud _par-
ticles. This probably is not true. The gill of the adult
can free itself of any quantity of mud, as may be shown
by experiment. Adult oysters sometimes survive when
deposits have been so heavy as to cover them to a depth
of several inches, the gill currents keeping an opening
through the mud like the burrow of a clam. The gills
of the young probably are not less capable of keeping
their surfaces clean.
The fall of silt in some waters may, of course, be so
heavy as to cover, and thus to smother, recently attached
oysters; but even when less heavy, it may, when long
continued, lead to their death, not by smothering, or
preventing the oxygenation of the blood, but by starv-
The North Carolina Field 235
ing the young bodies that have not yet stored reserve
food in their tissues (see Chapter IV). The mere peri-
odical sprinkling of young oysters with silt is probably
not so destructive as it is generally supposed to be.
It may be noted that other waters than these, that
successfully support oyster life, are also muddy. Silt is
constantly deposited over a great part of the European
oyster territory. The waters of the Chesapeake are
muddy. The finest of sediment is at frequent intervals
settling to the bottom about the Mississippi delta, where
flourishing oyster beds below low water are everywhere
present. In the light of these facts it may seem strange
that only here oysters should be generally absent from
the bottom.
It will be shown presently that in these rivers oysters
do establish themselves below the low water level, along
the sides of reefs. They are confined to those localities,
and the bottoms elsewhere are barren. Such segrega-
tions are formed on shells that drop from the reefs above
and pave the bottom, no matter how soft it may be. Not
only is this true, but the young attach to these shells and
grow. This proves that, while the water is often ex-
cessively muddy, not enough silt is deposited to prevent
oyster growth when the bottom is once paved.
The bottoms below tide lines are very generally barren,
then, only because, away from the immediate vicinity of
oyster reefs, there is no natural deposit of any foreign
objects to harden it. Experiments show that if a suffi-
cient number of oyster shells or other hard bodies are
spread on the softest of these bottoms during the breed-
ing season, so as to afford surfaces for attachment, beds
of oysters form on them, and spread at the margins, one
generation growing on the shells of another. On these
236 Our Food Mollusks
river bottoms there have never been, under natural con-
ditions, any such bodies that might afford attachment,
and thus serve as a nucleus for oyster growth. Along
the north coast are stones, and gravel, and the shells of
mollusks; and about the Mississippi delta, vast numbers
of shells of two or three species of small bivalves that
inhabit the mud, came naturally, in certain localities, to
lie on the surfaces of the softest bottoms. On these,
natural beds became established.
There are very extensive oyster beds on the banks of
these small bays or rivers. Because they are exposed at
low water, these oysters could easily be gathered. Asa
matter of fact, they are seldom disturbed, for they are
not marketable. They have been used as a fertilizer,
and burned for the lime in their shells. A few of the
oyster establishments occasionally succeed in disposing
of them in cans, but from the commercial point of view
they are almost valueless on account of their small size,
elongated form, and poor condition.
To one who has seen oysters only from artificial beds,
where they lie spread out in an even layer, these present
a strange appearance. What first attracts attention is
that they are in clusters of various sizes. If one were
to attempt to lift a cluster from the bank, he would find
that its base extended down into the mud so deep as to
afford a secure anchorage. A vigorous pull may dis-
lodge the whole mass, though the lower part of it may be
buried under many inches of soft mud. It will then be
discovered that the cluster of living oysters that was ex-
posed above the bottom, is firmly attached to a number
of empty oyster shells below them, the whole being fused
into a compact mass. The shells of living and dead
oysters thus bound together may number scores.
The North Carolina Field 237
The explanation for such a relation between so many
individuals is simple. A single large oyster shell may
lie on the surface of the mud near living oysters. If it
is free from slime when oyster embryos are swimming
in the water, it affords a surface for the attachment of
one or more of them. Usually several establish them-
selves on it. Not all of these live, and many perish
early. A few continue to live and extend their bodies
upward into the current. Only those that grow upward
can survive, for the currents steadily deposit silt obtained
from the land. Slowly the original shell is buried, and
finally disappears, and the mud creeps up to the younger
individuals that it bears. If their bodies are growing
outward from its sides, they, too, are covered. Again
in the breeding season, a second generation attaches it-
self to the exposed portions of the shells of the first. If
sediment has collected rapidly, they become fixed only
to the exposed edges of the shells; if slowly, to any part
of them, in this case forming a larger and broader
cluster.
Year after year the process continues. The earlier
generations are buried and die, but still their empty shells
lift up their descendants into the life-giving streams
above. The time finally comes when the earlier shells
are completely dissolved, if the mud contains acids
formed by the decay of organic matter, but it is often
possible to distinguish in the cluster uprooted from the
mud, six or seven generations of oysters.
The oysters of these river banks are of little value
commercially, because of their form and condition. Most
of them are narrow and greatly elongated, and this is due
entirely to crowding. Like clams in small and irregular
spaces between stones, their growing bodies conform to
238 Our Food Mollusks
the outlines of the available space. The shell is some-
times greatly distorted. Crowded oysters growing
parallel with each other on the top of a cluster can
only elongate, if they grow at all. Oysters, when not
crowded or confined, assume a rounded form, though
when allowed to become very old and large, they
normally begin to elongate. The soft parts of densely
clustered oysters are usually thin and watery, probably
because food is not sufficient for all members of a
cluster. This is especially true of oysters exposed at
low tide, for they are able to obtain food only when
immersed.
Such elongated forms are called “ raccoon” or “ coon
oysters,” either from their fancied resemblance to a
raccoon’s paw or from the fact that these animals frequent
the beaches where they are found, presumably in search
of them.
Clusters of coon oysters are not peculiar to the Caro-
lina sounds. Where beds are not frequently tonged,
they are found in Louisiana, and would form readily in
northern oyster waters if left undisturbed. A cluster on
a hard, clean bottom would assume a roughly hemispher-
ical, instead of an elongated form, because young oysters
attaching to the sides, as well as to the top of the grow-
ing cluster, would be able to live and grow. ‘These, also,
not being so often forced to grow parallel with each other
as in the case of those being covered with mud, would
not so often be elongated.
A question of economic importance presents itself
here. As the elongated form assumed by clustered
oysters is due only to close crowding, would such oysters
become large and well rounded if separated from the
clusters and spread on a suitable bottom? Might not
The North Carolina Field 239
these useless coon oysters be converted into marketable
forms ?
As a result of observations recently made in North
Carolina waters by members of the staff of investigators
of the U. S. Bureau of Fisheries, it may be answered
that the larger coon oysters are not able to make much
improvement in form. But it has been shown that in-
Fic. 50.—Upper row, young oysters beginning to elongate from
pressure in thick clusters. Lower row shows rapid improve-
ment in form after liberation from cluster. Outlines from
photographs by O. C. Glaser, U. S. F. C. Report.
dividuals less than two inches in length, even though
they may have begun to elongate, do respond, on being
freed from clusters, by assuming the desired normal out-
line and size. This is a fact of some importance, for it
proves that seed oysters, in case of a poor set upon col-
lectors, may safely be taken from these abundant
clusters.
The results of such an experiment are represented in
Figure 50. The individuals of the upper row were
taken from clusters, and had begun to elongate. The
actual length of the larger ones was about one and three-
fourths inches. The lower group represents the same
240 Our Food Mollusks
oysters after a growth of but two months on a favorable
bottom. They have not greatly increased in size, the
larger ones being about two and a half inches in length;
but the significant fact shown in their outlines, is that
immediately after being freed from their crowded con-
dition, they began to widen and assume the normal form.
It may appear from some of the statements made
that the marginal waters of the sounds would be of
little value if oyster culture were to be practised in
North Carolina, but though clustered oysters exposed at
low tide are not marketable, they would become in-
valuable in case artificial beds were constructed in the
sounds, because of the vast numbers of oyster embryos
that they produce. These embryos, suspending them-
selves in the water for many hours, may be carried to
some distance by currents before they finally settie to
the bottom and make the attempt to attach themselves.
How far, in extreme cases, they may thus be transported
before becoming attached, no one is able to say. Cases
are known in which they have been carried several miles.
But spat collectors spread on bottoms near the reefs,
judicially selected with reference to tide currents that
might bear the embryos from them, would, in most sea-
sons, be able to gather a supply of young that, under
normal conditions, settle on the soft mud and perish.
But in still another way these natural reefs are already
valuable, for it is from them that the existing tonging
grounds have arisen. Two agencies, one natural, the
other artificial, have been at work on the natural reefs
to form beds of another sort, on which a considerable
number of marketable oysters are found.
If one were carefully to observe the reef oysters
through the various seasons of the year, he would dis-
The North Carolina Field 241
cover that now and then certain of them break from the
reef and roll down the steep sides into the channel. This
occurs when storm waves at high tide dash against the
clusters, breaking or uprooting them. In winter, the
grinding action of ice adds to the number of oysters lying
on the deeper bottom below the tide lines. The ac-
cumulation is made slowly, but continues from year to
year, and finally a firm shell bottom, sometimes many
yards in width, is formed parallel to the sides of the
reef. On this are found not only clusters that have
rolled down, but single oysters scattered here and there,
which, having grown without crowding, have become
large and rounded. In the breeding season, swimming
young attach to these deeper shells as well as to those be-
tween tide lines, and in this way the deeper bed grows
rapidly. As one would expect, these, if left to grow
undisturbed, become as completely clustered and worth-
less as the reef oysters above them. But wind, waves,
and frost, thus operating to form a new bed, have scat-
tered over it so many single oysters that they begin to be
sought by tongers, and in this way is introduced the
more important agency that makes the tonging ground
more extensive and valuable.
Consciously or unconsciously the tongers begin to
practise a very successful method of oyster culture. They
lift from the bottom numbers of empty shells, small
clusters, and a few single oysters of large size. Because
the clusters are comparatively small, they contain some
individuals of good shape and size. These are separated
from the others on a culling board carried by the boat,
and the empty shells and small oysters from the broken
clusters are returned to the bottom. Two important re-
sults follow this practice. The area of the shelled bot-
242 Our Food Mollusks
tom is increased, and clusters are broken apart, the num-
ber of single small oysters on the bottom being rapidly
multiplied. Oysters probably are not culled on the
ground with the purpose of extending or improving the
beds, but because the waste material from culling is too
great in volume to be carried to the shore. But here is
only another demonstration of the fact that the shelling
of the bottom and the breaking and scattering of clusters
soon produces a valuable oyster bed.
The total area of the existing river tonging grounds
is so limited that they have never been of great com-
mercial importance, and in recent years have become
much less prolific than formerly, because of excessive
tonging. Before the opening of canning establishments
like those at Beaufort, it was sometimes possible for a
tonger to gather in one day thirty or even forty bushels
of oysters from these river beds; but the canneries so
stimulated the fishing that at the present time the max-
imum catch is not more than fifteen bushels. The price
received for these oysters, also, is small. When sold at
the canneries, a bushel seldom brings the tonger more
than twelve cents. In certain seasons, however, he is
able to sell his oysters for immediate consumption, and
then may receive as much as twenty-five cents a bushel
for them. At best, the tonger’s business is a poor one.
Experiment also has shown that on many of the tong-
ing grounds natural conditions are so variable that all
the care that may be given to growing oysters would be
unavailing. Variations in the density of the water,
especially, are such that sometimes, even for several suc-
cessive seasons, oysters become so poor as to be quite un-
salable.
While river or shore grounds, with their reefs and tong-
The North Carolina Field 243
ing bottoms, possibly may never produce many market-
able oysters, conditions are different in the broader
water. In Pamlico Sound, a body of water approx-
imately sixty miles long by twenty-five miles wide, the
possibilities of future oyster culture seem to be great.
Opening through the spit that separates it from the
ocean, are five or six inlets of sufficient size to give the
sound waters a tidal rise and fall of three or four feet.
There are, however, no tidal currents except near the
inlets, but variable wind currents, often having a velocity
of half a mile an hour, are frequently developed, and
serve the purpose of carrying food to extensive oyster
beds in various parts of the sound. ‘The greater part of
the bottom is of hard sand, covered by a thin layer of
mud and organic material. The water is shallow, sel-
dom attaining a depth of more than twenty feet. Here
and there are extensive tracts at a distance from shore
over which there are less than ten feet of water. Waves
drag the bottom during severe storms, and sand thus
shifted where oysters are growing destroys them in
great numbers.
The history of the oyster industry in Pamlico Sound
is a record of the usual series of events. Natural beds
were discovered, dredging became excessive, the beds
Were soon impoverished, many of them being completely
destroyed, and the ruin of a large natural source of
wealth was begun. All this occurred much more rap-
idly than in Chesapeake Bay—a fortunate circumstance
in one way, because it is the usually necessary prelim-
inary to oyster culture.
In the winter of 1887-8 a survey of the oyster grounds
of the sound was made by Lieutenant Winslow, U. S. N..
and many extensive oyster beds, before unknown, were
244 Our Food Mollusks
charted at this time. There had come a great decline in
the yield of the Chesapeake. In the year 1889 the de-
mand greatly increased, and the attention of Baltimore
packers was drawn to this newly discovered source of
supply made known through Winslow’s survey. Many
of them sent their vessels south to “ develop” the new
territory. Large quantities of oysters were dredged and
sent to Baltimore, where they were marketed by can-
ners and dealers in raw oysters as the product of Ches-
apeake Bay.
Pamlico Sound oysters were inferior to those taken
from the Chesapeake, chiefly because they were from
beds that had never been dredged or extensively tonged.
Having grown undisturbed, they were clustered, but
because the bottom was hard, they were not so extremely
elongated as on the river reefs, and many were large
and of good shape.
The appearance of the Chesapeake dredgers made a
ereat and sudden change in the modest industry of
North Carolina. Previous to the year 1889 oysters had
been gathered only from very shallow water by means of
primitive, short-handled, wooden-toothed rakes. From
all the waters of the state the number taken had seldom
exceeded a hundred thousand bushels. Competition in
the markets with other states had been impossible, and
only local needs had been met.
But now there had come a great general demand with
high prices. There had suddenly appeared a number of
experienced oystermen with implements entirely new to
the region. The native tongers for the first time learned
of the long-handled, basket-like, iron-headed tongs used
in the Chesapeake, and they soon profited by the knowl-
edge. Formerly they had been content to fish within a
The North Carolina Field 245
mile or two of the shore in very shallow water, but the
native fishermen soon followed their more venturesome
visitors farther into the sound, where many new and
extensive beds were discovered. In a short time the
tonging industry became an extensive and important one.
While much of it was carried on by the non-residents,
local interest in the business was also greatly stimulated.
The really important matter, however, was the in-
troduction of the dredge to these waters, where previ-
ously it had been unknown. Having found an oyster
bed on such a hard, smooth bottom, the captain of a
Maryland pungy knew how to load it rapidly. The seri-
ous question at first was in regard to the number and
extent of oyster beds; but as the work of the dredgers
progressed, new beds were continually discovered for
several years, until many times the number indicated in
Winslow’s report was known. Without doubt the early
hopes of the Baltimore dredgers were more than realized
for some time. But if any entertained the idea that
Pamlico Sound would continue to produce oysters as
the Chesapeake had done, while subjected to the rapacious
method of dredging employed, they were disappointed.
There is but one possible result from such methods.
It was long delayed in the Chesapeake, because of its
unequaled fertility, but it was not long delayed here.
A few statistical statements will tell the story of the
rise and decline of the oyster fisheries of North Carolina
after the advent of the Maryland oystermen.
For some years before the survey of Winslow, there
had been kept a more or less accurate record of the num-
ber of bushels of oysters taken by residents from the
waters of the state. From this it appears that it rarely
exceeded a hundred thousand bushels, and was often
246 Our Food Mollusks
much less. In 1890 the resident oystermen alone sold
914,130 bushels—probably quite ten times the average
number formerly gathered. But during this one season,
the non-resident dredgers, who had excited all this in-
dustry among the local oystermen, gathered and carried
away a much larger number, of which no record was
made. The outsiders had now come not only from the
Chesapeake, but also from Delaware and New Jersey,
and their dredging vessels numbered at least two hun-
dred and fifty. It has been estimated that in this year
they obtained at least 1,800,000 bushels from Pamlico
Sound.
When these facts were understood by the people of the
state, they naturally felt very strongly that they were
being despoiled by outsiders of great wealth belonging
to them alone, and before another oyster season had
come, drastic laws were passed that prohibited all dredg-
ing by non-residents, and shortened the season for the
taking of oysters by resident oystermen. The result of
the enforcement of these laws exceeded all expectations,
as is shown by the fact that the number of bushels mar-
keted during the season ending in 1894 was only sixty
thousand—less than the average of the earlier years,
when only wooden tongs were employed. But still the
laws were retained, and in the season ending in 1897, but
forty thousand bushels were reported as having been
taken.
Of course, such a degree of stagnation made it evi-
dent that a mistake had been made, and in that year the
open season was lengthened. The wisdom of the change
was proved during the following season, when 858,818
bushels were marketed. Very much encouraged by this
showing, with the demand for oysters increasing, the
The North Carolina Field 247
oystermen made great preparations for the season of
1898-9. A large number of dredging vessels and tong-
ing boats began work with its opening and continued to
its close. The total number of oysters marketed was
greater than ever before, 1,559,000 bushels being cred-
ited to the dredgers, and go00,000 to the tongers.
Naturally, hopes for the season of 1899-1900 were
high, but it brought disappointment, for dredgers and
tongers together succeeded in gathering about 1,900,000
bushels, a number far below that expected. In many
cases dredgers were not able to pay expenses by their
catch. The season’s work clearly developed the fact
that the source of supply was limited. The optimism
of the previous years, that could see nothing but an in-
exhaustible supply, gave way to the fear, in many minds,
that the beds were being destroyed by excessive dredging.
Another explanation for the decrease was offered,
however. In the months of August and October of the
year 1899, terrific southeast gales had torn the bottom,
and had cast upon the west and northwest shores of the
sound large numbers of oysters from shallower beds.
It also covered many shore beds with mud and sand. It
was asserted that waves in the open sound had been
large enough to drag bottom, and that shifting sand had
thus covered and destroyed oysters enough to account
for the great decrease in their number on the beds.
In January and February of the year 1899, the United
States and North Carolina Fish Commissions united in
an effort to determine the causes of the partial failures
of the fishing reported earlier in the season. The in-
vestigation showed that the storms had indeed made
many changes. In some localities, where destruction
had been greatest, as many as twenty per cent. of the
248 Our Food Mollusks
oysters had been covered with sand in quantities suffi-
cient to kill them.
But it was shown with equal certainty that the beds
had been reduced, and in some cases almost completely
destroyed, by excessive dredging, and that this had been
much more harmful than the storms. It was stated in
one of the reports on this investigation that for two or
three years everything that came up in the dredges of the
oystermen had been taken on board and carried to the can-
neries, where the culling had been done. Culled shells,
often bearing young oysters, had been heaped on the
shore in great piles, and yet the law provided that culling
should be done where oysters were dredged, empty shells
and small oysters to be returned to the bottom. The re-
sponsibility for this lawlessness rested largely on the state
authorities, for no attempt had been made to enforce the
law. A fairly good harvest is still marketed each year,
but the cull law is not strictly enforced, and the natural
beds are still failing.
True oyster culture is not practised in the state. Arti-
ficial beds had been constructed in a river near Beaufort
as early as 1840, and subsequently many attempts were
made to rear oysters on bottoms selected for the purpose.
This was not done with the idea of producing oysters for
market, but only for private consumption. The small
plots were spoken of as “ oyster gardens,” and the term
has been retained locally and applied to all artificial
beds. Since 1872 private beds have been authorized by
law.
The earlier attempts at oyster culture were naturally
confined to the rivers and small bays along the shores.
They were conducted on a very small scale, and appar-
ently were never systematically or consistently carried
‘
The North Carolina Field 249
out. Usually clusters were removed from a reef and
thrown unculled on a convenient bottom. Naturally, these
transplanted oysters did not improve, and more often
perished. Usually, however, young oysters became at-
tached to their shells in great numbers. In this way it
was shown that in some localities a good set could be de-
pended on, and that with suitable collectors a seed-
gathering industry might easily be established. But
sooner or later the river beds have invariably failed as
growing and conditioning grounds, and probably never
can be improved. Until the present, also, there has been
no protection against trespassers, a condition that alone
makes oyster culture an impossibility.
Natural conditions in Pamlico Sound are much bet-
ter than in the rivers. At about the time of the publica-
tion of Winslow’s report, on the natural beds of the
sound in 1888, and again a decade later, much enthusi-
asm over oyster culture was developed, and many beds
were constructed in the sound; but here, also, the failure
of all attempts was complete. The reason given for this
by the Fish Commission experts who studied the matter,
is that those making the experiments were unfamiliar
with the biological requirements. Of the planters it
was said, “ They were not aware how very much depends
upon the selection of ground, the accessibility of an
abundant food supply, the specific gravity of the water,
and its freedom from extreme fluctuations, the time and
methods of planting cultch and oysters, etc.’’ State
laws also, very defective and seldom observed, rendered
success impossible.
There are, nevertheless, reasons for believing that the
biological conditions in many parts of Pamlico Sound
are favorable for the maintenance of an artificial oyster
250 Our Food Mollusks
industry of large proportions. The cotton states of the
South must soon increase greatly in population. Witha
greater market for oysters near at hand, extensive oyster
culture may be expected to develop in the sound, if rea-
sonable laws are enacted and enforced.
CHAPTER XVI
THE GULF OF MEXICO
# |N the many hundreds of miles of the Gulf
‘| shore line there are extensive tracts that have
always borne natural oyster beds, but as com-
pared with the Atlantic coast, this is prac-
tically an undeveloped field. It has been estimated that
ninety per cent. of the oysters marketed each year in
the United States comes from the coast north of the
mouth of Chesapeake Bay. One of the reasons for the
unproductiveness of the Gulf is that the population of
the states bounding it is sparse and scattered. There are
few large cities, and consequently little local demand for
oysters. As population and wealth increase, it is to be
expected that the natural resources of the waters will be
developed, but most of the Gulf states probably have a
251
252 Our Food Mollusks
long way to go from the present state of affairs to suc-
cessful oyster culture.
Florida is the most backward of all states having an
oyster territory. In prehistoric times great quantities
of oysters were taken from its bays and lagoons, as is
shown by extensive shell heaps along both of its coasts.
On the Atlantic side natural oyster reefs still are found
near Fernandina, and in certain parts of the Indian
River, which is a long, narrow bay of salt water cut off
from the ocean by a low ridge. The coast-line on the
Gulf side is broken by several extensive bays and wide
river mouths, in which oysters grow luxuriantly.
Oysters from parts of the southernmost coast are said
to be very “coppery”’ in taste. This peculiar flavor is
to be found in oysters from many localities north and
south in this country, as well as in Europe. It is not
caused by the presence of copper in solution in the water,
as it has been supposed, but its nature is not known.
Many of the oysters of the lower part of the peninsula
are of the “coon” type, and lie above the low water
mark, as in the Carolinas. Much has been written of
oysters attached to the roots of the mangroves in Florida,
that are exposed at low tide, as if they were as anomalous
as the fruit of Eugene Field’s ‘“ Sugar-plum Tree.”
These “ oysters that grow on trees” are, of course, ex-
actly the same in habit and in position, with reference to
the tide, as many of the oysters that grow on mud. In
the middle and upper parts of the Gulf shore are many
beds bearing oysters of good shape. This is because
they are tonged frequently enough to insure the breaking
apart of clusters.
Here, also, most of the beds are below tide lines. As
in the Carolinas, they have the form of long, narrow
]
The Gulf of Mexico pale 6
reefs, and lie in very shallow water. Beneath them is a
deposit of soft, deep mud that characterizes the Gulf
everywhere. The most important growth is in Apalachi-
cola Bay, but it is almost everywhere covered by mussels.
The state of Florida created a Fish Commission in
1889. It formerly paid the president of this commis-
sion a salary of one hundred and fifty dollars a year. He
has now been made “‘ Honorary President,” without re-
muneration. The secretary of the commission has never
received a salary. Out of pure loyalty to the common-
wealth, entirely without appropriations, with almost no
authority, advancing the interests of the fisheries to the
best of their ability from their private means, receiving
no indirect benefit, subject to criticism, and doing a large
amount of valuable work, this commission has served
for many years.
There are oyster laws in Florida, but none are ob-
served, except that the cull law, requiring shells and
small oysters to be replaced on the beds from which they
are taken, has been enforced in Apalachicola Bay—at the
expense of local dealers, and not by the state. A very
few oysters are steamed and canned.
Undoubtedly there are extensive tracts on the Gulf
coast of Florida that might supply a large market with
cultivated oysters. An estimate based on a U. S. Fish
Commission oyster survey places the number of acres
suitable for oyster culture in Apalachicola Bay alone at
6,800. A great fear that assails Florida as well as other
states, is that these oyster bottoms may sometime fall
into the hands of some monstrous corporation. For sev-
eral reasons, this will not be realized. Among them are
the facts that capital will not be invested while political
conditions remain as they are on the Florida shores, and
254 Our Food Mollusks
that the shallow bottoms permit the gathering of oysters
only by the slow, laborious, and uncertain method of
tonging.
A glance at a map reveals the limited shore lines of
Alabama and Mississippi. From east to west the former
has about fifty-five and the latter about seventy miles of
coast, though Mobile Bay and Mississippi Sound make
the shore line actually very much longer. But oyster
waters within these states are not extensive enough to
promise important developments in the oyster industry
of the future.
To the present time, however, Mobile in Alabama, and
Biloxi in Mississippi, have been important canning cen-
ters. Most of the oysters canned in the latter city were
formerly taken from waters claimed by the state of
Louisiana, which claim was upheld by the U. S. Supreme
Court in 1906.
Louisiana is the most progressive of oyster producing
states excepting those of the northern field. Its produc-
{ion is not large when compared with that of Maryland
or Virginia, but it has made great and substantial prog-
ress in oyster culture, and the industry, responding at
once to sensible and liberal laws, is growing rapidly and
securely.
In one respect Louisiana is unique among states pos-
sessing oyster fields. While the greater part of its pro-
duct has been derived from natural beds, it has not waited
until these were destroyed before searching for some
other source of supply, but has energetically and in-
telligently encouraged oyster culture. At the same time
its natural beds, though now more or less depleted, are
being systematically cared for, and bid fair to remain as
prolific public tonging grounds for some time to come.
The Gulf of Mexico PAS
Better oysters than those from the natural beds are being
produced in increasing numbers on cultivated tracts.
Every one is familiar with the manner in which the
great Mississippi is bearing down and depositing in the
Gulf, as it has done for ages, vast quantities of surface
soil eroded from the interior. It perhaps is not so well
known that the land all about its delta is slowly subsid-
ing. Back from the shore, the preserved stumps of trees
once standing near the water, have been found hundreds
of feet beneath the surface of the ground. It is stated
that oyster shells have been encountered at a depth of
two thousand feet, in some of the recent oil well borings
near the Texas line, though the statement needs verifica-
tion. In spite of this subsidence, that still continues,
the river is building its channel each year farther into
the Gulf on its own deposit.
The whole of the present delta and the shore east and
west of it is irregular and much broken. Some have
estimated the actual extent of the shore line in the state
at two thousand miles, but on account of its unstable
nature in some places, no accurate estimate of it can be
made. The extent of the enclosed bays and lagoons 1s,
however, very great, and in them oysters thrive. Com-
paratively few oysters are found, or can be reared, on
the west half of the coast of the state.
Some very optimistic estimates have been made of the
area available for oyster culture. One writer, for ex-
ample, citing the fact that oysters are planted in seventy-
five feet of water in Long Island Sound, reasons from it
in the following interesting manner :—If it is possible to
rear oysters at that depth in Connecticut, it will be pos-
sible also in Louisiana. If, then, we draw a line on the
map following the seventy-five foot level, in the Gulf,
256 Our Food Mollusks
the bottom between it and the shore will constitute the
oyster field. This area embraces six million acres.
Though it is believed by some that oysters exist in the
waters of the open Gulf, this has not been demonstrated,
and is very doubtful. Whether conditions will allow of
their growth if planted there, must be determined by ex-
periment. What evidence we possess, as will be ex-
plained later, makes the possibilities of oyster culture in
open waters other than those of Chandeleur and Isle au
Breton sounds seem to be very few.
The broken coast of St. Bernard Parish, or County, as
it would be called in another state, is quite typical. Sail-
ing southeast from the opening of Lake Pontchartrain
across Lake Borgne, one sights what seems to be a low,
straight shore line in the far distance. Soon the stranger
to this region discerns, at wide intervals, isolated groves
of dense forest growth, but nothing in the background
to break the monotony of the straight line of shore.
Then, with bewildering suddenness, the vessel draws
near; the distant coast, with its hidden details, resolves
itself into a line of grass near at hand. While one gazes
at them, the trees shrink into low shrubs, and one ex-
periences the weird sensation of having arrived at the
kingdom of Lilliput.
But the vessel skirts this dense jungle of stiff, high
grass from morning until night, and a second or a third
day may still find it passing the unchanging, but by no
means uninteresting, borders of this strange kingdom.
Now and then an excursion may be made into its interior
through one of the numerous inviting channels that lead
to a network of narrow bayous, broad passages, or salt
lakes, many of them of great size. One might sail for
weeks through these meadows and among islands always
The Gulf of Mexico 267
_new, and yet always the same, but it requires only a short
time to make a strong impression of the immense ex-
panse of this land. There are more than five hundred
square miles of it in this and in the neighboring parish of
Plaquemines, and some of the inland bays or lakes are
many miles in extent.
The soil is everywhere a stiff mud rising less than
twenty inches above ordinary high tide, though here and
there the waves of storms have piled up long banks of
shells to a height of three or four feet. Nothing else
except low mangrove bushes relieves the monotonous ex-
panse that stretches to the horizon. But this is not
everywhere true, for once or twice on the way down to
the east bank of the Mississippi, an oysterman’s hut or
a small canning factory, unnaturally and monstrously
imposing in its surroundings, appears high up on the
ends of piles. In spite of all precautions, these buildings
are in a precarious position, for in hurricanes like those
of 1893 or of 1900, the whole region may be covered by
angry water to a depth of ten or twelve feet.
Those passes that serve as channels for the tidal flows
are sometimes deep, but in the bays and quiet lagoons,
from three to six feet of water only, cover a bottom of
mud. The normal rise of the tide is but a few inches,
and very little bottom is exposed at low water.
In spite of the general atmosphere of barrenness and
utter desolation, the waters of this country are found
almost everywhere to bear natural oyster beds, many of
which have practically never been disturbed. Some of
the bottom is hard and otherwise offers an inviting op-
portunity for oyster planting. Much tonging is done on
some of the natural deposits, and culling on the tonging
grounds is more generally practised in Louisiana than in
258 Our Food Mollusks
any other state. The supply is thus in a measure con-
tinued. Oysters are not found exposed, as in the Caro-
linas and Florida, because the normal fall of the tide is
so slight. Growth being rapid, clusters form in a very
short time, but when these are culled after tonging, the
beds produce large and well-formed oysters. The ex-
tensive waters of Lake Borgne to the north, into which
Lake Pontchartrain empties, are too fresh for oyster
growth.
If one will consult his map, he will find, about twenty
miles to the east of St. Bernard Parish, and a slightly
greater distance south of the Mississippi shore, a long,
crescent-shaped group of islands known as the Chan-
deleurs. These, with the Errol group to the south of
them, constitute a sand-spit nearly thirty-five miles
long that encloses Chandeleur and Isle au Breton
sounds.
Strange sensations also await the explorer of these
uninhabited and utterly lonely islands. Climbing to the
top of one of the greater elevations—some twenty feet
above the water—he sees about him a succession of
mountains and valleys of silicious sand, many of them
bearing mammoth vines and scattered grasses. For some
reason that is difficult to define, one seems to stand among
formations having all the appearances of great hills, val-
leys and plains, but all in miniature; and the vivid imag-
ination of childhoed, lost and mourned by those who
have had too much to do with realities, comes back un-
bidden in a flood. Here, at least, in all the world, it is
possible for a day to step back through the years, and,
care-free, to explore the wonders of fairy-land.
On the east, surf from the open Gulf breaks on a wide,
firm beach, the monotony of which is broken by stranded
The Gulf of Mexico 259
tree-trunks floated out from shore, or by the wreckage of
vessels—for it is a dangerous region for the sailor.
On the protected western side, the bottom is extremely
shallow for a mile or more, and bears quantities of “ eel-
grass,” while on the shore is a growth of thatch. One
experiences a feeling of insecurity on discovering the
shells of sand-dollars and other aquatic animals halfway
up the sides of the sand hills, where they have recently
been left by the waves of a storm, and there is at once re-
called that terrible night, never to be forgotten in Louisi-
ana, when the gay summer colonists of Dernier Isle were
surprised by a tropical hurricane, and swept inland for a
distance of many miles on furious waves from the Gulf.
So seldom are the Chandeleur Islands visited that stilts
and other birds, pattering over their western mud-flats,
are almost without fear, and may be closely approached.
The hundreds of square miles of bottom in Chandeleur
Sound lie in less than eighteen feet of water. Whether
any considerable part of it will ever be available for
oyster culture cannot now be told, but according to fish-
ermen, it formerly supported beds of considerable size.
It is possible that here, where some of the natural condi-
tions seem to be different from those in the Gulf, oyster
culture might be established. The territory is so great,
and is so conveniently situated with reference to mar-
kets, that experiments should be made to determine its
possibilities.
West of the mouth of the Mississippi, the character of
the coast is much like that of the eastern side, for the en-
tire lower part of the state many miles back from the
water, is a swamp that rises very little above sea level.
Here are extensive bays—Barataria, Timbalier, and Ter-
rebonne—once the home waters of the pirate La Fitte,
260 Our Food Mollusks
a century ago the terror of the Gulf. These bays are
now the busy scene of a rapidly growing oyster industry.
The most important oyster grounds of the state are
found west of the river in Terrebonne Parish, but nearly
everywhere in this region they are becoming depleted, and
are giving way to the more productive cultivated beds,
The first move toward true oyster culture has always
been the transplanting of culled oysters from natural
beds to prepared bottoms where they may grow. This
was practised many years ago in Louisiana by the lugger-
men, and has been continued by others, often on leased
ground. But true oyster culture—the capture of spat
that would otherwise perish—is very easily accomplished
in these waters, and since about 1885 a large number
who have rented grounds from the state, have learned to
spread oyster shells for this purpose. With the decrease
of the natural beds, this practice is growing, and prom-
ises much for the near future.
To the present time, little effort has been made to cul-
tivate oysters on very soft bottoms, of which there are
great numbers situated where other conditions are favor-
able for oyster growth. Such bottoms have been re-
claimed in Long Island Sound by the use of sand and
eravel. But the bottoms here are often so soft and oozy
that it is the common belief among oystermen that even
shells would sink out of sight in them.
Experiments conducted on these bottoms in 1904 by
the writer, proved that this is not true, and that a firm
pavement may be constructed on the softest silt. In the
open waters of the Gulf, where the mud was so soft and
deep that a sounding pole was thrust into it to a depth of
many feet with no effort, and from a boat under way, an
extensive foundation of shells was prepared for an oyster
The Gulf of Mexico 261
bed. A coating from four to six inches deep was found
to make a firm and permanent foundation. Experi-
mental beds on ooze exposed by the tides, constructed of
small shells, in layers two or three inches deep, remained
in a firm layer on top of the mud, and without change,
for at least a year.
One of the most curious sights to be witnessed along
the Louisiana coast is the immense accumulation of shells
found rising above the water at many points. These are
of several species of marine or brackish water bivalves,
and on account of their small size, afford ideal material
for seed collecting. Very few oysters can attach to a
single shell, and, consequently, clusters cannot form on
them. In most cases but a single oyster will develop on
each shell (Figures 52 and 53).
To appreciate fully the great advantage that the
Louisiana culturist might possess in these shells if he
would use them, it must be stated that oyster growth in
these warm waters is so rapid that a large cluster may
form on an oyster shell in one year. To assume a size
and shape that will fit them for market, these must be
culled before further growth takes place. The labor of
culling during the first year at least might be avoided
by the use of these small shells. Their accumulations
are of great extent, and often are so situated that planks
may be extended from them directly to the deck of a
schooner lying alongside.
Yet this ideal cultch is used very little in Louisiana,
oyster shells being preferred, perhaps because shell heaps
at the canneries are convenient and must be disposed of.
It is a pity that they should be used only to pave streets
in New Orleans and Lake Charles.
It is not possible with data that we now possess to
262 Our Food Mollusks
make a definite statement of the average rate of growth
of oysters in any of the great oyster fields. One bay or
river mouth may afford advantages such as food, that a
neighboring locality lacks, and growth here may be much
more rapid than elsewhere. But the general practice of
oystermen in Long Island Sound is to allow oysters to
grow four, or very rarely three years, after the spat has
been collected.
Without doubt, in Louisiana waters, the average time
required to produce a marketable oyster having a length
of five or six inches, is at least a year shorter than in the
northern field. Usually this size will be attained in
three years from the time of attachment, and sometimes
in two years. In Quarantine Bay, whole beds have been
known to develop in eight months, oysters averaging
nearly three inches in length. In Bayou Coquette, col-
lectors have borne oysters more than two inches long in
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