OR ae nee i ne Tate ee ~ ea, ne, tnaerey Daas egg UN SS, 7? et Mate FL a See Sas Nees =" mtn = ~— a hs € a cs LIBRARY T ¢2€0?00 TOEO O MO A 1OHM/18N ‘ DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR. BOS.AB 2 SEE [Sol _ _ BAl TENTH CENSUS OF THE UNITED STATES. ERERPAIN Cus: At] WW Aoi, SUPERINTENDENT. THE HISTORY AND PRESENT CONDITION OF THE PISHERY INDUSTRIES K KO. PREPARED UNDER THE DIRECTION OF BY PROFESSOR S&S. F. BAIRD, G. BROWN GOODE, U. S. COMMISSIONER OF FISH AND FISHERIES, _ ASSISTANT DIRECTOR U. S. NATION PE EAOMCICAL lA fos AND A STAFF or associgfgs™ WOODS HOLE, MA < . is LIBRARY %&' \ U.S. DEPT. OF COMMERCE NMFS-NEFC WASHINGTON: 4, &, GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE. [24 [8A {8-8 1. Or a is bas ~ yf es ts \ ire ee | ha eo a Sick, g Fey — . PA Tee eT ae Aes kee > ac { — = P . BAS.0fy 4 in Ly Oy aioe! am 4 3 a aphhh Ss WO a . oe. Sa aa =i ‘ = i = Bl sich ooo ee Ale ae he ea) EEE Wine 4 Ba, ‘ 14 & 7 7 One Lah OS ; ; G EA > Mah ao : / “2 “' ¥ ae hie CTT TVs | ; |= r 4 ari teh ; oo . | . ; ‘ mec |i) Te. MD Ap : ‘ : 4 A . : ’ a oe: ab Come fi | ee iS ade ahs) he ae an TJ 2 ll vine @ e 7 shia r. 5 LS ay Ta im : ‘te ob er CON : Ip . rp y' * - ‘ ' 7 : Fe o ; —— | ¥” Whee, ds) oo) 2 Oa iat aan § - 4 4 : *~ | ; aes ae > 0 Re : ef 7 i, iO OE AN 160) GAL ee OLY ota ee eG By ons » eel Le ANALYSES: Title. I. Toe OysterR-INDUSTRY—DESCRIPTIVE AND STATISTICAL REPORTS. A. THE MARITIME PROVINCES OF CANADA ...--------- -----+ = 202 ee ence cern n een cee ne cee cere teens cre cert eeee 1. Geographical position and character of the oyster-beds ......------ .-++++ +++ +++ 0+ 22242222252 eeeee eee o oe 2. Manner of procuring the oysters -------- ------ ------+--+ e---22 een ne eee nee eee ee eee eee ee eee erect 3. Future of the oyster-beds and oyster-trade -.-.-.-------- ----+- ------ +--+ +2022 ee eee eee ee eee cee ee eee B. GULF OF MAINE....-. .----- 222 = 2-22 one nec cnn nnn ent wane ene wane nn nnn wee nea ne ren ease . Former extent and condition of the native beds in the gulf of Maine—evidence of Indian shell-heaps.---- ---- 5. The time and causes of the extinction of the oyster in the gulf of Maine ------...--.. .----- .----- ---------- 6. History of the natural oyster-beds in the gulf of Maine since the settlement of the coast by Europeans..--.- 7. Oyster-culture in the gulf of Maine .-.-------------------------+ -00+ e222 eens cree seen cee e eer ere ete 8 9 ~ . History and present condition of the oyster-trade at Wellfleet and vicinity ..-.-.---------.----------------- . History and present condition of the oyster-trade of Boston ...-...--------------+-++++--++ 222225 e222 72-22 e- 10. The oyster-trade of Salem, Massachusetts, and vicinity .----.-----.---------- +--+ +--+ 2-22 s22e settee cree eee 11. The oyster-business of Newburyport ..----.----- ---------- ----+-+ +22 seer ee eee eee ce nee ce este tee 12. The oyster-business of the New Hampshire coast .--.-------------- THER ROIOE ODES OECUReE Oe Coren HasEaauces 13. The oyster-business of Portland, Maine .......----- .-+-++-----+ ---- 222 ence teen ee eee ene rete cree 14. The natural beds of Sheepscot Bridge, Maine-.----.----- - notnS EL OStoMeMSEsO Renn cpcneboUhb SHoLeSeENoesaececs C. Tue SoutH Coast OF MASSACHUSETTS -.----------+ -- 20 cone cone n eo - won e cee ne wn ne nnn ee en ete one e teen ne nee 15. Oyster-culture in Buzzard’s bay and Vineyard sound 16. The oyster-laws of Massachusetts ..-...--------------------+ ee- eee seen cee eee ee eee tere eee rete D. TauNTON RIVER AND CoLe’s RIVER, MASSACHUSETTS -.-...-.---.--- 17. Oyster-culture and oyster-trade on Massachusetts affluents of Narraganset bay -.--------------------+------ IE. Coasts OF RHODE ISLAND -....- .----. ------ ---~-- cooene ce apee -os- oon sooo PO nee enee COL CODE Cocco ese bas copectostes 18. Legal regulations of Rhode Island oyster-fishery .---~.----- ------++ --+--- - +--+ eee ee cone ne crete etre nee 19. The planting-grounds of Narraganset bay .... -----..---------- ------ e2e- eee ee eens eens renee rere cee 20. Southern oysters: transplanting and trade ..-.....-.--.----------- ---- -- +--+ + +--+ eee ene eee eee ree rere Dies Nativerand seed OVSbers ao = a= ssess-se/o--clenneaey-eawioeencowice san ---see ean enw slaw ogee man leonw a= aniammn os 22. Enemies of the oyster in Narraganset bay-..-------- ---------- -- +--+ 2-2 - 0+ eens cee ene cee nee eee eee rene 23. Statistics of the oyster-trade of Rhode Island..---..---.-------------- PEE eR eee Coaerereneee anne EASTERN COAST OF CONNECTICUT .--- 2. 2 -sscce eae s cannes sone d= oo ecse sensor encaccee nce n= nese asnse meno -=-= wens 24. Oyster-industries east of New Haven. .--.....----------- === + e222 eens cone meee ne cee ne nen nee ceee eee tees 25. Early oyster-trade at New Haven ...-.. --.. ---- ------ 2-20 a2 eens wenn cen cee rece ee cee een enn cen e rene enone 26. Origin and development of the southern trade ......---. ---.-----+ --20 se2e cee eee e ee eee were eee tree 27. Native oysters and oyster-planting in the vicinity of New Haven ........---------------------------+-+----- 28. Present condition of oyster-culture in the vicinity of New Haven -..-.-.----..---------------------------+-+--- 29. Laws of Connecticut relating to oysters... -.-. 22. 222-222 222 ene cone eee wenn nee nen ones ne eee neces 30. Limitations of oyster-cnlture in the New Haven region ...-.-.---------- +--+. -----+-----+ 222-2222 2 reece POUALer- Ou) Larey tie Mahi Ord eeneameten = sees seca eaten ae aes teseces ae acta =o stem as asin nooo =o alee Bo eEnOos OL catchranaldisnosilieecsesceces somes. aaajade cectee eee as = oso caw aaccwelseee=mlen=-=- 0 ==> «=e GOUT HE HOGEATONIGUAN DEG AUGATUOR REGIONS Il) it. noe ee oe eee ac an seen ewe sascee Soee ececs~ sa nsc-2- es scenes 33. Oyster-fisheries of Bridgeport and Westport .-----.- -2-- ------ -0- 22 220- cene wenn ne en nnn een warn ne we enee H. Tuer East RIVER AND PECONIC Bay 35. Peconic bay, or Eastern Long Island I. Tue Soutu SHore or LonG ISLAND 36. The Great South bay district Sig LULU EGE Gy AO DRIAL eee, oe oS =~ Sere See ee a a i RE An AS eae eS tS J.oNEW: MORK BAY (excluding the cityiof New York) --2522.<-- 22 .c2 scene ence sc we aco amncenicie heme vena ethan se= meena === 38. History: of oysterindustries of New York bay..... ..-<..--- -2o0 --0--- -- ne ooo 2 ea cn cen niece mae omen ensens ss0e=25- 30's Oyatier-n dasimesof/ New, York: bays Joo h0beca. socece scien oe 2 cccls emrwele s oeeaneeees es mnaeenenis sea -l—= 1 35 36 36 43 53 56 a ANALYSIS. Title. I. THE Oysrer-InDUsTRY—Cor tinued. i. -COAST OF Nw JERSEY c2.see eer eee scr 2 ean cee ye deena Seeman ees ese aee= mene ss| ols ete ee 42, Oyster-industries of the New ae “hays” M. DeELawarEe Bay N. Gee iiaBaens: OF Sar ova SES eee Sere Sa Se OSC ESO SINC Ion see eS acs 44. The merchants and oyster-business of Philadelphia-......-.-..----.------------ ooo e sees. ss. - ae ee O: MARYIANDGANDIBADTIMOR, 522-222. -ce easiest ase a ee eee aes atten a eee 51; Oysterfishemes/ofSombth Carolin aie aa. totam erate nse te pte ae stale aoe ae eon er 52. Oyster-fisheries of Georgia..-..-.-..-.---------.----- Bases edd SeSa eH aa cosatsicsss Sada ssecsctanssos asedst 53. Oyster-interests of East Florida IEPA sod Eionviy’ Cost Whopateoy S854 55 Seen A285 Shao So cneo eset ososse 5 3508 2ae Se eIgnoce ss Sass. SU OSes Saas teeta 54. Oyster-interests of West Florida..-...--...-..---.---- woe'sestnefsen saree ease senetoak oees ener wenaes eaaelos Dons OVSter-in dusinies Of) Al alp aM oyecr oem mers le ime re aetna ni parte eg a le gee eee ee 56. Oyster-industries of Mississippi and Louisiana 57. Oyster-industry of Texas Daan PPACIKIC OGARTM = ee aaa een =e 5s, Oyster-ndusinies on Calitomiae ce. slessarr isomer ma cam eine eee irae ea AES UM ERAN CONST Clg) ON asi) mass cuop CWS) Boe oe ose so cca ese | eae Soo Scie So Sene Gods ss sae OSeass Ghee Sess Ss esta sss: Rae 59. Shell-lime and other applications of oyster-shells ..---. -- JGdagoce secs SoStSg Sacend esSsee Sass Sisessoctcs Il. THE Natural HISTORY OF THE OYSTER. (UG Kenna) oe BAVA OA Ty Wet ISG Nae Roe eo ocs Sane Gee aoe Saou spon eater 39a ceco oes cosmeostass= ese besesoccsatarceaces 60. The growth and habits of the American oyster of the Atlantic coast....-.-..----.-----.---+---------.----- Y. FATALITIES TO WHICH THE OYSTER IS SUBJECT 615 Liyinoenemies:of theioyster? - = “< -— x in, gD F as ih B7 “hw oie | ae : — ; ; bie eS ne le gy. 7 ° < ip the Se, » a 4 ite as ; £ igs Cc py: * * nbd — Busy TA ens 2 et 10 Tae ~~ d il ee I. THE OYSTER-INDUSTRY—DESCRIPTIVE AND STATISTICAL REPORTS. A. THE MARITIME PROVINCES OF CANADA. 1, GEOGRAPHICAL POSITION AND CHARACTER OF THE OYSTER BEDS. DESCRIPTION OF THE EASTERN COAST OF NEw BRuNSWIck.—It is well known that eastern New Brunswick and the adjoining islands are the home of a breed of oysters, separated from those of the New England coast by more than a thousand miles of shore line. In a study of the oysters of the United States, it is important to glance at this distant scene of their growth and industry, but more than a general view of the subject is not compatible with the purposes of the present report. The eastern coast of the province of New Brunswick is washed by the waters of the gulf of St. Lawrence. At cape Tormentine the coast trends eastward, along Nova Scotia, to the Gut of Canso, and then turns sharply north- ward, on the western side of Cape Breton island, which bars out the Atlantic. This part of the gulf is a great bight, with Anticosti island on the north, and Cape Breton on the east. Down in the bottom of the bight, so to speak, lies the long irregular shape of Prince Edward island, between which and the mainland flow the shallow but troublesome currents of Northumberland strait. The shores of New Brunswick and Prince Edward are, for the most part, low bluffs of reddish soil, and sloping meadows. There is little solid rock, few prominent headlands, but a generally continuous line of shore, shelving very gradually into water nowhere deep. Many rivers come down along the coast of the gulf, and at the mouth of each there is an estuary or inlet, proportionate to the size of the stream, from the mighty channel of the St. Lawrence to the miniature bay of Bedeque. With the exception of two or three of the greater ones, all these inlets are so shallow that it is easy to pole a raft anywhere, and they are usually protected from the swell of the outer sea and the fury of the gales by a barrier of islands, or by projecting headlands and bars. This condition of things seems highly favorable for oyster-growth, since nearly all of these inlets contain colonies of these mollusks. SHIPPEGAN AND CARAQUETTE TO Picrou.—Beginning at the north, on the coast of New Brunswick, the most distant point at which I could ascertain that oysters had ever been discovered, was in the rear of Miscou island, at Shippegan, and in Caraquette bay, a harbor on the southern shore of the bay of Chaleurs. In 1849, Mr. Perley, the queen’s commissioner, reported to the government: Some oysters of very large size and good quality are found at Tabusintac; but those of the finest description are found on extensive beds in Shippegan harbor, St. Simon’s inlet, and Caraquette bay, from which localities they are exported every season to Quebec. The number of bushels exported from the port of Caraquette during the last eight years, is as follows: Ae eee Sea eee en» Seaton ~ DNOU0) |) LOAD < aaa ceneaseat nol oes one sesesisws Seee an cece 2,010 1st 12) ses aco deauseeecne seco e eens Reese aaa aaa 7 GUOs SLAG Rc. a cee ee ee Ne SELETE REE oh. Megetnee ts oe 1,915 ELS. odt clone MARRS SE Act oon oe eee eee anil OBE Lc (ie eR ee y= eae 8 Be a oP 425 jets Se oe See ee ee eee ee G,QU0M EGA Reeea es Sey ee eee Seer Neng POLE eS 5, 432 Twenty years later, Mr. Venning, inspector of fisheries, wrote: “In Shippegan and Caraquette, close time for the protection of the oyster-beds has, for the first time (1869), been partially enforced. These beds are extensive and widely separated, and it is a matter of much difficulty to prevent occasional violations of the law.” Again, Professor Whiteaves* was informed that oysters had been taken upon the flukes of anchors, in seven fathoms of water, “between Little and Big Caraquette banks, in the bay of Chaleurs.” I see no reason why they should not also be found at the mouth of the Nipisiguit river, farther up the bay, on the same shore. South of Miscou and Shippegan “gullies” the coast seems too bold a one for oysters in great plenty, until Miramichi bay is reached, the whole interior of which is full of these mollusks. This is especially true along the south shore, where there are many islands, and at the innermost shallow extremity of the bay, where the Miramichi river comes in. Bettaouin is a particularly rich locality. Having rounded Hscuminac cape, the headland south of Miramichi bay, a group * Canadian Naturalist, vii, 544. 4 THE FISHERIES OF THE UNITED STATES. of islands is soon reached, lying off the coast and parallel with it, under the shelter of which, in Kouchibouguac and Richibucto harbors, there is an abundance of beds. Passing on southward, along the shore of Northumberland strait, Buctouche, Cocaigne, and Shediac bays follow in productive succession, beyond which there are no beds reported, until cape Tormentine is passed and the shallow coast of Nova Scotia is reached, extending from Pugwash to Pictou. These last two localities are of small account, and close the list for the mainland. PRINCE EDWARD ISLAND.—Prince Edward island, however, is almost engirdled with oysters and their remains, except at the western end, where the precipitous red banks that give so picturesque an aspect to this coast, are unsuitable for oyster-growth. The localities where beds exist, or have existed, on the island are: Cascumpeque, Richmond bay, Grand river, and the Narrows, in a group; Malpeque, the harbor of New London, Hillsborough bay and river near Charlottetown, and Bedeque and Egmont bays. In addition to these main localities there is an almost continual line of shallow and sheltered coves and inlets, around the whole eastern coast of the island, where extinet or semi-fossil beds of oysters are to be found, embracing nearly every tidal bay or outlet. CAPE BRETON AND Nova ScorrA.—Crossing now over to Cape Breton, a glance at the map will remind the reader that the whole interior of the island is occupied by the Bras d’Or, which enters by two narrow channels from the northeast, with Boulardrie island between them. ‘The Bras d’Or is the most beautiful salt-water lake I have ever seen, and more beautiful than I had imagined a body of salt water could be,” says Mr. Charles Dudley Warner, in Baddeck and That Sort of Thing. ‘The water seeks out all the low places, and ramifies the interior, running away into lovely bays and lagoons, leaving slender tongues of land and picturesque islands, and ee into the recesses of the land, to the remote country farms and settlements, the flavor of salt and the fish and mollusks of the briny sea. There is very little tide at any time, so that the shores are clean and sightly for the most part, like those of a fresh-water lake. It has all the pleasantness of a fresh-water lake, with all the advantages of a salt one. In the streams which run into it are the speckled trout, the shad, and the salmon; out of its depths are hooked the cod and the mackerel, and in its bays fattens the oyster. This irregular lake is about one hundred miles long, if you measure it skillfully, and in some places ten miles broad; but so indented is it, that I am not sure but one would need, as we were informed, to ride one thousand miles to go round it, following all its incursions into the land.” Here, as might be expected, the oyster lives in plenty, from St. Ann’s to Mira river and St. Peter’s bay. “The few oysters to be met with off Nova Scotia,” according to Purdy, ‘occur at Jeddore head, twenty or twenty-five miles east of Halifax harbor; also Country harbor, St. Mary’s river, and Liscombe harbor, Guysboro’ county, on the outside, and Pictou harbor, John river, Wallace, Charles river, and Pugwash (mentioned above), in Northumberland straits.” This catalogue appears to embrace the whole region known where oysters occur. In none of his dredging expeditions upon the Dominion’s vessels did Professor Whiteaves meet with “traces even of oysters in any part of the area between Cape Breton and Prince Edward island, nor in any part of Northumberland straits, where the bottom is deeper than 5 or 6 fathoms—that is to say, not in any of the open parts”. In a letter printed in the Canadian Naturalist for 1874, hereafter frequently to be referred to, the Hon. W. H. Pope, of Summerside, Prince Edward island, reiterates this assertion, but adds: Some years ago I observed a quantity of oyster-shells on the sand at the north end of Tryon shoals (which are situated on the south side of the island); they were about a quarter of a mile from the shore. Some of the shells were filled with sand more compact than some of our sandstone rocks. When I first observed these shells, my opinion was that they had been washed ashore from beds situated in the deep water of the straits of Northumberland. It has since occurred to me that they are in situ, and are the remains of an ancient oyster-bed which had been destroyed by the sand. The existence of a soft, muddy bottom in the vicinity of these shells, supports the supposition that at some period this muddy bottom was more extensive tian at present; that the oysreraae was then formed, and was destroyed by the encroachment of the sand forming the Tryon shoal. WHITEAVES ON THE SOUTHERN FAUNA OF THE GULF OF St. LAWRENCE.—A suggestion of how it may be possible for oysters and so many other southern-dwelling mollusks to inhabit a sea so far north, and apparently so exposed to the arctic ice and freezing currents that sweep down past Labrador, as are these, is made by Whiteaves in the following paragraph: On the admiralty charts of the gulf of St. Lawrence an irregular line of 60- fathoms soundings may be seen to extend from a little above the northern extremity of the island of Cape Breton, round the Magdalen group, and thence in a westerly direction -to Bonaventure island. To the south and southwest of this line the water is uniformly somewhat shallow, while to the north, northwest, and northeast the water deepens rapidly, and in some places precipitously. Principal Dawson suggests that the subcarbon- iferous rocks of which the Magdalen islands are composed, and which appear again in the mainland, in Bonaventure county, may possibly cross up under the sea in the area between the northwest side of Cape Breton and the mainland of New Brunswick, as well as that of the counties of Bonaventure and Gaspé, in the province of Quebec. This may account for the shallowness of the water in the area in question. Whether this is the case or not, it seems not improbable that the submarine plateau inside of this line of shallow soundings may form a natural barrier to those arctic currents which sweep down the straits of Belle Isle in a southwesterly direction, and may tend to deflect their course in a bold curve into and up the river St. Lawrence. SIzE AND QUALITY OF CANADIAN OYSTERS.—The oysters of this region are of large size, and have thick, strong sheils. Oysters of eight or ten inches in length are not extraordinary. I have heard of shells dredged from extinct beds “as long as your forearm”, but I saw none of these monsters. The best are those which THE OYSTER-INDUSTRY. 5 have straight and narrow or eyenly-rounded shells, and grow singly. When the oysters grow in clusters, the fishermen consider it a sign of degeneracy. That, as a rule, the oysters found nowadays are smaller than those taken by the last generation, is probably a tradition, without better foundation than other popular suppositions that we live in degenerate diys; the old shells dredged from the mud show no gigantie proportions. The oysters differ in taste, and consequently in quality, with the locality. Those from Shediac, Bedeque, and Richmond bays are esteemed most highly, because they are of firm substance and strongly saline flavor. Those from the other beds are of fresher flavor, and some, for instance those in Hillsborough river, are disliked, because “thin and watery”. This seems due mainly to the fact that they are subjected to more fresh water than is good for them when the tide is out. The oysters of poorest quality of all, according to common report, come from the Richibucto region, although there is the deepest water in which I have known them to be taken.* CHARACTER OF THE BEDS.—The depth of water in which they live varies, from places so shallow that they are left quite exposed by the lowest tides, to a depth of 40 feet. This last is reported from Richibucto. Perhaps the average depth may be put at 10 feet.t The oysters occur in beds of varying size and shape. Some of them will be only a few rods, others several acres in extent. The slow accumulation of living upon dead oysters, the drifting of the sediment, and the growth of other organisms, have built many of these beds almost up to the surface, leaving a deep channel between neighboring colonies. The foundations of such beds have been proved to be in some cases more than 20 feet below their crests. Here and there, however, as in some parts of Richmond bay, and at Caraquette, the beds appear to be less well defined and of more modern origin. The height which the oyster-beds attain above the general level of the bottom, probably furnishes a solution of the well observed fact, that. the ice becomes unsafe over an oyster-bank, while it is firm elsewhere; the ridge of the beds would. form currents in the tides that would wear the ice over them with more force and rapidity than elsewhere. These oysters seem to have few enemies. In a list of animals found associated with this mollusk on the beds at Shediac, Professor Whiteaves marks the mussels, Mytilus edulis and Modiola modiolus, the Natica heros, two starfishes and a sea-urchin, as “ more-or less inimical”; but he adds: “So far as I could see, these do not exist in sufficient abundance in Northumberland straits to be of any serious disadvantage.” One of the old oystermen at Shediac told me he had only seen three starfishes in his whole life. The shells of all sorts of bivalves here are almost universally perforated by a sponge, but no harm seems to ensue to them when living. 2, MANNER OF PROCURING THE OYSTERS. EARLY OYSTER-FISHING.—The methods of procuring oysters employed in the maritime provinces are substan- tially those followed in the United States, so faras the summer fishing is concerned. But in winter, oysters are often raked through the ice. That this is an ancient custom, appears from a paragraph in Charlevoix’s History of North America: Oy(ters are very Plenty in Winter on the Coafts of Acadia, and the Manner of fifhing for them is fomething fingular. They make a Hole in the Ice, and they thruft in two Poles in fuch a Manner, that they have the Effect of a Pair of Pincers, and they feldom draw them up without an Oytter. p THE OYSTER-INDUSTRY AT SHEDIAC.—The two most famous localities for oysters are Shediac and Summerside. Shediac is a village of about 800 to 1,060 people, situated on the south side of Shediae bay, an inlet from Northumberland straits. The harbor extends for about four miles inland, and into its upper end flow one or two small rivers. The outermost point of the harbor is Point du Chéne, where the terminus of the Intercolonial railway from St. John is located. The harbor of Shediac is commodious, and protected by Shediac island; but the depth of water is not great, and the few foreign vessels that come here annually for deals, are obliged to anchor off the point. Their cargoes are conveyed to them, from the mills at the head of the bay, in rafts. Shediac is an ancient settlement of the Acadians, and has been the scene not only of Indian battles, but of French garrisons, and of sanguinary conflicts between French and English, during the long contest which raged for the possession of these shores during the early part of the last century and previously. Once or twice, long ago, it.was burned to the ground, and has suffered a third conflagration since my visit. At one time it was hoped to make it a port of importance, but its sole fame at present rests upon its oysters; and this is a fading glory, for the beds are nearly depopulated of the excellent bivalves that formerly flourished in such abundance. From the long railway wharf at Point du Chéne, itself founded upon oyster shells, the beds once existed in thick succession along both shores of the bay, and for some distance up the Shediac river, clear around to the *Oysters are abundant at Cocaigne, Buctouche, Richibucto, Burnt Church, and other places on the coast, but in general they are too far within the mouths of fresh-water streams, and their quality is greatly inferior to those affected by sea-water only.—PERLEY. Report on the Fisheries, 1849. tYou inquire: ‘‘Do you think oysters would thrive in somewhat deeper water than that in which they are now found, if sown there?” I think they would thrive in the deepest part of any inland water, if placed upon suitable ground.—Porr. Letter to Whiteayes, Canadian Naturalist, vii, 347. 6 THE FISHERIES OF THE UNITED STATES. Grandique, a stream that empties into the northeastern corner of the bay. The number of these beds is said to be about fifty, and they cover the soft bottom of the harbor with great mounds. Procuring the services and guidance of Frank Giuvien, I started out one dark morning to see the beds and the process of raking. It was raining hard, the wind was chill and fitful, and th® general appearance of the surroundings somber in the extreme. The boat was a large, red, yawl-shaped one, and it lay some distance out in the water, hard aground, although the tide was well up. Pulling off their shoes and stockings, Giuvien and his assistant soon had it afloat, erected the mast, and then came to carry me on board ’poose-back. Having gone a third of a mile from shore, and crossed the deepest part of the bay (in water of 4 to 6 fathoms), we struck the first bed, finding it, by sounding with a pole, not more than five feet below the surface. Ramming the pole hard down we “hung” the boat by my holding on to it, while Giuvien thrust down his great rake, and his assistant his “tongs”. But nothing was taken alive except one or two quahaugs, and we movedon. Trying several beds, all coming within a fathom or less of the surface, and some being of great extent, we succeeded in two hours in raking a dozen and a half of small oysters and about three dozen fine quahaugs, besides some mussels. This was a fair sample of the condition of the whole bay. The rake and tongs used do not differ from those well known to oystermen in the United States, except, perhaps, that they are ruder, generally being of home manufacture. Tn the winter, when the ice forms over the whole bay to a thickness of three feet or so, the oysterman finds his way out to a position over some of the beds, with the location of which he is perfectly familiar, and cuts a large hole in the ice. Through this he lowers rake and tongs, and brings up load after load of living mollusks and dead shells. Here this is the most profitable time of the year for the oysterman; or, rather, it used to be. Twenty-five or thirty years ago, not to go further back, the trade in oysters at this town was extensive, amounting to probahly about 1,000 barrels a year. Most of this crop was shucked and sent to St. John in kegs. In earlier times it was not uncommon for one man to rake up a sleigh-load of oysters, through the ice, in a single afternoon. Now 200 bushels a year is all that is produced, and this in a very desultory fashion. No one devotes himself to it but the French fishermen, and farmers use their leisure in raking occasionally. At Richibucto the oysters grow in the channel, and clear across the inlet, in water as deep as 35 feet. There, consequently, rakes are used attached to poles so long and unwieldy that they require two men for their manipulation. This great bay has been nearly depleted, however. In the Canadian Fisheries Report, Mr. J. McD. Sutherland, local officer there, wrote to Mr. Venning, inspector of fisheries, as follows: There are a good many oyster-beds in the river, but with the exception of one at Indian island (uear to the south beach), the oysters are very small, and of so poor a quality, that none have been sent away for years; in fact, they will not sell. The only beds from which any are taken at present, are two at Kingston bridge, and one or two farther up the river, and only in very small quantities, as they are of so poor a quality that it is difficult to find sale for them. There is a very large bed at Indian island, and the oysters are very large and of excellent quality; but they are scarce and hard to get. Not more than 30 or 40 barrels were taken from it last year. A man may rake all day, and perhaps get only a bushel. There are hundreds of barrels of shells on this bed, and some farmers are making arrangements to get the shells off it as manure for their farms. If anything could be done to protect or increase the oysters in this bed, I think it deserves attention. The only suggestion I can offer is, that the shells and dead oysters be removed, and raking prohibited for a number of years. There are some beds on which the oysters are al] dead, from which large quantities of shells are taken every year by the farmers.—(Page 76.) The present point of greatest abundance of the oyster on the mainland seems to be in Miramichi bay, = Bettaouin. In 1876, Giuvien went there in a small vessel, with several others from Shediac, on a raking expedition. They found the oysters were distributed everywhere over the harbor so thickly, that every square foot of the bottom seemed to be occupied. They seemed to lie in little connected clusters right upon the sand, which was so soft that ' mooring-stakes were easily driven into it. They found on the ground ships and schooners that took away over 4,000 barrels during the single fortnight they remained. These bought their cargoes, at the rate of $1 a barrel, from the small boats (each operated by two men) that swarmed in the harbor. The ships took their cargoes to Quebec, various smaller craft carried loads elsewhere, and the 65 small boats that came down there from Caraquette all intended to go home with full loads when the selling season closed. Four years of this onslaught have now almost exterminated this great oyster-community. So much for the mainland, where, I believe, the tongs and rake used from small boats in summer, and the rake through the ice in winter, upon wild beds, every man owning his own implements and fishing for his own good at odd moments, comprise the whole of oystering. THE OYSTER-INDUSTRY OF PRINCE EDWARD ISLAND.—Crossing now to Prince Edward island, a somewhat more systematic, if not more scientific, pursuit of this industry is to be seen. The headquarters of the business is at Summerside, a small, wooden, unattractive town of about 800 inhabitants, situated at the extremity of Bedeque bay, on the southern side of the island. It is a landing place of the steamers from Shediac, and also of the line to Montreal. This district was originally settled by French; but when the island was ceded to Great Britain, these people were expelled, and the inhabitants are now almost wholly Scotch and English. From Summerside are sent the famous “ Bedeque” oysters, so called from the bay in which they were found. The true Bedeque oysters are, however, now extinct, or at least so nearly so as to be entirely unprofitable for raking. The bay is an inlet half a dozen male long, in lh the water is nowhere more than 3 or 4 fathoms deep, THE OYSTER-INDUSTRY. % except in the channel that leads to the wharves of the fort. The whole sandy bottom of this bay is described as formerly one vast oyster-bed. At the upper end it was so shallow that, when the tide was out, even children might wade about and pick up oysters, which were often found clinging to the eel-grass, with their hands; such oysters were the best of all. Finally, the head of the bay became so choked up, that in the winter, at low tide, the ice was let down until it rested full weight upon the beds. But now the bay has lost its ancient suitability as a home for the bivalves, and few remain. ‘“ Bedeque” oysters, therefore, like those of the once-celebrated “ Porier ” bed at Shediac, now come from elsewhere, but still pass in the market under the brand-name by which they attained their fame for excellence. The chief source of supply at present is Richmond bay, an inlet on the north shore formed by the union of several estuaries and filled with islands and sand-bars. That region, however, has many subdivisions. It consists of a great, irregular, interior basin of shallow water, sending its arms back into the country in all directions, and receiving long, wooded capes that jut out and form sheltered bays in great number. The water-access from the ocean to this lake is through Malpeque bay and the Narrows. The term “Richmond bay” is really restricted to the innermost part of it, while the western portion is called Grand river. The shores are low, the bottom is soft, sandy mud, and no force of the outside storms ever penetrates these calm recesses. Here then, if anywhere, ought we to find oysters, and here they occur in vast numbers. The people who live on the shores of this broad estuary are of varied nationality, and nearly all own farms, or cultivate the land for others. They may therefore be called farmers, as a class. But in the spring for a little while, and from the first of September until November seals the water under its icy cover, they all become oystermen. A few of them own small sail-boats, two-masted or sloop-rigged, worth from $30 to $50, and of far more use than beauty. Asa rule, however, they go out to the beds in rude, flat-bottomed, square-sterned, awkward boats, called “flats”. These are worth $10 each, and every family owns at least one, with its oars and the anchor. Rakes or dredges are not used at all here; only-a pair of tongs, worth about $2 50. It does not require much capital, therefore, to enter upon the business.* Oyster-fishing begins on September 1 and lasts until the ice forms. On this island no fishing through the ice is practiced, and all that is done, with the exception of a few days in the spring, must be done at once. During this season, therefore, all else is pretty much abandoned, and four or five hundred persons will be found engaged in the work in the western half of the island; it is considered a good day’s work when a boat brings home in the evening two barrels to each of the crew. In so sheltered a place as Richmond bay the state of the weather, which is likely to be very rainy, chilly, and uncertain, makes little difference with the work. About one-half of the fishermen are heads of families, the other half being made up of boys and young unmarried men, and the vagabond element. Some of the more well-to-do farmers buy on the shore the catch of the latter class, to a considerable extent, and add it to their own stock, paying from 50 to 80 cents a barrel on the shore. The main part of the catch, however, is hauled day by day to Summerside, from 2 to 10 miles distant, at an expense of from 10 to 15 cents a barrel, and sold to the warehouses there. Sometimes the Summerside dealers go out to the shore and buy, but more frequently procure what is not brought to their doors, by sending out empty barrels to different persons and engaging them to be filled. The barrels used are second-hand flour barrels, worth 15 to 20 cents, and holding two and a balf bushels, or from three to four hundred oysters each. The price paid for these oysters varies from year to year. The highest rate ever reached was in 1875, when $2 50 per barrel was paid at the warehouse. Since then, partly owing to the stimulus given by the high price, and the consequent increased supply, the price has declined, until this September (1879) it went as low as 80 cents a barrel, but recovered before the end of the month to $1, which may be called the average price. A stormy season will lessen the supply and augment the value. Little distinction is made by the warehousemen in buying in respect to locality, but in selling it is found that the fine single oysters from Grand river will bring a considerable advance over those from Malpeque and other points. The rule is: the deeper the water, the better the oyster. It is conceded that the old Bedeque oyster was the best of all. With the fall crop of oysters the farmer-fishermen expect to pay for their winter’s supply of provisions, chiefly flour. But little cash, therefore, is used in the transaction, the buyer exchanging a barrel of flour for from five to seven barrels of oysters. The average receipts of the oyster-fishermen are diflicult to estimate; but those best competent to judge thought that the men who paid strict attention to the business received from $50 to $70 a year from it. This may be put down as about one-fourth of their total annual income. The working classes on the island think they are doing very well if they make $300 a year. Every one of them is a year in debt. When the warehouseman delivers his flour in exchange for the oysters, it is really the crop of the next fall that he is buying, for the oysters he has just received were owed to him for the previous winter’s provisions. It is so with all the merchants in town, who obtain a good portion of the season’s catch for their own use, in pay for dry-goods, groceries, &c. The amount of cash capital involved in the business of oyster-dealing, therefore, is disproportionate to the apparent business done, since so great a part of it is by barter. In the vicinity of Summerside it is probably within “The dredge has never, to my knowledge, been employed in the waters of Prince Edward island. Oysters are fished with “tongs (i from depths varying from 3 or 4 feet to 12, and eyen 15, feet.—Popr. Letter to Whiteaves, Canadian Naturalist, vii, 349. 8 THE FISHERIES. OF THE UNITED STATES. bounds to say that $25,000 would cover the capital of all the dealers combined; and they represent all the oyster- trade there is on the island worth mentioning. The business is not now so good as formerly, on account of the “hard times” that now oppress the Canadas; and a profit of 20 per cent. is considered large; but in former years 50 per cent. of profit was often realized without much risk. At the eastern end of the island the only locality for oysters, within recent times, is in Hillsborough bay and its tributaries. This water is on the south shore, and is the harbor of Charlottetown, the chief town of the province. Old men remember when oysters were so abundant there that they seemed inexhaustible. Rich beds were to be found along the west side of Hillsborough bay, over in Orwell and Pownall bays, along the channel into the inner harbor, and everywhere there and up Hillsborough, East and West rivers. The finest of all grew attached singly to the eel-grass at the heads of the various little inlets, where one could wade out and get them; and at certain places the beds were so crowded that a boat could take eight bushels in an hour. Now, however, these bays are almost depopulated of their oysters, and not more than $500 worth annually, it is said, are raked there. These are all used in Charlottetown, being raked and peddled by two men who make a scant business of it. Charlottetown, in addition, consumes nearly a thousand barrels from the western end of the island, esteeming her own of far poorer quality. Concerning the oysters of the Bras d’Or I could learn but little, but became satisfied that no trade in them existed, beyond a limited home consumption by those who fished and their neighbors. ; 3. FUTURE OF THE OYSTER-BEDS AND OYSTER-TRADE. FORMER AND PRESENT ABUNDANCE.—A few words ought now to be said upon the relative former and present abundance of the oysters of this region and the causes operating toward their increase or decrease. To begin with: Iam convinced that if it were possible to make a comparison between the actual number of : oysters on the beds fifty years ago with the number to-day, the disparity would not be great. The production has changed geographically, rather than numerically. Ancient areas no longer yield so fully, but new ones have been discovered. The most famous of the old localities was Shediac, where the ‘‘ Porier bed” sent to the interior settlements the best mollusks known. This bed lay between Shediac island and the north shore of the bay, and has been abandoned for many years; but a fisherman told me, he thought a week’s profitable raking might be done there now. After the exhaustion of the Porier bed, the large, salty, fat “‘ Bedeque” oysters were placed in the market, and acquired a high reputation. The demand soon exhausted them, but a few could at present be got anywhere in the bay, now that they have rested so long. Meanwhile the eastern end of Prince Edward island had lost its oysters, and those of the productive beds on the mainland were of poor quality. The shore-people began to think the era of good oysters had passed by. More thorough and careful search was thus stimulated, and the results were, first, the discovery that the beds in Cassumpeque, Malpeque, and Richmond bays were much more extensive than had been supposed, and, second, the disclosure of wholly new localities in Miramichi bay and elsewhere. The causes of the extinction of the old traditional beds are various. It is easy to see that the imordinate attack made upon the new locality of Bettaouin during the last four years will shortly be fatal to it. It has nearly proved ~ so now, just as the other natural storehouses of these mollusks along the coast have been depleted by excessive and heedless use.* On the contrary, in the extensive region on the north side of Prince Edward island, whence the trade is now mainly supplied, there seems to be no doubt of a steady growth in numbers, and no degeneracy in size and quality. CAUSES OF EXTERMINATION.—The general law of the Dominion forbids the taking of oysters, at any point, between the 1st of May and the Ist of September, when they are spawning. This law excites great disgust among the fishermen, who assert that the proper way to afford legal protection to the industry is to prohibit winter-fishing. As a result, the law is constantly broken.t The summer-raking, they say, does more good than harm; it is positively beneficial, for it stirs up the beds and contributes to their widening. In the constant moving of the boat the tongs or rake must rarely strike the ground twice in the same or nearly the same place, and only a few of the mollusks are taken here and there. ‘Oysters thrive on muddy bottoms,” writes Mr. Pope, ‘ but they will not live if imbedded in the mud. Many oyster-beds have been destroyed by mud alone. The annual fishing of oyster-beds, if not carried to excess, improves them. In the process of fishing the bed is broken up, the shells and oysters lifted out of the mud, and a supply of material (cultch) afforded, such as the oyster spat requires, and without which it must perish.” This is undoubtedly true to a great extent, as has been proved in the United States. * The close time is now (1869) rigidly enforced, but these beds (in Shediac harbor) have been so much reduced by years of indiscriminate raking, that a long time will elapse before they are restored. * * * The oyster-beds in Richibucto harbor and river are now greatly reduced and almost valueless ; and the only mode of restoring them is to prohibit raking entirely for a number of years, or to lease them for natural and artificial culture.—VENNING, Ieport on Canadian Fisheries, 1870—76. + Oysters are caught and exposed for sale in every month in the year, and salmon are destroyed upon their spawning-beds with the utmost impunity.—Popr, Letter to Whiteaves, Canadian Naturalist, vii, 347. THE OYSTER-INDUSTRY. 9 In fishing through the ice, on the contrary, every living thing, and most of the loose dead matter within reach of the long rake, are scraped up. A barren spot of mud alone is thus left upon the bed. In summer all the débris brought up by the tongs is thrown overboard, and is washed clean as it sinks waveringly to the bottom, forming a loose layer of clean shells, ete ,—precisely what the spawn needs to find support upon and cling to. It is equal to putting down “stools” It appears, however, that sometimes this throwing back is a great harm, because living ones may be so few and the proportion of dead shells so large. Thus the local officer, Mr. John McD. Sutherland, in Kent county, in 1869, wrote that the beds at Richibucto had been destroyed mainly through the practice of throwing back the shells and dead oysters, which covered the living ones and killed them. ‘TI do not think,” he adds, “ the digging of mud for manure in any way injures the oysters, as there are none in the mud so taken, but a large quantity of very small mussels.” The ice-rakers, contrary to this advisable method of throwing back the shells, pile the worthless stuff they bring up on the ice, where it either remains to be floated out to sea when the ice breaks up, or is carted away to be spread on the fields. The bedis not only scraped perfectly bare of its oysters, therefore, but nothing is left for even the spawn to attach itself to; present and future are both destroyed. This is a reasonable, and I believe a true, explanation of the decline of the yield at Shediac and at many other points where it has been customary to rake in winter, so far as man’s agency is concerned. The fact that the Richmond bay region, which is never raked through the ice, thrives under steady spring and fall work, supports this notion. The midsummer rest may or may not be worth the giving, but the strength of the law should certainly be opposed to working through the ice. Many beds have ceased to produce within historical a apparently for no other reason, than that by the natural process of growth, one generation of oysters resting on the dead remains of the last, has built up the deposit until if has come too near the surface. The clearing of the country, and the consequent increased amount of drifted matter and sediment brought down by the streams that empty into the estuaries where the beds are situated, aid to bring about this result, by raising the general level of the bottom, clogging the surface of the beds, and thus lessening the depth of the water, until at some unusually low tide in winter the immense weight of the ice is let down upon the bed, crushing and freezing all its life. This appears to be the case in the bay of Bedeque. As for the extensive submarine deposits of oyster-shells that girdle the eastern and northern shore of Prince Edward island, we do not know how old they are nor what killed them. Possibly the general geological elevation of this coast brought them all too near the surface at once. I put much faith in this hypothesis. It has been said that drifting ice tears up the beds; but I, personally, could not learn of any appreciable damage ever occurring in this way. All the beds are well sheltered from the bergs and floes that swing up and down Northumberland strait, and follow the currents through the stormy breadth of the open gulf. It is said to be one of the most favorable conditions that conduce to the oyster-prosperity of the Malpeque region, that there the ice disappears earlier than from the confined southern coasts of the island. I find some discussion of this subject by the Hon. W. H. Pope, in his communications to Professor Whiteaves, from Prince Edward island, already quoted by me. He says: & It is probable that many of the oyster-beds ceased to be productive of oysters ages before the settlement of the country by Europeans. Extensive deposits of oyster-shells are now found covered by several feet of silt. How were the oysters upon these beds destroyed? The natural process of reproduction and decay would cause the oyster-beds, formed on the bottom, to rise so near to the surface of the water that the ice would rest on them. The weight of heavy masses of ice upon the beds would injure the oysters, and the moving of the ice, when forced by tide or wind across the bed, would soon destroy them. I have observed the more elevated portions of an oyster-bed over whig¢h the ice had been thus forced. Several inches of the surface of the bed, including all the living oysters, had been driven before the ice, and the shells and oysters so removed had been deposited in a miniature moraine on the slope of the bed where the water was sufficiently deep to allow the ice to pass over it. This crushing and grinding process would destroy many of the oysters; some would be crushed and broken, others smothered in the moraine. The gradual silting up of the river would prevent the running of the ice, and the oyster-beds would in time be covered, as we now find them. Deposits of oyster-shells (covered with mud) 20 feet in depth, are found in rivers in the deepest parts of which there are not 14 feet of water. Oysters upon natural beds are seldom, if ever, killed by frost. I have known oysters to thrive upon a hard and stony bottom, notwithstanding that the ice rested upon them once in 24 hours throughout the winter. Some of these oysters grew adherent to a small flat rock, about 8 inches in thickness. The oysters on the top of the rock were killed when they attained their second year’s growth, I think, by pressure, as those on the edges were never injured by ice or cold. Oyster-beds in rivers in which sawdust is thrown in large quantities, would probably be injured by it. The sawdust would, I think, he carried by the current over the beds, and the roughness of their surface would detain some of it. The interstices between the shells and oysters would probably become filled with sawdust and mud. Mud and decomposing sawdust constitute a most offensive compound. There is another harmful influence exerted upon the oysters, however, by civilization, namely, the mud-digging. The whole bottom of each and all of these oyster-bays is a comminuted mixture of decomposed shells and vegetable matters, which goes under the name of mussel-mud. No one has ever sounded the full thickness of this, I think ; but it has been dug to the depth of 20 feet by the rude horse-power scoops that are employed to dip it up. It makes the best of manure, and hundreds of thousands* of loads have been spread upon the neighboring farms *During the past ten or twelve years millions of tons of oyster-shells and mud have been taken up by our farmers from oyster-beds, by means of dredging-machines worked by horses on the ice. In many instances the beds have been cut through, and in some places the deposits of shell have been found to be upward of 20 feet in thickness.—Porr. Letter to Whiteaves, Canadian Naturalist, vii, 345, 10 THE FISHERIES OF THE UNITED STATES. every year. It is sold by the dredgers at 10 cents a load, and it costs from 10 to 15 cents a load to haul it. Three hundred loads a day might be raised, if demanded. In the excavation of this fertilizer two features work disadvantageously to the oyster. In the first place, the actual hottom is torn to pieces—the home destroyed and the mollusks themselves eradicated. Secondly, the operation sets free great quantities of fine silt, which spreads through the water far and wide, falls upon the oysters, and smothers or chokes them. The bay has lost its ancient purity, and is no longer a suitable place for oyster-habitation. When, however, the work of the mud-diggers is completed, the excavation they leave is gradually taken possession of again by mollusks. This has happened particularly at West river, near Charlottetown, where the whole bottom, for a long distance, was dredged up and taken away, oysters and all, and it encourages belief that perhaps when Bedeque and the other bays are thoroughly robbed of their manuring deposits, the desirable bivalves that once inhabited them will return to their ancient haunts to begin a new era of existence and generation. OYSTER-CULTURE IN THE PROVINCES.—Nothing in the way of oyster-cultivation, properly speaking, has been attempted in the Provinces, that I could learn of. When the oyster dealers in St. John find themselves over- stocked in summer, they sometimes throw a lot of oysters overboard near Navy island, raking them up as they are wanted. An attempt to plant some there several years ago, resulted in all being stolen within a few months. Occasionally a schooner-load of oysters is brought down from Buctouche, Miramichi, or some other northern bay, where they are of poor quality, and are dumped for a few months in Shediac bay to “fatten”. The improvement is said to be very rapid and striking. Near Charlottetown, some years ago, a citizen took up a large quantity of oysters from a distant part of the harbor and laid them down near his home, forming a bed convenient to his hand, and the position of which was kept a secret in the family. A similar experiment in transplanting was made by Judge W. H. Pope, of Summerside, two or three years ago, near New London, Prince Edward island, only upon a more extensive scale and with a commercial view. His experiments did not wholly succeed, but seemed to show satisfactorily that the improvement resulting from transplantment and care would be profitable, if attended to on a large scale and in an enlightened way. Such desultory work seems to be all that has ever been attempted in the Provinces toward oyster-culture. No seed-oysters have ever been sent southward or received from the United States. They could be procured for about 2 a barrel at Shediac and Summerside, and there remain enough of the genuine Porier and Bedeque breeds to start new beds of these varieties in favorable spots elsewhere. EFFORTS TOWARD PROTECTION.—The danger of utter extinction which menaces the mainland beds is not a new one. It was long ago pointed out that such a danger exists, and that measures ought to be taken to preserve to the colonies this rich food-resource which was being so rapidly wasted. Mr. Perley announced it to the govern- ment in 1849 in these words: From the manner in which the oyster-fishery of the gulf-shore is now being conducted, all the oysters of good quality will, in a few years, be quite destroyed. The preservation of this fishery is of considerable importance, and it might be effected as well by judicious regulations and restrictions as by encouraging the formation of artificial beds or layings in favourable situations. Several persons on the coast intimated to the writer their desire to form new and extensive beds in the sea-water, by removing oysters from the mixed water of the estuaries, where they are now almost worthless, if they could obtain an exclusive right to such beds when formed, and the necessary enactments to prevent their being plundered. Feeling the importance of the matter, Judge Pope’s experiment on Prince Edward island, already alluded to, was made only in pursuit of his belief that the matter was practicable. He wrote to Professor Whiteaves in 1874: _ The area of productive oyster-beds in the Dominion is comparatively limited and altogether inadequate to supply the demand for oysters, which is now enormous, and which is increasing every year. Unless the existing beds be protected and improved, and new beds formed, the day will soon come when the oyster-beds of the Dominion will cease to produce. * * * The rivers and estuaries of this island [Prince Edward] are admirably adapted for the cultivation of oysters. The oysters found in its bays are not to be excelled in flavor, and if fished late in the antumn they will keep good fer months. I see no reason why hundreds of thousands of acres of oyster- beds should not be formed in these bays, which would produce vast quantities in quality much superior to the oysters of Virginia. The material for the formation of such beds is at hand in the ancient ones; the oysters with which to sow them could be had at little cost during the warm, calm days of summer. Professor Whiteaves adds his testimony in the following paragraph, which refers chiefly to the mainland: Many once productive beds iu various parts of the gulf now yield almost nothing, and there is too much reason to fear that, unless precautionary measures are adopted, the oyster-fisheries of the Dominion will soon become a thing of the past. The raking of the beds has been palpably excessive and wasteful ; no such thing as cleansing the ground and scattering the spat during the close season has ever been practiced; the pollution of the ground by refuse of mills, by silting up, and a variety of other causes, has led to the present state of ruin and decay which we now see. Neglect, waste, and excessive cupidity have almost destroyed these oyster-beds, and will ultimately entirely do so, unless remedial measures are adopted. With the design of fostering the oyster product and industry, Mr. Venning, inspector of fisheries in New Brunswick, has made many attempts to induce the use of capital in this direction, and regulate the dredging by legal measures. He tried hard to get the government to divide the bay of Shediac into two equal portions, and to lease the oyster-privileges to responsible persons for a term of years, under regulations that should not admit of the extirpation of the mollusks. Such a hue and ery was raised by the ignorant natives, however, that the project had to be abandoned. He called a public meeting at Shediac and tried to represent how much it would be for their advantage to cease their destructive, indiscriminate raking, but utterly without effect. “My grandfadder rake THE OYSTER-INDUSTRY. 11 oysters, my fadder he rake oysters when he want ’em, and by Gar! I rake him too!” That was the only argument he could get. He offered to allow them to arrange that they control, in common, one of the halves of the bay, leaving to him the other half; but they would submit to no regulation, and listen to no suggestions toward an improvement of method. EVIDENCE FROM THE SHELL-HEAPS OF ABUNDANCE IN THE PAST.—That the oyster-beds of this region had been a food-resource to the Indians for many generations before white men came to these shores, is proved by the kjékkenméddings or refuse shell-heaps which occur along the coasts. These relics of aboriginal homes and feasts also stand as evidence that formerly oyster-beds flourished where none have been known within the historic period, and connect the remote, isolated fields of the gulf of St. Lawrence with the oyster-bearing regions in Massachusetts bay and south of Cape Cod. The idea prevails that an elevation of the land and sea-bottom, or a lowering of the average temperature of the climate to a fatal point, on the intermediate coasts, or both, have caused the death of the reefs which once existed. : To the very extensive submarine beds of dead shells all through the waters of that part of the gulf between Cape Breton and Gaspé and around Prince Edward island, I have already alluded. They hardly bear upon our present inquiry, except to prove the extreme antiquity of the molluscan population of that district. Passing down the coast, I heard of old beds and a few living oysters at Jeddore head, near Halifax, ‘also Country harbor, St. Mary’s river, and Liscombe harbor, Guysboro’ county, on the outside.” In the bay of Fundy I could not learn of a single living oyster, but it appears that formerly they dwelt there. In his Field and Forest Rambles, Dr. A. Leith Adams tells us that he examined several shell-heaps on islands in the bay of Fundy and along the fiord of the St. Croix river for many miles. ‘Although a large number had evidently been leveled and utilized for top-dressing, enough remain to show that, whether as articles of food, bait, or both, the aboriginal races collected vast quantities of the well-known clam and quahog, besides two species of oyster (Ostrea borealis and Virginiana), and the common forms of Natica, Crepidula, Solen, ete., the débris of which strew the coasts of several of the inlets in the bay of Fundy, their numbers evincing the profusion of each species. It has, however, been asserted by no less an authority than Dr. Gould, that all, especially the three first species, are becoming rapidly extinet north of Cape Ann, Massachusetts” (p. 35). Having given the substance of the opinion of Dr. Gould and some others as to the reason for the decadence, Dr. Adams goes on to tell what he found in the kjékkenméddings along the bay of Fundy, particularly at Passa- maquoddy bay. The mound was one of several facing the sea on a flat, so that the waves of high tides had washed much of it away, “disclosing a perpendicular section composed almost entirely of clam-shells, interspersed with mussels, whilks, and the common Planorbis. The former were extremely abundant, and for the most part in fragments; however, I procured several very large ones, averaging 3 by 44 inches in breadth, which the fishermen of the neighborhood told me were very much larger than any recent specimens they had seen.” He then describes the bones of quadrupeds, birds, and fishes that occur in these refuse-heaps, and mentions the absence of charcoal. This brings me to the border of Maine, and introduces the proper census inquiry into the “shell-fisheries” of the United States, which occupies the succeeding chapters. B. GULF OF MAINE. 4. FORMER EXTENT AND CONDITION OF THE NATIVE BEDS IN THE GULF OF MAINE. EVIDENCE OF INDIAN SHELL-HEAPS. . DESCRIPTION OF THE NEW ENGLAND SHELL-HEAPS.—In beginning an account of oysters on the coasts of the gulf of Maine, which extends from Nova Scotia to Cape Cod, the most prominent fact in relation to them appears to be their former abundance in comparison with their present extinction. The historical aspect will, therefore, be the first to be considered. The readiest way to begin this is to proceed to Damariscotta, a seaport village in Lincoln county, Maine, where exists the greatest monument extant to the antiquity of the oyster in these waters. Above the village, the Damariscotta river pursues a narrow course between precipitous banks for about a mile, after which it expands into a shallow basin, about one mile long by one-half to one-quarter of a mile wide, known as Salt bay. Atits northern extremity are rapids and cataracts, formed by a rocky ledge lying across a narrow channel, and above this is the extensive fresh-water area of Damariscotta pond. The falls at the head of Salt bay limit the tide, and furnish water-power for several sawing and flouring mills. Salt bay is nowhere more than a few feet deep, unless it be here and theie in the direct channel, plowed out by the swift tide, and the bottom is gravel, or was so anciently. It is so far inland that its waters are always comfortably warm, and itis, therefore, not surprising to find that it formed the chosen home of a large and flourishing colony of oysters, that seem to have found there the most congenial conditions for growth. The evidence of this is afforded in the great shell-heaps that have made the locality celebrated among antiquarians, 12 THE FISHERIES OF THE UNITED STATES. These “heaps” consist of piles of oyster-shells, varying from one to six or seven feet in depth, packed closely together, and all ready to crumble, unless handled with great care. They begin in small quantity down nearly to the falls at the bridge connecting Damariscotta and Newcastle, and thence continue uninterruptedly on both sides of the river, up to the southern end of the bay. Here the heaps reach their greatest magnitude, and are best observed upon the point of land which juts out into the southwestern part of the bay. Beyond this point, however, scattering heaps are found along the shores. It has been estimated that not less than 8,000,000 cubic feet of shells are thus piled up, and easily accessible. It was once supposed that these beds were fossil, or that they had been formed by water in some way, and then elevated above the sea-level. But an examination soon dispelled this notion, which nobody now believes. Their position, structure, and contents, show conclusively that they are the work of human hands,* and a product of the very earliest American oyster-fishery of which we have any knowledge. If one digs down through them, he finds at the depth of a few feet that he comes suddenly to the earth and gravel of the natural soil. This is seen plainly in section at several points on the western shores, where the water has eroded the bank. The line of demarcation between the shells and the soil is sharp; there is no intermingling whatever.t In many places, however, the shells from above have slid down the face of the high bank, entirely concealing its face, and covering the beach below. This gives a fictitious appearance of great depth, which has deceived some writers upon the matter, I think. The shells are almost invariably single. In an hour’s digging I found but one specimen where the two valves were together. They lie in all sorts of positions, in close contact with each other, and so loosely that it is easy to pick them out of the bank one by one.t They are all of very large size and some even gigantic. Shells have been taken out repeatedly that exceeded a foot in length, and one of 15 inches is reported. They are, as a rule, long, narrow, and somewhat curved or scimitar-shaped. Broad and straight ones are found, however. The shells are thick, but they flake away so in removal from the heap, that searcely more than the harder, nacreous, inner layers are usually obtained. Nearly all trace of color, inside and out, has disappeared. They are not everywhere of uniform depth, but thin here and thicker there, as though east up in heaps, and the soil over them is very thin, and consists only of decayed loam; but there was once a small forest of spruce trees there, and there still remain some very large and aged trunks and an abundance of bushes. At one place on the eastern side the most extensive deposits of all crown the summit of a bluff or knoll 60 feet or more in height, the face of which seems terraced with shells, which extend back many rods from the river-bank.§ Scattered through the banks, also, are the shells of the soft clam, quahaug, mussel, scallop, and various other remains, as I shall mention hereafter. When the earliest explorers landed upon the shores of North America, they found that the Indians of all regions were acquainted with the edible qualities of the various shell fish, and ate all that we now make use of.|| They understood perfectly, also, the superior value of the clam and oyster, and everywhere along the New England coast were accustomed to assemble at favorable points and have feasts of mollusks and maize, with much merry- making. That fine old institution of Rhode Island and Connecticut, the clam-bake, almost the only thing that was allowed to warm the cockles of a Puritan’s heart, and still the jolliest festival in summer experience alongshore, perpetuates the practice of the aborigines. Here, in southern Maine, appears to have been a particularly favorable spot, isolated from the southern abundance of bivalves, and here the Quoddy Indians came in great numbers. There is every evidence that these shores were much more thickly populated by the red men than the coast regions either east or west of it. The word “Damariscotta” is said to mean ‘river of little fishes”, and its neighboring streams were equally famous for their finny wealth. In addition, the soil was fertile, the game very abundant, and the climate pleasant. It may be said that, for an Indian district, the population was dense. * The evidence seemed conclusive, that these shell-mounds were not extinct oyster-beds, left exposed by some former uplift of the Atlantic coast, but the work of aboriginal tribes, who repaired to this favored region at certain seasons of the year, and celebrated their feasts with the delicious bivalve which must have formerly abounded in these waters. That these feasts were held periodically and, perhaps, at considerable intervals, is shown by the condition of the larger deposits, and especially the large one which slopes to the water's edge on the west bank of the river.—Mosxs, Proceedings Central Ohio Scientific Association, i, p. 74. See also, Dr. Jefiries Wyman’s account in Second Annual Report, Peabody Museum of Archeology, Cambridge, 1809. +The deposits are entirely free from any admixture of soil or d@ébris of any sort, and one is struck with the appearance which a fresh section presents, the clean, white wall of shells looking like a kiln of freshly baked porcelain.—Moszs, loc. cil., 74. Wherever we found a deep section of shells so lately made that the surface had not decomposed, the open appearance of the shells was marked. They were not mingled with fragments of bone or broken shells or with sand, presenting, in this respect, an entirely different appearance from the great deposit of oyster-shells by water at the mouth of the St. Mary’s river, Georgia, which I had an opportunity of carefully observing two years ago.—CHADBOURNE, Trans. Maine Hist. Soc., vi. { Another circumstance that strikes the explorer, is the extremely loose condition of the shells, even at the base of a deposit of great depth. The shell may be drawn out with the greatest ease from any portion of the bank, and, with a little caution, in an entire state, although readily crumbling if not handled with great care.—Mosrs, loc. cit., 74. The shells lie very loosely, are remarkably white and friable, being in a state of partial decomposition and readily falling to pieces when handled.—Moskss, Joe. cit., 1, p. 73. § One of the deposits, as surveyed by Mr. John M. Brown and myself, has the following dimensions: Shape, oval; length, 180 feet; breadth, 100 feet; depth, 6 feet; height of base above high-water mark, 4 feet. The top of the loftiest mound is 31 feet above high-water mark. It descends abruptly toward the river, and at its base the action of the water has formed a fine shell-beach.—MossEs, loc. cit., 75. || See paragraph 6. THE OYSTER-INDUSTRY. 13 No doubt, however, the chief attraction in the district was this isolated colony of oysters, and that they were made incessant use of, is attested by the size of the heaps. As a rule, there is little or no perceptible inter- stratification of earth to suggest a period when no shells were thrown down, and the forest had time to grow and drop its moldering leaves, the dust an opportunity to settle. Land-shells are very few, which would not be the case had weeds and’ bushes grown over the beds. The increase of the banks, then, as a whole, was steady from the beginning to the end. How long ago that beginning was, is a question very difiicult to answer. Most persons, I believe, are inclined to exaggerate the length of time required to pile up even so great a deposit as this. The shells are very large and heavy. They will probably average twice the size of the ordinary oysters seen in Fulton market. The greed of savages, when food is plenty, is as well known, as that a vast quantity of oysters may be eaten before the appetite cloys. It is evident that large numbers of Indians permanently resided in the vicinity, and probable that still greater numbers came from a distance to the coast in summer. This was in accordance with their habits everywhere. Taking these various considerations together, it will be seen that it would not require so extraordinary a period, as might at first appear, for the accumulation of the heaps, although so extensive; at the same time it is evident that oysters were exceedingly numerous there. But it is also probable that not only were the shells of the oysters eaten on the spot, thrown down on the bank, and thus piled up, as you can see the degenerate descendants of these Indians doing to this day, but that visiting Indians were in the habit of procuring large quantities of the mollusks, shucking them here, and carrying them away to the interior in vessels of wicker, birch-bark, and pottery. They came down the Penobscot and other rivers in large canoes in the autumn, filled up their buckets with oysters, and departed. In the cold weather of early winter they would keep good for days and weeks, and form a luxury in their up-country wigwams, that would remind them most pleasantly of sunny summer-days beside the sea. Thus this bay became a shucking-ground, as well as a place for feasts. Possibly a system of barter was instituted, by which certain men lived on the spot and devoted themselves to getting and selling oysters in exchange for clothing and weapons and game. We know there were arrow-makers and canoe-builders, and so on; why not oyster-divers and dealers? Indeed, it is not improbable that the small neighboring oyster-beds of Sheepscot and Thomaston were designedly planted by the Indians with young mollusks obtained from Damariscotta, with a view to continued and convenient supplies. . The Indians probably procured their oysters by wading out and picking them up at low tide. This was the work of the women and children, while the warriors sat on the bank and ate till they were satisfied, or superintended the proper freighting of the canoes. But many were also got, no doubt, by diving, which would be done mainly by the young men. It is doubtful whether they used anything in the shape of a rake, grapnel, or tongs. I could find no evidence of anything of this sort, but if such were used, they were doubtless made of wood (stone would be too unwieldy), and therefore would completely perish. Another question is, how did they open these monstrous shells? There are three ways: one is by fire—roast a mollusk a few minutes and he opens his valves; evidences of fire, in the shape of ashes and charcoal, are recovered at various depths in various parts of the deposit,* and it is probable that this was the usual and cheapest method, Another way was by striking a brisk blow on the side of the shell just over the “scar”, or attachment of the adductor muscle. This seems to paralyze the animal and his muscles relax. I have seen a heavy stone implement that looked as though it had been used for this purpose, and was different from the ordinary hammering Stones. At Wellfleet, also, I dug from a shell-heap a rough stone tool, evidently fashioned by men, which exhibited signs of long usage both as a hammer and as a wedge or knife with which to pry open the valves. But any of their stone knives or smaller hatchets would have been eminently suitable for this service, and there was hardly need of a special instrument for the purpose. There is an implement in the possession of Dr. R. C. Chapman, of Damariscotta, however, that appears to have been made expressly for such service, and would accomplish the matter as deftly as our modern knives. However, Damariscotta is only one of the many points along the coast of the gulf of Maine where these shell- heaps, and extinct deposits under the water, show that the oyster once flourished. The most easterly point that I can make sure of is Mount Desert island; for at Eastport no oysters or remains of them have ever been found native, a report to the contrary notwithstanding. In the George river are extinet beds, concerning which more will be said hereafter; then comes Damaris- cotta, already described, and next is Sheepscot river, where there were once plenty of oysters, but no shell-heaps of consequence, and the next point is Casco bay. : *In these places, in deep sections, we found fragments of charcoal mingled with the shells under conditions that showed conclusively that it could have been deposited there only as the shells were deposited. * * * So common did we find the coal, that I feel confident it can be found there by any careful observer—CHADBOURNE. Trans. Maine Hist. Soc., vi. In digging down from the surface of one of these heaps, fragments of charcoal were found at a depth of 3 or 4 feet, and here and there a layer of the same substance: Above and below these layers was sometimes a conglomerate mass of shells, apparently burned to lime by the action of fire.—MoskEs, loc. cit., 74. Mr. Morse found at the very foundation of one of the highest heaps the remains of an ancient fire-place, where he exhumed charcoal, bones, and pottery. * * * These small mounds are composed of the same materials as the others, but had a larger admixture of earth. They appear to haye been the heaps of refuse gradually collected around the encampments. Wyman. 2d Ann. Report Peabody Mus. Arch., 1869, p. 18, . 14 THE FISHERIES OF THE UNITED STATES. Everywhere that any digging has been done in Portland harbor, in the neighborhood of Harpswell, in the Back cove at the mouth of the Presumpscot, or elsewhere in the upper and sheltered part of Casco bay, these monster shells have been met with. In the harbor they are buried seven feet deep, so rapid has been the filling up by sewage and other refuse, but behind the city, out of the way of drifting matter, they are struck only about two feet under the surface of the bottom mud. Near Harpswell they are so accessible at low tide, that they have been dredged up to some extent and used for manure upon the neighboring farms, where they very soon go to powder. Upon nearly all the islands in the bay, also, have been found kj6kkenméddings, which have been extensively explored and collected from for museums of archeology by Mr. Fuller, Professor Morse, Professor Wyman, and others. These heaps are especially noted for the great quantities of the bones of the extinct auk, Alca impennis, that they have yielded. Not far southward of Casco bay are the Scarborough headlands, which were perhaps the first of all our shell- heaps to attract attention. Southgate, in his history of the town, says: The excellent opportunities for fishing and hunting which distinguished Scarborough, made it one of the favorite resorts of the natives. The place of their most ancient residence within the town was the point (Plummer’s) south of Oak Hill. The site of their village overlooks the river, marshes, and bay on the south, and was protected upon the north by a high ridge of slate. There remains at that place a large bank of shells from one to ten feet in depth, supposed to have been deposited there by these Indians. * * * Some of the fields on the south side of Blue point consist almost entirely of shells brought there by the Indians, and there are similar traces of them on the opposite shore of Black point. SHELL-HEAPS OF OTHER LANDS.—Shell-mounds, like that at Damariscotta, at various points along the shore of Massachusetts, and in many other parts of the Atlantic coast of America, are found nearly all over the world. They all tell the same story of savage life, and usually of an extremely degraded state of society, and an intensely hard struggle for daily bread. It is a proof of no great sagacity to discover that mollusks were good for food. Many animals, and even birds, found that out long ago. They are present in greater or less profusion upon all coasts, and are more likely to be accessible than any other form of food, since they cannot get away, do not require to be cultivated, and are equally plenty at all seasons. Nevertheless, it is only within a very few years that these heaps of shells near the beach have attracted the attention of antiquarians, as storehouses of materials out of which something of the history of now prehistoric times might be reconstructed. Indeed, their character has been mistaken altogether, until within the memory of men now living; for where they had been noticed at all they had at once been set down as “old beaches”, left high and dry by the sea, and this in spite of the fact that it was well known that just such structures were even now being piled up by various tribes of savage men in remote corners of the globe. For instance, Captain Cook and Captain Grey both reported, that on the northwest coast of Australia the natives, when they had any houses at all, dwelt in the flimsiest of huts along the coast line, and that there were around them ‘vast heaps of shells, the fish of which we suppose had been their food”. Some of these mounds were described as covering half an acre and being ten feet thick. Down in New Zealand precisely the same thing was observed. Captain Cook reported a similar state of affairs in Patagonia, while the Indians of Alaska and the Eskimos of Greenland accumulated shells and bones in vast quantities round their doors, like their neighbors in savagery on the equator and at the antipodes. Finally, it dawned upon students of archeology that the prehistoric inhabitants of Europe might have had similar habits, and, if so, masses of castaway shells would remain to mark the site of their huts and villages. This led to an examination of the ‘‘old beaches”, when it was quickly seen that they were the product of human agency—were, in fact, the very remains the archeologists were searching after. The most famous and extensive of these mounds in Europe were those of Denmark. They have often been described under the name of kjékkenméddings, from two words meaning “heaps of kitchen-refuse”. Examination has made it evident that these deposits were scattered along the whole coast, following the ins-and outs of the deeply-indented shore; but they never occur inland, although the changes in elevation of the coast have in some cases placed considerable new land betwixt them and the beach, just as, in other cases, the encroachment of the sea has destroyed them in part, or wholly submerged them. It is in the northern half of Denmark, however, that the most exploration has taken place; and it shows conclusively that the people who built them evidently made their homes always on the shore, just out of reach of the tide, only now and then, perhaps, following the chase into the interior. These heaps are much like that of Damariscotta. Some are of large extent and thickness, and hillocky ; others of less size, but elongated; a third sort in the shape of a ring, with a depression in the center, where we may Suppose the hut was built when last the place was oceupied. Sir John Lubbock’s description of one of the most productive of the heaps, that at Meilgaard, in 1863, will give a good idea of the whole— In the middle this kjékkenmédding has a thickness of about ten feet, from which, however, it slopes away in all directions; round the principal mound are several smaller ones of the same nature. Over the shells a thin layer of mold has formed itself, on which the trees grow. A good section of such a kjékkenmédding can hardly fail to strike with astonishment any one who sees it for the first time, and it is difficult to convey in words an exact idea of the appearance which it presents. The whole thickness consists of shells, oysters being at Meilgaard by far the most numerous, with here and there a few bones, and still more rarely stone implements or fragments of pottery. The four species of shells most abundant in the Danish mounds are: the oyster, Ostrea edulis, L.; the cockle, Cardium edule, L.; the mussel, Mytilis edulis, Li; and the periwinkle, Littorina littorea, L. THE OYSTER-INDUSTRY. 15 All of these mollusks are still used for food; besides them, various other sea- and land shells oceur in small quantities. Sir John Lubbock points ont that the shells of nearly all these mollusks average of far larger size than they are ever known to attain off those coasts at the present day; while the oyster has entirely disappeared, and even in the Kattegat itself occurs only in a few places. ‘ Some oysters were, however, still living at Iselfjord at the beginning of this century, and their destruction cannot be altogether ascribed to the fishermen, as great pumbers of dead shells are still present; but in this case it is attributed to the abundance of starfishes, which are very destructive to oysters. On the whole, their disappearance, especially when taken in connection with the dwarf size of the other species, is evidently attributable in a great measure to the smaller proportion of salt in the water.” The lack of saltness alluded to arises from the fact, that the elevation of the shores and bottom of the Kattegat has been so great as to admit only a little of the tide, while an increased quantity of fresh water flows in. Besides these mollusk-shells, the remains of fishes, quadrupeds, and birds are very numerons and highly interesting. Professor Steenstrup, who has paid great attention to this matter, estimated that the mound at Havelse contained from ten to twelve bones in every cubic foot. Of the fishes, the most common are the herring, the dorse (a kind of cod), the dab (a kind of flounder), and the eel. Among the bones of birds there have been recognized skeletons of the capercailzie (a very large grouse), the wild swan, various ducks and geese, and of the great auk, Alea impennis, whose bones fill our American mounds also, and which has now become extinct. The mammals are represented in the mounds by the stag, the roe-deer, and the wild boar, for the most part— 97 per cent., according to Professor Steenstrup. Besides these, bones of the buffalo, dog, fox, wolf, marten, otter, porpoise, seal, water-vole, beaver, lynx, wild-cat, hedgehog, bear, and mouse. Such domestic animals as the ox, elk, reindeer, hare, sheep, and hog are absent. The dog was probably kept to be eaten; or at least it is certain that he became an article of food on occasions. The bones, little and big, are all badly crushed and broken, and all in the same way, so that the parts missing in one skeleton will exactly coincide with those in all the rest, if they could be got together. The long bones of the arms and legs, for example, are all split open in the manner best adapted for the extraction of the marrow, “which is in itself satisfactory proof of the presence of man.” The flint and stone implements dug up from these shell-heaps are very numerous, but show little skill. “A very few carefully formed weapons have been found,” says Sir John Lubbock, “but the implements generally are very rude. Small pieces of very coarse pottery have also been discovered, and many of the bones from the kjékkenméddings bear evident marks of a sharp instrument: several of the pieces found by us were in this condition, and had been fashioned into rude pins.” Sir John continues: : “The kjékkenméddings were not mere summer-quarters; the ancient fishermen resided on these spots for at least two-thirds, if not the whole, year. This we learn from an examination of the bones of the wild animals, as it is often possible to determine within very narrow limits the time of year at which they were killed. For instance, the remains of the wild swan, Cygnus musicus, are very common, and this bird is only a winter visitor, leaving Danish coasts in March and returning in November. It might naturally have been hoped that the remains of young birds would have supplied evidence as to the spring and early summer, but, unfortunately, as has already been explained, no such bones are to be found. It is therefore fortunate that among the mammalia two periodical phenomena occur, namely, the shedding and reproduction of stags’ antlers, which, with slight variations according to age, have a fixed season; and, secondly, the birth and growth of the young. These and similar phenomena render it highly probable that the ‘mound-builders’ resided on the Danish coast all the year round, though I am disposed to think that, like the Fuegians, who lead even now a very similar life, they frequently moved from spot to spot. This appears to me to be indicated not only by the condition of the deserted hearths, but by the color of the flint flakes, etc.; for, while many of these retain the usual dull, bluish-black color which is characteristic of newly- broken flints, and which remains unaltered as long as they are surrounded by carbonate of lime, others are whitened, as is usual with those which have been exposed for any length of time. Perhaps, therefore, these were lying on the surface during some period of desertion, and covered over only when the place was again inhabited. “Much as still remains to be made out respecting the men of the Stone period, the facts already ascertained, like a few strokes by a clever draughtsman, supply us with the elements of an outline sketch. Carrying our imagination back into the past, we see before us on the low shores of the Danish archipelago a race of small men, with heavy, overhanging brows, round heads, and faces probably much like those of the present Laplanders. As they must evidently have had some protection from the weather; it is most probable that they lived in tents made of skins. The total absence of metal in the kjékkenmiddings indicates that they had not yet any weapons except those made of wood, stone, horn, and bone. Their principal food must have consisted of shellfish, but they were able to cateh fish, and often varied their diet by game caught in hunting. It is perhaps not uncharitable to conclude that when their hunters were successful, the whole community gorged itself with food, as is the case with many savage races at the present time. It is evident that marrow was considered a great delicacy, for every single bone which contained any was split open in the manner best adapted to extraet the precious morsel.” We have already seen that these mound-builders were regular settlers and not mere summer-visitors, and, on 16 THE FISHERIES OF THE UNITED STATES. the whole, seem to have lived in very much the same manner as the inhabitants of the Tierra del Fuego, who dwell on the coast, feed principally on shellfish, and have the dog as their only domestic animal. A very good account of them is given in Darwin’s Journal, from which I extract the following passages, which give us a vivid and probably correct idea of what might have been seen on the Danish shore long, long ago: The inhabitants, living chiefly upon shellfish, are obliged constantly to change their place of residence; but they return at intervals to the same spots, as is evident from the pile of old shells, which must often amount to some tons in weight. These heaps can be distinguished at a long distance by the bright-green color of certain plants which invariably grow on them. ~ * * The Fuegian wigwam resembles in size and dimensions a hay-cock. It merely consists of a few broken branches stuck in the ground, very imperfectly thatched on one side with a few tufts of grass and rushes. The whole cannot be so much as the work of one hour, and it is only used for a few days. * * * At a subsequent period the Beagle anchored for a couple of days under Wollaston island, which is a short way to the north- ward. While going on shore we pulled alongside a canoe with six Fuegians. These were the most abject and miserable creatures I anywhere beheld. On the east coast the natives, as we have seen, have guanaco cloaks, and on the west they possess seal-skins. Amongst the central tribes the men generally possess an otter-skin, or some small scrap about as large as a pocket-handkerchief, which is barely sufficient to cover their backs as low down as their loins. It is laced across the breast by strings, and, according as the wind blows, it is shifted from side to side. But these Fuegians in the canoe were quite naked, and even one full-grown woman was absolutely so. It was raining heavily, and the fresh water, together with the spray, trickled down her body. * * * These poor wretches were stunted in their growth, their hideous faces bedanbed with white paint, their skins filthy and greasy, their hair entangled, their voices discordant, their gestures violent and without dignity. Viewing such men, one can hardly make one’s self believe they are fellow-creatures and inhabitants of the same world. * * * At night five or six human beings, naked and scarcely protected from the wind and rain of this tempestuous climate, sleep on the wet ground, coiled up like animals. Whenever it is low water they must rise to pick shellfish from the rocks, and the women, winter and summer, either dive to collect sea-eggs or sit patiently in their canoes, and, with a baited hair-line, jerk out small fish. If a seal is killed, or the floating carcass of a putrid whale discovered, it is a feast. Such miserable food is assisted by a few tasteless berries and fungi. Nor are they exempt from famine, and, as a consequence, cannibalism is accompanied by parricide. In this latter respect, however, the advantage appears to be all on the side of the ancients, whom we have no right to accuse of cannibalism. If the absence of cereal remains justifies us, as it appears to do, in concluding that they had no knowledge of agriculture, they must certainly have sometimes suffered from periods of great scarcity, indications of which may perhaps be seen in the bones of the fox, wolf, and other carnivora, which would hardly have been eaten from choice; on the other hand, they were blessed in the ignorance of spirituous liquors, and saved thereby from what is at present the greatest scourge of northern Europe (p. 234). 5. THE TIME AND CAUSES OF THE EXTINCTION OF THE OYSTER IN THE GULF OF MAINE. DATE AND EXTENT OF THE EXTINCTION.—I attempted to show, in the last section, to how wide an extent the oyster grew north of Cape Cod, and how recent was its disappearance in many localities. It is worth while to inquire what has catised this sudden and widespread extinction. At Mount Desert, at Bath, Maine, in Casco bay, at Scarborough, New Hampshire, and Salisbury, Massachusetts, in the Parker and Rowley rivers, in the Charles, Mystic, and Weymouth rivers, Massachusetts, and everywhere on Cape Cod, the native oysters are wholly extinct. A few remain in Great Bay, near Portsmouth, New Hampshire, and at Sheepscot, Maine. Possibly, also, a few could be searched out at Damariscotta and Wellfleet, but this is very doubtful. What has killed them all? Beginning with those beds whose extinction was prehistoric, there are three theories, either of which is at the service of the reader, or he my, if he chooses, combine them. One is, that the Indians used them up; another, that the polluting of the water, by the refuse of mills and manufactures, had its influence; the third, that the elevation of the coast, which geologists tell us has been proceeding steadily for many centuries, brought about conditions fatal to this fixed mollusk, so far as the precise locality of particular beds was concerned. In George river, to begin at the extreme east, we are told that the death of the oysters is very recent. They continued plenty up to 1836, according to the account of old residents of the district, who are under the impression that their subsequent extinetion was due to the sawdust coming down from lumber-mills, and brought in by the eddying tide.* In regard to the decline of the great deposits above Damariscotta there is much to excite curiosity. After all, there was only a limited area of this oyster-growth—at most a square mile of water suitable for their habitation, and it is certain that they were songht for year after year by a large number of persons. It would not be strange, therefore, if, unable to propagate fast enough to supply the demand, they finally became extinct. I believe that this calamity would not have been long delayed had the red men been left alone for a few decades longer. Indeed, it has been gravely doubted whether any oysters were in existence in Salt bay when the locality was first discovered by white men. The traditions are uncertain, but I think they give satisfactory evidence that the first settlers found at least a small number of oysters here, and that their disappearance is comparatively recent, probably within the present century. I am satisfied that the first white men found still alive here the remnants of the great oyster colony which the Indians had been foraging upon for many generations, perhaps, and had at last nearly exterminated. POSSIBLE EFFECTS OF NATURAL SEDIMENT UPON THE DAMARISCOTTA BEDS.—The influence of the Indians having been considered, various other causes are assigned for the utter extinction of the oyster in this region. Dr. *Tt is convenient to mention the following facts: In 1853 oysters were planted in Oyster river, near the George, but without success. Tn 1864 it is said that a few living large ones were taken there, and it is probable that a few still exist. The saw-mills have all ceased to run on these rivers, and I see no good reason why the beds should not be restocked with success. The original locality was near the railway bridge. There are no shell-heaps here.—Letter from the Hon. BE. K. O'Brien, THE OYSTER-INDUSTRY. 17 R. CG. Chapman, of Neweastle, Maine, who has paid. much intelligent attention to the matter, has constructed a theory in this wise: He points to the fact that the fresh-water pond above the island and rocky falls at Damariscotta mills is about 60 feet higher than the level of Salt bay. The tide never goes beyond these rapids. He believes that at one time the pond contained a far greater volume of water than now, and that it had either no outlet at all into Salt bay, or else a very small one; but that finally the weight of the water broke through the barrier of rock and gravel at the falls, and made for itself this new channel oceanward. This breakage would of course burden the new outrushing current with an enormous amount of loosened soil and broken rock, which would be swept onward until it settled in thick sediment all over the bottom of Salt bay, and for a long time after the water would be murky with clouds of mud. Such a catastrophe would undoubtedly kill the most, if not all, of the mollusean life in such an inclosed body of sea-water as Salt bay is; and the oysters would survive it least of all. But I am not convinced that there is evidence that any such a sudden, grand disaster ever occurred at that spot, or, if it ever did, I am of the opinion that it was antecedent to the beginning of the shell-heaps. We are all more fond of conjuring up some grand cataclysm to account for mysteries in nature, than to accept an explanation commended by its simplicity. POLLUTION OF THE WATER BY MILLS AND FACTORIES.—One of the first acts of the new settlers was the erection of saw-mills at the falls, where they found a splendid water-power. These mills began at once to pour great quantities of saw-dust into the stream, which was carried out into Salt bay and the river below, where it was bandied back and forth in the tireless tides until it sank. Sawdust very soon becomes water-logged and goes down. At the same time woodmen were clearing the forests and draining the swamps, and farmers were breaking the turf. Each of these operations tends to increase the running off of the rain and the carrying away of a far greater amount of silt than under natural conditions. The oysters thus found their clear, salt home freshened by an unusual influx of rain-water, the currents always roily, and themselves gradually being smothered in the sediment of sawdust and earth deposited everywhere, except, perhaps, in the deepest and swiftest parts of the channel. Thus an end was made of what, with care, might no doubt have been nurtured into a most flourishing oyster-colony. At the northeastern extremity of Salt bay a little stream, known as Oyster creek, comes in from toward the village of Nobleboro. The mouth of this creek is out of the way of the currents from the mills, and, in general, it is the part of the bay least likely to suffer harm from sediment. The men who fish for eels through the ice in winter say that underneath the foot or so of thick sawdust and mud that now covers the bottom, and has perceptibly lessened the general depth of the water within a hundred years, there is everywhere a layer of oyster-shells. Here in the creek, however, these are not covered up, but may be seen lying, large and white, on the bottom, as the bridge is crossed. Moreover, men now living assert, that sixty or seventy years ago a few of the bivalves were still to be had there, and that during the previous half century there were a great many in the bay. They believe that later than that scattering individuals might have been found, and some men go so far as to say that in the “ quick- water” at the base of the falls a few oysters may even now be obtained. There are some supporting facts, and I do not think it unlikely. The covering of the formerly gravelly or shelly bottom of the bay would not only smother existing mollusks, but, in the case of our subject, would prove fatal in another way. The spawn of the oyster requires some clean, firm support to which to attach itself. The soft, wet matting of sediment would not do at all, and all the ova would drift out to sea or become the food for fishes, and in either case produce nothing. No longer than forty years ago, however, I am told, a dead spruce tree was dragged to the surface opposite the shell-heaps, whence it had fallen, top foremost, into the stream. The branches were clogged full of sawdust; but clinging to the twigs were innumerable young oysters that had not had a chance to grow to any great size before they were choked by the drifting sediment. Whence came the spawn for this growth, if there were then no living oysters in Salt bay or vicinity? It is possible some might be got, by careful search, in the Oyster creek corner yet. As for the long, thick shells dredged up in the lower Penobscot river and in Portland harbor, indicating so extensive a habitancy there of these mollusks in ancient times, possibly the death of many of them dates back to Postpliocene days. Opposed to this thought, nevertheless, is the fact that shell-heaps upon the islands in Casco bay show that a few oysters, at any rate, still existed when Indians dwelt there. No one has ventured on an explanation of their extinction, that I am aware of, except Mr. C. B. Fuller, curator of the Portland Society of Natural History, who suggests that, by the breaking away of the barrier represented by the present chain of islands in the bay, the water of the outer sea was let fully into what had previously been a sheltered basin. This water was so very much salter, as well as colder, than that to which the oysters had been accustomed, that they were unable to survive the change. CLIMATIC CHANGES.—Professor A. E. Verrill, however, evidently considers a change in climate the cause of the loss to the world’s economy of these storehouses of food. In his Invertebrates of Vineyard Sound, this writer remarks that the occurence of large quantities of oyster-shells beneath the harbor-mud at Portland, associated with Venus mercenaria, Pecten irradians, Turbonilla interrupta, and other southern species, now extinct in that locality, and the occurence of the first two species in the ancient Indian shell-heaps on some of the islands in Casco bay, though not now found living among the islands, indicates that the temperature of those waters was higher at a former period ——0 18 THE FISHERIES OF THE UNITED STATES. than at present. These facts also point to the most satisfactory explanation of the existence of numerous southern shells, associated with the oyster and Venus mercenaria in the southern part of the gulf of St. Lawrence, though not now found in the intermediate waters along the coast of Maine nor in the bay of Fundy. These remarks, it will be observed, apply to the whole coast, and are highly suggestive. In their light it is useless to speculate upon the few remaining localities until Wellfleet, on the cape, is reached. EXTINCTION OF THE WELLFLEET BEDS.—In Wellfleet harbor, as has already been shown, oysters were native and widespread at the time of the discovery of the country by Europeans. The settlers began at once to make use of them, and continued to do so as long as they lasted. Here we ought to know sometlung definitely about their extinction, but all the information is scattered and inexact. Wellfleet was anciently known as Billingsgate, at least that part of it on the western side, on account of the abundance of the fish there, and this name became an oyster-brand during the last century. In the Massachusetts Historical Collections, iii, is preserved a topographical description of Wellfleet, by Levi Whitman, dated 1793, in which is given considerable information upon our subject. Mr. Whitman asserts his opinion that ‘no part of the world has better oysters than the harbor of Wellfleet. Time was when they were to be found in the greatest plenty, but in 1775 a mortality from an unknown cause carried off the most of them. Since that time Billingsgate oysters have been scarce, and the greater part that are carried to market are first imported and laid in our harbor, where they obtain the proper relish of Billingsgate”. Forty years later Gould wrote, in his Invertebrates of Massachusetts: They say that Wellfleet, where the southern oysters are planted for Boston use, was originally called Billingsgate, on account of the abundance of fish, and especially oysters, found there; that they continued to be abundant until about the year 1780, when from some cause they all died; and, to this day, immense beds are shown there of shells of native oysters which perished at that time. They say that before that time no such thing was thought of as bringing oysters from the south. The Wellfleet oysterman, whom Thoreau talked so long with on his visit to the cape in 1849, and the charming report of whose conversation is given us in that pleasant author’s Cape Cod, placed the date of the disappearance of the oyster there as 1770. “Various causes are assigned for this, such as the ground frost, the carcasses of blackfish left to rot in the harbor, and the like, but the most common account of the matter is, and I find that a similar superstition with regard to the disappearance of fishes exists almost everywhere, that when Wellfleet began to quarrel with the neighboring towns about the right to gather them, yellow specks appeared in them, and Providence caused them to disappear.” Nowadays, the citizens of the village repeat these traditions—all but the one about Providence—I did not hear that—and hazard no newtheory. It is perhaps most truthful of all to say, that excessive raking nearly depopulated the beds, and that the blowing in of sand from the stripped hills, and the polluting of the tide-water by the offal of the fishing-vessels that throng the bay, destroyed the growth of the young. No doubt rotting carcasses of schools of blackfish left on the beach (as has happened many a time) and the subtle anchor-frost helped—“that is, a degree of cold so great as to cover the bottom with a coating of ice, and thereby to cut off the oysters from all access to air and nourishment.” It is very probable, nevertheless, that many native oysters are still living in Wellfleet bay, perpetuating the old stock. WYMAN ON THE EXTINCTION OF FOOD-MOLLUSKS IN FLORIDA AND ELSEWHERE.—I find some exceedingly pertinent remarks on this subject in Dr. Jeffries Wyman’s report on the shell-heaps of Florida. They are as follows: Tt seems incredible to one who searches the waters of the St. John’s and its lakes at the present time, that the two small species of shells above mentioned could have been obtained in such vast quantities as are brought together in these mounds, unless at the times of their formation the shells existed more abundantly than now, or the collection of them extended through very long periods of time. When it is borne in mind that the shell-heaps afford the only suitable surface for dwellings, being most commonly built in swamps, or on lands liable to be annually overflowed by the rise of the river, they appear to be necessarily the result of the labors of a few living on a limited area at any one time. At the present, it would be a very difficult matter to bring together in a single day enough of these shells for the daily meals of an ordinary family. That they formerly existed in larger numbers than now, is by no means improbable. It is well known, with regard to both animals and plants, that after flourishing for considerable periods in given areas, they at length yield in their struggles for existence against changed conditions. The oysters of which the gigantic shell-heaps on the Damariscotta river in Maine are built were, without doubt, obtained from the. adjoining waters, but to-day es are well-nigh extinct, and the same is in a measure true of some of the deposits on Cape Cod, as at Cotuit Port. MEE changes have been observed Se European archeologists. The oyster-banks near the mouth of the Baltic, from which many of the ancient shell-heaps of Denmark were formed, have disappeared, partly through increasing freshness of the water, and partly through the ravages of the starfish. The last of them have disappeared from the Iselfjord during a century, so that none are found further south than the northern end of the island of Seeland, and in large quantities only on the more northern shores of the Kattegat. The water chestnut, Trapes natans, once very abundant in some of the Swiss lakes during the age of the lake-dwellers, has now become extinct in those regions.—Smithsonian Report, 1865, p. 365. As the oysters of the ancient period were very much larger than those now found on the coast of Maine, it is also the case that the shells from the mounds of the St. John’s surpass in size, though to a less marked degree, those of the actual period. THE OYSTER-INDUSTRY. 19 6. HISTORY OF THE NATURAL OYSTER-BEDS IN THE GULF OF MAINE, SINCE THE SETTLEMENT OF THE COAST BY EUROPEANS. TESTIMONY OF CHAMPLAIN, POITRINCOURT, AND WINSLOW, 1605-1620.—Beyond the most general allusion, the very earliest mention of oysters in these waters occurs in .606. The second voyage of exploration along our coast found an anchorage in Massachusetts bay. ‘There were many very good oysters here,” he relates, “ which we had not seen before, and we named the place Port aux Huistres.” Mr. Slafter, a commentator upon the history of these voyages, says “it is plain that this port, which they named Oyster Harbor, was either that of Wellfleet or Barnstable. The former, it will be remembered, Champlain, with De Monts, entered the preceding year, 1605, and named it, or the river that flows into it, St. Suzanna du Cap Blane. * * * It is obvious that Champlain could not have entered this harbor the second time without recognizing it. * * * We may conclude, therefore, that the port in question was not Wellfleet, but Barnstable. This conclusion is sustained by the conditions mentioned in the text.” In another edition of Champlain’s map (1632) the “Riviere anx Escailles” is drawn emptying into the same part of the bay which Ogilby, in his map of this part of America, published in 1670, calls “Port aux Huistres”. This name survived, indeed, to a much later time. In Rees’s Cyclopedia (1819), “Oyster bay” is given as “a harbour for small vessels in the southwest limits of Barnstable, Massachusetts. It derives its name from its excellent oysters”. Champlain (second voyage, 1606,) also relates that he found oyster-beds in Chatham harbor, on the south side of Cape Cod, and makes the following general statement: “All the harbors, bays, and coasts from Choiiacoet [Portland, Maine] are filled with every variety of fish, * * * There are also many shellfish of various sorts, principally oysters.” In this case, too, Rees preserves the recollection so long, that I wonder it has ever been lost, for in his Cyclopedia he mentions an “ Oyster Island Harbour on the coast of Massachusetts, which, from its latitude (lat. 41° 35’, long. 70° 24’), must have been in the neighborhood of Chatham ”. These records by Champlain and Poitrincourt embrace the earliest notice that I can find of oysters on the northern coast, but careful searching through all the early narratives of exploration and settlement around Massachusetts bay, produces much additional testimony. For instance, in 1621, in a letter from Plymouth, preserved in Mourt’s Relation, Edward Winslow writes to an English friend: “‘Oyfters we have none near, but we can have them brought by the Indians when we will.” This shows they were not far away. Two years later we read the sad report that ‘one in geathering fhellfifh was fo weake as he ftucke faft in y® mudd, and was found dead in y® place. At last moft of them [Wefton’s people in Maffachufetts bay] left their dwellings & feattered up & downe in y® woods, & by y® water fide, wher they could find ground nuts & clames, hear 6 and ther ten”.* HicGinson, Wood, AND JOSSELYN, 1630-1638.—In 1630 Higginson, in his New England’s Plantation, gives «“muskles and oysters” as a part of the great wealth of the waters beside which the Pilgrims had placed their colony; and seven years afterward Thomas Morton added his witness: “There are great store of Oysters in the entrances of all Rivers; they are not round as those of England, but excellent fat, and all good. I have seene an Oyster banke a mile at length.”t In 1634 William Wood, in his New England’s Prospect, speaks of “a great oyster bank” in Charles river, and another in the “ Misticke”, each of which obstructed the navigation of its river. Ships of small burden, he says, were able to go up as far as Watertown and Newton, “but the Oyster-bankes doe barre out the bigger Ships.” In reference to the Mystic, and the large amount of ship-building upon it, Wood says, “Ships without either Ballast or loading, may floate downe this River; otherwise the Oyster-banke would hinder them which crosseth the Channell.” “The Oysters,” adds Wood, “be great ones in form of a Shoe-horne; some be a foot long; these breed on certain banks that are bare every spring tide. This fish without shell is so big, that it must admit of a division before you can well get it into your mouth.” This bank appears to have been a very well-known and prominent feature in those days, though no popular tradition of it remains. For example, Winthrop’s History of New England, edited by the Rev. John Savage, p. 106, contains under date of August 6, 1633, the following statement: ‘Two men servants to one Moodye, of Roxbury, returning in a boat from the windmill, struck upon the oyster-bank. They went out to gather oysters, and, not making fast their boat, when the flood came, it floated away, and they were both drowned, although they might have waded out on either side; but it was an evident judgment of God upon them, for they were wicked persons.” In Hubbard’s General History of New England, written in 1633, is another account of the same incident, or accident, as one of several instances where the visible wrath of Jehovah, apparently so manifest to the Puritan, had instantly followed transgression. I quote the passage: The like judgment befell two lewd persons that lived in service with one of Roxbury, who, rowing in a boat from the windmill hill in Boston, struck upon an oyster-bank near the channel, and going out of their boat before they had fastened her, to get oysters, the tide came in before they were aware, and floated away the boat; and, they not being acquainted with the channel, were both drowned on the bank, though they might at first safely have waded through to the shore. * Bradford's History of Plymouth Plantation, in Coll, Mass, Hist, Soc., vol. iii, 4th sec., p. 130, tNew English Canaan, p. 90, 20 | THE FISHERIES OF THE UNITED STATES. There are other references to this matter. John Josselyn, Gent., in his Account of Two Voyages to New England, printed in 1638, describes Boston and its environs. Charles river is portrayed with minuteness, and the expansion above the “Narrows”, now known as the Back bay, is indicated. ‘Toward the southwest,” he writes, “in the middle of the bay, is a great oyster-bank, toward the northwest is a creek; upon the shore is situated the village of Medford; it is a mile and a half from Charlestown.” This is mixed, and throws small light upon the precise position of either of these banks, which must have been of considerable importance to Bostonians at that time, and particularly to the poor. This appears from the foregoing, and from a paragraph in a very interesting tract preserved in the Geneva library, written by an unknown French refugee who visited Massachusetts in 1687; describing the prosperity of Boston, the author says: “This town carries on a great trade with the islands of America and with Spain. They carry to the islands flour, salt-beef, salt-pork, cod, staves, salt-salmon, salt-mackerel, onions, and oysters salted in barrels, great quantities of which are taken here.” LOCATION OF THE CHARLES RIVER BEDS.—It is a less easy task than it would at first appear to determine the location of these ancient beds of oysters. For that in the Mystic river I have no data sufficient to guide me with any exactness; any one may guess within a mile of it. There is better information in regard to the Charles river beds. The “lewd persons” who lost their careless lives were returning from the windmill. This, it is known, stood upon one of the hills in the common—possibly that which now upholds the soldiers’ monument. The tides at that time washed the shore of the higher parts of the common, along where Charles street now passes, and boats could doubtless come almost up to the foot of the mill with their loads of grist. Returning out through the bay, they would pass close by any oyster-banks that lay off Cambridge port. Through the discussion of a paper which I had the honor to read before the Boston Society of Natural History, in September, 1879, upon Massachusetts oysters, some new facts of interest were brought to light bearing upon the point now under consideration. Prof. F. W. Putnam remarked that when, twenty years ago, the ground was being broken at the corner of Berkeley and Boylston streets, for the foundations of the building devoted to this very society, in which we were then sitting, many immense oyster-shells in good condition were struck at a depth of several feet. This part of Boston is all “made ground”, extending over former tide-flats in the “ Back bay ” of Charles river. It is possible that these aged buried oysters grew on the anciently noted bed, the site of which therefore is now appropriately indicated by the Natural History Rooms and the noble Institute of Technology. PLyMouTH AND NEWBURY, 1660-1700.—Meanwhile Plymouth had pulled her people out of where they had “stucke fast in y° mudd”, and discovered that her mollusk-fisheries were valuable, as the following quotation from the records evince: ‘Att the generall court held att Plymouth the fourth of June, 1661— It is enacted by the Court that five shillings shalbee payed to the Countrey vpon every barrell of Oysters that is carryed out of the Gouy’ment, and that the Countrey bee not defrauded, hee shall enter them with the Towne Clarke before hee carry them away, or else to forfeit twenty shillings # barrell on any carryed away not entered.” * “ Att the 2cond Session of the Generall Court held att Plymouth, for the jurisdiction of New Plymouth, the seaventh of July, 1680— This Court doth order that all such as are not of our collonie be heerby prohibited of fetching oysters from Taunton River with boates or any other vessells; and incase any such shall #sist on in soe doeing after warning given to the contrary, this Court doth order John Hathway, of Taunton, and doe heerby impower him to make seizure of such boates and vessells for the collonie’s vse.” t Moving a little farther eastward, I find that the oysters in Parker and Rowley rivers were valuable to the settlers in that region. In his History of Newbury, Mr. Joshua Coffin remarks: Certain it is that vast quantities of lime of the best quality were annually made in Newbury for nearly a century, for export as well as for home use. Prior to this time lime was manufactured from oyster- and clam-shells. Lewis, in his Minute and Accurate History of Lynne, informs us, under the year 1696, that immense numbers of great clams were thrown upon the beaches by storms. The people were permitted by a vote of the town to dig and gather as many as they wished for their own use, but no more, and no person was allowed to carry any out of town, on a penalty of twenty shillings. The shells were gathered in cart-loads on the beach and manufactured into lime. New HampsuirE AND Marne.—Still farther on, Durham river, Brainford county, New Hampshire, was known, as early as 1697, as “Oyster river”, just as its neighbor was called ‘‘Lamprey river”, because of the mollusks in the one and the “eals” in the other. The ‘Great Bay” into which the Durham river flowed was full of oysters, and tradition has it that no more than a century ago vessels used to come there and be loaded with these oysters, while previously the neighborhood had always been able to obtain all they wished with little trouble. In Scarborough and Casco bays, and along Mount Desert, I am inclined to believe that oysters were extinct before the occupation of that region by white men. But I think, that if it is true that George river is the stream ascended by Weymouth during the first decade of the seventeenth century, he undoubtedly subsisted his crew, while there, upon the oysters, though he does no more than mention “muscles”, without distinction of kind. This George river is the most eastern point at which I have been able to discover any trace of oysters in the *Plymouth Colony Records, vol, xi, 1623-1682, Laws, p. 182. tIbid., vol. vi, 1678-1691, p. 44, THE OYSTER-INDUSTRY. 21 United States. It is an insignificant stream, that flows down to the sea at Thomaston. The mouth of the stream, as is the case always along that deeply indented coast, is in the form of a deep estuary, and forms a good harbor. At a point about fifteen miles inland, measured along the river, the Knox and Lincoln railway crosses. Just above the bridge a trifling stream known as Oyster river comes in, and the confluence of the two streams is in a broad, shallow expansion, about marking the head of the tide. It was just at this point that the first-comers to this region found an abundance of oysters within a restricted space. Oyster river, a little stream that “makes in” between Thomaston and Warren, was the principal point. According to the Hon. E. K. O’Brien, of Thomaston, tradition asserts that sloops used to go there to load oysters for the neighboring colonies. They were abundant, also, on the main George river, by Edward O’Brien’s ship-yard, in Warren. These old oysters are reputed to have been of huge size, a report borne out by the remains of shells which now exist. Similarly, I believe, the first settlers found at least a few oysters at Damariscotta, though history is silent and tradition is uncertain. It is positively known, however, that the ancient Sheepscot settlement found in its oyster-beds a source of constant profit, both by consumption and sale, and they are not altogether exhausted from that river yet, in spite of sawdust and chips. LOS? OYSTER LOGALITIBS ALONG THE GULF OF MATNE.—It is probable that there were many other localities, now forgotten, where the oyster existed along the gulf of Maine at the beginning of the seventeenth century, besides those I have indicated, namely, Wellfleet, Barnstable, Weymouth, Boston, Ipswich, Newbury, Portsmouth, Sheepscot, Damariscotta, and George rivers. Nor must it be forgotten that this catalogue does not embrace the prolific field bordering Buzzard’s bay, whence the colonies were constantly supplied overland. Add to this plenitude of oysters the inexhaustible abundance of several species of “clams”, so-called, scallops, lobsters, and so forth, and it is no wonder that the shellfish are constantly alluded to in the narratives of the early struggles of the Pilgrims against starvation, as a blessed source of food; for it may well be supposed that without them they would hardly have survived the rigors of those dreadful first winters. Even their quality found a champion, who thought them first rate. Josselyn informed his readers that the Indians fed much on lobsters, and adds: Some they rost, and some they dry as they do Lampres and Oysters, which are delicate breakfast meat so ordered; the Oysters are long shell’d. I have had of them nine inches long from the joynt to the toe, containing an Oyster like those the Latines called Tridacuan, that were to be cut into three pieces before they could get them into their mouths, very fat & sweet. In the face of this testimony, briefly indicated, it is curious that it should ever have been denied that the oyster was indigenous in Massachusetts bay, as has been done more than once, and still more strange that so well informed a naturalist as A. A. Gould should not have felt strong enough to affirm it. In Binney’s edition of his Invertebrates of Massachusetts it is stated: It is also a question on which there are various opinions, whether the oyster was indigenous in Massachusetts bay, or whether all which grow in the various oyster-beds owe their parentage to inhabitants of the Dalaware, Chesapeake, and Oyster bay, ete. That they now [1866] grow spontaneously, and, for aught we can learn, always have grown so, on the south shore, there is no reason to doubt ; and that they are occasionally found of patriarchal appearance in all parts of our bay is certainly true. But the question is, whether these places are their natural habitat, or whether they have been accidentally dropped where they were found. Many incline to this latter opinion, especially the younger oystermen and some scientific gentlemen; but the old settlers of Cape Cod are of a different opinion. Mr. Gould would not have allowed this non-committal, and consequent doubt as to his own belief, had he consulted history. Indeed, we may fairly give him the credit of believing better than he wrote, for in his first edition (1841) he records that “old men relate that they were accustomed to go up Mystic river and Charles river, and gather oysters of great size, before it was the custom to bring them from New York. And even now individuals of enormous size are occasionally brought from both these places, and probably might be found, by special search, at any time”. 7. OYSTER-CULTURE IN THE GULF OF MAINE. BARLY ATTEMPTS AT OYSTER-UULTURE.—I have ventured elsewhere to suggest that the oyster-beds in the Sheepscot and George rivers may have been planted there by the Indians, who carried over from Damariscotta, by paths yet traceable, a quantity of full-grown oysters, and placed them in those streams, in order to keep them alive conveniently near home. If this supposition is correct, it is probably the earliest instance of oyster-culture in North America. Nevertheless, oyster-culture proper—that is, the propagation of oysters in permanent beds, which annually increase by their native spawn—remains almost unknown in the gulf of Maine, and uniformly unsuccessful, except at one point. This is not wholly inattention to the matter, but the lack of suitable conditions for successful growth. In a letter from General Benjamin Lincoln, of Hingham, Massachusetts, to the Rev. Mr. Belknap, author of the History of New Hampshire, dated December 12, 1791, it is remarked: We have undoubtedly been criminally inattentive to the propagation of the oyster in different parts of our shores; we can probably fill our channels with these shellfish with much more ease than we can fill our pastures with herds and flocks. Had General Lincoln studied the case more deeply, he might have had to change his opinion of the “great ease”. More than half a century before—indeed, in the year 1711—‘“a plan for forming an oyster-bed in Plymouth 22 THE FISHERIES OF THE UNITED STATES. harbor was projected by a company of thirty-one persons, whose names are on record. Oysters were procured and deposited in a certain place, deemed the most eligible, with the hope that they might thus be propagated; but it was ascertained by the experiment that the flats are left dry too long for their habit, which requires that they be covered at all times by water”.* OBSTACLES TO SUCCESSFUL OYSTER-CULTURE IN THE GULF OF MAINE.—This coast is a precipitous and rocky one, affording few suitable points for oyster-culture; most of these were occupied by the native beds, which have succumbed. Other localities have been rendered unfit for oyster-life, by the pollution of the water, through various agencies of civilization. The climate, also, appears to be too severe for any but native breeds. Virginia oysters have frequently been left through the winter in deep water, but have very rarely lived; and, if they did so, would spawn at so late a day that the autumn chill proves fatal to the young. I have heard of a bag-full of oysters, supposed to be from Virginia, surviving for several years in Sheepscot river, but the case is hardly authentic. All attempts at the cultivation and propagation of Virginia or New York oysters have, therefore, been abandoned as entirely futile on the Maine coast or in Massachusetts bay, except at Wellfleet. The severity of the winters, the violence of the tempests, the scarcity of good bottom, and the abundance of starfishes and other enemies, make planting unprofitable, if not impossible. EXPERIMENTS AT SALEM AND WELLFLEET.—As an instance of the data upon which I found my conclusion, I give the following information, furnished by the Messrs. Newcomb, oyster-merchants in Salem, Massachusetts. In regard to the advisability of planting oysters in the vicinity of that town, Mr. Newcomb had little encouragement to offer. Some that had been brought from Fire island by his father, many years ago, and were put down in the harbor channel, were found some years later to have lived and to have grown very large and good. The present firm put 1,000 bushels in water five feet deep, at low-tide, in Bass river, one season, but every one of them died during the winter. There is no very good ground for planting anywhere in that harbor. At Wellfleet, Cape Cod, however, something is being done, with good prospects. In years past it frequently happened that the oysters bedded at Wellfleet would spawn and young ones attach themselves to stones, and to the wharfs and bridge piers, in myriads. Most of these would be left exposed at low-tide, and consequently were killed by the first frosty day. A large number, however, survived every winter, scattered here and there in submarine and protected situations. This induced the experiment of trying to preserve some throughout the year, and causing them to perpetuate themselves. This failed as far as Virginia seed was concerned, but the Taunton river or “Somerset” seed, tried by Mr. S. R. Higgins (the pioneer in this work) in 1878, lived and throve. In 1879, having sprinkled a portion of the bottom of the bay with clean shells to catch any stray spawn, he deposited a quantity more of this hardy seed, and in 1880 will add largely to his stock, which, as yet, has suffered no serious harm. He has been followed in his enterprise by several other gentlemen in Boston and Wellfleet, and the business bids fair to be an entire success. The planting grounds are off Great island, where there is from three to six feet of water over the beds at low tide. The bottom is hard sand, with a thin layer of mud over it, the kind of bottom most highly esteemed. The enemies of the oyster are few, and the currents so arranged as to make a large catch of spawn probable. The water is very salt, the growth of the mollusk rapid, and the result a bivalve of high quality. The great drawback is the winter, and this is not greatly feared. The harbor freezes entirely over, but the oysters are planted in a depth of water so great as to be out of reach of the ice. However, even if the ice rests upon them, provided they lie flat, it will only crowd them into the sand, and will not kill them under ordinary circumstances, but if it is shifted about by wind or tide when upon the beds, it will tear them to pieces. There is not much chance of extensive damage in this way. What will prove fatal to all of them, however, is “anchor frost”, if it occurs under the beds. But the chances are that this will not happen for several winters together. One of the gentlemen engaged gave me the following figures as an estimate of probable investment and returns, but it was considered by other shippers too sanguine a view. The cost of planting 500 bushels of seed from Somerset would be $250. He calculated that they would at least be doubled in number at the end of the ensuing year, making 1,000 bushels, and that by the next spring (allowing 500 for loss by accidents and death) there would be 1,500 bushels on the bed. There would now be 1,000 bushels of these ready to take up, at a cost of 20 cents or so a bushel. These would sell for at least $1 a bushel, leaving 80 cents profit. Thus— Cogt\of orizinall (bed,,'500, bushels =..'+-<.a0422+ cobs -acacee poe aemSeeack See Soe nea nee oa eee ne ee OL Took up in two years, 1,000 bushels, at 20 cents cost -... ...--- ---- ------ - see one coe nee Jou bce bceee aes eeeeeee = 200 450 Received for 1; 000 bushals-o <5 a... 2.ssceccecee= ce se ts Meee eee cen ee ow clccees « aaen = oe eee naennes r= ext Seer 1, 000 Profit accruing in twolyearsa-5-~2%)- <2. sacs eecccsleee= see HE Ds Sees Ae ei nS See ed 550 This doubling of the investment in two years is not unreasonable, in my opinion, besides having a good growing bed left over; but requires a continuance of good weather and other fortunate civcumstances, and takes no account of the numerous petty expenses occurring, from time to time, in the care of the beds. SUITABLE LOCALITIES FOR OYSTER-CULTURE NORTH OF CAPE Cop.—I have ‘been asked in particular as *Thacher’s History of Plymouth, p. 170. THE OYSTER-INDUSTRY. 23 to the probability of success in restocking the former haunts of the oyster in the rivers of Maine, and especially at Damariscotta. I learn that occasionally oysters, of what origin I do not know, have by accident been dropped into the tide-water below the bridge, in Damariscotta, and have afterward been fished out grown to a large size. The reader will remember, that about forty years ago, a great quantity of young oysters were found collected in the bganches of a tree which had tumbled over into the river near the lower end of Salt bay. These facts go to show that some kinds of oysters will live and spawn there yet; whether anything but native seed would, or not, is doubtful. Furthermore, the site of the former beds is now so covered with mud and sawdust and eel-grass, that much of the space is rendered unsuitable, while the clearer bottom of Oyster creek is liable to be drained so dry by some of the ebb-tides in winter, as to allow the ice to rest fairly upon the bottom, which would probably be fatal in that climate. Hereafter no sawdust will be thrown into the river and bay, if the law is enforced as it might be, but nothing can prevent the roiling of the water by a heavy rain. On the whole, I fear only a very limited cultivation of oysters is possible in that locality, even if a successful beginning could be made. The same dismal remarks will apply to George and Sheepscot rivers. In the former stream I am informed that an attempt at planting was made a few years ago, but failed. In Sheepscot river nothing has been tried, but it is hinted that, even if other conditions were favorable, every seed-oyster would be secretly transferred from river-bottom to frying-pan before time had been given to begin to spawn. Police measures would prevent this, however. At Portland, Mr. C. B. Fuller thinks the only suitable situation to attempt the cultivation of oysters, in that region, is in the mouth of the Presumpscot, where the water is shallow, warm, and comparatively fresh; but he doubts the ability of southern oysters to survive the winter. However, it is intended by one of the dealers to try the experiment with seed oysters from Prince Edward island. In the Great bay, behind Portsmouth, New Hampshire, beds of native, living oysters still flourish, and by judicious transplanting of these a large additional yield might be accomplished. There is much suitable ground, I judge. It is likely that the present inferior quality of these oysters might be greatly improved by cultivation. It is very probable, also, that Somerset or Wellfleet seed would exist through a winter, become acclimated, and prosper in this well-sheltered and firm-bottomed inlet. I wonder that some one has not yet made the experiment. Unless it be Mystic river or Barnstable harbor, I know of no other likely place for oyster-cultivation on the northern side of Cape Cod. Where rocks, mud, or ice are not obstacles, starfishes and other enemies are likely to annoy, or proper protection of the beds to be impracticable. 8. HISTORY AND PRESENT CONDITION OF THE OYSTER-TRADE, AT WELLFLEET AND VICINITY. EARLY OYSTER-CULTURE: HisToRy.—Realizing that their natural resources in oysters had disappeared, and that any attempt to preserve the beds by a system of propagation was unsuccessful, the people of the coast of Massachusetts bay turned their attention many years ago to replacing their oysters by importations from more favored regions, which should be kept in good condition during the warmer half of the year, by being laid down in the shore-water, and so held in readiness for the autumn-trade. This operation was called “ planting”, but it is a misuse of the word, and the other popular phrases, ‘‘laying down” or “ bedding”, express the fact more truthfally. It is not oyster-culture at all, but only a device of trade to get fresh oysters and increase their size and flavor, which adds proportionate profit in selling. It is neither intended or desired that they shall spawn. Just when this practice began on Cape Cod—for Wellfleet, whence had come the latest and best of the native oysters, naturally became the headquarters of the trade—is uncertain ; no doubt it was some time before the opening of the present century. There isa gentleman now living in the village of Wellfleet, Mr. Jesse D. Hawes, who is eighty-four years old. He cannot remember when they did not bring some oysters every fall from New York bay, to use at home and sell in Boston. It is surmised that when the native beds became exhausted, the inhabitants got into the habit of going to Buzzard’s and Narraganset bays, then to the Connecticut shore, and finally to New York, and laying down more and more yearly in Wellfleet harbor, until finally a considerable business grew. Egg Harbor, New Jersey, was also a ground much frequented a little later by oystermen. By the year 1820, I am informed by Mr. F. W. True, who made inquiries for me on this subject, 12,000 to 14,000 bushels were brought to Wellfleet yearly, and ten or twelve shops were opened by Wellfleet men for their disposal in Boston and Portland. This accounts for the striking fact, that there is hardly an oyster-dealer on the New England coast, north of Cape Cod, who is not a native of Wellfleet, and a certain small circle of old names seems to inclose the whole trade. Besides the citizens, however, many strangers came in and procured the privilege of bedding down imported oysters to fatten on the flats of this hospitable harbor. In 1841, Mr, Gould, the conchologist, wrote that the whole trade at Wellfleet then employed 30 vessels of about 40 tons each, and the services of about 120 men for three months of the year. This yielded to the town a revenue of about $8,000 annually. HARLY OYSTER-CULTURE: MrtrHops.—The process of “bedding down” was as follows: Each proprietor of a space upon the flats chartered the services of a vessel, in the latter part of the winter, to go to some specified oyster-ground and purchase a certain number of bushels, for which he gave the captain money. The vessel was 24 THE FISHERIES OF THE UNITED STATES. chartered at a round sum for the trip, or else was paid at a rate varying from 15 to 20 cents a bushel freight, on the cargo. When the vessel arrived home she anchored in the distant channel, and the oysters were unloaded into dories, 50 bushels to a dory. The dories then proceeded to the grounds, which had been already divided into rectangles a few rods square, by rows of stakes, and deposited a load of 50 bushels in each rectangle or “square”. In order that the oysters might be distributed as evenly as possible over the bottom, the dory was rowed to the center of a square, and anchored at both ends. The dorymen then threw out the oysters with shovels into all parts of the square. This was done when the water was high over the beds. When the tide was out the oysters were redistributed with forks or “spreading-machines”. The similarity of this procedure to the seeding of a field is obvious, and sufficiently explains the phrase “oyster-planting”. It afforded occupation to a distinct class of men, who did it by contract, the ordinary price being about 10 cents a bushel for placing them upon the beds. The season for bedding began in February, as soon as there was a surety of no further danger of hard freezing, and continued until April, the ground chosen being the hard surface of the flats in the western portion of the bay, where the beds would be left dry about two hours at each low-tide. The oysters had very little fresh water near them, and their growth was variable, seeming to depend on the weather, but in what way, or just how it effected them, I could not learn. In a favorable season they grew very rapidly, in respect to both shell and meat, so that the 100 bushels put down in April would fill 300 bushel measures when taken up in October. The percentage of loss was always considerable, however, probably never less than one quarter, aud now and then amounting to the whole bed. Drifting sand, sudden frosts, when the beds were exposed, disease, and active enemies, were the causes that operated against complete success. I could not obtain satisfactory information concerning prices during the first quarter or half of the present century, and am inclined to believe they did not differ much from the present rates, except that selling rates were uniformly higher, and far more profit was realized than is now possible. Dr. Gould describing the winter-work in his Invertebrates of Massachusetts, states that in the autumn the oysters are taken up, selected, brought to market, and sold at wholesale for $1 per bushel, the cost of planting, attending, taking up, ete., amounting to 20 cents per bushel. Thus a profit of 30 cents on a bushel, or about 40 per cent. on the cost, is realized; and the town of Wellfleet thereby realizes an income of about $8,000 annually. INTRODUCTION OF VIRGINIA SEED.—It was asserted by citizens of Wellfleet, both to me and to Mr. True, that not until 1845 were any oysters brought to Wellfleet from Virginia, and that the cause of their importation then was the high price asked for “seed”, as the oysters purchased in the Somerset river, in Connecticut, and in New York, for bedding, were erroneously termed. William Dill is credited with being the first captain engaged in the Chesapeake trade. I think, however, that there is an error here, for Gould mentions in his book that in 1840, 40,000 bushels were brought to Wellfleet annually from Virginia, at a cost of $20,000. Nevertheless, it was not until about 1845 or 1850, that the business began to confine itself to Virginia oysters, and a large business to be done. At its height, about 1850, it is probable that more than 100,000 bushels a year were laid down in the harbor ; some say 150,000. One consignment alone of 80,000 bushels was remembered by Mr. 8. R. Higgins, who kindly gave me the many facts noted above. The favorite ground was at the mouth of Herring river. This great business gave employment to many men and vessels, and was eagerly welcomed by the Wellfleet people. Responsible men were accustomed to meet the incoming vessels and take contracts to bed the oysters. The ordinary price was 9 cents a bushel. They hired help at day’s wages, and often made a good profit. Fifty men would thus often be busy at once. During the summer partly, but chiefly in the fall, these great deposits, which would perish during the cold winter, but were now well-grown, were raked up and sent to the warehouses in Boston, Portland, and minor ports, in freight vessels and in packets. Usually the oysters were owned and bedded by dealers, who used’ them in their regular trade, but some were owned by speculators, who took them to market, or sold them to dealers as they lay upon the beds, the purchaser taking all risks. ‘The measure used for oysters in those days was a half-barrel holding a bushel, called a ‘“ bushel-barrel”. DECLINE OF OYSTER-TRADE.—The war of the Rebellion, however, interfered somewhat with the oyster-trade, and it began to decline, so far as Wellfleet was concerned. Then the various dealers in northern ports, having learned something, began to bed near home in their own harbors, and so saved freightage. Finally, the steamers from Norfolk and the railways entered into so serious a competition, that fully ten years ago Wellfleet bay was wholly deserted by the oystermen, as a bedding-ground, though her vessels still continue to carry cargoes in winter from Virginia to Boston, Portland, Salem, Portsmouth, and the Providence river, to supply the active trade and fill the new beds, which the dealers at these various ports had learned could be established at home. The reader thus discovers how important a part Wellfleet has played in the history of the oyster-trade of New England. A hundred thousand bushels of the bivalves once grew fat along her water-front, and thousands of dollars were dispensed to the citizens in the industry they created. Now, a little experimental propagation, of the value of a few hundred dollars, and about 6,000 bushels of bedded oysters from Virginia, worth perhaps $5,000 when sold, form the total active business. The oyster-fleet, however, remains, though greatly diminished and carrying its cargoes to Boston, Portland, and elsewhere, instead of bringing them to be laid down in the home harbor. It will be long before Wellfleet, and its neighbor, Provincetown, lose the prestige of old custom as oyster-carriers. THE OYSTER-INDUSTRY. 25 WELLFLEET OYSTER-FLEET IN 1878-’80.—The vessels registered at Wellfleet, that habitually take part in the oyster-trade, and formed the fleet of the seasons of 1878~79 and 1879~80, are the following, all schooners : Name. Tons. Name. Tons. Name. Tons. Mizzie ID eam SON ete ammo nee ia OmeeE OwiardehiChitstcsiacelessmciniccsacaicianses) 04, AOCIOsR GOL Great eine cisteiecn akesela 76 Natta Cleavesiteeas 2 oo as Nontionees = -seeeee-/esceeeee ae BYE George T. Littlefield ........---.------ 112. Gertrude Summers -.........---...... +, 64, da Re-Breemant. 52-.fesseenenae eset 59 Lucy M. Jenkins ...-...-----.--------- 7) ABE AW RB Ge one co meon pero coneee CeeenS (4 Abby Wranktort)...2aseeeeces-nieae= 71 Asa EPeroeress osee cess eciser ~ = a a Ee "b ee «sabi ra - Monosraph—OVSTER-INDUSTRY. Plate XXX. F — a GIANT OYSTER, 14 INCHES LONG, FROM DAMARISCOTTA RIVER, MAINE (natural size). THE OYSTER-INDUSTRY. BYa] The oyster-establishments employ 6 men, paid from $6 to $15 per week. In all, 25 persons are supported by the trade. No planting has ever been done at Portsmouth, and even those bedded down in the harbor show little growth of shell or body. To sypply Dover, New Hampshire, a few miles above, about 2,000 bushels of Chesapeake oysters are brought up each spring and laid down in Cocheco river, near the town. A proportionate winter-supply comes by rail. THE NATURAL BEDS OF GREAT BAY.—I was told by Mr. Washington Freeman, of Portsmouth, that this ‘gentleman discovered an extinct bed of large oysters in the Cocheco river, some years ago, but no living ones are to be had there now. A few miles up from the mouth of the river Piscataqua, and the harbor of the city of Portsmouth, New Hampshire, an extensive bay reaches southward from the river into the lowlands. It is divided into two portions: first, Little bay, nearest the river, and second, Great bay, with which the former is connected by Furber’s straits, where Durham river comes in. A portion of Great bay, on the eastern side, is also known as Greenland bay; and two rivers flow into it (the Exeter and Lamprey), besides a multitude of trout-brooks. This interior basin is perhaps ten miles long and five to seven wide, but the shores are very irregular. It is so shallow that a large portion of the shores are left as dry flats at every low-tide, yet there are channels deep enough to allow large vessels to go up to New- market and Exeter, when the water is favorable. This spot was renowned among the Indians for the oysters living there, and considerable shell-heaps attest the constant use made of the bivalves. Whatever might have been its resources a century or half a century ago, it is certain that within more recent times the locality was forgotten, or at least made no account of, as oyster-ground, by the large population that inhabited the shores. It was therefore looked upon almost as an original discovery when, in 1874, the explorations of the Coast Survey, which was sounding and mapping out the channels, showed that there were oyster-beds still flourishing at many points from one end of the bay to the other; that is, in Great bay, for none, to my knowledge, have ever been found in the outer Little bay. There were no tools proper for the gathering of oysters in the neighborhood, and very little was done at first to make the knowledge gained available. There lived in Newmarket, however, an old Chesapeake oysterman by the name of Albert Tibbetts, who sent to Providence for oyster-tongs, procured boats, and began raking in earnest. Others imitated his example, and the following year witnessed great activity. For several months, I was told, there were probably a dozen boats, with two or three men in each boat, raking every day, the average take being about five bushels to the man. They used not only tongs and rakes, but used also dredges. In the winter, also, they would cut long holes in the ice, and dredge the beds by horse-power, stripping them completely. It was seen that this rash and wholesale destruction would speedily exterminate the mollusks, and laws were passed by the state forbidding the use of the dredge under all circumstances; making the months of June, July, and August “close time”; and forbidding fishing through the ice at any time. The last regulation was the greatest help of all, for the ice-rakers would not throw back the débris of dead shells, but pile it on the ice, where the hundreds of young oysters attached to it would freeze to death. But these beneficent restrictions came too late, and the business of oystering has steadily declined, until now only two or three boats keep up a desultory search for profitable beds, and a bushel and a half a day is considered good work for each man. Only seven or eight persons were engaged during the summer of 1879, and these not all of their time. All unite in ascribing the decline of the industry to over-raking of the beds, and feel disposed to pray for a law forbidding any raking whatever during several years, in order to give the oysters a chance to recuperate their depleted ranks. The beds, as I have said, are all in Great bay. They occupy the channels at various points, and are each of considerable extent. There are perhaps a dozen well known localities or clusters of beds. These are mainly situated in Greenland bay, near Nannie’s island, along the Stratham channel, up Exeter river to some distance beyond the bridge of the Concord railroad, in the Little channel near by, and up Lamprey and Durham rivers. The chief raking now is done off Nannie’s island. The average of the water on the beds is hardly more than 10 feet deep, and it is pretty fresh. The tide-way, as a rule, is strong, and the bottom tough, clayey mud. The oysters are very large. I heard of specimens 15 inches long, and those of 9 and 10 are common. One man told me of a single specimen procured in 1877 which weighed three pounds and one ounce in the shell, the fleshy part alone weighing one pound and one ounce. These large ones, however, all have the appearance of extreme age, and are heavy, rough, sponge-eaten, and generally dead, though the ligament still holds the two valves of the shell together. In taste, this oyster is flat and rather insipid, which is laid to the too great freshness of the water. It takes a large quantity of them to “open” a gallon of solid meat, a bushel not yielding more than two to two and a half quarts. As a consequence, there has not been a very great demand for them, though all that can be got now are readily disposed of. Formerly the price was $1 a bushel in Newmarket, where they were chiefly bought; but in 1879, 80 cents was the price. No culture of these or of imported oysters has ever been tried here; and the chances are against success. Since gathering the details given above, I have received the subjoined letter, which explains itself, but must I think, be slightly “discounted” in its figures: NEWMARKET, N. H., October 20, 1879. Dear Sir: Yours of the 13th at hand. I will give you whit information I can by writing, though I should have been better pleased to have talked with you on the oyster-question. I could have given you more information in that way, probably; but will answer your queries as you put them. O 34 THE FISHERIES OF THE UNITED STATES. I. Oysters were first found in Exeter river eight years ago by a government surveying vessel. Oysters were also known to be in Durham river and at Nannie’s island. I claim to have found the beds in Great bay four years ago. It is my opinion that there are oyster- rocks all the way down to Portsmouth, but the bottom is not suitable for dredging, which is the only way they could be taken after you leave Great bay. . II. For two years they were tonged and dredged steadily through the summer-months by an average of 20 persons a day. Some days 70 to 80 men would be working. The average catch to a man that understood the business was 25 bushels. We could have caught more by working more hours, but the supply was greater than the demand. We worked about six hours per day, III. The average catch now to a man is 3 bushels. A cause of the decline is that the marketable oysters have nearly all been caught. There are to-day more in number of young oysters than ever before, but they are not yet of marketable value, being in size from a five-cent piece to an old penny. If they are not properly protected they wiil die before they are suitable to use. An oyster needs cultivation and protection. IV. Ten thousand bushels is a low estimate of what has been taken the four years I have been here. V. The oyster does not find a ready market, not being a profitable oyster for any trade at the price asked for it. There is too much shell for the meat. They are a natural oyster, and no natural oyster this side of Sandy Hook finds a ready market, except for the purpose of planting. For meat and flavor they are but little better than Newark bays. They need transplanting. VI. There has been no planting done here of Virginia or New York oysters. It would be no use to plant Virginia oysters here. They would be winter-killed. New York natural or hardy oysters would live. There have been a few Virginias bedded from spring to fall here, and they did better for the time they were overboard than oysters generally do in any water that I am acquainted with; and I have oystered in every state where oysters are worth catching—New Hampshire, Connecticut, Long Island, New York, New Jersey, Delaware, Maryland, and Virginia—having done nothing else for 20 years, and haying worked for the largest firms in New York. Will send you information any time you write for it. Yours, respectfully, A. T. TIBBETTS. As I have remarked in another place, I regard this body of water as a very promising field for testing whether, with Prince Edward island, Somerset, or some other hardy seed, artificial propagation is not possible at even this northern point. STATISTICAL RECAPITULATION—GREAT BAY, PORTSMOUTH, AND DovER, NEw HAMPSHIRE: Nomiberofewholesaledealersmcna= apa mee na a=iemianiaien one oles eis see eee ei poe sa ses ocases 3 Number of men fishing im: summer for Natives -)... 6-126 = -caoe= oc ccenisemmesieasie=s)) = ee ecemeteseas oleae eae 6 Numberiofvessels/and/sail-boats Onta ted a tcc me. sana lam oem alae wiawele mee lemons eal ste ene aaa tee ele 5 Walueofisame: 242222 2322 sos seacacces ca sade asiee oa see nsissextes cniesc ese sss ccaleoes celencoresocleee ce oamearcenaee $300 Number of restaurant servants....----.----..---- S1S000 S5e.4 Boe Coa ab00 SHSb OI DSS SOS COs IS OSTSIRObbSOoSsOoSceoS 6 Amavniel Generis OE SPIE oa e55 se bon7 seca no COfedS SORE eo Oree ners DSUa DOS OS005 eidisis biace cine eiceena anaes - $2,500 Total number of persons supported --...-.-.-----..---- nagoonoasesa anes SOASoANCOOSOOROF eg aseces beasosae cscs 25 Annual sales of— Ih INIT OVIGHE Hse Seco esconsSoce bdosca sodse HOSSDNE GOSS DOEGaS Sara ndeC abOSaS arog eSoe Se4 . bushels... 1, 000 Maliueotisame=ccesesecrs=e ceca cece eats ee seared ees s Teeaee eae aeee nace ee eae eee moe ene ee eee $800 iti, (CliGseyre lie Opp bi st oe po nece iasnos Gos ecenebSca PaSedodsoosonsecod casas Goobencomsoe bushels.. 7, 000 AVisilme) Of SaIMG 9s 8 Ae iace camiaepeen csi cece meuscereemcceio en eels semen ee oe nee ee arene eens = caeeee $7, 000 INU MRR RIO eee 5655 poacdo o = cet ce orion Peete CSuC bo Lene BIOS bEco Hoes edocso Bat CadoneSoes nese bushels -. 800 WialtieOfisaMe-.c-<+.-- eats ssewacieasasces cous cect coseccackccawecacalecedesseuse~cutessseuneeoeeeess $1, 000 Vinny alnerolNOrtolie (Opened slOC yee ster eles orien ee etemen aniem selaea as ainisre ohana state steer eee aes .. $1,000 Total value of oysters sold annually .....----.--.-..-- a eee ete Secon aoa eeento asi eiohae Seeelen as ees e aerate $9, 800 13. THE OYSTER-BUSINESS OF PORTLAND, MAINE. HISTORY AND METHODS.—No oysters are native at Portland, and the city is supplied directly from the Virginia producers. The real beginning of the oyster-trade in Portland was made by James Freeman, about forty years ago, and two ship-loads from the South, amounting to, say, 200 bushels a year, filled the demand of Portsmouth, ° New Hampshire, and Portland together. Sometimes, also, a ship-load would be brought from Staten Island to Wellfleet, on Cape Cod, and laid down, to be drawn upon during the summer. It was not until a few years ago that four merchants began to charter a vessel or vessels to run south and buy oysters, to be divided between them, each firm contributing its quota of purchase-money and expenses in proportion to its share of the cargo. From 1869 to 1875, the following amount of oysters were thus brought in: Bushels. Manin coo tow Waye gl 7 Ole scene ele eee seodea se ecce bau ccskieerdaseaoeceees. Ssioeee ete aeaeee ———o 33, 369 May, s1870isto Maye 871 oc «o-oo ote eerie seee ease abs Secistheensjeees cose Note cs toes cb aie oe eee - 49, 906 57, 332 From 1875 until the present, accurate statistics are not obtainable. The sum of the oysters now brought to the city is believed to be 75,000 bushels a year. THE OYSTER-INDUSTRY. 35 The cost of the cargo-oysters is about the same in all respects as at Boston, and the business is similarly conducted. The cost, in Portland, per bushel, of oysters delivered in the warehouse, then, sums up as follows, at an average: ASCO RID) coc cele cles semaies Cals alae lec eioa seek\ams(ocslsumisiesjscumen ecisicunsace ccc vee cedess necce=lsisssase=ue 50 cents. Pee Sete ean ee eet tat fo eciais's ia cece's tones auine enn ainten=setinle naan Cunaed voce sere cn00 ease ncuccnes\e= 45 cents. TSB NUT) Be oo coc tee se iO Se OSE DSH Ee PeScIL BOO BBO COU COUCSASOD5 CO-b 0505 BOO BUCO COUE ESE EOE D EO CHOCO aeS 35 cents. The selling price for oysters in the shell has ranged from a dollar (ten years ago) down to 55 cents at present. This is in winter; in summer it often reaches and exceeds $1 50 a bushel. This increase of price in summer is due to the fact that no oysters can then be got in Virginia, where the law enforces a cessation of raking, and to the extra expense entailed by “bedding”. As the weather begins to get warm in the spring, all the surplusage of each cargo which each dealer can spare, is sent about five miles down Casco bay in large, open boats, and dumped overboard upon the flats for summer- keeping. These oysters improve in quality, fatten up, and the shells add a “ feather edge”, often of remarkable size. It is calculated that one-fourth at least of these will perish, while the increase in value is only from 20 to 25 cents more than when they were put down. In consequence, the practice has fallen into disrepute, and only one merchant now beds extensively. That there has been no growth in the business of importing and selling cargo-oysters commensurate with the growing population and cultivated palates of the region tributary to Portland, is acknowledged. The late depression in prosperity has made itself felt here, since the oyster ranks among luxuries. Neither so large prices, nor, proportionately, so wide profits, can now be obtained. This is ascribed by all dealers to the new fashion of buying oysters already opened in Norfolk and elsewhere in the South and bringing them here in barrels and cans. The transactions in this branch of the trade (which must be added to the former estimates) amount to about $1,000 a week for, say, four months. A large part of this stock is supplied at second hand from Boston. Here, as elsewhere, there are two opinions as to the real profit of dealing in this opened “ barrel ” stock. The number of persons directly supported by the wholesale oyster-trade in Portland is not large, numbering between 40 and 50 families the year round, and half as much occasional help in addition in winter, to assist in opening new cargoes arriving. The wages paid to men employed about the establishments vary from $8 to $18 a week, and to girls in the kitchen—for each of the wholesale houses has a lunch-room attached—about $4 a week. They also receive their board. Those who open the oysters are here called “‘shuckers”. They receive from 15 to 20 cents a gallon for their work, and are able to make from $7 to $12 a week as long as work lasts. Formerly many more shuckers were employed than at present. ; The vessels employed in carrying the oysters are mackerel-schooners clearing from Cape Cod ports. They spend the summer in fishing and the winter in this trade. In 1878, the Mary Steele, Nathan Cleaves, Mary Whorf, and H. E. Willard were engaged. An average load is about 3,000 bushels, and a voyage in March has been made in ten days, but the usual time is from three to four weeks. That in ancient times this locality was tenanted by oysters of the same race as those which lived in Damariscotta and Sheepscot waters, and have survived to the present day in the latter stream, is shown by the discovery of buried beds of shells, as has already been pointed out and commented upon. STATISTICAL RECAPITULATION FOR PORTLAND: Number of wholesale-dealers -...-2. .-2 2-6 --- 22 = woe ene cen nes cece nn wenn come ne cnc m ee coma ne coc wes cnn eee scence 4 Total number of families supported ...- .--..----- ---- --- + e202 eo oe ee ee ce eens cee eee nee nee eee eee eee 100 Total number of families partly supported .....-..-.------ ------ e- 2-20 eo ee eon eee ee ene eens cee eee eee eee 40 Annual sales of— II. Chesapeakes Ailey SEPEe Cre Ee Hoke Pasay BLE te LO OS FIA UE o. ceeclcctanceseecesas' bushels... 75, 000 WET GIOREE TIO] qaaeceeeon Geen Abo tEn ESE O BEES CBE Ee COSSOO DULDS6 Pee Cop asseec Goods Dee eeGrc naa ohoch $50, 000 Tae Matic yantor Laeeeew eeace as te otere cone ns [sees scene sae as aces ac ac oloneatensees seeeenaes ess s=== bushels-- 5, 000 VEATERS OP RETO pooe bo BUC EE Co PEO SSCS OC OC EE CHEB BH OEE BEE RAEI RSORE CR OOS SES Sern FE SCCb Ce SOO Sae $6, 000 IV. Value of Baltimore and Norfolk “opened stock” ..--...--.-----+ -----+ ---+ e----- eee ene eee eee eee eee $15, 000 Total yalnerotioystersisoldiannually, sense cesses. coe coos eco eos n oo =0|-scerciaccncceceencncne=--ca=no=== $71, 000 14, THE NATURAL BEDS OF SHEEPSCOT BRIDGE, MAINE. NATIVE OYSTERS IN SHEEPSCOT RIVER.—Four miles west of Damariscotta and Newcastle, in Lincoln county, Maine, is a small bed of living oysters and evidences of a greater number in the past. The Sheepscot river flows into the head of one of the inlets from the sea with which this rugged coast is filled. At the village of Sheepscot Bridge (one of the oldest communities in the United States, having been settled first by the Dutch in 1518) another little stream enters, known as Dyer’s river. A quarter of a mile below the confluence of these streams is a cataract, and below this the widening expanse of one of the most beautiful of Maine’s fiords. From just below the falls (where there are some mills) to a point about three miles above, oysters were once 36 THE FISHERIES OF THE UNITED STATES. abundant. It is a tradition, that a hundred years ago smacks used to come from Boston and load up with these oysters; but I am inclined to doubt the veracity of the tale. The most thickly inhabited portions of this region, were the basin just above the falls, the mouth of Dyer’s river, and, chief of all, a point about one and a half mile above the bridge. The bottom of the stream is rough and rocky, and the bivalves were always difficult to get. The ordinary method was by diving. Ten years ago it was possible to get a bushel or two in a day up the Sheepscot river; but now Mr. Manly Sargent, the most experienced man in the village, thinks a peck would prove a good day’s work. They grow singly and of great size, shells a foot to fifteen inches in length have frequently been taken. They closely resemble in character those at Damariscotta, and are pronounced of very fine quality. Speculation has been indulged as to whether this little colony of oysters is a natural one or not. There seems to be good evidence to show that it was planted designedly by the Indians, before the advent of white men, with mollusks brought from the Damariscotta beds. The position and condition of the colony; the fact that the banks of this river were thickly populated by Indians, who might be supposed to know enough to save themselves the trouble of going four miles every time they wanted oysters, by transplanting them to their own stream; the fact that no more distant stream has them, although no good reason can be discovered for their absence; and the fact that no shell-heaps of any account exist to attest ancient use of the bed, all seem to confirm this supposition. Dr. H. F. Hall, of Sheepscot, who has studied the matter with care, and various others, hold this opinion. As I hinted before, it is probable that the isolated oyster-colony in the George river, near Thomaston, was planted in the same way, and that Salt bay is the only really native and indigenous home of the oyster anywhere in this region. These oysters have no commercial value, of course. They are much rarer than the partridges in the neighboring woods, and there is little likelihood of their increasing. Nor are there are any shell-banks to afford a fertilizer for the worn and rocky soil. C. THE SOUTH COAST OF MASSACHUSETTS. 15. OYSTER-CULTURE IN BUZZARD’S BAY AND VINEYARD SOUND. VERRILL ON THE OYSTER-BEDS OF SOUTHERN MASSACHUSETTS.—Buzzard’s bay, indenting the southern shore of Massachusetts, and nearly separating Cape Cod from the mainland, has been noted since its discovery for its natural oysters, and is now the scene of wide cultivation and a large business. It was of this region that Professor Verrill wrote the ensuing paragraphs in his Invertebrates of Vineyard Sound, several years ago: In Buzzard’s bay the bottom is generally muddy, except in very shallow water about some of the islands, where patches of rocky bottom occur, and opposite some of the sandy beaches, where it is sandy over considerable areas. Tracts of harder bottom, of mud or sand, overgrown with alge, occasionally occur. In Vineyard sound the bottom is more varied * * *; muddy bottoms are only occasionally met with. Attached to the sides and surfaces of rocks and ledges along many parts of this coast, young oysters, Ostrea Virginiana, often occur in vast numbers, sometimes completely covering and concealing large surfaces of rocks. But these generally live only through one season, and are killed by the cold of winter, so that they seldom become more than an inch or an inch and a half in diameter. They come from the spawn of the oysters in the beds along our shores, which, during the breeding season, completely fill the waters with their free- swimming young. They are generally regarded as the young of ‘‘ native” oysters, but Iam unable to find any specific differences between the northern and southern oysters, such differences as do exist being due merely to the circumstances under which they grow, such as the character of the water, abundance or scarcity of food, kind of objects to which they are attached, age, crowded condition, ete. All the forms occur both among the northern and southern ones: for they vary from broad and round to very long and narrow; from very thick to very thin; and in the character of the surface, some being regularly ribbed and scalloped, others nearly smooth, and others very rough and irregular or scaly, ete. When young, and grown under favorable conditions, with plenty of room, the form is generally round at first, then quite regularly oval, with an undulated and scalloped edge and radiating ridges corresponding to the scallops, and often extending out into spine-like projections on the lower valve. The upper valve is flatter, smooth at first, then with regular lamelle, or scales, scalloped at the edges, showing the stages of growth. Later in life, especially after the first winter, the growth becomes more irregular and the form less symmetrical, and the irregularity increases with age. Very old specimens, in crowded beds, usually become very much elongated, being often more than a foot long and perhaps two inches wide in the adult individuals; for nearly all the oyster- shells composing the ancient Indian shell-heaps along our coast are of this much-elongated kind. Nowadays the oysters seldom have a chance to grow to such a good old age as to take this form, though such are occasionally met with in deep water. The young specimens on the rocks are generally mottled or irregularly radiated with brown. They were not often met with on the shores of Vineyard sound, for oysters do not flourish well in that sandy region, though there are extensive beds in some parts of Buzzard’s bay, and a few near Holmes’ Hole, ina sheltered pond. The oysters prefer quiet waters, somewhat brackish, with a bottom of soft mud containing an abundance of minute living animal and vegetable organisms. In such places they grow rapidly, and become fat and fine-flavored, if not interfered with by their numerous enemies. TOPOGRAPHY: EARLY ABUNDANCE OF SHELLFISH IN WAREHAM AND VICINITY —The best starting point for inquiries, perhaps, is Wareham, an ancient town on Wareham river, which flows into the northern limit of the bay. Below the “ Narrows” where the bridge is, there is a broad inlet, known as the Northwestern arm of Buzzard’s bay, or sometimes as the Waukinco river. Above the bridge the Wareham river flows in, joined by the Agawam river THE OYSTER-INDUSTRY. oT from the eastward. Both of these streams are influenced by the tide for a considerable distance above the village, are shallow, and are partially bordered by flats. From the bridge upward for half a mile, there anciently was one continuous oyster-bed, and, besides this, various other coves and rivers in the neighborhood were inhabited by these and other bivalves. In colonial days the present townships of Rochester, Matapoiset, Marion, and Wareham, which are ranged around the head of the bay, were known as Rochester, and tradition says that it was named after the city of Rochester, in England (which city was famous for shellfish), because of the abundance of oysters, quahaugs, clams, scallops, ete., along the shores. LEGISLATION AND LICENSE IN WAREHAM.—That the earliest inhabitants valued oysters, is a matter of history; and even in colonial times they were made the subject of legislative protection by the town, for fear of their disappearance, as witness the following: ’ In town-meeting at Wareham, voted— March 20, 1775, that there should be no shellfish nor shell sold nor carried out of town. March 12, 1781, that no oyster-shells shall be catched to carry out of the town without the leave of John Fearing, Joshua Briggs, & Joshua Crocker, on the penalty of paying six shillings per bushel. September 24, 1781, that no person shall catch any oysters or oyster-shells for to carry out of the town or carry themselves out of the town on y® penalty of forfeiting two shillings and'8 pence per bushel. About 1840 was argued here the famous case of Dill vs. Town of Wareham, involving rights to oyster-fisheries and planting privileges, which the curious in such lore will find both intricate and entertaining. As an attempt at regulation of the oyster-fishery, a few years ago, the town divided off into grants all the shores of the numerous salt rivers and inlets embraced in the extensive and sinuous sea-coast, and offered these grants, under a twenty-years’ lease, as ground for the cultivation of oysters. The expense of procuring a grant was $2 50, and it was subject to taxation at a valuation of $50. These grants were about 125 in number, and were situated in Wareham and Agawam rivers, above the “‘ Narrows bridge”, along the shores of the Waukinco river, as the broad inlet from the Narrows down to Buzzard’s bay is called, and in Broad Marsh river, Crooked river, Mark’s cove, and the Weeweantit river, all of which are tributary to the Waukinco. On the shore other localities are: Brown's cove, Onset bay, Shell Point bay, East river, Long Neck shore, and Cohasset river. The average size of the grants is about two acres, giving from 250 to 300 acres of shore suitable to oyster-culture in this town, nearly all of which is already granted. The seed which has been placed upon these grants, and is to be placed there, is entirely obtained from the natural beds, which are abundant in the Agawam, Wareham, and Weeweantit rivers. The incessant raking to which the beds were subjected to obtain it, added to the demand for market, threatened extermination so seriously that, in 1874, the selectmen decreed that no one should be allowed to fish for oysters at all, without paying to the town a duty of 10 cents a bushel, the proceeds to go to pay an officer for measuring, ete. Under this rule the town issued licenses and received pay, in 1875, from 36 licenses, $303 60, giving 3,036 bushels; and in 1876, from 47 licenses, $425 50, giving 4,255 bushels. Since then few licenses have been issued, owing to the opposition and quarreling excited. The oyster-matter became a political issue. It is probable that multiplication by three of the results for 1875 and 1876, would give the approximate yield for those years, and there is said by all persons to have been a decrease since. MARKETS AND PRICES.—Abont five years ago no oyster was better received in the Boston market than that from Wareham; it held the first place. Though it has lost this distinction by ‘‘opening” poorly of late, it is still of fine quality and in demand by the neighborhood markets. Wagon-loads are sent off to Plymouth, Middleboro, and elsewhere, frequently through the winter; and during the season of 1877~78 the Old Colony railway carried 780 bushels in shell from the Wareham station, and about 150 gallons of opened stock. From East Wareham (Agawam station) there were shipped, during the winter of 1877~78, 924 bushels in shell, while partial accounts of the next season (1879~80) indicate a large increase. By far the larger part of the yield, however, is sold small, as “seed oysters” to be planted upon the beds along the eastern shore of Buzzard’s bay and the “heel” of Cape Cod. This seed is never carried away to be sold, but the purchasers come after it in spring and fall in sloops of about 25 feet keel, locally known as “yacht-boats”. This seed sells for 30 to 35 cents a bushel in spring, or 60 to 80 cents in fall, and is one and two years old, mixéd. Some experiments have been made in bedding Virginia oysters through the summer, but although they lived well enough it was not found profitable. They brought only $4, while the native oysters would fetch $6, a barrel. Oyster-affairs in Wareham can hardly be called a business. The title to the grants is very uncertain, the impression being that the right to operate upon them exists only through courtesy of the owners of the adjacent uplands, and a vast amount of litigation would probably arise if any one chose to object to the present status. This feeling, and the jealousy of anything smacking of monopoly, has deterred capital from being invested in any considerable degree, although effurts have been made to bring money from New York and Boston to bear upon this industry. At present the poor, ignorant, and shiftless portion of the community, for the most part, have to do with the oysters, and have found it necessary, in order to protect each other from a common thieving propensity, to decree among themselves that no man shall fish after sunset, even upon his own grant. It would be an outside estimate to say that 200 persons live upon the oyster in Wareham, at an investment of $3,000. 38 THE FISHERIES OF THE UNITED STATES. SAVERY ON OYSTER-CULTURE IN WAREHAM.—NSince writing the above account I have received the following instructive communication relating to this region, which I am happy to give entire: East WAREHAM, Mass., January 29, 1880. Dear Sir: In order to answer understandingly your inquiries respecting the oyster-business of Wareham, I find it necessary to give you a condensed history of it. Oysters grow naturally in the two rivers of Wareham, the Waukinco and the Weeweantit. In the former the natural beds extend from Wareham narrows, two miles above its mouth, about one mile up stream; in the latter river, the natural beds extend over a distance of about two miles. At low tide the water is about two feet deep on these beds, and the bottom is somewhat muddy. Spawn is deposited on them every year to a greater or less extent. The oysters grow in clusters, are long and thin, the meat is watery, not firm and solid, though of pretty good flavor, and on the lower part of the beds, where the water at low tide retains its saltness, they do not attain great size, even when undisturbed, but soon die, and are succeeded by a new growth. Scattering oysters are found in the channels for about one mile down stream, of fair size, firm meat, and good flavor, probably carried there when very small, by the current from the natural beds. Prior to 1840, the privilege of taking the oysters from these beds was leased to a Wellfleet company, and several thousand bushels were carried to Wellfleet harbor, Massachusetts, and there planted for the Boston market. About 1840, fearing that the natural beds would be injured, the town annulled the contract with the Wellfleet company, and but few oysters, except for the use of the inhabitants, were taken from these beds for many years. In 1845, Peter Presho, of Wareham, got a grant from the legislature to plant oysters in a cove at the upper part of Onset bay, an arm of Buzzard’s bay, in East Wareham. He there planted a few hundred bushels of Waukinco river oysters with good success, that is, they grew large, were well filled, and of excellent flavor. They did not increase in numbers, no spawn seemed to come from them, nor were any small oysters seen on the adjacent shores. In 1855 I gota license from the selectmen of Wareham, under the general state law, to plant oysters in Onset bay, adjoining and above the Presho grant. I brought from Rappahannock river, Virginia, 2,200 bushels of large oysters in the month of May, planted them on my grant, intending to market them the next fall. They did not arrive in very good condition, and what lived did not “fill” well, so Isold but few, and let the rest remain on the grant. After the first year they ‘‘filled” well, and were of excellent quality. In a few years young oysters began to catch on the shells and on the stones of the adjacent shores, so that people made a business of catch:ng oysters in that vicinity, and from my grant, for the home-market. I proposed planting again, but my business taking me away from Wareham, and the late war coming on, prevented my doing so, Young oysters continued to increase, and to be found on various parts of the shores of Onset bay, mostly on the sand-bars, about low-water mark. They generally lived but one year, being killed by the winter. In 1865 I commenced gathering the young oysters early in the fall, aud planting them from two to four feet deep, at low water. I found that they did well, growing rapidly, and haying an excellent flavor. In 1867 I carried some to the Parker House, Boston, and the proprietors pronounced them as fine oysters as they had ever seen, and engaged all I had to sell; since which time I have furnished Wareham oysters to the Parker House whenever they have been in suitable condition for their trade. I took care to secure and preserve the spawn, placing shells and brush wherever I thought it likely to catch, and by 1869 had several thousand bushels growing finely. On the 8th of September of that year, we had a severe southeasterly gale, which washed the sand from the shores and bars, covering the oysters and destroying the greater portion of them, The water that was driven into our bay by that gale was uncommonly salt and bitter, killing nearly all vegetation, even large trees, as far as it reached, and injured many wells. The oysters were seriously hurt by it, and the next year were poor and very salt, hardly marketable. They did not fully recover from its effects until 1872. Many other persons had by this time procured licenses, and commenced planting, getting their seed mostly from the Waukinco river and the shores of Onset bay. Several cargoes of large Virginia oysters were planted in the spring, and taken up and sold in the fall, but this did not prove profitable. Spawn now began to catch in various parts of Onset bay, in water from 10 to 12 feet deep at low water; I think this came from the Virginia oysters; none has caught there since; they have all been taken up. In one year I think at least 20,000 bushels of seed, about one inch in diameter, were taken from Onset bay and planted elsewhere, some going to Providence river, and some to various parts of Cape Cod. Nearly all the available shores of Wareham were by this time granted to different persons for oyster-planting. Seed-oysters at this time, from Onset bay, sold readily at from 50 ce&ts to 75 cents per bushel, from the boats, and large oysters brought from $5 to $9 per barrel, delivered at the railroad station. The business of growing oysters was profitable. The only limit seemed to be in the size of the individual grants and the amount of capital invested. The grants were too small to do a large business, and no great amount of money was invested in it. In 1875 Wareham oysters were poor, hardly marketable, and during the winter many died; the next two years they were good, and mine brought $7 50 per barrel; in 1878 and 1879 they were very poor, and unsalable except to peddlers, at a low price. Last winter at least one-half of our large oysters died. No seed of any consequence has been caught in Onset bay the past three years. I have tried to find out why our oysters were so poor some years and good others, and my observations lead me to the following conclusions: Onset bay has no fresh-water streams discharging into it other than small brooks, but on its shores are innumerable springs of fresh water, exuding almost everywhere between high- and low-water mark. Near where the springs flow copiously, the oysters are the best. These springs derive their supply from the rain that falls on the great wooded territory in Wareham and Plymouth, called ‘‘Plymouth woods”. In 1875 the springs were very low. The previous winter had been very cold, the ground freezing to a great depth, and the woods did not thaw out until the last of May. All the water that fell, therefore, ran off the surface, and did not penetrate the ground to supply the springs. The next winter was warmer, more rain fell, the springs filled, and oysters improved. Then occurred the great fires, destroying all vegetation on thousands of acres of Plymouth woods, and leaving a sandy barren, where the rain that fell evaporated rapidly ; the ponds in the woods shrank to a smaller compass than was ever known before, the swamps dried up, springs failed, many wells gave out entirely, and the streams that furnish the water-power of Wareham were, and still are, lower than ever before, and oysters are poorer. Iam confident that, for the production of good oysters in this vicinity, a certain uniform supply of fresh water is required, springing directly from the ground on which they are planted. It will not do to have the water vary in saltness ; if it does, though the shell may grow rapidly, the meat is watery and flavorless. Oysters are seldom of good quality in brackish water, yet when taken from salt water and placed for a short time in fresh water, they will grow plump, and improve, if not left too long. Oysters always feed on the flood-tide. Then the water seems cloudy, while on the ebbitisclear. Ihave often observed, that as soon as the tide began to flow the oysters would slightly open their shells, the feathery edge of the mollusk could be seen protruding and in motion, apparently feeding. In raking oysters on the flood-tide they often catch on the teeth of the rake; Inever knew this to occur on the ebb. Oysters throw off their spawn at the commencement of the flood-tide, hence it generally catches near low-water mark, and up stream from the spawning-bed, except in rivers where there is always a downward flow. Their season for spawning here varies from the 1st of July to the Ist of September, according to the condition of the oyster and the temperature of the water; the spawn in favorable situations growsrapidly. I have known a boat, with a perfectly clean bottom, anchored over an oyster-bed, to haye its bottom completely covered with oysters of over an inch in diameter in two weeks’ time. THE OYSTER-INDUSTRY. 39 Though seed taken from the natural beds in our rivers does well when planted in other localities, the restrictions upon taking them placed by the town-authorities, and 10 cents per bushel to be paid the town, prevent their being used to any great extent. No Virginia oysters have been planted here for several years past, with the exception of a small cargo I brought from there last year, hoping to obtain spawn from them in course of time; they seem to be doing well; no oysters to any extent are opened for sale. Those sent to Boston last year brought $5 per barrel at the railroad station. The greater quantity of oysters sold last year were to peddlers, at $1 per bushel on the shore, who disposed of them in the adjacent towns. From the best information I can get, I think about 7,000 bushels were marketed from this town the past year, paying to the producers about $10,000. Very little money is paid out for labor; planters do their own work, and what help is needed can be got for 15 cents per hour. The prospect for much business next year does not look encouraging. No seed, to any great extent, has been planted for the past two years. I have quite a large quantity growing, but can form no correct estimate of how mary. I shall continue planting the ensuing year, if I can procure seed that will not cost over 25 cents per bushel, planted. I expect to bring some young oysters from the Great Wicomico river, Virginia, to plant here. I think they will do well if canght in shoal-water, and are young and thrifty. I have oysters planted there, but cannot yet tell how successful they will prove. The greatest drawback to complete success of the business here, has been the lack of uniformity in quality from year to year. Much of the ground upon which our oysters are planted has too little water upon it at low tide ; the oysters freeze in the winter, or are killed by the ice resting upon them. It is also impossible to catch them for market just when they bring the best prices. The most destructive enemy to our oyster-beds is a small mollusk, here called the ‘borer ” or ‘“ white snail”; it drills a small hole through the shell directly over the “‘eye” of the oyster, causing its death. Some beds, particularly where the bottom is hard, are completely destroyed by them. The periwinkle also is very destructive to large oysters ; one will destroy at least a bushel in a season. There are but few starfishes. Respectfully yours, A. SAVERY, C. E. OYSTER-BEDS IN SIPPECAN HARBOR, WING’S COVE, AND WEEWEANTIT RIVER.—Southwesterly from Wareham the head of Buzzard’s bay contains several oyster-localities of varying importance. They are: The Weeweantit river, for a mile or so in the neighborhood of the highway bridge; Wing’s cove, and the Blankinship cove of Sippecan harbor, in the town of Marion. In the Weeweantit natural beds of very good oysters have existed for a long time, and a few years ago a large yield was obtained from them every year by Mr. Robinson and others. Latterly, however, the quantity has decreased, and the beds have been raked almost wholly for the sake of seed. There are grants here, but no improvement, as yet, of any consequence. In Sippecan harbor (the harbor of Marion) it is said that no oysters were known until about fifteen years ago (1864), when the shore of Ram island, on the eastern side of the harbor, near the entrance, was found strewn with young oysters, and the next year it was ascertained that these had lived and were growing. The whole cove rapidly filled, and at once began to be taken by the inhabitants in large quantities. OYSTER-CULTURE IN SOMERSET.—Some gentlemen, in 1875, got permission of the town to plant oysters on the bar at the entrance of the harbor, and brought a large quantity of seed-oysters from Somerset, Massachusetts, to lay down there. Taking the hint, the town surveyed a fringe of grants around the whole harbor, which were rapidly secured by the citizens for purposes of culture. The first design was that all owning grants should seed them from abroad, leaving the natural beds in Blankinship cove and all the channels as public domain. But this was done to a very small extent, the natural beds being raked and dredged, instead, for oysters to be placed upon the grants, until it seemed likely that no mollusks at all would be left upon the beds. Legislative measures, both of state and town, were brought forward for oyster-protection, but with little avail, as restrictive measures had small support from public opinion, and now there is little attempt to restrain any one fishing to any extent. It is reported by some, as a consequence, that few oysters are left, while others say that there are as many oysters there now as ever. Meanwhile, those who had planted were not encouraged. The best grants lay in favorable spots, where the oysters had shallow water, a hard bottom, and quick tide, only lacking fresh water. One gentleman has planted about twelve thousand bushels, and has put down six to eight thousand empty shells, hoping to catch spawn; but since these were put down there has been no year in which the spawn was plenty at Marion. (The last good year for spawn in Wareham was 1877, in Somerset, 1878.) Both of these investments have proved to be losing ones. The oysters brought here from Somerset have grown pretty well in shell, but in meat are lean and watery. Last August those of marketable size produced less than two solid quarts to the bushel. This fall (1879) there has been an improvement, but a bushel does not ‘‘open” more than three quarts. These facts are true, as a rule, over the whole extent of the harbor, and in every instance the owners consider that they have lost money on their investment, and that it is probable that no great success can be looked for in raising oysters at Marion, for unexplained reasons. Even when they succeed in getting a fair quantity of oysters, they are not as hard and plump as they ought to be, and will not sell in Boston market at prices which will repay the expense of their cultivation. Among special discouragements may be mentioned the burying of two thousand bushels in one bed, on the outside of Ram island bar, by a single gale during the winter of 1878, and the sudden death of several thousand bushels up the harbor through anchor-frost. As a consequence, a large portion of the oysters which have been planted here from Somerset have been taken up and sent to Providence river, where they have been rebedded with great success. It may be that this will afford an opportunity for business, although planting will not succeed well. The seed can be bought in Somerset and laid down here for about 35 cents a bushel. Two years later it can be sold to Providence dealers for 75 cents. During these same years the natural beds near Ram island have flourished tolerably well, although the large tracts of shells about the harbor have caught no spawn. They have not opened as much nor of as good quality, however, as formerly; but there are great differences in the oysters of even this limited area. 40 THE FISHERIES OF THE UNITED STATES. A bed at Ram’s island, on the sand, in three to five feet of water, “opened handsome,” while only a few yards away oysters on a muddy bottom were of poor quality and size. There have been about $17,000 invested in oyster-culture in this town, but I believe the whole matter could be bought now for $10,000. Perhaps 5,000 bushels, all told, have been disposed of annually for the last three or four years, at $1 a bushel or gallon. NATURAL BEDS IN SANDWICH.—Crossing over now to the eastern head of the bay (since there is nothing to be noticed south of Marion on the west, except a little later at New Bedford), I have to report an extensive industry. The Cohasset river divides the town of Wareham from the adjacent township of Sandwich, its neighbor on the south and east. Flowing into Buzzard’s bay from this Sandwich side are several rivers, and the shore is indented with numerous inlets and shallow ponds. Nearly all of these inlets were found by the earliest colonists occupied by beds of natural oysters, and most of these beds are still living and supplying seed for cultivation. That the Indians used the oysters extensively is shown, not only by tradition and analogy, but by abundant traces of former feasts in the shape of shell-heaps. Some account of the oysters of this region more recently, is accessible in a letter from Dr. J. B. Forsyth, written in 1840, to Dr. A. A. Gould, and printed in the first edition of the latter’s Invertebrates of Massachusetts. Dr. Forsyth says that the aged men of the vicinity assured him that oysters had never been brought there from abroad up to that time (1840); that they grew so abundantly everywhere along the Sandwich shores “ that at low water you could at almost any point procure a bucketfall of them from the rocks”. Dr. Forsyth also mentions Wareham as an oyster-locality. There was then a statute prohibiting a man from taking more than two bushels at one time for his own use, and forbidding their being carried out of town. ‘The oysters,” says the writer, ‘‘are generally collected by a few men, who bring them to the village and dispose of them at 50 cents a bushel for their trouble; and by selling half a bushel or a bushel to an individual the spirit of the statute is not violated. This may be repeated every day, until the desired supply is laid in. When placed in the cellar and fed from time to time with a little meal and water, they will sometimes keep good for months.” CULTURE AND LEGISLATION ON MONUMENT RIVER.—Buzzard’s bay is the new name for the railway station on the Old Colony line, Known to all the people about there as Cohasset Narrows, because it is upon the narrowest part of the neck of the peninsula of Cape Cod. The river flowing down past Buzzard’s bay station is the Monument, a clear, broad stream, up and down which the tide rushes with great force. “ Wild” native oysters inhabited this stream, but had been pretty nearly exhausted by constant raking, when the attention of the town-authorities of Sandwich was called to the matter, afew yearsago. They caused a survey of this and the various other oyster-waters of the township, and divided them off into “ grants” of different sizes, according to the character of the bottom, but none less than about an acre and a half in extent. These grants could be taken by any citizen of the town, under certain conditions, upon the payment of $2 50. If not improved within a year they reverted to the town. Each grant, as soon as taken, and no matter what the value of the stock upon it, was taxed at a valuation of $50. The special state laws passed for the benefit of this new industry, were substantially as follows: Marcu 26, 1834. Section 1. If any person shall hereafter take any oysters or other shellfish from their beds, or destroy them therein, in the town of Sandwich, except as is hereinafter provided, he shall forfeit for every bushel of oysters so taken or destroyed, the sum of five dollars, and for every bushel of other shellfish so taken or destroyed, the sum of three dollars: Provided, however, That the selectmen of said town may give permits in writing to any inhabitant to take shellfish at such times and for such uses as they shall think reasonable and express in such permits, not exceeding two bushels for one family: Provided, further, That any inhabitant of said town may, without such permit, take one bushei of oysters or other shellfish per week from their beds in said town, for the use of his or her family, from September 1 to June 1, annually. Sec. 2. If any boat, wagon, sleigh, or other vehicle, shall be found within the limits of said town with any oysters or other shellfish on board, taken in said town contrary to the provisions of this act, any inhabitant may seize and detain the same, not exceeding forty- eight hours, in order that the same, if need be, may be attached by due process of law to answer the said fines and forfeitures, with costs of suit: Provided, however, That as soon as the owner or master of any such vessel, boat or craft, cart, wagon, sleigh, or other vehicle, shall pay said fines and forfeitures without suit to the treasurer of said town, such vehicle shall be discharged, with the effects therein. Src. 3. If any person or persons, residing in Sandwich, shall assist any person belonging to any other town, in taking any of the fish aforesaid, or shall supply them therewith, he shall forfeit for every bushel of oysters so taken five dollars, and for every bushel of other shellfish three dollars, and the purchaser or purchasers, knowing them to be unlawfully taken, shall be subject to the like forfeitures. Sec. 4. All persons not otherwise disqualified shall be competent witnesses in any prosecution upon this act. Src. 5. All the forfeitures mentioned in this act, not herein otherwise appropriated, shall enure, one half to said town, and the other half to the person or persons giving information, to be recovered by the treasurer of said town in an action of debt, before any justice of the peace for said county of Barnstable, or any court proper to try the same. May 15, 1867. Srction 1. Whoever takes any oysters from Monument river, Sandwich, previous to October 1, 1868, shall forfeit five dollars for each bushel so taken, Sec. 2. The inhabitants of the town of Sandwich, at a legal meeting held for the purpose, may make regulations concerning the taking of oysters in said river after said first day of October; and whoever takes any oysters from said river contrary to the regulations so made, shall be subject to the same penalties as are provided in the preceding section. * * On February 26, 1873, a precisely similar regulation was made for Barlow river, Sandwich, to be in effect subsequent to October 1, 1874. THE OYSTER-INDUSTRY. 41 Votes or Town, March 3, 1879, Voted, That the Monument and Barlow rivers be closed for catching oysters from the first day of May next, until the first day of October following. Voted, That the regulations concerning the taking of oysters from said first day of October until the next annual meeting, shall be the same as voted at a meeting adjourned from the annual meeting in March, 1878, to the fifth day of November in said year, which is as follows: Any inhabitant may take one bushel of oysters in each week, and no more, the same to be taken under the supervision of the fish-committee of the town, who are directed to prosecute all persons violating the regulations now voted. That Saturday in each week shall be the catching day. Voted, That the town sustain the officers chosen in all legal action pertaining to their office. Voted, That the town allow its inhabitants to take all the oysters they can with suitable instruments, such as drags, tongs, and rakes, wherever they can find them, except on private grants and in Monument and Barlow rivers. Voted, That any person entitled to one bushel of oysters per week under the regulations for the Monument and Barlow rivers, may, by an order, empower another person to take said bushel of oysters for his or her family use. The people were quick to take advantage of these legal permits, and it was not long before nearly all space of value was appropriated, and wild speculation began; but it is only within the last three or four years that much business has been done, or systematic efforts at transplanting and stocking have been introduced. There are now about 50 owners on Monument river, Cohasset river, and in Little bay, and a careful estimate of money invested gives $30,000 as the probable value of grants, stock on hand (November, 1879), and appurtenances. Many of the grants are as yet very slightly stocked with oysters. The Monument river oysters were famous in olden times for their superior quality and size. “They opened well,” the oystermen said; that is, there was a large proportion of meat to the shell, which was thin, brittle, and much sealloped. The first idea was simply to hold, as proprietors, the seed which were caught upon the grants from the natural bed at the mouth of the river; and, to facilitate this catching, more or less dead shells have been thrown down. But the more enterprising planters have laid down great deposits of seed-oysters, purchased chietly in Wareham, and these are just now beginning to produce their legitimate returns, having grown to a marketable size. Some fresh seed is put down every year, but in addition to this, it is expected that large accessions will be made by spawn caught from the natural bed and from the spawning of the planted oysters. Since 1874, however, very little spawn has been caught. In that year a vast quantity appeared, but arrangements were not made to avail themselves of it. . The amount of seed placed upon a grant varies with the pocket and theory of the owner, from 100 to 500 bushels on an acre; perhaps 200 bushels would be an average of actual planting. The seed from one to two years old is used and preferred. It is generally planted in the spring, when it can be bought for from 30 to 35 cents a bushel; but it is thought much better to plant it in the fall, although then from 60 to 80 cents is asked for the seed. It costs about 10 cents a bushel to throw down. The best bottom (and that which is found everywhere here) is hard sand, a little soft on top. The average depth of water on the beds is 3 feet; but some stock is planted where it is exposed or just covered at ebb-tide, the objection to this being the danger of damage from drifting ice, for the mere resting of the ice on the oysters is not usually harmful, provided they lie fiat on the sand. The calculated cost of beginning business along this river now, would be about as follows: Present cost of good ground (1 grant)--.--- ----- e222 enn = eon nae eee nn cee en nnn nee ene eee cere e ce enee $40 Seeding, 300 bushels at 50 cents ....---- ---. ..--------- + 222 eee een ne cee eee eee cree ene eee eee n ee 150 San) -Doateam Olro wo DO ate eee ae eee ae ee aa a oe ese aint aero letetmia ta ale ee aaa al alae se le ei ia 59 Beach, shanty, and furniture...-.. 2... ------ -- <2 wo 0 = cone won nn nn nnn nnn nn ne nnn nee ene teen ne woes 40 Rake, tongs, shovels, and tools. -.-...--..--.-----.+----+ ome CAS CIRE SSO NSSCU6 Chao QCOoTO ASocot ooUSSE Rese as soosnes, 1A) TSG TES oo A es On Oc EO ORE CO BSE SO OR SICOD.OSUEED USCEG COCO CESS DEE OCOnS De Se CORO COO USE ESSuiSeas waoiees 65 Total------.-.- noococossssacés 3 SSS Bece See Ce ceEE cccus HlOnca Race asSS ene adeS Coscon Sesesseccossase soeansS 360 One who is really going into the matter hopefully, must expect about this outlay before he considers his grant in condition to yield. If he puts down shells for the spawn to catch ‘upon, as he probably will, it will cost him about 10 cents a bushel. Formerly Virginia oysters were planted and bedded here, but did not do well. The prices received for these oysters, which are all picked over and shipped to Boston in good shape, vary from $3 50 to $6 a barrel. In 1878, the exports from the Buzzard’s Bay station by rail were 138 barrels. Up to November 1, 1879, 240 barrels were sent, making 300 barrels a probable total for that year. Besides this, in 1879, much opening was done by the oystermen to supply the neighborhood market, and about 1,000 gallons of opened oysters were carried by express companies, in small packages. OYSTER-CULTURE IN RED BROOK HARBOR (POCASSET).—Another oyster-locality in the town of Sandwich, is Red Brook harbor, six miles south of Monument river. The railway station is Pocasset, on the Wood’s Holl branch of the Old Colony line. This harbor is an indentation of Buzzard’s bay, about one and a half miles long by one-third of a mile wide, and it is separated from the outer bay by an island. A branch of the harbor, also, runs up toa landing known as Barlowtown. The name Red Brook harbor is derived from a little stream which flows into it, the bottom of which is tinged with iron rust; but this brook does not freshen the water to any considerable 42 THE FISHERIES OF THE UNITED STATES. extent. The bottom of the main part of the harbor is hard sand, and the water is nowhere more than 8 feet deep at low tide. In some portions rocks and eel-grass exist. On the southern shore of this harbor, about a mile from its head, exists a living bed of natural oysters, some seven acres in extent, under protection of the town for public benefit. The oysters growing upon it are reported to be large, but not of extraordinary size, scalloped and roundish, differing in no respect from aged oysters grown after transplanting to another part of the bay. Excepting this natural bed, the whole harbor has been surveyed and divided into grants; all those good for anything have been taken up, and must now be bought at an advanced price, if any one desires to possess them. The largest owner is a Boston firm, reputed to have 75 acres, but beside it are a score of other proprietors, inbabitants of the shores. It is safe to say that $3,500 would buy out all the home interests in the whole tract, and $15,000 cover the total investment up to January 1, 1880. There is a spirit of progress here, however, which will lead to a great increase in the value of the property within the next few years. During 1878, for example, there were shipped from Pocasset station only 85 barrels; in 1879, 500 barrels. I spent some hours on these grounds with Mr. Edward Robinson, who exerted himself to make my visit instructive. He thought that one-half of the whole water-area was suitable for oyster-cultivation, and all of this is now appropriated, though only a portion has yet been stocked. The seed is mainly derived from the native bed in the harbor and from the shores where the native spawn has “set”, and is planted in the spring and fall. The only outside seed brought in thus far is 300 bushels from the Weeweautit river, across the bay; and 1,000 bushels from Somerset. The latter did not seem to do well. A long, sandy point runs out into the harbor here, which ebbs dry at low tide. This does not come into any grant, therefore, and hence is public ground for the. gathering of seed. I saw upon the pebbly beach, in places, how abundantly this was to be had. Young oysters, at this season, from the size of a dime to that of a dollar, were strewed between tide-marks so thickly that you could hardly avoid stepping upon them, and they would survive the winter well in this exposure. These are gathered by everybody who wishes and placed upon their grants. In addition to this, many thousands of bushels of old shells have been laid down, the proper time to do this work being early in July, in order to have their surfaces clear and ready to catch the spawn which begins to appear about that time. In 1876, when there was the last good quantity of spawn emitted, the shells had been put down in May, and by July were so slimy that the spawn did not set upon them. They learned wisdom by that, but no good year for spawn has occurred since. The seed is planted in varying quantity, but Mr. Robinson said he should put it down shoulder to shoulder, so as to pave the whole bottom, if he had enough. I saw tracts where the growing oysters lay so thick as to conceal the sand, and you could gather a bushel from a square yard of bottom. The natives consider the seed here better than that at Monument river, for it is rounder and less distorted. When the oysters are three to four years old, and ready for market, Mr. Robinson takes them up and lays them upon a wooden floor near his packing-shanty, in water almost wholly fresh, which takes away the very saline flavor, fills them up in size, and makes them plump and hard. It is known as the “fattening” process, after which they are ready for shipment. Bought from the boats, a dollar a bushel is paid for these oysters, but the freight to Boston and the barreling make them cost about $1 30 a bushel to the dealer. Here, as at Monument river, fishing is habitually done through the ice in winter. The method is to cut a large hole and use tongs. The oystermen do not complain of it as especially cold or unpleasant work. In order to keep the oysters from freezing, they dip the bag which they intend to put them in when caught, in water, and hold it upright until it freezes stiff. It thus stands conveniently open, like a barrel, and no wind can blow through its sides to the detriment of the contents. CATAUMET AND FAaLMouTH.—Below Red Brook harbor are Cataumet harbor, Currant river, Wild harbor, and Squeateague pond. All of these are inhabited by beds of native oysters, and hence were granted in lots by the town (Sandwich) under the usual regulations. They differ in no important respect from the Red Brook region, are all of small extent, and the whole money-investment, all together, will not exceed $500. At East Falmouth there is a small business, the facts concerning which were kindly communicated to me in a letter from Mr, Frank C. Davis, which I take pleasure in transcribing : East Fatmoutu, Mass., November 20, 1879. Dear Sir: There are no natural oyster-beds in our locality, nor have there been within my recollection, noris there any trace, so far as I am aware, of their existence in the past. Oysters are cultivated on a small scale here, but there is not room for a very extensive business. We have a few acres of tide-flats, but the oyster-bottom extends chiefly along the shore, varying from six feet to one rod in width. This bottom is composed of sand and gravel. Outside of this you haye dead black and blue mud, where nothing will live except eels. Ishould judge there were 1,000 bushels of seed planted per annum, and about the same amount of oysters sold each year. The seed is obtained in Buzzard’s bay, and costs from $35 to $85 per 100 bushels. The ground is granted by the town of Falmouth to the tax-payers of said town, and all of it is taken up. The oysters grow well here, but are liable to die. Our oysters bring from $3 to $5 per barrel ; very choice, $6. Respectfully, F. C. DAVIS. New BEDFORD AND viciniry.—A few words remain to be said about New Bedford and vicinity. The Acushnet river, just above New Bedford, has been found wanting in the qualities necessary to. make it good planting ground for oysters. The experiment has been tried, but has failed. No cultivation exists there, therefore. The principal dealers in the town buy yearly a superior stock of oysters in the Chesapeake bay, bringing one THE OYSTER-INDUSTRY. 43 cargo of 3,500 bushels for bedding, and another cargo for winter use; the schooner Hastings, of nearly 100 tons burthen, is the vessel used at present. These oysters cost 65 cents when laid down, but grow very little on these beds, since there is no fresh water to start them. In addition to this, one firm furnishes oysters from Providence river, Wareham, and elsewhere. The rest of the town, as calculated by them, use about 200 bushels and 100 gallons a week for 5 months. This makes New Bedford’s estimated consumption, annually, about 13,000 bushels. Five men are employed six months, as openers, at 17 cents a gallon. Just west of New Bedford is a little stream and inlet, known as Westport river. This was the locality of an ancient bed of native oysters, which has now nearly disappeared through too great raking. They are said to be very large and of good quality, but not more than 50 bushels a year can now be caught throughout the whole three mniles from the “Point” up to the bridge, which sell at $1 50 to $2 a bushel in New Bedford. There is reputed to be good planting ground near the bridge. A few miles west of Westport is the Dartmouth river, where, it is said, an oyster-bed has recently formed, but, as yet;is of little account. The bottom there, however, is regarded as very suitable for planting upon. Fifty bushels a year would cover the whole supply from here. PLANTING IN Coruir AND WAQuorr.—At Cotuit and Waquoit are considerable planting interests, under similar regulations to those existing on the eastern shore of Buzzard’s bay. From West Barnstable station, enough oysters were sent to Boston by rail, combined with what went elsewhere by water, to make the production of Cotuit amount to about 5,000 bushels annually; these oysters have a high reputation in Boston. Waquoit will produce half as much more, chiefly from Wareham seed. Both localities will give a census of 40 planters, and an investment of $40,000. There is a considerable fleet of sail-boats here. FORMER OCCURRENCE OF OYSTERS IN MARTHA’S VINEYARD.—In respect to Martha’s Vineyard, only a paragraph remains to be said, quoted from a description of the island in the Massachusetts Historical Collections, second series, 1807, page 58: The oyster is found in Newtown pond, and in two other ponds on the south shore, one of which is in Edgartown, and the other in Tisbury. It is fresh to the taste; but itis improved in its relish and rendered fatter, by digging a canal through the beach, and letting the salt water flow into the fresh-water ponds. As the southerly wind soon fills up the canal, the digging must be renewed four or five times in a year. STATISTICAL RECAPITULATION. BUZZARD’S BAY AND VINEYARD SOUND: Ninety aNnters andiship Pelslscenaineaaere motte stele C ceca rehtee tonic seo tace eaaieee menses anes eet 150 Hen pole Sround CH tvcbOdee sesame alam aes tae lnmm Saat easene cena sansa eciecea see seleee es nomsecece acres -- 500 Nirmberottanmilies| supponedsececisecmtacoe tse «ema ma naloce seein nanie scence se beet neces me cot Se eee a aeee 400 Number of vessels and sail-boats engaged ~-...... .22. c.c20 soon eo 25 cee eee ene n ne woes seesccerescode eaassecs 100 Wise Lona Olesen Soca icen: son olaxs a is) Sea lacwaleeae cco s nine deca) sace sone macs aac tence = ones emeen ean $20, 000 Annual sales of— Tee NaliLV CLOVSLOIS == ee es eanles cece ness coe asses ShOoNSoed RocciARDESOReeoce rons cobotee dose bushels-. 19, 000 iValuetofisamess.-2- se esos mae naeematerine sector elem enicn sc ce sacs cnt siced seas Seiwe a ceteicee ee ctecee $25, 000 A Chesapeake:© planta?) 5252 oss See ae saa ows el oes te sess Se bees cede bushels.. 7,000 AVialuOlOh sam Ossetia tate Ss face os os we Sayteme wade < bet weealcseetseScasostes povcosaoeeh eee eats aee $6, 000 Rotalevalnetots OVSLers:AOl Gy ANNUALS = 2an anda ise nn oasis coenjas on sea nn=sccns Seemes voke/sosbecmecceomsscecoces $31, 000 16. THE OYSTER-LAWS OF MASSACHUSETTS. CONDENSED VIEW OF LAWS AS AMENDED IN 1878,.—The oyster-laws of Massachusetts, chapter 83, as amended in 1878, are condensed as follows: Section 11. Whoever takes oysters from their beds, destroys them, or willfully obstructs their growth, ete., forfeits $2 for every bushel, ineluding shells. [This last phrase was made necessary by the fact that, in celonial times, when the oyster first became the subject of legal restriction, the penalty was evaded by the culprit’s claiming that the shells were not to be measured against him—only the oyster meats.—E. I.] Sec. 12. The mayor and aldermen, or the selectmen, of any city and town may give permits to any person to take a stated quantity of oysters; and every inhabitant may, without permit, take oysters, for family use, from September 1 to June. Sec. 13. Makes the same regulation in respect to other shellfish. Src. 14. Any boat, not owned in the place, and found with oysters on board, not taken under a permit or license, may be seized and detained by any inhabitant for not more than 48 hours, pending process of law. Sec. 15. Native Indians are allowed to dig for all kinds of shellfish for home use; and fishermen may take bait, not exceeding seven bushels at once. Src. 16. The mayor and aldermen or selectmen of any city or town may * * * grant a license, for a term not exceeding twenty years, t® any inhabitant thereof, to plant, grow, and dig oysters, at all times of the year, upon and in any flats and creeks therein, at any place where there is no natural oyster-bed ; not, however, impairing the private rights of any person, nor materially obstructing the navigable waters of any creek or bay. But no person shall take any oysters from any flats or creeks for which a license has been granted, * * * between sunset and sunrise, on penalty of forfeiture of license and the oysters on his beds. Sec. 17. Such license shall describe the metes and bounds, shall be recorded, and shall cost the applicant $2 50. Src. 18. The person so licensed, his heirs and assigns, shall, for the purposes aforesaid, have exclusive use of the flats and creeks described in the license during the time therein specified ; and any person who, without consent of the owner, removes oysters from licensed ground incurs a fine of $100, or less, or imprisonment from thirty days to six months, or both. 44 THE FISHERIES OF THE UNITED STATES. Special laws relating to Cape Cod were passed in 1870, and remain in force, to the following effect: Section I. No person not an inhabitant of the town of Wellfleet shall take any clams, quahaugs, oysters, or other shellfish within the waters of said town, without first getting a permit from the selectmen, nor shall any person being an inhabitant of said town take any of said fish for bait, at any time, exceeding three bushels, including their shells, or for the purpose of selling the same, without a permit from the selectmen of said Wellfleet, who may grant the same for such sum to be paid to the use of the town as they shall deem proper ; but the inhabitants of said town may take said fish for family use without such permit. Sec. II. Whoever takes any shellfish from within the waters of said Wellfleet in violation of the provisions of this act, shall, fo. every offense, pay a fine of not less than five or more than ten dollars and costs of prosecution, and one dollar for every bushel of shell- fish so taken; said fine and forfeiture imposed under this act to be recovered by indictment or information before a trial justice in the county of Barnstable. D. TAUNTON RIVER AND COLE’S RIVER, MASSACHUSETTS. 17. OYSTER-CULTURE AND TRADE ON MASSACHUSETTS AFFLUENTS OF NARRAGANSET BAY. PECULIARITIES OF THE SOMERSET NATIVE STOCK.—A discussion of this small district forms a natural division of the subject, since the Taunton river beds are isolated, and lying between Narraganset bay and the Cape Cod district, furnish seed for both. The river itself flows into Narraganset bay, and the region immediately about its mouth is included. There lies in the Taunton river, at Dighton, a large rock, well known to archeologists, on account of some inscriptions which it bears; these, though untranslated, are supposed to be the work of Norse voyagers who early visited these waters. The foundation for this supposition is very fully and attractively stated in Thoreau’s Cape Cod, to which the reader is referred. These earliest comers were pleased to find shellfish abundant in the region, and the English settlers, three or four centuries later, record their thankfulness on similar grounds. From time immemorial, then, oysters have been natives of this district, and no such mistake as has been made north of Cape Cod could ever be put forward to deny that they are here indigenous. LEGISLATION AND LICENSE.—It was long ago recognized that the Taunton river was a valuable oyster- property, and legal measures were early adopted looking toward its preservation. The present plan of operations came into effect about thirty years ago, and though differing slightly in the various towns bordering the river, consists, in general, of the leasing of the ground for raking and planting purposes, during a term of years, at a fixed rental. Most of the towns do this under the general law of the state, already explained in the chapter on the south coast of Massachusetts bay district (C); but Somerset had a special act in her favor, passed by the legislature in 1847, which reads as follows: Section 1. The town of Somerset shall have the exclusive control of the oyster-fishery in that part of Taunton river within the limits of said town, and may sell at public or private sale * * * the right or privilege of taking oysters * * * for a term of not less than three nor more than ten years at any one term; and all money arising from such sale or sales shall be paid unto the treasurer of said town, for its use, ete. (Chapter 44.) Beyond this, every householder has the right to take three bushels each month for family use. The privilege of this town now rents for $800 a year, and is owned for five years by the Somerset Oyster Company, composed of citizens of the town. In Fall River, the lease is held by a firm from Wellfleet, Massachusetts, at $600 a year. In Freetown, the holder of the lease is a Providence man, who pays about $1,000 annually for the privilege. The lessee of the privileges of Dighton, also, is a citizen of Providence, at a cost of $475 a year. Berkeley rents its oyster-banks to a Somerset company at $1,300 a year, for a long term. Assonet is leased for ten years, with Providence capital, at $1,225 a year. The total income, therefore, derived by the towns along the bank of this small river, only a dozen miles long, is $5,400. This is wholly for the privilege of raking the bottom for seed, besides which the towns reserve the right of each citizen to take such oysters from the river as he needs “for family use”. I know no other district in the United States which is made to serve the public treasury so well. In respect to this matter of leases, however, it may be said, that it was evidently the intention of the makers of the law to parce] out the privilege among many persons; but the shape of the business has changed, capital has overcome weak opposition, where it existed, and where there was a score of owners of the water-front twenty-five years ago, there is now only one. It is probably to the general advantage, however, in this case, that the business should be thus centralized. SOMERSET OYSTERS: THE HISTORY OF THEIR DETERIORATION.—The oysters from all parts of Taunton river (the producing extent is about 12 miles long) are known as “Somersets”. Formerly they were considered extremely good eating, and grew toa large size. Within the last twenty-five years, however, they have assumed a green appearance and lost quality. It is popularly asserted, locally, that this is owing to the influence of the impurities “ischarged by the copper works, by the rolling-mills, and by the print-works, which are situated some miles above the oyster-beds. But this has been denied, on the ground that not enough of the mineral matter thus thrown into THE OYSTER-INDUSTRY. 45 the current could get down there to affect the oysters so seriously, and also on the better ground, that chemical analyses fail to show the presence of anything to account for the greenish stain, which is precisely that so highly esteemed a few years ago in the French oysters of Marennes, and other districts. Iwas assured that this greenness varied in different parts of the river, and with different seasons, and that if any oysters happened to have grown high up on the bridge-piers, or elsewhere off the bottom, they were not green at all. Just how deleterious to health these green Somerset oysters are, I could not learn satisfactorily. Nobody pretends that their effects are fatal, and some say they are as good as any other inferior oyster. The general opinion, however, is, that eating a dozen raw ones is certain to be followed by violent sickness at the stomach. No doubt prejudice has much to do with it, for there is no food which the imagination would more quickly influence the stomach to reject, than the soft, slippery, and somewhat insipid fresh-water oyster. The same green appearance occurs of late in the oysters of Seekonk river, to be spoken of later on; and in both cases transplanting entirely removes the stain and elevates the quality, which is said to be slowly improving. In consequence of this stain, the eating of Somerset oysters, in their natural state, has been nearly given up, and the whole trade of the river is devoted to the production and sale of seed. Of course no planting of any sort, beyond the occasional transference of ‘‘set” from one part of the river to another, has ever been undertaken. CULTURE OF SEED-OYSTERS IN TAUNTON RIVER.—The number of young oysters born every fall in Taunton river varies, but there is never a year wholly without them. The season of 1877 was a good one, and about ten years previous, the autumn of “the great September gale”, saw an extraordinary production, or “set”, as the appearance of the young oysters is termed here. The rocks and gravel along both shores are covered to a greater or less extent, but in addition to this, every owner spreads down great quantities of clean shells every summer, in the hope of catching spawn. Generally, they are successful, and sometimes extremely so. Some experiments have been tried with sunken brush; but though the spawn attached itself well enough, the currents and winds are so strong and uncertain as to drift it all away and lose it to its owner. Perhaps 25,000 or 30,000 bushels of shells are spread in this river annually. The favorites are scallop shells, because they are thin and brittle, so that the young oysters anchored to them are easily broken apart or detached. Scallop shells are somewhat scarce, and 3,000 bushels put down at Assonet in 1878, cost $300. The result, nevertheless, is often very gratifying. Mr. 8S. R. Higgins told me, that from 500 bushels of shells placed near Fall River, he took up the following year 3,500 bushels of young oysters. The annual product, in seed, of the different town-fronts along the river, is given approximately, as follows: Bushels. Bushels. Bushels. IaH EN? - sel leeee occ co 1, 623 3, 342 9, 348 8, 651 The result of this experiment was so unsatisfactory, however, that the importation of this opened “barrel- stock” has been almost wholly abandoned. What now comes (so it is darkly hinted) is chiefly used to adulterate genuine ‘“ Providence rivers”. 21. NATIVE AND SEED-OYSTERS. DEARTH OF YOUNG OYSTERS IN RHODE ISLAND.—The fattening of Virginia oysters is only half the business, though, perhaps, the most profitable part, in Rhode Island. A vast number of “native” oysters are raised in Narraganset bay, though but a portion of them are born there. There are only a few places in the bay where a “set”, as it is called, occurs with any regularity or of any consequence. Inthe Warren and Barrington rivers it has not happened for twenty years, and the same is true of the whole eastern shore, except Cole’s, Kickamuit, and Seekonk rivers. Providence river itself never produces young oysters now, nor does any part of the western shore, except Greenwich bay and the ponds in the extreme southern part of the state, deriving their salt water directly from the Atlantic. The cause of this dearth of spawn and seed, where once every shore was populous with it, can only be ascribed, I think, to the antecedent disappearance, through persistent raking, of all the old native oysters. In, Cole’s river a heavy “set” occurred three years ago, and from 500 to 1,000 bushels are obiained every year. In the Kickamuit, the shores are dotted with infant ostreee annually, and supply the planted beds there, while old oysters of very good quality are not infrequent. In dredging back and forth throughout the whole extent of Greenwich bay, the scallop-fishers frequently take up large oysters, evidently “to the manor born”, and they are now and then seen on the shore-rocks. About 1872 there was a very large “set” here and in Potowomut river, just below. Boats came down from Providence and elsewhere and were filled again and again. But all of the crop left was swept away by starfishes, which were then very abundant, or was buried beneath drifting sand and wrack, and so no establishment of a natural bed there was possible. If these young oysters were not all picked out of Greenwich bay in the fall, they would live through the winter, even where the ice rested fully upon them at low tide, and would soon repopulate the bay. But now their annual value to any one is insignificant and constantly decreasing. THE SEED-OYSTERS OF SEEKONK RIVER.—There remains one river, nevertheless, where, under protection, the oysters are able to reproduce regularly every year. This is the Seekonk, which flows down past Pawtucket and Providence, with East Providence on its left, and numerous bridges and small shipping to worry its swift tides. The Seekonk has always been a favorite home of the oyster, and year by year the river contributes its quota to the tongers, through a space from the Wicksbury pier to nearly five miles above. This is due largely to the fact THE OYSTER-INDUSTRY. 5d that the oysters of the Seekonk, like those of the Taunton river, are vividly green. No better reason can be assigned than in the former case, and, like the others, this seed, when transplanted for a few months, entirely loses its verdant tint. Seekonk oysters, therefore, never go to market, but are all caught for the seed. This catching begins November 1, according to law, and must close on May 1. These dates are arranged with the purpose to prevent successful planting, and so protect the fishery; but the planters buy as long as the weather remains “open” and warm. Very little raking is done in this river in the spring. The men who catch it are rivermen, who work at this a few weeks in November and December, and the rest of the year do other water-work. The law forbids taking more than 10 bushels in one day to each boat, but if the seed is plentiful, this law is very often violated, since there is no officer to watch. Perhapsit is a direct good effect of these regulations, that 1875 and 1879 have witnessed the largest yield of Seekonk seed known in adozen years. The main buyers are Wilcox, Browne, Wall, and Adams, of India point; but everybody buys a few bushels who can. The catchers have to take what pay is offered them, but competition sometimes produces a good rate, the usual price being 25 cents a bushel. This being public ground, and everybody having a chance at it (many of the heavy owners send spare boats and crews up this river to rake at odd times), it is impossible to come at any close estimate of the amount of seed oysters taken from the Seekonk during the last year. The truth I believe to be somewhere between five and ten thousand bushels. It is a shapely, hardy seed, opening well, and is in general demand, some planters putting it at the head of the list for its good qualities. One year on its new bed suffices to remove totally the green tinge, and two years to make it marketable. SEED-OYSTERS FROM ADJOINING STATES.—The remainder of the seed-oysters planted in Narraganset bay come from the Connecticut shore, East river, Fire island and the Great South bay, Somerset (planted chiefly by those owning privileges in Taunton river), and from various parts of Buzzard’s bay. I often asked which was best, but could never get evidence of much superiority in any one kind. The success of a planting does not depend on the kind of seed put down, so much as it does upon a thousand circumstances of weather, water, and bottom. The seed which would do excellently in one cove would behave badly in the next, and vice versa, individual preferences being founded upon these varying and unexplained experiences. The seed from the south shore of Long Island used to be cheapest of all, and good; but a Boston demand ran up the price beyond the pockets of Rhode Island planters. In general, it may be said that any seed transplanted to Narraganset bay develops into a better oyster than it would have come to be if left in its native waters. UNDECIDED QUESTIONS IN OYSTER-PLANTING.—Similarly, it is hard to tell what has been the outcome of a particular planting—that is, how much profit is made—because it is inextricably mixed with various other work. Native seed put down and ready to grow, has cost on an average about 60 cents a bushel. To estimate profits on it is out of the question, until the oysters are all sold, nor eventhen. If all does well, treble value is calculated upon in three years’ growth. : ; It is not even decided whether it pays best to grow “natives” or fatten ‘“‘Chesapeakes”. The first year you plant a piece of ground the oysters do the best; the next year poorer; the third year they fail. Consequently, the oystermen try not to plant the same area continually, but shift their oysters around to allow the old ground to be revived by free contact with the rejuvenating sea. If left down in one place more than three years, it is said that many of the oysters die, from no reason but exhaustion. It is the universal opinion, that the character of the bottom has quite as much to do with their nourishment and good growth as has the water. On sand they grow slower than in mud, but are of better shape and flavor. Similarly, they need to be far enough apart not to crowd one another into deformity. Much ground that is not now suitable might be made so, but needs to be carefully prepared, if the planter has any hopes of catching spawn,* and the more intelligent say that carelessness in this respect, and a lack of any source of spat, is the reason why in the Warren river and at other points no “set” has occurred for many years, and the depositing of cultch, in the shape of old oyster-shells, has been in vain. It is found on the seed-grounds, that the more a spot is raked (not denuded by a dredge, but often raked), the more it produces. Cat point, Seekonk river, is one example of this; Somerset, after the fall-dredging, is another instance. To prepare a muddy tract, you need to pave it with shells. This is done early in the spring, 10,000 bushels of shells, say, being thrown on, at an expense of from $250 to $300. Then in June, when the shells have settled well into the mud and formed a strong surface, throw down more clean shells, and scatter a quantity of large living oysters just ready to spawn—100 bushels of “‘mothers” to three or four thousand bushels of shells. Scallop-shells make the best stools or cultch, because they are thin and brittle, and can casily be broken away from the seed when it is to be taken up and transplanted. You thus have the source of spawn, and its most suitable resting place, side by side. Great success in several instances has followed this plan, particularly in Greenwich bay and Apponaug cove, so far as the catching of spawn is concerned. One planter told me that he put down, in 1877, about $125 worth of eultch and mother-oysters at the latter place, and calculated that he obtained, in a few weeks, $10,000 worth of seed; but a little later it all died—why, he is unable to guess. Another gentleman, at the same place, last year, put down 1,609 bushels of shells and 60 bushels of spawning or mother-oysters. In the immediate vicinity of these he got a * The very meager account given of this form of true oyster-culture is supplemented in the chapters G and H on Connecticut and the East river, where the process is carried to a much greater degree of perfection. 56 THE FISHERIES OF THE UNITED STATES. good set; but on a closely adjacent bed, where there were no “ mothers”, not a young oyster was to be seen. He had had the same experience in the Kickamuit. On the other hand, the simple tumbling over of shells in the hope of catching drifting spawn, has proved almost universally a failure here. One man told me he had planted shells steadily for thirteen years in Providence river, and had got only one set worth mentioning. NATIVE OYSTERS AT BLOCK ISLAND.—On Block island, many years ago, there was an abundance of small oysters living in the pond that occupies so much of the interior of the island. For some reason, however, they were rarely found in a fit condition for food, but would serve to transplant. The oystermen at Clinton, Connecticut, and elsewhere, used to buy them, the price being 25 cents a bushel, delivered at their destination. The shells of these Block island oysters were so delicate, one planter told me, that it was easy to pinch your thumb and finger through them, and often there would be so much air and fresh water held within their half-vacant shells, that they would float when thrown overboard in planting, and drift away. All these oysters long ago disappeared, and no cultivation has been tried to replace them. Returning northward, I find that, at Bristol, several attempts to raise oysters have failed, and that the markets of this ancient and beautiful village are now supplied by Providence. 22. ENEMIES OF THE OYSTER IN NARRAGANSETT BAY. MEN AND STARFISHES.—The active enemies of the oyster in these waters are five: human thieves, popularly known as “ten-fingers”; starfishes, or “five-fingers”; winkles, drills, and annelid worms. I will not dwell upon these here, because the subject is fully discussed in another chapter devoted especially to these pests. Stricter measures of both guarding and punishing have, of late, put a stop to the stealing to a great extent. The starfishes have not been seriously troublesome, except in limited spots, since their memorable visit in 1860 and 1861, when they all but extirpated the business, and compelled it to move up to West and Diamond beds, now abandoned, where the water was too fresh to permit the starfishes to follow, and where a heavy fall of snow came to the aid of the oystermen, and finally killed the five-fingers, by freshening and chilling the water beyond their endurance. During the last two or three years, however, starfishes have become more numerous, particularly in the Bullock’s Point region, and have done much damage. MoLLusKs AND WorMS.—The winkles, or “wrinkles”, Sycotypus canaliculatus, seem also to be on the increase, and commit considerable damage. In many parts of the bay drills, Urosalpinx cinerea, occur abundantly, and rapidly destroy the seed and younger oysters, not attacking the old ones so readily. In Taunton river, a few years ago, this little mollusk made clean work, eating nine-tenths of all the seed between Somerset and Assonet. In Pawtuxet, this year, the oystermen have been greatly troubled by multitudes of annelid worms, Serpule, whose tortuous, cylindrical cases are formed thickly upon every shell, and serve to collect a coating of cases, sand, mud, ete., which is often half an inch or more thick. This is known locally as “sanding-up” or “loading”, and under its infliction the mollusks suffer greatly in quality, probably through the fact that the parasitic worms, which feed upon the same organisms as the oysters, extract much of the nourishment from the water, which otherwise would go to make them fatter. One or two other minor animal agencies inimical to the oyster are at work all the time. 23. STATISTICS OF THE OYSTER-TRADE OF RHODE ISLAND. CAPITAL INVESTED.—The amount of capital invested in this district it is almost impossible to come at. It probably approaches $1,000,000, including perhaps $300,000 or $350,000 worth of seed-oysters growing on the beds. One-third or more of this property is owned in Boston, and the necessary money for carrying on operations comes thence, but is represented by men who also do more or less private planting on their own account. Of course this is chiefly in the hands of a dozen or more planters on the list; the forty or fifty others will not average a greater sum than $1,000 each invested in this business, which is chiefly conducted personally, close to their bay-side homes, and without hired help, by selling to home-shippers. The expensive warehouses required by some of the wholesale dealers and shippers in the city of Providence count largely in the estimate of capital involved; and the boats used are of a good class. YIELD AND VALUE OF THE OYSTER-BEDS.—The yield of the beds and its value, appears in the following table: Bushels. 1879. Native oysters produced on beds owned in Rhode Island -......-.---------------+--0+---------------- 108,200 Sonthernvoysters OUihO- c.--s. o 2-0 t eo ce occ -femnyeneale see eeiaaaecenincas Sees se << tae aee eee 274, 300 Native oysters produced on beds owned out of the state .......--.----.-------------+-----+ ---+------- 40, 000 Southern oysters, WuhOlee ees a anna om - an ae enon eee elena ine nia bla «=m aialele nie eee 238, 000 Total Narraganset production ....-.--.- sfoinsseos Aas eeeieeee eats Sema iseieceea= |OGN,(000 The total value of this, and some additional annual business, will amount to at least $600,000, at the original wholesale price paid the producer. PRICES AND WAGES.—The prices at which oysters were sold by wholesale dealers in the city of Providence, during 1879, were the following: Virginias, in shell, selected, $1 to $1 25 per bushel; Virginia plants, common, 90 THE OYSTER-INDUSTRY. 57 cents per gallon; Virginia plants, selected, $1 25 per gallon; natives, in shell, $1 25 to $1 50 per bushel; at retail, 25 to 35 cents a quart, of all kinds. Some “fancy” lots, of course, brought higher rates than these prevailing market prices. In “ Arnold’s” and other restaurants the most palatable oysters possible are laid upon the counter to tempt the appetite. Those from Gaspé point, purely native-grown, are recognized as the very best of all, and sell for five cents a piece. They are delicious. So great an industry, of course, gives support to a numerous body of citizens in this district, at least during part of the year. In the summer so little is done that comparatively few are employed, this number including only the proprietors of beds. the dealers and assistants who are obliged to keep their shops open, and the few men required for catching oysters for the feeble market, for spreading shells and planting seed, and for watching the safety of the beds. Reckoning the proprietors as perhaps 100 in all, the addition of the rest employed the year*round would bring the total up to about 250; but this varies considerably from year to year. They are paid by the week, as a rule, wages running from $7 to $14, and averaging about $10. For the colder half of the year, “the season,” as it is called, large additional help is needed, both on the water and in the opening-houses that are placed close to the shore at various points, or on the wharves in the southern part of Providence city. Taking all the oyster-houses together at the head of Narraganset bay, I find about 350 openers employed. Add this to the 250 counted up as otherwise employed, and I have 600 men as the total. A very large proportion of these men are married; and I believe it would not be unfair, all things considered, to multiply this 600 by 4, which would give us 2,400 persons of all sexes and ages su, ported chiefly by the oyster-industry in the Rhode Island district. I believe this is short of the truth. The sum of the wages paid is somewhere about $125,000 annually. OYSTER OPENERS AND THEIR METHODS.—Separating the meat from the shell is known in Providence as “cutting out” an oyster. The “cutters” or openers are taken from a low grade of society, as a rule, and are about one-half foreigners, mostly natives of Ireland. During the summer many of them go “bony-fishing”, 7. e., in chase of the menhaden, Brevoortia tyrannus, others get a living in various capacities along the shore and on the water, and a large portion of them are common laborers. No women are employed here in the opening houses. I was told that an experiment made in employing them some years ago was regarded as a failure. Very few boys are to be seen, also. Here the only method followed is that known as “side-opening”. The opener holds the oyster in the palm of his unsupported left hand, which is protected by a sort of gauntlet of leather, while he pries the shells apart with his knife. This is a quicker method than any other, but it is very laborious, causing a hard strain upon the muscles of the hand and wrist, and upon those of the left side. It has an advantage, however, of producing less breaking and refuse than any other style of cutting out. The oyster-meats, nevertheless, are carefully washed by being stirred about in large collenders, through which clean water isrunning. This gets rid, at the same time, of course, of all the natural moisture or liquor of the oyster, and the result is known as “solid” measurement. The payment for opening oysters is made at the rate of so much per gallon “solid” or “in liquor”,-as agreed upon; if the former, 12 cents is the usual price the present season; if the latter, 17 and 20 cents is demanded. From $1 to $2 a day is earned while work lasts. The amount of difference between a gallon of oysters measured “solid” and one measured “in the liquor”, depends on the condition of the stock. It is the universal complaint this year, that all Rhode Island mollusks are “ opening poor”; that is, there is too much liquor and too little meat in the shells. This is universally attributed to the fact that the present autumn (1879) has been very dry; more rain would have made the oysters “fatter”. At present it takes three liquor-gallons to make two solid ones, at their best; but in some years the difference is almost nothing, and then the oystermen will say: ‘You couldn’t press the meat back into its own shell, after opening,” so rich and elastic are the juicy bodies. STATISTICAL RECAPITULATION FOR RHODE ISLAND: INNES O OLE J CTI ISS age oes COS SOMES TET ey Aer Oe Pi esr ae aise ye Ns repr er Nie Sb 100 INENMETIONNOSHCES ANMIOC Os aces eto ta Se osc see te ceinn soecintnes cs ace recees: element asec dente woe febeon cece 56 PRLeninGMoTOUnOICUtiVate di nenas = stetee slosese nls tee coe ferceenseticat coe | eee cee eee aes eae eee acres... 962 Malaelotiisamer(about) aust: +. SSess. oe saet 2 chs REE shoes Sak Ss a LE eee $15, 000 Walneroleshore-property (abOub)) sasces- 2 c-cssarsersocs dees bac acts eee ers. oe eee SOO Ric ae ee een eee $75, 000 Num eromhonatsiengapeds 2222, 2 ase at temas desis sien on hac candmae Se seleose bs eae bas Seabee e = 100 Value of same, with outfit..........-..--.. tlre Sache acciins eee ee alco somes erie Aen oe eee ee $20, 000 Number of men hired by planters or dealers through the whole year ..............--..-------++---------- 150 PATE A RGA OMG SO Pen aING Mise tee eee ey aes alias cls als Pa aene em aaeae cece e Meseeioe celdene suse coc doltaes os oot $75, 000 INuINbeL Ofamnenhiredubalfgiery Galas 5-4 acc le cascas se Mese ewan see eee e aoe ae tea seeks dake oe a sisee 350 SSM ANNU aoa MIN OSO MES AINO tert rake tas eto ow ain, Seta meee ata ae eae wae eae Se sae = Mecac dseeeis ate $50, 000 Number of families supported, exclusive of retail-trade, about--..-.....-... 22. .---2+ concen cence ec ecee cone 500 Annual sales (1879) of— ee Naiiivieroyaters in conc seisae a chea we aeisac. cnlciewiers cetera aise oes ceutcaea ceraecdcben cee bushels... 148, 200 Miailerof, SamOsecsaeAt foeadise ec oa oe weiss So core sewer See Seen ee eee Mae : Aj eee $205, 500 iC hesapealke: “planta ice. tele one aa'sieks= eae eames aarestae a= qatar ae Os ele cs ~ cade oe = aee bushels... 74, 300 AVielltnOlO fe SaiM Ge i2)= troy ee ere eye eee ree ea a a aire etctoial o Bein meee aie tere iciteie Seis iae Sec s-nio orsinte SoS RS $200, 000 EP Wan eye SOC Kc acist cae oCit «waist oaccge yarn cee eien Om aaas satan oc aiacwcae G o0 os aia vod -aicecaieoes bushels... 15, 000 RV LOR CLES SNICS ee sete ee as ete na eee eee 2 Lome een ck oe sae coco sell dee eee eee $20, 000 IVebaltmiore: and Nortolk: “opened stock --s2c2 s-24--- 2- secre -s-as- 2a-02s-eseeee eee gallons... 8, 650 WITS CE TEND 2 2) Sees a ae ee SS Sen ee = a re a Se oe A ae a $5, 000 Value of oysters raised in Rhode Island, but owned elsewhere -...... .....---------20 eeen-e ence eee ene eee $250, 000 Total first value of all oysters produced in Narragansett bay, annually........-...----..22.----0---s----- $680, 500 58 THE FISHERIES OF THE UNITED STATES. F. COAST OF CONNECTICUT. 24. OYSTER-INDUSTRIES EAST OF NEW HAVEN. NATURAL AND ARTIFICIAL BEDS NEAR NEw Lonpon.—The extreme eastern point on the Connecticut shore where any oysters occur, is in the neighborhood of New London. A few miles east of the mouth of the Thames, in the township of Groton, is an inlet and river known as Pequonock. In !877 several gentlemen leased about 35 acres of ponds on the east side of this river. In one of these ponds, containing about 15 acres, native oysters grew upon the rocks and around the edges. A portion of the bottom of this pond they prepared for oyster-raising, by spreading scallop-shells over six acres, and gravel and beach-sand over two acres. Here they planted some 2,500 bushels of seed-from Stony Creek, Clinton, and Fair Haven, Connecticut, at a total expense of between $4,000 and $5,000. These oysters have grown finely, but as yet few have been taken to market. This year (1879~80) has been a comparatively poor one for them. The oysters in Pequonock river are deep and cup-shaped, not of large size, and with a thin, white, flinty shell. Locally, they are very highly esteemed. Another locality where this firm has undertaken oyster-cultivation, is In the Niantic river, an inlet just west of the Thames, where they have had 20 acres set off for the purpose, and have ulready planted some seed. In Alewife cove, between Niantic bay and the Thames, they have also several acres of ground which they purpose preparing in the near future. A few oysters are now being put upon the market from these ponds, and have met with a good reception, at high prices. These planters believe that a grand success awaits them: others assert that the waters are unsuitable, and that little of importance will result. Three persons are employed. In the river Thames, years ago, were great numbers of indigenous oysters. Thousands of bushels were annually obtained for the markets of the neighboring towns. These oysters were of good quality, and generally of immense size. Planting, however, was never a success, owing to the great freshets which often sweep down the river, and also owing to the impurities that are cast so plentifully into the stream from the drainage of the towns and from multitudinous factories along the tributary streams. Nevertheless, a few native ‘“‘ Norwich river” oysters are annually caught, except in the close season, between March 1 and November 1, and there are half a dozen persons in Norwich who deal in them and in other oysters, but the whole city’s trade, probably, does not amoent to 10,000 bushels a year of “natives” and “Chesapeakes” combined, and is decreasing. At New London, the oystermen own ground at-Bullock’s point and Drownville, in Providence river, Rhode Island. Upon those tracts, in 1879, they bedded about 15,000 bushels of Virginia oysters, in addition to receiving a winter’s supply of 35,000 bushels. New London and its neighborhood also consumes about 700 bushels of fancy oysters annually, mainly brought from Providence, Rhode Island. The prices at this point, in 1879, were, for southern oysters, 80 cents to $1 a gallon; for native stock, 50 cents a quart, or $1 60a gallon, wholesale. Twenty cents a solid quart is paid for opening. There are employed here in the winter months 12 men on oyster-vessels and 25 men on shore, besides the principals. These are mostly heads of families, who engage in menhaden-fishing in summer. OYSTERS IN SAYBROOK.—Moving westward from New London, the first village of consequence is Saybrook. There is a small stream here called Oyster river, that produces a variety of the bivalves after which it is named, which are sa‘d to be of superior quality. Mr. John N. Clark kindly made inquiries for me, and reports that the production is trifling. Fifteen or twenty persons engage in these native fisheries at odd hours, getting so few bushels each, that the total gathered in the whole season will probably amount to no more than a hundred. Five years ago the town appointed a committee on the subject, and several persons received grants of land for the purpose of cultivating oysters, but the obstacles (chiefly thieving) were so many that no one has persisted in the attempt, either to bed southern oysters or to raise native stock. OYSTERS IN CLinTon.—At Clinton, a little village settled under the name of Kenilworth (afterwards eorrentad into Killingworth), at the mouth of the Hammonaset river, the oyster-business is of long growth, and is somewhat peculiar. The harbor, in old times, contained an abundance of large, succulent oysters, but these have been all-but exhausted in one way or another. About twenty-five years ago the planting began in the harbor, the seed then used being caught mainly at home or brought from Block island. The harbor, at present, contains about 200 acres suitable for oyster-growth. Formerly there was much more, but a few years ago the sea made a breach through the peninsula which incloses the harbor, by which the southerly storms are given so fierce an entrance into the bay, that any attempt at oyster- work, or even at navigation, over much of the water-space, is rendered utterly futile. If this breach, locally known as fe Dardanelles, could be filled up—and the cost, I was informed, would not exceed $1,000—a thousand acres, or more, would be Bade to the oyster-bottom. The bottom is hard, the water nowhere too deep for tonging, and of about the right degree of freshness. Mud and sand drift so badly in winter, however, that no oysters can be left down during that season. The practice, therefore, is to put down not only Virginias, but natives of so large a growth that they shall be marketable the next winter. Years ago a much larger number THE OYSTER-INDUSTRY. 59 of Virginia oysters were planted than at present—often 20,000 bushels—but the business has changed, until now only 8,000 bushels a year are demanded. The freight from the Chesapeake is 12 cents a bushel, and the following four schooners find employment: J. H. Chaffee, 130 tons; Mary Stow, 160 tons; G. A. Hayden, 108 tons; Helen P., 146 tons. A fair “set” occurs in Clinton harbor every year, and in 1877 there happened a very heavy one. A certain quantity of this survives, and about 1,000 bushels are utilized annually. The majority of the “native” oysters, however, are raised from seed bought along the shore to the westward, that from Norwalk being preferred. This costs from 75 cents to $1 a bushel, and is planted in April. It is ready to take up late in the following autumn, and has grown rapidly, and into handsome shape. The quality, also, is most excellent, such oysters selling for from $1 to $1 50a bushel, at wholesale. The annual production of this stock amounts to 2,000 bushels. The only enemy of the oyster here is the drill; but this is sadly abundant. To recapitulate, Clinton produces annually— Bushels. Or southern planta yao Geers so) seal eet i eeitee fee la eine ee ne oalnic om ania een Oe elena eee ea in 8, 000 Ol Connecti cubp atest DOUG ee ent ane ase oer ra wae ow lonelier icacicins lene eee) == ein == =a) ase cm 2, 000 OPmatame Oysters ya DOM tosses ae tesece tee seeines nec oee lene oe nieneces/-2--clemeumcioncis cmev cela ='liniain's(eer~ l= 1, 000 Pgs Goh Be a cr a ae aerate Bn ae ae ee ee Sees cab oe bee ieeata ce wate anitatataats 11, 000 The total investment here, which at present will not exceed $10,000, is divided among about fifteen planters, and affords a partial livelihood for perhaps a score of families. The bottom of the margin of the sound off the vitages of Madison and East River has been staked off to a considerable extent, but is utilized by only one firm of oyster-producers. Mr, Elihu Kelsey has kindly reported to me, by letter, upon the extent of their operations. Their beds consist of six acres or more, and are near a small island called Overshore. This area is protected on its southern side by high reefs of rocks. They have a second bed of about 12 acres extent, a mile and a half eastward near Tufas island, in 20 feet of water, with hard, sandy bottom, where they are experimenting. They also own a third bed near Guilford harbor of 24 acres, on which they have spread “2,000 bushels of shells and a good many small stones, on which the oysters ‘set’? and grew for four years, and were the best in the world; but the water is too shoal without artificial protection, and the storms and thieves have ruined the bed”. As not enough “set” is caught upon the stools, a thousand bushels or so of seed- oysters are annually raked from the natural beds in the vicinity of East River, or bought from dealers in Stony Creek and New Haven and planted upon the beds. These various beds yielded, during 1879, about 1,200 bushels, the most of which were sold in the shell at $1 to $1 50 per bushel. For opened oysters $1 60 a gallon was received. No southern oysters were handled in any shape. In respect to the drawbacks and general condition of the business at East River, Mr. Kelsey writes: “The first drawback to success is the lack of good protection from storms which might be remedied by the construction of a breakwater. The second is the constant alteration of the state laws designed to protect the industry. The third drawback is thieving. The present condition of our producing beds is good ; and the prospect is, that with plenty of hard labor our venture will be remunerative. We find the character of the soil to be of the greatest importance. On our producing-bed the mineral ingredient of the soil is iron. This renders the oysters healthy and of the finest flavor, so that our customers say they cannot be excelled.” OYSTER-CULTURE IN GUILFORD.—At Guilford some inshore ground is cultivated, but this is not of great capacity. Outside, west of Goose island, they have improved about 160 acres in water from seven to ten fathoms deep, upon a hard, sandy bottom. This outer tract has not as yet had time to yield much. The spreading of shells in the hope of catching spawn, appears futile, for the sufficient reason that there are no living oysters in the vicinity to produce the spat. A large quantity of seed has therefore been placed on this area. This seed was procured partly in the Guilford river, although there is great opposition to its being taken, and has largely been bought in the western part of the state. Besides this, several hundred bushels of large-sized oysters have been scattered among the planted shells, to produce the spawn which it is desired to catch. A small set has already been obtained, and next year some harvest will begin. The oysters heretofore and at present obtained at Guilford, from the artificial inshore beds which have been in existence for thirty years, are of large size and fine shape. Their flavor is excellent. Formerly they were sold regularly to Hartford buyers at $8 and $9 a barrel; now, however, they are worth only $4 to $5. About 800 bushels a year comprise the total yield at present. No Virginia oysters are planted at Guilford. Experiments showed that the practice was not successful. The great drawback upon the inshore ground is the drifting of sand and mud, which is likely to occur in storms; the drills, also, are troublesome, but I did not hear that starfishes had caused much damage thus far. The native river-oysters at Guilford formerly lined the whole river, opposite the town, for three or four miles. A town-regulation early prohibited the taking of more than two bushels a day by one person, but this has been more or less evaded, and now the fishery is of little value, all the oysters taken being very small; yet there is so strong a popular prejudice against utilizing any of this product in seeding the artificial beds, or against allotting 60 THE FISHERIES OF THE UNITED STATES. the suitable ground in the exhausted river for cultivation, that the town voted to not avail itself of the privileges granted by the state, in general statutes, which are as follows: Sec. 12. ‘The selectmen of Guilford may lease, for not exceeding ten years, all ground of the town in East and West rivers, suitable for planting or cultivating oysters, to the highest bidder,” at public auction; but no lease shall be made to any person of more than five acres, nor toaminor. ‘‘ The leases shall be executed by the selectmen, as deeds of real estate, reserving to said town the rents for such grounds, * * * and any lessee shall, during the term of his lease, be the owner of all the oysters thereon, but shall not take any oysters therefrom in the night season.” This ratification, as I have stated, was refused, and a two-bushel protective regulation was made instead. About 600 acres of land have been set apart for oyster-cultivation in the waters of the sound, outside of this harbor, besides that already mentioned near shore. No improvement, however, has yet been made upon this area. OYSTER-CULTURE IN STony CREEK.—The next point of oyster-culture is Stony Creek, where the large collection of islets known as The Thimbles affords excellent opportunity for planting and raising. Organized business here is of comparatively recent date, but native oysters of extra quality were always to be had for the raking in the harbor. The largest dealer is the Stony Creek Oyster Company, N. P. Miner, president, which was established in 1868, and now owns 400 acres of ground devoted to the growing of oysters, and has a capital stock of $42,000. The Stony Creek Oyster Company raises annually about 15,500 bushels of natives, and employs six men. All the stock is sold in shell, shipping in barrels, and opening little or nothing. The other persons engaged in planting have spent a good deal of money here in getting the foundation of a business laid, but with small actual results as yet. There is also a large class of citizens who cultivate for personal use, or sell to a trifling extent, and so get a partial support out of the industry. It was very difficult ‘to gather any exact or approximate figures, therefore, outside of the oyster company’s report; but I judge that all the other producers together, added to the 15,500 bushels reported by President Miner, will not bring the total production of Stony Creek, in 1879, above 20,000 bushels. The prospects at this point seem very good. Some Jarge sloops are employed in dredging, and it is proposed to employ steam very soon. An air of unusual thrift is observable about the oyster-houses on the shore, which do not, as is too often the case, disfigure the pleasant scene. Stony Creek is a favorite source of seed-supply to the planters of Rhode Island, and probably one-fourth of the year’s yield is sold in the spring for this purpose, the purchasers sending sloops to be loaded. Stony Creek beds had a good set in 1879, very little in 1878, but a massive collection of spawn in 1877. ‘The great obstacle to success along this part of the coast, is the lack of smooth, hard bottom, and the liability of the ever-present mud, to be moved about and settle upon the oyster-beds in such quantities as to kill the young and stunt the old ones. The oysters grow in clusters, and are likely to be of large size, long and slender, forming “ coon-heels” and “razor-blades”. They are so clogged with mud when brought ashore, that a stream from a hose must be turned upon the heap before the clusters can be broken apart, preparatory to the culling for size. OYSTER-CULTURE IN BRANFORD AND EAST HAveN.—At Branford, a few miles westward, about the same state of things exists, and there are some additional discouragements, making the prospect less bright than at Stony Creek. Some who have tried it assert, that Branford is good for nothing as an oyster-nursery, but others have a brighter faith. It formerly had more prosperity than at present, in this line. The river was a great natural oyster-bed, but has now become nearly depopulated, and it is hard to get any seed for the outer beds. The starfishes are reported to have damaged the beds very greatly in 1878, and the drill is an ever present enemy. Southerly storms often bury the oyster-beds here wholly out of sight. This misfortune happened to one planter, after an expenditure of over $1,200 on artificial beds inside of Stony island. The whole product of the locality last year, was about 3,500 bushels, and half a dozen families are supported. Off Branford and East Haven’s coast, in the deeper water of the sound, more or less ground has been granted to strangers, but the results are nothing, as yet. At the village of East Haven about 80 acres are under cultivation in the off-shore waters of the sound, devoted wholly to native oysters, for which seed is procured from neighboring beds, or spawn is caught on planted shells. In 1879 the catch was 3,000 bushels, all of which were sold iv the shell at an average price of $1 per bushel. It is supposed there remain 20,000 bushels of oysters on the ground, subject to risks from heavy storms and creeping enemies. The mode of catching is by dredges at all seasons, and three men find employment at $2 Wages per day. STATISTICAL SUMMARY FOR EASTERN CONNECTICUT.—Recapitulating the statistics of this eastern district of Connecticut, we find the following result for 1879 : Number of ‘acres'improved- about... cos occcons ecco tees ocean Cen ecises sos ecnictee ea aan eee eee ee 900 Number of familiesisupportedsabout-- =-.-42o.ce ease eee Sac ce ee ae oa secant Sees CisnSHaeSosehos 109 Number of bushels of “natural growth” oysters marketed, about ..---..---------------------+-------+-- 8, 700 Number of bushels of southermoysters Used s.-. 2. cs cron ce ccna -- coe cece ane sedeee tens en icceme stone oeeeans 65, 000 Number of bushels northern planted oysters sold, about........-.-.---- ---- seee coe eee e en eene-- anne ---- 34, 000 Number'of vessels engaged’: schooners,'6; sloops, 20---. .-.. 2-2-2 .ccen cowe ce ence snes ecoa case ones sccens 26 Amountunvested in fixtures, etc, about masce-eoc- aase cane Scene cee nee aeeeenasae eee ene seen seeeeneeaepsOnUU THE OYSTER-INDUSTRY. 61 25. EARLY OYSTER-TRADE AT NEW HAVEN. ABUNDANCE OF OYSTERS IN FORMER DAys.—New Haven is one of the principal depots of the oyster-trade in Connecticut, and in the United States. With New Haven, however, I include Fair Haven, South Haven, West Haven, and Milford, since the business all around and off the mouth of the harbor is substantially united. From the earliest times the borders of the Quinepiac river, on the eastern boundary of the city of New Haven, have been the scene of oyster-operations. Shell-heaps along its banks show how the aborigines sought in its waters, season after season, the best of bivalves, and the earliest settlers followed their example. Natural beds of oysters were scattered over the bottom of the whole river for three miles, clear up to the North Haven salt meadows, and at intervals along the eastern shore of the harbor, where favorable coves existed. At all points these mollusks were convenient of access. The result was that the raking of oysters in this river, and along the eastern shore of the harbor at its mouth, which was a free privilege, was early adopted as a business by many persons who lived near the banks, and a considerable retail peddling-trade was thus kept up throughout the neighborhood, in addition to the home-supply. Wagon-loads of opened oysters in kegs, traveled in winter to the interior towns, even as far as Albany, and thence westward by canal. 26. ORIGIN AND DEVELOPMENT OF THE SOUTHERN TRADE. IMPORTATION FROM NEW JERSEY AND THE CHESAPEAKE.—It came about, that among the first places in New England to import oysters from New Jersey, and then from Virginia, to be transplanted for additional growth, was Fair Haven; and it is probable that far more oysters were brought there from the Chesapeake twenty years, or even ten years ago, than now are. At that time a large fleet of Connecticut vessels was employed in this traffie every winter, and some stirring traditions remain of perilous voyages during that icy season. They were better oysters that came in those days, also, than now. While a large majority of these cargoes were at once sent into the current of winter-trade, and distributed to customers all over the state (for no other harbor fattened “Ohesapeakes” to any extent), a quarter or so of the whole season’s importation was regularly bedded down, in April and May, to supply the summer and fall demand. The favorite bedding-ground then, as now, was “The Beach”, a sand-spit running off into the harbor for more than a mile from the Orange (western) shore. This is bare to a great extent at low tide, but covered everywhere at high tide, and is the best possible place for its purpose. The ground on this beach rents at from two to five cents a bushel, according to location. Those occupying the Beach each year—in 1879 they were 23 in number—form themselves into a mutual protective association, and provide watchmen who never leave the ground. Formerly these watchmen lived in boats housed in, but now, upon opposite extremities of the Beach, piles have been driven and two houses have been built, where these men live, and whence they walk or row about day and night to guard the property. They go on duty at the time of the first planting, and remain until the last oyster is gathered, a period usually about nine months long. Their wages are only $40 a month, and it would seem to be an extremely tedious duty; yet there is no lack of volunteers for the places. But I have shot ahead of my subject, in following out this matter to its present status ; let me return to a past period. The Virginia trade began about forty or fifty years ago, Captain Merritt Farran having been the first man to bring them. His cargo was a sloop-load of about 600 bushels, profitably sold. The trade rapidly grew into immense proportions. Just when it was at its zenith it is hard to say—probably about thirty years ago—and it was then very profitable. The Fair Haven establishments had branch-houses in all the inland cities, as far as Chicago and St. Louis, and it was reported that the profits of a single house, from 1852 to 1856, amounted to $25,000 a year. Levi Rowe & Co., alone, in 1856, are said to have employed 20 vessels, and 100 openers. and to have sold 150,000 gallons of oysters, while companion-houses shipped from 1,000 to 1,500 bushels per day throughout the season. In 1857-58, according to De Broca, from 200 to 250 schooners were employed in supplying the establishments of Connecticut from the Chesapeake and Fair Haven, which alone, he says, made use of 2,000,000 bushels, but this undoubtedly was a large exaggeration ; one-half of that would certainly more than cover the facts. Half a dozen years later, when De Broca wrote, the decline was very perceptible. DE BRoCA’Ss DESCRIPTION OF NEW HAVEN IN 1862.—Some extracts from Lieutenant De Broca’s report, made in 1862, to the French government, upon the oyster-industries of the United States, and reprinted in the first report of the United States Fish Commission, will present interesting, if not wholly trustworthy, reminiscences of New Haven at that time, where Lieut. De Broca is well remembered. This writer says: New Hayen, the capital of Connecticut, ranks next to Boston in importance, in the oyster-trade. The business is divided into two distinct branches, the culture of oysters and the various occupations connected with their transportation to the towns of the interior The principal plantations are situated in the bay. Commencing at a short distance from the head of the great pier, they extend over a distance of about three miles, almost without interruption; on the one hand to the southern part of the sandy point, and on the other to Morris creek, always leaving free the channels of navigation leading to the harbor. 62 THE FISHERIES OF THE UNITED STATES. The maritime ground on which they are established is partially exposed at low tide. In some cases, however, the plantations are constantly submerged, and are at a depth varying from 1 to 6 feet, when the water is lowest. The soil is formed of sand and mud, mingled with sea-weed, and the stratum of mud, upon which the oysters rest, is about three inches thick. The spectacle presented on entering the harbor is most curious. As far as the eye can see, the bay is covered with myriads of branches, waving in the wind, or swayed by the force of the currents. It looks as if a forest were submerged, the tops of the trees only rising above the surface of the water. At certain distances on the plantations, large boats are anchored or moored to posts, having a small house built upon them for the accommodation of the men appointed to watch the grounds. They are four in number. The wages of these guardians of the property amount to about $30 a month, and are paid by the association of planters. This system of surveillance is indispensable, since most of the plantations are at a distance from the harbor, and might be invaded with impunity, especially at night. About five hundred men are employed in planting oysters in the spring, and in gathering them in the proper season to supply the necessities of commerce, The New Haven banks have a very high reputation, and the number of bushels planted annually is estimated at 250,000. The establishments engaged in the transportation-business are mostly at Fair Maven, a charming village, beautifully situated. Some are at Oyster Point, on the western part of the bay. At Fair Haven the Quinepiac is about a mile and a half wide,* and is protected from the winds on the south and east by a chain of wooded hills, lying parallel with its course. It forms a beautiful smooth sheet of water, until its entrance into the bay, where the currents are very strong, but not sufficiently so to disturb the plantations established in the bed of the river. Some of the dealers, before using the oysters, deposit them for two or three days in the Quinepiac, the saltish water giving the flesh a better appearance. The establishments of the dealers are on both sides of the river, and many of them are built partly in the water, in order that the fishermen may discharge their cargoes with greater ease. The dealers send raw oysters away in small wooden barrels, called kegs, or in tin cans, containing about a quarter of a gallon. During the winter, wooden barrels are considered a sufficient protection ; but in warm weather, and when the mollusks are to be sent to a distance, tin boxes are used exclusively. The work of packing is accomplished in the same building where the oysters are shelled, or in one near at hand; and whatever may be the receptacle used, it must contain only a quarter of its capacity of juice. A tinner is employed in each establishment to close the cases, by soldering a small round piece of tin over the opening. The cases are then placed in a refrigerator, where they remain until sent to the railroad. When dispatched to distant cities, those of the West for instance, the cases are inclosed in a box of pine wood containing about a dozen. These are tightly packed, and a space is left in the middle of the box for the reception of a piece of ice, which preserves the oysters until they reach their destination. The number of barrels and boxes or cases required annually, at Fair Haven, is so great that two large manufactories have been established for the manufacture of these articles, and they employ about one hundred and fifty persons. That for the making of kegs uses steam as a motive power. Everything in the establishment is done by machinery. One machine cuts out the staves, a second the bottom; others pierce the holes, and form the plugs. The kegs, at wholesale, bring the following prices: Kegs containing a gallon, $1 08 a dozen; kegs containing a half-gallon, 94 cents a dozen. Tin cases are worth $5 50 a hundred. Oysters without the shell are divided into two classes—those of large size selling for twenty cents a gallon more than the others. They sell at the rate of $3 for half a dozen cases, each of which contains from seventy to one hundred mollusks. Tor FAR HAVEN OYSTER-TRADE IN 1857.—A very eareful account of the business, as it seems to me, was printed in the New York Tribune of January 9, 1857, access to which I owe to the liberality of Mr. Thomas F. DeVoe, of New York. It says that 80 vessels were then bringing oysters to Pair Haven. They were mainly schooners of 2,000 to 4,500 bushels capacity, and were generally .owned in Fair Haven, but many additional ones were occasionally chartered. The capital invested there was considered little short of $1,000,000. Describing the village and its methods during the busy season, this article continues: There are the openers, the washers, the measurers, the fillers, the packers, ete., each of which performs only the duties pertaining to its own division. At this season of the year (January) few of the oysters are ‘‘ planted”, but are generally taken directly from the vessel to the places occupied by the openers, who form a large number of operatives, and are composed of females and boys, who earn from $5 to $9 per week. An expert at this branch will open 100 quarts per day, but the average is not perhaps over 65 quarts. The standard price is, I think, 24 cents per quart. This work gives employment to many hundreds, and much of the work is performed at private dwellings, thus affording opportunity for labor to many who cannot go into a general workshop. The oysters,as they come from the vessel, are heaped upon the center of the room, the operators occupying the wall-sides. Each person has before him a small desk or platform, some 3 feet in height, on which is placed, as occasion requires, about half a bushel of oysters, from which the opener takes his supply. On the stand is a small anvil, on which, with a small hammer, the edge of the shell is broken, The operative is provided with a knife and hammer, both of which are held in the right hand at the time the shell is broken, when the latter is dropped and the knife does its work. Two tubs or pails, of about three gallons capacity each, are placed within about 3 feet of the workman, into which he throws, with great dexterity and rapidity, the luscious morsel whichis to tickle the palate and gratify the taste of some dweller in the far West. The object of placing these vessels of reception so far from the operator is to prevent, as much as possible, the deposit of the original liquor with the oyster. * * * From the opening-room the oysters are taken to the filling-room, and thence to the packing department. In the filling-room, on a platform, are placed a dozen or more kegs or cans, with the bungs out. The oysters are first poured into a large hopper pierced with holes, in which they are thoroughly washed and drained, when they are ready to be deposited in packages. This is done by placing a funnel in the aperture of the keg, by one person, while another ‘‘measures and pours”. This operation is performed with great rapidity, two or three men being able to fill some 2,000 kegs in a day. After depositing the requisite number of ‘solid oysters”, as they are termed, in each package, a pipe conveying fresh water is applied, and the vacant space filled with nature’s beverage—the bungs placed and driven home—when it is ready to be shipped, In hot weather, the article adds, kegs are placed in boxes surrounded with broken ice. One firm, Rowe & Co., used 150,000 kegs a year, costing about $15,000. THE OYSTER-TRADE OF Farr HAVEN IN 1879.--Except that the use of the little wooden kegs has been abandoned for the most part, and that opening is no longer done at the homes of the workmen, but wholly at the planter’s warehouse, the foregoing report presents a good picture of the Fair Haven of to-day. * The Fair Haven iron bridge is just 150 paces in length.—E. I. THE OYSTER-INDUSTRY. 63 With the growth of so extensive a business, in so confined a space, came the attendant evil of too severe competition. About 1850, therefore, one or two Fair Haven men of energy conceived the idea of taking their warehouses to the oysters, instead of bringing the mollusks so far to the salesroom. They therefore opened branch houses in Baltimore. Others followed, and the names of Maltby, Mallory, Hemingway, Rowe, and their confréres, long familiar in Connecticut, and identified then as now with the oyster-business on the Quinepiac, became equally well known along the Chesapeake, and, through wide advertisements, over the whole country. All the great Baltimore firms of old standing originated in Fair Haven, just as Wellfleet, an obscure village on Cape Cod, supplied Portland, Boston, and Providence, with its oystermen. The result was the same in both cases; the home interests retrograded when metropolitan advantages began to be used in competition, and at Fair Haven considerable and rapid changes in methods, as well as the results of trade, have come about. All of the foregoing remarks have applied to the imported Chesapeake oysters, which were brought in the spring, fattened on the sand-bars in the harbor, and taken up in the autumn. Then, as now, New Haven harbor had no competition in this branch of trade worth speaking of anywhere else in the state; and it may be dismissed, so far as the whole of Long Island sound is concerned, with the remark, that many or all of the old dealers continue to bring and plant southern oysters, which they open in the fall and winter, but a good proportion confine themselves wholly to raising and disposing of natives. The Chesapeake oysters brought into this locality in 1879 amounted to about 450,000 bushels. Those from the Rappahannock are the favorites for winter use, and are imported almost exclusively; for planting purposes, however, Rappahannock oysters are undesirable, and those from Fishing Bay, Saint Mary’s, and Chrisfield, are preferred. But this may be wholly changed in a year or two. The names of the principal dealers appear in the appended table. Tum NEw HAVEN OYSTER-FLEET.—The vessels employed in this trade are rarely owned in New Haven, as used to be the case, but mainly hail from New York. The following is the list, so far as I have been able to complete it—all schooners: Name. Tons. Name. Tons. Name. Tons. William Farren --..--.....-.- Sy eses ones CD USSG Wie eee Se eseobeecoon ==) (Ebteny les MWenCiitiecoesoseecoascressoses i eehelnan ose epee se ee naa OS) MORNING) SURTe. eae oie naren aa eee, OD) | NLC DREN) WiOOG a mre ten elm in ie Marva Meckereesteeneran =e 2-25 e- = Ol Minnie Griitin 2. -sj-.-s02s--.-2----2-= —- David Carle ve on nn amen eESeE nel paper ea. ota eo PAs BATNCS eset =efenne een soe LOO) Mary: llente- 222. ome nate anole = mnie ROHN Sse semen rn ee tno. ee een O35) MRE MasOne..o 220 cle - 2 -c6eseeees= ao. Os JohnvAs Chatfee:s. <— -o nice sccc roe onn eo GOGH to sence k Spadeaseseseseonseds REP Aine ER AV eis ce eseeeasnesosee th | singe lsWinGa cena erseeesseroossss, ~ Tbe smaller of these schooners are preferred, as they make quicker passages, but the larger will carry for less money. TF reights, therefore, vary with the vessel and the season, from 10 to 18 cents. It is estimated that 3 cents will plant the oysters, which makes their cost from 22 to 28 cents a bushel. The selling price will average at least 75 cents, and probably more. 27. NATIVE OYSTERS AND OYSTER-PLANTING IN THE VICINITY OF NEW HAVEN. EARLY OYSTER-CAMPAIGNS ON THE QUINEPIAC.—The remainder of my history will apply to the gathering, transplanting, and propagating of native oysters in the waters of Long Island sound, opposite New Haven. It has already been mentioned, that native beds existed within recent years, if they do not now flourish, in every harbor westward of the Thames river, and that many of these old localities, as Stony Creek, Branford, and so forth, still furnish large quantities of small oysters for the plantations. None of these localities ever equaled, however, the importance of the Quinepiac and its tributaries at New Haven as a natural field of oyster-production, while this harbor was equaled, if not surpassed, by several inlets still further west. Until lately, however, all this wealth was used up in private consumption, sold in the shore towns as “faney”, or mixed in with the southern stock, without being taken into account. The fishing was done mainly for each man’s winter-supply, and nobody paid much attention to any regulation 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 Ist day of November, and all the natural beds in the state became open to any person who wished to rake them. In anticipation of this date, great preparations were made in the towns along the shore, and even for twenty miles back from the seaside. 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 on 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 Quinepiae. On the day preceding, farmers flocked into Fair Haven from all the surrounding country, and brought with them boats and canoes of antique pattern 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 community usually very peaceful, if not dull. As midnight approached, men dressed in oilskin, and carrying oars, paddles, rakes, and 64 THE FISHERIES OF THE UNITED STATES. tongs, collected all along the shore, where a crowd of women and children assembled to see the fun. Every sort ef craft was prepared for action. There were sharpies, square-enders, skifis, and canoes, 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 work. No eye could see the great face of the church-clock on the hill, but lanterns glimmered upon 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 navies of boats leaped out and advanced toward one another through the darkness, as though bent upon 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 reverberatious, the oyster-beds had been reached, tongs were scraping the long-rested bottom, and the season’s campaign upon the Quinepiae had begun. In a few hours the crowd upon some beds would be such that the boats were pressed close together. They were all compelled to move along as one, for none could resist the pressure of the multitude. The more thickly covered beds were quickly cleaned of their bivalves. The boats were full, the wagons were full, and many had secured what they called their ‘winter's stock” before the day was done, and thousands of bushels were packed away under blankets of sea-weed in scores of cellars. Those living on the shore, and regularly engaged in the trade, usually secured the cream of the crop. They knew just where to go first; they were better practiced in handling boats, rakes, etc.; they formed combinations to help one another. That first day was the great day, and often crowds of spectators gathered to witness the fun and the frequent quarrels or fights that occurred in the pushing and crowding. 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 so thoroughly to clean the bottom, that subsequent raking was of small account. Enough oysters always remained, however, to furnish spawn for another year, and the hard scraping prepared a favorable bottom, so that there was usually a fair supply the next season. It was not long, however, before the old-fashioned large oysters, “as big as a shoe-horne,” were all gone, and most of those caught were too small for market. Attention was therefore turned to the cultivation of oysters, and as the Chesapeake trade declined, this subject began to receive more and more earnest attention, and to arouse an unexpected opposition upon all sides. LEGAL ALLOTMENT OF PLANTING-GROUNDS.—The laws of the state provided for the setting apart of tracts of land under water for the planting or cultivating of oysters. The position and amount of these tracts that were to be set apart were left to the judgment of the people of each town, who chose a committee of three to five electors, termed the oyster-ground committee, to act in such matters. Two restrictions, however, were always jealously insisted upon: first, that no “natural oyster-beds” should be set apart or ‘ designated” (the legal term) for purposes of planting or cultivation; second, that no more than two acres should be allotted to each applicant. All the early designations made in New Haven harbor, therefore, were in the shallow districts near and below the mouth of the Quinepiac, where no natural beds existed, and the allotments were of various sizes. They were owned by women and minors as well as by voters, and thus it was possible for a citizen who cared to do so, to acquire for his use several acres, being those taken out in the name of his wife, his sons, and even of his relatives of remote degrees. Moreover, it was permitted to assign these rights and privileges; but any one who applied for grants of land “for the purpose of speculation”, was guilty of a misdemeanor. It was thus an easy matter for a man who desired to cultivate native oysters extensively, to get under his control a large amount of land, through assignments from family and friends; nor, in the great majority of cases, was any money consideration given for such assignments. It soon became common, indeed, for an application to be made by “A, B, and others”, a score or more, perhaps, everybody understanding that while the “others” were actual inhabitants of the town, they had no intention of making any personal use whatever of the privileges. This, of course, was an evasion of the law, which practically amounted to its annulment, yet no one objected, for the spirit of the statute was not considered to have been broken; perhaps it ought to be said, no one objected at first, for within the last few years there has been loud murmuring against the largest dealers, who have obtained the control of hundreds of acres, and who have found it necessary to secure amendments and additions to the laws in order to make their titles sure and strong. ORIGIN OF OYSTER-PLANTING IN Lone ISLAND SOUND.—It will be understood by this, that, the business of catching and cultivating native, home-bred oysters at New Haven had grown, out of the old haphazard condition, into a definite and profitable organization by the time the last decade began. It was not long before all the available inshore bottom was occupied, and the lower river and harbor looked like a submerged forest, so thickly were planted the boundary stakes of the various beds. Encroachments naturally followed into deeper water, and this proceeded, until finally some adventurous spirits went below the light-house and invaded Long Island sound. Who was the originator and pioneer in this bold move is undecided; the honor is claimed by several with about equal right. At anyrate Mr. H. C. Rowe first showed the courage of his opinions enough to take up some hundreds of acres outside, in water from 25 to 40 feet in depth, and to begin there the cultivation of native oysters. Incessantly swept by the steady and rapid outflow of the Quinepiae and Housatonic (whose current flows eastward), the hard sandy bottom of Long Island sound, off New Haven and Milford, is kept clean throughout a considerable area, beyond which is soft, thick mud. There are reefs and rocks scattered about, to be sure, and THE OYSTER-INDUSTRY. 65 now and then patches of mud; but over large areas extends only a smooth, unencumbered bottom of sand or gravel. This makes this region peculiarly adapted to oyster-culture. CONFLICTING CLAIMS OF PROPRIETORSHIP IN OYSTER-GROUND.—This new departure, or unlooked-for expansion of the business, caused considerable excitement as it rapidly developed. It was soon seen, in the first place, that the existing statutes, which never had contemplated this sort of thing, would not fit all the exigencies, and after the codification of 1866, alterations and amendments rapidly followed one another, in which the conflicting interests of the deep-water cultivators and the small inshore-owners were sought to be harmonized or guarded against opposition. Although recognized by law and acknowledged by clear heads since the earliest times, the rights of proprietorship under the water, and the notion of property in the growth and improvement ensuing upon ground granted and worked for oyster-culture, have hardly yet permeated the public mind and become generally accepted facts. Cultivators of all grades found many and many instances in which their staked-out ground was reappropriated, or the oysters, upon which they had spent a great deal of time and money, were taken by their neighbors even, who angrily resented any imputation of stealing. Not uncommonly the proceeding was much after the manner of mining in a new gold or silver region, such as the Leadville district of Colorado, for instance, where prospectors “located claims” on top of one another, and all went to digging side by side, the first one to strike “mineral” having a right to any or all of his rivals’ territory, within stipulated limits. Having put some oysters on a piece of ground and found them to do well, a man would put in a claim for a grant of that piece, and feel greatly abused because it had previously been designated to some man who knew that the only proper or safe way was to get legal possession of the ground first, and make a trial afterwards.* Then number one would claim the right to remove his oysters, and in doing so would be sure to be charged by number two with taking more than belonged to him. It was easy, too, for unscrupulous persons to dump’ seed or large oysters upon ground that they pretended not to know was already granted, and then, in taking their stuff away, to rake up a large addition. If a man neglected to take out a title to his ground, or omitted any technicality, somebody stood always ready to rob him of all the results of his work in open daylight, with the calmest effrontery. ‘All that is under water is public property,” was the maxim of the million, ‘“‘unless every form of law is observed;” and unless it is watched with ashot-gun besides, they might have added. An authentic incident that happened many years ago, will illustrate this temper; and I should not devote so much attention to this matter, were it not that this false philosophy has been almost universal; has proved the greatest stumbling-block to the prosperity of efforts at oyster-culture along this whole coast, and is almost ineradicable from the ’longshore mind. Two of the veterans of the native oyster-business at this point, were born and spent their boyhood on the shore, and early became accustomed to the habits and haunts of all the fishes and mollusks. When they were lads of seventeen they sought out a suitable place near the western shore, and gradually accumulated there an artificial bed of native oysters, which soon attained a merchantable size. There were several hundreds of bushels, and the young men were congratulating themselves as fall approached, that upon the early completion of the engagements, which then occupied their time, they would reap a rich harvest from their labor and patience. The time when they intended to take them up was only a few days distant, and no harm by storm or otherwise had come to the bed, when one morning they went out only to find that every oyster had disappeared! It was a cruel disappointment, but inquiry soon solved the riddle. In the darkness of the preceding night several teams, fully prepared for the work, came down from miles and miles back in the country, from away up about Westville and Woodbridge and North Orange, and their owners had raked up the whole bed, and carted it away to hide in their cellars. No robbery could be plainer, and there was little attempt to secrete it; but there was no redress, and the perpetrators chuckled over it as a good joke, without a scruple about the propriety of the thing. Nothing in the sea was private property. LEGAL PROTECTION FOR OYSTER-PLANTERS.—A vast amount of this sort of stealing and interference with proprietary rights granted by the state, was perpetrated and sanctioned by the great majority of the watermen, under the plea that the locality in question was ‘natural ground”. Any definition or restriction of this ground was impracticable and resisted. The only resource for the man who had invested money in oyster-culture, and wanted the opportunity to develop his investment, was to declare that no “natural oyster-ground” existed in New Haven harbor, and that designations past and to come were valid, even though the areas so designated might once have been natural oyster-beds. This checkmated the men who “jumped claims”, yet refused to be considered thieves ; but it caused a tremendous howl against the movers, in which a large number of persons, having small information of the facts, joined, on the general principle of ‘death to the capitalist”. It may have worked discomfort in a few individual cases, as all sweeping changes must, but on the whole, considering how nearly exhausted and worthless the Quinepiac fisheries had become, I think it must be regarded as not unjust. At any rate, the legislature of 1875 passed an amendment exempting Orange, New Haven, and East Haven from the enactment prohibiting the setting apart or “designation” of “natural oyster-beds” for purposes of planting or cultivation, leaving, however, the law intact for the rest of the state. Had this measure not been passed, systematic cultiva- * Perhaps some excuse or explanation of this sore feeling is found in the fact, that the town of Branford allowed a man to apply for and try a quantity of land a year; at the expiration he could pay for it or ‘ heave it up”, as he thought best. This was a purely local regulation, however. oO 66 THE FISHERIES OF THE UNITED STATES. tion would have been vastly hindered, if not altogether killed, by thieves and malcontents, so far as New Haven harbor is concerned. Elsewhere, under different conditions, no such necessity exists as yet, in order to be able to prosecute the artificial raising. Instantly upon the passage of this act, there was a rush by everybody for the possession of lots in all parts of the Quinepiac and West rivers. The oyster-committee of the towns decided that each owner of land abutting on the river should possess the right to the bottom opposite his land for 100 feet from high-water mark. This was a concession to popular feeling, though that opinion had no foundation in law what- ever, since the title to riparian real estate in this state terminates at the high-water tide limit. Between these boundaries, or “wharf lines”, tracts equal in width to each man’s water-front, and extending to the channel, were allotted to the land owners at $10 to $15 an acre; but the majority of them were not more than half an aere in extent. Lucky receivers of these river-grants at once found themselves able to sell for from $25 to $50, and before long there was brisk demand and little sale, at prices ranging from $100 to $150. The deep-water men found this river property of great use as a nursery for seed, and as a place to make temporary deposits of surplus stock, ete. The Quinepiac thus began to bristle with boundary stakes, much as the harbor had done for many years previous, and many of these river-lots are now valued at more than $500. In 1877 a very full set was obtained everywhere in the river and harbor; in 1878, however, there was almost a total dearth; but 1879 again saw a partial set. 28. PRESENT CONDITION OF OYSTER-CULTURE IN THE VICINITY OF NEW HAVEN. ORANGE OR Wrst HAVEN.—Situated on the western shore, the township of Orange (West Haven) owns the western half of the harbor of New Haven. These shores have always been populous with oysters, which were raked as public property. If any attempts at cultivation were made until within a few years, they were desultory and of small account. When the general oyster-statutes were passed, Orange at once acted under them, but delegated to its selectmen the powers of an oyster-committee instead of erecting a second board, as was done in all the other towns. This arrangement has been found to work very well. The first designation was made in April, 1864, and all the suitable ground in West river and in the harbor was soon set apart, amounting to about 45 acres. Mr. Samuel Smith, chairman of the selectmen, tells me that nothing was charged for this ground, but that it was put under taxation, and now pays on valuations running from $50 to $500. When, four years ago, the experiment of deep-water cultivation was begun, Orange issued desiguations, almost wholly to citizens of other towns, for about 2,450 acres, at $1 an acre. It is impossible to come nearer than this to the town’s revenue from its oyster-lots, since no separate account is published by the treasurer. The deep-water area is taxed at a merely nominal rate at present. Only two producers of any consequence now reside in West Haven. The small allotments in West river which they possess, are nearly ruined by the drifting of sediment, and the total product of the river last year would hardly exceed 500 bushels. One planter told me he had had 12 acres in one lot in the harbor spoiled by becoming covered with mud. New Haven.—Between Orange and East Haven lies New Haven, priding herself upon her harbor. She had begun to set apart oyster-planting ground for the use of her citizens. Before long, however, it was claimed that she was allotting spaces of bottom over which she had no jurisdiction. This brought on suits at law and aroused inquiry. The forgotten fact was then brought to light, that in 1803 a joint commission (of which Noah Webster, the lexicographer, was a member) determined the boundary between New Haven and East Haven to be, in general terms, the ship-channel down the Quinepiac and down the harbor. This was ratified by the general assembly. A few years later some disputes caused the appointment of a commission to settle upon the boundary between New Haven and Orange. This was reported to be the middle of West river, and thence eastward to the ship-channel in the harbor. It seems to have been the intention of this commission that this line should intersect and terminate at the East Haven line, but by some error this was not quite done. The recommendations of this commission were adopted by the legislature and decreed to be the boundary between the two towns. This left to New Haven only the waters just about her wharves and a very narrow, wedge-shaped strip down the channel. When, by later laws, it was decided what of the deeper ground of the sound should be “designated” by East Haven and Orange, respectively, New Haven was allowed a strip 1,500 feet wide, running southward into the sound from a line drawn from the old light-house to Savin rock. Although these boundaries were settled nearly a century ago, the New Haven oyster-committee not long ago designated ground in Orange waters, where they had no right to. Unscrupulous persons at once took possession, and in some cases refused to yield to the legal owners deriving their designations properly. Hence expensive suits and much personal animosity has arisen. Many lessees, however, learning their mistake in time, took out new deeds from the rightful authorities, and so saved themselves. But this was done at additional expense, for New Hayen had neyer charged anything for her privileges. THE OYSTER INDUSTRY. 67 29. LAWS OF CONNECTICUT RELATING TO OYSTERS. LAWS RELATING TO THE FISHERIES FOR SHELLFISH.—Having thus briefly reviewed the circumstances and growth of the oyster-business of New Haven and its vicinities ; touched upon the decline of the Virginia trade and the beginning of organized cultivation of the native stock; noted the drawbacks and opposition with which this had to contend, and the extraordinary jealousy which shows itself among the river-men and producers, it is a proper time in which to introduce a careful digest of the statelaws pertaining to the oyster-business, an examination of which will reveal the many reasons why specific acts for the protection of this interest were deemed needful from time to time. The oyster-statutes of Connecticut, in force in 1830, were as follows: CuapTer IV. Fisueries.—Part I. FIisHeRres IN TIDE-WATER AND RIVERS.—ART. I. Fisheries for shellfish. Section 1. Describes the particular territory within which the selectmen of East Haven may ‘‘ designate” or grant ground for the planting and cultivation of oysters; describes within what other waters the oyster-committee of the same town may designate ; and gives to the selectmen of Orange all the powers of an oyster-committee. Src. 2. Provides that any other town except East Haven and Orange may appoint a committee of not more than five electors, which shall designate to applicants suitable places. in the navigable waters of the town for planting or cultivating oysters, clams, or mussels, Src. 3. Any person desiring to plant or cultivate oysters, clams, or mussels may apply in writing for a suitable place, and such committee or seleetmen may make such designation, not exceeding two acres in extent, after the applicant has proved that the ground has not previously been set off for this purpose; that the ground is within town limits; and that fees due to the town for this designation have been deposited. Town clerks may grant the required certificates, and town treasurers receipt for payments of fees. Violations of this act by members of town committees are punishable. Having received his designation, the applicant must mark the boundaries of his ground by buoys or stakes, set at suitable distances, and labeled with the name or initials of the owner; and until then he shall not be permitted to catch oysters upon the ground. Designations may be made to several in common. Src. 4. Every person who shall plant or cultivate oysters, clams, or mussels in any such place shall own them, and also all other oysters, clams, or musseis in such place, and have the exclusive right of taking up and disposing of them, and of using such place for the purpose of planting or cultivating oysters, clams, or mussels therein, which shall be transferrable by written assignment, but nothing herein contained shall affect the rights of any owner of lands in which there may be salt-water creeks or inlets, or which may be opposite or contiguous to such navigable waters; nor the existing by-laws of any city, town, or borough; nor authorize any committee or selectmen to designate, or any person to mark, stake out, or inclose any natural oyster-bed (except in New Haven harbor and its tributaries, and for a distance not exceeding two miles from the mouth of said harbor), or infringe the free navigation of said waters, or interfere with the drawing of seines in any place established and customarily used for seine-fishing. Src. 5. Any person procuring oyster-ground ‘for the purpose of assigning rights which he may acquire for profit or speculation”, shall be fined $50. Src. 6. Amended and replaced by subsequent legislation, adds to the powers of the New Haven committee the power to designate ground for oyster-planting and cultivation in the waters of Long Island sound, which lie between East Haven and a line parallel to its boundary and 500 yards to the westward; and the selectmen of Orange may designate between this tract and a line due south from Savin rock, even though such ground ‘‘may have been natural oyster-beds”. And the committee’s previous designations in this territory are hereby confirmed. Src. 7. Enjoins that all designations of oyster-ground, when made, shall be exactly recorded in the office of the town clerk, together with all descriptions and assignments; ‘‘and all attested copies of such applications, designations, and assignments, with a certificate that they have been recorded, shall be conclusive evidence of the fact of such record, and prima facie evidence of the validity of such application, designation, and assignment.” Src. 8. Any owner who has lost the evidences of title to oyster-ground, after having filed them with the town clerk, may apply to the town committee, and if he satisfies them of his claim, he may receive from them a new title; but there are heavy penalties for fraud under this provision. In case of boundaries being lost, or when the committee authorized to stake out oyster-grounds have described the boundaries incorrectly, the superior court, as a court of equity, may, upon petition, order such uncertain boundaries to be re-established, according to prescribed methods, except in cases where a map of the ground has been filed with the town clerk, in which case uncertain bounds are to be established by a surveyor appointed by a judge of the superior court. Src. 9. When there are more than thirty designations in any one town the selectmen shall procure a map of the district. Src. 10, An owner desiring to dam or lock an inlet or salt-water creek for the purpose of cultivating oysters therein, the selectmen shall visit the spot and report upon the propriety of the request at a meeting of the town; if the meeting approves, the owner may build a dam, ete., as indicated by the selectmen, and maintain it during the pleasure of the general assembly. Src. 11. When any natural oyster-bed is set apart, contrary to law, the superior court in the same county has power to revoke the designation, if it deems it best ; but must give the owner time to remove any oysters and improvements on the property. Secs. 12 and 13. Conferred privileges upon Guilford which that town declined to ratify. Src. 14. No person, except the authorized committee or selectmen, shall stake out or inclose any oyster-grounds in navigable waters, unless such person shall own this ground under the provisions of this chapter; penalty, fine not to exceed $50. Src. 15, Any member of a committee who shall designate ground for oyster-cultivation upon natural oyster-beds, or in any other place where it is prohibited by law, shall forfeit from $25 to $200, excepting in Orange, New Haven, and East Haven. Src. 16. Any other person than the owner, who shall unlawfully remove any shells or shellfish from a place designated for oyster- planting, shall be fined not exceeding $300, or imprisoned not more than one year; but if the offense be committed at night, heavier - penalties are decreed, Src. 17. Forbids taking any oysters or oyster-shells from the Thames river between March 1 and November 1. Src. 18. Every person who shall willfully injure any inclosure legally designated for oyster-planting, remove any buoys or stakes, injure any oysters, remove any shells from such inclosure, or willfully deposit mud there, shall be subject to heavy penalties, after trial before a justice of the peace, with right of appeal to the superior court. Sec. 19. Provides penalties for injury to dams or locks of any oyster-pond. 68 THE FISHERIES OF THE UNITED STATES. Src. 20. Prohibits taking “shells or shellfish” between sunset and sunrise, from any navigable waters of the state (except clams in Branford harbor from April to October), under fine of $50 to $100, or imprisonment, or both. Sec. 21. Prohibits the taking of shellfish, or the use of spears for taking fish, within any area designated for oyster-planting, within two miles of the shores of Branford or East Haven; penalty, fine of from $7 to $100, or imprisonment. Sec. 22. Prohibits the use of dredges in New Haven harbor west of a line from Farm river to Scotch cap, and north of a line from Scotch cap to Southwest ledge, and then westerly to Hines’ place in Orange; prohibits taking shellfish in Morris creek, except on or adjacent to one’s own land; and prohibits dredging by steam anywhere away from upon one’s own ground, more than two days in the week, under heavy penalties, which may be imposed by a justice of the peace, subject to an appeal to the superior court. Dredging on one’s own ground is allowed, however, in East Haven waters to the owners of ground southerly of a line drawn from The Chimneys, through Quixe’s ledge and Adain’s fall, until it intersects a line drawn from the old light-house to Savin rock. Suc. 23. All sheriffs and constables shall, and any other person may, seize any boat or vessel illegally used in dredging, with its tackle, apparel, and furniture, wherever found, within one year thereafter; and, if condemned, the boat, etc., shall be sold after the prescribed form. Src. 24. When there shall be found in any waters of this state, on board any boat or vessel, illegally used under the provisions of this chapter, any dredge or shells and shellfish, it shall be prima facie evidence that said boat or vessel was used contrary to the provisions of said chapter. Sec. 25. No person shall gather shells or shellfish in any waters of this state for himself or his employer, unless he and his employer are at that time, and have been for six months previous, actual inhabitants of the state. Src. 26. Refers to lobsters. LAws oF 1875.—Since the revision of the statutes in 1875, the following additional laws have been enacted: Marcu 16, 1878.—When oysters have been planted on any ground legally designated, and doubt arises as to the jurisdiction of neighboring towns over it, prosecutions against the owner may be made in either of the three towns nearest. Marcu 27, 1878.—No committee or selectmen of any town shall designate, and no person shall mark, stake out, or inclose for the cultivation of oysters, clams, or mussels, any natural clam-bed. Marcu 27, 1878.—No person shall take or carry away from Branford or Farm rivers any oyster-shells or seed-oysters, for the purpose of planting them on private beds; or more than two bushels of oysters in a single day; or shall use tongs for taking oysters there between May 1 and October 1; under penalty of forfeiting $14 before a justice of the peace in Branford or East Haven, with a right of appeal to the superior court. NAVIGATION LAWS.—There are two clauses in the state’s navigation laws (chap. viii) which concern oysters, as follows: Src. 19. Every person who shall deposit any substance except oyster-shells in the harbors of New Haven, Bridgeport, and Stamford, shall be fined from $50 to $500, or imprisoned, or both. : Sxc. 20. Gives the city court or a justice of the peace jurisdiction in such cases. REMEDYING WEAK TITLES.—By a series of amendments and resolutions the legislature has “healed” many weak titles to oyster-ground, by enacting that designations of ground for planting and cultivating oysters, clams, or mussels shall be valid and confirmed, including: I. All granted informally under the provisions of chap. 3, sec. viii, although the owners may have lost their evidences of title after having filed the same with the town clerk (July 17, 1875). If. All in which the applicant may be a married women or a minor (March 16, 1878). II. All in which the application was made for the purpose of transferring the privileges; and all such transfers are confirmed (March 27, 1878). IY. All designations for ‘‘planting”, where ‘cultivation ” is not mentioned. Y. All designations of ground described as containing not over two acres to each applicant, exclusive of muddy or rocky bottom, although the total quantity of ground embraced in the designation may be more than two acres to each applicant (March 27, 1878). VI. All designations previous to March, 1879, by the town of East Haven, between its westerly boundary and a line drawn due south from the center of the mouth of East Haven river. ESTABLISHMENT OF A STATE COMMISSION FOR LOCATING OYSTER-GROUNDS.—Finally, some months subsequent to the compilation of the previous legal information, the legislature of 1881 passed an act, which is given herewith in full, which reconstructs the methods hitherto in vogue, and reads as follows: AW ACT establishing a state commission for the designation of oyster-grounds. GENERAL ASSEMBLY, JANUARY SESSION, A. D. 1881. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives, in General Assembly convened : SECTION 1. The state shall exercise exclusive jurisdiction and control over all shellfisheries which are located in that area of the state which is within that part of Long Island sound and its tributaries, bounded westerly and southerly by the state of New York, easterly by the state of Rhode Island, and northerly by a line following the coasts of the state at high water, which shall cross all its bays, rivers, creeks, and inlets at such places nearest Long Island sound as are within and between points on opposite shores, from one of which objects and what is done can be discerned by the naked eye upon the other. And all shellfisheries not within said area shall be and remain within the jurisdiction and control of the towns in which they are located, under the same laws and regulations and through the same selectmen and oyster-committees as heretofore, except that such selectmen and committees shall hereafter only act as the agents of their respective towns. If a difference shall arise between any town and the commissioners as hereinafter provided for, as to the boundary line between said town and the area so to be mapped, said town, by its selectmen, may bring its petition to the superior court for the county within which said town is situated, to determine said boundary line, and said court, upon reasonable notice to the parties, shall hear said petition and appoint a committee to ascertain the facts in such case and report the same to said court, and said court shall thereupon make such ordér as may be proper in the premises, THE OYSTER-INDUSTRY. 69 Suc. 2. The three fish-commissioners of the state now in office, and their successors, shall also be and constitute a board of commissioners of shellfisheries, and be empowered to make or cause to be made a survey and map of all the grounds within the said area in Long Island sound, which have been or may be designated for the planting or cultivation of shellfish ; shall ascertain the ownership thereof, and how much of the same is actually in use for said purposes; they shall also cause a survey of all the natural oyster-beds in said area, and shall locate and delineate the same on said map, not to exceed $2,500 in cost, and shall report to the uext session of the legislature a plan for an equitable taxation of the property in said fisheries, and make an annual report of the state and condition of said fisheries to the legislature, and the said commissioners shall be empowered to appoint and employ a clerk of and for said board, and they shall each give a bond for the faithful performance of their duties, and for the payment to the state treasurer of all money that may come into their hands under this act, in the sum of two thousand dollars. Src. 3. The said commissioners shall also be empowered, in the name and in behalf of the state, to grant by written instruments, for the purpose of planting and cultivating shellfish, perpetual franchises in such undesignated grounds within said area as are not, and for ten years have not been, natural clam or oyster-beds, whenever application in writing is made to them through their clerk, by any person or persons who have resided in the state not less than one year next preceding the date of said application. The said application and the said grant shall be in manner and form as shall be approved by the chief justice of the state, and all such grants may be assigned to any person or persons who are or haye been residents of the state for not less than one year next preceding such assignment, by a written assignment, in manner and form approved by said chief justice; and the said commissioners shall keep books of record and record all such grants and assignments therein, and the same shall also be recorded in the town clerk’s office in the town bounded on Long Island sound, within the meridian boundary lines of which said grounds are located, if lines were run due south from present termini of town lines. Src. 4. When any such application is filed with the clerk of said commissioners, he shall note on the same the date of its reception, and shall cause a written notice, stating the name and residence of the applicant, the date of filing the application, the locatéon, area, and description ot the ground applied for, to be posted in the office of the town clerk of the town bounded on the said Long Island sound, within the meridian boundary lines of which said grounds are located, where such notice shall remain posted for twenty days. Any person or persons objecting to the granting of the grounds applied for, ax aforesaid, may file a written notice with the town clerk, stating the grounds of his or their objections, upon the payment to said town clerk of the sum of twenty-five cents, and at the end of said twenty days the town elerk shall forward all such written objections to the clerk of said commissioners; and in case such objections are so filed and forwarded, the said commissioners, or a majority, shall, upon ten days’ notice in writing, mailed or personally delivered to all the parties in interest, hear and pass upon such objectious at the town in which such grounds are located as aforesaid, and if such objections are not sustained and the area of ground is not, in the opinion of the commissioners, of unreasonable extent, they may, for the actual cost of surveying and mapping of such grounds, and the further consideration of one dollar per acre paid to the said commissioners, to be by them paid over to the treasurer of the state, grant a perpetual franchise for the planting and cultivating shellfish in such grounds, or in any part of the same, in the manner aforesaid, and when no objections are made such grants may be made for the considerations hereinbefore named. At all hearings authorized by this act the said commissioners may, by themselves or their clerks, subpa@na witnesses and administer oaths as in courts of law. Src. 5. The said commissioners shall, previous to the delivery of any instrument conveying the right to plant and cultivate shellfish on any of said grounds, make or cause to be made a survey of the same, and shall locate and delineate the same, or cause it be located and delineated upon the map aforesaid, and upon receipt of said instrument of conveyance the grantee shall at once cause the grounds therein conveyed to be plainly marked out by stakes, buoys, ranges, or monuments, which stakes and buoys shall be continued by the said grantee and his legal representatives, and the right to use and occupy said ground for said purposes shall be and remain in said grantee and his legal representatives: Provided, That if the grantee or holder of said grounds does not actually use and occupy the same for the purposes named, in good faith, within five years after the time of receiving such grant, the said commissioners shall petition the superior court of the county having jurisdiction over the said grounds, to appoint a committee to inquire and report to said court as to the use and occupancy of said grounds, in good faith, and said court shall in such case appoint such committee, who, after twelve days’ notice to petitioners and respondents, shall hear such petition and report the facts thereon to said court, and if it shall appear that said grounds are not used and oceupied in good faith for the purpose of planting or cultivating shellfish, the said court may order that said grounds revert to the state, and that all stakes and buoys marking the same be removed, the costs in said petition to be paid at the discretion of the court. Src. 6. When, after the occupancy and cultivation of any grounds designated as aforesaid, by the grantee or hislegal representatives, it shall appear to said commissioners that said grounds are not suited for the planting or cultivation of oysters, said grantee, upon receiving a certificate to that effect from said commissioners, may surrender the same, or any part thereof. Not less than one hundred acres to the state, by an instrument of release of all his right and title thereto, and shall, on delivery of such instrument to the said commissioners, receive their certificate of said release of said grounds, the location and number of acres described therein, which shall be filed with the state treasurer, who shall pay to the holder the sum of one dollar for every acre of ground described in said release, where said sum has been paid therefor to the state. And the said release shall be recorded by the said commissioners in their record-books, and in the town clerks’ office in the town adjacent to aud within the meridian boundary lines of which said grounds are located. Sec. 7. Said commissioners shall provide, in addition to the general map of said grounds, sectional maps, comprising all grounds located within the meridian boundary lines of the several towns on the shores of the state, which maps shall be lodged in the town clerk’s office of the said respective towns; and said commissioners shall also provide and lodge with said town clerks blank applications for such grounds and record-books for recording conveyances of the same, and all conveyances of such grounds and assignments, reversion, and releases of the same shall be recorded in the books of said commissioners, and in the town clerks’ offices in the towns adjacent to and within the meridian boundary lines of which said grounds are located, in such books as are provided by said commissioners, subject to legal fees for such recording, and the cost of all such maps, blank-books, surveys, and all other expenses necessary for the carrying out the provisions of this act, shall be audited by the comptroller and paid for by the treasurer of the state, and the said commissioners shall each receive for their services five dollars per day for the time they are actually employed, as provided for ix this act; their accounts for such service to be audited by the comptroller and paid by the treasurer of the state. Src. 8. All designations, assignments, and transfers of ground in Long Island sound heretofore made for the purpose of planting or cultivating oysters, clams, or mussels, excepting natural oyster-, clam-, or mussel-beds, are hereby validated and confirmed. Src. 9. All the provisions of the statutes of this state relating to the planting, cultivating, working, and protecting shellfisheries, upon grounds heretofore designated under said laws, except as provided for in section eight of this act, and as are rot inconsistent with this act, are hereby continued and made applicable to such designations as may be made under the provisions of this act. Src. 10. When it shall be shown to the satisfaction of the said commissioners that any natural oyster- or clam-bed has been designated by them to any person or persons, the said commissioners shall petition the superior court of the county having jurisdiction over the said grounds, to appoint a committee to inquire and report to the said court the facts as to such grounds, and said court shall, in such case, 70 THE FISHERIES OF THE UNITED STATES appoint such committee, who, after twelve days’ notice to the petitioners and respondents, shall hear such petition, and report the facts thereon to said court; and if it shall appear that any natural oyster- or clam-beds, or any part thereof, have been so designated, the said court may order that said grounds may revert to the state, after a reasonable time for the claimant of the same to remove any shellfish he may have planted or cultivated thereon in good faith, and said court may further order that all stakes and buoys marking the same be removed, the costs in said petition to be taxed at the discretion of the court. Src. 11. Any commissioner who shall knowingly grant to any person or persons a franchise, as hereinbefore provided, in any natural oyster-bed, or clam-bed, shall be subject to a fine of not less than one hundred dollars, nor more than five hundred dollars, and if such franchise is granted the grant shall be void, and ail moneys paid thereon shall be forfeited to the state ; and said commissioners shall in no case grant to any person or persons a right to plant or cultivate shellfish which shall interfere with any established right of fishing, and if any such grant is made the same shall be void. Src. 12. All acts and parts of acts inconsistent herewith are hereby repealed, but this act shall affect no suit now pending. TowN LAWS oF EAST Haven: TAxaTrion.—It will be observed that the first section of the old law gave the right to grant land in East Haven to both the selectmen and the oyster-committee. The former had long been accustomed to set apart oyster-ground, and retained this privilege for the river.and upper shores, while the committee designated in deep water. Ina special meeting of the town of East Haven, held in September, 1865, to ratify the late legislature’s enactments, an oyster-committee of five was appointed; and it was Voted, That the committee aforesaid shall stake out the grounds aforesaid in squares of one acre each (where the nature and extent of the said grounds will permit), and employ a surveyor to survey and make a map of the same, and lodge it with the town clerk of said town. Voted, That each person who makes application to the committee aforesaid and receives from them a written description of ground set apart to them, shall * * * pay to the said town clerk at the rate of $10 per acre, which money is to be used in paying the expenses incurred in making out the aforesaid survey. Voted, That the town clerk pay the surplus, if any, into the treasury of the town. * *% The succeeding spring, in order to give the young oysters in the river a chance to get some growth, all raking was prohibited “from April 9, 1866, to March 9, 1867”. The reason why this area was restricted to one acre, was in order that there might be enough to go around ; applicants were so numerous, at first, that designations were allotted literally by drawing the number of the designation from a dark box. The favorite locality was Morris cove. For all the land set apart by the selectmen, $10 or more an acre was received; when application was made for grants outside, the oyster-committee thought the experiment so foolish that they were ashamed to ask more than $1. In addition to this, there was a charge of 90 cents for making and recording each deed, besides (until late years) a 50-cent revenue stamp on each document, and a second one in case of a transfer. About 750 acres were designated at $10 an acre, and about 1,500 acres at $1. In all, East Haven had granted 2,523 acres of oyster-ground up to January 20, 1880. My authority is the Hon. ©. A. Bray, who has had official charge of these matters for many years in that town. To this may be added 650 acres set apart but not yet paid for. Since 1877 East Haven has taxed these grants, under the head of “personal property ”, at valuations of $5, $10, and occasionally more, per acre, the rate last year being 12 mills on the dollar. The reports of the treasurer show that East Haven has derived the following satisfactory revenue from the sale of her oyster-culture privileges : IPTOVIOUS TO 1807 ace ees e cone ater cece seccce ce PD) Oop OO Min 87 Ate oe seas ence ne cceoe nae tee eae eee $220 00 Theil fe ay eee Aas faite Sie Ss Bear eer he MLO SUG) | {nlie75 27.0 eh Se eee 430 00 Tn BOS te tee ee SED A EE SP ASOD LO0A EI Le7GRe eee cool) oe St Ei 883 95 Tns1O pee ee ee ee 19750! | Td S772. Se ee Ome Tn lee eee ent es Senne 97 50, || In d8782..2-ccseceee= ec otee sooo eee 79 90 LETTE egal Gad he AR els Ba ek alerts :'554'00')| M1679. 2 ee a) eee ee 569 75 JEN Ieee enor Osco p te aco ote= ast B cee ae | Motel = ccor cass ee ~- 8,427 45 The expenses of surveys, ete., used up about one-half of this ; the other half went to the treasury. All the $1 designations have been “net” to the town. RESOLUTIONS OF THE LEGISLATURE IN 1879.—These and other provisions and alterations of the oyster-laws have caused much discussion, and showed satisfactorily the existence of much discontent, though no one seems able to propose a better arrangement. The best opinion, I believe, is that few changes are desirable. In compliance with the wishes of the oyster-interest of the state, the legislature of 1879 passed the following resolutions: Whereas, the raising of oysters from the spawn in the deep waters of this state, in Long Island sound, has proved by experience to be a success ; Whereas, there is an immense tract of available oyster-ground between the town boundaries and the southerly boundaries of the state, which cannot at present be used, because the state has granted no authority to designate it; Whereas, these grounds ean be disposed of so as to bring a large sum into the treasury of the state: Therefore, Resolved by this assembly, That a commission, consisting of three persons, be appointed by the governor to prepare a plan, and report to the next session of the general assembly, for the gradual disposal of the grounds in the waters of this state which are suitable for the cultivation of oysters. Said commission shall examine all existing statutes relating to oyster-grounds and town lines in the sound, all customs and by-laws in different parts of the state, and such other matters as pertain to oyster-fisheries, so that the system devised shall be of general application, and enable the state to dispose of the franchise of the grounds to the best advantage. THE OYSTER-INDUSTRY. 71 The commissioners appointed were: the Hon. Robert Coit of New London (chairman), the Hon. H. B. Graves of Litchfield, and the Hon. Charles W. Bell of Norwalk. They held meetings during the autumn of 1879, in various shore-towns, which were well attended by the oyster-growers, and to their report is probably due the new law passed in January, 1881, and already quoted, in respect to the designation of grounds by the state. Such are the circumstances under which the oystermen in New Haven harbor and the contiguous sound are able to do business. 30. LIMITATIONS OF OYSTER-CULTURE IN THE NEW HAVEN REGION. SELECTION OF OYSTER-GROUND.—AsS I have already remarked, the cultivation of native oysters has grown up within comparatively recent years, to supply the altered conditions of the business and fill the demand for the home-bred stock. It soon expanded beyond the limits of shallow water, until now the hopes of all cultivators of any consequence are centered upon the deep-water ground, to which the inshore tracts are held as subsidiary, being largely used only as nurseries wherein to grow seed for the outside beds. The process by which a man secures a large quantity of land outside has been described. It is thought hardly worth trying unless at least 50 acres are obtained, and many of the oyster-farmers have more than 100. These large tracts, however, are not always in one piece, though the effort is to get as much together as possible. He obtains the position of his ground, as near as he can, by ranges on the neighboring shores, as described in his leases, and places buoys to mark his boundaries. Then he places other buoys within, so as to divide his property up into squares an acre or so in size. In this way he knows where he is as he proceeds in his labors. Having done this, he is ready to begin his active preparations to found an oyster-colony. The bottom of the sound opposite New Haven, as I have said, is much of it smooth, hard sand, with occasional little patches of mud, but with few rocks. The depth varies from 25 to 40 feet. This area is almost totally void of life, and no oysters whatever were ever found there, except after some “dumps” were made outside the light-house, by the dredging boats which had been cleaning out the channel and deposited many living oysters along with the other dredgings in the offing. These dumps very soon became, in this way, oyster-beds, supplying a considerable quantity of seed, which was public property, to be had for the dredging and taking their share in the incessant controversies as bones of contention. PREPARATION OF A DEEP-WATER OYSTER-FARM.—When a cultivator begins the preparation of a deep-water farm, his first act is to scatter over it, in the spring (about May), a quantity of full-sized, healthy native oysters, which he calls “spawners”. The amount of these that he scatters depends on his circumstances; from 30 to 50 bushels to the acre is considered a fair allowance here, I believe. The rule is, 1 bushel of spawners to 10 bushels of cultch. He now waits until early in July (from the 5th to the 15th is considered the most favorable time), when he thinks his spawners must be ready to emit their spat. He then employs all his sloops, and hires extra vessels and men, to take down to the harbor the tons of shells he has been saving up all winter, and distribute them broadcast over the whole tract of land he proposes to improve that year. These shells are clean, and fall right alongside of the mother-oysters previously deposited. The chances are fair for catching of spawn. Sometimes the same plan is pursued with seed that has grown sparingly upon a piece of ground; or young oysters are scattered as spawners, and the owner waits until the next season before he shells the tract. Sometimes there must be.a preparation of the ground, before any operations can be begun upon it, by elaborate dredging or otherwise. Within the harbor, for instance, considerable muddy bottom has been utilized by first paving it with coarse beach-sand. No spot where there is not a swift current, is considered worth this trouble. The proper amount is 200 tons of sand to the acre, which can be spread at the rate of five sharpie-loads a day, at no great expense. The sand forms a crust upon the mud firm enough to keep the oyster from sinking, and it need not be renewed more than once in five years, EXPENSE OF AN OYSTER-FARM.—In either case, therefore, the planter’s expense has not been enormous. I present herewith two statements of the outlay under the operations outlined above, which are as follows: No. 1.—Fifty acres. 2, 000 bushelsispawnerss at sOCONtSras-no: se cewcccces ooeee ee nen sere aces aaceee seceesiscte coos eones c $600 00 > O00 bashelsishelia natin Con tiers: occets= ot cee eos aoc ccc eae: ae me ealo ee atten Some tocieclcas COC ErE 450 00 Elanting: 15, 000;bushelsishells:ats4 conte. : =< ds scqcesntac onsen csiGacccelacacacaaosscwscacssccnseccce 600 00 1,650 00 No. 2.—Sixty acres. 2 CUulbushels of spa whens. ation CONS ce ane arian sete acco eels we Secleciseies =a a's s2 este conc=s s-s:.ssccscises tee nciceciete Gace coceee os sniscccce cose scssemanbeeefrane 680 00 4,403 bushels Bridgeport seed, at 10 cents). --- -- =~ oe -. coe soc tac cee sce cse cee covccs eves Seseeeiesseee 445 30 2,255 30 72 THE FISHERIES OF THE UNITED STATES. In a third case Captain George H. Townsend gave me a statement of the expenses of starting a farm of 25 acres off the mouth of East Havenriver. This was a more elaborate arrangement, but on the other hand was accomplished, through a variety of favorable conditions, cheaper than would have been possible with ground otherwise situated: 2,000! bushelsrsmall miver oysters; ato) COUUS: <2 aa = alee mie oe am en eee me ele etre ote ee $500 00 Spreading same and istalcine satoiCents oe sole an ca = = eee eea ee cin wien eee asta eae eae ae 100 00 600*buchels dred tediseadipani40 conte oan me= = -- a1 entero aaa ae anata eee ae eee ate oe 240 00 10,000) bushelsiofishells jpntidowmniat)4. cents... /-ceconee oe a= = eleene eee eee enna neine anes /aemanee OU ROE 1,240 00 I think it would not be unfair to average the cost of securing, surveying, and preparing the deep-water beds at about $40 an acre, or about $4,000 for 100 acres. To this must be added about $2 an acre for ground-surveys, buoys, anchors, ete. But now that he has got his set everywhere upon this 50 acres of shells, the planter’s anxieties have just begun. The infant mollusk, when first it takes hold upon the stool, the merest speck upon the surface of the white shell, is exceedingly tender. The chances in its favor in the race against its numberless adversaries are extremely few, almost as few as befriended the egg when first it left the protection of the mother-mantle. The longer it lives the better are its chances, but the tender age lasts all through the autumn and until it has attained the size of a quarter-dollar piece; after that it will withstand ordinary discouragements. It often happens, therefore, that the “splendid set” proves a delusion, and Christmas sees the boasted bed a barren waste. The cultivator finds his work as risky as mining. ‘‘You can’t see into the water,” he says; and the miner quotes back his proverb: “You can’t see into the ground.” A suflicient cause may usually be assigned for the death of large districts of infant oysters which appeared to get a good start. Starvation is probably the true explanation. Some evil current bore away from them the necessary food. In other cases specitic causes, the most potent of which are storms, can be pointed out. VICISSILUDES AND LOSSES OF OYSTER-PLANTING.—In the fall, just when the young oyster-beds are in their most delicate condition, occur the most destructive gales that afflict the Connecticut coast. They blow from the southwest, and if, as occasionally happens, they follow a stiff southeaster, producing a cross-sea of the worst character. The water is thrown into a turmoil to a depth, in some cases, of four or five fathoms, and everywhere between that and the beach the oyster-beds are torn to pieces, all boundaries are dissolved, and windrows of oysters, containing thousands of bushels, are cast up along the whole extent of the beach. Although so great a disaster as this is rare, it does occasionally happen, aud hardly a winter passes without more or less shifting of beds or other damage by tempest. The burying of beds under drifted sand is more uncommon off New Haven than easterly; but in the harbor, where the bottom is soft, mud is often carried upon the beds to such an extent as to smother, if not wholly to hide, the oyster. All that part of the harbor near the mouth of West river is so liable to this accident that oystermen have abandoned that district altogether. It is believed by many that the beds in the sound, in water more than twenty-five feet deep, are safe from disturbance from gales; but others decline to put their faith in any depth thus far planted. Frequently oysters cast up by storms, if attended to immediately, can be saved and replanted with profit. MANAGEMENT OF THE OYSTER-FARM.—Having secured a colony of young oysters upon the stools which have been laid down for them, they are left alone until they attain the age of three, four, or five years, according to their thrift and the trade for which they are designed, by the end of which time they have reached a large size and degree of fatness, if the season has been favorable. If, as is largely done by those planters who live at Oyster point, the oysters are to be sold as seed to Providence river or other planters, they are taken up when only one or two yearsold. Nota great quantity of this seed was so disposed of last year—not over 20,000 bushels, I should say. It is not considered, as a rule, so profitable as to wait for the maturity of the stock. EXPERIENCES OF CAPTAIN TOWNSEND IN OYSTER-PLANTING.—In no way, probably, could I better illustrate the series of slow experiments and expensive trials by which the more intelligent of the New Haven planters have succeeded so far as they have done, than by giving an abstract of a diary kept for several years by one of the most energetic of these experimenters, Capt. Chas. H. Townsend. Iam able to avail myself of it through his consent, and the kindness of Prof. A. E. Verrill, of Yale College, to whom it had been intrusted for scientific use. Captain Townsend lived at South Haven, where his brother, Mr. George H. Townsend, still continues the business on a large scale. Captain Townsend was in command of ocean steamers for many years, and took special pains, when in Europe, to study the methods of oyster-culture in vogue on the French coast, and was able to apply many hints there obtained to his plantations on this side, though he found so great a difference of circumstances and natural history between French and American oysters, that his transatlantic experience was of less use here than he had expected it to be. The “fort”, to which he often refers, is old Fort Hale, on the rocky eastern shore of the harbor, near the mouth. It was a picturesque brick structure in 1812, but had become dilapidated at the time when the civil war of 1861 broke out, and so was razed and transferred into a series of earthworks and bomb-proofs. The moat and its tide-sluice became the scene of Captain Townsend’s experiments, detailed in the account condensed herewith. THE OYSTER-INDUSTRY. 73 The first memorandum in this interesting book informs us, under the date “1867”, that the author “ commenced stocking the ditch at Fort Hale with native oysters, of two years’ growth, in September and October of 1867, for the purpose of experiment”. Only 51 bushels were laid down. To 1868 is devoted only one page, as follows: ‘In September and October, 1868, we notice a thrifty set of young oysters along the edge of the ditch and on the stones near the sluice; also, on the piles of the bridge and in the brook that leads into the ditch. We are also sorry to note that about one-half of the oysters laid down as an experiment, for spawners, have been killed by becoming buried in the mud.” Subsequently (June 10, 1870), the author records that “one of our neighbors took from the ditch, one night last fall, 25 bushels of the oysters planted by us and sold them in New Haven”. Betwixt mud and thieves, experimental knowledge appears to have been a dear acquisition. The next record is under 1869 : From the last two years’ experience we have decided to stock the ditch with native oysters, of three years’ growth, this fall, for the purpose of having them in thriving condition during the spawning-season of 1870. We have now down the following quantities: Bushels. INCRE nye, TROP CEES CO REA? Booec5 SSRcn on6 Sse Or OOD POOSEOID SoC OO BEE eEcEGECoICobero DooaSeceno Sos acess 25 INGHREMOEVe, OH ETP, og2Scnesoe Heseo 05 5 Sad pSeoroac Seo Sssa00 DSStED DES bcn DOS ScE Bec ED ennees aroced Gaumocesee 100 Heleched mathvess planted UN ONeEMDED dil) eo an aceeceeeaaclsaelce sosielina\cim a e]o seme eeemnl soe Sone ieansiniee eae aes ae 150 This year’s growth, taken from the edge of the ditch..................--...----- Dac abeltecsseaacdsroscaaece 25 (Roba) eames eet ste ta eeteite aretaieae wteelete = al stelateiniaces = selenite enolase ae ene actos eae aeiaen ome sia aaa eae eae ee 300 The next entry is a list of the names of the 48 original proprietors to whom the oyster-lots, subsequently transferred to the Townsend Brothers, were first granted by the town of Hast Haven. The lots run from No. 389 to No. 482; each lot consisted of two acres. In July, 1868, Mr. Townsend began spreading shells upon seven of his lots, and between the 16th and 29th threw overboard 4,487 bushels, estimating that each lot required from 700 to 750 bushels. The expense of this he sets down at 8 cents a bushel; 24 cents cost of shells; 5 cents for boating and spreading; 4 cent for staking, ete. Following this comes a “memorandum of sound and cove seed-oysters, planted August and September, 1868”. This states, very particularly, the date of planting, who did the labor, the exact location of the work, and the number of bushels put down each time, with occasional additional note, regarding quality, ete. A large number of the Fair Haven oystermen appear to have been furnished with steady employment at this season. Succeeding this entry, are similar memoranda of Fair Haven river seed-oysters planted at the same time upon different ground. In all, 834 bushels of cove and sound seed and 2,595 bushels of river seed were planted, both kinds a year old. This seed, says a subsequent entry, was laid down at the rate of 25 bushels to 30 feet square, or 1,000 bushels to the acre; eighteen months afterward it was decided to be too thick to thrive well. At this time he began taking up some Virginia oysters. One cargo, planted April 24, 1869, on lot 455, consisted of 765 bushels from Fishing bay. They cost, to bed down, 314 cents a bushel, and sold, December 1, at 48 cents a bushel. Another cargo, planted on lots 406 and 407, April 25, 1869, consisted of 2,280 bushels from Great Anamassie. They cost, to bed down, 344 cents, and sold, on the ground, for 50 cents per bushel. The oysters remained down, on the average, six months, and increased in growth one-third. Between July 14 and 26 he shelled the east side of lots 428, 429, 430 with 900 bushels of “ stools”, in a strip about 100 feet wide, and put 200 bushels on Black Rock bar. This completes the diary for 1869. I continue to quote: January 1, 1870.—Paid W. F , for service as watchman, 10 days, at $2 50, $25. F was relieved to-day by A. Moulthrop, whom I have employed, for the Townsend Brothers, to cultivate oysters, and otherwise, for one year, at the rate of $75 per month, January 26, 1870.—Spent several hours to-day with Moulthrop on the oyster-beds in the harbor. I also told him of my plans for developing the ditch at Fort Hale. We walked around it and I gave him an idea how much of the ditch we had stocked; I also showed him the mussel-patch in the sluice, and gave him directions to get brush ready to lay over the mussels for the purpose of catching their spawn, similar to the French plan. J also told him to prepare stakes, boats, etc., for work in the spring. March 26, 1870.—I find the cold weather had killed many of our finest oysters near the sluice at the fort. We were employed scraping and trimming up the ditch, ete. March 28, 1870.—Moulthrop and myself busy on the oyster-grounds getting ready to transplant seed from spawn of 1868. On the following day the transplanting was begun. Lot 409 had been “shelled” in July, 1868, at the rate of 1,000 bushels to the acre. These shells had caught a large amount of spat, which had lived and was now ready to be transferred. Between March 29 and May 26 there were taken from this lot, as follows: Bushels. PELAND bE LEd tO-LOLEN Os Ach tera erent cinta sais oa te eee Ce ae oe tae ee alee aces booed ee cadesee sh Seee eee 650 Transplanted tovlot No; A062. s or: sce ce waseeee ose s en nee che aee oes see ece ele faliad 6h ce0 es eeoeeeeeeees 645 rausplanced sto lot No: 403 cscene se seek teem oats ooesle ae ee elea eens otsteeeiacidces Jl. kee erence ere 630 ransplamtéed toot. Nov4024...cssccone caneectustenoeonoss sae eaeltans Ose Soe(sce stewed ees eee eee eoee 540 Before transplanting, the lot which was to receive this seed was divided off into “squares”, 30 feet in breadth, and about 15 bushels was placed on each square. Mr. Townsend made a plat of each lot, so planted, in his note- book. I will transcribe one, as a sample of the many that occur all through, since it may be suggestive. On each square is noted the date of planting and the number of bushels, thus: “ April 14—15.” 74 THE FISHERIES OF THE UNITED STATES. NORTH. 28 30 30 30 30 30 30 feet. co} Thisstrip, 30 ft. wide, planted July and A'ugust, 1868, |with 210 bush/els F. H. see d. Replanted =I June 5, 1871. 2 April 18—15.| April 18—15. | April 18—15. | April 11—15.| April 7—15. | April 12—20.) April 11—15. gs) April 18—15. | April 15—15. | April 14—15. | April 11—15.) April 7—15. | April 5—15. | Mar. 31—17. ae April 16—15. ; April 15—15. | April 14—15. | April 13—15.; April 7—15. | April 5—15. | Mar. 31—18. % mM ie 5 a April 16—15. | April 15—15.| April 14—15. | April 13—15. | April 7—15. | April 5—20. | Mar. 30—17. gg April 16--15. | April 14—15, | April 14—15.| April 13—15.| April 6—15. | April 6-15. | Mar. 30-18. ts) April 15—15. | April 14—15. | April 14—15. | April 13—15.) April 6—15. | April 6—15. | Mar. 29—15. . 90 90 90 90 100 100 ~——rbush. 90 SOUTH. Turning the pages still further, it appears that other spat had been caught on stools and was now transplanted, over 8,000 bushels being gathered from ten or twelveacres. Meanwhile, seed was being imported from outside sources. Cove seed, for instance, was caught up from lot No. 415 and laid down on lot No. 444, on Black Rock bar, to the amount of 750 bushels; while on June 15, 30 bushels of Long Island seed was put on lot 417, at a cost of 25 cents a bushel; and on July 25, 110 bushels of Morris Cove seed, at 20 cents, was planted on lot 415. Meanwhile, in May, the schooner Albert Field brought Mr. Townsend a cargo of Wycomico river oysters from Virginia, which he bedded on Crane bar and on Black Rock bar, under the following expense : 5,000ibushels: first cost; ‘atiloicents!.Ys22 (<2 een eeslaseons oesieses socisic~ Sone edoe eo see nie ooeieee Heme aoe $450 00 3,000)bushels; iat) 14 cents freight ==: = so-so se o-oo ee ise eee ienee as cee eaeeee Joss ones OoSess Ssenescosas5 420 00 2,940ibushels; bedded, jati3\cents':--~ ¢a-2 <2 -sco-- 2 oe eo sas cass ee cm ces bas eee see eee naan tee toe ame seme eee eee eat ee oe eee $218, 800 Number ofanenthired (by planters: oridealers 22-2. .\-a ae olen se emo eee = tee ceelee =e soe e see aiek ea ae eee 125 J Smee ONE ETN) peace Sen oan eotenc shan sope Mo SOnGs sad bo Coenasco0. ceeo ones ceboo2occa 5256 $67, 500 Annual sales of— : \ Naive) OVStCIS ss secelsa2 toe soeosin,. cae ee veosea see ee me sce cee aeeieeeen ee Se epeeeeer eee bushels-. 669, 800 Wale ofsame)-.-2secc2. sso= Sees cea seeerscnie Sane care pecosban me ncewene en Cecio eee eee eee $708, 925 I. THE SOUTH SHORE OF LONG ISLAND. 36. THE GREAT SOUTH BAY DISTRICT. TOPOGRAPHY OF GREAT SouTH BAY.—“ Every schoolboy knows,” as Macaulay used to say with his fine contempt for illiteracy, that all along the shore of Long Island, between the outer fence of the rigid and pitiless surf-repelling beach and the habitable shore, lie a series of shallow lagoons. The largest of these—thirty miles or more long and from one to five miles wide—is the Great South bay. This water is the salvation of all southern Long Island. If the land ran straight to the sea, and Fire island was not an island but simply a shore, the whole great extent would be as uninhabitable as the bleak rear of Cape Cod, all the way from Prospect Park to Moriches. But the bay furnishes an abundance of harbors; it abounds in fish profitable to catch; it tempts the ducks to its sedgy shore, and so invites an annual migration of money-spending sportsmen; it is paved with the “Tuscious clammes and erabfish” which the old Dutch poet extolled; and it furnishes to the world that marvel of delicacies, the oyster. Hence, in place of a pine-barren and a howling, friendless coast, we find a string of populous and thriving villages, the winter-havens of thousands of mariners, and the summer resort of city pleasure-seekers. This shallow sound communicates with the ocean through Fire island inlet and a few more openings to the westward. The eastern part communicates through a narrow pass at Smith’s point with East bay, which has no communication with the sea, and is almost fresh. The depth of water in the bay does not exceed two fathoms in its deepest part, and the rise and fall of the tide are very small, probably not more than a foot at the average. The bay receives considerable supplies of fresh water from a number of streams, celebrated for their fine trout. The western part of the bay has a sandy bottom, and its water, being in more direct communication with the ocean, contains more salt than that of the eastern part, where the bottom is a mixture of black mud with sand. ABUNDANCE OF OYSTERS, PAST AND PRESENT.—This Great South bay has been called the most populous oyster-ground north of the Chesapeake bay, but the natural beds are all confined to the eastern end, where the THE OYSTER-INDUSTRY. 99 mud-bottom is. They do not occur much eastward of Smith’s point, nor westward, in general, of a line drawn from Nicoll’s point across to Fire island. Occasionally temporary and inconsequential beds “strike” in the tideways of inlets farther east, but nothing with regularity or of importance. This south-shore locality has been celebrated from time immemorial, and as early as 1679 had become an object of an extensive industry, as is witnessed by the following local ordinance, which I find stated in Watson’s Annals of New York, (p. 284): Oysters: To prevent the destruction of oysters in South bay, by the unlimited number of vessels employed in the same, it is ordered that but ten vessels shall be allowed, and that each half-barrel tub shall be paid for at the rate of 2d., according to the town act of Brookhaven. This right of the town of Brookhaven to dictate regulations in this matter exists to the present day, and arises from an ancient colonial grant to the town by patent from the king of England. Recognizing this grant, there was made an agreement in 1767 between William Smith, who was at that time the holder and representative of the rights and interests of the fishing in Great South bay, whereby the town, in exchange for the right to control the bay, contracted to give to him and his heirs forever one half of all net income accruing to the town from the use of the bottom of the bay. This, of course, applied almost exclusively to oyster-culture, and the agreement has been kept, the revenue of the town from that source, in 1880, amounting to $1,032 95, half of which went to the heirs of old William Smith. OYSTER-LAWS OF GREAT SouTH BAY.—The present laws regulating oyster-matters at the eastern end of the bay are as follows: SEcTION 10. The owners and lessees of land bounded upon that part of Shinnecock bay lying west of a line drawn due south from Pine Neck point, in the town of South Hampton, in the county of Suffolk [Long Island], may plant oysters or clams in the waters of said bay, opposite their respective lands, extending from low-water mark into said bay not exceeding four rods in width. No planting upon any “beds of natural growth”, however, is authorized, or will be protected; nor can any person hold oyster-ground unless it is planted and occupied “in good faith”. The locality of such planted beds must be designated by stakes and a monument on shore. To plant oysters or clams on such designated ground, without permission of the owner, subjects the offender to a forfeit of $12 for each offense, under stated processes of law. Heavy penalties also are inflicted upon persons who remove or deface boundary stakes. [This law, or legal permit, is practically a dead letter, since it has been found useless through the too great freshness of the water, and for other reasons, to plant in Shinnecock bay. | Sections 100 and 101 of the Revised Statutes of 1875, Title XI, forbid dredging in the Great South bay, Long Island, or having in possession instruments for that purpose. Sections 102 and 103 enjoin that “no person shall take any oysters, clams, mussels, or shells, or any substance growing on the bottom, from any public or private bed, or in any of the waters of the said South bay, except between sunrise and sunset on any day”. Section 104 forbids “catching any oysters, spawn, or seed-oysters” in Great South bay between June 15 and September 15. The penalties for violation of the above-given regulations are a fine not to exceed $250, imprisonment up to six months, and an additional forfeiture of $200 for each offense; half the penalty goes to the informer, the remainder to the poor-fund. REGULATION OF OYSTER-CULTURE IN SUFFOLK couNTY.—In 1879 a law was passed regulating the formation of corporations for oyster-culture in Suffolk county, Long Island. Whether this law has ever been taken advantage of Iam unable to say. It is as follows: Section 1. Five or more persons who have leased or hold oyster-lots in Suffolk county may organize a company for the promotion of oyster-culture upon those lots, and shall become a corporate body, after filing prescribed statements, in writing, with the county clerk. Src. 2. There shall be not less than three nor more than nine trustees, holding office one year. By-laws shall be made to regulate the business of the corporation. Every lot owner shall have one vote, and a majority of votes shall control all questions. Src. 3. The trustees shall have the superintendence of the several oyster-lots held by the members, and shall regulate the methods of conducting the business by by-laws, which shall be publicly entered on a book, and which may be changed at annual meetings by a majority vote of the members of the company. The trustees may employ persons, and make monthly assessments upon the members, for money to meet the expenses of the company ; and any member failing to pay such an assessment within 30 days may be sued by the corporation. Src. 4. If any member violates a by-law of the company, he forfeits $25, which may be recovered in an action against him by the corporation. ; Src. 5. Whenever, under the laws of this state, an action shall accrue to any member of said company for trespass, or for penalty by reason of any act or thing done or committed by any person, to or in or about the oysters, upon the lot leased, occupied, or held by such member, and said member shall assent thereto in writing, said action may be brought in the corporate name of said company, and all recoveries in said actions shall be the property of the company. Sec. 6. The oysters upon the several lots of the several members of said company shall be and remain the separate property of the said several members, except that any and all shall be liable to levy and sale, under execution, for all judgments recovered against the company. REGULATIONS OF OYSTER-CULTURE BY TOWN-LAWS OF BROOKHAVEN.—It will be known, of course, that Brookhaven does not consider any of these state laws as applying to her, since she regards the bottom of so much of the Great South bay as lies within her boundaries, as being wholly under her own control, and not amenable to state jurisdiction. The trustees of the town, therefore, make all the regulations thought necessary, which are not many in number. 100 THE FISHERIES OF THE UNITED STATES. A supervisor is appointed, who has charge of the letting of ground, in lots of one acre, to each male applicant of age, who is a resident of the town. The superviscr inspects the ground to see that it is not “a natural bed”, places it upon his map, looks after its proper staking-out, and collects a personal fee for his services. The owners of oyster-grounds then pay to the town $1 a year rent per acre, and pay taxes upon their floating personal property engaged in the business, and upon oysters admitted to be upon their ground. In addition to this, every man, cultivator or not, who wishes to wield oyster-tongs on Brookhaven oyster-grounds, must pay-$1 a year license-fee to the town for the privilege. This fee is known by the curious name “toleration”, and it arose in this way: When the town ordered that every citizen might hold a lot, upon the conditions outlined above, it meant that no person should hold more than one. If, however, A got the use of B’s name, and so acquired the control of two or more lots, no one objected. The theory was that every man worked his own lot; but soon men began catching seed-oysters in Bellport bay, around Smith’s point, and elsewhere, and selling to the planters, who paid from 25 to 40 cents a bushel. In order to derive a revenue from this also, the town therefore ordered a “‘toleration-fee” of $1, to be paid by every man who handled a rake. In the fiscal year 1879-80 these license-fees amounted to $371 50, while the rental of oyster-ground in Brookhaven during the same time was $1,056; total receipts of the town, $1,427 50, of which “the poor” got one-half. Any seeming lack of sufficiency in thé amount of the toleration-fees must be charged to the fact, that many, no doubt, took advantage of the custom of commuting for the fee, by throwing upon the public ground eight or ten bushels of seed, pro bono publico. RESTRICTIONS OF OYSTER-FISHING BY TOWN-LAWS OF BROOKHAVEN.—The stated restrictions placed by the town upon oystering are: that no dredging shall be done; no oyster-raking at night, nor between June 15 and October 1; and that no one not a citizen of Brookhaven shall be allowed to rake in her waters, or any person take or dispose of any oysters to be transplanted elsewhere. These regulations, being considered by those inside only as protective measures due to themselves, and being branded as an illegal and unkind selfishness and monopoly by those outside, have naturally caused considerable conflict between the oystermen of Brookhaven and their neighbors— a large part of the town of Islip, separated from Brookhaven before the full value of the oyster-bottom of the bay was appreciated. Brookhaven now claims that the water opposite Eastern Islip was not granted to Islip at the time of the separation, and that she retains control of it. To this Eastern Islip objects, and, with an additional reason, claims, with Western Islip, Babylon, and the state at large, the free right of Brookhaven waters. Brookhaven offers to let Eastern Islip men, in consideration of the old connection, rake with her own citizens, by paying a toleration- fee of $2, and anybody else for a fee of $3. This is paid by few or none, and Islip brought suit, which has long been pending, intended to break the monopoly. Meanwhile she and all the rest steal as much seed as possible—nearly all they need, in fact—from Brookhaven waters, the evidence required by the law being so very definite that they run small risk, even if caught, of being proved guilty in court. At the same time Islip and Babylon procured legislation authorizing the leasing of the bay-bottom in four-acre plots to citizens of those towns, for the purpose of planting oysters thereon, and it was made a misdemeanor for non-residents to tong oysters in any of the waters within their jurisdiction. This exclusion was a matter of indifference to everybody acquainted with the fact that no seed-beds of value existed in either town to tempt non-resident tongers. Brookhaven is now endeavoring to get aid from the state in securing to itself more protection. At a late town meeting one trustee made the astonishing statement, that during the spawning-season three thousand tubs of seed are weekly stolen from the bay and transplanted in the protected beds in other waters, those of Connecticut included. “As the seed is worth $1 a tub, the injury to the oyster-interests in Brookhaven is readily seen. While the oyster-planters of other towns are growing rich, those of Brookhaven are being made poor, and the time to seek protection was while something remained that was worth pocketing.” One speaker said he controlled several hundred acres of excellent oyster- bottom, but was prevented from utilizing it by the depredations of non-residents; at which the said non-residents grinned with saturnine glee. What will be the result of the struggle between exclusion and free-raking, remains to be seen. BROOKHAVEN BAY or *BuiuE Pot” OYSTERS.—Having thus stated the conditions and regulations under which oyster-culture exists in the Great South bay, let us turn to a consideration of the natural supply there, the methods of artificial increase, and the results in market-produce and active prosperity. The natural, original growth of oysters in this sound, as I have already stated, is confined almost wholly between Smith’s point and Fire island—practically to the waters east of Blue Point, known as Brookhaven bay. This was the home of the famous celebrity, the Blue Point oyster, which was among the earliest to come to New York markets. The present oyster of this brand is small and round; but the old “Blue Points”, cherished by the Dutch burghers and peaked-hatted sons of the Hamptons, who toasted the king long before our Revolution was thought of, was of the large, crooked. heavy-shelled, elongated kind with which one becomes familiar all along the coast in examining relics of the natural beds, and which even now are to be found by the thousand in all the mussel- lagoons of the gulf of Saint Lawrence. Now and then, a few years ago, one of these aboriginal oysters, of which two dozen made a suflicient armful, was dragged up and excited the curiosity of every one; but the time has gone by when any more of these monsters may be expected. In 1853 the New York Herald reported that the value of all the Blue Point oysters, by which name the Great . . THE OYSTER-INDUSTRY. 101 South bay oysters were generally meant, did not exceed yearly $200,000. “They are sold for an average of ten shillings ($1 25) a hundred from the beds; but, as they are scarce and have a good reputation, they sell at a considerable advance upon this price when brought to market. At one period, when they might be regarded as in their prime, they attained a remarkable size; but now their proportions, as well as their numbers, have been greatly reduced. There are about two hundred persons engaged in the business, including the proprietors and the hands employed in working the beds.” EXTENT OF SOUTH BAY BEDS IN 1873.—Twenty years later (in 1873) Count Pourtales, of Cambridge, made an examination of the oyster-producing districts near New York, at the request of the superintendent of the coast survey. In respect to this great bay south of Long Island, Count Pourtales wrote: The beds are of various extent, from a few acres to a hundred or more. They form large accumulations of dead shells, on the top of which the spawn attaches itself and produces a succession of crops. * * * Among the beds visited by me, the following deserve particular mention: Smith’s point has been mentioned as being the eastern limit of the oysters. The water was found there to be only brackish, and the bottom of clear quartz pebbles, offering attachment to a small variety of oysters, tasteless though fat. They are only used for planting. * The Great bed (subdivided into North and South beds) off Patchogue appears to be one of the oldest. The tongs bring up large quantities of dead oyster-shells of great size, such as have been mentioned before. The living oysters obtained by a fleet of boats at work ‘on it appeared to be generally about three years old, and were intended for planting at Rockaway until fall. Another celebrated bed is off Blue Point, which has a celebrity for the quality of its oysters in the New York and Boston markets. The California bed off Sayville is one of the largest, about 100 acres in extent. It is the westernmost natural bed, and was formerly extremely productive, but has been very much reduced by over-fishing. The oystermen recognize the oysters from that bank by the abundant growth of red sponge and sertularias on them. The mussel-beds are the nearest to the inlet, and the greater saltness of their favor is a consequence of it. The lower shell is more frequently ribbed and the edge scalloped in the oysters of these beds than those from beds in the eastern part of the bay. To the westward and between these latter beds, the bottom is more sandy, and the scattering oysters found on it are known as “sand” oysters; they are easily recognized by their clean shells, scalloped on the edge and somewhat striped with dark colors when young; the growing edge is very thin but hard, while further east it is generally flexible. This would indicate a greater proportion of lime in the water, but the reason is not obvious, since the eastern part of the bay contains a much larger quantity of shells in a state of decomposition. SIGNS OF EXHAUSTION IN THE OYSTER-BEDS.—It is nearly ten years ago that this inquiry was made by Count Pourtales, since even then apprehensions were felt, lest the supply of native oysters, once thought inexhaustible, should speedily find a sudden end. For a hundred years no one had thought anything like protection to the beds, or even moderation in raking, necessary. Boats had come from Rhode Island and Massachusetts, year after year, and had taken away unnumbered loads to be transplanted there, in addition to all the home market consumption and the supply for Rockaway and Staten Island beds. Only 10 to 25 cents a bushel was asked for the seed by the easy-working catchers, and there seemed no bottom to the mine. This state of things attracted more and more men into the business of dredging seed and tonging marketable beds. All at once young oysters began to be hard to get, and the increase seemed to be almost at anend. The young men had little knowledge of the great armies of infant mollusks which the old men had seen speckling the gravel beaches and rocky shoals all over the bay a few years previous. It began to be seen that if any oysters were to remain, none must be sold out of the bay, and all oystermen must hasten to organize beds and encourage growth. Then came the attempts at help from legislation, but the trouble was too deep for that, and the oystermen of the present generation suffer a searcity that their grandfathers would have thought it impossible should ever occur. EXTENT OF OYSTER-INDUSTRY AT THE PRESENT DAY.—Nevertheless, the beds are not exhausted yet, as is evident from the great fleets that spring and fall operate to advantage in the waters between Moriches and Blue Point. I suppose that no less than 500 sail-boats spend their time on the bay at these seasons in gathering seed, carrying it away, and buying it for outside planters. To every one of these 500 sail-boats, mainly well-built sloops and cat-boats, three men may be counted, so that 1,500 men are probably employed in this industry alone at these times. How much seed is procured each season—the fall of 1879 or spring of 1880, for instance—it is impossible to state; but I should judge it to be not less than 100,000 bushels, or twice that amount for the annual yield; yet the amount is not large enough to supply the demands of the South Shore planters, who were compelled to bring in last year (1879) about 100,000 bushels of seed procured in the Newark bay, the North river, East river, and New Haven, Connecticut. This estimate is too small, if anything. DISPOSITION OF SEED-OYSTERS: PRICES.—The poorer seed caught is sold to a great extent in the rough— stones, shells, dead stuff, and all—jusé as it comes up, since on much of it there is clinging “spawn”; that is, young oysters too small to be detached. For this 25 cents was the ruling price last year. Much, however, is culled, boys going in the boat and picking the tongfuls over as fast as they are poured out upon a board, which is placed across the middle of the skiff, from gunwale to gunwale. For this from 40 to 60 cents is paid. The buyers are planters at Bellport, Patchogue, Blue Point, Sayville, and the towns farther west, and occasionally a man from Rhode Island or Connecticut, who wants this seed to work up into a particular grade on his home-beds. Count Pourtales mentions something I did not learn of in this connection, namely, “a class of men intermediate between the fishermen and the marketmen. They use sloops and small schooners, and buy up from the oystermen the produce of each day’s fishing as they come in at night. A basket hoisted to the masthead is the signal indicating a wish to *This seed, however, makes the hardiest and most preferred oysters for the European trade, and is much sought after. 102 THE FISHERIES OF THE UNITED STATES. purchase.” This looks as if he referred to the well-known packers, of whom I shall speak later; but he shows that, partially at least, it is seed they buy, for he continues: ‘ The price paid at the time of my visit was about 60 cents a bushel for all sizes and qualities mixed. These oysters are carried to Rockaway, Hempstead, and other bays near the west end of Long Island sound, near Captain’s island, where they acquire rapidly a better appearance and flavor. The men who simply carry them there to resell to planters, realize a profit. of 15 cents a bushel for freight.” SCARCITY OF SEED AND INCREASE OF PRICE.—The insufficiency of native seed to supply the cultivated beds, complained of this year to a greater extent than ever before, is to be traced mainly to the cause which might long ago have been anticipated, and which has before been so ruinous to our oyster-interests—over-fishing. So long as oysters are permitted to grow for a proper time—say till they are four or five years old—before they are raked up for market, so long will they, in favorable places, increase with a rapidity that it would hardly be possible for a scarcity to occur. To an extent safe against ordinary demands, the more an oyster-bottom is “‘tonged” the more stock will be found. This is due to the fact that constant raking stirs up the bottom, rinses off the shells and gravel there, and so prepares it to receive the floating spawn. But here in South bay the oysters gathered for market- use are exceedingly small, many of them not larger than a silver quarter. They have not yet spawned, in most cases, and hence their removal is like digging plants up before they have left any seeds behind; it is destroying the root as well as the branches of oyster-growth. The seed imported from outside the island is of a different quality, if not inferior—two opinions exist on this point—not producing stock of precisely the flavor esteemed most highly on the South shore, and to which the original Blue Point and Oak Island bivalves owe their high reputation with epicures. Moreover, where formerly seed was to be had for the catching, or bought at 10 to 20 cents a bushel, 30 to 60 cents must now be paid for it. Such an outlay at the beginning makes an increase of the selling*pmlg necessary. The shippers are loth to give the increase, since they do not see wherein the profit will return. Lately, indeed, money has been lost rather than made on oysters from the south side of Long Island, at least upon those grown at the eastern end of the bay, whence the stock is almost wholly sent to Europe. The question, therefore, as to the best way to restore the natural beds to their ancient produetiveness, or whether it is possible to induce the formation of new seed-banks, is a very important one in this locality, and I endeavored to collect all possible information bearing upon it. REMEDIES FOR THE EXHAUSTION OF THE SEED-SUPPLY.—To begin with: It appears that there has been no season when there was a wide spread and abundant catch of spawn and successful growth of young oysters in Brookhaven bay since about 1870. In 1872, it is said to have failed altogether. Every year, however, there is more or less spawning observed, and it is the belief of the baymen, that every fourth year this exceeds in quantity the intermediate three years; but the misfortune is that the spawn seems, year after year, to go to waste, or, if it attaches itself at all, to be killed by the winter-storms, which stir up and shift the mud of the too shallow bay, or by some other accident. It is my opinion, however, that nothing like the required number of adult oysters exist, undisturbed, in Brookhaven bay to supply naturally sufficient seed to keep pace with the accidents of bad weather and the fall-raking. Itisa well-known fact, that the oysters upon the transplanted beds do not propagate successfully. Though all the surrounding circumstances seem favorable, the shock they have sustained in being transplanted, or some other reason, limits their spawning; and if they do emit eggs, there is usually nothing near by for them to catch upon. It is to the wild oysters, then, that the planters must look for the annual renewal of the seed-beds. They are few in number, and every circumstance is against them. One source of trouble lies, I believe, in the laws intended to be beneficial, which, perhaps, present the only difficulty in the way of an entire restoration of the old productiveness. I consider that the prohibition of dredging is bad policy; that, on the other hand, dredging should be permitted all the year round, at least half of each week. It seems to me, also, that beneficial effects would follow the opening of the beds to free-fishing in summer, dredging included, and the closing of them, at least for a few years, from the 15th of July until the following spring, say up to March 1. The reasons for this have been indicated in previous chapters. The continued raking and dragging of the ground in summer, spreads and thins the thicker beds, keeps the bottom clean, and prepares the shells, gravel, and scraps there for the attachment of the spawn, by turning over and rinsing them, and this at the very time most necessary, when the oysters are spawning and the eggs are making their brief floating search for a foothold. But having thus been provided with resting places in abundance, over a continually widened area, it is necessary that the disturbance immediately cease and the young oysters be permitted to rest entirely quiet, until they have become strong enough to withstand the shock of change to new, private beds. This will not occur until they are at least six months old. The present custom of seed-gathering in the fall saves that which is a year old, but it ruins an enormous quantity of small seed of the year only three months old, which has not grown to sufficient strength to withstand the change. I believe that the only seed which should be removed from its birthplace in the fall, is that which catches on gravel beaches between tide-marks or elsewhere, where it would surely be killed by cold during the ensuing winter; and that the abundance the succeeding spring would more than make up for the apparent loss of the opportunity at present made use of. If such a course as this were deemed impracticable, then would it not be well to adopt a system of raking one part of the bottom one year and another THE OYSTER-INDUSTRY. 103 the next? Perhaps not more than a single year’s interval would be required; but I should hope that only a third of the bottom might be raked annually, so that each bed would have two years’ rest between times. The general characteristics of the Great South bay having thus been mentioned, it remains to describe particular districts, and offer such statistics as I have been able to collect. BELLPORT AND MoricuEs.—The most eastern point at which any oyster-operations are conducted on the south side is Bellport, and there they are only begun. East of this, in Moriches bay, seed beds exist—there are no oysters in Shinnecock bay—but at Bellport laud is now being staked off and planting has begun. Bellport planters will have the advantage of the best and hardiest seed close at their own doors, but are three miles or more from the railway. PATCHOGUE AND VICINITY.—The next point is the important town of Patchogue, the center of the Brookhaven bay interests. More than any other of the thriving towns on the south shore, it owes its existence to the bay, but has distanced them all in point of size. Every other man you meet is a captain, though the craft he commands is rarely better than a sloop. With few exceptions, to be born and bred here means to be a bayman, and a curious result follows socially. The women of the village know a vast deal more than the men. As soon as a boy is old enough he is sent to school; but by the time he gets acquainted with the manners of the school-house, he has become big enough to “ go cullin’” in an oyster-boat, and that is the end of his education. Henceforth he sits in a skiff on the bay and assorts oysters, until he is old enough to handle a pair of tongs, when he “ goes tongin’” until he dies or has energy and savings enough to become a buyer and shipper. The alternatives to this are to go to New York to seek his fortune, or to become a clerk in a village shop. The girls, on the other hand, stay in school long after their brothers are taken away. They are pretty—that goes without saying—and healthy, because nobody is anything else down here, and are acquainted with fashion through seeing so many stylish people in the summer. Then they admire the honest, rugged frame and heart of a bayman, marry him, and become his confidential clerk in business. The chief business of the bayman at this eastern end, is the catching and cultivation of oysters, and there are about 1,000 acres of bottom under cultivation in front of the town. This area includes all the coast from Patchogue to Bayshore, thus taking in the settlements and railway stations, Bayport, Youngport, Blue Point, Sayville, and Oakdale. A part of these lie in the town of Islip and the rest in Brookhaven, and thus come under slightly different regulations, but otherwise they form together a homogeneous district, and the oysters they raise go to market under the general brand-name of “ Blue Points”. The artificial beds upon which these oysters grow are all near shore, and in water rarely more than two fathoms deep, and often less. The bottom varies, but, as a rule, consists of mud overlying sand. The preference is in favor of water 6 to 10 feet in depth, which is deep enough to escape ordinary gales, and is not too expensive to work. The oysters fatten better there than in shoaler water, one planter said. The seed consists of the native growth, eked out by cargoes from New York bay, the East river, and elsewhere. The experiment of planting Virginia oysters as seed has proved a failure. The result is a shell which grows closely to resemble the natives, but the moment the oyster is opened the difference and inferiority of the meat is apparent, both to the eye and the taste. It has therefore been discouraged. Southern oysters will survive the winter in this bay, grow, and emit spawn; but most planters consider that they tend to reduce the quality and price of the native stock, and hence have almost ceased to bring any. To raise and sell them as “ Virginias” would not pay, since this region cannot compete with Staten Island. Whether native or outside seed grows faster is another undecided question, but all whom I asked said they preferred to plant all home-seed, if possible, on general considerations. The differences in the experiences related to me are no doubt due to the differences in the particular localities whence the seed was brought. Itis generally understood that oysters taken from the eastern to the western end of the bay grow more rapidly than those not changed. Count Pourtales remarked upon this district as follows: These beds produce oysters of different qualities, according to the locality; the cause of the variation is not known, but depends probably on the density of the water, supply of food, ete. The oysters grown on the beds are called bed-oysters, by the fishermen, to distinguish them from the broken-bottom oysters. The former have generally a rounded shape; the second, which grow in scattered bunches on broken or muddy bottom between the beds, assume an elongated or spoon-shaped form, evidently produced by their tendency to sink in the mnd by their own weight as they grow. The beds have probably originated in the same way, as the tongs bring up from them frequently old and very large spoon-shaped shells of oysters, such as are not now found living there. The broken-bottom oysters have a much more rapid growth than the bed-oysters, being two or three times as large as the latter at the same age. The greater supply of food will no doubt account for it. At the same time the meat is more watery and held in less estimation until after it has improved by planting in other localities. The ordinary amount of small seed put on an acre is 500 bushels, chiefly laid down in the spring. In the fall the owner goes over them and thins them out, finding a great many which are large enough for market, though no bigger than a silver dollar. The rest remain down longer, and meanwhile constant additions of seed are made alongside. BAYSHORE.—As you go westward to the extremity of the “ Blue Point” district, in the neighborhood of Bayshore, you find a feeling of discouragement. The oysters there do not grow as fast or become as finely flavored as those to the eastward, and all the seed must be bought or poached stealthily from Brookhaven. Large quantities of ground there, which may be procured in four-acre lots at $1 a year rent per acre, are not taken up, although with the help 104 THE FISHERIES OF THE UNITED STATES. of capital it might be made productive, and there are very few out of the many planters in Bayshore who depend to any considerable degree upon their oyster-beds for their support, even if you add to this the profits they derive from clamming. THE USE OF “STOOLS” TO RECEIVE OYSTER-SPAT.—Following the lessening product of the seed-beds and the increasing appreciation of the oysters of this region, attention was turned some years ago to the possibility of saying a portion of the wasted spawn with which the imagination filled the waters of the whole bay, by giving it suitable “stools” upon which to rest. It has been the custom, therefore, for several years in Brookhaven bay, to spread down shells, serap-tin, and other cultch, in hopes of catching a quantity of oyster-spawn and so getting plenty of seed. This seems to have succeeded just in proportion to the contiguity of mother-oysters to the receiving-bed, and the success has generally been so uncertain, that no great dependence has been placed upon this source of supply, nor has the practice been systematically engaged in, as at New Haven and Norwalk. The experience of Mr. King Benjamin, of Sayville, for instance, may be given as that of the average planter in this respect. He told me that it was his custom to spread his shells at the middle of the spawning season, which here comes early in July, where the tide-currents were tolerably swift, and spread them lengthwise of the current. Then across the tide, near the middle of the bed, he puts a rank of spawning-oysters from the North river, and has rarely failed for ten years past to get a good set to a distance of 15 or 20 rods, but no further. The risk now begins, and it is rare that any considerable quantity of the seed so caught survives the breaking up of the winter, when the ice goes out and the northeast gales churn up the bottom of the shallow bay. A large proportion of all the oysters, large and small, in Brookhaven, which have lain in health all winter, are destroyed every spring. This is one argument used to sustain the propriety and profit of fall-raking for seed. The spreading of shells, without placing among them mother-oysters, is steadily practiced, in,the hope of some day catching a fortune, but up to this time this practice has hardly repaid the small expense incurred. On the other hand, in spite of ill-luck, those planters who have worked more cautiously, placing spawners among their shells instead of trusting to chance, have got plenty of young. There seems no reason, therefore, why the race of “Blue Points” should become extinct for loss of seed, and no doubt a more urgent necessity than now exists will introduce into that locality the better methods of saving spawn and safely raising the young, which are surely possible. At present it is preferred to purchase seed of natural growth, or of somebody else’s raising. That the Brookhaven men consider the putting down of stools worth the effort, is evinced by their petition to the town-authorities in May, 1880, for additional ground for this purpose on the southern, and as yet, useless shore of the bay. After long discussion, this petition met with the following response, which opens a new field of industry to Patchogue, which there is every reason to suppose will prove of profit. The town decreed as follows: Whereas, there isa large portion of the South bay adjoining the South beach which is clean sand-bottom, and could be made available for raising seed-oysters by the spreading upon said ground shells for seed to catch upon, thereby making the flats and shoal- water ground productive to our citizens, and an increased revenue to our town: Therefore, be it Resolved, That this board of trustees lease four acres of such ground to the west of Blue Point and east of aline drawn south from Munsell’s landing, to any citizen of the town of Brookhaven, for the purpose of propagating and raising seed-oysters thereon, whether a lot for growing oysters in said bay has already been leased to him or her, or not, at the annual rent of $4 for the term of one year, with the privilege of renewal annually for nine successive years thereafter, and on the other conditions upon which the board of trustees are now granting leases for the purpose of growing oysters. OYSTER-VESSELS AND OYSTERMEN AT EAST END OF GREAT SouTH BAY.—The fleet and the number of persons supported by the oyster-industries of the eastern end of the Great South bay are very large, but it was impossible for me to get exact statements in respect to either. At Patchogue and neighborhood, however, an estimate of 250 boats was concluded upon after much inquiry. Eastern Islip will add to this 200 boats, and the shore from there westward to Bayshore from 100 to 150 more; say the lesser number. All of these boats are sloops or cat-rigged, and are of good size and quality, so that they will range from $600 to $1,600 in value. The minority, however, are of the more expensive pattern, and about $750 would probably fairly cover the average value. This would make the 550 sail-boats, built for the oyster-business and used from two-thirds to the whole of the time in that business, owned from Bellport to Bayshore, represent a present cash value of about $425,000. In addition to this must be counted, say 500 skiffs, worth, perhaps, $25,000. It is probable that $50,000 more would not more than cover the value of ground, sheds, implements, packing-tools, ete., required, so that the floating property of the oyster-planters from Bayshore eastward to Bellport, concerned in that business, must be estimated as high as half a million of dollars. This, however, is distributed among about 600 planters, 400 of whom live in Brookhaven and the rest in Islip. These are all, supposably, heads of families, and they employ, or otherwise support, perhaps 600 more men and boys to help them in the busy season, half of whom thus support families. It may thus be said that in Brookhaven 600 families, and in Islip 300—total 900—derive their sustenance directly or indirectly from oysters, though most of them, at the same time, are, to a considerable extent, farmers, or fishermen, or both. : YIELD OF BLUE POINT OYSTERS IN 1879~’80.—The past year (187980) has been a very poor one, both THE OYSTER-INDUSTRY. 105 . in respect to quantity and quality, for Blue Point oysters, both the amount sold and the price received being small. The crops gathered at the different ports were approximately as follows: Bushels. TEDW 11) IE Mere, CMU ie Bees Boeri COeCOO BBOS BEDE aS ORS S CHE SOs CCE O REED Ree SeseSSoc6 —Hososss sear 55, 000 TD (ORGIES EO Tah et en Se Odeoo Meer DEE SREB RR SEE NESSES 26S HeSe Ee ESS S HOSS HSeceSe ees sec csce Rocece. 80, 000 DEO Sey AMIE EN Mot ies 3655 coo esc ee meos COCeR noe DOCKED SSR SE CO 0=-F SelObCOS EES ASaCSaeeSeeenessscssscecs (sO 00) Lncdyin 1s a gslkene), GOONS ooo ecS che eae otsa Ro Se HSER = 5 SSSR SOS e CS SREB Oc RE SSE Ono Cosa Seaesaen-ascne 20, 000 215, 000 About half of these were sent by rail, and the other half, or a little more, by water-sloops sailing to New York with loads of barrels. This traffic is very important to the railway, and the water-competition has served the shippers the good turn of keeping freight-charges at a low figure, particularly as there were many advantages to be gained in shipping by boat. The average receipts by the railway, per bushel, for oysters transported in 1879, to New York, from all stations on the Great South bay, was between 8 and 9 cents. EXPORTATION OF “BLUE POINTS” TO EUROPE —The principal market for “ Blue Points” is now, as for some years past, for the European trade. Their superior flavor, round, thin shell, and small size, commended them when this shipping business was first begun, and they have retained their supremacy over all other brands, until the unfortunate season of 1879, when they proved so poor that the “Sounds” beat them in the estimation of the epicures abroad, and money was lost by shippers on Long Island. Another unfortunate thing which detracted from their success, was an attempt to substitute southern oysters, nurtured for one season in the bay, for native “Blue Points.” As has been said before, the southern seed takes on in growth so close a semblance to the genuine Brookhaven product as to deceive any but the most expert eyes, so far as the shell is concerned; but the meat never looks nor tastes so well as that which is imitated. On this account, the leading shippers looked upon the advent of Virginia oysters to the bay with some anxiety, fearing that weak-kneed or unscrupulous persons would some day foist the imitation upon the London market, under the brand of genuine “ Blue Points.” One day an agent of one of the New York houses suspected that such an attempt was being made, but could not easily verify it. At the station, however, while the suspected barrels of oysters were being placed upon the freight cars, he procured an opportunity, unobserved, to look at their contents, and found them nearly all “ Virginias” mixed with a few natives. He telegraphed at once to his principal in New York, who forwarded a cipher dispateh to his agent in Liverpool. That merchant gave a hint to the customs authorities, and a watch was kept. When the adulterated consignment arrived they were seized by oflicers, their inferior character proved, and the whole stock confiscated; moreover, the agents of these people in Liverpool were arrested, charged with fraud in selling food under a false label, which is an offense visited with heavy penalties under the English law, and they only escaped through the intercession of American oyster-dealers there, who explained that the shippers probably thought southern oysters laid down in Blue Point waters might properly pass as “Blue Points.” Such a construction is plausible, but the inferior nature of the stock was well-known nevertheless, and would have tended to injure the reputation of these fine oysters irretrievably. Mr. George H. Shaffer, of New York, one of the pioneers in shipping to Europe, preferred “Blue Points” at first, and has continued ever since to be a very large buyer of them. To the kindness of his agent at Patchogue, Mr. More, I am greatly indebted for assistance in my investigations. Mr. More and all his brother-agents are known as “packers”. They are very busy men, traveling along the shore every day, in all sorts of weather, and striving against one another in the purchasing-boats for friendly advantages. Each packer has asloop and crew with which he cruises on the fishing-grounds. That he has come to their vicinity, and is ready to purchase, is known to the oystermen by the signal of a basket hoisted at his masthead. They row up to him, measure out the “tubs”, each of which holds two bushels, and receive their cash-payment on the spot. Several thousand dollars a day are thus disbursed in this region all winter through. When this market-boat is full she makes for the shore and lands her cargo in her owner’s shanty, which, firmly secured against the wind and banked up with sea-weed, occupies a place just out of reach of the tide on the sandy beach. Here the oysters are “culled”: that is, assorted into three sizes. The largest ones, of small amount, are reserved for the home trade, while the two small sizes are snugly packed in barrels, well shaken down, to be sent abroad. The barrels used are eld flour-barrels, supplies of which are sent down from New York, and they will hold a scant three bushels; but in the course of packing, discarding and waste occur, until it is estimated that every barrel of Long Island oysters sent to Europe represents fully four bushels taken from the beds. I presume the same will hold true at Perth Amboy and elsewhere. The residue of the packing, big and little, the packer throws overboard upon a plot of ground reserved for the purpose, near his house, whence he occasionally takes up such as are suitable for market, so that really there is little waste. ADVANCE-CONTRACTS FOR OYSTER-CROPS.—The system of contracting for a planter’s crop a season ahead, has been followed here by the packers to considerable advantage. The planter judges what he will be able to rake or procure from his neighbors during the winter, and contracts to deliver so many barrels to the shipper at such a price. Last season was disadvantageous for the contractors, owing to scarcity of stock, but as a rule they have done fairly well. The packers also sometimes advance capital to a man with which to start an oyster-bed, on condition 106 THE FISHERIES OF THE UNITED STATES. that he will sell only to them and share the profits equally. This sort of bargain is encouraged by the shippers, ~ anda diligent man need never fear to undertake such an obligation, since it is bound to be mutually profitable, if properly conducted; yet many cases have occurred where the offer has been refused, for no apparent reason better than lazy shiftlessness.. Indeed, it is an unfortunate characteristic of too many of these seemingly shrewd and certainly hardy and adventurous baymen, that they are contented with the small supplies of the happy moment, unwarned by past scarcity to provide against future suffering, and are as reckless of advantages which might be improved, as they are of saving the money in hand. To this indifference may be traced their slowness to experiment toward the improvement of their oyster-grounds, or the preservation of more of the vast abundance of spat which, they all believe, whether it is the fact or not, is drifting just under the steely-blue surface of their beautiful midsummer bay. PRICES OF BLUE POINT OYSTERS.—The prices of Blue Point oysters have never been lower than at present; even a hundred years ago more money was paid for them than now, which shows the general public advantage of cultivation. During the season of 1879—80, the prices paid the producers by the packers ranged from $1 50 a bushel for small lots of “best selected”, to 60 cents for poor stuff. Much was sold at a dollar, but a fairer average would be 90 cents. Twenty years ago, according to Count Pourtales’ report, “$2 to $3 a bushel” was the selling price.. For those destined to form foreign shipments, from $3 50 to $4 a barrel was paid, the highest prices ruling near Patchogue, and the lowest westward. This was from 20 to 50 per cent. above the prices paid at the same time for the “Sounds”, although the latter were better received and worth more in the English market than those costing more here. The profits in “‘ Blue Points” and ‘“ East Rivers”, therefore, were small, while those in “Sounds” were fair, if not large. AGGREGATE VALUE OF BLUE POINT OYSTER-CROPS.— Multiplying the 215,000 bushels sold between Bellport and Bayshore (‘Blue Points”) by 90 cents, the average price, gives $193,500 as the approximate amount of money put into the pockets of the oystermen along a strip of about 20 miles of shore. Dividing this among 900 families (see page 104) gives an average of about $215 as the season’s income for each. This takes no account of the two or three hundred single men, who earned $2 a day at oystering during a portion of the season, but a considerable part of whose earnings reverted to their employers or neighbors, in payment for board and supplies. BaByLon: “Oak ISLAND” OYSTERS.—At Babylon the business of oyster-cultivation is comparatively a modern institution, though Messrs. Udall and Oakley, with some others, have been at it for ten years or more. No natural oyster-beds are to be found in this town, or nearer than Brookhaven bay; nor have they ever existed, except that in the inlets and tideways through the beaches and marshy islands opposite the village of Babylon, as in the neighborhood of Fire island, occasional scattering patches of young sometimes “catch”. Unless taken up the same fall, however, they rarely survive, and no dependence is placed upon this chance supply. Now and then a few at Oak Island will manage to live and grow. They develop a remarkably fine flavor and bring extraordinary prices in the market. There are said to be about 1,000 acres of bottom belonging to the town suitable for oyster-culture, but only about 200 acres are at present improved. These are all alongshore and almost wholly around Oak Island, on the southern shore of the bay, since the central part of this broad, shallow lagoon grows full of eel-grass in midsummer, the bottom everywhere being muddy. The water is nowhere more than 6 or 7 feet deep at high-tide, and the larger part of the grounds are laid bare at low water. On this account there is great risk in trying to keep any oysters upon the beds through the winter, the ice often settling upon the beds at low tide, freezing fast to mud and oysters, and carrying both away when it drifts off upon the rising tide. The winter of 187879 was destructive of nearly all the beds in this way. Such complete devastation is rare, however, and the winter of 1879-80 was so mild that no harm was done. Men who cross to the beaches, shooting or wrecking in wiuter, often find a feast in the oysters which are frozen into the cakes of ice piled up on the shore, and these are the best, too, for the shallowest water produces the finest quality. There are at Oak Island 30 planters, each of whom cultivates 4 acres under the special state law enacted for Babylon and Islip. This law, which, in 1878, was made to take the place of previous statutes, comprises several sections, and reads substantially as follows: Section 1. Any person of full age, . = * 7 z= 4 ‘ot i i . ie =_—e t a 5 i i > = “4 a a = 7 wen = , _ iL: a on Pe ees Te © eee es | ». = bees THE OYSTER-INDUSTRY. 119 Easterly gales —Eastward gales are likely to move the bottom of Staten Island sound in an unfortunate manner, and every planter has his tale of beds lost by being buried under drifted sand, or swept out of existence. This kind of a wind is rare, however. Winters hard enough to kill the oysters have occurred, but not lately, except that in 1878~79 cold weather, high winds, and low tides coming together, have exposed the Raritan beds and destroyed large portions of them. In the Raritan river, particularly at Perth Amboy, the oystermen are obliged to erect strong quadrangular slips or docks, inside which they may crowd with their sloops and oyster-boats and cull their oysters in peace, since the winter-sea in the harbor is likely to be too rough to permit work. This is an important item of expense tothem. In this connection I may quote Mr. Samuel Lockwood’s words, written in 1873: It will be news to many to learn that the business of the oyster-producer is one of great risk. Allis not gain to these industrious people, for often capital is sunk in the waters that is never taken up. Many years ago we remember the then small village of Keyport suffering a loss in one season of $50,000. Even a severe storm, continued unusually long, has smothered the beds by agitation of the mud, for the oyster must keep its nib out of the bottom. But two seasons ago, in one of the branches of Shrewsbury river, a crop was almost entirely lost, the supposition being that it was poisoned by the washing from a new turnpike, in the construction of which a peculiar ferruginous earth had been used, Formerly the oyster throve as a uative as high up the North river as Peekskill, and probably its limit was not below fifty miles from the mouth of the river. They are now, however, exceedingly scarce, even as high as Croton. The belief exists that the railroad has destroyed them by the washing from the necessary working of the road, which is constantly finding its way to the river-bed. So long ago as 1851, Col. John P. Cruger, of Cruger’s Landing, a very intelligent observer, called our attention to the fact of the mischief thus done. And there are meteoric causes which affect the oyster. We have known an unusually severe winter to kill the bivalves in great numbers. And even the seed, in its transport from Virginia, has been destroyed—whole valuable cargoes—by foggy weather and adverse storms. Vessels.—The Raritan planters are also troubled by vessels grounding upon their beds and ruining from 100 to 500 bushels at once. There are no authorized buoys or light-houses to point out the proper channel to strangers, and there is, I believe, no redress. The planters complained to me sharply concerning this matter, and thought that legal protection should be given them, but I did not learn precisely what they wanted from the federal government. Thieves—Another sort of trouble arises from the ubiquitous thief, who is said to flourish greatly in the neighborhood of Staten Island. In those waters which lie between the island and the New Jersey shore, there has always been contention and litigation, resulting in constant arrests and bad feeling back and forth, through alleged violations of state boundaries and the rights which each state reserves to its own citizens. One planter at Perth Amboy wrote me that “in spite of all vigilance and paying watchmen, we lose all around about 10 per cent. every year by thieves”. THE OYSTERMEN.—Notwithstanding these obstructions to perfect success, the oyster-interests of New York bay are the livelihood of a considerable number of people, though itis probable that the population at present supported by them is reduced by at least a quarter from the total of ten years ago. All the inhabitants of the southern half of Long Island may be called oystermen, since many of them have invested a little in the beds in some shape, or work more or less on hire for the regular growers. Exactly how many real planters there are on the island I could not ascertain in the time at my command; they are scattered everywhere, but chiefly live at Pleasant Plains, Tottenville, Rossville, and Chelsea. On the north shore live many New York merchants, like the Van Names, ete., who plant southern oysters almost entirely. Their capital, also, with that of many other New York dealers, whose names do not appear, aids a large number of outside planters who are, in fact, only managers of the under-water estates which they apparently own and operate. This is not derogatory to their personal worth or dignity, but only one of the methods of trade, shaped by peculiarities of the laws bearing upon the subject. By the operations in oyster-culture in and about the various centers within the range of this chapter, I conclude the number of families wholly supported to be somewhat as follows: Families, AGM ACO MD AYA Statens 18] ANd onseceiee Meee mem centnae soca aaeans|sosas one oe scacdsccrscccss socecasecs Soo a) JMR IN RSToNME,, STM UII RITGIS, SS 8 eRe osoedo 5a coc poor bo6e So UO COBO RUEOSS Bord BHOn CE EeSs HOsoce Reseioodseronons. 13 REM ANCeMOM Staene Sand o- ase rece atte se ese see aera see ae ea Teles treo aaa Nace sede aeeees 25 TERT ANCE) TONY ee Re Na pi a eer i eee aS RR RES ree ae ee a te £5 HRS) PIGNSGTIND SIRO) sao5 eqnSascece casos secseoToasac dee Soo sees CUCU DELO boobbeconcuooccsencros crocnese EU Total...--. Ca SA DOE SOC CODE EO RESID BEER RAO BBOOE EEC STEERS CORE BETO Rept aac SE ee Bee E aaa ia 625 It must not be supposed that each one of the heads of these 625 families plants and harvests enough oysters to supply his expenses, not to say profits, every year. That would be true only of the minority. But each one owns a piece of ground and works on it to the extent of his means. At other times he hires his services to his richer neighbors, or digs and rakes clams. Hach man owns a small boat, worth from $20 to $75, and the most of them have a sail-boat, which, if for practical use alone, will be worth from $200 to $500, but if intended to answer the larger purpose of dredging, carrying oysters to the city, and pleasure-excursions in summer, may be valued as high as $2,000. The boats of all sorts hereabouts are of superior workmanship. The wages received by laborers, who require a certain degree of skill, range from $2 to $2 50 a day, the men bringing their own boat and tools. Twelve 120 . THE FISHERIES OF THE UNITED STATES. and a half cents a bushel is the usual price paid in “catching up” for market. The seed-planting, spring and fall, the watching of the beds, and culling of the oysters on shore, are the chief requirements of work done on days’ wages, for the shifting is chiefly done by contract. THE OYSIER-FLEET.—The oyster-fleet between New York city and Sandy Hook is very large. Almost innumerable crafts, with trim sails, crowd the bay on working-days. The sail-boats used here are of good build, and often cost $3,000, while an unusually good quality of clinker-built, shallow-draft keel-boats, called skiffs, worth from $75 to $125, are used. A third sort of small boat is flat-bottomed and straight-sided, like a small Connecticut sharpie; this is known as a bateau, and costs from $15 to $30. Two skiffs and a bateau may be counted for every regular oyster-sloop or cat-boat. THE NET RESULTS.—The total product of Staten Island beds, so far as I could ascertain, is as follows, the time being the season of 1879~80. This enumerates only the native oysters, since I could learn of only about 15,000 bushels a year of southern oysters planted at present around Staten Island, except those brought north by New York city dealers, and counted in the chapter devoted to the metropolis. The total product is: Bushels. Lai eiin@eky Wo; Rogeeoeccons Sos coestA cases 5 een m nie minia wnmn e/a == aw ice ele aoocbossssseascs SccHs5 205555 - 50,000 By Tottenville planters .....-.... 22.2.2 «2.22. .---- © foamiatnjsmeb sw\slsismemiseodel-2 aoe ee elope aeanr atin ees 55, 000 By Chelsea planters.----..----.-----. 8... ee seosoessaecesas GAS o cages TSB AseaSseso9 s55059 S205: 25, 000 PLO LGleee ale awe (seeateemenelelns secsoososse BOATS CSE Sper SSA o Jo SOS sep pose CREO ERE Seomes Hee ---- 130,000 Add to this: For Perth Amboy ......-.-..- AS DESO.Aagn0s OoABSnenaSapesdossoS lo gisiaieneisiee eaten ees seems peeee ee LOONOOD For Keyport and South shore...-.. soadiosaace cosous PoaeicDsOceSSAS ovis Se cutascceibcotisceswnceneeneed 25, 000 otal seeere = FO ES SSOT COG COJODDSO0n UInd Ches Se CS Hoo OOO Coben Bore cos eacatesen eeea eas ssiceae 255, 000 Southern oysters not counted for New York city planters ..... al ed pwieiesawa pel sen olan one sase donee anes Seas 175, 000 Grand total of all kinds -......--...--- 5 Soo siso cree Sstgoees oss we pauls eeanicinoceceeasisescen scesccce 430, 000 ESTIMATES IN RECAPITULATION: “Native.” | ‘ Virginia.” | Families. Perth Amboy TOOHO00N Seeman eterecatete 75 Titi) a cseer deter SHe cent ae 4 Sse UL PED SOS DOS ESOE PODOEO LCA SS DODTEEE TSRCHDO SECON GOO ACTIN RS ny eC SEIDnOTIESioscooSasaSoSannne8 55, 000 10, 000 75 Prince's DAY 2.222. -2 eee cee n en cen ene cee n ce cee ene cen n eee eee cee e ne cece ne enna ne amen an cena ee cnn newece nae cen nnn aennee senna aaanas 50, 000 5, 000 50 Chelsea 25/000 1|-e- fearon 25 Keyport 25, 000 *160, 000 400 255, 000 175, 000 625 *Many more Virginia oysters are planted in Keyport, but the rest are owned and counted in New York city. STATISTICAL RECAPITULATION FOR NEW YORK BAY: Number of planters, wholesale dealers, and shippers...-....--..-..---- ge levcdisweniés spewpSeeoe ieee sacs 500 Extent of ground cultivated, about..-.---...-----..--- Seeeaisette Bocs cc SOLESSo" BORD Oe peOES J Sant acres... 2, 250 Number of vessels and sail-boats engaged, about... 2.22.2 2-222. cee cne oon wenn ww eens wee ene one SHeoes 400 Walttelot same wat hieqnipmentec= neem a= sense scien osleres ae aaisianntan alae anes ese aeot nee oe eee eee $200, 000 Number of men hired by planters or dealers.........- --.- .22200--0------ EL a ae aia 125 Annual earnings of same..---.---..---. een Sees bebincetensne tmloeve case CeCe es BSoD Hoon SO etka 2 a8 BSS $62, 500 Total mumber/of families) supported -. cu wacecuceascctwccs ccueiveus «<5 mcclcnca nessa anc oieeeeleneisiee> e-na= 625 Annual sales of— I. Native oysters ........ Gewewoionen GMeLUCdecivt navalrosc sce eee seine eseeomeccbericee saees DUSNCIS.- 4 sonDAOUU WVicilUG Of SAMO as wcor ceaslencsive Sele binsjau's siveis ote ane busls eesctacee a sfebeemeeelicecmeessia= << icc ome COUNUMED MyChesapeake “plants” cos cess awardeensacciessubacis esieccuicecenauneeeamenemeneeceniees DUBOIS emt 7onUU0 Value of same ...--..<..<.06 OCD Spee wren vent ec cee uss wens Vecewe cuunen sruscenus Contes vuseer noes $125,000 . Totalivalueof oysters/sold annually cc sevc encaccnrepa- -ceneusituvwes(ee=cseuene curs vvseiunussswsanevemacgoto; 000. ‘ THE OYSTER-INDUSTRY. 121 K. OYSTER-TRADE OF NEW YORK CITY. 40. HISTORICAL SKETCH OF THE OYSTER-TRADE OF NEW YORK CITY. HISTORIC OYSTER-FIRMS.—Most of the New York oyster-firms are of long standing, and the same names appear which are conspicuous in the oyster-annals of City Island and Staten Island, for these two localities have supplied the most of them. Van Name, Houseman, Silsbee, Wright, Burbank, Boyle, Frazer, Woglom, Decker, and others, are examples. Many of the gentlemen now conducting the business under these names only succeeded their fathers and grandfathers, who established the trade they enjoy. The growth of the opportunities of business, however, has been very rapid, and has brought in many new men, conspicuous among whom are George H. Shaffer & Co., of Fulton market. VAN KORTLANDT’S TREASURE-TROVE.—When the sage Van Kortlandt, surnamed Oloffe the Dreamer, after his dreadful shipwreck in the goblin-haunted whirlpools of Hell Gate, had brought the remnant of his command to land on the southern end of Mana-hata, an island which divided the bosom of the bay, his first anxiety was for something to eat, for ‘Van Kortlandt was a devout trencherman”. How he fared we learn from the veritable history of Diedrich Knickerbocker : The stores which had been provided for the voyage by the good housewives of Communipaw were nearly exhausted, but, in casting his eyes about, the commodore beheld that the shore abounded with oysters. A great store of these was instantly collected ; a fire was made at the foot of a tree; all hands fell to roasting and broiling and stewing and frying, and a sumptuous repast was soon set forth. This is thought to be the origin of those civie feasts with which, to the present day, all our public affairs are celebrated, and in which the oyster is ever sure to play an important part. - DUTCH OYSTERMEN OF NEw AMSTERDAM.—A historical retrospect of the oyster-business in New York city affords many interesting facts. In 1621 it was recorded in a letter to the old country that “ very large oifters” were so abundant at New Amsterdam, that they could not be sold. ‘Oysters are very plenty in many places,” asserted the traveler Von der Donk, in 1641. “Some of these are like the Colchester oysters, and are fit to be eaten raw; others are very large, wherein pearls are frequently found, but as they are of a brownish color they are not valuable. The price for oysters is usually from eight to ten stivers per hundred.” The inference is, that every man could easily gather for himself all he wanted. That a few years of this sort of thing greatly enhanced their value, however, is shown by the fact that in 1658, the Dutch council, in making an ordinance against the cutting of sods in and about the town, found it necessary also to enact a law forbidding “all persons from continuing to dig or dredge any oyster- shells on the East river or on the North river, between this city and the fresh water”. This “fresh water” was the pond which is now occupied by the leather district of the city, of which Spruce street is the center. The digging of shells was for the purpose of making into lime, and also for the purpose of paving the streets, and in the course of dredging for them great quantities of living oysters were wasted. Pearl street received its name because it was paved with oyster-shells, which the Dutch called “garlen”, and is the only street in the city, Judge Daly tells me, that retains its original name, all the others having been changed by design or accident, during the subsequent English occupancy. In those early days the trading-place for oysters, as well as fish generally, was the ‘‘Strand”, near the market- place. This was then an inlet which had been newly constructed into a graft or canal, where the sloops and canoes had a fairly good harbor and place to do business. This old ‘‘ graft” is now the wealthy and speculative Broad street. At least as late as 1675 Indians regularly brought oysters to sell at this place in their canoes. A little later, in 1671, Arnoldus Montanus speaks of “ oysters, some a foot long, containing pearls, but few of a brown color”. In 1679~80, Jaspar Dankers and Peter Slyter made a visit to the colony, and wrote an elaborate account of it, under the title: Journal of a Voyage to New York. This has been republished by the Long Island Historical Society, and contains a description which I should be sorry to omit in this connection, so vivid and warm is the sense of homely hospitality it conveys. The passage to be quoted is the ensuing, and refers to their first landing in the country : We proceeded on to Gouanes [Gowanus, now in Brooklyn], a place so-called, where we arrived in the evening at one of the best friends of Gerritt, named Symon * * * . We found a good fire, half way up the chimney, of clear oak and hickory, of which they made not the least scruple of burning profusely. We let it penetrate us thoroughly. There had been already thrown upon it, to be roasted, a pail full of Gouanes oysters, which are the best in the country. They are fully as good as those of England, and better than those we eat at Falmouth. I had to try some of them raw. They are large and full, some of them not less than a foot long, and they grow sometimes ten, twelve, and sixteen together, and are then like a piece of rock. Others are young and small. In consequence of the great quantities of them, everybody keeps the shells for the purpose of burning them into lime. They pickle the oysters in small casks and send them to Barbadoes and the other islands. This will recall the similar statement, in 1689, that pickled oysters were an established article of export from are to the West Indies. A few years later we find Peter Kalm writing out a full account of this trade, quoted urther on. 122 THE FISHERIES OF THE UNITED STATES. EARLY LAWS.—The law of 1715, quoted above, was the first legal enactment designed to protect the oyster-beds of the harbor, after the Dutch ordinance of 1658, heretofore quoted. It was instigated by the common people of the city, to whom these mollusks afforded a very important means of subsistence, both for themselves and as an article of sale to the well-to-do, for the classing of oysters among luxuries was the device of a far later day. The law of 1715 was limited, in its effect, to five years. For ten years after freedom, which amounted to license, was had for New Yorkers, and then came the protective law of 1730. In the colonial documents there is found a note under the record of this law, which explains its necessity, as follows: There was an act of this kind formerly past in this province, during the continuance whereof the Oysters encreased to that degree that the City of New York was constantly supplyed in the proper season at easie rates, but since the expiration of it, the people being under no restraint, the Banks are almost destroyed. To preserve what is left, and to procure an increase is the design of this Act, which will be greatly to the advantage of this City, if it be duely observed. That the theory of this preamble, if such it was, was not wrong, is shown by the testimony of Kalm, who wrote in 1748. Referring to the great quantities of fish in New York harbor, Kalm says: Nor ought our vast plenty of Oysters to pass without particular Observation. In their Quality they are exceeded by those of no Country whatsoever. People of all Ranks amongst us in general prefer them to any other Kind of Food. Nor is any Thing wanting save a little of the filings of copper to render them equally relishing even to an English Palate, with the best from Colchester. They continue good Eight Months in the Year, and are for two Months longer the daily Food of our Poor. Their Beds are within view of the Town, and I am informed that an Oysterman industriously employed may clear Eight or Ten shillings a Day. Some Gentlemen, afew Years ago, were at the pains of computing the Value of the Shellfish to our Province in general. The Estimate was made with Judgment and Accuracy, and their Computation amounted to Ten Thousand Pounds per Annum. Their Increase and Consumption are since yery much enhanced, and thus also their additional Value in Proportion. I confess it has often given me great Pleasure to reflect how many of my poor countrymen are comfortably supported by this Article, who without it could scarcely subsist, and for that Reason beg to be excused for the length of this Reflection on so humble a subject, tho’ it might justly be urged, to the honour of our Oysters, that considered in another View they are serviceable both to our King and Country. KALM ON ABUNDANCE OF OYSTERS IN 1748.—In another place Kalm returns to the subject in a way for which we ought to be grateful, for information upon our theme is rarely to be had from the early writers. He says: Asout New York they find innumerable quantities of excellent oyfters, and there are few places which have oyfters of fuch an exquisite tafte, and of fo great a fize: they are pickled and fent to the West Indies and other places; which is done in the following manner: As soon as the oyfters are caught, their fhells are opened and the fifh wafhed clean; fome water is then poured into a pot, the oyfters are put into it, and they muft boil for a while; the pot is then taken off from the fire again, the oyfters taken out and put upon a difh, till they are fomewhat dry; then you take fome mace, allfpice, black pepper and as much vinegar as you think is fufficient to give a sourifh tafte. All this is mixed with half the liquor in which the oyfters were boiled, and put over the fire again. While you boil it, great care is to be taken in feumming off the thick feum; at laft the whole pickle is poured into a glafs or earthen vesself, the oyfters are put to it, and the veffel is well ftopped to keep out the air, In this manner oyfters will keep for years together, and may be sent to the moft diftant parts of the world. THE merchants here buy up great quantities of oyfters about this time, pickle them in the above-mentioned manner, and fend them to the Weft Indies: by which they frequently make a confiderable profit; for the oyfters, which coft them five fhillings of their currency, they commonly fell for a piftole, or about fix times as much as they gave for them; and fometimes they get even more: the oyfters which are thus pickled have a very fine flavor. The following is another way of preserving oyfters: they are taken out of the shells, fried with butter, put into a glafs or earthen vefsel with the melted butter over them, fo that they are quite covered with it, and no air can get to them. Oyfters prepared in this manner have likewife an agreeable taste, and are exported to the Weft Indies, and other parts. OysTrERs are here reckoned very wholefome; some people affured us, that they had not felt the leaft inconvenience after eating a confiderable quantity of them. It is likewife a common rule here, that oyfters are beft in thofe months which have an r in their name, fuch as September, October, etc. ; but that they are not fo good in other months ; however, there are poor people, who live all the year long upon nothing but oyfters with bread. THE fea near New York, affords annually the greateft quantity of oyfters. They are found chiefly in a muddy ground, where they lie in the flime, and are not fo frequent in a fandy bottom: a rocky and a ftony bottom is feldom found here. The oyfter-fhells are gathered in great heaps, and burnt into lime, which by fome people is made ufe of in building houfes, but is not reckoned fo good as that made of limeftone. On our journey to New York, we faw high heaps of oyfter-fhells near the farm-houfes, upon the fea fhore; and about New York we obferved the people had carried them upon the fields, which were fown with wheat. However, they were entire and not erufhed. THE Indians, who inhabited the coaft before the arrival of the Huropeans, have made oyfters and other fhell fifh their chief food; and at prefent, whenever they come to falt water, where oyfters are to be got, they are very active in catching them, and fell them in great quantities to other Indians, who live higher up the country: for this reafon you fee immenfe numbers of oyfter and mufele fhells piled up near fuch places, where you are certain that the Indians formerly built their huts. This cireumftance ought to make us cautious in maintaining, that in all places on the fea fhore, or higher up in the country, where fuch heaps of fhells are to be met with, the latter have lain there ever fince the time that thofe places were overflowed by the fea. OystERS In New York 1 1755~68.—An intelligent writer gives a good article on fish and oysters, which is found in The Independent Reflector, November 22, 1753, a few years after Kalm: Tho’ we abound in no one kind of fish sufficient for a staple, yet such is our happiness in this article, that not one of the colonies affords a fish-market of such a plentiful variety as ours. Boston has none but sea-fish, and of those Philadelphia is entirely destitute, being only furnished with the fish of a fresh-water river. New York is sufficiently supplied with both sorts. Nor ought our vast plenty of oysters to pass without particular observation; in their quality, ete. Oysters were still sold from vessels at Broad street, though the ancient canal was gone, up nearly if not quite to Revolutionary days, and perhaps later. In 1763 I find they are given as worth two shillings a bushel in New York, clams at the same time selling for ninepence per hundred. ‘The favorites were “Blue Points” and “Sounds.” The THE OYSTER-INDUSTRY. 123 most of them were eaten raw. A “stew” was an expensive luxury then, and the fancy styles of cooking in vogue now hardly heard of. Most of the venders were colored men; and the only oyster eating-houses, little cellars under the sidewalk, stalls in the markets—particularly the old Catherine market—or a little movable stand on a wharf. A PICTURE BY WASHINGTON IRviInG.—Washington Irving, in his Knickerbocker’s History, describing a scene in New York harbor in 1804, says that in the universal repose of the afternoon “the fleet of canoes at anchor between Gibbet island and Communipaw slumbered on their rakes, and suffered the innocent oysters to lie for a while unmolested in the soft mud of their native banks”. New YORK MARKET IN 182530 AND 1845.—Even as late as 1825~30 the whole city supplied only custom enough for one wholesale establishment, according to the information kindly given me by Mr. Thomas DeVoe, whose historical knowledge in respect to New York city is widely known. Benjamin Story at that time kept a provision store at No. 64 Barclay street, and in the fall used to stow away in his cellar from two to five hundred bushels of oysters, which he would sell during the winter to the few eating-stands in Washington market or to grocers. Mr. DeVoe told me that the report at that time was, that Story fed his stock and so kept them alive; but how often, or with what pabulum, he could not say. Prices at that time, DeVoe remembered, were about two shillings and sixpence to three shillings (30 to 37 cents) a bushel on the boats which came to the city wharves; but Story sold his at from $1 to $1 25 a hundred in bad weather, when boats could not bring any. In Watson’s Annals, 1845, I find the following paragraph: Mr. Brower * * * remembered well when abundance of the largest Blue Point oysters could be bought opened to your hand for 2s. a hundred, such as would now [1846] bring three or four dollars. New YORK MARKETS IN 1853.—In the spring of 1853 there appeared in the New York Herald a series of articles on this trade in the metropolis, which bore the impress of accuracy to a greater degree than is usual in such communications. It asserted that then the oyster-trade might be called only thirty years old, yet that there were a thousand vessels, of from 45 to 200 tons, engaged in winter in supplying the dealers in Oliver slip and other depots with Virginia oysters. The value of these vessels, on an average, was $3,000 each. This statement must, of course, have ineladed all bringing southern oysters to any portion of New York bay, and, at best, seems exaggerated. “The crew,” continues the account of these vessels, “is composed generally of four hands and the cook, and the monthly wages given to each person varies from $12 to $30 * * *. Unlike the fishermen of Fulton market, they do not own shares in the boats upon which they are employed.” The account continues : The amount received for Virginia oysters, sold by the dealers in Oliver slip alone, is estimated at $250,000 a year. This, however, is not more than one-third of the quantity disposed of in the vicinity of Catherine market; for the space in the slip is so limited that the Jusiness of the dealers is greatly retarded and cramped. In consequence of this the principal supply is furnished direct from the boats to the retail-dealers throughout the city. About $500,000 worth of all kinds of Virginia oysters are sold by the boats, which, added to the sales of the dealers, make a total of three-quarters of a million of dollars. This is an immense amount of money, but it is not more than one-eighth part of the value of all the oysters sold during the year in this city.* During the months of December, January, February, and March about $500,000 worth are sold from the boats at Coenties slip. There are no scows or oyster-stands at this place, on account of the transient character of the trade there, and the dealers are consequently obliged to sell them off the boats. There are some days when from 20 to 30 vessels are in dock together, and * * * the wharf is thronged with wagons waiting to receive their loads, while the hands on the boats are straining every nerve to supply the incessant demands of customers. The business of the day commences about six o’clock in the morning, and continues until four in the afternoon. Of East river oysters alone about $500,000 worth is sold during the year in Oliver slip. The supply comes from Bridgeport, Norwalk, Greenwich, Stamford, Darien, Sawpits, City island, and a few other places along the western shore; and from Northport, Oyster bay, Lloyd’s harbor, Huntingdon, Cold Spring, and Cow bay on the southern side. The largest proportion come from City island, where there are extensive artificial and natural beds, which furnish some of the best oysters obtained in the East river. The reporter then mentions that of the 100 boats employed in carrying East river oysters to Oliver slip in 1853, 25. belonged to City island, where 100 families were supported by this industry. ‘The whole amount of property invested in the oyster-trade with this island,” he states, “including the boats of the oystermen and of the dealers, the value of the beds, etc., is estimated at $1,000,000. And this is not more than one-third of the whole amount invested in the entire trade of the East river.” The same writer mentioned that the annual sales of a single dealer in East river stock amounted in 1852 to $100,000; and complained that the conveniences offered by the city to the business at Oliver slip was very inadequate, although a fee of $75 ayear was paid as scow-wharfage. He enumerated nine scows there then, valued at about $4,000, total. These scows were 30 by 12 feet in dimensions, and would hold from 1,000 to 1,500 bushels each. Out of these scows, he says, is sold yearly about $500,000 worth of oysters, exclusive of the amount bought from boats direct, which dealers estimate at $1,000,000. “This estimate is derived from a calculation of the number of boats arriving during each year, and their capacity.” At Washington market, according to the same chronicle, there were at this time twelve scows, having a total value of about $15,000. They had not even the scanty wharf accommodations vouchsafed at Oliver slip, but lay exposed so that they were knocked about by every high wind with great force, and damage was done which now *Here, again, I should say the estimate was large—two or three times too high, at least.—E. I. 124 THE FISHERIES OF THE UNITED STATES. and then amounted to total wreck, and always caused bitter complaints against the city. The total sales in and about Washington market were estimated at $3,000,000 annually, which, again, I must beg the reader to regard as an overestimate. < “Tt is only within the last five or six years,” says this writer, “that the dealers commenced shipping in the shell, and at present a most extensive trade is carried on with Cincinnati, St. Louis, and several other western cities. Before this they were sent in kegs hermetically sealed * * * as far as California * * *, Pickled oysters are sent to every part of the United States by our dealers, and immense quantities are bought for shipment by vessels.” The recapitulation with which these newspaper reports closed is annexed: Number of boats of all sizes (50 to 250 tons) in the Virginia oyster-trade.....-...-....2-.---.------- 1, 000 In the East and North river trade -.......---.---.---.---- AAS aSa5 Goss agar oss S boos ceSSeS sesese : 200 Invihe She wSPULy bLAd Sse ols sees ahs se aciniecciee close selace ces ieeidach ee nse aaa eee os taal ee eee 20 Inythe Blue Point -andisound. trade. << -2fns2 5 eae ocise 15878 Eliza) Snedkersess-)--s-e2-5--5--=e— 5. 90 lonzZ0) Bl. Smith) 2.2. -s2-.2=225-<.-< 18298 Damieleh sb opertisss-- nese. = nee n= sob ebiizat Rhodes eas.2-84- 242 2a tao ee 13. 35 PART UV GS ia ete saat Ione aces cee VERA a viO Orowellcseeeaccs cee scene endo Bdmare. yo on aos ciceccioo soe ce beaded Ma |S] SG EEEB EE Cg cP SSeS aE ep aoe rear Loses eee Denne bie saeco aes e = sere f2s42" Biizarand) Janes 52 ----- e-------=—== 9. 08 Bate Py ESTOS = 2m miweiser = a = ee 15,10 = iD bd tiles eb osee ener e caecanac 13518; Se Wurst) 2.4 -2- hs -co nes ano as cn Lh pee oaOd EE es cere PAoOL ep Del phinia,. = 2221-2 a-c2 sce seas 11566) | Pannie Scofield :.. .2....<-2.asseeee 7.07 LOL 2 aac eo Rep epee eeeE een eee ONT EM Mp lp hints 50,00 += 25.5 4514scia- sass Gazer MAW 25-56 sa -2 22 eno cae es USNS Sener geopesdeeeen ar eeees 5.11 Wlizabeth J. Wright_....----.-.-=-- LOU TSR Ra ORG c= s\-- 4-55 one (naa 5.39 BSN Bu ONES 6-5 a= os s0scleos ass SS OO MeEEpressiyee es - S--- e Ss eee qeoe, Rear NOb .- 55220252. eee eee 5. 57 ee een ene ss LSC OS mem mnllamlercen ae tens cesar ene, Mae 2... oss ss cdots oo 7.92 1S.) 32 Pea ees ae rr TAO aE Omar Geen oe kes rier! Syselnt S07 | ti Rrani< Hopkins) =*) weeseeeees os-2—- 8.73 LRG Se ae ee 10.54 Emmogene 11986) Favorites. ..1to2 eee t= ete. 8. 89 Blue) Rock-...-..-....--.....-.---. 10.00 Ella Wesley 12541 Wlying Cloud) = 2ee-as-accec—5 ---2-- 9. 48 Mornelmnsy Colets sso: 60-5252 sees5- OMSL SET Ra Vem Ne Gerace rae cet 10°64) Ranvie Were seems seta sir. a 72 Qocion's 5.7 GevAtay MOUMtaAIEY co 2-2>.-5-~ =~ .ccc oc Sal0) Bortihulhurbenses =e oe ee ee 9509" Georpianamomecterss ao ek es ccee ce Se = 19. 07 Ee ONE e I eeeene Sains seek AOA mma... - 20.222 2S ee eos ese e: 7258 “GeorperbmyViGodten.- 22-2 ~acacs,c54 2= 7.28 WStiemes Wallce saison eeoeeas ous 2 Bavh ebmily Robbins =sses see eos ae cee 15,54. Georpianageeces-- sanse--=>5--ooses 5. 11 130 Name. Tons. Gach Wi pe aS eee Seas 9, 84 General Putman -.-----------.ss--- 11. 60 iGnldembhintesasac eas - eae 6. 40 George D. Allen.-..-. -.-..--------. 15. 81 George I. Ropers ---- .-=-------=--- 11. 92 George P. Putman ....-.-.---.--... 8. 37 Hiwyand Harrison 2222. sesame 11. 48 Helena tis 2.2 552esiserte so seen aes 11.90 Eenry Mallerise= === eee nen 9.52 Marmon:Sierses Sst Stee Sees ae 12. 96 arp eae se eee eee was 13. 15 Hickory Budi-2 se. ss —--- 5 --- =~ 9.81 OpGbe esses ose ete een -s- ences 7.93 Harriet Blizabeth-:.--..--...-.---. 11.08 Hen livessewecc == sis. 225. eae 10. 02 ERAT G le GOES eas ae is lca ciomen se 10. 68 PAK SIGON fons: as ose acme eteecle 11.85 LSC -6n6 22 53S SCS SSeS eB eee Sees 7.36 dieu a ossos tte ee See cecee 15. 45 NOMEN Le eae lwo cae ey eaae eo sseces | Uae 3o) Tnpemaiesesacsos ono eee eae eee LOND: eMes A. Warkin oso: easek doe se 10. 24 James| Campbell -.22=-.5-.22-2-\<-- 8. 20 ORNCE CHEV ONS ee oc ns asecte ce -= sane 12. 63 JACOBEAS PAD DLYisem a conc esscce so 5.70 JOUMPHIOLENCS <2) Aose--c aceon cee 1.79. SON MATNING s-sss2ccssecseseeee ee 13. 42 JaMiewpaker)so.\s2.cc-keawescesspee O04 OBE DIINO we Morison eect iss coe So 10. 07 nes IRCRP Oli scctoneet coocee eos 6. 43 CU NANG CG ble el ek Se ea ee toa JOSEPNGURTANCIS.- sss soeee maces es 15. 64 James Henny ease sce esceces onset. 5, 22 Jennie C. Benedict 2. -2 02522220... 10. 05 de) FAN Ga tne Aes Sec ees 13. 04 JOMMPL. CAPMAN = am e.e oes os. secs 10. 21 GUNG We ssr tej. 2 2 ascie acc soamiew cee cic A shia) Jane and Elizabeth .......--....-.. 11.89 Name. Tons. SLOSDUMSOLINGS Seen oa ee alan coscoee 80. 97 Comelins:@s Jones) as2-.-= 2: Sa5- cece 20. 36 JD GC Ue) 1 ah el 22. 26 WGI) GaSS en Sas6 BSE On LOIS eae oEEe 49. 86 IeMrieh Dart sc. Costes eee ke eke 21.13 Mamievbiv pins sa-s--s202 ss ecce 77.49 Name. Tons. Jennie Mobarland sas-/o2-se-e.=— os 9. 10 John Jd. Moitott 5: 25---=---5 ---- See 6.20 Katie. e42o-5% Sec ahee eats ee eeee ee 16. 85 Katie Wood... -22-< .ctiseedeser eee = 12. 95 BeatemWviade <2: . 22 2eee See eae 10.15 Katie acc. sete ols noite olemeleeoniset 12. 08 Katy Didier ee ewe 10. 00 UC Vo Ge) eae eer fee Bald oe ot, 13. 22 “Bottie iw oodesee-ee se eeeee eee 14, 84 hanradrances soeee see ee eee es 7.46 IMOWIGR erecta ee eee 7.36 Millie! . 2. JacsS-= ~..355 ase see cco5\ SORSR Barnett Jones =--o5- sco ses) cnnce= sone GOSH Mary Hmm: Sess sae ee 74.39 8). Barnes's... eee eee 44.12 Sidney Dorlon -.-.....-- e538 e Seon 36, 03 THE OYSTER-INDUSTRY. 131 York to Liverpool have been accustomed to take with them a barrel or two of oysters in the shell, to be eaten on the yoyage. Passengers did the same, and occasionally an American living in England would have them sent over to him asatreat. In 1861, Lieutenant De Broca succeeded in shipping safely a large consignment, by way of England, to the French Acclimatization Society in Paris. With these facts as a guiding suggestion, about ten years ago Mr. George H. Shaffer, of Fulton market, New York, requested an intelligent friend of his, who was going to England upon business, to try to introduce American oysters into the English market, and sent over a dozen barrels as an experiment. They retained their freshness, were landed in good condition, and speedily sold. The agent telegraphed ' Mr. Shaffer to forward a larger consignment, which also was sold advantageously, and a regular trade was established. Mr. Shaffer, however, enjoyed a monopoly of it, and the large profits, which at first accrued, only a short time, for his competitors were wide awake, and also began shipping to Europe, so that almost at a bound the exportation of oysters reached its full strength as a profitable business—that is, about as many were sent as there are now—all the foreign markets will bear. The kind of oyster required for export is such as has not found favor in this country, where the ‘“ Saddle-Rock” and “Shrewsbury ” are lauded above all others. The native European bivalve is small, rarely exceeding the size of a silver dollar, and is more popular than the American oyster. The English, with whom most of our trade is conducted, do not consider anything larger good to eat, and therefore we were obliged to accommodate this taste or prejudice, if we wanted to find ready sale. The oysters sent abroad, therefore, are all single (since they are to be eaten on the half-shell, and not cooked), small, and round; they are selected from the “‘ cullens” or smallest of the three classes into which our oysters are usually assorted, and have received the trade appellation of ‘ London stock”. It is a much more fortunate thing for us that the foreign taste is for small oysters than for large ones, since, hitherto, there has been a slow market and cheap price for cullens, which now find a ready sale, if clean and of good shape. It enables a man to turn his money quickly by selling his stock before it has lain more than a year in the water, and also to avoid the ever-present hazard of total loss by some storm or other of the many accidents to which oyster-beds are always subject. On the other hand, I have heard many persons complain, with some justice, that the export-business had been decidedly harmful to the general interests of the oyster-trade, because it took away from the beds great quantities of young, which had not yet had time to spawn, as they would do if allowed to remain enough longer to make them of sufficient size for the home trade. This was cutting off not only the present, but the future of the oyster-beds which supplied London stock ; and, as the harm to one bed was indirectly harm to all its neighbors, the general good of the planters was imperiled. While this argument, which may be condensed into the ancient simile of killing the goose that lays the golden egg, is perhaps good for limited areas drawn upon with extraordinary persistence for the foreign market (Blue Point, for example), I do not consider that in general it overbalances the greater benefits derived. Nor do I apprehend, after a careful examination of the matter, that the European demand—even though doubled—is likely to overtax and ruin any American oyster-beds which are properly watched and scientifically operated. Because the oysters, native and cultivated, which are grown at the eastern end of the Great South bay, on the south shore of Long Island, best fulfilled the conditions, they were the first to be exported to England, and have most largely, perhaps, entered into the trade. They are known both at home and abroad as “Blue Points”, and acquired a reputation in England superior to all others, up to the season of 1879, when there was a falling off in their quality and a consequent loss of esteem. Besides the “Blue Points”, great quantities of oysters from the East river (particularly Rowayton, Norwalk, and Bridgeport), have been shipped, chiefly through J. & J. Elisworth; a less number from Rockaway and Fire island; and large quantities from Staten Island waters, under the brand of “Sounds”. These last became the favorites abroad during the past season, the “ East Rivers” coming second, and the unfortunate “ Blue Points” third; and, inasmuch as they cost less than either of the other brands, money was made upon them liberally, while no one who forwarded “ Blue Points” received much if any profit, and many shippers lost money. The London stock having been picked out by the planter, is purchased by the shipper on the ground, where he sends his boats to buy daily, or keeps a permanent agent and packer. He culls it a second time, discarding about one-fourth, so that it is estimated that four bushels of oysters are caught for every barrel exported, since the barrels (second-hand flour barrels) hold seantily three bushels. The useless residue is not wasted, but thrown back upon the packer’s own bed to grow farther. The number of oysters in a barrel varies from twelve hundred to two thousand; the more there are the better the English retail-buyer likes it, since he sells them by count. This has had the effect of a steady reduction in the size of the oysters sent, until now much smaller stock is sent than at first, and more ground is given the grumblers than ever for their complaints against this line of business; but the limit has probably been reached in this direction. In packing the oysters they are placed as snugly in the barrel as possible, and well shaken down. Attention is paid, also, to placing the oyster with the deep shell down, so that the liquor shall not so readily escape. Some kind-hearted persons were greatly distressed, a few years ago, at the supposed suffering which the mollusks 132 THE FISHERIES OF THE UNITED STATES. underwent in their close quarters and long seclusion from the world while on the passage; they loudly demanded that holes should be left in each barrel and the contents deluged with fresh water daily, and that a plentiful supply of bran should be mixed with them to serve as food during the trip! This was an astonishing example of Berghism run wild, and did more credit to the hearts than the heads of the philanthropists, who were so concerned in the welfare of their bivalvular brethren. The length of a voyage to Europe in cold weather is no feat worth mentioning to a well-constituted oyster. In Prince Edward island I found it to be the common practice for citizens to purchase fifteen or twenty bushels of oysters, pile them in their cellars between layers of sea weed, and use them gradually all winter, finding the last ones alive and well in the spring. This used to be the universal custom in New York before restaurants came in fashion. Southern oysters en route from Chesapeake bay to Boston and Portland are frequently a month out of water, yet do not suffer, and grow well enough when returned to the water, though it is so different a latitude. Stock is frequently kept several weeks in the holds of the “arks” in New York, or in the cellars of wholesale depots, waiting for profitable sale. One gentleman assured me that he kept a quantity of “‘ Blue Points” 107 days in his cellar, losing but a few of them, and these are not generally considered so hardy as some other sorts—those from the East river, for instance. The hardiness of the “Sounds” is well shown in the article upon the oyster-beds of New York bay, in relating the old custom of peddling them up the Hudson river in the fall. Packed so as to prevent injurious jarring, and stowed in the extreme forward part of the vessel, where they keep cool—the score or so of barrels of oysters smashed when the Arizona collided with an iceberg, found it really chilly!—the mollusks therefore find it a pleasant experience rather than a cruel hardship to cross the Atlantie. No time is lost in getting the oysters, when packed, into the steamer, and many are taken in sloops directly from the producing points to the steamer’s wharf, and thus escape the bother and expense of a second or third handling in New York. Some American firms’ have regular agents abroad who care for and dispose of the oysters sent to them. In other cases they are consigned by the shippers to commission merchants on the other side. Liverpool has been the great receiving point for Great Britain, because it was the nearest port. It was found that the extra time required, and the port charges on cargoes sent direct to London by steamer, more than overbalanced the slight saving effected in freight over those forwarded by rail from Liverpool. The amount of oysters sent each week, though not large, has sometimes been more than could be disposed of before the next shipment arrived. To provide against loss in this contingency, the largest dealers own spaces of sea-bottom, where the surplusage is thrown overboard to keep in -good condition and drawn upon as required. Some thousands of barrels are sent annually, which are intended to lie and grow there from one to three years. American oysters laid down thus in foreign waters have never been known to spawn, so far as I could learn, but the conditions have never been favorable ; and no experiment, that I am aware of, has been tried, to ascertain whether seed-oysters from the United States, properly planted, would not grow into good health, emit spawn, and establish their race upon the European coasts. I see no reason why such an experiment should not prove entirely successful. It is said that the English beds are becoming so depopulated as practically to have become worthless. The eighth edition of the Pneyclopedia Britannica, speaking briefly of oysters (vol. xv, p. 348), under “ Mollusca”, says that only about 30,000 bushels of “natives”, or oysters from artificial beds, and about 100,000 bushels of “‘sea-oysters”, are annually sent to the London market. This seems extremely small, but the English people have not yet learned to regard the bivalves as anything more than a luxury, and heretofore they have always been beyond the purses of any but the wealthy. The demand, however, is increasing through the cheapening of this excellent food, and the acquired habit of eating and enjoying it. Nevertheless, it is easy to overstock the European market, and no little harm has happened to consignments, with dead loss to the owners, through being delayed too long before being sold, in consequence of an oversupply. This happened more frequently some years ago than it now does. One large shipper gave it to me as his belief, that London could not use more than 500 barrels a week, at the present time, nor the whole United Kingdom consume more than 3,000 barrels. Occasionally this year the market has been so crowded that sales at 5 shillings a barrel have been made, to avoid total loss. On the other hand, it is not always easy to obtain supplies in New York for the European trade, in midwinter, with necessary promptness, in which event those planters who are able to run into New York good stock realize large profits, and the agents in Europe make handsome returns to their principals. The winter of 1879~S0 was so mild and “open” a one that this diffieulty was not experienced, but previously it has been an important element in the trade. The prices received for American oysters sent abroad have been very various, ranging the past year from 5 to 40 shillings a barrel. Leaving out the various deductions necessary, it is considered fair to estimate $5 to be the average cash returned to this country for each barrel. At this rate the stated total of 63,300 barrels (about 175,000 bushels) would net the United States no less than $316,500 in gold, an amount which would by no other means be brought into our pockets, and which enriches the country by so much, since the value exchanged for it does not, in any degree, impoverish the country, but is a product of labor which would not otherwise be employed, and the disposal of a product not otherwise to be used. THE OYSTER-INDUSTRY. 133 Comparing this with the exportations in previous years, it will be seen that there is no loss, but a rapid gain. A statement of the value of oysters exported from the United States from 1864 to 1879, inclusive, reads as follows: The obted deg eeeipeEcde coach cSiandesosegueciaenece $SOy ORO MG ( ees ce.cccssqacces aaccecss seen seeememeeees $173, 711 Lee ecins SECC iSpiccoIined Cenc Dene ceCooeEeEaSoS L22HLOOP | 1S8iSeaccaeeencess « cocaloe esos teas noone eee neces 243, 723 TEM adotae moons nostogecdéded edoeeS nSSboa soneddls UO ACO TR G(Am aemecte\tacia am oleate ein — nsocopseccus cedcsc AA SG le NG Wey Olin sete aseeel coes seen eae *302, 732 ath Mts ames ercten os meesia= ni ceret anos ieimce SE ROS weratchie: New nosae janeaseite aes eee nee 12, 278 ID OSLO tet Secs esn se pacicacitn cass salwas'amaie sane < Pre oe aso GeluNOrte LOxica-nenteniameuie aciniometiscie es ae 9 IBLAZOS GO) SaNWA GO) ease woloae sees aiencene saa 265) || Passamaquoddy, Me: == ---.-ss---2--+<-s ccccc ce 712 iButtalow Newent so sseeecssocoleee = scssweie Al; 289) |S Philadel phiays sacs. acs-ccsseeiecics socccoeneeese 9, 468 CanetVincenta Nic cucec sass cooctscescescesees 4,210 | Portland and Falmouth, Me...--..----.....-.. 5, 224 Castine; Mey. cscccrcs oa secacce= Eee ba arog DeSece 6p RBureti Sounds Washiee a= een on esos secrete aes 1, 673 (Siremmnlitin, NE Yo ponk ch coscenmsnceconsonesecce HAIAGsel Riiltats TGs cae eoesean rosacsocCeeeescooeneecos 26 OLTGH ROS OUI oe Base ese eocpae ecee acs. Cosea non (4) | Sans ran cisco; Cali ssmec an seco ae ccc e= lac cence 4,157 Corpus Chmsit ye hexdgecenaanmceinccaamineae e/a al Am Saint) Obs Blac seeteea ss sete anes eee eee 20 WMeinolti coe sec acciescomeeie «acc cemncsisoceeee LAOS VierMOn trote= sace a ace ces nets cer cncincsercies cere 4, 556 allude scans eae eens semis cca renee eva a 62 —— (CRINGE, UNlo Yl ocomoosucenees baoSos oos0 DooccooS 573 453, 097 MIM GSO ba reste csiseisis sth ea cesseaiac tos misieeiesin cee 5, 065 Of these almost exactly one-quarter were sent to Canada, leaving about $360,000 worth to be sent to Europe, and, in trifling quantity, to Mexico and the Hast Indies. Dismissing these latter, it is interesting to inquire somewhat into the statistics of our exportations to Great Britain and the Continent. The number of shipments in 1879, between November 1 and May 1, were: Mowaiverpools. - -2s1---- 6:91 ‘General J. 1. Selfridge:----.-----.- 21.36 Allice Ridoway----- $2.22 =--esencjee 5.49 OW Sieee ates nana cae tos 5.04. Sunbeam --2.-i.-<-ss6-a0s-cccevos= 22:16 BDANG eo. 252 => -sonc, moo poe eeees 5.11 Maggie Bell..-=-- -:.-.----- weceuses 12°83) ‘Four Brothers\s-s-s4-5o--- eee enone en lige 6 eKate BeCker ss .5 sce acceee, sseece 17.3 aura V. Stiles <.<--- .-.. ..-... -... D. 78) se ORDA, shanks) men tee= = eee eae 10.73 ABSECON AND VICINITY.—Reed’s bay, Little bay, Absecon bay, and the other thoroughfares through the salt marshes behind Brigantine beach, afford good opportunities for growing oysters, and have long been utilized. In the neighborhood of the town of Absecon there are said to be one hundred men, part farmers, part fishermen, who regularly plant oysters and supply the market. Only a very few of these, however, devote their main time to it. It was to meet the case of these inclosed and almost dooryard waters, that section 14 of the revised statute relating to oysters was made, which enacts that persons owning flats or coves along the shores of the tide-waters between Great Egg Harbor and Little Egg Harbor, Atlantic county, inclusive of the shores of the rivers that lie within that county, may mark out ground by stakes of a prescribed size and number, for the planting of oysters or clams, but no stakes can be set beyond ordinary low-water mark. Section 16 also applies to Burlington county, but seems to add nothing to section 14. These planters get their seed (small) by going after it in their own sloops to Barnegat bay, the Gravellings, or Egg Harbor. It is put down in shallow water, on a soft bottom, and allowed three THE OYSTER-INDUSTRY 159 years’ growth. This brings it to “box” size, and no oysters are sold from Absecon less than this size. Until last year the price was $8 a thousand, but last year some lots were sold as low as $6, because not up to the usual quality. The shipments are all made by rail to Philadelphia, and sold there on commission, a system which has lately given rise to much complaint on account of alleged frauds. Tn addition to the northern oysters, bred as I have described, other stock is also brought from Virginia and given a season’s growth. The total raised for market during the past, however, of both kinds, by Absecon planters, would not exceed 20,000 bushels, three-fourths of which were from the Chesapeake. This would hardly represent an average crop, since many planters preferred to let their oysters lie to selling them at so poor prices. ATLANTIC Crry.—At Atlantic City there are three firms of oyster-planters and dealers, consisting of five men. They deal more or less in fish and provisions also. The oysters handled at present consist of southern stock (six or seven thousand bushels), which do well here, if they can be procured in good order. Besides this about 18,000 bushels of full-grown, marketable oysters are bought at Absecon and Barnegat and laid down here on a hard bottom, in shallow water, where the beds go dry at low tide, simply for summer use in the large seaside hotels which make Atlantie City famous. It is probably not fair to count these in statistics of production. At Brigantine beach there is a similar industry, selling at Atlantic City, but not of much account, and hardly to be reckoned as a point of original production. LAkb®’s BAY.—Just behind the island upon which Atlantic City is built, and to the southward, is an extensive sheet of inclosed water known as Lake’s bay, which is continued southward in numerous channels through the salt- marshes behind Absecon beach, until it reaches the inlet and mouth of Great Egg Harbor river. Along the shore of this bay are various villages that carry on extensive operations in oyster-culture, and have done so for many years. I refer to Pleasantville, Smith’s Landing, Bakersville, Leedsville, and Somer’s Point. The best part of the bay is said to be what are called the “muddy beds”, directly in front of Smith’s Landing, and about a quarter of a mnile distant. The advantage of these beds is said to lie in the fact, that the drainings from the “ platforms” flow over them at low tide, giving them a bath of fresh water twice daily. Much damage occurs here, however, whenever northwest gales occur, the soft mud in the marshes being loosened and drifted off into the bay to settle on the beds. The only enemy of the oyster reported here as of much consequence, is the Urosalpinx, called by the natives “snail- bore”; these mollusks become very troublesome some years, but had not occurred in great numbers during the season of my visit (1880). LAKE’S BAY PLATFORMS.—The “platforms” to which I have alluded, are in some eases nothing better than a mere plank floor, set in the bank in such a way that a boat-load of oysters, which are always extremely muddy and foul when first taken from the beds, may be floated alongside at high tide, and the oysters shoveled overboard upon it. The receding tide leaves this bare, and at the same time opens sluice-gates, which allow a stream of fresh water from the land to cover the oysters, under the genial influence of which they rid themselves of the distasteful brine contained within their shells, and also puff out their forms to an appearance of fatness very pleasing to the epicure. Frequently, however, an elaboration of the platform is constructed, which is worthy of special note. The bank is dug into and piles are driven, until a floor can be laid at a proper level below high-water mark. Over this a tight shed is built, sometimes 75 feet long by 25 feet wide, and of considerable height. On one side of this shed a canal is dug, into which a boat may run, and its cargo is easily shoveled through large openings in the side of the shed on to the floor within. On the opposite side of the shed, both within and without, run floors or stages above the reach of high water, where the oysters can be piled after freshening, packed in barrels and loaded on boats or drays for shipment. When the tide goes down it leaves the oysters upon the platform within the shed nearly bare, a depth of 8 or 10 inches of water being retained by a footboard at the seaward end of the shed. An arrangement of sluices now admits the fresh water, and the freshening begins. Over the space devoted to the platform or vat, at a sufficient height to let a man stand underneath to shovel up the oysters for packing, in which work he uses a dung-fork, is a broad shelf or garret, where barrels, baskets, boat-gear, and other small property can be safely stowed, since the whole shed, platform, oysters, and all, can be locked up. I have given an illustration of one of these houses at Smith’s Landing. SHIPMENTS OF OYSTERS FROM LAKE’S BAY TO PHILADELPHIA.—From these settlements on Lake’s bay two lines of railway run to Philadelphia, side by side. One is the Camden and Atlantic, and the other the Philadelphia and Atlantic City (narrow gauge). Since the recent completion of this latter road, all the Lake’s bay oysters have been sent by its line, which offered superior advantages; and as none go to Philadelphia (the almost exclusive market) by any other means, the railway’s account of transportation of oysters may be accepted as supplying the statistics of the annual product of the region. The agent at Pleasantville gave me the figures for the season of 1879~80, which are as follows: Oysters sent to Philadelphia. G2 car OLN th 0 WALLCIS te. Lot acco soe et eae eee eee mine acl teres Se ee eee ncidect ecew te clea ctas barrels... 43, 680 ZAvOpvebATrels, ab abouts) bushels tol) barrel S-esesessceel scot cake =o oe == 255 core eonene bushels... 130, 000 43,680 barrels, at 500 oysters to 1 barrel...-. Be asa ot AS pee ee ee oysters -. 21, 840, 000 AS OnoiWarrolaatelC pOUNOS tO) 2 Parte) << o2ceccaspe epee ese cane, sss0s.v-cclece= 25-2 0--oe-pounds--. 10, 483, 200 ACen ERnTe Se ate Me OUNMMCOrNL bss ono 2c fe Neo aie uwawee voce cues toh en oecunes scasesisameenaenan--- $11,356 80 140 THE FISHERIES OF THE UNITED STATES. These oysters were sent by from 100 to 120 shippers, which represent the number of planters. There are from 50 to 75 men in addition, who are hired, and so getting a living out of the oyster-interests here. The narrow-gauge railway company proposes to run a line, which may be finished by the time this report is published, down the bay shore to Somer’s Point, Beesley’s Point, and Ocean City. This will furnish so many additional facilities for shipping, doing away with the present necessity of hauling the oysters by team from one to seven miles to the station, that a large increase of oyster-production is anticipated... Many new men are engaging in planting, and the expectation seems well founded. Although I have reckoned all the shipments in the table printed above in barrels, yet in fact the use of sacks of gunny-cloth iscommon here. The sacks, I was told, cost from 8 to 9 cents, and will last for ten or fifteen trips, if they can be got back from the consignee in Philadelphia. Barrels are cheaper, since they can be bought at 10 cents apiece, in Philadelphia and Atlantic City, where the summer hotels consume enormous quantities of imported flour, and they will generally be returned for several trips. Twosacks are counted to the barrel, or 250 oysters to the sack. The prices received for Lake’s bay oysters last season averaged 40 cents, at which rate the total value of the crop, which may be very closely estimated at 130,000 bushels, would come to $52,000. Divided among 100 planters this would give an average income of about $520. OYSTER-FLEET OF SOMER’S POINT DISTRICT.—I counted at Smith’s Landing about 33 pretty good sail-boats and about 50 garvies, ete. I judge from inquiries, that this was one-third of ail owned between the railway and Somer’s Point, and that $200 apiece would be a large average estimate for the value of the sail-boats. Many of them devote much of their time, in summer, to raking clams from the extensive grounds at the lower end of the bay. In the custom-house of this district, situated at Somer’s, Point, I find reported as registered on July 1, 1880, 59 vessels engaged in oystering and clamming, as follows: Name. Tons. Name. Tons. Name. Tons. J\y [BOLERO ose Seq ee cess ocsoee 30587 GMary/ Bila. Sooners onjs oouicca= soos 28592) So IL Cav all COnee ean nee eetenles eae 16, 61 Alfredi@. Harmer -o- co. <--o

. ee 1, 165. 60 The collector of the district, Mr. Thomas E. Morris, adds: “In addition to the above there are some hundreds of small boats, under five tons, engaged in catching clams and oysters in this district, of which I can give no account.” I should say that about $75,000 would represent the total value of all the floating property, large and small, devoted to the shellfisheries in this neighborhood, which includes the coast of Burlington and Atlantic counties, but is practically restricted to Lake’s bay and Great Egg Harbor. GREAT EGG Habor AND DENNIS.—Having crossed the Great Egg Harbor river, you find yourself in Cape May county, and still among oystermen. The Great Egg Harbor river and bay, with its tributary, the Tuckahoe river, contain large and ancient seed-beds, which supply a large part of this coast with all the seed transplanted. These beds have been greatly extended in area since they began to be tonged, and do not seem greatly to suffer in consequence of the yearly raids made upon them. In the Great Egg Harbor river several men have, within a few years, undertaken to raise young oysters by planting cultch (shells) and catching spawn. They do not use this themselves, but when it is a year old sell it to planters, who paid this year about 40 cents a bushel. There is no difficulty in securin& such a supply of spawn every season. The abundance of seed-oysters in this bay formerly is proverbial. I was assured by more than one person, that years go it was the custom, at the beginning of the season, to anchor a scow upon the ground and not move all day. Continuous tonging in one spot, from sunrise to sunset, would not exhaust the bottom. The seed lay several inches deep, apparently, and from 100 to 200 bushels could be caught by one man in a single day. Now the seed is far thinner, but the beds are spread over a largely increased area, due to incessant tonging. Adjoining Great Egg Harbor and the neighboring coast is Upper township. South of it lies Dennis, which stretches across to the Delaware bay, and is bounded southerly by Townsend’s inlet. My information in respect to both is chiefly from Mr. Peter Watkins, a shipper, and one of the largest planters in the district, BS oo ne v 5 ING ; p (MOALWT (NY GSNOW-PNIddIHgG AVG SAV] VW ‘KUSH MAN ‘AVG SMW] ‘ONTGNVT S,HLING ‘SHALSAQ PNINAHSAYA YOM ,, NHOALVT 5, H —— pnp penn pH LN SMES {YLSAANI-YALSA O—YUtoagouopy IN THE OYSTER-INDUSTRY. 141 Dennis township contains Dennis creek and West creek on its Delaware side, both of which abound in a natural growth of oysters every year, and in neither of which, consequently, is there any planting, more than perhaps a little desultory “laying out” in tributary creeks for private use. The laws of 1857 forbade dredging for oysters in Dennis creek, and forbade any taking of oysters from natural beds there “to be sold outside of Cape May county”, with an especial injunction against non-residents. The natural oysters caught there grow in the mud, in a crowded condition, and hence are long, slender, and strap-shaped. They get the name “Stuckups” in consequence. Their shells are weak and thin, because of an absence of carbonate of lime in the soil of the surrounding region. The water here is very fresh; but the best of the full-grown oysters are annually peddled about the neighborhood, and regarded as of superior quality as a fresh oyster. The business, then, of this district, comprised in these two townships, lies in the sounds and thoroughfares on the eastern shore, Benreen the mainland and the outer (Peck’s and Ludlam’s) beaches. The bottoms of these sounds are muddy—some tough, some soft—except upon the bars, which are hard sand. The ordinary depth at low water is less than two feet, while the bars go dry every tide. Oysters are planted in both places, but chiefly on the mud. The seed used all the way from Townsend’s inlet to Great Egg Harbor, is for the most part gathered in that harbor and its rivers. The price varies greatly. Planters used to give 45 cents a bushel, and got a heaping half-barrel for measure. In 1879 they paid 37 cents, measured in a scant basket, and this year the price has been 40 cents on the grounds, with 5 to 7 cents freight tobe added. This is the year-old and larger clean seed, known locally as “plants”; the small “blisters” being little used here, since they never do well, nine-tenths of them failing to survive the winter. Nearly every man who lives along the shore is more or less concerned in the oyster-planting, yet as a regular business it is hardly more than ten years old. My informant counted 50 planters along the eastern water-front of the two townships, but not all of them depend upon oystering for even a majority of the support of their families. There are none, indeed, but who also conduct a farm; many are concerned in the fisheries, others employed half the year at the life-saving stations, and another Aantiai spend the summer-leisure in raking clams. A large crop is not, therefore, to be expected from this coast, and it is estimated as follows: Two planters raise 1,500 bushels 7 = ee ne ee ee ae 3, 000 Four planters raise 600 bushels ..---..+-.-. -----------+-----+ +--+ 2+ 2-2-2 eee eee eee see 2, 400 Twenty-four planters raise 300 bushels...--..-.---.----- ---------.---- Saciecncw tee cee ge 7, 200 12, 600 The planting of southern stock has not, as a rule, been profitable in this district. It is considered better policy to wait longer for the more hardy but or growing Egg Harbor plants, than to risk the easily killed, tender but more rapidly-matured, Chesapeakes. Although the original expense of planting the northern oysters is largely in excess of that of the southern stock, the price received is larger in market at the end, and the risk of loss far less. Yet every few years some adventurous spirit makes a success of his southern importations, and wins very large profits. This chance is alluring, and a thousand or fifteen hundred bushels are brought up every year from Virginia. All of the oysters raised here go to Philadelphia by rail. They are prepared for market by the usual freshening on platforms at ebb-tide, and bring high prices. This season (1880) from $4 25 to $5 a barrel have been received by the shippers, who paid the small planters $3 30 at the shore, or $3 50 delivered in barrels at the railway station. The freight into the city is 40 cents, with an added 10 cents for cartage. EARLY OYSTER-BUSINESS OF CAPE May counry.—Before the railway was put here all the oysters (chiefly natural growth) were sent to Philadelphia and New York by water. From the diary of Jacob Spicer, quoted in Dr. Maurice Beesley’s Early History of Cape May Oounty (Geol. Surv. of N. J., 1857), occurs the following item: There is at least ten boats belonging to the county which carry oysters; and admit they make three trips fall and three trips spring, each, and carry 100 bushels each trip, that makes 6,000 bushels, at what they neat 2s. per bushel, £600. Six hundred pounds sterling was about $3,000; now the annual resources of the county in oysters approach $60,000 in value, and the shipping involved on the ocean shore of the county alone, consisting of a dozen small vessels in the Chesapeake carrying-trade, and perhaps 40 sail-boats for local service on the beds, are worth not less than $30,000. A portion of this wealth, however, remains to be accounted for. OYSTER-FLEET OF THE BRIDGETOWN DISTRICT.—The custom-house of the district is at Bridgeton, and the collector has taken the trouble to furnish me with a complete list of the vessels oystering and registered in his office in 1880. The district comprises all the coast from the Tuckahoe river, Cape May county, around to Alloway’s creek, in Salem county, and the list is as annexed: OYSTER-VESSELS REGISTERED AT BRIDGETON. Pi SCHOONERS, Name. Tons. Name. Tons. Name. Tons. aks Sp WGI Teg eae Gere aa saeeree need DASE CATOU OC ce weet e ee eee oes Sawises 34899) 1D). OC Adams ie. eee een eee cnene 29.59 COMO ROPAGN es cosas es cts sch Ss- Sa0300 8 Calg Dulkgeeeeee eae eee 2oco2, DD. P, Mulfordeesesepers--~---25=--=) 27. 00 mice Meinidmway=!---0-.--2-<':-2--- DGLORy 1 CarolinelEWoarseeeeeeeeneedens caan Oen0b, . DOV 2c. paneeeetee- cece wees -=e= 22. 20 CAWTICUTS TS eb See ee er 91-51. F Cashion: (sans eee eS oe O4b49, iB .. Wowlen ese cow cee Coca accaen SonOe PATE Cn MOOLGMe eee Sec en as sacs =< D7LOF* (Oh acter 2s ee ere ee ce alc DO'Gs. Kdna Meaiorpeeeesee = - serena aae- 3 33.71 Anna Mary Newcomb ...........---- 29.11 Cecelia B. Sheppard-...--.---------- 29.98 Elanora -........... ---------------- 33.23 Amanda B. Lore ................-... Pinch) Dawnine Iiolitiessss senses -35- 92/67, BlizabethiyB 2222. .-.1a-+ «----- -saaer 21.78 142 Name. Tons. HIE WOLUN sees Sace= sss cctenaas cece 26. 36 Bqual Rights. ---.-------------.---- 20.25 IDROW) Co tece see aasquecdons soSoSs5= 21. 28 (BY COaGhy 2 eeeeeses poconeeae=s.ssec0 29.11 (6) Ai (Grek tee seeeerasee -cacee cee 21.81 General McClellan ..-.-.--......---- 23. 81 General Palmer - ssea-- 22 -- = a= nlo== 26. 42 HarnietiSmithiessossee- ao eeeemee eee 27. 46 Hannahandldaieess-sastaeriaees <= 40. 68 Hattie RaJohnson s--2--.---------=- 29.13 Nd siiMarts ae vocsseee oo ces ae onan) e498 imenevA. B. Crawford =-----\---- ----= 20. 86 UMD wa an Omen eeec sa seclcsciecce 25. 16 acOD Pie Weeee seen eo. sciso ns ese 35. 61 SHMESVES NURON eee sos cl ciowe cscs Sona Oe. Ol MeNnmiO hs LOW .2--.255ss255+s-s%0-55- 25. 84 EUED ear ies siee wis seats sco oe ane 25. 96 SCHOONERS—continued. Name. Tons. Ibaura Parsons) .s4 SERRE OS Tena OCCINE COTO DORE ONC OEO: DUOC CODE OS COLES ERE CH ES Sers¢ See SeBOCSHSr aL aces (eee bao hiapale hat dic'= 3 Siete cta aie eerete None. September 1, 080 4, 320 | 5, 400 6 (Oath errant alabe rane soc waeee Sena eeat a aocbs a dat bocce dccenscnanceuwenccense 3, 780 15, 120 18, 900 21 NAL VEN Geese eee eee eee ome we sem ticnn =n cae ncn sen nn eobiaepeeenee cninm ate ac\bacecsemiae 10, 260 41, 040 51, 300 57 WORGBM DOr == snr eee ae wen anes one sSocenscessclanctecopecn cee Sects aocussedatccescewesccustsse 10, 800 43, 200 54, 000 | 60 IRA ALY ao scence anewas sae tds enaeas ethene a ecda aes cars aol eseseoces ce ccass woceseces coesse 8, 280 33, 120 41, 400 46 February -- 11, 240 45, 360 56, 700 63 March ..-. 36, 400 | 145, 600 182, 000 140 PAT itl meee ree mene SES ge oe 166, 400 166, 400 332, 800 | 256 287, 760 651, 840 939, 600 868 From— | For planting. | Maryland waters ---. Virginia waters 488, 880 215, 820 162, 71, For Philadelphia and other markets. 960 940 The planting of this 700,000 and more bushels of Chesapeake seed, is not attended with any features greatly different from the same indastry and investment at Fairhaven or Staten Island. When a load of oysters for planting arrives from the South, the owner of the cargo sends on board the vessel all the men he has, and the schooner then sails back and forth around and over the designated ground. The effort in loading is to have as much as possible of the cargo on deck. It is an easy matter, then, as the vessel proceeds, to shovel overboard ; and as she is constantly changing her position, and the men shovel uninterruptedly until the whole load is overboard, the oysters are pretty evenly distributed. An ordinary crew of five will thus unload 400 bushels in an hour, for five or six hours in succession. Adding this expense to his first cost and charges, a planter, who puts down large quantities, expects the cost of his various lots of oysters, big and little together, will average about 25 cents a bushel. These Chesapeake oysters, it is scarcely necessary to say, are left down only until the succeeding fall, before being taken up for market. They have then grown into larger and fuller proportions, and have assumed a far better flavor than they originally possessed. Sometimes accident or circumstances will cause a bed, or a portion of it, to be saved through the winter and not harvested until the second fall; but this is rare, very risky, and not attended by a large increase of profits. Making a recapitulation of the western shore produce, I derive the succeeding particulars : STATISTICAL RECAPITULATION FOR WESTERN SHORE OF DELAWARE BAY: SLE Olen Abra TOVRLCL-TOU Ki) «eae seta alone 5 casas ae eon oe tawanaeden at com eee teh eooacmale acres... 500 Hxtentsorculinvavedsenoundsia DOU Is 6-2 seoseh eee sores eae =e ines aee aigee sane sese-e eee ee: acres... 3, 000 Numberof planters; noticounted elsewheress-: ess scqccceincsaee-esecer- cee cee aa-esee Saacee ee teen 40 Number of men employed, about....--.....- A OSE E ODEO Roo Choe San AeE CREE ocemer Aris onemetaenseeacst 625 HARRIES ANC DOATM oe tites enon eae ss tee ciee cu eee ees e ence hk Gass sou dk betas cece teanet wane ticce neon $117, 000 Nini bemoLemenypartiallyxemployedeesens- sce ners. ne ose ad asa. Sankt eek seers bon oe cele eatyemee 400 HarninesOlSalne\ss2 os: Sore Pete eee eee tek Ate mt tet me ses tc see Ae oe og Li $30, 000 Numbenofsimpsimade. after southerm seed. aboutes-- 1+. s0--eeseracensee enacuce cose sens soos cctlenese esac 620 HSI PeATACO SD yASAING 24 =12a2) eh ee ae eee eee Be eee c ee nee eno See in, ake cade ce aston ceed $62, 000 (QED! CORTESE HINTS BES OE eRe Ree ae a pet oe I ee ine $31, 000 MOTUHeMn Seeds pis ted Mee ass aa oaee ae EGA ES. Beh eee es ro eee At oi bushels. - 704, 700 Costtotmsaien a DOP eRe Me meer on ONG oh ate an noe, Lege ae Re ee eens he REN Relat eh ee ft $176, 175 INGrilrermiseen spl on ted mame sewers Sie hone. arth ecco Nate eee Sobre See ee eee eee se nant bushels... 370, 000 (Costtohtsamena DOUieroee see hee tos aes 4. Sct os Ae os ste losbmcac mee ee Osseo ne ie ses ct dene acne - dseoce $150, 000 Sarthermoysterscoldeann tallvar eee se ce Wns a ee ee wee De bushels. - 650, 000 NAIC SPRIOIS Gig ds Sc bad SAS CSREES Bb SHE BEBE ERIE Ho CEES CEOS ARSC aE SE ssi eae $500, 000 Worihernioyaters soldtannuallyseere seat ee 22 at ate seine cas ae sae e esse es lock wh Sesld anos bushels. - 300, 000 Vell GREG hod oa aS Sa? Bas Co osoe ne Soe > BORE Soe SBS ROR ORC nC Taare ee 55a a ae rs $325, 000 TOTAL STATISTICAL RECAPITULATION FOR DELAWARE BAY: Number of’ planters, wholesale dealers, and shippers ...--.---a00 .---0- --0-20 cence seseee cone eee sceeee 350 BEshent Ons ono unas col tiy ated os apo oe eas cee ae ee oe oe a oe oe noe 2 ea onse oe 2s <2 sees== sp ACTOS: 9, 000 WEG GP CONTTGy OYUN TSR ORME ES Ha RR Se ie re SBS eee CHER OL Ea Stes $15, 000 Weslera tgs LOre-NLOPOLiy a2 oh ose. mo caesarean eee Bae a ene is wee ce ois Lobe seeeieeeeemecetee $123, 500 Number of vessels and sail-boats permanently engaged .--....--..--------- 02-220 eeee cece eee eee eee eee 1, 365 WEUTS O77 SID) ~ 3 Ae Ob Cac oclee SHER ene ene Ine ben SS: ne Ae ne nee | ee $350, 000 154 THE FISHERIES OF THE UNITED STATES. Nomber of vessels partiallyengamed:: =: - 25s ae perenne ee ae ee 100 Wumiber of. men hired by planters or dealers “<<. --22~ = ose neem ainie se cieees cee nae ee ae ee ee 1,915 JST EH GE ae NEE PENG S55 oo oe sSasca sss osnee sas Sees eeaSassoscss asses ocSsSae sees sse sass ssoness $614, 000 Number of sailors employed on Chesapeake vessels .... 2. <2... 2-0. 22-22 e200 cco en eeecee canccscecssncene 400 JA Eerie oR OB phils aoe psocsoesocidsos ead ae0 Soores sa cote dacs aase Sooo stSSap Aamo ossacs HeSSnnSeios $30, 000 Total number of families supported) abowtao.-o-- === ccs enie= = oienee an sno ee seme seein eee eis aaee eee 2,000 Annual sales of— TiS IN RIRE ON SEITE «<5 Sedo 2965 CORSE He 5 CODES SER Re ER Son oes Sg oe Scec ocr aes eee bushels.. 1, 900, 000 Walue-otSamenerersass= ssa asecere BES aanoor Uae ear acd dciy ceeb necOsanse oe HES Sac cstess pels $1, 925, 000 INT (Glnese alice) “Un Em ER Bec see Cocoeace mecca sgucdos nope rooticankoSccis qecnestboceees STG. 650, 000 VPI ESET) SEs Bee eS eiotes ae SOiRSaO SSR SSSOb50 Hoss Sang rods DSTe Soo eos costes $500, 000 Total value of oysters sold annually...... ..-. 22-220 2a = 225 oo a aoe one cee n ee cee nee RRR SSE DSIO cao see on $2, 425, 000 N. OYSTER-INTERESTS OF PHILADELPHIA. 44, THE MERCHANTS AND OYSTER-BUSINESS OF PHILADELPHIA. PHILADELPHIA AS AN OYSTER-CENTER.—It will already have impressed itself upon the mind of the reader, that this whole region is dependent upon Philadelphia for its market, and hence, for a large part of the capital employed in carrying on the daily operations of the business. The city of Philadelphia, therefore, takes a prominent position as an oyster-center, and deserves a careful survey. Yet here, more even than in New York, is the business centered and compact; or else it acts simply as a silent partner—a power behind the throne—in so many operations that have already been described in the review of Delaware bay, that little remains to be said except barren statistics condensed into small space. The region directly tributary to Philadelphia as a marketing point, extends from Barnegat around to and ineluding the whole of Delaware bay; and it yields two millions and a half bushels annually, one quarter of which, probably, are transplanted from the Chesapeake seed-grounds. TRANSPORTATION AND ITS STATISTICS.—The transportation to the city from New York and the Atlantic coast of New Jersey is by rail, as also to some extent from the Delaware bay shore of the same state. This supply is carried almost wholly by three railways, the various sub-lines of the Pennsylvania corporation, the New Jersey Central, and the Philadelphia and Atlantic City narrow-guage road. Railway statistics, in all cases, were given- me without hesitation by officers of the roads. The combined receipts reported by these roads for 187980, from New York and New Jersey, amounts to nearly 300,000 bushels, counting somewhere near 70,000,000 oysters. These cargoes weighed over 12,000,000 pounds, and gave an income to the roads aggregating over $27,000. By steamers from Baltimore, Norfolk, and Chesapeake landings, there were brought nearly 20,000 bushels, or perhaps 6,000,000 oysters, while the Philadelphia, Wilmington and Baltimore railway eclipsed all other lines, by reporting receipts for Philadelphia (including Southwark and Gray’s Ferry) of 182,980 bushels in shell, and 70,000 gallons of shucked oysters. For these figures I am indebted to Mr. Charles K. Ide, master of transportation. Adding these two sums, on the basis that a gallon is equal to a bushel, and that each will contain (of such stock as this road transports) an average of 300 oysters, we find that 71,000,000 oysters is the number annually brought ,to the city, by this line alone, every year. The net revenue derived from this freight in 1879~80, by this road, approached $30,000, while as much more accrued to its treasury from other carriage of oysters not coming within the scope of the present inquiry. Coming by sail-vessel from the eastern shore of Delaware bay, I find about one and a half million bushels yearly, while the western shore of the bay produces nearly another million bushels, a large part of which are southern oysters transplanted to those beds. Lastly, in winter, about 250,600 bushels are taken by sailing-vessels- through the canal from the Chesapeake to Philadelphia, for immediate use. A summation of the supplies from all these sources gives as the total quantity annually handled in Philadelphia, as shown by the statistics of 1879 and 1880, to be in the close neighborhood of 2,680,000 bushels, or more than 860,000,000 oysters, worth, in round numbers, not less than $2,500,000 at wholesale. DISTRIBUTING TRADE.—But, of course, only a portion of these oysters are consumed within the limits of the city of Philadelphia. A large part is distributed widely throughout a region which includes the Delaware valley, the state of Pennsylvania, and to some extent the West, where Philadelphia competes in the shell-trade with New York and Baltimore. The Pennsylvania railway, for instance, reports that nearly 60,000 bushels went to Pittsburgh and intermediate stations, in 1879, Pittsburgh becomes, thus, a distributing point for its neighborhood, angmenting this stock by large receipts from Baltimore and New York. Philadelphia sends to New York and intermediate points, by the same railway, more than 100,000 bushels, and Camden distributes ten or fifteen thousand bushels in western New Jersey. There remains the draught made by the express companies and various railroads, from whom there is no report. To have ascertained, with complete exactness, the proportion of this two and a half millions of bushels which is sent out again, and consequently the proportion which is left to be consumed here, would have required weeks of time and needless trouble. But from all that I can gather in the way of data, I believe that the city of Philadelphia and its large suburbs, which together contain 1,000,000 people, will consume annually an equal THE OYSTER-INDUSTRY. 155 number of bushels or gallons, counting 300,000,000 oysters. This would require each inhabitant to eat about six per week the year round, or a dozen per week for half the year. A single “stew” would include this number; and for the few who would not find upon their tables one mess of stewed or otherwise cooked oysters in a week, I believe there are many who would see them in some shape every other day for six or eight months, especially among the working classes. Errorts AT PAcKkING: SHUCKING: SHIPPING.—It has been found that the extraordinary advantage which Baltimore enjoys in that direction, has made it useless for Philadelphia to attempt to compete in the packing-trade. The few attempts that have been made have all met with ill-success. Some fresh oysters are canned here, however, and sent out, chiefly to near neighborheeds. There is not enough of this done, however, to furnish employment to more than 50 shuckers among the whole shipping-trade of the city. These are mostly whites, and perhaps half of them are married. They come from the most ignorant laborers, and are reckless in behavior. Some are hired by the week at $10, others prefer to work by the piece, and receive 60 cents a thousand. The fresh oysters shipped are sent mainly in wooden “ buckets” of variable capacity, but often holding several gallons, a large piece of ice being thrown into the oysters and the cover locked. In addition to this there is some shipping of Maryland stock, opened at Seaford, Crisfield, ete., in sealed tins. These are square cans, holding one or two “ quarts”, but the measure is somewhat short. They are filled with four-fifths of solid oysters and one-fifth pure water. A “case” of these cans may hold two or four dozen. The cans are not manufactured in Philadelphia, but in Baltimore, where the large local demand’ enables them to be made from one-half to three-fourths of a cent cheaper than elsewhere. WHOLESALE TRADE.—The total wholesale trade of Philadelphia is now divided, so far as can be ascertained, among about 50 firms, which, if all dealt alike, would give to each a business of about $60,000 yearly. Of course there is no such equality. Most of these dealers are also planters, furnishing the capital with which their boats, registered in New Jersey and Delaware waters, and manned by crews, residents of those states, plant upon ground outside of Pennsylvania’s waters, and consequently held in some other name than that of their actual owners and operators. sciskanswebes 300 MeO OV SLEL-NOUNES, Op eLSONns, GACH. ono Mase eeceew. jennie te sminystie ceceres cece ssccacelpceciecsels 1, 880 BAIPTESLAOTAMGS wl NELSON CACM. yse sce cio cae cete «wel nlee.syeenmineectettcabiars ces sceetes <),. 441 1,452 lager beer saloons, one-half person each .... ... Sse et See Pee ee as Be Hepaln ae ceeec' ewes < 721 ULE SR eS pee ee ee nee, Sie ee seo ee ee ee 3, 342 Add pmedalers;anckCuLDSLODS-SbAnds) 158) .sasison senaateeeeean lantern a ciss= -ser\as-cize secceses 158 3, 500 Many of these 3,500 persons are women and children, some of whom, nevertheless, assist in supporting others than themselves. In other cases various duties are combined with the service of cysters. But I think it within bounds to estimate 3,000 families maintained by this retail industry. Dealings in oysters in Philadelphia are chiefly carried on at the foot of Spruce street, at the foot of Vine street, and at the Brown street wharves. In each case the locality is determined by the presence of a large provision- market, and the business in general fishing centers near it. At Brown street there is an association of the owners of boats selling there for mutual protection on questions of wharfage and the like. Most of the business is done at Spruce street, where the Jersey boats chiefly go, and where some of the heaviest dealers have their oflices. 156 THE FISHERIES OF THE UNITED STATES. STATISTICAL RECAPITULATION FOR PHILADELPHIA: Number of planters, wholesale‘dealers, and'shippers:2---- .- <<. «--o rar 80, 000 80, 000 Delaware bay ....-.----------2- 22-222 cee ene eee ee eee eee n nnn ceee een e erence ene eee 488, 880 |...------. 488, 880 Philadelphia. ..-....-..---------------------------------- Son won| Me OaRaOU! 162, 960 Seaford, Delaware (for packing and for local use) ...-..----------+------ 20-0 0-eeeeene eee enn ee ene en entrees 200, 000 200, 000 TS UET Eh AOS Tee ae a ESE as OSS EI OOS ES ISS IO SA SOSOS ORC OCR SOOO IEG fon Saas aoe tenernn eee 650, 000 Per rail and steamers 100, 000 TOCA: = aceseeeaeeeseee eae eae ek ross rece eee renee Sanne Le oe eo nae tanee ewsmawlsm=ssenercts= cs Sanaw oro eS 2, 021, 840 Lhave thrown distrust on this table, because I hardly think it possible to tell, with any accuracy, what went north from Maryland waters and what from Virginia. SHIPMENTS NORTHWARD IN 1865,—In 1865 Mr. ©. 8. Maltby counted the shipments northward as follows: Hair Haven, Connecticut .scemecsise + es: «nie am = ee mee mem ome mats ele ei einai ina cleat eet 700, 000 , INE OLIC ace she le ee ee ee feos eric wie toe ate SS etre eet in ele Or eter a ele olathe eee ee oseen kt 1, 050, 000 Bhiladelphias -—s- <2 en see sees PRT ae scis anne wicte uc oceleanaisece = hes CeCe ee eee eee ees eee rea 400, 000 Boston, Massachusetts... ----- 2 --2- ence ace cone cence es cone nen n ene e ee nae mene ceee wane mons anes cnsansenee 350, 000 Gay: | = Se ea Re ee Foo So paa nS HOS aadcooesssHNEscS FS nat abacus ete coe eee 2, 500, 000 er; THE OYSTER-INDUSTRY. 167 The vessels engaged in carrying oysters from the Chesapeake to the North are generally owned in the cities to which they run; and it would duplicate statistics to include them in the oyster-fleet of the Chesapeake. It would, however, be equally an error to make no mention of them at all. Irom the best information to be obtained by correspondence with the owners of the vessels, I would put their number at 200, with a present aggregate value of $600,000. About 1,000 men compose their crews, and the wages of these will amount to about $140,000 a season. The oysters taken North for immediate use cost, on an average, about 25 cents a bushel; while plants, during the past season, probably averaged 10 cents a bushel, about 3 cents more than the price during the previous season. The dismissing of this subject will be excused by the reader, who has access to and has read the previous chapters, which treat of the use of Chesapeake “‘seed” and oysters in the waters of the Atlantic states. BEGINNING OF OYSTER-PACKING IN BALTIMORE.—‘“‘ Having given-an account of the oystermen, their boats, ete.,” says Mr. Edmonds, “it is now appropriate to present some statistics of the number of bushels of oysters caught _ and the disposition made of them. The most important factor in this connection being the packing-trade, I will endeavor to show the extent of this business, as compiled from the books of the different firms engaged in it. “About 1834 or 1835 a small packing-house was opened in Baltimore, but it soon passed out of existence, and no record of it can now be obtained. The first important enterprise in this line was the establishment of a packing-house in 1836, by Mr. C. S. Maltby, a native of Connecticut. Mr. Maltby, who, by the way, is still in the business, confined his operations exclusively to the raw trade for a number of years. As his business increased, he established a line of wagons from Baltimore to Pittsburgh, and was thus enabled to supply the west with fresh oysters long before the Baltimore and Ohio railroad had stretched out its track to that then distant region.* BEGINNING OF STEAMED OYSTERS.—“‘ Mr. A. Field was the first to develop in Baltimore the steam trade. He began a few years after Mr. Maltby. His oysters were steamed and then hermetically sealed in small tin cans. “ Having been once established, the trade increased quite rapidly, and for some years oyster-packing, both raw and steamed, was very profitable;+ but as there is an abundant chance of financial success through dishonest means, with but little danger of detection, many unscrupulous firms engaged in the steamed-oyster business, and by packing ‘light weights’, @. e., putting in a one-pound can about six or seven ounces of oysters, and filling the remaining space with water, and about the same proportion of oysters and water in larger cans, and either selling them under some fictitious brand, or else entirely omitting any name, they succeeded in gaining for the packing-trade of Baltimore a by no means enviable reputation. To enable them to compete with these ‘tricks in trade’, reliable houses were in some cases forced to follow their example, as in many places it was found impossible to sell standard goods at fair prices, while ‘light weights’ could, of course, be sold at much lower figures. In answer to the question as to whether ‘light weights’ were sold extensively in the west, I was lately informed by a gentleman from that part of the Union, that up to within a year or so it had been almost impossible to obtain full weights, but that some improvement had lately taken place in this respect. The same gentleman, on returning to the West, sent me the names of three packing-houses whose names appeared on the cans, and whose oysters were ‘light weights’. An examination proved the names to be fictitious, there being no such firms in Baltimore. THE UNION OystER Company.— ‘Close Jane by causing a cutting in prices, helped on the trouble, and for several years previcus to 1878 the business was very unprofitable. In 1878, to save themselves, the packers formed a combination known as the ‘Union Oyster Company’, embracing all the leading firms engaged in the steaming business, with the exception of three or four, who, having well-known standard brands, preferred to fight it out alone. The formation of the Union Company was, in itself, an evidence that the trade was in a deplorable condition. The company was established with a capital of $300,000, the stock being divided among the twenty-three firms who entered it in proportion to the amount of business previously done by them. The affairs of the company are managed by a president, a vice-president, a secretary, and the twenty-three firms, who constitute the board of directors. In joining the company each firm entirely relinquishes their own steaming business (although they may still conduct the raw trade) and act merely as agents for the union. All oysters are bought and packed by the union, and then sold to the packers at a uniform price, thus placing every firm on exactly the same level. At the same time the union may sell directly to the trade. “The result of this combination has been to partially break up fraudulent packing, although it is still carried on to some extent. Outside of the union there are three or four extensive firms, whose oysters sell on the reputation of their brands, and it would obviously be impolitic for them to engage in packing light weights. THE RAW-OYSTER PACKING-HOUSES.—“ The raw-oyster business has always been more profitableand 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 ee are packed it in small air-tight cans holding about a quart, and *Tn 1850, according “to memoranda furnished by C. . Maltby, there were six houses e engaged in pac king oy rsters, to the extent of 400,000 to 500,000 cans a year. The price was $7 a dozen, Eel five to ten cases to one purchaser was considered a large sale. Fruits, etc., were ae a a still larger value by the same houses. t Mr. C. S. Maltby records that in 1865, 1,875,000 bushels of oysters were packed raw in Baltimore, and 1,360,000 bushels were preserved, In 1869 he ers 0 in Maryland 55 packers who, at 500 to 2,500 cans per day, put up twelve to fifteen millions of cans in a season of seven months, using 5,000,000 bushels. Sixty “raw” houses that year employed 3,000 hands, while the packers gave employment to 7,500 persons. Large quantities of canned oysters were annually sent, at that time, by steamship to Havana. In 1#72 the same notes record as opening oysters, 2,000 men; making cans, 300 men; box-makers, 50 men; clerks and laborers, 300, All these were in the ‘‘raw” trade of Baltimore, 168 THE FISHERIES OF THE UNITED STATES. 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 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. Iarther 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 command better prices than steamed. In fact, nothing in the shape of an oyster is too small to be available for the ‘steamed’ trade. And from this arises one of the great sources of injury to the oyster-beds. So long as dredgers are able to sell their entire catch, regardless of the size of the oysters, it will be useless to expect any improvement in the beds. Young oysters of a very small growth can be disposed of almost as promptly as larger ones, and while this is the ease, it need not be expected that dredgers will have foresight enough to see the wisdom of throwing all small oysters back on the bars. During the past season the supply of oysters was often insufficient to meet the demand, and the ‘steamed’ trade was compelled to suspend work for a considerable length of time on account of a scarcity of oysters, all that were received being quickly taken by the ‘raw’ men at prices which would be unprofitable for steaming. STATISTICS OF THE BALTIMORE PACKING-HOUSES.—* Baltimore, the great oyster-market of the United States, annually packs more oysters than any other city in the world. It is the great center of the packing-trade, surpassing in that particular all other cities, and yearly handling more oysters than all the other packing points of Maryland and Virginia combined. During the season, extending from September 1, 1879, to May 15, 1880, the number of vessels loaded with oysters arriving at Baltimore, was 9,543 (or a daily average of 57 for the 257 days), bringing 7,252,972 bushels, which would make the average cargo 760 bushels. In addition to the amount brought by sail-vessels, there were 25,000 bushels received by steamers and consigned directly to hotels and restaurants, making a total of 7,277,972 bushels, of which there were packed raw 3,769,353 bushels, hermetically sealed 2,189,939 bushels, and used for city consumption 818,680 bushels. “Engaged in oyster-packing in Baltimore there are 45 firms, with a capital of $2,338,300, occupying, in their business, houses and grounds with an estimated value of $1,360,966. During the summer these firms are generally engaged in fruit-packing, and their capital and buildings are thus in active use during the entire year. “These firms employ 4,167 males and 2,460 females—total, 6,627; and during the season of 1879-80 paid to them in wages $602,427. The total number of bushels of oysters packed was 6,459,292, which required 25,546,780 tin cans and 929,614 wooden cases. The value of the oysters packed, including shucking, cans, ete., was $3,517,349. For the tin cans $794,919 was paid, and for the wooden cases $102,622. CRISFIELD AS A PACKING CENTER.—“ Next to Baltimore, Crisfield is the most important packing point in the state. Had the oyster-beds in the vicinity of Crisfield not been so greatly depleted, I think the trade at that city would have increased much more rapidly than ithas. Crisfield is literally built upon oysters, or rather oyster-shells, almost the entire space now occupied by the business part of the city having been under water. The shells from the packing-houses have been utilized to make new ground, and gradually the city has pushed out nearly a half a mile into the bay. Atthe present time some of the houses are built on piles, and are entirely surrounded by water, having no means of communication with the land except by boats. STATISTICS OF THE OYSTER-PACKING IN MARYLAND, 1879~80.—“ From the books of the 98 oyster-packing firms of Maryland, the following table has been compiled, showing the amount of business done at each city from September 1, 1879, to May 1, 1880: Oyster-packing in Maryland, season 1879-80. | | | carl Uys 3 4 ES 2 so Be: 2, 3 . ES e ge Rg as Pe BE 3 ae ra - CS PS poe me g te) B rg 2s eg °¢ os : en S £4 a we ~~ 2 be id Oa © s Ss. og 25 Pies oD ° =e S 3 ag 25 ao. as 2 8 Se x E23 EI EI cas Be z eg a FB ek EI 5 BAS 5 a ine Ss) A A A <4 A - SIONS Sos 5 Senos sendeaswen sues epee ter ananean vis ceneteicon: 45 | $2, 338, 300 | $1, 360, 966 4, 167 2, 460 $602,427 | 3,769,353 | $2, 272, 740 Crisfield ...... 16 39, 650 23, 800 65, 481 427, 270 165, £00 Cambridge. ..- 8 20, 300 10, 000 28, 757 205, 410 76, G58 Annapolis. .... 3 8 59, 600 17, 500 26, 482 156, 703 69, 555 Oxforile eee Sense scatters slow ew ces sccnte eae eee aeeeree eect ees u 7, 000 5, 760 23, 258 108, 960 39, 986 Saint Michael's 4 4, 500 3, 000 4, 987 37, 788 14, 058 Sundry small places in Somerset county 10 23, 000 15, 000 26, 387 224, 817 86, 945 To talie peered ty 1 eT AN) SS ae 98 | 2,499,350 | 1,436, 026 6,179 2,460 | 777,779 | 4,930,301 | 2, 725, 737 I ato eae Vid a ia: (on gees : ‘i sty re or Piva) ie ae ae a Wn 08 a . a . ~: Plate XXXVI. Monograph—O VSTER-IN DUSTRY. Le \ \ , LZLLLLE. BALTIMORE OYSTER-SHUCKING TROUGH. SIS PIREKLROLL RON OysTER-KNIVES, OF DIVERSE PATTERNS, USED IN NEW ENGLAND, NEW YORK, AND THE CHESAPEAKE REGION. THE OYSTER-INDUSTRY. 169 Oyster-packing in Maryland, season 1879~80—Continued. Le Ds é a 3 23 B Z c—- a 2 2 ae aro) 3 8 a ==) om ag | ° } oO. ro} I aS S ; I bah! | gy é oe a aS 3 ote ¢ Ae S Rs Bs 2 3. ie g Ee e ee 3 ae 5 use & BSe E — 2 Se 2 ES 8 AES e 3 Ps 8 e Ae 2 IS he 2 a 2 7 Bos | Ga, & os | re) 8 ey Pus a Soa Ss =} g s 8 A > a a A io) A is} | } Baltimore. .-....-. 2, 689, 939 | $1,244,609 | 6, 45: 2 $3,517, 349 | 25,546,780 | $794, 919 929, 614 $102, 622 Grinfeldise-6~-s522c<< SS RSOeE Bt | Ree oe 2c. [ee on 427, 270 AGbASO0) | sseeepeceste | ese tecce cs |Loss eeeeeee 3, 576 Cambridge.......---- 13, 100 11, 320 218, 510 Se ROTESD |S = See se once see sen Bence eee aece cae 5, 840 Annapolis ..-.-.-.--- 20, 152 12, 183 176, 855 POV GN |S S<-Se-=553) Pee ecesccros | Seastesecocs 11, 097 Oxtordese ese sep sneer nn |e nimniola's = s(cin's]| = —.aiuinioie setae 108, 960 BEING) || Ree eenc| ber ageseecec| SOSaS Bese 1, 257 Darn Ga GHGS ae eae sean as aa ain alo Sect eine raise twee hale ats molten nin us| =~ eimcinieiee em 37, 788 Be TN en oe a eee Cerny soeroperecs 2, 530 Sundry small places in Somerset county ..--------------------+---++|-----+------ 224, 817 LT ee om Se coeae) tesa eo ae Ee 1, 890 Rotalsess-<2-e-e Deep SoS Sec Saroce SUES ee eco Son .coneaicaaoes 2, 723, 191 1, 268,112 | 7, 653, 492 | *3, 993, 848 | 25, 546, 780 794, 919 929, 614 128, 812 | | * Baltimore is the only place where tin cans and wooden cases are used to any extent, shipments from other cities being made almost exclusively in bulk—in barrels, half-barreis, and kegs—and it was thought better merely to ascertain the cost of these without giving their number. CHARACTERISTICS OF THE ‘‘ OYSTER-SHUCKERS.”—“ As shown by the table, there are 6,179 males and 2,460 females employed in oyster-shucking in Maryland. During the season they receive as wages $777,779, this being an average of only $90 06. Very few of the shuckers are regularly at work, and while in one week an expert hand may make from $8 to $15, during the next week he may be idle. “Of the 6,179 males, nearly all of whom are employed in the ‘raw’ trade, about three-fourths are negroes, the majority of them being comparatively steady workmen, while the whites are more generally disposed to be idle and intemperate. The few whites in the business are generally of a very low class of society. Within the past year afew females have essayed to shuck raw oysters, but their number is still very small, and will probably so continue, owing to the nature of the work. The 2,460 females are all employed in the steam oyster-houses of Baltimore. They are mostly white girls of from sixteen to twenty-five years of age, the proportion of older ones, as well as of colored, being small. These girls are almost without exception of foreign birth or parentage, the largest proportion being of Bohemian origin, with Irish probably coming next. Few American girls, however poor, will consent to engage in this occupation, as in it both sexes must mingle indiscriminately, without regard to color, class, or condition. Owing to the thorough steaming the oysters are very easily opened, and the amount of physical labor required is comparatively light; but during busy seasons the work begins about daybreak and lasts until dark, and is of course exceedingly fatiguing. An industrious hand can make from 75 cents to $1 a day, but from the great irregularity in their work they are probably not engaged over one-half of the time. “Considering the class of the people employed in the packing-houses, I do not think it safe to estimate more than an average of two individuals dependent upon the wages of each shucker, at which rate there are in Maryland 17,278 people dependent upon oyster-shucking. THE OYSTER-PACKING FIRMS.—‘ It may be well to say that there are about 225 men composing the 95 oyster-packing firms of the state. A noteworthy fact in this connection, is that the large majority of them are of northern birth, and many of them, especially those in Crisfield and the smaller packing towns, reside in Maryland only during the oyster-season, returning every spring to their northern homes. More oyster-packers have come from Connecticut than from all other states combined. It is a somewhat singular coincidence, that both Mr. C. 8. Maltby and Mr. A. Field, who respectively established the raw and the steam trade, were both originally from Connecticut, and both are still living, the former in active business. There are about 1,125 individuals forming the families of the oyster-packers. “ During May, June, July, and August the packers of Baltimore are engaged in canning fruits and vegetables ; and the same girls who in winter shuck oysters, in summer pare peaches and other fruits. The male shuckers of Baltimore, as well as those of the cities in lower Maryland, having no regular employment in summer, work at whatever odd jobs may be found. THE MANUFACTURE OF CANS AND CASES.—“The manufacture of cans and cases, an important industry in Baltimore, is so largely dependent upon oyster-packing, that an effort has been made to obtain some statistics pertaining to it, although the exact figures will appear in the census of manufacturing industries. About $250,000 is invested in the business, which gives employment to 400 men (on oyster-cans), whose wages for eight months amounts to about $100,000. This estimate is based on the number of cans used, as shown by the returns from the packing-houses, the workmen being paid so much per 100 cans. It was very difficult to obtain any satisfactory * Subtracting from this, cost of labor and packing-cases, about $1,827,000, gives the original cost of these oysters, $2,166,848. Add to this the value of the oyster “plants” sent north, $303,276, and you get $2,470,124. This is not quite the whole product of Maryland waters, however, and in my general summary I place $2,500,000 as the totai value annually of the state.—E. L 170 THE FISHERIES OF THE UNITED STATES. statistics regarding the number of ship-carpenters occupied in building and repairing oyster-vessels, but from an extensive correspondence with ship-builders in various parts of the state, I think it will be placing the estimate too low rather than too high, to say that there are 300 workmen, including carpenters and sail-makers, with yearly wages amounting to $156,000. As can-makers, ship-yard workmen, etc., we then have 700 men, with about 3,500 people dependent upon them, receiving $256,000 in wages. THE RETAIL TRADE OF BALTIMORE AND OTHER CITIES.—“ It was found impossible to obtain the number of people engaged in the retail trade of Baltimore and other cities, as any statistics gathered from restaurants and hotels would be delusive, since they are not engaged exclusively in handling oysters. Under the circumstances the best estimates that can be made may be deduced from calculations based upon the local consumption in the cities. In Baltimore the city trade is monopolized by a number of commission houses, which handle all the oysters taken for local use, with the exception of the receipts by steamers. From the books of these firms it was ascertained that the sales of oysters from September 1, 1879, to May 1, 1880, for consumption in the city and suburbs, amounted to 793,680 bushels. Add to this 25,000 bushels received by steamers, and the total retail trade is found to be 818,630 bushels. The average price paid for shucking raw oysters is 15 cents a gallon; these being all of fine quality, will open a gallon to a bushel, and hence the amount paid for opening 818,680 bushels would be $122,802. Estimating the average amount made by the shuckers at $6 a week, or $192 for the season, it is seen that there are 640 men steadily employed for nearly eight months of the year in opening oysters for local consumption in Baltimore. There is, in addition to these, a large number of men who sell oysters around the streets; others who rent a cellar room ane sell from there; some engage in driving oyster-carts; and a few are employed only during the oyster-season in restaurants as extra help. As near as can be discovered, the number of these may be placed at 500, with wages and earnings amounting to $96,000. Of these 1,140 men about 800 are negroes. CONSUMPTION IN BALTIMORE OF OYSTERS FROM OTHER STATES.— In addition to its own stock, Baltimore annually uses a large quantity of ‘fancy’ oysters from northern cities. The Philadelphia, Wilmington and Baltimore railway, in 1879, carried to that city 273,120 pounds of oysters in the shell, representing about 30,300 bushels. In addition to this, a firm of Baltimore men has lately opened a large establishment near Cape May, New Jersey, whence last fali they shipped about 20 half-barrels of opened oysters daily, during September and October. ~ see $1, 500, 000 *The total number of bushels packed in the state was 7,653,492, but 1,000,000 bushels came from Virginia. 172 THE FISHERIES OF THE UNITED STATES. Number of vessels and sail-boats engaged ~~... -.- 2... 2 ooo oe ne eens ewes wee wane taseeemenenes 3, 275 Waltle Of Same). < <2 2 cace lacs snes an ia eey ow eee e eal eee nee: eleeen as nee Bae ne ee ee eee $2, 042, 500 Number of men hired by plantersion (dealers oer ee cate a elene a mieree = alles ieee ale ll alee 6, 897 J Si) Gyan fe) 8 PY Sees orem seisoos Soa oeh aodecs ass 2Sese dees Scones Hes sac aSaser Soro eeesceenee $775, 520 INjrben fey ay eso) (TET oe Shee eo eeseaor Seco San Scso caSe Soc nboea sesso eco dsoeseosecencces Sase 2, 460 Annualtearnin gs Ofisamlonenee= mee maeecese ester cm see tena tana ea Boo basal es Seog scaote co etee $259, 259 IN um Ory OF HSA AG A Oe tam lm de le 6, 400 ‘Annual earnings Of samossneeer Srction 1. Chapter 77, passed January, 1874, “for the protection of oysters in Sinepuxent bay and its tributaries, is hereby repealed, but all violations of said act may be prosecuted and punished as fully as if said act had not been repealed”. Src. 2. The clerk of the circuit court for Worcester county may issue to any citizen of said county a license to take or catch oysters with rakes or tongs from the waters of Sinepuxent bay and its tributaries, until the first day of May next after the issuing of said license; provided the applicant for said license shall satisfy said clerk, by his own oath or other sufficient proof, that he is a citizen of said 180 THE FISHERIES OF THE UNITED STATES. county, and shall pay to said clerk the sum of one dollar, to be paid by said clerk to the county commissioners of Worcester county, to be expended in the procuring of seed-oysters to be planted in said bay as the commissioners aforesaid may direct, but no person licensed as above, nor any other person, shall take or remoye any oysters from the waters of said bay or its tributaries on any Sunday or in the night at any season, nor during the day from the 1st day of May to the 1st day of October, or any shells from the natural rocks at any time ; provided, that nothing herein shall be construed to forbid any person from taking or catching his or her own planted oysters at any time and with any kind of instrument. Src. 3. No person shall catch, take, or remove any shells or oysters from the natural beds in the waters of Sinepuxent bay or its tributaries with scrapes, scoops, dredges, or drags, or with any instrument in the working of which any other than hand power is used. Src. 4. It shall be lawful for any citizen of Worcester county to plant, or for any resident to lay down, oysters on not exceeding five acres in any one place in any of the waters, except upon the natural rocks of the said bay or its tributaries, and that no person, except the owner or his employé, shall work upon or among said planted or laid down oysters; provided, that portion of the said waters so planted in be kept plainly marked with bushes, stakes, or buoys, and any person maliciously removing said bushes, stakes, or buoys, shall be liable to the penalties of this section; and provided, that nothing in this section shall affect the rights of owners of land to the exclusive use of any creek, cove, or inlet, within their said lands, not exceeding one hundred yards in width at its mouth, and any person violating the provisions of this section shall be liable to be sued as for damage to any other property, Secs. 5, 6, 7. Regulate penalties, forfeitures, and proceedings against offenders, P. COASTS OF VIRGINIA. 49, OYSTER-FISHERIES AND OYSTER-PACKING. GENERAL CONSIDERATIONS.—Upon the study of the oyster-interests of the Chesapeake, included within the state of Virginia, several persons contributed besides myself, notably Mr. R. H. Edmonds, of Baltimore, to whom the credit of the Maryland chapter belongs, and Col. Marshall McDonald, of the United States Fish Commission. The waters of Virginia being in many places separated from those of Maryland by imaginary lines only, itis not to be expected, remarks Mr. Edmonds, that the conditions of the oyster-trade, and the class of people dependent upon it, should show any very material difference in the two states. Different laws have of course exerted an influence upon some features of the trade; but the essential and most important facts in regard to the trade, in both states, is the same—that the oystermen are generally poor and illiterate, often intemperate and reckless. METHODS OF GATHERING OYSTERS.*—Dredging on natural rocks was abolished in Virginia in 1879, and is only allowed at present on private beds; few, however, avail themselves of this privilege. In some parts of the state, where planting is extensively conducted, there are a few dredge boats, but they meet with considerable opposition, as itis very generally believed by planters who do not dredge, that the dredgers do not confine their operations to their own beds. This belief is probably correct. The beds are staked off with poles, sometimes fifty to a hundred yards apart, and the dredgers sailing over one bed can scarcely, even if so disposed, keep from crossing the line which separates adjoining beds. The law entirely abolishing dredging on natural rocks, was undoubtedly a mistake, since there are many localities in the state where, rightly restricted, it would prove very advantageous to the beds; while there are other places where the water is so deep that tonging cannot be carried on, and the beds are thus lying idle, of no value to the state or to any individual. The tonging interests of Virginia are far more extensive than the same interests in Maryland, and differ slightly in a few other respects, the most important of which is, that the trade is greater in the former state than in the latter. STATISTICS OF TONGING AND DREDGING IN 1865.—As long ago as 1865, Mr. C. S. Maltby, the great oyster- merchant of Baltimore, estimated that the total annual supply and disposal of oysters taken in Virginia was as follows: Oysters taken in Virginia waters. Destination. Dredged. | Tonged. ee Baltimore. = -- os asenewiceneeeie= 916, 750 48, 250 965, 000 Washington and Alexandria. 59, 375 3, 125 62, 500 Lh i sso cssiccosse cacoos seenesaS al aad 23, 334 11, 666 35, 000 Fair Haven, Connecticut....-..-....-------- = ae 4 4 43,750 | 181, 250 175, 000 New York = ci a == eee sone a8 senses 787, 500 787, 500 MGM elphis: 22220 csaaccacosasnc asia eee en eae eae wae = onde a ncelnioae -nacewaan-cupbemaaneenmebne ase cinsa~ 2 == ah yo eaten e= ay == mens oe 40, 000 }..----.--. 40, 000 15 SCT Oe aa oo os ee ROR 2b D Lote RI eS aan Sorat eects: “1, 083, 209 | 981,791 | 2, 065, 000 THE OYSTERMEN OF VIRGINIA.—Previous to the late war the oystermen of Virginia were composed of negroes, working for their masters, and of a very rough class of whites; but at the close of the war the demand for oysters . * Chiefly from notes by Mr. Edmonds. THE OYSTER-INDUSTRY. 181 was very great, and high prices were paid, and many who had been reduced from wealth to poverty were glad to avail themselves of the chance to make a support by oystering, which was at that time a very protitable employment. The four years of war, during which the oysters had almost a complete rest in many parts of the state, gave them a chance for development, and when the trade revived, the beds were well stocked with large finely-flavored oysters. Men from nearly all occupations, representing all classes of society, eagerly entered the business, and soon there were hundreds of oystermen where formerly there had been but a dozen or so. Many of the most extensive farmers in the tidewater counties found that the conditions of labor had so greatly changed, that to make a living it was necessary for them to devote all spare time to the oyster-trade. This is still done to a considerable extent by those whose farms border on some salt-water creek or river; but the great bulk of the trade is in the hands of a rougher class, and in certain parts of the state it is almost monopolized by negroes. A very noticeable fact in connection with the tonging interests in Virginia and Maryland, and especially of the former state, is the almost total absence of foreigners. The entire trade may be said to be in the hands of native Virginians, since there are probably not 300 tongers in the whole state who were not born and raised there. Such is not, however, the case in the other branches of the trade. The business of oyster-tonging is one involving great exposure, hard labor, and some risk, and the men engaged in it are mostly adult males in the vigor of health. The injury to health from exposure is so great, that few ever reach old age. The deathrate among oystermen, as compared with other trades, is very great. Nor does oyster-tonging give returns in proportion to labor expended. The element of chance is a large one. A clear, smooth water, with its opportunities for coving, permits the fisherman to gather in one day what he may not realize by a week’s exertion in stormy and tempestuous weather. The influence of these uncertainties upon the habits and thrift of the men is plainly marked, particularly in dislike of steady industry. Few of them ever pretend to work on Saturday, Sunday, or Monday, those days being consumed in going to market and returning, though there is nothing to prevent their going home on Saturday night, or at least on Sunday morning. Many of them have a small piece of land and a house, but their efforts at accumulation do not seem to go beyond living “from hand to mouth”. THE JAMES RIVER.—The most productive of all the tonging-grounds, at least in southern Virginia, are doubtless those of the James river. Go anywhere in it, from its mouth up nearly to Jamestown, and you will catch oysters. There are certain “shoals”, however, where the oystermen usually work. Such a one was visited recently by a correspondent of the New York Times, who records what he saw as follows: The shoal from which the Dennis was loaded extended over aout 500 acres, and from this shoal, on the day that she was loaded, not less than 10,000 bushels of “plants” were taken. Todo thisabout 250 oystermen were employed, with about 100 boats. And this business of gathering plants had been going on from off the same shoal for upward of two months, with the probability that between 300,000 and 400,000 bushels of oysters have been gathered, and fully 200,000 bushels more will be taken away before the season ends, on May 20. This gives a yield of 1,000 bushels to the acre, and yet nowhere on all this shoal would it be possible to find a spot as large as a set of tongs will cover without oysters on it. The tongs are never pushed down and pulled back without bringing with them a number of oysters. In September the oystermen will begin work again on the same shoals and work for tliree or four months catching plants; then, during the winter until the Ist of April, they are engaged in taking up, assorting, and selling the products of these plants. It seems as if the supply of oyster-plants in the James river could never be exhausted, yet the oystermen say they are growing less and less each year; but if they are correct in this assertion, itis difficult to conjecture in what abundance these oysters must have been when they were plenty. To see the oystermen balancing themselves in one of their canoes, and working with so much energy at the same time, was quite a novelty. Many of these canoes are so narrow that should a novice step into one it would most probably be overturned ; yet the oystermen work in them all day long in smooth weather, and sometimes in pretty stormy weather, and apparently keep them properly balanced without any effort. To propel them through the water they use a long paddle, and, balancing it over the stern (the canoes, of course, are sharp at both ends, having no row-locks and no indentation to aid them in keeping their paddle in place), they move them swiftly. STATISTICS OF THE VIRGINIA OYSTER-FLEET.—No records are kept in Virginia of the number of boats engaged in the trade, and it was a very difficult matter to obtain any reliable information upon this subject. After traveling through the tidewater counties, and gaining as near an estimate as possible, Mr. Edmonds sent out a large number of circulars to the officials, and also to one or more prominent oystermen of each county, requesting their aid in the work, and desiring them to give their estimates as to the number of canoes in their respective counties. Many of these gentlemen, he reports, went to considerable trouble to work up the matter, and by their aid he was enabled to correct some of his own figures, and he considers he is able to present reliable figures, showing the number of canoes in each county engaged in the oyster-trade, and the number of men working on them. In addition to this he succeeded in obtaining the number of schooners and sloops used for running oysters to market. It is difficult to divide these latter according to the counties in which they are owned, but I think the figures, as given in the following table, will be found very near correct. The number credited to Norfollx county appears somewhat large, but the figures are furnished officially by Mr. Rusha Denise, county clerk. The majority of these boats hailing from Norfolk county are owned in the cities of Norfolk and Portsmouth. Over three-fourths of them are quite small, being under ten tons register, while there are very few of the other fourth that will register as high as fifteen tons. - 182 THE FISHERIES OF THE UNITED STATES. Table showing the number of canoes and larger vessels, and the number of men on each, by counties. nD & - E i 2 Be 3 EM s 5 : EI ae 4 Counties. ec & o% 3 ad Og =| os =| AA 28 iS) 2p 3 = g a | a 3S Oo =] oO 5 A A A A A Jae ele se rasa eae CEES EE OS COR EEE OC ELD SEER SEE Ce CECI Crn Bech eos S HOcracansastes SOnceaenrecoc sso sansen 545 925 282 1,176 2,101 DMT Ta) Ne sss Ss eos hore cecee ee scree cossssogsess ween teen eee eee eee een eee een e nee enne ne eeee 170 510 40 160 670 LURE G6 2 2 Gos pene CERO SDE er 2 992 SEE COS SOI DE SESE EDS SERS RED Sine SES SSIn = MES S559 =c01 Se See oS On eCe OOO r= ease aS: 150 400 6 24 424 Gloncestenseo= == = aaa a ea ee ose e an ones coo toe onsen enc eatenassbeeweebseesee oeeeescnesaoeeeeeneee - 410 530 28 112 642 TITEL? WW ner secre rection con nO Se RESIS Cras SOOT EE ben ToS toca ne TSS Seen So niece eee tenst aot 58 250 22 88 338 Lancaster -... 400 900 35 140 1, 640 Mathews --- 450 900 20 80 980 Middlesex .-.- 475 950 12 48 998 IN BATE ee See REED ESSE EEE CODD ARES SOO DEC SSUES EIS 22> OSS SOE G ESOS ROSE EOS OSc aC ARSE E SAS CIR ER SSE SHCE COS EOSS 80 240 39 225 465 WOT. so eee pS ER ea a Sa Lessee oso cece Heo ee ee erase Seco tinge soe OS cr onan SSeaS sao bSot ads 235 470 700 2, 800 3, 270 Northampton..-.... 350 700 38 144 844 Northumberland .- 281 420 27 108 528 Princess Anne-.- 100 IBID Pe pcoee el bScnshoccs 130 Ten Gan oe oe cis cee eee eee Se Sooo Se SSS SEU BE DOE EOE CECE RN CSE ODE SERS IBS Sc SO SSC HID SHI SE ROSSER SE IIS ERS DSSS Se 200 400 20 80 480 {VEIN aI ea aoe cena cite to og cH SS RGSS SOCE CECE oF CORSE EIR OASCOeR OS Casto so SHEER EI Sse rec SeenCEDceteecascoss 50 80 15 60 140 Me SeeceSe ee te aaa cE ee EO SECS SEHR EEOC (BD ESDEC EHD SCRE CEC CFO GUE e Ee eH ECE Sou cee ance sesecss 250 500 26 104 604 IGT TOE ET i oi SEO SCE oe BED EIO A CO SEE BEC ESE SEL IO SEH QI SUSE REO GOCE SOM OSCR S ES emOOSg 275 550 5 20 570 TiGh@ NY SUD Te 3386 ss 8s G3 2g Hb 2B SEE ISS SOC DS SE OSE SOO SSO SEE ESS ASI EIE DAIS OSE OSE SORE IOS OSD SEC OHSS CLOCIISCOSIaS 2 5 2 7 12 SON Te a a ee ee SE OOS et CCI SSCS SSO ISSO. SS CSE ae a SSE ER SSH anne HIRE ASS POSS CAE 4,481 8, 860 1,317 5, 376 14, 236 NUMBER OF OYSTERMEN IN VIRGINIA.—Of the total number of tongmen there are 5,906 colored and 5,954 whites, while of those employed on the larger vessels only 1,792 are colored. The total number of each race engaged in the trade is, of whites, 6,538, and of colored, 7,698. About 200 white men, with wages amounting to $83,200 a year, are employed in buildirg and repairing oyster-vessels, making cases, etc. PROFITS AND EARNINGS.—Tonging in Virginia is probably equally as profitable as in Maryland, but there is more time wasted by the tongmen of the former state than by those of the latter. This is explained by the fact, that the proportion of negroes is larger in Virginia than in Maryland, and these people are more generally inclined to be indolent than the whites. There were many cases last winter where tongmen made as high as $500 during the season, but their number is comparatively small when the total number of those engaged in this occupation is taken into account. seins Sonia -fo sania nee la ae oe eas ee eta eee eee ayes eee ee ae eee 90 Numberof small boat s.2.6..222 ss. ssase so-conceoceivassesisaaeseep plan emes=-lesieieeibene= oat Cotes eee 800 Value'‘of feetiand! tools. 22. - soa. an aie a ose cas cas scecist as scene eoocsessoceoess Shiese se esee cae ae ee Sees ee eee TROOP DOU Number‘of shoremenshired 22..2-/2s 222% c2scjcnse toto eo eee laeen Soe aad Sac sone ma see neuss eenoene eee eee 10 AnNMNUs Earning Of BAM. soem ecl-mawe alee es + chee acle nome te cece ett ees cee eec enece see eee eee eenee ame $1, 300 Families/supported,, partially... < 05 2 2a: cc--)s22<2 222 ecesise-cis ease sovemeecleres sons socee sane soneeasceeenieese bushels... 170,000 Valtie Of SAMO scsi: < soosee cane toda ssccccsdccsevaswee cone Socccses ose cacieee wer cesses eeeeacctussaseecs aceon @OURDUD 51. OYSTER-FISHERIES OF SOUTH CAROLINA. CHARLESTON AND VICINITY.—At Charleston all the business is confined to a little desultory planting around Sullivan’s island, and it is doubtful if there is any shipping of oysters done there whatever. The same is true of Port Royal; and I am convinced that 50,000 bushels, worth perhaps $20,000, would supply the yearly demand of the whole South Carolina coast. The interior towns of the state derive their supplies from the North or else from Savannah. 52. OYSTER-FISHERIES OF GEORGIA. SAVANNAH.—A somewhat unsatisfactory report of the oyster-business in the neighborhood of Savannah, was all that it was possible for me to obtain during my stay there; but it is a small industry at best, though the most important producing and shipping point on the southern coast. Savannah is situated upon bluffs on the banks of the Savannah river, just where the salt meadows and sea islands give place to the mainland. In the Savannah river, itself, no oysters grow above the immediate mouth. This is due to the great volume of fresh water which it pours out. In time of freshet, the red, turbid current is visible 25 or 30 miles at sea, and so completely freshens the water to the very outlet, that oysters will not flourish. Off Potato point, however, and in the shape of two elongated banks, marked by beacons, in mid-stream, oyster-beds are to be found, and are raked for seed, or, more than that, for marketable oysters, which are brought to Savannah. These beds in Tybee roads are mainly tonged by colored men, who are fishermen at other times, or do it in a desultory way. Their number and catch varies endlessly. RACCOON OYSTERS.—But everywhere in the thousand channels which intersect the marshy islands that border the coast, making a perfect net-work of salt-water tide-ways, the raccoon or bunch oysters grow in endless profusion. Let there be old shells, sunken fragments of castaway stuff, logs, or anything upon which it is possible for an oyster to catch, and it will be surely covered with the young shells before a single season has gone by. The oysters spawn here regularly from April till June, and scatteringly till a much later date. So prolific of spawn are they, and so favorable seem to be the conditions for their safe growth, that such an object as an old shell will become completely coated with the infant bivalves. As these grow (and with great rapidity) they sink and gather in the mud, and crowd each other for lack of room to enlarge. All these effects produce their slender and irregular shape, they being able to increase only in the narrow, outward direction. Before they are half grown a second season bestows upon them a new collection of young oysters, which must struggle in a similar way, and thus there arise clusters or bunches or columns of oysters, sometimes three or four feet high and several inches thick, which are closely agglomerated and of very heavy weight. These are called raccoon or ’coon oysters, and are collected, knocked to pieces, and sold in market, chiefly by colored men. Though some of them will not furnish a meat much larger than the thumbnail, they are sweet and well flavored when brought from a good locality. THE OYSTER-INDUSTRY. 191 PLANTING FOR THE SAVANNAH MARKET.—No oysters were planted for the Savannah market until about forty years ago, when, it is said, the first attempt was made by Mr. Andrew Nelson, who is still engaged in the business at Vernonburg. Now there are planted beds, also, alongside of his, in Burnside river and at Thunderbolt, about five miles south of the city. The Thunderbolt planters go for their seed chiefly into Wilmington river and Wassaw sound, and particularly along the southern end of Tybee island. The Vernon and Burnside planters go down the Vernon river and into Ossabaw sound, especially along the northern end of Ossabaw island, and at the southern point of Big Wassaw. Here they tong up their seed into batteaus, the water being so deep in some places as to require 18-feet handles. The law of the state prohibits dredging, or ‘“‘any other instrument than the oyster-tongs heretofore in general use ”. These tongs do not differ essentially from those made and used in the north. Only a portion of the seed obtained for planting, however, is tonged up from the deep-water beds, where it occurs singly, or nearly so. A larger portion is obtained from the shores of the various sounds and salt-water channels, and consists of incipient bunches of raccoon oysters. At low water the planter takes a bateau and four men and goes to the shore where he designs to work at the time of low water. Getting out upon the exposed mud, one or two of the men pull or rake up out of the mud the small bunches of oysters imbedded there, and the rest follow after and pick them up. The instrument used is a rude piece of iron of convenient length, bent at one end so as to act (as it is called) as a “hooker”. Old wagon-tire is a favorite material out of which to make this instrument. One of these bateaux will carry 100 to 200 bushels, and four men can often fill it in a tide, breaking the bunches in pieces as they pick them up. GEORGIA OYSTER-LAWS.—It is only recently that the state has given legal sanction to oyster-culture. The law is brief, but very much to the point, and reads as follows: Where any person haying taxable lands on the banks or shores of any of the rivers or creeks of this state, shall plant beds of oysters upon them, it shall not be lawful for any other person to take from such beds of oysters: Provided, the same shall be distinctly staked or marked. When an oyster-bank, or beds of oysters, or natural formations, be within rivers or creeks, not exceeding 125 feet in width, and not used for purposes of navigation, the persons having the ownership of the lands on both sides of such creeks or rivers shall have the exclusive right to the usufruct of such banks or beds of oysters as aforesaid. PRE-EMPTION METHODS.—Under this law large amounts of public marsh and islands have been staked off, much of which (it is widely complained of) is not properly done, since bona fide planting is not carried on, nor are taxes paid. The truth of this charge of abuse, which must only exist by common consent, I did not investigate ; but heard several planters say that large portions of their most accessible seed-grounds had been thus shut off, compelling them to go a long distance, with much labor and pains, for their “plants”. The boundary marks used are stakes, upon which is nailed a board with the letter “‘O” painted upon it. One of these oyster-signs at the month of a narrow creek would prohibit any boat gathering oysters above it; and it seems to be universally respected, except by the vagrant negroes, who catch and sell oysters when they want a little money to prevent utter starvation, or to pay for some sport. METHODS OF CULTURE.—The seed thrown overboard is mainly about a year old; smaller takes too long to grow, and a much larger growth will not survive transplanting. There are two classes of beds—shore-beds, going dry at low tide, and channel-beds, always covered—the latter producing the finer oysters. The bottom is mostly clay mud. After two years the oysters are taken up, the marketable ones picked out, and the rest thrown back; then another lot of new seed is thrown on the same bed. A regular rotation of planting and harvesting stated beds is not followed, and the best oysters obtained are of scraggy, poor shape (even where single), rough shell, and small size. I saw almost none which would pass in New York as “box”. Nevertheless, they are of pretty good flavor, though not so salt as one would expect, and of too dark a tint to look as inviting as they taste. Of those I tried, I like the Vernon samples best; Thunderbolt seems not to have so clear a stream. They are usually four years old when taken to market. Each of the planters has a small hut built upon posts at the edge of the water, where he opens his oysters. In these houses he opens almost all of the stock he sells, and only takes the meats to town, receiving about fifty cents a solid gallon. The method of opening is the same as that used in New York, the knife and handle being of one piece, and the latter very heavy. The shells are used to make causeways from the land to these huts, and also to build roads, Two fine driveways, each several miles long, extend out of Savannah, which have been paved with oyster-shells. Bach oysterman owns a sloop, the hull of which is skiff-shaped and not at all handsome. They are only half- decked, in many cases, but have a little cabin aft, and a hatchway to the hold; they are far from beautiful boats, but are worth an average of $200 each. In this part of Georgia there are perhaps a dozen of these vessels in the oyster-business, only one of which, I believe, is registered at the custom-house. EXTENT OF TRADE AND CONSUMPTION IN SAVANNAH.—In respect to the city trade, it is only to be said that three or four men handle the majority of all the oysters brought to the city, and ship them throughout this state and South Carolina, Charleston competing very feebly. Very few oysters come from the North, perhaps 50 barrels 192 THE FISHERIES OF THE UNITED STATES. a year in all. These are wholly in the shell, and go to the restaurants. In the case of every dealer, oysters form only a portion of a general fish-trade, and so cannot be counted as “ supported” by dealings in them. It was very difficult to arrive at any just estimate of the annual consumption of oysters in and through Savannah. From what I could ascertain, I judge the yield of the transplanted beds to be less, rather than more, than 15,000 bushels. If you add another 15,000 bushels of raccoon oysters gathered, I think the total will account for all brought to Savannah. Nl Ae a20 hats Egos a 328. 329. 330. | Carbonate of lime - 17. 45 19. 73 50.52 | Sodium chloride (common salt) .....-------- 0. 07 0. 03 0. 02 Hydrate of lime .-.- = 68. 64 52. 34 | 33.29 | Oxide of iron and alumina 1.14 BP HALS.Of UNG «60:0 oxic sons auiows=nneiee tamer 1.12 | 1.48 Bitosptinte Of lime )/.o.-+=+..ccesees coos eee er 0.37 | 0.41 ; : ee GSiiteare rit, Genet! 0 <<. Seseh eee ae eit 0 oxayeo'|sss 2) oe Guat Ste Ses), RUS We SEs Oey Ss 0.65 0.94 2. 60 Magnesia... ...... 0.41 0. 32 Ov PAN Winter iostls.ac-.sseces -cenenaesbeceraeseas 0. 00 15, 29 4. 97 Carbonate of potash . 0. 06 0. 09 | 0. 04 | os Carhondteomaodkics oso. 858.227. e.eceneee 0. 22 0. 43 0. 24 | 100. 00 100. 00 100. 00 *Thesmullamountof phosphorns in oyster-shells causes them sometimes tobe phesphorescent, and it is said that they become distinctly so by being thoroughly calcined. A kind of commercial phosphorus, known as Canton’s, was anciently made of them, which lad peculiar properties, und was not so delicate as some other sorts. THE OYSTER-INDUSTRY. 207 On referring to the results of these analyses, we notice that the two samples of lime contain about 9 per cent. of sand and coal, or of substances mostly derived from them, viz, oxide of iron, alumina, and silica. We haye small quantities of potash, soda, magnesia, phosphoric and sulphuric acids, altogether amounting to 1.5 per cent. Both samples contain also nearly equal quantities of carbonic acid, viz, 8.3 per cent. Lime, the chief ingredient, varies from 64.5 to 53.6, or nearly 11 per cent., and water from 17 to over 28, also 11 per cent. Looking now to the statement of the proportions of the compounds probably existing in the samples, we see that in the two samples of slacked lime the chief ingredient ishydrate of lime (or calcium hydroxide) ; next to thisin quantity comes carbonate of lime (or calcium carbonate), followed by silicate of lime 4.05 per cent., sulphate 1.03 per cent., and phosphate 0.4 per cent. THE CHEMISTRY OF LIME MANUFACTURE.—A brief review of the chemistry of the lime manufacture may be serviceable. Clean oyster-shells consist chiefly of carbonate of lime. As they are used in lime mannfacture they contain probably abont 7 per cent. moisture and organic matter, about 6 of soil and sand, and 87 per cent. of carbonate of lime. In passing through the kiln the carbonic acid is mostly expelled. If completely expelled the loss would be 38 pounds of carbonic acid for 100 pounds of shells, leaving 49 pounds of quicklime (calcium oxide). With this would of course remain the sand, mud, etc., that originally adhered to the shells, together with the ashes of the coal used in burning. The lime thus obtained is slacked by throwing on water, in order to reduce it to a powder. In this process of slacking, water and lime enter into chemical combination, the 49 parts of lime becoming 64 parts of hydrate of lime. In practice some carbonate of lime remains undecomposed by the burning, and, in the slacking process, the use of insufficient water may leave some quicklime unconverted into hydrate, or excess of water may remain as moisture, as is the case with sample 329. When applied to land, oyster-shell lime may act as a fertilizer, strictly speaking, or as an amendment. Commonly, both kinds of action are exerted, and the distinction between fertilizer and amendment is not generally recognized in practice, although very important in considering the effects of this substance. Lime is used as an amendment on heavy clay soils, two to three or more tons being sometimes applied per acre. On loams or light lands 1,000 pounds, or 20 bushels of oyster-shell lime, applied once in two or three years, is a usnal application, equivalent to the addition of 300 to 500 pounds to the acre annually. It is evident that the small quantities of potash, magnesia, and phosphoric acid contained in such doses of oyster-shell lime can have no sensible effect upon crops. It is the lime alone, therefore, to which any benefit must be ascribed. A consideration of the modes of action of hydrate of lime, when applied as a fertilizer, will make it evident that it is one of the most valuable aids to the farmer, and deserves more attention from Connecticut land-owners than it has received. Our cultivated crops contain, on the average, as much lime as potash. The necessity for the application of potash salts is fully recognized, but probably the lack of lime is as common a cause of unfruitfulness; for while potash seldom wastes from the soil to any serious extent, and is found in spring, well, and river waters in extremely small quantities, lime freely dissolves in water and rapidly wastes from the soil, so that, other things being equal, there is more need for its restoration. ANALYSIS OF SHELL-MARL AND MARINE-MUD.—Diverging slightly from this, Professor Johnson analyzes in the same report samples of shell-marl and marine-mud, which it was proposed to put on sale as manures, and it seems worth while to quote the result of his important studies, as follows: The sample of shell-mar]l examined came from West Cornwall, and was found to be composed of— WIGNER So oo ne ania 9 Cb see 6008 Ha8 2590 6tbo De db0b CONSSE ESE Os BORE ES RDO SC UMOSSUC KAS re cdg ES onsced ooeosdas sac 23. 92 Silicasjsandyandsinsolublenmatber==- sacs eo n= aici == eee ewnlow iene -amin= emi eslce eee slccemes mase one erase) LOGS Oxidevotiron\jandlalaming posses f= -l-e == eo a ewe nate Sains eetiala- a se) se ese ecunsese sees ceeeeeesees 1.55 IDI) eae ake Pete oc CORE BOE DBC SOC HERES CRAROC DOES = RO6GE COC SISO IE SOSOSS BSA SHH SASo Per R Ee ease seers Gere 27.99 WEEE S Boson cede cnc eos eunce CoeOReee Cogn Supa DE OSES En: Taboo cers ooo peEEosebeoss ceacemscetaceshe ceconen UE RSC teen ee aloes a erie loa a niotae ey aeiate sits mi ela aiein emis tere laicicia ala/niscicte ae cle ciate celebs oe aye me ctejeierecienaeee 0.59 PEGS Lee eer esperar eae ets ee olay sa cies ciais blo ciate are aa Se net acre cei neiiae cleclse coal Seer ctasea coe Seen trace SAUD TONG DOG) oe cose c6cced Gos ECSU CUS EERO EO SDSS BETO ODS6 OSD C60 G8SO SECS USED ORES LACASon Boo B ORS eRearEDe 0. 46 TAINO AOE HI Te on go R Sep Cegeceee CEST SAC OSD BOMGCE RECS OOCH CES o- Ob Pace Deocoe SoC ObEr ot Gop eAeeceeescce trace. Marbonic acess s ecee cee ee cee nee l= ae carat ese Nene Mscet a eotees Somisuclen soc denseseseconaeeencece 21.77 Orang mAathersD yOlhOrenuCOn- a sceeaee ees ote eeeetea ale aes atte a iaa eee tae ence eee esaccees-eeeens DAee 100. 00 This shell-marl consists of carbonate of lime to the extent of 40 per cent., and contains 2 per cent. of carbonate of magnesia, also 0.9 per cent. of sulphate of soda, and 0.25 per cent. of carbonate of soda. The organic matter includes nearly 0.5 per cent. of nitrogen, in organic combination. There can be no doubt that its employment, in liberal quantities, viz, one-or more tons per acre, especially upon grass lands, would often be attended with decided and long-continued benefit, but, in most cases, its action upon grain crops would not appear at once in so decided a manner as is very commonly the case with good superphosphates or guanos. The fertilizing effects of this shell-marl, as well as its commercial value, may be safely measured by the percentage of lime which it contains. Its effects on crops would be in general quite similar to those of oyster-shell lime, although somewhat less pronounced, since carbonate is a less energetic agent than hydrate of lime. Its content of lime, 28 per cent., is less than onerhalf as much as that of the two samples of slacked unscreened oyster-shell lime described on a previous page, whose average is 59 per cent. As 1,000 pounds of the latter costs, at New Haven, shipped in casks, $3 20, it is evident that the proposed price of the marl, $15 per ton, is much too large, even after making the most liberal allowance for cost of handling. A sample of black mud, containing some seaweed from salt water at Saybrook, was sent to the station by George M. Denison, esq., who states that it is exposed at low tide, and can be got upon the land for about 25 cents per load. Chemical analysis assigned to it, of— \WEHIRE oScgbe sed qriescls cece 5 Ob OBE E SE Ot DARE Ee ae ee a ere hs ee eee TAS Y. TOMES PAG HOLE IL, TENET s son geleec cae Se SR CMM ee Seen See. aioe Ga ene eae 2.79 Sandy clagvand smpsbancesamsoluplonn acid! sos -) 2.2. osc - soo ees cote ence occ cle dens sccceecaes 20. 82 OSI SOL IEOMN ATG EelE ENTLTT) eee ee ee ne ce Sn Sf oe occ bast coeacs ocee uounee 2. 62 LLG em arin BCR O ADD CSCS DEE ROS Se SSC OR =e ee eer ese ee 0. 26 AVES TOS rea ar ela 9 ae a ey cee ERE eae a ais (Se Sans. ce wack aassee aosecaeb meee 0, 52 SOE oe Sa ee eee, Oe a RS a oe ee eee Be ee ee a ise ndgeeeee. i000 TSU HESHY 2a Sete eh SS Scie ee SS so Sion Ihe en os Ole NN a gS APES iS 0.17 MEIN ny Te epee sa ad oc aieicinm ache aerators Soe a IN Se Reem Sarda ane annd aa eeemetermans 0,51 BS RES LCE UE SROs Cerne ei eyo ne een Re eo oo 2c, cc 3 vs eee 0.39 LOS pian PUGS Se ets ee Pal me ee oe AE ca soe trace. 100. 00 * Containing organic nitrogen, 0. 44. + Contains nitrogen, 0.14 per cent. ¢ Most of the iron exists as protoxide. 208 THE FISHERIES OF THE UNITED STATES. This mnd, says Professor Johnson, contains, in fertilizing elements, the small amounts of nitrogen, lime, magnesia, soda, potash, chlorine, and sulphuric acid given in the analysis, altogether amounting to about 2} per cent. of the total. But stabie manure—the standard fertilizer—contains about the same amount of plant-food, and of the same kinds, except that it has less sulphuric and more phosphoric acid, less soda and more potash. The mud, when used judiciously, will prove an excellent fertilizer. Doubtless other samples might contain more phosphates. In any case, the mud, used copiously, together with fish, which are rich in nitrogen and phosphates, and with seaweed, which contains abundant potash, will supply all the plant-food that crops require, and serve to maintain or increase fertility of the soil to the fullest degree. The only drawback to the use of the marine mud lies in the considerable proportion of soluble salts, mostly common salt, which it contains, being nearly 1 per cent. If thrown out in heaps and exposed to the rain this salt will be mostly removed. The mud may also be applied directly to the root-crops or grass in moderate quantities, without damage, if well distributed. As an amendinent the fine mud must have an excellent effect on coarse-textured soils. SHELL-HEAPS AND THEIR USE.—In Florida and the Gulf states, the best farms and gardens are those located upon the shell-mounds, where the finest trees grow; and in the northern states these old heaps have long been resorted to by farmers as a store-house of top-dressing for their fields. The immense banks at Damariscotta, described in the chapter on the Gulf of Maine, are constantly utilized for this purpose. The shells are first burned, and the remains of various rude kilns exist, one of which greatly excited the antiquarians who first exhumed it, who were sure they had hit upon an aboriginal, prehistoric home, until they found half a brick in the bottom. Within a few years Mr. Charles Metcalf has built a more substantial kiln and has burned there a large quantity of shells; but he was unable to give me any estimate of what this manure cost him, or the probable value of the heaps, if used for this purpose. He had never sold any shell-lime either for use in mortar or on the fields. Hereafter these deposits may prove an important aid to agriculture in the district, and they are practically inexhaustible. Similar great heaps of half-decayed shells exist in northern New Jersey, from one of which an immense mass of material has been hauled for road-making, and also to be used as ballast in oyster-vessels bound for the Chesapeake bay, where it would be thrown and serve as the best cultch for any spat which might float by. Il. THE NATURAL HISTORY OF THE OYSTER. U. GENERAL NATURAL HISTORY. 60. THE GROWTH AND HABITS OF THE AMERICAN OYSTER OF THE ATLANTIC COAST. NUMBER OF SPECIES ON THE ATLANTIC COAST.—The question of the specific unity of all the oysters of our Atlantic coast has probably been placed beyond dispute now, and it is settled that the name Ostrea virginiana includes the whole. Says Verrill, in his Invertebrates of Vineyard Sound: All the various forms of this species, upon which the several nominal species, united above, have been based by Lamarck and others, often occur together in the same beds in Long Island sound, and may easily be connected together by all sorts of intermediate forms. Even the same specimen will often have the form of borealis in one stage of its growth, and then will suddenly change to the virginiana style, and, perbaps, later still, will return to the form of borealis. Or these different forms may be assumed in reverse order. Great variations in the number and size of the costze and undulations of the lower valve occur, both in different specimens from the same locality, and even in the same specimen, at different stages of growth. All these variations occur in precisely the same way in the shells taken from the ancient Indian shell-heaps along our entire coast, from Florida to Maine. In another place he alleges: Tam unable to find any specific differences between the northern and southern oysters, such differences as do exist being due merely to the circumstances under which they grow, such as the character of the water, abundance or scarcity of food, kind of objects to which they are attached, age, crowded condition, ete. All the forms occur both among the northern and southern ones, for they yary from broad and round to very long and narrow; from very thick to very thin; and in the character of the surface, some being regularly ribbed and scalloped, others nearly smooth, and others very rough and irregular, or scaly, ete. When young and grown under favorable conditions, with plenty of room, the form is generally round at first, then quite regularly oval, with an undulated and scalloped edge and radiating ridges, corresponding to the scallops, and often extending out into spine-like projections on the lower valve. The upper valve is flatter, smooth at first, then with regular lamelle or scales, scalloped at the edges, showing the stages of growth. Later in life, especially after the first winter, the growth becomes more irregular and the form less symmetrical; and the irregularity increases with the age. Very old specimens, in crowded beds, usually become very much elongated, being often more than a foot long, and perhaps two inches wide.* In the natural order of things this was probably the normal form attained by the adult individuals, for nearly all the oyster-shells composing the ancient Indian shell-heaps along our coast are of this much-elongated kind. Nowadays the oysters seldom have a chance to grow to such a good old age as to take this form, though such are occasionally met with in deep water. The young specimens on the rocks are generally mottled or irregularly radiated with brown. GEOGRAPHICAL DISTRIBUTION.—The geographical distribution of the oyster along our coast has already been learned in detail, and need only be sketched. It is to be found almost without interruption—except at wholly unsuitable localities—from Florida, and the northern shores of the Gulf of Mexico, to Massachusetts bay; local farther north, off Damariscotta, Maine, and in the southern part of the Gulf of St. Lawrence, at Prince Edward island, in Northumberland straits, and bay of Chaleur. “‘ Not found along the eastern shores of Maine, nor in the bay of Fundy. Abundant in the ancient Indian shell-heaps on the coast of Massachusetts, on the islands in Casco bay, and at Damariscotta. The shells, in a semi-fossil state, have been dug up from deep beneath the mud in the harbor of Portland, Maine, in large quantities, but native oysters appear to be entirely extinct in Casco bay. Very abundant in Long Island sound; in the upper part of Buzzard’s bay; rare and local in Vineyard sound; very abundant on the shores of Maryland and Virginia. Mouth of St. John’s river, and in Tampa bay, Florida (Conrad). Texas (Roemer).” ’ Fossiz oysterS.—In the history of the world, as shown by the record of the rocks, the oyster has long played apart. The oldest fossil of this family known was discovered by Professor Winchell in carboniferous strata, and *«The large oyster taken by Xavier Frangois, while oystering on Monday last, was brought up from the wharf on a dray last evening, An oyster measuring 3 feet 1 inch in length, and 234 inches across the widest part of it, is a curiosity.”—Wobile (Ala.) Register, April, 1840. “An East river oyster,” says De Voe, “was opened by Braisted, of Jefferson market, New York, January 27, 1865, which contained a butter-fish [ Poronotus triacanthus?] measuring 6 inches in length. It was quite dead.” ce 14 O 210 THE FISHERIES OF THE UNITED STATES. named Ostrea patercula. Ascending to the Jurassic, oysters are found to have been somewhat plentiful, and, in ‘. the Cretaceous, the family reached its culmination. Never before nor since have these mollusks been more abundant in point of species or numbers of individuals, or more widely differentiated in their characteristics. They are of large size, also. In subsequent ages the Ostreadw were abundant, but the kinds were few, many genera, for example Gryphea and Exogyra, disappearing altogether with the close of the Mesozoic era. The fossil remains of these old oysters are found everywhere throughout the world where the ancient oceans had their margins, and in the United States coextensively with the range of brackish-water formations, from the Cretaceous upward. ANATOMY OF THE OYSTER.—The brief sketch of the anatomy of the oyster which follows, was written by my friend Dr. W. K. Brooks, of the Johns Hopkins University, of Baltimore. It prefaced his account of his successful embryological studies upon the oysters of Chesapeake bay, and is the best and most recent description of this mollusk with which I am acquainted. Therefore I prefer quoting it to writing an imperfect duplicate of the facts. As Dr. Brooks says, it is hardly possible to write such a description without using a few technical words, such as “ anterior”, “ posterior”, “dorsal”, and “ventral”, but these can all be found in any dictionary, and will present no difficulty to any ordinary reader, however unaccustomed to scientific terms. ‘As the end of the body where the mouth is placed is not marked by a head, it must be spoken of as the anterior end, not as the ‘head’, and the opposite end as the posterior. As the oyster lies on one side, the top and bottom of its body do not correspond to the regions which oceupy these positions in an upright mussel or clam, and it is most convenient to speak of that part of the oyster’s body which answers to the upper surface of a clam as dorsal, and the opposite as ventral.” Dr. Brooks’ anatomical outline sketch * is as follows: The general structure of an oyster may be roughly represented by a long narrow memorandum book, with the back at one of the narrow ends instead of at one of the long ones. The covers of such a book represent the two shells of the oyster, and the back represents the hinge, or the area where the two valves of the shell are fastened together by the hinge ligament. This ligament is an elastic, dark- brown structure, which is placed in such a relation to the valves of the shell that it tends to throw their free ends a little apart. In order to understand its manner of working, open the memorandum book and place between its leaves, close to the back, a small piece of rmbber to represent the ligament. If the free ends of the cover are pulled together the rubber will be compressed and will throw the covers apart as soon as they are loosened. The ligament of the oyster-shell tends, by its elasticity, to keep the shell open at all times, and while the oyster is lying undisturbed upon the bottom, or when its muscle is cut, or when the animal is dying or dead, the edges of the shell are separated a little. The shell is lined by a thin membrane, the mantle, which folds down on each side, and may be compared to the leaf next the cover on each side of the book. The next two leaves of each side roughly represent the four gills, the so-called ‘‘beard” of the oyster, which hang down like leayes into the space inside the two lobes of the mantle. The remaining leaves may be compared to the body or visceral mass of the oyster. Although the oyster lies upon the bottom, with one shell above and one below, the shells are not upon the top and bottom of the body, but upon the right and the left sides. The two shells are symmetrical in the young oyster, but after it becomes attached, the lower or attached side grows faster than the other, and becomes deep and spoon-shaped, while the free valve remains nearly flat. In nearly every case, the lower or deep valve is the left. As the hinge marks the anterior end of the body, an oyster which is held on edge, with the hinge away from the observer and the flat valve on the right side, will be placed with its dorsal surface uppermost, its ventral surface below, its anterior end away from the observer, and its posterior end toward him, and its right and left sides on his right and left hands, respectively. In order to examine the soft parts, the oyster should be opened by gently working a thin, flat knife-blade under the posterior end of the right Valve of the shell, and pushing the blade forward until it strikes and cuts the strong adductor muscle, which passes from one shell to another and pulls them together. As soon as this muscle is cut the valves separate a little, and the right valve may be raised up and broken off from the left, thus exposing the right side of the body. The surface of the body is covered by the mantle, a thin membrane which is attached to the body over a great part of its surface, but hangs free like a curtain around nearly the whole circumference. By raising its edge, or gently tearing the whole right half away from the body, the gills will be exposed. These are four parallel plates which oceupy the ventral half of the mantle cavity and extend from the posterior nearly to the anterior end of the body. Their ventral edges are free, hut their dorsal edges are united to each other, to the mantle and to the body. The space above, or dorsal to the posterior ends of the gills, is occupied by the oval, firm, adductor muscle, the so-called heart”. For some time I was at a loss to know how the muscle came to be called the heart, but a friend told me that he had always supposed that this was the heart, since the oyster dies when it is injured. The supposed ‘death” is simply the opening of the shell when the animal loses the power to keep it shut. Between this muscle and the hinge the space above the gills is oceupied by the body, or visceral mass, which is made up mainly of the light-colored reproductive organs and the dark-colored digestive organs, packed together in one continuous mass. If the oyster has been opened very carefully, a transparent, crescent-shaped space will be seen between the muscle and the visceral mass. This space is the pericardium, and if the delicate membrane which forms its sides be carefully cut away, the heart may be found without any difficulty, lying in this cavity, and pulsating slowly. If the oyster has been opened roughly, or if it has been out of water for some time, the rate of beating may be as low as one a minnte, or even less, so the heart must be watched attentively for some time in order to see one of the contractions. The heart is made up of two chambers, a loose, spongy, transparent auricle, which oceupies the Jower part of the pericardium, and receives blood from the gills through transparent blood-vessels, which may usually be seen without difficulty, running from the gills + toward the heart, and a more compact white ventricle, which drives the blood out of the pericardium through transparent arteries, which are usually quite conspicuous, ; The visceral mass is prolonged backward over the pericardium and the adductor muscles, and here contains the rectum, surrounded by prolongations of the white reproductive organs. Still farther back, on the middle of the posterior face of the adductor muscle, is the anus, a long, vertical slit, opening into the space between the lobes of the mantle and above the posterior ends of the gills. * Report of the Commissioners of Fisheries of Maryland, January, 1880; Annapolis, W. T. Inglehart & Co., State Printers, 1880, pp. 5-10. THE OYSTER-INDUSTRY. 211 In front of the gills, that is, between them and the hinge, there are four fleshy flaps—the lips—two on each side of the body. They are much like the gills in appearance, and they are connected with each other by two ridges which run across the middle of the body close to the anterior end, and between these folds is the large oval mouth, which is thus seen to be situated, not at the open end of thé shell, but as far away from it as possible. As the oyster is immoyably fixed upon the bottom, and has no arms or other structures for seizing food and carrying it to the mouth, the question how it obtains its food at once suggests itself. If a fragment of one of the gills is examined with a microscope, it will be found to be covered with very small hairs, or cilia, arranged in rows. Tach of these cilia is constantly swinging back and forth, with a motion something like that of an oar in rowing. The motion is quick and strong in one direction and slower in the other. As all the cilia of a row swing together, they act like a line of oars, only they are fastened to the gill, and as this is immovable, they do not move forward through the water, but produce a current of water in the opposite direction. This action is not directed by the animal, for it can be observed for hours in a fragment cut out of the gill, and if such a fragment be supplied with fresh sea-water, the motion will continue until it begins to decay. While the oyster lies undisturbed on the bottom, with its muscle relaxed and its shell open, the sea-water is drawn on to the gills by the action of the cilia, for although each cilium is too small to be seen without a microscope, they cover the gills in such great numbers that their united action produces quite a vigorous stream of water, which is drawn through the shell and is then forced through very small openings on the surfaces of the gills into the water-tubes, inside the gills, and through these tubes into the mantle cavity, and so out of the shell again. As the stream of water passes through the gills the blood is aerated by contact with it. The food of the oyster consists entirely of minute animal and vegetable organisms and small particles of organized matter. Ordinary sea-water contains an abundance of this sort of food, which is drawn into the gills with the water, but as the water strains through the pores into the water-tubes, the food-particles are caught on the surface of the gills by a layer of adhesive slime which covers all the soft parts of the body. As soon as they are entangled the cilia strike against them in such a way as to roll or slide them along the gills toward the mouth. When they reach the anterior ends of the gills they are pushed off and fall between the lips, and these again are covered with cilia, which carry the particles forward until they slide into the mouth, which is always wide open and ciliated, so as todraw the food through the @sophagus into the stomach. Whenever the shell is open these cilia are in action, and as long as the oyster is breathing, a current of food is sliding into its mouth. The cilia and particles of food are too small to be seen without a microscope, but if finely powdered carmine be sprinkled over the gills of a fresh oyster, which has been carefully opened and placed in a shallow dish of sea-water, careful observation will show that as soon as the colored particles touch the gills they begin to slide along with a motion which is quite uniform, but not much faster than that of the minute-hand of a watch. This slow, steady, gliding motion, without any visible cause, is a very striking sight, and with a little care the particles may be followed up to and into the mouth. In order to trace the course of the digestive organs, the visceral mass may be split with a sharp knife or razor. If the split is pretty near the middle of the body, each half will show sections of the short, folded @sophagus, running upward from the mouth, and the irregular stomach, with thick semi-transparent walls, surrounded by the compact, dark-greenish liver. Back of the liver and stomach the convoluted intestine will be seen, cut irregularly at several points by the section. The coils of the intestine are imbedded in a light-colored mass of tissue—the reproductive organ—which forms the greater part of the visceral mass. The reproductive organ varies greatly according to the season, and forms most of what is known as the “fat” of the oyster. There are no accessory organs of reproduction, and the position, form, and general appearance of the reproductive organ is the same in both sexes. There is no characteristic by which a male oyster can be distinguished from a female, without microscopic examination. As the reproduetive organ has an op-ning on each side of the body, it is usually spoken of as double, but in the adult oyster it forms one continuous mass, with no trace of a division into halves, and extends entirely across the body and into all the bends and folds of the digestive tract. REPRODUCTION AND EMBRYOLOGY.—An account of the life-history of the oyster should begin with the beginning—the egg—out of which this mollusk, like everything else from mussel to man, is born. And in this matter of oyster-breeding, I must rely upon and again quote at length the researches of Dr. Brooks, since he is easily in advance of all students in his knowledge of this subject. During the summer of 1880, at his seaside laboratory, Orisfield, Maryland, and subsequently, Dr. Brooks made microscopic studies on the embryology of the oyster, which were published, with figures, in the Report of the Maryland Fisheries Commission for 1880, and in the Memoirs of the Johns Hopkins University. These investigations were of the most painstaking description, and may be accepted as satisfactorily portraying the true method of reproduction of the American oyster, Ostrea virginiana, although showing it to be essentially different from that of the oyster of Europe Ostrea edulis. It is my duty as well as pleasure, consequently, to set forth with as great accuracy as condensation and a popular treatment of the subject will permit, the statements of Dr. Brooks. If several oysters are opened during the breeding-season, which varies, as will hereafter be shown, a few will be found with the reproductive organ greatly distended and of a uniform opaque white color. These are oysters which are spawning or ready to spawn, that is, to discharge their eggs. Sometimes the ovaries will be so gorged that the ripe eggs will ooze from the openings of the oviducts before the mass is quite at the point of being discharged. If the point of a knife be pushed into the swollen ovary, a milk-white fluid will flow out of the cut. Mixing a little of this with sea-water and placing it on a slide underneath a cover, a lens of 100 diameters will show, if the specimen is a female, “that the white fluid is almost entirely made up of irregular, pear-shaped, ovarian eggs (Figure 49), each of which contains a large, circular, transparent germinative vesicle, surrounded by a layer of granular, slightly opaque yolk.” Perfectly ripe eggs will be seen to be clean, sharply defined and separate from each other. If the specimen be male, a glance through the microscope shows something quite different from the fluidofafemale. ‘There are no large bodies like the eggs, but the fluid is filled with innumerable numbers of minute granules (Figure 48), which are so small that they are barely visible when magnified one hundred diameters. They are not uniformly distributed, but are much more numerous at some points than at others, and for this reason the fluid has a cloudy or curdled appearance. By selecting a place where the granules are few and pretty well scattered, 212 THE FISHERIES OF THE UNITED STATES. very careful watching will show that each of them has a lively dancing motion, and examination with a power of 500 diameters will show that each of them is tadpole-shaped (Figure 50), and consists of a small, oval, sharply defined ‘head’, and a long, delicate ‘tail’, by the lashing of which the dancing is produced.” These are the spermatozoa, or “male cells”, whose union with the eggs or ova of the female is necessary to the fertilization of the latter, and the consequent hatching of living oysters. Again quoting from Dr. Brooks : The number of male cells which a single male will yield is great beyond all power of expression, but the number of eggs which an average female will furnish may be estimated with sufficient exactness. A single ripe egg measures about one five-hundredth of an inch in diameter, or five hundred laid in a row, touching each other, would make one inch; and a square inch would contain five hundred such rows, or 500 by 500 250,000 eggs. Nearly all the eggs of a perfectly ripe female may be washed out of the ovary into a beaker of sea-water, and as they are heavier than the sea-water, they soon sink to the bottom, and the eggs of a medium-sized female will cover the bottom of a beaker two inches in diameter with a layer of eggs one-twentieth of an inch deep. The area of the bottom of a beaker two inches in diameter is a little more than three square inches, and a layer of eggs one-twentieth of an inch deep, covering three square inches, is equai to one three-twentieths of an inch deep and two square, and as a single layer of eggs is one five-. hundredth of an inch thick, a layer three-twentieths of an inch thick will contain seventy-five layers of eggs, with 250,000 eges in each layer, or 18,750,000 eggs. It is difficult to get the eggs perfectly pure, andif we allow one-half for foreign matter and errors of measurement, and for imperfect contact between the eggs, we shall have more than nine millions as the number of eggs laid by an oyster of average size, a number which is probably less than the true number. Mobius estimates the number of eggs laid by an average European oyster at 1,012,925, or only one-ninth the number laid by an ordinary American oyster, but the American oyster is very much larger than the European, while its eggs are less than one-third as large, so the want of agreement between these estimates does not indicate that either of them is incorrect.* Another estimate of the number of eggs laid by the European oyster is given by Eyton (History of the Oyster and Oyster Visheries, by T.C. Eyton, London, 1858). He says, p. 24, that there are about 1,800,000, and therefore agrees pretty closely with Mébius. An unusually large American oyster will yield nearly a cubic inch of eggs, and if these were all in absolute contact with each other and there were no portions of the ovaries or other organs mixed with them, the cubic inch would contain 500%, or 125,000,000. Dividing this, as before, by two, to allow for foreign matter, interspaces and errors of measurement, we have about 60,000,000 as the possible number of eggs from a single oyster. Although each male contains enongh fluid to fertilize the eggs of several females, there does not seem to be mneh difference in the number of individuals of the two sexes. When a dozen oysters are opened and examined, there may be five or six ripe females and no males, but in another case a dozen oysters may furnish several ripe males but no females, and in the long run the sexes seem to be about equally numerous. Oystermen believe that the male may be distinguished from the female by certain characteristics, such as the presence of black pigment in the mantle, but microscopic examination shows that these marks have no such meaning, and that there are no differences between the sexes except the microscopic ones. It is not necessary to use the microscope in every case, however, for a little experience will enable a sharp observer to recognize a ripe female without the microscope. If a little of the milky fluid from the ovary of a female with ripe or nearly ripe eggs, be taken upon the point of a clean, bright knife-blade, and allowed to flow over it in a thin film, a sharp eye can barely detect the eggs as white dots, while the male fluid appears perfectly homogeneous under the same circumstances, as do the contents of the ovary of an immature female, or one which has finished spawning. When the eggs are mixed with a drop of water, they can be diffused through it without difficulty, while the male fluid is more adhesive and difficult to mix with the water. By these indications I was able, in nearly every case, to judge of the sex of the oyster before I had made use of the microscope. SEXUAL DIFFERENCES.—This question of sex, and the condition under which impregnation takes place in oysters, must next be considered. To this question Dr. Brooks devoted himself with special attention. About all the published information upon the subject referred to the European species, and stated that, by means of spermatozoa, discharged into the water by neighboring oysters, and sucked within the shell, the eggs are fertilized inside the body of the parent, and that the young are carried inside the parent shell until they are quite well advanced in development and provided with shells of their own; that they swim about after they are discharged from the parent until they find a place to attach themselves, but that they undergo no change of structure between the time when they leave the parent and the time when they become fixed. Misled by these statements, Dr. Brooks opened many oysters during the summer of 1878, and carefully examined the contents of the gills and mantle chambers, but found no young oysters. ‘“T concluded,” he says, “that the time during which the young are carried by the parent must be soshort that I had missed it, and I entered upon the work this season with the determination to examine adult oysters every day, through the breeding-season, in search of young, and at the same time to try to raise the young for myself by artificially fertilizing the eggs after I had removed them from the body of the parent.” The result of a diligent practice of the first of these resolutions surprised him. In the first place he proved anew the generally admitted doctrine, that oysters are not hermaphroditic ; in other words, that each oyster is, at the breeding-season, either a male or a female. He writes: During my investigations I submitted more than a thousand oysters to miscroscopic examination. My studies were carried on during the breeding-season, and I did not find a single hermaphrodite. The male cells are so small compared with the eggs, that it would be impossible to state that a mass of eggs taken from the ovary contained no spermatozoa, although they could not escape detection if they were at all abundant, - On the other hand, a single egg in the field of the microscope, in a drop of male fluid, would be very conspicuous, and could not escape detection; and the fact that not a single case of this kind oceurred, is sufficient to establish the distinctness of the sexes at the breeding-season. *Mébius’ measurement, from 0.15 to 0.18 millimeters, is given (Austern und Austern-wirtschaft, 1877) as the diameter, not of the egg, but of the embryo, but his figures show that the European oyster, like the American, does not grow much during the early stages of development, but remains of about the same size as the egg. THE OYSTER-INDUSTRY. 213 Further than this, he discovered that although the American oyster seems well adapted to follow the European species, and various other marine and fresh-water Lamellibranchs, to draw into its mantle chamber, with the sea-water, the spermatozoa discharged from the mantle chambers of neighboring oysters, and thus to bring about the fertilization of the eggs inside the cavity of the shell, this does not seem to occur. He aflirms this very positively, and scientific men generally have accepted the conclusions as facts. I quote the words of one paragraph relating to it: I haye carefully searched the gills and mantles of more than a thousand oysters, at a time when the reproductive organs were plainly seen to be discharging their ripe contents, and have not found a single fertilized egg or embryo in any part of the mantle chamber, in or on the gills, or anywhere else inside the shell. This negative evidence, together with the fact that the eggs can be hatched after they have been artificially removed from the ovaries, seems sufficient to prove, in the absence of all evidence to the contrary, that the eggs of the American oyster undergo development in the open ocean.” That is to say, during all the period when the young of the European oyster is being safely nurtured inside the mantle-cavity of its parent, and protected from all harm by its strong shells, our infant oysters swim at large in open ocean—if lucky enough to get himself born at all from the egg which is sent abroad unfertilized, to meet a chance male cell and so become impregnated and start into life, if fortune favors. EXPERIMENTS IN ARTIFICIAL FERTILIZATION.—As has been hinted, Dr. Brooks spent much of his time and efforts at the laboratory in experimenting upon the artificial fertilization of oysters, by mixing eggs extracted from a female with spermatozoa from a male. He found it an easy matter to secure their union, and made his embryological studies from eggs and embryos thus cultivated, in a watch crystal or in a glass beaker. He gives minute directions as to the proper method for repeating these experiments, which those having a microscope can easily undertake, but which may be omitted as not pertinent here. DEVELOPMENT OF THE YOUNG OYSTER.—The next step, having got the eggs, or learned their nature, is to examine their fertilization and development. Dr. Brooks writes: ; The body of the oyster, like that of all animals, except the very simplest, is made up of organs, such as the heart, digestive organs, gills, and reproductive organs, and these organs are at some period in the lite of the oyster made up of microscopic cells. The eggs shown in Figures 49 and 53 will answer to illustrate the character of the cells which compose the body. Each of these consists of a layer of protoplasm around a central nucleus, which, in the egg, is a large, cireular, transparent body known as the germinative vesicle. Each cell of the body is able to absorb food, to grow and to multiply by division, and thus to contribute tothe growth of the organ of which it forms a part. The ovarian eggs are simply the cells of an organ of the body, the ovary, and they differ from the ordinary cells only in being much larger and more distinct from each other; and they have the power, when detached from the body, of growing and dividing up into cells, which shall shape themselves into a new organism like that from whose body the egg came. Most of the steps in this wonderful process may be watched under the microscope, and owing to the ease with which the eggs of the oyster may be obtained, this is a very good egg to study. About fifteen minutes after the eggs are fertilized they will be found to be covered with male cells, as shown in Figure 51. In about an hour the egg will be found to have changed its shape and appearance. It is now nearly spherical, as shown in Figure 1, and the germinative vesicle is no longer visible. The male cells may or may not still be visible upon the outer surface. In a short time ‘a little transparent point makes its appearance on the surface of the egg, and increases in size, and soon forms a little projecting transparent knob—the polar globule—which is shown in Figure 3 and in succeeding figures. Recent investigations tend to show, that while these changes are taking place, one of the male cells penetrates the protoplasm of the egg and unites with the germinative vesicle, which does not disappear, but divides into two parts, one of which is pushed out of the egg and becomes the polar globule, while the other remains behind and becomes the nucleus of the developing egg, but changesits appearance so that it isno longer conspicuous. The egg now becomes pear-shaped, with the polar globule at the broad end of the pear, and this end soon divides into two parts, so that the egg (Figure 6) is now made of one large mass and two slightly smaller ones, with the polar globule between them. : The later history of the egg shows that at this early stage the egg is not perfectly homogeneous, but that the protoplasm which is to give rise to certain organs of the body has separated from that which is to give rise to others. If the egg, at the stage shown in Figure 6, were split in the plane of the paper, we should have what is to become one half of the body in one part andthe other half in the other. The single spherule at the small end of the pear is to give rise to the cells of the digestive tract of the adult, and to those organs which are to be derived from it, while the two spherules at the small end are to form the cells of the outer wall of the body and the organs which are derived from it, such as the gills, the lips, and the mantle, and they are also to give rise to the shell. The upper portion of the egg in this and succeeding figures is to become the ventral surface of the adult oyster, and the surface which is on the right side in Figure 6, is to become the anterior end of the body of the adult. The figure, therefore, shows the half of the egg which is to become the left half of the body. The upper portion of the egg soon divides up into smaller and smaller spherules until at the stage shown in Figures 24, 25, and 26 we have a layer of small cells wrapped around the greater part of the surface of a single large spherule, and the series of figures shows that the latter is the spherule which is below in Figure6. This spherule now divides up into a layer of cells, and at the same time the egg, or rather the embryo, becomes flattened from above downward, and assumes the shape of a flat oval disk. Figures 29 and 30 are views of the upper and lower surface of the embryo at about this time. In a sectional view, Figure 31, it is seen to be made up of two layers of cells; an upper layer of small transparent cells, ee, which are. to form the outer wall of the body, and which have been formed by the division of the spherules which occupy the upper end of the egg in Figure 25, and a lower layer of much larger, more opaque cells, g, which are to become the walls of the stomach, and which have been formed by the division of the large spherule, a, of Figure 25. *Writing concerning his work in 1881, Mr. John A. Ryder remarks: ‘No evidence to show that our oyster is hermaphrodite was found during the entire season, nor were my searches for embryo or eggs in the mouth or in the gills, more successful than those carried on two years before by Professor Brooks. There is no doubt whatever that the oyster of Europe nurses its young on its mantle or gills for some time, nor can we well question the very high authority of Mébius, for saying that in most cases the sexes are separate, and that only one kind of products, viz, either eggs or spermatozoa, are at any time found in the generative organs. Lacaze Duthier’s observations seem to contirm the conclusions of Mébius.”—Report of T. B. Ferguson, a commissioner of fisheries of Maryland, January, 1881, p. 14. 214 THE FISHERIES OF THE UNITED STATES. This layer is seen in the section to be pushed in a little toward the upper layer, so that the lower surface of the disk-shaped embryo is not flat, but very slightly concave. This concavity is destined to grow deeper until its edges almost meet, and it is the rudimentary digestive cavity. A very short time after this stage has been reached, and usually within from two to four hours after the eggs were fertilized, the embryo undergoes a great change of shape, and assumes the form which is shown in three different views in Figures 32, 33, 34, and 35. A circular tuft of long hairs, or cilia, has now made its appearance at what is thus marked as the anterior end of the body, and as soon as these hairs are formed they begin to swing backward and forward in such a way as to constitute a swimming organ, which rows the little animal up from the bottom to the surface of the water, where it swims around very actively by the aid of its cilia. This stage of development, Figure 32, which is of short duration, is of great importance in raising the young oysters, for it is the time when they can best be siphoned off into a separate vessel and freed from the danger of being killed by the decay of any eggs which may fail to develop. On one surface of the body at this stage, the dorsal surface, there is a well-marked groove, and when a specimen is found in a proper position for examination, the opening into the digestive tract is found at the bottom of this groove. Figure 33 is a sectional view of such anembryo. It is seen to consist of a central cavity, the digestive cavity, which opens externally on the dorsal surface of the body by a small orifice, the primitive mouth, and which is surrounded at all points, exe ept at the mouth, by a wall which is distinct from the outer wall of the body. Around the primitive mouth these two layers are continuous with each other. The way in which this cavity, with its wall and external opening, has beon formed, will be understood by a comparison of Figure 33 with Figure 28. The layer which is below in Figure 28 has been pushed upward in such a way as to convert it into a long tube, and at the same time the outer layer has grown downward and inward around it, and has thus constricted the opening. The layer of cells which is below in Figure 28 thus becomes converted into the walls of the digestive tract, and the space which is outside and below the embryo, in Figure 28, becomes converted into an inclosed digestive cavity, which opens externally by the primitive mouth. This stage of development, in which the embryo consists of two layers, an inner layer surrounding a cavity which opens externally by a mouth-like opening, and an outer layer, which is continuous with the inner around the margins of the opening, is of very frequent oceurrence, and it has been found, with modifications, in the most widely separated groups of animals, such as the starfish, the oyster, and the frog, and some representatives of all the larger groups of animals, except the Protozoa, appear to pass during their development through a form which may be regarded as a more or less considerable modification of that presented by our oyster-embryo. This stage of development is known as the gastrula stage. Certain full-grown animals, suchas the fresh-water hydra and some sponges, are little more than modified gastrulas. The body is a simple vase, with an opening at one end communicating with a digestive cavity, the wall of which is formed by a layer of cells, which is continuous around the opening with a second layer, which forms the outer wall of the body. This fact, together with the fact that animals of the most widely separated groups pass through a gastrula stage of development, has led certain naturalists to a generalization, which is known as the “ gastrula theory”. This theory or hypothesis, is that all animals, except the Protozoa, are more or less direct descendants of one common but very remote ancestral form, whose body consisted of a simple two-walled vase, with a central digestive cavity opening externally at one end of the body. The edges of the primitive mouth of the oyster continue to approach each other, and finally meet and unite, thus closing up the opening, as shown in Figure 36, and leaving the digestive tract without any communication with the outside of the body, and entirely surrounded by the outer layer. The embryo shown in Figures 32 and 36 are represented with the dorsal surface below, in order to facilitate comparison with the adult, but in Figure 37, and most of the following figures, the dorsal surface is uppermost, for more ready comparison withthe adult. The furrow in which the primitive mouth was placed still persists, and soon a small irregular plate makes its appearance at each end of it. These little plates are the two valves of the shell, and in the oyster they are separated from each other from the first, and make their appearance independently. Soon after they make their appearance, the embryos cease to crowd to the surface of the water, and sink to various depths, although they continue to swim actively in all directions, and may still be found occasionally close to the surface. The region of the body which carries the cilia now becomes sharply defined, as a circular projecting pad, the velwm, and this is present and is the organ of locomotion at a much later stage of development. It is shown at the right side of the figure in Figure 37, and in Figure 45 it is seen in surface view, drawn in between the shells, and with its cilia folded down and at rest, as they are seen when the little oyster lies upon the bottom. The two shells grow rapidly and soon become quite regular in outline, as shown in Figures 37 and 44, but for some time they. are much smaller than the body, which projects from between their edges around their whole circumference, except along a short area, the area of the hinge, upon the dorsal surface, where the two valves are in contact. The two shells continue to grow at their edges, and soon become large enough to cover up and project a little beyond the surface of the body, as shown in Figure 44, and at the same time muscular fibers make their appearance and are so arranged that they candraw the edge of the body and the velum in between the edges of the shell, in the manner shown in Figure 45. In this way that surface of the body which lines the shell becomes converted into the two lobes of the mantle, and between them a mantle cavity is formed, into which the velum can be drawn when the animal is at rest. While these changes have been going on over the outer surface of the body, other important internal modifications have taken place. We left the digestive tract at the stage shown in Figure 36, without any communi- cation with the exterior. Soon the outer wall of the body becomes pushed inward, to form the true mouth, at a point (Figure 37) which is upon the ventral surface, and almost directly opposite the point where the primitive mouth was situated at an earlier stage. The digestive cavity now becomes greatly enlarged, and cilia make their appearance upon its walls, the mouth becomes connected with the chamber which is thus formed, and which becomes the stomach, and minute particles of food are drawn in by the cilia, and can now be seen inside the stomach, where the vibration of the cilia keep them in constant motion. Up to this time the animal has developed without growing, and at the stage shown in Figure 36 it is scarcely larger than the unfertilized egg, but it now begins to increase in size. The stages shown in Figures 44 and 45 agree pretty closely with the figures which European embryologists give of the oyster-embryo at the time when it escapes from the mantle chamber of its parent. The American oyster reaches this stage in from twenty-four hours to six days after the egg is fertilized; the rate of development being determined mainly by the temperature of the water. Soon after the mantle has betome connected with the stomach, this becomes united to the body wall at another point a little behind the mantle, and a second opening, the anus, is formed. The tract which connects the anus with the stomach lengthens and forms the intestine, and, soon after, the sides of the stomach become folded off to form the two halves of the liver, as shown in Figure 44, Various muscular fibers now make their appearance within the body, and the animal assumes the form shown in Figures 44 and 45. All my attempts to get later stages than these failed, through my inability to find any way to change the water without losing the young oyster, and I am therefore unable to describe the manner in which the swimming-embryo becomes converted into the adult, but I hope that this gap will be filled, either by future observations of my own or by those of some other embryologist. . THE OYSTER-INDUSTRY. 215 Such is the scientific history of the oyster-embryo. The practical utility of the knowledge, however, to the most of us, is that the American oyster lays a vast number of eggs, but that they are exposed to dangers so constant and innumerable, that under ordinary conditions few ever come to life, or at any rate succeed in living long enough to anchor themselves and take on the protection of shells. This is only another example of a fact well known to naturalists, and occurring widely among animals of low grade. The number of eggs laid, or even of individuals born, has very little to do with the abundance of a species, which is “determined, mainly, by the external conditions to which it is exposed”. LIFE OF THE YOUNG OYSTER.—The young American oyster leads a peculiarly precarious time, since it is first thrown out an unfertilized egg, and the chance that it will immediately meet with a male cell must be very slight; yet if it does not it will perish, for the sea-water destroys unimpregnated eggs within a few minutes after contact with it. Having by good chance become fertilized by mevting a male cell, the next period of great danger is the short time during which the embryos swarm to the surface of the water. They are so perfectly defenseless, and so crowded together close to the surface, that a small fish, swimming along with open mouth, might easily swallow, in a few mouthfuls, a number equal to a year’s catch. They are also exposed to the weather, and Dr. Brooks found that a sudden cold wind or fall in temperature, as occurred several times during his experiments, killed every embryo in his care. The number which are destroyed by cold rains and winds must be very great indeed. As soon as they are safely past this stage and scatter and swim at various depths, their risks from accidents and enemies are greatly diminished. Up to this point, which is reached in from twenty-four hours to six days, there is no difficulty in rearing them in an aquarium, provided uniform warm temperature be preserved. “Mébius,” according to Brooks, “has estimated the number of adults which spawn each year, and multiplying this number by the average number of eggs laid by each, and dividing by the number which grow up, he reaches the conclusion that each oyster which is born has 5-;;2s50 of a chance of reaching maturity. In the case of the American oyster the number of eggs is very much greater and each one’s chance of survival is accordingly very much less, and it is evident that the great fertility of the oyster will not protect a bed from destruction by excessive dredging.” In all these early stages, both as egg and-as larva, the young swimming oyster is designated popularly as a “spat”, “spawn”, or “set”. Perhaps spawn is the best of these terms to be used for our purpose, covering the time from the discharge of the egg until the oyster has attached himself and appears with shells, as a visible speck upon the shell or other anchorage which he has chosen. From this time until he distinctly shows the double bivalvular character of his shells and is an oyster, the infant is usually spoken of most expressively as a ‘“ blister”. DISTRIBUTIONS OF SPAWN BY WIND AND TIDE.—Regarding now only the vicissitudes of wind and weather, how far will the spawn drift from the parent, under favorable conditions, before it is destroyed, or else sink down and attach itself? This is one of the subjects in respect to which we have small accurate information, and about which there is necessarily much mystery. A few years ago it was accepted as true, that masses of spat were drifting back and forth with the tides and currents all around the coast, and it was only deemed needful to place something on the bottom for this spat to attach itself to, in order to catch a fall “set” and obtain thousands of bushels of young oysters. In ease of failure, the currents were blamed in an indefinite way for not bringing spawn to the beds. We have seen, though, how delicate and sensitive to harm Dr. Brooks ascertained the young oyster to be, and furthermore, that, even after the vivifying influence of fertilization, it would float only a few hours before becoming ready to attach itself to some support. Now, under ordinary circumstances, the summer drift of tidal currents does not exceed half a mile to a mile an hour, and there would, therefore, not be time for the spat to be carried a very long distance before its turn. If the aid of a strong wind is called in, it must be remembered that any harsh breeze would kill the spawn. Observation has shown, moreover, in many cases, that a district contiguous to an existing bed of natural or transplanted oysters caught a set, while another area not far away did not, the opposite being never true. When a region—at least everywhere outside of Chesapeake bay—has become depleted of its natural growth of oysters, it is extremely rare that any spawn ever catches there, though on each side close by and in the line of direct currents, there may be productive tracts; by “close by ”, I mean within two or three miles. Such an instance is found in Warren river, Rhode Island, where there has not been a “set” for ten years. Men there will explain that it is only once in several years that “the right combination of temperature and degree of saltness in the water happens at the moment when the spawn comes in”, but it isevident that formerly a growth of young oysters occurred regularly every season, and no “combination” was required. The simple truth is, that there are now no parent oysters native to Warren river, or acclimated in it, to furnish spawn, which does not now drift in from the outer bay. Practical men, therefore, in planning their work, put little trust in fickle currents and the feeble vitality of drifting spawn, while some deny wholly that it drifts at all. One of these latter theorists—and the view is too extreme, I have no doubt—who lives at Providence; Rhode Island, showed me at his wharf in the Seekonk rivera float containing a hundred bushels of oysters. The tide was running beneath it and beside it with great force, as, evidently, it always does at that spot. On the Ist of August, 1877, he had that float filled, as now, with native oysters that he had brought from this bed. Suddenly he saw one shoot out a milky substance. “There’s an oyster spawning,” he cried out, and called his son to witness it. In an instant another exuded the spawn, shot it far out, and then, » 216 THE FISHERIES OF THE UNITED STATES. as though by concerted action, all began to throw out the spawn until all the float was white with it, hiding the bottom beneath a milky cloud. He continued to watch, and in fifteen or twenty minutes the cloud had disappeared, and the few inches of water in the float had resumed its former clearness. In the autumn of 1878, about fourteen months after this oceurrence, some men begged permission to rake beside the wharf, and found there a solid bank of oysters of small size. There could not be a shadow of doubt, that they were the direct growth of the spawn emitted by the oysters in the float the preceding year, which had sunk straight down, despite the swift current of the out-going tide, unless we are to believe it had floated out into the bay and been brought back again—the more difficult alternative of the two, I think. Three hundred bushels were taken of these young oysters under this old float, within a space 100 feet square. PREPARING BEDS FOR THE RECEPTION OF SPAWN.—It has come to be the wise practice, therefore, in preparing beds of cultch for the catching of spawn and the rearing of oysters artificially, to place upon the bed of cultch a quantity of adult breeding-oysters called “‘spawners”. These are sometimes placed in a group athwart the tidal current at that place, and sometimes are scattered about the bed promiscuously. The quantity varies, but it is considered that one bushel of spawners to ten bushels of she'ls or other “stool” is quite enough. Experiments in this practice are alluded to in the preceding chapters on Narraganset bay, on New Haven, and on the Kast river; and it is there shown, that even with these precautions, a planter cannot count on catching any mentionable quantity of spawn more than 20 rods away from his spawners, even in a swift tideway, so soon does it settle or perish. Within this limit, however, the catch of an abundance of infant oysters is almost certain. The elaborate processes of oyster-culture carried on in France and the channel-coast of England, are based upon the. practice of placing mother-oysters under the most favorable conditions that can be devised for their health, and then closely surrounding them with objects and surfaces—such as tiles stacked loosely over each one—best calculated to offer immediate opportunity for attachment to the spat as soon as it is emitted. The difference in the nature of our mollusks precludes the following of these foreign methods, but it is certain that they may be imitated with profit, so far as the placing of spawners along with the cultch is concerned. NATURE OF BEST BOTTOM FOR OYSTER-BEDS.—It has long been well understood that the infant oyster, swimming about in search of a resting-place or anchorage, never chooses a soft, muddy bottom, or a surface which . is slimy and foul; or, if the volition implied makes the use of the word “ chooses” objectionable (we do not know how much control the Jarva has over the matter), let me say, that whenever the little creatures settle upon such a soft or slimy surface, they do not attach themselves, or, unable to go farther, perish. Little better than the shifting, soft mud is a bottom of clay, with its soapy consistence. Gravel, on the other hand, offers advantages to the oyster whenever it is clean; therefore a hard gale or an unusually high tide, or any other marine disturbance calculated to scour the bottom of a piece of water tenanted by oysters, is greatly welcomed just before their breeding-time. About 1867 a terrible storm cleaned all the ground in the mouth of the Housatonic river, Connecticut, right in midsummer. The result was, that where there had rarely been profitable oystering before, was originated the present great “Stratford” seed-bed. The ridge-like character of most old oyster-reefs, breaking the slow and even flow of currents, and so tending to increase their force, no doubt causes them to be kept better cleaned than the adjacent lower bottom, and thus helps to make these reefs the best of all natural oyster-growing spots. In fact, there is no doubt that the great secret for a successful spat is extreme cleanliness. Given this quality, there seems to be nothing to which infant oysters will not adhere—the shells of their neighbors and of other mollusks, living crabs, turtles, and terrapins, rocks and pebbles on the shore. - “‘On shell or stone is drop’d the embryo seed, And quickly vegetates a vital breed.”—Crabbe. Equally well, also, on the piles supporting bridges and piers; on rafts, boat-bottoms, and floating timber; on buoys and stakes, and in enormous abundance on the Jeafless head of a tree fallen into the water, or om the roots and limbs of living trees (as notably in the case of the ‘mangrove oysters” of Florida); on sedges and eel-grass (whence in the south they drop off to make fine “cove” and “single” oysters, and in the north to be frost-bitten and perish in winter); and upon all sorts of odd objects, gravel (valuable in producing single, round stock), bricks, bottles, broken crockery, tinware, shoes, anything, and everything, the surface of which is free from that slippery coating, partly sediment, partly organic growth, which so rapidly accumulates under sea-water, especially in some localities. ARTIFICIAL STOOLS.—It was long ago understood, therefore, that when artificial beds for the capture of spawn were proposed to be prepared, the substance of the cultch did not so greatly matter as its position and condition at the time of spawning. In Europe, rough stones set on edge or piled in loose stacks, crib-work of tiles or slate or strips of stone, suspended bundles of faggots, called “fascines”, the bushy heads of dead trees, and various other “stools”, were employed. In America it is customary to use nothing but oyster-shells, which sometimes have accumulated on the bed in sufficient numbers, and sometimes are expressly provided for the purpose, as has been described in the body of the present report. The chief reason for this adherence to oyster-shells, is probably found in their cheapness and convenience. - a %y May ulus 2, oe, pate rt ‘ey, je "i DEVELOPMENT OF THE OYSTER. EXPLANATION OF PLATE XXXVILI. Figure 1. Eggs two hours and seven minutes after fertilization. It is now perfectly spherical, with an external membrane, and the germinative vesicle is not visible. Figure 2. The same egg two minutes later. It is now elongated, one end is wider than the other, and a trans- parent area at» the broad end marks the point where the polar globules are about to appear. At the opposite end the external membrane is wrinkled by waves which run from the nutritive toward the formative pole in rapid succession for about fifteen seconds. Figure 3. The same egg two minutes later. ; Figure 4. The same egg two minutes later. The yolk has become pear-shaped. The polar globule has appeared at the formative pole, in the middle of the broad end of the pear, and the nutritive end of the egg is now less granular than the formative end. Figure 5. The same egg two minutes later. Three equidistant furrows have made their appearance, separating it into a single mass at the nutritive pole, and two at the formative pole. At this stage the three masses are about equal in size. Figure 6. The same egg two minutes later. The first micromere, ¢, is now perfectly separated and smaller than the second, b, and each is smaller than the macromere, a. Figure 7. The same egg one minute later. th micromeres are separated and spherical, a as is also the maciomere. This stage ends the first period of activity. Vigure 8 The same egg forty-five seconds later. The two micromeres have begun to fuse with each other, and the second pomerte ei b, is also partially fused with the macromere, a. , Figure 9. The same egg one minute later. The first micromere, c, has also begun to unite with the macromere. Figure a The same egg one minute later. The line between the second micromere and macromere has disappeared, and the first micromere, c, now projects from one end of the elongated mass formed by the union of the spherules a and b. Figure 11. The same egg three minutes later. The fusion of a and b is now complete, and a large transparent vesicle is now visible in the first micromere, c, and another in the compound mass a b, ' Figure 12. The same egg two minutes a thirty seconds later. Figure 13. Another egg, about two minutes later. This is the true resting stage, at the end of the second period of rest. The two vesicles have become irregular. The remains of an external membrane adhere to one side of the egg. Figure 14. The same egg seven minutes later than Figure 15. The compound mass a b is elongated; the first micromere, ¢, is well defined, and waves travel from the nutritive toward the formative ends of the two masses. Two segmentation nuclei occupy the positions of the large vesicles of earlier stages. This stage is the beginning of the second period of activity. igure 15. The same egg one minute later. The second micromere, b, is now well defined, as well as the first. Figure 16. The same egg one minute later. This stage marks the end of the second period of activity. The formative end of the egg is now occupied by four micromeres, two of which seem to be the products ot’ the division of the first micromere, ec, and two of them the products of the second, b. Fe ae te Plate XXXVII. Monosraph—OVSTER-INDUSTRY. Fig. 13. Fig. 14. Fig. 15. Fig. 16. Figures of the egg of the oyster and the young oyster in progressive stages of growth, illustrating the studies of Dr. W. K. Brooks. [From the report of T. B. Ferguson, commissioner of fisheries for Maryland. ] a _ DEVELOPMENT OF THE OYSTER. EXPLANATION OF PLATH XXXVIII. Figure 17. The same egg two minutes later, af the commencement of the third period of rest. The second micromere, b, has again oegun to fuse with the macromere, a. : Figure 18. The same egg three minutes and thirty seconds later. The second micromere is no longer separated from the macromere, and the mass a b, formed by their union, is nearly spherical. Figure 19. The same egg two minutes and a half later, at the end of the third period of rest, viewed at right angles to Figure 18. J Figure 20. The same egg thirteen minutes later, and in the same position as Figure 18. The spherule, ¢, of Figure 19, has divided into two, and the second micromere, b, has become prominent, so that there are five micromeres at the formative pole. ; Figure 21. The same egg one minute later, and in the same position as Figure 19. Figure 22. The same egg in the position of Figure 20, fifteen minutes later than Figure 21, and in the fourth period of activity. There are now seven micromeres at the formative pole, six on one side of the polar globules and one, the second micromere, D, on the other. Figure 23. The same egg twenty-one minutes later, viewed from the side opposite the second micromere. The cells, which have been formed by the division of the micromeres of the stage 19, now form a layer, the ectoderm, which rests, like a cap, on the macromere, a. ; Figure 24. The same egg five hours and fifteen minutes later, in the same position as Figure 22, but not quite as much magnified. On one side the polar globule is still separated from the macromere, a, by a single spherule— the second micromere, b. Opposite this the growing edge, g, of the ectoderm is spreading still farther down over the macromere. At the point g, and at four other points, are pairs of small cells, which have evidently been formed by the division of the larger spherules. Figure 25. Another egg at about the same stage. Figure 26. The egg shown in Figure 24, fifty-five minutes later. The macromere, a, is almost covered by the ectoderm, and the second micromere, db, has divided into a number of spherules. At the growing edge, g, an ectoderm spherule is seen separating from the macromere. Figure 27. A similar view of an egg twenty-seven hours after impregnation. The macromere is almost covered by the ectoderm, e ¢, and is not visible in a side-surface view. At gis an ectoderm spherule, which is separating from the macromere. P Figure 28. Optical section of the same egg; ec, ectoderm; en, macromere, divided into two spherules. No segmentation cavity can be seen in a normal egg at this or any of the preceding stages. Figure 29. View of the nutritive pole of an egg a few hours older. Figure 30. View of the formative pole of a still older egg. Figure 51. Optical vertical section of a somewhat older egg, figured with the polar globule above and the ectoderm to the right. The egg is now flattened from above downward, and is dise-shaped in a surface-view. The macromere has given rise to a layer of larger granular cells, which are pushed in so as to form a large cup- shaped depression. The more transparent ectoderm, é ¢, now carries a few short cilia scattered irregularly, and the two layers are separated from each other by a segmentation cavity. This figure is in Plate XX XIX. Figure 52. Surface-view of the embryo at the first swimming stage. a Plate XXX VIII. Monograph—OVSTER-INDUSTRY. Fig. 17. Fig. 18. Fig. 19. Fig. 20. Fig. 24. Fig. 26. Fig. 27. Vig. 28. SOEs tol Fig. 29. Fig. 30. Fig. 31. Fig. 32. Vigures of the egg of the oyster and the young oyster in procressive stages of growth, illustrating the studies of Dr. W. K. Brooks. > ss d ? j= Dena Pp > > 8 5 [From the report of T. B. Ferguson, commissioner of fisheries for Maryland. ] ~*~ Ps 4, Fs _ Pa ae «<2? DEVELOPMENT OF THE OYSTER. EXPLANATION OF PLATE XXXIX. Figure 33. Optical section of the embryo at the first swimming stage. The ectoderm has folded upon the endoderm, so as to form a primitive digestive cavity, with an external opening, g. The cilia of the velum have now ~ made their appearance around the area occupied by the polar globule. This was not present in the egg from which the figure was drawn, but it was seen in other eggs, and is shown in a later stage of another embryo, Figure 36. Figures 34 and 35. Two surface-views of the embryo shown in Figure 382. Figure 36. An older embryo, in the same position as Figures 32 and 33. The external opening of the primitive digestive tract has closed up, and the two valves of the shell have appeared in the place which it had occupied. The endoderm has no connection with the exterior, and no central cavity could be seen. : Figure 37, A somewhat older embryo, figured with its dorsal surface above. There is a large, central, ciliated digestive cavity which opens externally by the mouth, m, which is almost directly opposite the primitive opening, the position of which is shown by the shell, s. Figure 38. A similar view of a still older embryo. The shell, s, has increased in size, and the digestive tract © has two openings, the mouth, m, and the anus, a n, which are very near each other on the ventral surface. Figure 39. The opposite side of a still older embryo, in which the body-wall begins to fold under the shell, to form the mantle, m. Figure 40. Dorsal view of an embryo at about the same stage. Figure 41. Dorsal view of an embryo at the stage shown in igure 38, with its valves extended; r s, right valve of shell; Us, left valve of shell; an, anus; a, anal papilla; m a, mantle; v, velum; 0, body-cavity; s ¢, stomach. Figure 42. View of left side of a still older embryo; 7, intestines. Other letters as in Figure 41. Plate xX DX. Monogruph—O VSTER-INDUSTRY. Fig. 35. Vig. 36 Co P Fig. 37. Fig. 38. Fig. 39. Fig. 40. Fig. 41. Fig. 42. Figures of the ege of the oyster and the young oyster in progressive stages of growth, illustrating the studies of Dr. W. K. Brooks. {From the report of T. B, Ferguson, commissioner of fisheries for Maryland. ] i Tyery ot! ve Tey DEVELOPMENT OF THE OYSTER. EXPLANATION OF PLATE XL. Figure 43. Dorsal view of an embryo six days old, swimming by the cilia of its velum. Figure 44. View of right side of another embryo at the same stage; m uw, muscles; U, liver. Other letters as in Figure 41. Figures 45 to 47. Views of embryo. Figure 48. The seminal fluid of a ripe male oyster, mixed with water, and seen with a power of 80 diameters. Zeiss. 2. 2. Figure 49. Fluid from the ovary of a ripe female oyster, seen with the same magnifying power. Figure 50. Seminal fluid of a ripe male oyster, magnified 500 diameters. Figure 51. Egg a few minutes after mixture with the male fluid, magnified 500 diameters. Figure 52. Egg about thirty minutes after fertilization, magnified 500 diameters. Plate XL. Morograph—O VSTER-INDUSTRY. Figures of the egg of the oyster and the young oyster in progressive stages of growth, illustrating the studies of Dr. W. K. Brooks. [From the report of T. B. Ferguson, commissioner of fisheries for Maryland. ] DEVELOPMENT OF THE OYSTER. EXPLANATION OF PLATE XLI. Figure 53. Section of a portion of the visceral mass of a female oyster, magnified 250 diameters; a, epithelium of the surface of the body; b, layer of connective tissue; ¢, layer of wrinkled cells, which are probably fat-cells, from which all the fat has been removed; /, sections of ten ovarian follicles; e, the ovarian eggs. Figures 54 to 66. Abnormal or direct form of segmentation. Plate XLI. Monosraph—OYVSTER-IN DUSTRY. Fig. 55. Fig. 56. Fig. 57. Fig. 58. Vig. 60. Fig. 61. Fig. 62. Fig. 63. Fig. 64. Fig. 65. Fig. 66. Figures of the egg of the oyster and the young oyster in progressive stages of growth, illustrating the studies of Dr. W. K. Brooks. [From the report of T. B. Ferguson, commissioner of fisheries for Maryland.) DEVELOPMENT OF THE OYSTER. EXPLANATION OF PLATE XLII. Figure 67. Section of a portion of the visceral mass of a male oyster magnified 250 diameters. The surface- epithelium of the body is shown at the lower end of the figure. Above this is a loose, thick layer of wrinkled cells, which have the appearance of adipose cells from which all the fat has been removed. Above this layer is a large duct, lined with epithelial cells, and filled with ripe spermatozoa, which have been poured into it from two follicles, which communicate with it on each side. Above this are sections of a number of the follicles of the testis, in three of which the contents are figured. Plate SGI * Monograph—O YSTER-IN DUSTRY. a Figures of the egg of the oyster and the young oyster in progressive stages of growth, illustrating the studies of Dr. W. K. Brooks. {From the report of T. B. Ferguson, commissioner of fisheries for Maryland. | a eine acme re * : a i THE OYSTER-INDUSTRY. 217 Some more fragile shell, such as a scallop or mussel or jingle (Anomia), is certainly better, because the growth of the attached oysters wrenches the shell to pieces, breaking up the cluster and permitting the singleness and full development to each oyster that is so desirable; or, if the old shell does not break of itself, the culling of the bunch it supports is far more easy than when the foundation is as thick and heavy as an oyster’s or clam’s shell. To aid this same end, tiles have been used as collectors of oyster-spat, which were covered with a certain composition which easily peels off, but which is firm enough to hold the young. When they have attained a size and age fit for removal, they can be stripped off without difficulty, removed to other quarters, or deposited in the localities used for growing or fattening, and the tiles can be re-covered with the composition and used again. (In the Chesapeake it is found that the under-side of the tiles catch the most spat.) Possibly, for a permanent bed, nothing is better than the natural shells, but, to catch the floating spawn, something of this sort might be tried to advantage, especially when it is desirable to move the young oysters, either to protect them from enemies or to grow them separately. The anchoring of an old seine at the bottom, the suspending of scallop, cockle, or other thin shells in the water, by stringing them from stake to stake a little way under the surface, or the copying of the French “fascines”, would be other means to the same end. One of my correspondents in Long Island suggests inclosing small beds of oysters, just before spawning, by a high board fence, ‘‘with plenty of shells or scraps inside to catch the spawn, which thus could not float away”. This idea is substantially followed in France, where stakes of wood are driven into the bottom in a circle around a pyramid of oysters placed on stones in the center; and on the Ile de Ré dikes are built of open stone work, so as to divide the bottom into beds, each of which is owned by a private proprietor; and other stone partitions or walls are run across, and upon these stones the spawn fastens. There are 4,000 of these beds or pares. The early experiments in making these artificial beds failed, through the error of placing the cultch in the water too soon. Before the oysters near them had spawned, the insidious but rapid deposit of the water had coated them with a greasy slime, which made them as unfit for the attachment of the larve as any part of the surrounding bottom. Thus it was learned that the cultch must be deposited as short a time before the emission of the spawn as possible. TIME OF SPAWNING.—The time of spawning was found to be variable at different latitudes, in different depths of water, and according to diverse conditions of weather, ete. It seems to depend primarily upon temperature; hence, in the south, it begins as early as the heat of summer comes on, and follows it northward. In Chesapeake bay spawn has been collected from April until October. In the report of Master Francis Winslow, of the United States navy, concerning his surveys of Pocomoke and Tangier sounds, in the Palinurus in 1878, it is stated that there the spawning lasted from May to August, but occurred chiefly in June and July. “All opinions coincided that the oyster in shoal water spawned first, but differed as to wlfether, the depth being the same, all oysters on the same bed spawned at or about the same time, as many being for as against the theory.” In regard to this point I will insert a statement from the London Standard, September, 1868, to the effect, that at the oyster pares on the Ile de Ré, France, “every bed has its own time for spatting; thus, one division of the Ré beds may be spatting on a fine, warm day, when the sea is like glass, so that the spat cannot fail to fall, while on another portion of the island, the spat may fall on a windy day, be thus left to the tender mercy of a fiercely receding tide, and so be lost, or fall, mayhap, on inaccessible rocks a long way from shore”. Mr. Winslow was also told that currents had no effect upon the spawning, yet that heavy freshets were very destructive to the “spat” in Pocomoke sound, driving it out into the bay, and large schools of fish, especially trout and taylors, devoured a good many every spring and summer. I have seen it asserted, in reference to the French and English coast, that the spatting of the oyster there does »ot depend on the weather at all, but it certainly does here, to a certain extent, a wet or warm spring hastening the beginning of the spawning-season, though it would not shorten its duration. EFFEC? OF TEMPERATURES UPON TIME OF SPAWNING.—The difference, too, in the time of spawning between the oysters in deep water and those in shoal, is probably due to temperature, the deep water being cold and so retarding the function. As showing how temperature affects this matter, let me say that experience on the northern coast shows, that when cold, windy days occur at spawning-time, there will probably be no emission at all; but when this weather changes and a night of warm rain is followed by a hot morning, thousands of oysters will be seen “ shooting their spawn” at once. ‘The selection,” says Winslow, “of the lower sides of the tiles aud the interior of the ‘boxes’ may be an effort of nature to provide some protection for the young brood by, to a certain extent, inducing them to seek dark and secluded points for attachment, or the large number found in such places may be due to the inability of the various enemies of the spat to get at them when thus protected”. AGE OF SPAWNING OYSTERS.—It is pretty satisfactorily proved, that oysters begin to spawn when only one year old (or even much less, occasionally), though I found the popular impression in the northern states to be, that they must be three years of age before emitting spat. How long they continue to spawn, or whether there is any cessation before death, is not known, We are ignorant, indeed, of the age to which an oyster would live undisturbed; but old oystermen believe that it never exceeds twenty years, and that death is finally caused by a continued growth of shell, until its weight and thickness become too great for the venerable animal within to handle, whereupon he starves to death. 218 THE FISHERIES OF THE UNITED STATES. In Long Island sound it is considered that from the 5th to the 10th of July is the time when shells should be spread, with the design of immediately catching the spawn, which is not emitted to any extent before that date in those northern waters. The method of making these artificial beds is described in the chapters relating to that region. SEASONAL VARIATIONS IN ABUNDANCE OF SPAWN.—But the most intelligent care is not always rewarded with a profitable catch, nor does every season bring a uniform addition of young to the natural growth on the native reefs. This variability is all the more marked in regions where oystering has been extensively pursued, and natural conditions and environment are disturbed. Nor are these variations widespread along a whole coast ; they seem essentially local, confined, often, to very limited areas, indeed, and are marked by occasional seasons of extraordinary fertility, followed by total blanks or only a partial “set”. Thus the last highly productive season in the Monument river, Massachusetts, was in 1874; at Pocasset, Massachusetts, 1876; in the Somerset, 1877; yet all these localities are close together. This failure may not always be a failure to spawn, but generally, perhaps, a waste and loss of all or nearly all the young, through rough weather or an unclean condition of the shores where they should have found resting places. Nevertheless, as Mr. Winslow observes, many persons of experience are of opinion, and I now concur with them in thinking, that not only the attachment of young may not be general nor occur each year, but that the emission of the products of generation may also be frequently confined to partial areas, and that by a combination of circumstances there can be a total failure of impregnation on all beds of any locality. Further, on this head, Mr. a records some quotable observations, as follows, as resulting from his Chesapeake studies : We have only been able to investigate the spatting of three seasons, and it may be found by subsequent observations, that two similar seasons of success, moderate success, or failure, will follow each other, but so far this has not been the case, and in the period of three years we have, comparatively to the other seasons, one at least of successful attachment. I can see no reason for supposing that there is any regular recurrence of the spatting-seasons, but am inclined to believe that the success or failure is due to two causes—variations of temperature and variations of density. I have no means of ascertaining either the changes of temperature or density in the years preceding those in which I have been engaged upon this investigation, and in both seasons I arrived in the sounds too late for the temperatures or determinations of density obtained by the party to be of practical value. Oysters will and do live in very dissimilar temperatures, and in waters of very different densities, as is shown by their existence in the waters of North America, from Nova Scotia to the Gulf, and on both the Atlantic and Pacific coasts. That the mature oyster is a hardy animal, readily adapting itself to new conditions and environment, is shown by the ease with which it is transplanted from the warm waters of the Chesapeake to the colder ones of New England; from the dense and salt waters of the ocean and bay to the brackish waters of the creeks and rivers, or vice versa, and from soft bottoms to hard or the reverse, but naturally this hardiness is not a quality of the immature oysters or the swimming embryos. The influence of increased or diminished temperature upon the formation of the ova and spermatozoa, must be very serious and very considerable, and, judging by analogy, it would seem probable that the formation would be more rapid during a warm spring than during a cold one. Whether the formation has been late or early, when once formed a sudden change of density or of temperature may so affect the oyster or the generative matter, that the latter would not be expelled, and only upon this hypothesis can be explained the retention of the products of generation noticed in so many oysters, and which is said to be so common, for none of the other conditions are subject to violent changes, such being peculiar to the density and temperature alone. Probably the influence of changes of environment, especially of density and temperature of the water, is most severely felt by the embryos when in their free swimming state, and, in connection with the want of success of the spatting-seasons in the sounds, it is noticed that the temperature curves show a maximum change about the time when it is supposed-that the young would attach m largest numbers, or about the period when they were swimming about in the water. It is also worthy of notice that Professor Brooks, about this time, met with the maximum amount of success in his efforts to artificially raise the embryos. In consideratjon of the foregoing, I am of the opinion that the success or failure of any spatting-season is dependent upon the equability of the temperature, and that the higher the temperature during the spring months, the earlier the advent of the spawning- season, and that an increased temperature will also hasten the development of the spat, and of the young oysters after they have become attached. I also infer that sudden and extensive changes of density will likewise affect the advent, duration, and success of the spawning, though to a less extent. Subsequent to the attachment of the animal, changes of the condition surrounding it are not of so much importance, though naturally such changes will more severely affect the delicate organism of the young oyster than that of the older and more hardened adult. During the first six months of its existence, the oyster is exposed to the greatest danger from the numerous enemies which surround it. The thin, delicate shells, from one-sixteenth of an inch to one inch in diameter, are readily bored by the drills or torn off by the crabs, and the immense numbers of both of these, leave no room to doubt their destructive efiects. The inspection of the spat- collectors in the Big Annemessex river, shows that during the early months of their existence about 50 per cent. of the young oysters are destroyed, and future inspections of the hurdle will, I hope, give the rate of decrease in other periods of time. Naturally, as the animal progresses, it becomes more hardy and better able to resist the attacks of enemies and changes of environment, and thus we find on the unworked beds, where the oysters are practically in a natural state, that the decrease in passing from young growth to mature oysters is about 30 per cent., or about one-third of a given number perish in passing from the first to the fourth year of their existence. Here our information ceases, but enough has been gathered to indicate the proportion which nature has assigned as necessary between the young and the mature oysters. For every 1,000 of the latter there should he 1,500 of the former, if the number of brood- oysters necessary to maintain the fecundity of the beds is to be kept up, and though this propertion is based upon data which is not quite sufficient, yet, as I have said, it is all that has been afforded as yet, and may be accepted within certain limits. Certainly, whatever it should be, the number of the rising generation of the animals should never be less than that of the older, or there should always be as many young as mature on any bed. A greatly increased proportion of young to mature oysters would show either one of the two things— that the mortality in passing from youth to maturity was much greater than shown by the dredging results in the bay, or that a very large number of mature oysters had been removed by other than natural causes. In considering these several beds, the question of food and other necessary supplies has not been considered, as it is evident that THE OYSTER-INDUSTRY. 219 when an oyster-bed is formed and exists naturally, all the conditions for its successful life are probably present, and any failure of an important supply would be followed by a speedy extinction of all the oysters on the bed. Such determinations of the quality and quantity of the food, character of bottom and water, and other matters, are only of interest and desirable for the purpose of comparing one locality with another. Such was not the purpose of this investigation, and consequently the determination of those points has been but incidental to the work. Probably the fecundity of a bed is increased to a certain extent by working upon it. The dredges or other implements used open the bed and spread it, thus giving more room for development, and allowing a greater amount of food to reach the animals. The mortality is great in all thickly-populated tracts and in any closely-united community, and it is evident that the removal of any of the brood-oysters could not be effected without destroying the fecundity of the bed, did not this very removal influence the mortality among the young, so as to allow a larger number to come to maturity. But this remoyal of brood-oysters may become so great that the most violent exertions of nature to supply others are unequal to the demand. It must also be evident, that as soon as the number of brood- oysters is thus diminished, even to the slightest extent, the fecundity of the bed is impaired. This impairment constantly increases, influencing, as it does, both old and young. As the number of the latter decrease, so will the number of the former, and as that number is again and again diminished, the number of young produced by them must constantly diminish. Thus the cause for the destruction of the fecundity of the bed, and the gradual extinction of the animals upon it, can be readily understood and as easily comprehended, as the fact that the fecundity and preservation of the productive powers of a bed depends upon the number of mature, spawn-bearing oysters upon it. It is not meant by this, that none but the mature oysters are capable of reproduction, as such is not the case, oysters of even six or nine months’ growth having been observed by me with ripe ova and spermatozoa in them, but the main dependence must be placed upon the adults in the community, as the spawn of the young growth is not considerable when compared with that of the other class. Without a knowledge of the number of oysters on a bed, it is impossible to say what number should be removed, and as an attainment of the knowledge of the number on the bed is almost impossible, all that can be done is to keep the proportions between the young and the mature as nearly the same as on natural beds, and this should be the aim and result of all laws having the protection of the beds in view. DEVELOPMENT OF THE OYSTER-SHELL.—The way in which the oyster’s shell is developed in the embryo, has been shown by the quotations from Dr. W. K. Brooks’ paper. It is increased with the growth of the oyster during the warm months of the year, but receives few additions in winter. These are supplied by the delicately-fringed mantle which, with the gills, forms the “beard” in popular phrase. From the ruffled edge of the mantle are deposited very fine particles of carbonate of lime, till at last they form a substance as thin as silver-paper, and exceedingly fragile. To these are added, more and more, until a satisfactory thickness and hardness is secured. When oysters are growing their shells they must be handled very carefully, as the new growth of the shell will cut like broken glass; it is said, also, that a wound on the finger from an oyster-shell is often very poisonous. If this be true, it is probably owing to the minute organisms adhering to the shell, which are left in the wound and produce a local fever. These shells are to the creatures they contain what his bones are to man. They support and protect the soft parts. Like the bones in the higher animals, they are composed of two substances, the one animal, the other earthy. The animal part resembles gelatine; the earthy part is principally carbonate of lime. They contain, however, small quantities of phosphate of lime, a little potash, and soda and acid. In one hundred parts of oyster-shells there will be found— \WWENIGR cocisnoc Boned re deco DoH AO COSCe 0 EAE CADOTH ODOT So COG CEE IDS EEO HOO ECOBA CERO Renn CROnSDOSeD SOc qn conoen 17 JNM TEN HIGTE nC eS ES SSS eas e555 SRS Ae ee eee Bee is SEE eS naS ese ees esonttdhessasadssngns 2 (OPE NDE Tora? INT i aoe Fee tae an ee ie eee Beer See ee Ere a mee mE ater 75 JTEHGR MIE N@ tine) p co seeo see ee soe 7 ecb cebced Dogeee O5e0 Jedees SHec eee ree eeSeSeSe se coceed Sehececen0 oscSeonecca- 3 (GOT Aas he ae Ie eee a re oe ee eran reine cea e nice eacieer aces meiced sehen yas = siesee eaceacemse Caen) tome seeks 3 100 MATERIALS FOR THE GROWTH OF THE SHELL.—The materials for its shell, like its food, are supplied by the sea-water; and where, by reason of there being a scarcity of these ingredients in the shores of the sea, the water at any one place lacks them, or is feebly supplied, oysters will not flourish, or will produce light and easily-broken shells. Such was the case on Nantucket. “If the shell is thin, or if it is formed very slowly, the danger from enemies and accidents is greatly increased; and those oysters which are able to construct their shells with the greatest rapidity, are the ones which survive and grow up. The amount of dissolved carbonate of lime which the ocean contains is unlimited, but the amount which can reach each oyster is not very great; and if all the oysters which attach themselves were to survive, there can be no doubt that they would exhaust the available supply of lime before they failed to obtain enough organic food.” It is well known to conchologists that coral reefs and limestone islands are richest in all sorts of mollusks ; and one reason, no doubt, why the young oysters thrive best on the natural oyster-bed is, that the old dead shells are soon corroded, and in a few years entirely dissolved, by the sea-water, affording an abundance of new shell-material for the survivors. The vast amount of dissolved lime poured into the Gulf of Mexico by the Mississippi and other rivers, doubtless largely accounts for the abundance of mollusks, marine worms, and radiates that throng in its waters. Varying conditions will cause much difference in the shells of oysters from various localities. Naturalists at first thought these differences amounted to specific distinction, and experienced dealers can pick out oysters from different regions not only, but from different beds in the same region. Mr. Winslow notes that, in the Chesapeake, oysters found upon beds that have been much worked differ materially, being single and broader, in comparison to their length, round and with blunt bills. 220 THE FISHERIES OF THE UNITED STATES. ‘“‘They are usually dark in color, and have a considerable amount of mud and sand on the shells. The sponges do not appear to be as abundant, and the amount of dredging on any bed may always be known by the appearance of the oysters brought up. Upon an overdredged and almost exhausted bed the oysters will be large and single, blunt-billed, with dirty shells, and an almost entire absence of sponges, barnacles, and Crepidula will be noticed, but the shells will be covered with Tubicola and bored in many places by the boring pholad.” OYSTER PEARLS.—As in other mollusks, pearls are likely to be found in our common oyster, but, unfortunately, these are usually discovered in the mouth after the oyster has been cooked, and the value of the pearl thus destroyed, In the Peabody Museum at Yale College is a hollow, tear-shaped pearl taken from a common oyster at New Haven, which is a third of an inch in length. Mr. Henry C. Rowe, of the same city, showed me several large, round pearls, and told me he had had a hundred or so in the course of his life. Asa rule, however, they have little market value. OYSTER-BEDS.—Inasmuch as oysters can only exist under certain conditions, to be found only in restricted areas of sea-bottom, it is naturally to be expected that they will be found in colonies having a boundary defined with more or less exactitude. These restricted localities, because of their usual shape and appearance, are called “beds” and “banks” in the northern states, and “bars” or “rocks” in the southern, while in the Gulf of Mexico you hear only of “‘oyster-reefs”. Although in waters so populous with this mollusk as Chesapeake bay, a floating plank or bush will be found covered with small oysters in almost any part of the bay, it would be far from the truth to conclude that even in that most favored region the bottom was paved with the bivalves. On the contrary, the beds there, as elsewhere, are so well marked that they can be laid down on a chart or staked out with buoys; and even in the best oyster-regions they occupy such an inconsiderable part of the bottom that any one ignorant of their position would have very little chance of finding oysters by promiscuous dredging. At the same time, it is not always apparent why an oyster-bank should occur where it is found, rather than at some other place; or why many areas, seemingly highly suitable, are not furnished with them. In the beginning, the character of the bottom has the greatest influence of all upon the location of a bed, undoubtedly, for a young oyster will not live except in certain suitable situations. Accident having fixed an oyster in a certain spot, however, and good fortune granted him safe growth, the growth of a bed there follows speedily, and with widening area augments in strength, until nearly beyond the reach of natural destructive agencies. The living and dead shells of the adult oysters furnish the best surfaces for the attachment of the young, and for this reason the points where oyster-beds are already established, are those where the young have the most favorable surroundings and the best chance for life, and the beds thus tend to remain permanent and of substantially the same size and shape. An idea of their extent, under favorable circumstances, may be had from the report to the Coast Survey, that in Tangier sound, Maryland, alone, there are 28 beds, whose united area is 17,976 square nautical miles, with twice as much additional bottom where oysters are occasionally caught. EFFECT OF SEDIMENTARY DEPOSITS UPON THE BEDS.—The welfare of the beds is interfered with, seemingly, by few natural influences outside of living enemies. Mr. Winslow investigated the question of sedimentary deposits upon the beds of a portion of the Chesapeake, and reports in respect to Tangier sound as follows: Those beds lying in deep water are particularly free from an undue proportion of mud on the bottom, the shoalest beds having the thickest mud-covering. If there was a constant and increasing deposit upon the beds, they wonld long ago have disappeared, or at least have become of much smaller area, but the reverse is the case, the beds increasing in area constantly. They are, however, exposed to one species of deposit which is very injurious. Heavy gales occurring in winter and summer frequently tear up the large quantities of grass, sea-weed, and sponge on the sand shoals about the sound and deposit it upon the beds. If this occurs in summer, when there are a smaller number of dredgers at work, the effect is very injurious, the ‘‘cultch” being covered, and the young, if spawned, smothered by the grass, weeds, sand, and mud which it collects. The California rock, Piney Island bar, and Manokin beds are those most subject to this evil. The gales also have the effect of covering the scattered oysters on the leeward sands, which process is called “sanding”, and, from what I could learn, appears to be avery injurious one. The oysters are buried, and the bottom becomes smooth and hard. Where at least thirty bushels of oysters could be taken previous to a gale, not one oyster could be found subsequent to it. The wifter gales have the greatest effect, owing probably to their greater severity and direction, which is from the northward and westward. The ‘‘sand” oysters are found in largest numbers on the eastern shores of the sound, and about Kedge’s and Hooper’s straits, consequently they would feel a northwesterly gale much more than one from the opposite direction. They are said not to recover from the “sanding” for several months, and upon their reappearance are noticeable on account of the whiteness of their shells. In respect to Pocomoke sound, more harm was disclosed : The fact that on nearly all the beds, and especially those in the vicinity of the creeks and rivers and in the upper part of the sound, there is a light covering of mud more or less thick over the oysters, would lead to an inference that there must be a deposit of that character going on. On most of the beds the substratum of the bottom was hard, and the thickness of the surface covering gradually decreased as the entrance to the sound was approached. * * * The Pocomoke river, draining an extensive tract of the peninsula, would bring down a large amount of sediment, which the strong ebb-current would carry directly over the beds in the upper part of the sound. The amount in any given period of time would be difficult to ascertain, but the character will be shown to some extent by an examination of the specimens of bottom. Whether the amount of matter deposited is sufficient in quantity to seriously affect the beds is a matter of conjecture. I should judge that it was not, and my opinion coincides with that of all the oystermen I was able to interrogate. That it must have some effect cannot be doubted, and the evident deterioration of the beds in Pocomoke sound may be accounted for, to some extent, by the supposition that the effect is injurious; but so many other and more direct causes exist for the deterioration, that it is difficult to eliminate their influence. The fact that the beds have existed and haye been worked since the first settlement of the country, would lead to an inference that the effeet, if prejudicial, was very slightly so. THE OYSTER-INDUSTRY. 221 The scattered oysters lying on the sands and those beds in the vicinity of sand-shoals and in shallow water, the Muddy marsh and Beach island rocks particularly, are exposed to damage by ‘‘sanding” in a manner similar to certain beds in Tangier sound, and which has already been described. The large amount of grass, sponge, and sea-weed growing on the sand-shoals, especially the one to the east of Herne island and south of the Guilford channel, is frequently torn up by the heavy gales and deposited on the beds with the same injurious effect that it had in Tangier sound. Heavy southerly gales will sometimes cover the beds above the Buoy spit and Shell rocks with mud for a short time, but not sufficiently long, it is said, to affect the oysters seriously. EFFECTS OF ICE ON THE BEDS.—This account is typical of what might be said of oyster-beds in general along the whole coast. About the only other injurious agency is that of ice. In the Chesapeake heavy winter gales from the northward have the effect of diminishing the depth of water by piling up any floating ice upon the leeward shores and cutting away parts of the shores. Few beds are exposed, however, by the lowest of these tides, and it is rare that ice grounds, doing damage at these times only to a small extent, unless it remains for a long time in contact with the beds. In respect to this, Winslow has some interesting remarks: If it [the ice] only touches in a few places, not much harm is done; indeed, it is supposed to protect the majority on the bed by covering them, but where there is a contact all over the ‘‘rock”, the oysters are killed in a short space of time. “ * * The winter gales break up the ice-fields and pile them up in immense masses on the leeward shores and over the adjacent beds. The Shark’s Fin bed suffers particularly in this respect. A good deal of damage is done to the shores by the ice, and the oysters feel the effect, showing it by becoming what is called ‘‘ winter killed”, or poor and weak, having a slimy, sickly appearance when opened. Many die on the beds from this cause, and after the disappearance of the ice, ten days or two weeks must elapse before they are fit for marketable purposes. Ordinary cold weather and a moderate amount of ice is said to improve the fishing, the oysters appearing to be drawn more to the surface of the bed and the shells to sink more toward the bottom. My informants said this effect was quite noticeable. No one that I was able to interrogate had ever seen an oyster frozen in the water, and the impression was, that so long as the oysters were covered they would recover from any ill effects of ice or ordinary cold weather. In northern waters, such as Long Island sound and Narraganset bay, the oysters seem much more hardy in the endurance of cold than those of the Chesapeake. This would naturally be expected. Nevertheless, drifting ice often plows up the beds, both natural and artificial, to a ruinous extent in exposed situations, or, resting upon, freezes great areas of loose, single oysters into its under surface, and then, on a rising tide and before a brisk wind or strong current, moves off, bearing thousands of bushels away to scatter them over new ground, or hold them until they perish. This sort of action is an agency to be remembered in studying the geographical distribution of oyster-beds, since the mollusks will survive a long journey of this kind, and, finally, by the grounding or thawing of the floe, may be dropped all together in some favorable spot at a long distance from any other colony. The existence of such an isolated bed might easily be used as an argument, to show the great distance to which spawn travels, when, in fact, the colony owed its origin to nothing of the kind, but to having its progenitors carried there, as adults, by floating ice. . The question of the influence which ice has upon the existence of oysters as a race, in a certain region, becomes of great moment, when the locality is as nearly arctic as the gulf of St. Lawrence. I asked many questions on this point when at Prince Edward island, and also as to the effect of low temperature generally on the mollusks of that coast. TEMPERATURE OBSERVATIONS.—The only observations on temperature that I could learn of having been made in the gulf of St. Lawrence were in 1872, by Prof. J. F. Whiteaves, of Montreal, who recorded them in an article in volume VI of the Canadian Naturalist.* After describing the character of the bottom, this writer goes on to say: Attempts were made to endeavor to ascertain the approximate temperature of the deep-sea mud. When the dredge was hauled up, its contents were emptied as quickly as possible into a large shallow tub, and this was covered with a tarpaulin and placed in the shade. An ordinary thermometer, with a metal case and perforated base, was then plunged into the mud, and the whole was kept carefully shaded for atime. With one exception the temperature of the mud was found to be from 37° to 38° Fahr., and this not alone in deep water; for sand brought up from 25 fathoms on the north shore of the St. Lawrence also made the mercury sink to 38° or 37° Fahr. Again, the same author writes: In the deepest parts of the river, on the south shore, between Anticosti and part of the Gaspé peninsula, the thermometer registered a few degrees higher. Sand dredged on the north shore in 25 fathoms also made the mereury sink to 38° or 37°. Elsewhere he mentions that off Port Hood, Cape Breton, the temperature of the bottom ranged from 40° to 42° Fahr.; but adds, that not a trace of oysters are found living on that part of the coast. These are summer records. Such notes were unsatisfactory, since they referred to an area outside of the oyster’s range, and I therefore essayed to learn something of the temperature of the water upon the beds themselves—but I had no better means than an ordinary thermometer, which I believed to be not far from true—at various points where it was possible. It will be seen by the record of these observations below, that the temperature is higher than would naturally be suspected on a coast where the Gulf Stream is the other side of a polar current, that brings hosts of icebergs to the northern shores of Prince Edward and Cape Breton, and fills Northumberland sound with immense flows of dense, *“Wuitraves, J. F. Notes on a deep-sea dredging expedition round the island of Anticosti, in the oe of St. Lawrence. Canadian Naturalist, VI (new —) pp. 86-100. 222 THE FISHERIES OF THE UNITED STATES. blue arctic ice. The observations were made at various hours of the day, sometimes in sunshine, sometimes mmder a cloud, and at different stages of the tide. They are only to be taken as a mere indication of the general warmth of the water on the surface of the beds in that region, in the autumn. It is worth mention that the fishermen thought the water now about midway between its greatest cold and greatest warmth; but I can hardly believe this true. Table of temperatures (Fahrenheit). Degrees. September 18, 1879, Shediac: Temperature of surface water; ebb tide ...--...--- Rapes SsNesh sss ssS6ssos6 61 18 semperature ofan. Cbbiiider ===> see es eee eee eee eee bese ste tbs 19 Temperatiureyol aim) (raining) eso. see a= ene ee eee ee eee eee 19 Temperature of shore; water; low tide. -- <6 = - ocean aan Se ee eee eee ee 55 19 Temperature of surface, t mile out in the bay --...---2. .- 2-2 snsee= seen coe enee 56 19 Temperature of bottom, on oyster bed, 12 observations ..-...-.-..--------------- 58 19; Point du Chéne wharf: Bottom water, 2fathoms <- 3. -25-<- .2sence--eea- oe = eee pees See eeeeieee 57 20, Summerside, Prince Edward island: Bottom water, 2 fathoms, ebb tide, 10 a, m -.-.---.---.-.-- 524 20 Bottom water, 2 fathoms, incoming tide, 10 a. m--.. .----. 55 20 Bottom water, 2 fathoms, high tide, 4 p. m..-..-...------- 59 20 Bottom water, 2 fathoms, tide going out, 5 p. m., and deeper Ni) ee oe Sane eee Oe BL ee Ree EN eS eat ene 58 21 Bottom water, dead low tide, air chilly..--...---..--:-.... 56 22, Richmond bay: Bottom water on bed, 4 p. m., ebbing tide.-----.--.-...------ --------=--------- 58 However, I had no opportunity to learn the minimum temperature which these oysters would survive. It would not be safe to say that the sole reason why oysters did not grow off Port Hood, for instance, was that the bottom water was as cold as 40° or 42° Fahr. There are probably various other reasons. I was told by fishermen on the island, and at Shediac, that they did not think the water could be too cold, short of actual freezing. They were united in the opinion, however, that ice had been the direct cause of the extinction of many of the beds. As I have said in my chapter descriptive of that district, however, I am sure that ice, or nature at large, has had less to do with this misfortune than the heedless greed of the oystermen themselves. FooD OF THE OYSTER.—The question of proper and sufiicient food is also one of great importance, in considering the question of oyster-growth, whether in natural or artificial beds. The anatomical arrangement of the oyster’s mouth and stomach, have already been explained, and the general character of his miscroscopic, floating food alluded to. Some further details in respect to this may be of importance. In a paper published in the report to the British government on oyster-culture in Ireland, in 1870, Prof. W. K. Sullivan, of Dublin, remarked, that independently of the mechanical constitution of the shore and littoral sea-bottom, 7@. e., deposition of sediment, the currents, the temperature, ete., the nature of the soil produces a marked influence upon the food of the plants and sedentary animals that inhabit the locality, as well as upon the association of species. Especially is it the case with oysters, that the soil exerts so much influence on the shape, size, color, brittleness of shell, and flavor of the meat, that an experienced person can tell with great certainty where any particular specimen was grown. ‘ Were we able to determine the specific qualities of the soil which produce those differences in the qualities of oysters, it would be an important step in their cultivation. Again, soils favorable for the reproduction of the oyster are not always equally favorable for their subsequent development; and, again, there are many places where oysters thrive but where they cannot breed. This problem of the specific influence of the soil is, however, a very difficult and complicated one. First, because it is almost impossible to separate the specific action of the soil from those of the other causes enumerated; and next, because, though much has been written on the subject of oysters, I do not know of any systematic series of experiments carried out upon different soils, and for a sufficient length of time, to enable accidental causes to be eliminated, which could afford a clue to the determination of the relative importance of the action of the several causes above enumerated, at the different stages of development of the oyster. * * * I believe the character and abundance of Diatomacea and Rhizopoda, and other microscopic animals, in ovster-grounds, is of primary importance in connection with oyster cultivation. The green color of the Colchester and Marennes oyster shows bow much the quality may be affected by such organisms. It is probable that the action or influence of the soil of oyster-grounds upon the oyster, at the various stages of its growth, depends mainly upon the nature and comparative abundance of the Diatomacea, Rhizopoda, Infusoria, and other microscopical organisms which inhabit the ground. I have accordingly always noted where the mud appeared to be rich in Diatomacea, Foraminifera, and other microscopic organisms. A thorough study of a few differently- situated oyster-grounds, exhibiting well-marked differences in the character of the oyster from this point of view, by a competent microscopist, acquainted with the classes of plants and animals just mentioned, would be of great scientific interest and practical importance.” Of all the edible matter afloat in the water where the oyster lives, probably none is of greater importance to this and other mollusks than the Diatoms—microscopic forms of aquatic plants which, in almost infinite variety, swarm in both salt and fresh water, in the pond and ditch, in river and estuary, and throughout the open ocean. The distinguishing feature of the Diatoms is their indestructible skeleton of flint, in the shape of a pair of THE OYSTER-INDUSTRY. 223 transparent glassy plates united at their edges. When the plant dies and the soft parts decay, this flinty skeleton falls to the bottom, but is not destroyed. Century after century they accumulate and form immense beds, contributing myriads of skeletons to the rocky mass. THE GREEN OYSTERS OF EUROPE.—The Diatoms are brown, when they possess any color at all. It is not due to them, therefore, but to eating the chlorophyl-tinted spores or the whole plants of other species, that the “sreening” of oysters, or the “green-gill”,is due. This has frequently been ascribed to some metallic absorption, which rendered the oyster unfit to eat. Iam, therefore, glad to be able to quote Professor Sullivan again on this point. He says: As the green color of the mantle of oysters from certain localities just referred to is commonly attributed to copper, and as such oysters are consequently believed very generally to be poisonous, and their value therefore greatly depreciated, I made the most careful search for traces of that metal in the muds which I had received from grounds known to produce green-bearded oysters. Oysters and other mollusca placed in solutions containing copper and other metals absorb them, and retain them in their tissues. I have had two or three opportunities of examining oysters which had assimilated copper owing to mine-water containing it being allowed to flow into estuaries at places close to oyster-beds. In every case the copper was found in the body only of the oyster, which it colored bluish green, and not in the mantle or beard, which was not green. In the green-bearded oysters which I have had an opportunity of examining, the body was not green, and no trace of copper could be detected in any part of the animal. The color, too, was not the same as that of the true copper oysters, but rather that which would result from the deposition of chlorophy] or other similar chloroid vegetable body in the cells. Tn the oysters at Arcachon, France, a violet tint has been observed, sometimes, which is due to a similar cause, although referred to the iodine and bromine of sea-water. Certain reddish alg were found, when washed in fresh water, to impart to this a brilliant violet tint; and by careful observation it was ascertained that even the spores of these plants, which constitute a not inconsiderable portion of the nutriment, were similarly colored. In ordinary seasons, the dilution of the salt water by the rains in the Arcachon basin is sufficient to wash out the color of the spores of the algze, but when the brine is strongly concentrated, there is no such appearance about the gills of the oyster as has been described. : RATE OF GROWTH IN OYSTERS.—It is, of course, largely upon their supply of food and of lime that their growth depends. This growth, however, is very variable, depending on the season, and in some years the increase is very slight. In general, transplanting young oysters in water similar to that in which they were born, causes them to grow more rapidly; but if they are carried into different temperature and other strange conditions, they will grow slowly. Thus in New York bay, the East river, and Newark bay “seed” far outgrows that brought from Virginia. In the Chesapeake, no doubt, the reverse would’ be true. But the conditions affecting growth may vary greatly within the same district. At Bird island, in Boston harbor, for instance, bedded oysters grow but very little, while those on the muddy shores of Winthrop, in fresher water, add a great length to their shells, but improve very little in flesh, making them very profitable to sell by the barrel, but not to’ open. EFFECT OF WEATHER.—The weather affects their health somewhat. When heavy winds blow in from the sea, making high tides and cold, salt water, the oysters shut their shells and will not feed, but during off-shore winds they fill up well. Though a hard winter leaves oysters in a weak condition, the losses on the beds by death are greatest when the weather is changeable and high winds are frequent. A Baltimore correspondent writes: Thunder sours milk and kills oysters. You may load a vessel to its utmost capacity, start for market, and one good round clap of thunder will kill every oyster in the vessel immediately. Pounding with an ax upon the deck of a vessel, when oysters are thereon, or pounding upon the side of a vessel with a heavy weight, will kill every oyster that feels the jar. I am not sure of the precise truth of this last assertion; but I know, that on the Massachusetts oyster-schooners no wood-chopping is allowed, and I have heard it argued that steamers could never be used in transporting Virginia oysters northward to the planting-beds, because of the jar of the machinery. How sensitive oysters are to feeling, appears from the fact, that they almost invariably close, the instant a boat comes near the bed. It has been said that they see the shadow; but to dispose of this, it is simply necessary to remind the reader that oysters have no eyes. It is by perceiving the jar in the water that they are apprised of the approach of some body, and, acting on instinctive presumption that it is an enemy, they drop their visors. DESCRIPTION OF THE FLORIDA BAYS AND REEFS.—On the other hand, how oysters contribute to the advancement of the world of humanity, apart from the nourishment which men and various animals derive from their juicy bodies, is well illustrated on the western coast of Florida and elsewhere in the Gulf of Mexico. The extent to which organic, living agents are adding to the coast-line of this portion of the United States is remarkable, the more so as we hardly expect results so large and substantial from any means short of volcanic or geologic methods. All along the western or gulf coast of Florida, particularly at its southern end, are great numbers of bars of oysters, worthless (in their natural growth) for civilized humanity, but beloved of the raccoons, which nightly come to eat them, and hence called ‘“‘coon-oysters”. Many of these reefs go bare at low tide, and you may walk about on them. They consist of nothing but masses of oysters so crowded and compact, that a solid and level surface (seamed by frequent shallow channels and spaces a few inches wide) covers over the whole reef, which may be 224 THE FISHERIES OF THE UNITED STATES. several hundred yards long and forty or fifty yards in breadth. You may count up the number of individual oysters, when I tell you that a square foot will often contain a hundred. When the reef has attained such a height that its crest is exposed to the air at low tide longer than it is visited by the water of the high tide, the oysters will cease to grow there, while still Hourishing around the edges. The dead shells, growing brittle, are soon broken to pieces by the waves, and finally reduced to such small fragments, that they are like a shingle beach, or even like sand. Such a reef also, opposing the flow of the currents, furnishes lodgment to all sorts of drifting sea-wravk, receives a growth of the alge and grasses which frequent such half- submerged levels, and is all the time built up at the top by the washing upon it of fragments broken from its edges. It is not long, therefore, before a sort of shelly soil is formed, and some floating mangrove stem or seed takes root there, and manages to get so firm a foothold that the storms do not tear it away. THE OYSTER AS A REEF-BUILDER.—This done, the far-reaching and tangled roots of the bush form an eddy which deposits sand and floating stuff, until more mangroves have room to root themselves, and the bar ceases to be a “reef”; it has become a “mangrove key”. Now, the mangrove (of which there are several kinds) is a very curious tree. It has a low, branching stem, and is thus pretty much all head; you cannot see anything as you approach but a compact mass of brightly green, thick, shining leaves, trailing to the ground. A nearer view discloses another very curious feature. From the main trunk, near the ground, extend out on all sides, and at varying height, some branches which do not go upward and bear leaves, but turn downward, enter the ground, and become roots. There are dozens of these stays surrounding every stem, and holding it, like so many cables, against the fury of the storms which sometimes hurl both wind and waves against the groves. But this isnot all. Every low branch produces a considerable number of thick, leafless, straight twigs, which elongate straight downward through air and water, until they penetrate the soil and become rooted. The mangrove is not only braced upon a score of roots, therefore, but anchored from every one of its lower and larger arms. A perfect tangle and net-work of these roots and rooted stems thus surround each tree and every islet with an abatis often several rods in width. Such a network speedily verifies its likeness to a basket by catching outside matter. Along the solid edges of the key itself, and everywhere in the neighborhood, are living oysters which annually send forth a cloud of young to seek new quarters. The mangrove stems afford capital resting-places, and speedily become encased in oysters which increase in size and number very rapidly. This suspended kind is known as the “mangrove oyster”; but I do not see that they are anything but progeny of the coon bars. Barnacles, too, in vast numbers, muscles, bryozoa, and many forms of minute water-animals cling to these half-submerged branches or flourish under their shelter, where the hard sand and the bare angles of oyster-rock are being buried under a coating of mud and decayed vegetation, which the basket-work of mangrove roots and salt-grass has caught and confined. An especially noteworthy member of such a colony is a marine worm of smail size, which forms about itself a tubular, twisted case of lime very like that of the serpula. Along certain portions of the coast, south of Tampa bay, these worms are extremely numerous; and they build up their cases so closely together that they join one another, and so cover the foundation upon which they grow with limy tubes somewhat larger than a darning-needle, the partially coiled bases of which are in unison, but the enpurpled mouths a fraction of an inch apart from one another, forming a solid mass of lime with a bristling (and, at high tide, very animated and beautiful) surface. Without being sure that I am right, I suspect that these worms survive only a single year, and then dying, leave their indestructible cases to serve as the foundation upon which their progeny may rear their tier of tubes. Thus, by the additions of successive generations (as in the case of the coral-growth, only through a different history), this worm-structure increases into an extensive mass of heavy rock. I have seen pieces many yards square and two feet or more thick. Growing irregularly, its crannies afford a haunt for many species of mollusks and crustaceans that like to hide away in holes; and its mass is further enlarged by the growth of bunches of oysters and the filling of all its interstices with sand and broken shells, which become solidified along with the worm-tubes by the production of a native cement. Thus millions of tons of solid limestone, most useful for building purposes, is every decade added to the Floridian coast by despised worms. Attracted by the excellence of the hiding-places offered, and by the abundance of “small deer” lurking there, come to the mangrove roots many predatory sorts of aquatic animals in search of food—conchs, whelks, boring sea-snails, crabs of several species, and mollusk-eating fish, like the sheep’s-head. Where there is teeming life, death is frequent, and thousands of empty shells and fleshless skeletons sink into the animated ooze, and rapidly fill it up, until the water no longer covers it, except at the highest tide, and then leaves an important toll of drift- wood, and the adventurous water-loving mangroves must push their roots farther and farther into the sea. Meanwhile a similar process has been raising the center of the island. Decay of grass and salt weeds, and mangroves and drifted wood finally brings a surface permanently above the water. Huge flocks of water-birds daily alight upon it to rest and teed, and their droppings increase and enrich the soil. Various seeds are wafted or floated from the mainland and build up its stock of vegetation; various land animals, chiefly reptilian, make the new key their home. They die and are buried there. The simple mangrove swamp is succeeded by an intermixture of oak, pine, and palmetto, and their rotting logs gradually make a wide extent of solid ground. Discovering this, Indians get into the habit of landing there to open and feast upon oysters, clams, and conchs, and from the debris THE OYSTER-INDUSTRY. 225 of these feasts accumulate mounds or ridges hundreds of yards long and perhaps forty feet high. When the white man comes along, he discovers the largest trees and most luxuriant undergrowth upon these mounds of shells. Recognizing the excellence of the soil, it is there he places his house and plants his farm. The old oyster bar is an island with a name on the maps. Now, the formation of keys just in this way has long been going on, and clusters of them abound all the way from Apalachicola to Key West. A group of islands, near such a coast as Florida’s, acts like the interlacing roots of a single mangrove key; the currents are stopped, tides slackened, shell-débris, drifted matter, and sand deposited, and great shoals, mud-flats, and sand-bars result. Given such an archipelagic condition, a straight sand-bar, or outer beach, is a natural result, and this, once it is formed, contributes still more to the shoaling of the channels inside, until they eventually become largely obliterated, and many of the islands join together and finally unite with the mainland. But, as I have said, this is wholly the work of animal life. Not until the oysters and their neighbors have really formed a “key”, do the mangroves, with their train of aids, take up the work; and not until this has long proceeded does the drifting of sediment down the rivers, or the washing up of bottom-sand by the outer waves, increase the bulk of the islands that soon add their well-prepared areas to the general coast. V. FATALITIES TO WHICH THE OYSTER IS SUBJECT. 61, LIVING ENEMIES OF THE OYSTER. THE STARFISH.—No creatures are so dangerous enemies of oysters, either in their wild state or when transplanted, as the members of the spiny-skinned tribe which naturalists term Hcehinoderms. This tribe contains many members, but the one that concerns us as oyster-growers is the starfish. The starfish passes under various names among fishermen and oystermen. In England he is known most frequently as the “crossfish”, ‘‘sun-star”, and “‘sea-star”. In this country the name most often heard, is “ five- fingers” north of Cape Cod, and southward of there “starfish”, ‘sea-star”, or simply “star”, to which it is abbreviated in the vicinity of New York. None of these names, however, distinguish between the various species, except in the case of the “basket-fish” of Massachusetts bay, which is sufficiently different from the ordinary five-fingers to attract everybody’s attention; and the smaller varieties are often mistaken for the young of a larger sort. While this is unfortunate ignorance, it practically does not matter to the oysterman, since all the different members of the family are alike enemies, to the full extent of their individual powers and opportunities. The common name of the animal well describes its general form. ‘As there are stars in the sky so are there stars in the sea,” remarked old John Henry Link, a century and more ago. From a central disk of small dimensions radiate five pointed arms, composed of a tough substance unlike anything else that I remember anywhere in the animal kingdom. ‘When it ig warm in one’s hand,” wrote Josselyn, that quaintest of America’s advertisers, in his New England’s Rarities, 16, “you may perceive a stiff motion, turning down one point and thrusting up another.” This was all right, but he adopted an error when he added: “It is taken to be poysonous.” Examining the starfish more closely, you perceive that it has an upper and a lower side, essentially different. The upper side, or back, presents a rough surface of a greenish, brownish, or reddish-green hue, which, when it is dried, turns to a yellowish-brown. This is the leathery membrane covering the skeleton of the animal, which consists of small limestone plates united together at their edges by a sort of cartilage, so that they can move in a slight degree. This forms the frame-work of the arm, and acts as a chain-armor to encircle and protect all the soft parts within. Underneath, on the lower side of the starfish, this frame-work terminates in two series of larger plates, which are braced against one another like rafters, and sustain the whole structure by a sort of arch. This armor is sufiiciently flexibie to allow the starfish to bend himself clumsily over or around anything he is likely to wish to climb upon or grasp. Scattered everywhere upon the upper side are a large number of blunt, short spines, which seem to have no special arrangement, and are longest and thickest at the edges of the rays, and upon the plates bordering the lower side of each ray. Each one of these spines swells at its base, where are fixed, in a wreath, several curious little appendages called pedicellariw, whose odd forms and moyements can only be understood underneath a powerful microscope, on account of their diminutive size. They consist of a little pedicel which waves about, bearing upon its top a pair of (for it) huge toothed jaws, like the claw of a lobster, which waves about in a very threatening manner. Now and then it happens that some little particle of food or sea-weed will accidentally get caught by these valiant guardsmen of the spine, that towers up in their midst; but this to annoy rather than gratify them, and their functions are not yet explained. They occur in some form or other in all echinoderms, yet seem to contribute no service whatever to the animal. Outside of them, forming a second circle about each spine, is a set of water-tubes, whose functions will be explained presently. Near the center of the disk, on the back, notice the madreporic body, a small, smooth protuberance, filled with openings, like a sprinkler, and then turn the starfish over. 15——o0 226 THE FISHERIES OF THE UNITED STATES. Though so tough and tuberculous above, on the under side it is soft and almost white in tint, except where the strong spines along the edges of each ray protect the soft parts between. In the very center of the disk is the opening of the mouth. It contains no teeth, but is surrounded by an elastic tube and guarded by the hard edges of the skeleton-plates which hem it in. Irom this center run five furrows, one down each of the arms. Throughout all this branch of the Radiates, observes Professor Forbes, the reigning number is five. “Among the problems proposed by that true-spirited but eccentric philosopher, Sir Thomas Browne, is one, ‘Why, among sea-stars, nature chiefly delighteth in five points’? and in his Garden of Cyrus he observes: ‘ By the same number (five) doth nature divide the circle of the sea-star, and in that order and number disposeth those elegant semicircles or dental sockets and eggs in the sea hedge-hog’. Among the lower and the typical orders we find this number regulating the number of parts. Every plate of the sea-urchin is built up of pentagonal particles. The skeletons of the digestive, the aquiferous, and tegumentary systems, equally present the quinary arrangement; and even the cartilaginous frame-work of the disk of every sucker is regulated by this mystic number.” But this is a digression. To return: Each furrow is filled, with the exception of a narrow path down the middle, with small fleshy tubes, terminating in a disk, which are so evidently its means of locomotion, that you at once call them feet. This is true enough so far as their function is concerned, for Five-fingered Jack certainly does walk by means of them; but entirely wrong anatomically. No Radiate has ‘“‘feet” properly speaking. In order to see how the little beast makes use of these hundreds of walking appendages we must dissect him. Having done this, it appears, thatethrough the seive-like surface of the madreporic body, on the back of the disk, enters a constant current of pure sea-water. This is received into a system of circular canals, which branch out, on each side of every ray, and send out through minute openings in the broad plates on the lower side of the arm’s fibers, which, when swelled full of water, appear as the rows of feet-tubes already mentioned. These feet-tubes are called ambulacre, the grooves along each side of the arm, where they spring and where they are supplied with water from the main canal underneath, the ambulacral grooves, while the plates themselves, and the whole concave under-surface between the spiny processes bordering the rays, form the ambulacral tract. Now, the starfish’s body is always full of water; beside the large stream flowing in through the madreporie bedy, a constant inflow seems to take place by absorption through the thousand minute water-tubes that wreath about each spine, notwithstanding no microscope has yet been able to detect any opening in them. This insures— that the ambulacre shall always be full of water; but. the creature can control these, and when he wishes to take a step forward he places one, a dozen, or a score of these feet-tubes a little forward, and draws a slight amount of water from each, which causes a contraction of their sucker-disks, and gives them a firm hold. . By a reverse process he lets go with his other feet, and by main strength drags his body up as far as he can. This operation frequently repeated would give a continuous movement to his body which is not ungraceful, as he dips down into a hollow or bends himself slowly over some obstacle. His movements are very deliberate, and Ire moves hardly as fast as the second-hand of a watch. It is to the fullness of this water-system that the animal owes its plump appearance. Take him out of the sea and the water will pour out all over him, in a fierce perspiration, which soon leaves him flat and thin on your palm. I may as well say here, that any one can handle them without fear; the old idea that they were poisonous was a worthless superstition. In addition to this water-system, for locomotion, starfishes have a heart and system of blood-vessels. This consists of two circular vessels, one round the intestine, and one round the gullet, or heart, intervening between them. ‘There are no distinct respiratory organs, but the surfaces of the viscera are abundantly supplied with cilia, and doubtless subserve respiration ; the sea-water being freely admitted into the general body-cavity by means of numerous contractile ciliated tubes, which project from the dorsal surface of the body.” (Nicholson.) There is a nervous system, also, in this apparently immovable and insensible denizen of the deep. A gangliated cord surrounds the mouth and sends filaments out along the center of each arm, to the little red speck discernible at the tip, which is the eye. How much they can see with these eye-specks is doubtful; but there seems no doubt that they can perceive obstructions in their path, for they begin to get ready to mount them before actually striking against them. The mouth, as I have said, is a mere circular opening, without teeth. The stomach is reached through a short gullet, and of itself is not large, so that it is difficult to understand how the tremendous gluttony for which this fellow is famous can be accommodated ; until we have cut him open, and find that, as a part of the stomach, there extend loose yellow pouches far into each arm, which nearly fill up much of the interior of the rays. When no great meal is to be eaten these pouches or ceca are not brought into use, but when occasion arises they can contain a surprising quantity. On the floor of each arm, which we have cut open, is seen the ambulacral ridge, upon either side of which are the vesicles that supply the foot tentacles, which may be filled or emptied at the pleasure of their owner. Above these, occupying the most of the interior space toward the end of the ray, and also appressed between the cca and the upper surface toward the center, are the berry-like clusters or racemose masses of the generative organs. Tew persons, probably, suspect that in so low a grade of beings the sexes are divided, yet this appears to be the case in the starfishes. According to Prof. Alexander Agassiz, the males and females of our common species THE OYSTER-INDUSTRY. 227 of starfish can readily be distinguished by their difference in coloring; all those having a bluish tint being invariably females, while a reddish or reddish-brown color indicates a male. ‘“ When cut open, so as to expose the genital organs, the difference between the males and females is still more striking. The long grape-like clusters of reproductive organs, extending from the angle of the arms,on both sides of the ambulacral system, to the extremity of the rays, present very marked differences in the two sexes. The ovaries are bright orange, while the spermaries are of a dull cream color. At the time of spawning * * * the genital organs are distended to the utmost, filling completely the whole cavity of the ray; the abactinal system [#. e., the sides and back of the rays] being greatly expanded by the extraordinary development of these organs.” The two species common othe New England coast are Asterias arenicola and Asterias vulgaris, and, though much alike otherwise, they have different times of spawning, the former (Massachusetts bay to Florida) throwing out its eggs a fortnight or more earlier in the summer than the latter, whose range is more northerly and hence in colder waters. Their period of spawning, also, is very short, comprising only three or four days. The eggs produced by the females, as well as the spermatozoa sent out by the males, find exit from the body through five very small holes in a series of large plates on the back at the angles of the arms. Such eggs as are fortunate enough to meet with spermatozoa in the water, before being overtaken by some form of destruction, are fertilized, and immediately begin a very curious series of changes in embryonic growth, which have been fully described by Alexander Agassiz. This embryolog is like that of no other group of animals, but may be roughly compared to the transformations of a butterfly in the chrysalis. The larva which hatches from the starfish’s egg is etitirely unlike its parent, in form or structure, being an oddly shaped, ragged, transparent little creature, permeated through and through by water- tubes. This larva, when perfected, is called a brachiolaria, and swims around for several days by means of vibrating cilia, which keep it whirling and bobbing about, not choosing its course, nevertheless, by an exertion of its will, but a prey to all the chance breezes and currents that can get it in their power. These larvee, says Mr. Agassiz, are to be found floating in large numbers at night, though never by day, near the surface among cast-off skins of barnacles, which furnish them with food during the time when they swim freely about, in company with multitudes of small crustacea, annelids and hydroids. At such a time they are fit food for shellfish, and no doubt many fall into those treacherous small currents that lead into an oyster’s, clam’s, or mussel’s mouth. This helps to even up the account which the adult starfishes are making, in their daily onslaughts upon the mollusks. The jaunty, free career of the brachiolaria, however, is soon over. Changes, begun before they were understood, now begin to alarm him. He is losing his shape and assuming a strangely symmetrical, five-armed form, covered with soft spines and tentacles. Before he knows it, and without the loss of a single portion, the bactolaria, by absorption, has lost himself in the body of a true young starfish, and finds himself slowly acquiring the stiff armor and dignified mien which marks his approach to an adult condition. He ceases his gay wanderings and sinks to the bottom, or crawls upon the frond of some floating sea weed. This occurs when he is about three weeks old. But now that he is no longer an embryo, but a real baby starfish, his growth is very slow. Mr. Agassiz says that by arranging the starfishes, big and little, found upon our rocks into series according to size, we may roughly estimate the number of years required by them to attain their full development; this he presumes to be about fourteen years. During the earlier years the growth is more rapid, of course, than later. One young specimen, kept in an aquarium at the Cambridge museum, doubled its diameter in five months. That they begin to spawn when six or seven years old, or hardly half-grown, is ascertained; but as to how long they may live after that, provided the dangers of the sea are escaped, we have no information that I am aware of. The size to which they attain varies in different species. The rare British Uraster glacialis, Ag., has been seen 33 inches in diameter, and some even larger than this have been reported from near Eastport, Maine, where echinoderms abound in greater number, perhaps, than anywhere else on our coast. South of Cape Cod, however, it is rare to see one measuring more than ten inches across, and the great majority do not exceed six. The destructiveness of these creatures has long been recognized by naturalists and fishermen alike. In Bishop Sprat’s History of the Royal Society of London, we are told that many years ago the Admiralty Court of Mngland laid penalties on those engaged in the oyster-fishery “‘who do not tread under their feet, or throw upon the shore, a fish which they call Jive-finger, resembling a spur-rowel, because that fish gets into the oysters when they gap and sucks them out”. Numerous accounts might be given of instances when great damage had been done the shellfisheries, particularly along the Welsh and Cornish coasts, by starfishes, in a very short time. Oysters, not only, but clams and scallops of every sort, fall a prey to some of the many spiny raiders, whose size or habit of living in deep or shallow water, fits them to attack one or another sort of mollusk. Couch notes, in his Cornish Fauna, the large Uraster rubens, which is called clam or cramp in Cornwall, and occurs there in multitudes in spring, infests the fishermen’s crab-pots, to steal the baits; and a Belfast man reports that he had had starfish frequently seize his lug-worm bait and be brought up on his hook while fishing. Mollusks, then, are not their only food. The carrion of the sea is eaten by them with voracity, and in this respect they are beneficial to us and the rest of animal life. I do not propose to give a mene of British starfishes, but before leaving them, must tell one or two 228 THE FISHERIES OF THE UNITED STATES. superstitions attached to them by sea-faring men, who are so ready to invest with some supernatural quality every strange product of that mystery of mysteries, the sea, whose inscrutability and might impress him with supernal power, and excite his wonder more and more the longer he is acquainted with its majesty, its moods, and its inhabitants. Forbes records that at Scarborough the fishermen call the big Asterias aurantiaca, a very destructive species, the “butt horn”. “The first taken,” he says, ‘‘is carefully made a prisoner, and placed on a seat at the stern of the boat. When they hook a ‘but’ (halibut) they immediately give the poor starfish its liberty, and commit it to its native element; but if their fishery is unsuccessful it is left to perish, and may ev CuCnaY, enrich the cabinet of some ree ee collector.” In Ireland, it appears, the folk-lore of this subject is more grum. “The starfishes are called at Bangor (County Down) the Devil’s fingers, and the Devil’s hands, and the children have a superstitious dread of touching them. When drying some in the little garden behind my lodgings, I heard some of them on the other side of the hedge put the following queries: ‘What’s the gentleman doing with the bad man’s hand? Is he ganging to eat the bad man’s hand, do ye think ?’” Not a superstition, but an entire error was the belief, which I find still existing in the United States, that the starfish will poison painfully, if not fatally, the hand of any one touching it. Our oystermen know better; but I can tell them that the belief is very old. Pliny, who lived during the first century of the Christian era, asserted that starfishes “can burn all they touch”. This proves he took hearsay evidence, which a naturalist is never safe to do, and did not handle them himself to see. Aldrovandus and Albertus, who wrote a few centuries later, followed his same love of the marvelous, in spite of common sense and easy proof to the contrary, and told their credulous readers concerning these creatures, that “their nature was so hot they cooked everything they meddled with”. Possibly we may find here the origin of the stew, the roast, the take-home-a-fry-in-a-box, which otherwise remains very obscure. Finally, some outdoor students came along, picked up starfishes, found them harmless, and freed the foolish old tomes that called themselves “natural histories”, but constantly set nature aside for the marvelous and absurd, from one more taint upon the name of observer. The tale did not wholly lose its hold upon the minds of the ignorant, however; and even the learned sought until lately to prove that there was some sort of an acrid fluid discharged by the skin of the animal. This false idea arose, perhaps, from confounding the starfish with the various Meduse, or jelly-fishes, which are also sometimes called “crossfishes” ; or, possibly, it is merely an outgrowth of the attempt to account for the insidious destructiveness of the five-tinger, which for a long time was misunderstood. How A SfARFISH KILLS AN OYSTER.—In Boston, last winter, one of the oldest oyster-dealers and planters there, gravely instructed me in the manner a starfish attacks his victim. “Crawling round the bottom,” he explained, “ the star accidently gets afoul a bed of oysters. He don’t know what they are, mebbe, but there they all lie with their shells a-gapin’, after the nature of oysters. Poking round amongst ’em he accidently, as it were, gets the end of one of his arms into an open shell, and the oyster of course shuts down on him. Now, sir, he can’t get away, but the oyster can’t live but a little while with its shell open, and after a few hours he is dead. Then he lets up and the star makes a meal off him right there—takes him on the half-shell in his own gravy, as it were.” This is the first and last time I ever heard an American talk this nonsense, though many have expressed an ignorance of the whole matter, which was no credit to their eyesight; but in reading Prof. Edward Forbes’ British Starfishes lately, where he mentions the cripples so frequently taken among starfishes, I find the following paragraph: The oystermen believe that it loses its rays in consequence of its oyster-hunting propensities, that it insinuates an arm into the incautious oyster’s gape, with the intent of whipping out its prey, but that sometimes the apathetic mollusk proves more than a match for its radiate enemy, and closing on him holds him fast by the proffered finger; then the crossfish, preferring amputation and freedom to captivity and dying of an oyster, like some defeated warrior, finding - “The struggle vain, he flings his arms away And safety seeks in flight.” This story has long been believed. Link gives a vignette representing the mode of attack, with the motto ‘sic struit insidias”. Everybody who knows anything about it understands now, of course, that all this is absurd. The starfish goes about his foraging in a much more effective and sensible way. Indeed, he excels almost any other animal worth calling one, in economy of exertion in eating, since to secure, swallow, and digest his food is all one operation, when once he is inside the shell. Having met with an oyster, scallop, or other thin-shelled mollusk—and_ young ones are preferred because their armor is weak—the starfish folds his five arms about it in a firm and deadly grasp. Then protruding the muscular ring at the entrance of his stomach through the circular opening in the center of the under-side of the disk, which I have described, he seizes the thin, newly grown, posterior edge of the shell, which oystermen call the “ nib” or “pill”, and little by little breaks it off. It has ean surmised that the gastric juice decomposed the edge of the shell, until an opening was effected ; or, entering, paralyzed the mollusk, until he relaxed the muscle which held the protecting valves together. But I do not think either of these suppositions supported by fact. The operation is THE OYSTER-INDUSTRY. 229 proceeded with too rapidly to wait for the slow action of the stomach acids upon the carbonate of lime in the shell; and the vital parts of the mollusk are too far inward and sluggish to be promptly affected by any such acids. Moreover, it seems unnecessary, since the appearance of every shell attacked at once suggests a breaking down, chipping-off movement, which the starfish might easily produce, by seizing and suddenly pulling down with the suckers nearest the mouth, or by a contraction of the elastic opening of the stomach. At any rate, the thin edge of the shell is broken away, un‘ il an entrance is made, which the oceupant has no way of barricading. Then the burglar protrudes into this entrance the distensible mouth of his stomach, untilit can seize upon the body of the mollusk. The consumption of this begins at once, and as fast as the poor oyster’s or scallop’s body is drawn within its folds, the eapacious stomach is pushed farther and farther in, until at last, if the mollusk be a Jarge one, the pouches that I have described as packed away in the cavities of the rays, are also drawn forth, and the starfish has substantially turned himself wrong side out. If he is dredged up at this stage, as many examples constantly happen to be, and dragged away from his half-eaten prey, his stomach will be found hanging out of the center of his body for a distance, perhaps, equal to half the length of one of the arms, and filled with the juices of the oyster he has devoured, and whose body, within the shell, will be found almost as squarely trimmed as could have been done by scissors. If put very gently into a bucket of salt water, and left in peace, the starfish will straighten himself out, and slowly retract his extruded abdomen, as he would have done after his meal was digested, had he been undisturbed ; but if the least violence is used he will spurt out the Jiquid contained in the distended pouch, and quickly draw it back into his body. As arule, however, the angry fisherman does not have patience for these experiments. This process is the one followed in the case of large sized mollusks. Very young oysters and other small prey are enveloped in the stomach, shell and all. The gastric juice then kills and dissolves out the soft parts, and the hard crust is thrown away by the eversion and withdrawal of the stomach. DIFFICULTY OF DESTROYING THE STARFISH.—When oysters first were cultivated along the American coast, and this enemy first became known, the oystermen used to save all that they caught in their tongs and dredges, and pile them in a corner of their boats untilevening. Then they would collect them into small packages and draw a cord around each lot tightly enough to cut through it. This done, the remnants were cast overboard and considered done for. But this was entirely a mistake, as was presently found out. Five out of six of these fragments not only retained life, but renewed the lost parts and became active again. Thus, instead of diminishing - the pest these men were directly increasing it, since they were making two or three new starfishes out of each captive. It was a case of multiplication by division, which may be an invariable paradox in mathematics, but is by no means always one in zoblogy. Starfishes often lose one or more of their rays, but reproduce them. Forbes figures one, where four out of the five arms had been broken off in some way, and had just begun to be replaced by the little stubs of new growth. This gave the animal, with one full-sized limb, the shape of a spike headed bludgeon. Indeed, th re are certain members of the family, found in all seas, known as Ophiurans, or snake-armed sea-stars, which are liable to commit apparent suicide, hurl themselves all to pieces, the instant they are disturbed. This habit belongs, also, to a few larger forms, but, so far as I am aware, is never practiced by any of our familiar American starfishes, who seem to prefer to take their chances rather than voluntarily fling away their limbs. This fragility and spitefulness of certain of the starfishes is humorously described by Forbes, in his account of one large British seven-armed species, the “lingthorn”, or Luidia fragillissima. Having been cheated out of a previous specimen by its breaking itself to pieces, Mr. Forbes took with him on his next collecting expedition, a bucket of cold fresh water, to which article starfishes have a great antipathy. ‘“ As I expected,” he says, “(a Luidia came up in the dredge—a most gorgeous specimen. As it does not generally break up before it is raised above the surface of the sea, cautiously and anxiously I sunk my bucket toa level with the dredge’s mouth, and proceeded in the most gentle manner to introduce Luidia to the purer element. Whether the cold air was too much for him, or the sight of the bucket too terrific, I know not, but in a moment he proceeded to dissolve his corporation, and at every mesh of the dredge his . fragments were seen escaping. In despair I grasped at the largest, and brought up the extremity of an arm with its terminating eye, the spinous eyelid of which opened and closed with something exceedingly like a wink of derision.” 2 Now that I have spoken of the “brittle-stars,” as the Cphixrans are well called, I may as well quote Mr. Forbes’ account of the trouble they give on the 'rench and English coasts, which entitles them to a place in this essay on an enemy of the shellfisheries. He remarks: The common brittle-star often congregates in great numbers on the edges of seallop-banks, and I haye seen a large dredge come up completely filled with them; a most curious sight, for when the dredge was emptied, these little creatures, writhing with the strangest contortions, erept about in all directions, often flinging their arms in broken pieces around them, and their snake-like and threatening attitudes were by no means relished by the boatmen, who anxiously asked permission to shovel them overboard, superst itiously remarking “the things weren’t altogether right”. Rondletius * * * says they prey on little shells and crabs. They constitute a favorite article of dict in the codfish’s bill of fare, and great numbers of them are often found in the stomach of that fish. Starfishes are rarely found dwelling upon a muddy bottom, nor do they like clean sand very well. Upon the mud it is difficult for them to move about, and the open, smooth sand holds little food, and is likely to be shifted by a storm too quickly for them to escape being buried. Their home, then, is chosen on rocky coasts, where submerged 250 THE FISHERIES OF THE UNITED STATES. reefs afford plenty of craggy points for them to cling to, and whose crannies at once serve as homes for the animals they feed upon, and safe hiding-places for themselves. Beds of jingles, Anomia, deckheads, Patella, limpets, and other rock-loving mollusks are strongholds of starfish life. EXTENT OF DAMAGE WROUGHT BY THE STARFISH.—The amount of damage done to the oyster-fisheries of the American coast by sea-stars, was one of the objects of constant inquiry in my work north of Staten Island. To the southward of Sandy Hook, at the utmost, no harm is reported, since the starfishes are extremely few, and almost wholly confined to the mussel-beds in the inlets. In Prince Edward island they did not reckon this enemy as of much consequence, and had no losses of any consequence to report. Crossing the Maritime provinces to the harbor of Eastport, Maine, I learned that all attempts to bel down northern stock or to transplant and raise any northern seed-oysters, had been completely frustrated by hordes of giant starfish, which ate up the mollusks almost as fast as they could be put down. Here, then, the sea stars are responsible for an entire disuse of otherwise available privileges for oyster-culture. The same condition of affairs exists to a great extent on the rest of the coast of Maine, and I am not sure but the mysterious extinction, at about the date of the advent of Europeans, of the once extensive living beds of oysters between the months of the Kennebec and the Merrimac, was largely due to the attacks of this five-fingered foe. At Portland, however, where many southern oysters are laid down every year, I heard little complaint. This immunity is probably due to the fact, that no young oysters are planted here, or grow naturally; and also to the fact, that the beds are made upon tea flats, in shallower water than starfishes enjoy. The same is true of the whole of Massachusetts bay, except Wellfleet, where the planters count sea-stars among the enemies, but secondary to the three or four species of mollusks that prey upon the planted beds. South of Cape Cod, however, where oysters spawn and grow naturally, and beds of cultivated oysters are raised from eggs and infancy, starfishes are plentiful. All of the shores of Buzzard’s bay are infested with them, and from there to the western extremity of Long Island sound they do enormous damage annually to the oyster interests—a damage probably not overestima‘ed at $200,000 a year. The south shore of Long Island and the bay of New York are less afflicted. Their attacks are not uniform and continuous, it appears, but vary with years, the time of the year, and other circumstances. A steady increase, bowever, has been observed in their numbers, wherever oyster-cultivation has been carried on for any considerable length of time. The planters at Providence, New Haven, and Norwalk, whose memories go back for twenty-five years or more, relate that in their early days this plague was not regarded as of any consequence, and that the starfishes are steadily increasing. Such a report is no more than we should expect, in view of the enormous increase of the food afforded them by oyster-culture. SPARFISH INVASIONS.—There have occurred times in the past, nevertheless, as now happens at intervals of a few years, when an excessive crowd of starfishes invaded the beds. Such a disastrous visitation was witnessed in the Providence river, Rhode Island, about 1858. The starfishes came in ‘sudden droves”, as my informant expresses it, “which burnt up everything”. The planting-grounds were mainly on Great Bed, about three miles below the city of Providence, and of all this extensive tract only two acres escaped, owing their safety to the fact, that just before that they had been partially buried under a layer of sunken sea-weed and diifted matter. Another of the planters had his heaviest bed between Tield’s point and Starvegoat island (which probably were not long ago connected), where the low tide left them so nearly bare that his men could pick up the starfishes, while his rivals had no means of combating them in the deeper water. In the general scarcity that ensued, he made large profits from this rescued bed, and got a start to which he owes a large part of his present eminence in the New England trade: So complete was the destruction caused by this visit, that the state revoked the leases of all that ground, and the planters left it wholly for a new tract at Diamond reef, where the water was so fresh that starfishes could not live. This single inroad upon Providence river probably cost the planters there $150,000. It occurred late in the summer, and the marauders staid there picking up the fragments of the feast that remained until winter. Then a heavy fall of snow and rain, in conjunction with an unusually low tide, chilled and so completely freshened the water as to kill them all off. So it is related; and it is said to have been some years before that tract was reoceupied by planters. Similar traditions exist elsewhere along this “sound” coast; and the planters stand in constant fear that the army of the enemy, which they daily fight, may at any time be suddenly re-enforced from some invisible quarter to an extent which shall make any contest useless. In 1878, for example, after some rough and gloomy weather in the latter part of October, a planter at Pocasset, Massachusetts, went out in his boat to look at his oysters which lay in three to five feet of water. He at once noticed that the starfishes had made a raid upon him under cover of the storm. Taking an eel-spear as a weapon, he forked up 2,500 by actual count within the next two days, and later gathered 500 more. In spite of this they ate up about 300 bushels from his beds alone. Adding what his neighbors suffered, he considers the single week’s loss at that point to have been about 1,000 bushels, worth $1,200. At Warren, Rhode Island, I saw a pile of dead starfishes, said to amount to 1,000 bushels, which had been dredged off the beds in the river there. A bushel of living sea-stars contains from 100 to 200, according to size; say, 150 on the average. In drying, however, the bulk of a bushel is reduced three-fourths. Therefore this decaying THE OYSTER-INDUSTRY. 231 heap, ready to be turned into manure, represented something like 1,000 by 150 by 4= 600,000 starfishes. Suppose them to be the only starfishes caught in Warren river, and to have eaten only one oyster each before their capture, and we have 600,000 mollusks, or about 3,000 bushels, destroyed. But the oystermen say not one in twenty-five fingers gets caught, and that 50,000 bushels would come nearer to each season’s loss of young and old oysters. It is in the latter part of the summer and in the autumn that the starfish pest occurs in its greatest violence along the Rhode Island and Connecticut ¢oasts. Then they, themselves, are done with their spawning and. have renewed their vigor, and the young of all sorts of mollusks, crabs, and other prey abound upon the shores and invite the five-fingers to an easy repast. It is at this season that the sudden appearance of great bodies of starfishes make the heart of the planter sink within him; for he knows that if they once attack a bed of his, they march straight through it, and leave as dead a path as if it had been swept by atire. It is utterly useless to struggle against them, except by putting on a large force of men and taking up all the oysters on the bed. On more than one occasion steamers have been employed, in order to hasten the work of dredging, at a large expense. I was told all along the coast, in order to account for the sudden unforeseen appearance of these bodies of starfishes in the midst of an oyster-bed, that they came rolling in from the deep sea in a compact ball, all clinging tightly together. This ball might be a foot in diameter, or as big as a barrel, and was rolled along on the bottom by the tide. When it struck the feeding-ground it went to pieces, and the individual members at once began to devour the oyster next to them, beginning with the tenderest. I discredit the truth of this statement, since I never could find an actual witness of such a phenomenon. The nearest I came to it was this: Captain Eaton, an old oysterman, whom I saw at New Haven, told me that several years ago, when he was with his brother at Norwalk, they raked up one end of a cylindrical roll of starfishes clinging tightly together, which they hauled into their boat until it would contain no more, when they had to break the roll or “string”, as he called it, which was a foot or more in diameter. He did not mention anything inside of this cylindrical bedy, which was solid starfishes and nothing else. There is no reference in books, that I know of, to anything of this nature, except that Forbes quotes a French writer, Deslonchamps, of 1825, who says that on the French coast, when the tide was out, and while two or three inches of water remained on the sand, “he saw balls of Asterias rubens, five or six in a ball, their arms interlacing, rolling out. In the centers of the balls were Mactre stultorwm [a kind of large clam] in various states of destruction, but always unable to close the valves, and apparently dead.” How much faith is to be put in this account, repeated by many fishermen, and how much of it is pure fable, is hard to say from present data. In general it is known that the starfishes live and breed among the rocks, begin to feed in summer, but do not move about much when once they strike a feeding-ground, and either perish or retreat to deep water when the cold of winter approaches. Mussels are preferred to oysters or clams, though I have heard it asserted that they will even make their way into a quahaug, if hard pressed. The smaller, thin-shelled bivalves fall an easy prey to them. One of these (Arcavirgata ?) is called the ‘ blood-quahaug” by the rivermen, and when it is present the starfish will take nothing else. One of the tracks saved from the attack which ruined the Great Bed in Providence river, is said to have owed its safety to the abundance of “ blocd-quahangs” upon it, which satisfied the starfishes. The only offsetting value in this plague, that I am aware of, is its usefulness as a manure, for which purpose those taken by the oystermen are saved. They are especially recommended for grape-vines. Large quantities are thus made use of in Great Britain and France. “Anciently,” as I have read, “the Urasters were used in medicine. They were given internally as a decoction with wine, in hysterital diseases and against epilepsy. The physicians of old times, members of a profession never very remarkable for logical acumen, applied them externally in hernia, from some fanciful analogy between their pouting stomach and the appearance of the rupture. Any medical man who would wish to revive the practice will find the prescriptions carefully gathered together in Link, who, however, does not appear to have put much faith either in the medical or gastronomical virtues of starfishes; yet, conceiving it necessary to find some use for them, according to the manner of his times, he tells us they are of use to man, not because they serve as food to him themselves, but because they feed the fishes, and the fishes feed him, adding, ‘miror hine et in providentia divina sapieutiam.’” In spite of his belief, however, I do not know any fishes that feed upon the sea-stars, except the cod. PREVENTION OF STARFISH RAVAGES.—The question following a knowledge of the facts which have been given above, is: What can be done to prevent, or at any rate lessen, the ravages committed by the starfishes upon oyster- cultivation? This is a very hard question to answer. The boundless tracts of the outer sea harbor them beyond any hope of extermination by us, and all operations must apparently be confined to the small localities occupied by the oysters. Here, again, the expense involved in ridding one’s property of the pests, makes it a question whether it were not more profitable to let them alone. Possibly this might be the case in individual instances; and probably it has been found so and acted upon almost universally up to the present. The result is a colonization and increase ot starfishes which forsake the single localities to which they were once confined and devastate a whole neighborhood. EXyery man now suffers through his neighbor’s neglect as well as his own. At Norwalk, Connecticut, the starfishes are probably now more injurious than at any other place on the coast, and I paid much attention to the matter there. The result of my inquiries seemed to show, that one man, in a sloop, devoting his whole time to it, could keep ten acres of oyster-ground clean of starfishes by dredging them off. 232 THE FISHERIES OF THE UNITED STATES. He would continually sail back and forth, round and round over the ground, and catch the ugly visitors as fast as they came. There are in Norwalk harbor about 700 acres of cultivated bottom. This would need the persistent services of 70 men, therefore, at a total annual expense of not less than $50,000. In lieu of this, the oystermen who own contiguous beds, should combine during the summer to dredge the starfishés all off a certain district, and divide the expense or labor equally among them all. Such combined and persistent work, when the plague first appears, will certainly clear them off; and when once they are got rid of, they will not be again troublesome until the following season, and then in less numbers. There is no more reason why the starfishes cannot be so reduced in Long Island sound, that they shall not be harmful to the oyster-beds, than there is why the Canada thistle cannot be kept down in the three shore counties of Connecticut. It is merely a question of steady labor. But this labor must be unselfish. I heard it whispered, that certain oystermen would keep very quiet so long as no sea-stars were on their own acre or two, rejoicing slyly in the losses their rivals in business were sustaining. So short-sighted and unmanly a policy as this must be abandoned, It was also suggested to me, and I advised with many planters in Connecticut and New York on the matter, that a bounty might profitably be paid for the destruction of starfishes. The question was: Who shall pay this bounty ? It was thought by many that the general government should do it, but I consider this obviously a mistake. Another opinion was, that the state should do so; but only a portion of the state is interested, and much opposition would no doubt be manifested by the inhabitants inland. The same would, perhaps, be true of the shore counties if they attempted the scheme, though to aless extent. It seems, then, that theproper source to look to for appropriations for such an object, are the townships along the shore in whose waters the oystermen rent their ground and plant. This confines the expense to the district benefited, and, by making one officer in each town an inspector of the claims and the only authorized paymaster, restricts the possibilities of fraud. The next question is: How much shall the bounty be? This ought to vary somewhat in different localities, according to scarcity, value of interests risked, ete. In general it was thought that the claim ought to be based upon count rather than measure, and that in western Connecticut from 5 to 10 cents a hundred would be large enough to encourage constant effort to collect them, and not too large to prove a profitable investment in the amount saved. I suppose that the town authorities could redeem a considerable percentage of their outlay, by selling the starfishes collected to farmers for manure, or to factories to be made into fertilizers. I am not aware that any steps have been taken by any of the towns to set a bounty upon the capture of this plague; but if combined action were taken, I feel sure it would be wise, and the results conspicuously beneficial to the whole oyster-interest. If the towns will do nothing of the sort, an association of oystermen, at such crowded producing-points as City Island, Stamford, Rowayton, South Norwalk, New Haven, and Providence would no doubt find it profitable. Some years ago a trial was made in Narraganset bay of a trawl, made after the pattern introduced about 1872 by the United States Fish Commission. The Fish Commissioners of Rhode Island, in company with a firm of oyster-planters at Providence, went down the bay, and swept one of the oyster-beds with the improved trawl, hauled by a steam-tug. ‘On hauling it up, in a few minutes they counted nearly two hundred starfish, large and small, which were snared and caught at this first haul. A second haul brought up sti!l more.” If this report is correct, it is strange that so effective an instrument was abandoned. A still more useful appliance is the “tangles”, made of rope-yarn and shaped like a mop or a deck-swab. This being drawn over the bottom, the starfish are entangled in its film. The “tangles” are constantly used in the natural history work of the United States Fish Commission. Tens of thousands of starfish are sometimes brought up at one haul. THE DRILL.—A- small but numerous and persistent enemy of the oyster, is the “drill” or “borer”. Under this name is included, however, a numerous class of wnivalve mollusks, which are carnivorous in their tastes, and armed with a tongue-ribbon, so shaped and so well supplied with flinty teeth, that by means of it they can file a round hole through an oyster’s shell. The mode in which it is done has been clearly described by the Rev. Samuel Lockwood, as follows: The tongue is set with three rows of teeth like a file; it is, in fact, a tongue-file, or dental band, and is called by conchologists the lingual ribbon, * * * Having with the utmost care witnessed a number of times the creature in the burglarious act, I give the following as my view of the case: With its fleshy disk, called the foot, it secures by adhesion a firm hold on the upper part of the oyster’s shell. The dental ribbon is next brought to a eurye, and one point of this curve, on its convex side, is brought to bear directly on the desired spot. At this point the teeth are set perpendicularly, and the curve, resting at this point as on a drill, is made to rotate one circle, or nearly so, when the rotation is reversed: and so the movements are alternated, until, after long and patient labor, a perforation is accomplished, This alternating movement, I think, must act favorably on the teeth, tending to keep them sharp. To understand the precise movement, let the reader crook his forefinger, and, inserting the knuckle in the palm of the opposite hand, give to it, by the action of the wrist, the sort of rotation described. The hole thus effected by the drill is hardly so much as a line in diameter. It is very neatly countersunk. The hole finished, the little burglar inserts its siphon or sucking-tube, and thus feeds upon the occupant of the house into which it has effected a forced entrance. To a mechanic’s eye there is something positively beautiful in the symmetry of the bore thus effected—it is so ‘‘true”; he could not do it better himself, even with his superior tools and intelligence. These small “snails”, drills”, “borers”, and ‘snail-bores”, as they are variously called, belong to several species of Natica, Purpura, Anachis, Astyris, Tritia, Ilyanassa, ete.; but the master and most destructive, as well THE OYSTER-INDUSTRY. 233 as most abundant of them all, is the Urosalpinx cinerea of Stimpson. It is this which is the common “drill” of the oyster-beds; and it is its eggs, laid in small vase-shaped capsules, which are often found attached in groups to the under surfaces of stones. Several of the small mollusks mentioned above lay eggs in this way, but the drill’s capsules have very short stalks, or are almost sessile, and are compressed with an ovate outline, while angular ridges pass down their sides. The natural home of the drill is the tide-pools and weedy borders of rocky shallows, where barnacles, hydroids, anemones, rock-loving limpets, and other associated forms that find shelter among the algve, afford it abundant food. Though this is precisely where the mussels grow till the rocks are almost black with them, it is said that they are never attacked by the drills. The Urosalpine sometimes stray to the oyster-beds, but is usually carried there with the seed- supplies, and finding plenty of nourishment live and increase. Though its multiplication is not very rapid, it is fast enough to make it a very serious obstacle to success, in the course of a few years. In nearly every case, I was told that formerly there were no drills, but now the oyster-beds were overrun. This was reported in particular of the Great South bay of Long Island and at Keyport, New Jersey. I heard less of its ravages in New Jersey, except in the Delaware; but in Chesapeake bay nearly every dredge-haul in any part of Maryland or Virginia waters, brings up; the Potomac seems to be the district least infested. Of course, in such natural haunts as the rocky shores of Buzzard’s bay and Connecticut, would be present if there were no oysters, and are all the harder to dislodge. Once having attacked an oyster-bed, they work with rapidity ; and seem to make sudden and combined attacks at considerable intervals. Their disappearance from certain restricted localities, too, for a long time, is unexplained. P What is the best way to combat them, or whether there is any hope of ridding the beds of them, are questions often discussed by oyster-culturists. It is certain that a great deal of trouble might be avoided, if care were exercised in culling seed, to throw out—not into the water, but on the ground or deck—all the drills, instead of carrying them to one’s beds, deliberately planting them, and then grumbling at destruction which previous care would have avoided. It would cost less, in point of mere labor, no doubt, to prevent this plague than to cure it when it becomes no longer endurable. Some planters clean up pieces of bottom very thoroughly before planting, in order to get all this sort of vermin out of their way, as well as to stir up the mud and fit it for the reception of spat. It is on hard bottom that drills are especially troublesome, and here some planters go over the ground with a fine- meshed dredge in order to get them up, but they fail to catch all. This is done at Norwalk, Connnecticut, I know, * and the men who have steamers, find in the celerity with which they are able to accomplish this sort of work, a great arguinent against any restriction to exclusively sailing-rig. The drill can be exterminated to a great extent, also, by diligently destroying its eggs. Small boys might well be paid to search for them and destroy them, among the weedy rocks by the shore, at low tide. A gentleman at Sayville, Long Island, assured me that in those years when large eels were plentiful, the drills were kept down because the eels fed on their eggs. This gentleman said, that in the Great South bay the drills were nearly conquering the planters; and he advised the removal of all shells from the bottom of the bay, in order that the drills might have nothing left on which to place their eggs. This might do there, where there are no rocks along the shore and the drill is not native; but I doubt whether so sweeping a measure of protection could ever be carried out. On the Pacific coast Gastrochena, and various pholadiform mollusks are a great bane to the oyster-beds, but they penetrate by digging burrows wherein their whole shell is lodged. Large numbers of these, with the help of boring- worms and sponges, may so riddle a reef as to cause its entire disintegration. THE WINKLE.—Destructive pests on the oyster-beds are, also, found in the two large, spiral mollusks, Sycotypus canaliculatus and Fulgur carica, which along the coast are confounded under the names “periwinkle”, “winkle”, “wrinkle” (New England), and “conch” (southern), with occasionally a distinguishing prefix. Various other large shells also come under these generally applied names; and in the Gulf of Mexico we have, additionally, the “ king conch”, “queen conch”, and “ horse conch”, all of which are edible. The Sycotypus is more common north of New York—though it does not exist at all beyond Cape Cod—while along the coast of New Jersey aud southward it is the Fulgur which is chargeable with nearly all mischief perpetrated, since the other species is rarely seen. Occasionally, as Verrill mentions, specimens of both may be found crawling on sandy flats or in the tide-pools, especially during the spawning-season, but they do not ordinarily live in such situations, but in deeper water and on harder bottoms off shore. It is needless to say that they do not burrow at all, though they are able to insert the posterior part of the foot into the sand sufficiently to afford them a strong anchorage against currents. A very soft or a very rocky bottom they equally avoid. The curious egg-cases of these mollusks, to which the names ‘“sea-ruffle” and “‘sea-necklace” are often given by fishermen, always attract the attention of visitors to the seaside, who fiad them cast upon the beaches; and we can well echo the pious exclamation of the old historian of Martha’s Vineyard, “the Author of nature makes a wonderful and copious provision for the propagation of this worm”. As shown in the figure, the eggs are discharged in a series of disk-shaped, subcireular, or reniform, yellowish capsules, parchment-like in texture, united by one edge to a stout stem of the same kind of material, often a foot and a half or two feet in length. ‘The largest capsules, about an inch in diameter, are in the middle, the size 23 THE FISHERIES OF THE UNITED STATES... decreasing toward each end. On the outer border is a small circular or oval spot, of thinner material, which the young ones break through when they are ready to leave the capsules, each of which, when perfect, contains twenty to thirty or more eggs or young shells, according to the season.” Vervill adds interesting particulars as follows: Dr. Elliott Coues, who has observed Fulgur carica forming its cases at Fort Macon, North Carolina, states that the females bury themselves a few inches below the surface of the sand on the flats that are uncovered at low-water, and remain stationary during the process. The string of capsules is gradually thrust upward as fast as formed, and finally protrudes from the surface of the sand, and, when completed, lies exposed on its surface. The string begins as a simple shred, two or three inches long, without well-formed cases; the first cases are small and imperfect in shape, but they rapidly increase in size and soon become perfect, the largest being in the middle; the series ends more abruptly than it begun, with a few smaller and less perfect capsules. The number of capsules varies considerably, but there are usually seventy-five to one hundred or more, At Fort Macon Dr. Cones observed this species spawning in May, but at New Haven they spawn as early as March and April. It is probable that the period of spawning extends over several months. Mr. Sanderson Smith thinks that they also spawn in autumn on Long Island. It is not known how long a time each female requires for the formation of her string ef capsules. There are two forms of these capsules, about equally abundant in this region. In one the sides of the capsules are nearly smooth, but the edge is thick or truncate along most of the circumference, and crossed by numerous sharp transverse ridges or partitions, dividing it into facets. Dr, Coues states that these belong to Fulgur carica, An examination of the young shells, ready to leave the capsules, confirms this. The other kind has larger and thinner capsules, with a thin, sharp outer edge, while the sides have radiating ridges or raised lines. Sometimes the sides are unlike, one being smooth and more or less concave, the other convex and crossed by ten or twelve radiating, elevated ridges, extending to the edge. This kind was attributed to Mulgur carica by Dr. G. H. Perkins, and formerly by Mr. Sanderson Smith, but a more careful examination of the young shells, within the capsules, shows that they belong to Sycotypus canaliculata. Eggs so exposed are subject to numberless accidents, being drifted ashore, ground to pieces by storms, and no doubt eaten by bottom-feeding fishes, so that only a few eggs out of the hundreds in each “necklace” are ever born, or, accomplishing that, are able to survive the perils of unprotected youth and grow to adult age and strength. Having once done so, however, this mollusk probably lives to a very great age. An examination of the plate, or, better, of a specimen, will show that in both species the muscular part is large and strong and the mouth powerful. The food of the conch being mainly the flesh of other mollusks, its method of killing them is one of brute strength, since it is unprovided with the silicious, file-like tongue, by means of which the small “drills” set at naught the shelly armor of their victims. The conch is a greater savage than this. Seizing upon the unfortunate oyster, unable to ran away, he envelops his shell in the concave under-surface of his foot, and, by just such a muscular action as you would employ in grasping an object in the palm of your fist, crushes the shell into fragments and feasts at leisure on the flesh thus exposed. Where oysters or other prey are abundant, this operation is quickly repeated and vastly destructive. One planter in the upper part of Buzzard’s bay, where this pest is very troublesome, told me that one winkle was capable of killing a bushel of oysters in a single hour. They do not confine ion es to oysters altogether, of course; any mallets or other marine animal, sluggish and weak enough to be caught and broken up, sutfering from their predacity. I was told in New Jersey, by an intelligent man, that the conch would even draw the razor-shell out of his burrow and devour it. If this be true, no doubt the soft clam also falls a victim to the same marauder. The quahaug is generally safe in his massive shells. The oyster-beds most subject to attack and harm by the winkles and conchs, are those planted in water whieh is quite salt, as is the practice in New England and Long Island sound. The beds of the Great South bay, Staten Island, and the southern Jersey coast, are well protected by the outer beaches from the sea, and to these barriers owe their immunity from the Fulgur, while the Sycotypus, though present inside the beaches, seems to do small damage. Oystermen will tell you, also, that beds which are disturbed from time to time by the planter, will suffer more harm than neglected beds, especially in summer. Of course, the report is to be expected, that where planting has gone on for many years, there these predatory mollusks have visibly increased in numbers. In regard to ridding our beds of this pest, I can only advise, as heretofore, that every effort be made to— destroy every specimen taken and every “necklace” of eggs which can be got hold of. The trawl, tangles, ete., recommended for the suppression of starfishes, would take up these eggs at the same time, and thus increase their efliciency. Persistent fighting is the only resource against this enemy. Some points of minor interest may be mentioned before leaving this subject. Both of these shells were used by the Indians of the coast ceremonially, and as material for the making of white wampum, their money of inferior value, which consisted of bead-shaped sections of the central column of the shell. From them, also, were fashioned sundry articles of service and ornament, such as trowels, spoons, and dippers; they are sometimes even yet called “ladle shells”. The Indians ate the animals, too, when hard pressed for food, and have been followed in this practice by the whites, to some extent. De Voe says they used sometimes to be sent into Catherine market, New York, from Long Island, and found sale; “but,” he adds, “they are not generally relished, being somewhat strong flavored. They are mostly used by the poor who live near the coast.” Several foreign mollusks, not greatly different, are eaten—generally being boiled—and perhaps proper cooking would make these conchs more palatable than they have hitherto proved. THE DRUM.—Perhaps as destructive an agent as the conchs and winkles, is the fish known as the drumfish,’ (Pogonias cromis, Linn.); for, although this plague is not steadily present, when it does occur the devastation is enormous. “Let us make a visit,” says that brightest of American writers on animals and out-of-door matters, THE OYSTER-INDUSTRY. 230 “to one of these orderly communities in Oysterdom known as a ‘planting-ground’. We are seated in a boat, and, gliding through the phosphorescent sheen, soon near the oyster-bed. It is a moonlight night, about the close of summer. Hark! what singular sound is that? Boom! boom! boom! Almost sepulchral, and, strange to say, it comes up from beneath the waters. One would think they were Nereids’ groans. The oystermen, whose capital lies invested there, hear it with sad forebodings of loss, which they cannot well sustain. It is one of a school of visitors who come with marauding purpose. The fishermen call it the big drum. This drumfish is known among naturalists by the name Pogonias chromis. The acknowledged beat of this scamp is the Gulf Stream, from Cape Cod to Florida; and a terrible fellow is this Pogonias, for he is recorded as having attained the great weight of eighty pounds. One of twenty-five pounds would be but an ordinary affair. Their mouths are furnished with pavements of hard teeth, a little rounding on the top, and set together exactly as are the cobble-stones of the old city highways. The function of these dental pavements is to crunch the young oysters, which, after being crushed, are thus swallowed, shells and all.” ; The great schools in which these fish go are illustrated by the following records: Ou Monday last John Earle and sons caught, with a seine, at one draught, in Bristol ferry, 719 drumfish, weighing upward of 50 pounds each. Niles’ Weekly Register, July, 1833, also says: “Some days ago a hal was made in Great Egg Harbor bay, near Bearsley’s point, cape May, at which 218 drumfish were caught, their entire weight being from 8,000 to 9,000 pounds. This is said to be the largest haul of that description of fish ever made in that bay.” Another still larger, noticed as a great haul of drumfish: ‘‘On Wednesday, June 5, 1804,” says the postmaster of Oyster Ponds, Long Island, ‘‘one seine drew on shore at this place at a singlé haul 12,250 fish, the average weight of which was found to be 33 pounds, making in the aggregate 202 tons, 250 pounds. This undoubtedly is the greatest haul of this kind ever known inthis country. A hundred witnesses are ready to attest the truth of the above statement. They are used for manure.” Knowing the carnivorous propensity of the fish, one can easily imagine how an inroad of such a host must affect an oyster-ground. They do not seem to make any trouble, however, north of New York city, and rarely along the south side of Long Island. At Staten Islandand Keyport they come in every few years and devastate thousands of dollars’ worth of property. Such a memorable visitation happened about 1859, in July. The following summer the planters in Prince’s bay, fearing a repetition of the onslaught, anchored shingles and pieces of waste tin on their beds, scattering them at short intervals, in the hope that their dancing, glittering surfaces might act as ‘““scare-crows” to frighten the fish away. Whether as an effect of this, or because of a general absence, no more drums appeared. In New York bay, off Caven point, where the old “ Black Tom reef” is now converted into an is!and, one planter of Keyport lost his whole summer’s work—material and labor—in a single September week, through an attack by drums. A City Island planter reported to me a loss of $10,000 in one season a few years ago; but the East river is about the northern limit of the drums, at least as a nuisance to oyster-culture, so far as I can learn. The vexation of it is, too, that the drum does not seem to eat half of what he destroys ; but, on the contrary, a great school of them will go over a bed, wantonly crushing hundreds of oysters and dropping them untasted, but in fragments, on the bottom. In return, the drum is himself an edible fish, but of rather poor quality, and only seen in market between July and October. There is a tradition that there were only ten species of fish known to the Dutch when they discovered America. When they caught the shad they named it e//t (eleventh); the bass twalft (twelfth); and the drum, dertienen (thirteenth). Our name, however, owes its origin to the strange, hollow, roaring noise the fish makes in the water, like the roll of a mufiled drum. When drums are absent, various other carnivorous fishes prey upon oysters, such as the tautog, sheepshead, toad-fish, members of the cod family (if any of them ever get near a bed, which is rarely at present), and the skates or rays. Of all these the sting-ray or “stingaree” of the fishermen (including several sorts of Dybastes) is the chief. He is always present and steadily at work along the whole coast. Lying flat on the bottom, he works his triangular flippers until he has washed away the sand from about the oyster he wishes to seize, if it is at all concealed, and then crushes it between his powerful jaws. Even clams do not escape his sagacity in capture and strength of mastication, but are devoured in great numbers. A dredge can hardly be hauled from New Jersey to Cape Cod, without bringing one or more of these enemies of the hard-working oysterman. MINOR ENEMIES.—Beside these foes, many minor “vermin” must be contended with. The oyster-catcher, and other birds, steal not a few at low tide. Barnacles, annelids, and masses of hydroid-growth sometimes form about the shells, and intercept the nutriment of the mollusk, until he is nearly cr quite starved; this is particularly true in southern waters. At Staten Island the planters are always apprehensive of trouble from the colonization of mussels on their oyster-beds. The mussels having established themselves grow rapidly, knit the oysters together by their tough threads, making culling very difficult, and take much of the food which otherwise would help fatten the more valuable shellfish. In the Delaware bay the spawn of squids, in the shape of clusters of egg-cases, appropriately called “sea-grapes ”, often grows on the oysters so thickly, during the inaction of summer, that when the fall winds come, or the beds are disturbed by a dredge, great quantities of oysters rise to the surface, buoyed _up by the light parasitic “grapes”, and are floated away. This is a very curious danger. Lastly, ceitain crabs are to be feared—chiefly the Callinectes hastatus, our common “soft crab”, and the Cancer irroratus. Probably the latter is the more hurtful of the two. I have heard more complaint on this score at the western end of the Great South 236 THE FISHERIES OF THE UNITED STATES. bay, Long Island, than anywhere else. Mr. Edward Udall told me that the crab was the greatest of all enemies to oysters on the Oak Island beds. They eat the small oysters, up to the size of a quarter dollar, chewing them all to bits. These are on the artificial beds, for they do not seem to trouble the natural growth. But attracted by broken oysters, when the planter is working, they come in crowds to that point. Mr. Udall stated that once he put down 500 bushels of seed brought from Brookhaven, and that it was utterly destroyed by these crabs within a week, and while he was still planting. He could see the crabs, and they numbered one to every fifty oysters. It is well known that in Europe the crabs are very destructive to planted beds, and it is quite possible that many mysterious losses may be charged to these rapacious and insidious robbers. By the way, Aldrovandus, and other 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.” : THE OYSTER-CRABS.—In respect to the little crab, which becomes red in the cooked oyster, but is greenish: brown in life, opinion is divided as to whether its presence is of any harm to the oyster whose shells give it shelter; but the probability is that it is not. Its scientific name is Pinnotheres ostrewm, and its history briefly as follows, so far as concerns the present inquiry : The little red oyster-crab seems to be a parasite. He slips in and out of the oyster almost at pleasure, and enjoys a portion of all the good things the oyster feeds upon. We are told that a careful examination shows that they are almost invariably females and full of eggs. The males are so exceedingly rare that it is a matter of astonishment how the propagation of the species is effected and maintained. These crabs were regarded as luxuries by George Washington. THE OYSTER-CRAB AS MESSMALTE AND PURVEYOR.—It is many years, writes Mr. John A. Ryder, since Mr. Say nained the little oyster-crab of our coasts Pinnotheres ostreum, and its habits in relation to the oyster seem to have excited but little interest, especially in foreign waters. Professor Verrill, in his report to the United States Fish Commission, observes that it is the female which lives in the oyster, and that the male, which is smaller and quite unlike the female, is rarely if ever seen to occur, but that it has been seen by him swimming at the surface of the water in the middle of Vineyard Sound. His statement that it oceurs wherever oysters occur, I cannot agree with, since out of many hundreds of St. Jerome oysters which I saw opened, I never saw a specimen of Pinnotheres ; they may occur, but rarely. This little crab has quite a number of allies which inhabit various living mollusks, holothurians, ete., of which admirable accounts are given by Van Beneden, in ‘his work on animal parasites and messmates. There can be no doubt that the oyster-crab is a true messmate, and it is highly probable that the presence of these animals in the oyster is rather to be regarded as advantageous than otherwise. The animal lives in the gill cavity of the oyster, and, as will be seen from the following observations, may be the means of indirectly supplying its host with a part of its food. During a reconnoitering trip down the Chesapeake on the yacht Lookout, in the first week of July last, in dredging, some oysters were hauled up which contained Pinnotheres. In the case which I am about to describe, the included crab was a female, with the curiously expanded abdomen folded forward under the thorax and partially covering a huge mass of brownish eggs. Upon examining these eggs, what was my astonishment to find that they afforded attachment to a great number of compound colonies of the singular bell animaleule, Zodthamnium arbusculum. Upon further examination, it was found that the legs and back of the animal also afforded points of attachment for similar colonies, and that here and there, where some of the individuals of’ a colony of Zovthamnium had been separated from their stalks, numerous minute rod-like vibriones had affixed themselves by one end. In this way it happens that there is a quadruple commensalism established, since we have the vibriones fixed and probably nourished from the stalks of the Zodthamnium, while the latter is benefited by the stream of water drawn in by the cilia of the oyster, and the last feeds itself and its protégé, the crab, from the same food-bearing current. Possibly the crab inside the shell catches and swallows food which, in its entire state, could not be taken by the oyster, but in any event the small crumbs which would fall from the mouth and claws of the crab would be carried to the mouth of the oyster, so that nothing is wasted. We must consider the crab, with its forest of bell animalcules, in still another light. Since the animaleules are well fed in their strange position, it is but natural to suppose that they would propagate rapidly. They multiply in two ways, viz, by dividing both lengthwise and crosswise, one-half of the product being set free, and known swarmers. These cast-off germs of the animalcule colonies are no doubt hurried alung in the vortex created by the cilia of the gills and palps, carried to the mouth and swallowed as part of the daily allowance of the food of the oyster. We are accordingly obliged to look upon the Pinnotheres in this case as a veritable nursery, upon whose body animalcules are continually propagated and set free as part of the food-supply of the oyster, acting as host to the crab. I do not suppose, however, that such a condition will always be found to obtain, and it must also be remembered that myriads of Zodthamniun- colonies were dredged up on algw from the bottom in the immediate vicinity. Such an abundance of germs in the water would favor their being readily transplanted or fixed to the body of the oyster-crab.* * Report of T. B, Ferguson, a fish commissioner of Maryland, for 1881, pp. 24, 25 THE OYSTER-INDUSTRY. 237 62. FATALITIES TO WHICH OYSTERS ARE SUBJECT. SEDIMENT.—In addition to the active, animate enemies of the oyster, the beds suffer seriously, at certain times, from the elements, as has been pointed out frequently in the preceding pages. Great storms will sweep the oysters all off the beds, bury them under shifting sand or mud, or heap upon them the drifting wrack torn from the shores. Beds which lie at the mouths of rivers are liable to be injured by floods also, which keep the water wholly fresh, or bring down enormous quantities of silt and floating matter, which settles on the beds and smothers the oysters. A few years ago a large tract of peat was drained at Grangemouth, Scotland. The loose mud and moss was carried down the drains upon an oyster-bed in the estuary; the consequence was that the oysters were covered over with mud, and entirely destroyed. Nothing is so fatal to oysters as a mud storm, except it be a sand storm. The mud and the sand accumulate in the oyster’s delicate breathing organs, and eunocate him. Mr. John A. Ryder, already quoted in the previous paragraphs, writes as follows about mud, as injurious to oysters: “The origin of the black ooze at the bottom can be traced directly to the sediment held in suspension in the water, which slowly ebbs and flows in and out of the inclosure, carrying with it in its going and coming a great deal of light organic and inorganic débris, the former part of which is mainly derived from the comminuted fragments of plants growing in the creek. This seemed to be the true history indicated by what was noticed in studying the box-collector. The same opinion is held as to the origin of this mud by both Coste and Fraiche in their works on oyster-culture. “There is probably no worse enemy of the oyster-culturist than this very mud or sediment. It accumulates on the bottom of the oyster-grounds, where, in course of time, it may become deep enough to cause serious trouble. Especially is this true of ponds from which the sea ebbs, and to which it flows through a narrow channel. The falling leaves from neighboring trees in autumn also contribute to this SETA as well as heavy rains which wash deleterious materials into it. “Adult oysters which are immersed in part in this mud struggle hard to shut it out from their shells. If one will notice the inside of the shells of oysters which have grown in a muddy bottom, it will often be seen that there are blister-like cavities around the edges of the valves filled with mud, or a black material of a similar character. There is not the slightest doubt in my mind, that in these cases the animal, in order to keep out the intruding mud’ has had recourse to the only available means at its command. A great many of the oysters in the pond are affected in this manner, but it is extremely uncommon to find shells of this kind in opening oysters coming from a hard bottom. It is easy to understand that such efiorts at keeping out the mud from the shell will not only waste the life-forces of the animal, but also tend to greatly interfere with its growth. The importance, therefore, of artificial preparation is apparent, where it is desirable to establish ponds for the successful culture of this mullusk. “Only in one case have I observed that the mud tended to impair the flavor and color of the oyster. In this instance the animal was thoroughly saturated with the black ooze, the very tissues seeming to be impregnated with the color, the stomach and intestine loaded to engorgement with the mud, the animal manifesting every sign of being in a decidedly sickened condition. The cause of this was probably that the shell, with its tenant, had sunken too deeply into the mud when the ingestion of the black ooze commenced, giving rise to the remarkable changes which I have recorded. No doubt had this condition of things for any length of time, the animal would have been smothered by the mud.” * MuD AND THE YOUNG FRY.—“The accumulation of the slightest quantity of sediment around a young oyster would tend to impede its respiration, and in that way destroy it, yet in the natural beds there are so few naturally clean places which remain so, that it is really surprising that so many young oysters pass safely through the critical periods of their lives without succumbing to the smothering effects of mud and sediment. When itis borne in mind, that at the time the infant oyster settles down and fixes itself once and for all time to one place, from which it has no power to move itself, it measures at the utmost one-eightieth of an inch, it will not be hard to understand how easily the little creature can be smothered, even by a very small pinch of dirt. The animal, small as it is, must already begin to breathe just in the same way asits parents did before it. Like them its gills soon grow as little filaments covered with cilia, which cause a tiny current of water to pass in and out of the shell. The reader’s imagination may be here allowed to estimate the feeble strength of that little current, which is of such vital importance to the tiny oyster, and the ease with which it may be stopped by a very slight accumulation of dirt. Mébius estimates that each oyster which is born has ;434-so0 Of a chance to survive and reach adult age. So numerous and effective are the adverse conditions which surround the millions of eggs matured by a single female, that only the most trifling fraction ever develop, as illustrated by the above circulation. The egg of the oyster being exceedingly small and heavier than water, immediately falls to the bottom upon being set free by the parent. Should the bottom be oozy or composed of sediment, its chances of development are meager indeed. Irrecoverably buried, the eggs do not, in all probability, have the chance to begin to develop at all. The chances of impregnation are also reduced, because the male and *John A. Ryder in report of T. B. Ferguson, a fish commissioner of Maryland, for 1851, pp. 48, 49. 238 THE FISHERIES OF THE UNITED STATES. female oysters empty their generative products directly into the surrounding water, whereby the likelihood of the eggs meeting with the male cells becomes diminished. What with falling into the mud and what with a lessened chance of becoming impregnated, it is not unlikely that Mobius’ estimate is very nearly correct; but the American oyster, whose yield of eggs is much greater, not only on account of its larger size, but also because the eggs are smaller than those of the European, has probably still fewer chances of survival.* The vigorous growth of small organisms on surfaces fitted for the attachment of young oysters also tends to cause sediment to gather in such places in the interstices of the little organic forest, where the eggs of the oyster no doubt often become entombed or smothered by the crowded growth surrounding them.” t INTERFERENCE OF OTHER ANIMAL LIFE.—‘ We have called attention,” continues Mr. Ryder, “to the probable interference of small organic growths to the fixation of the young fry; in practice it is found that the larger organic growths which establish themselves on the collectors also become injurious. The two most conspicuous types are the sessile ascidians or tunicates and the barnacles. I have frequently found fully one half of the surface of a slate covered with a dense colony of ascidians ; in this condition a great percentage of available surface is lost which ought to serve for the attachment of spat. The surfaces so occupied would also be comparatively clean were it not for these organisms, which actually become a serious annoyance. They, like the oyster, affix themselves to the slates while still in the free swimming larval stage, since the surfaces designed for the oyster are equally well adapted to them. The barnacles, which also affix themselves in great numbers, become a nuisance for the same reason. ‘The larval barnacle isan extremely active little creature, and dashes about in the water with great rapidity. As soon as it has completed this stage of its growth, it betakes itself to some object, to the surface of which it attaches itself by the head end, when a singular change takes place, at the end of which it is found that it has begun the construction of the curious conical shell which it inhabits. They grow very rapidly, so that in a couple of months the shell will already measure over half an inch in diameter. In this way farther inroads are made upon the room which should be taken up by oysters. “Of course the larger types are not alone in taking up space, since infusoria, bryozoa, polyps, ete., are also culpable, as well as algze, such as diatoms and the higher forms. The only remedy for this accumulation of animal growths on the surfaces of the slates and other collecting apparatus, will be to have the frames which hold the slate in position so arranged that each tile, shingle, or slate can be removed, in order that it may be readily overhauled and these organisms removed from the surfaces which it is desired shall remain clean This work would have to be done at intervals of every two or three weeks, and should be conducted with great care, so as not to remove the oysters which have affixed themselves along with the other things which it is the intention todestroy. The removal of the smaller forms from the surfaces of the slate would be more difficult, and attended with danger to the fry already attached. With this object in view, I would suggest the use of wooden racks or frames lying horizontally, which would receive the slates into deep notches made with a saw, so as to hold them vertically or edgewise, rendering their remoyal, for the purposes of cleansing, and their replacement, an easy matter. Other devices would no doubt answer the same purpose, and be more convenient even than the last. If posts were securely fixed in the bottom eight or ten feet apart, so as to project a foot or so above the water at the highest tide, a single board six inches wide, nailed against the tops of the posts edgewise, and extending from one to the other, would provide a simple arrangement from which to hang the slates singly, by means of galvanized wire fastened or hooked to nails partly driven inte the board. By the help of this plan one man with a boat could overhaul many hundreds of slates ina single day, and effectually care for them for a whole season. This last contrivance would not answer well, perhaps, where there was a swift current, but would be a most admirable arrangement in still ponds or “claires”. In such places the whole area might be provided with posts grouped or placed in rows, so that when the attendant was at work he could pass in order from one row to the other in a narrow boat, or two attendants in one boat could take care of two rows, the ones on either hand, at the same time.” FooD OF THE OYSTER.—“‘ The food of this mollusk, as is well known, consists entirely of microscopic beings and fragments of organic matter, which are carried by currents from the palps and gills, which have been already described, to the large mouth of the animal at the hinge-end of the shell. The inside of the gullet and stomach, like some other parts of the body, are covered with cilia, so that food once fairly in the mouth will be carried by their action down to the cavity of the stomach, where it is carried into the folds and deep pouches in its walls, and even into the openings of the bile ducts, to undergo digestion or solution, so as to be fitted in its passage through the intestine, to be taken into the circulation, and finally disposed of in building up the structures of the body. “Along with the food which is taken, a very large amount of indigestible dirt, or inorganic matter, is carried in, which in a great measure fills up the intestine, together with the refuse or waste from the body. This material, when examined, reveals the fact that the oyster subsists largely on diatoms, a low type of moving plants which swim about in the water, incased in minute sandstone cases, or boxes, of the most delicate beauty of workmanship, * According to estimates which I have made, based on the figures of the eggs of Ostrea edulis, given by M. Davaine, they are 7}; of an inch in diameter. Estimates based on the figures of Lacaze Duthiers give z45 of an inch, while Mébius estimates the size of the young try at +}; of an inch. ; tOp. cit., pp. 49-50. tOp. cit., pp. 50, 51, 52. THE OYSTER-INDUSTRY. 239 These, when found in the intestine, have usually had their living contents dissolved out by the action of the digestive juices of the stomach. I have found in our own species of oyster, the shells of three different genera of diatoms, viz, Campylodiscus, Coscinodiscus, and Navicula. The first is a singularly bent form; the second is discoidal; and the last boat-shaped, and all are beautifully marked. Of these three types, I saw a number of species, especially of the latter, but as I was not an authority upon the systematic history of any of them, I had to neglect the determination of the species. No doubt many more forms are taken as food by the oyster, since I saw other forms in which the living matter inside the silicious cases was brown, the same as in most of the preceding forms, which [ have indicated. Some of these brown forms were so plentiful as to color a considerable surface whereon they grew of the same tint as themselves. But in no instance have I found any indications of the animal of the oyster becoming colored by feeding on these diatoms, as it is said the European oyster does when feeding on Navicula ostrearia, which is green, imparting its own green color to the fluids, and thus to the tissues of such oysters as may be so situated as to readily feed upon it. A recent writer* gives an account of some experiments made by M. Puysegur, of sissable in artificially producing this green color, from which I quote: “In each plate [filled with water charged with green diatoms], according to its size, we put three to six perfectly white oysters which had never been in the ‘clears’, and the shells of which had been previously washed and brushed clean. In similar plates, like numbers of the same oysters were laid in ordinary sea-water. Twenty-six hours after the commencement of the experiment the oysters in the water charged with diatoms had all acquired a marked greenish hue; the other oysters remained unaltered. * * * After the oyster had turned green it was laid in ordinary sea-water for a few days, when the greenness disappeared altogether. It reappeared when the oyster was replaced in fresh water containing Navicula ostrearia.” M. Decaisne, of the Jardin des Plantes, Paris, repeated the experiments with the same results. “ Beside the diatoms, the spores of algz, the larve or young of many animals, such as sponges, bryozoa, hydroids, worms, mollusks, many of which are small enough to be taken in by the oyster, though their bodies in most cases being soft and without a skeleton, it is impossible to find any traces, either in the stomach or intestine, of their remains, to indicate that they have formed a part of the bill of fare of the animal. What, however, demonstrates that such small larval organisms do help to feed the oyster, is the fact that at the heads of the small inlets or creeks along the Chesapeake, where the water is bet little affected by the tides and is somewhat brackish and inclined to be stagnant, there always appears to be a relatively greater development of a somewhat characteristic surface or shallow water fauna of minute forms. “In St. Jerome creek the microscopic fauna of its headwaters is entirely different from that of the body of the creek; two minute forms inhabit in vast numbers the former, while I sought in vain for them in the more open and changeable waters of the main body of the inlet, which are brought into active movement twice a day by the action of the tides. One of these forms, an infusorian,+ one-twenty-fifth of an inch in length, was found covering every available surface of attachment, so that countless multitudes of the naked young would be swimming about in the water previous to building the curious spiral tubes which they inhabit—admirably fitted in this state as food for the oyster. Beside the type referred to, there were a number of other infusorians, which in their so-called swarming stages of development, the young would become available as oyster-food. Of such types I noticed four different species, either belonging or very nearly related to the genus Cothurnia; all of the forms built tubes for themselves. I also noticed several forms of bell animalcules, the swarmers of which would become avyailabie as food for the oysters lying in the vicinity. “The diatoms did not seem to me to be more abundant in the headwaters than in the open creek. There was one moss animal of remarkable character, which I found in the headwaters only. This creature was very abundant, and no doubt its embryos, like those of the infusoria referred to, were available as food. “Of free-swimming infusorians, I noticed a number of genera; one especially attracted my attention from its snake-like appearance and singularly rapid contortions; it had a tuft of vibrating hairs or cilia at the head end in close relation with the mouth. Another more abundant type was the curious genus Huplotes, with a thick shell inclosing the soft protoplasm of the body; the latter was of an oval form, flat beneath and rounded on the back, so that the resemblance, when the large foot like cilia were in motion, carrying the animal about, was strikingly like a very minute tortoise, the resemblance being heightened when the animal was viewed from the side. “NRod-like alge, of minute size, the larvea of crustacie, especially the vast numbers of extremely small larval copepoda, must enter as a perceptible factor into the food-supply of the oyster. “There is no doubt but that the comparatively quiescent condition of the headwaters of these inlets and creeks, available as oyster-planting grounds, are more favorable to the propagation of minute life than the open bay or creeks, where the temperature is lower and less constant. Practically, this is found to be true, for oystermen seein to be generally agreed that oysters “fatten” more rapidly, that is, feed more liberally in the headwaters—blind extremities of the creeks—than elsewhere. This notion of the oystermen is in agreement with my own observations during the past year. Oystermen also assert that oysters ‘‘fatten” more rapidly in shallow waters than in deep ones, a point upon which I made but few observations; but such as I did make tended to confirm such an opinion. *The Green Color of Oysters, H. M. C. In Nature, vol. xxii, pp. 549-50, 1880. Translated from the Revue Maritime et Coloniale, February, 1680. tOn the occurrence of Freia producta (Wright), in the Chesapeake bay.—American Naturalist, 1880, pp. 810, 811. 240° THE FISHERIES OF THE UNITED STATES. In illustration, I may contrast the condition of the oysters in the pond leased by the commission at St. Jerome and those dredged off Point Lookout, in twenty or thirty feet of water, on the 3d day of October, 1880. The oysters in the pond, by the middle or end of September, were in good condition as to flesh, and marketable, while those from deeper water off Point Lookout, and but little later in the season, were still extremely poor, thin and watery, and utterly unfit for market. These differences in condition, it seems to me, are to be attributed in a great measure to differences of temperature and the abundance of food, but mainly to the latter.* GRoUND-1CE.—North of Long Island an enemy is found, which does not exist in the milder south, in the shape of “‘ ground-ice” or “anchor-frost”. It is little understood, though often experienced, and I was able to collect only vague data in regard to it. It appears that in hard winters the bottom of the bays freezes solid in great patches, even at a depth of 15 or 20 feet. The mud freezes so hard that rakes cannot be pressed into it; andif a stronger implement, like a ship’s anchor, is able to penetrate it, the crust comes up in great chunks. These frozen patches are sometimes 40 feet square and continue unthawed for long periods. When such “anchor-frost” takes place at an oyster-bed, of course the mollusks are frozen solidly into the mass, and few of them ever survive the treatment. To the Cape Cod planters this is a serious obstacle to success. * Op. cit., pp. 19-23. III. GLOSSARY OF TERMS. W. AN OYSTERMAN’S DICTIONARY. 63. PHRASES AND WORDS DESCRIPTIVE OF MOLLUSKS AND OTHER INVERTEBRATES OF THE ATLANTIC COAST. ABALONE.—Sea ear-shells, Haliotis, of various species, chiefly H. Cracherodii. (Southern California.) ABALONE-MEAT.—The dried animal of Haliotis. Used as food, and exported in large quantities, annually, in a dried condition. (California.) ABALONE-SHELLS.— The shells of Haliotis, prepared for commerce. Extensively used in the manufacture of buttons and other articles, and for ornamental purposes. (California.) AMBULANCE.—A box with bottom and top of wire netting, in which the “ collectors”, covered with young oysters, are placed to protect them from their enemies, while the water is freely admitted. (France.) ARK.—A house on a scow or other floating hulk, used as a work- and store-house in winter. (Connecticut.) See Scow. Banx.—The oyster colony or locality where they grow. (South.) See Bed, Rock, Bar, ete. BARNACLE.—The slipper-limpet, Crepidula sp.; also, true barnacles. (Cape May, New Jersey.) At Cape May limpets are called “barnacles”, and confounded by many with the true barnacles. They grow very fast, apparently, for I have seen them fully half-size on the new year’s growth (or “bill”) of an oyster, showing that they attained all that size in a single season. When limpets grow on oysters the planter knows the oysters are doing well, and he expects them to prove fat and highly profitable. The explanation, I suppose, is that the attachment of limpets shows the oysters to be free from slime—clean and healthy—or the limpet spawn would not be able to attach itself. BASKET-FISH.—Astrophyton Agassizti, a kind of many-armed starfish. BaTEAU.—A small, flat-bottomed boat, like a sharpie, used for moving about the oyster-beds, for clamming, and other light work. (Staten Island.) BEACH LA MAR.—The Beche le Mer, or Holothurian. (Florida reefs.) See Rathbun’s Report on Commercial Radiates. BEARD.—I. The finely-fringed margin of the oyster’s mouth, which shows near the edges of the shells. BrARD.—1I. The protruding byssus of mussels. Brp.—The bank, reef, or deposit of oysters in the water, either growing naturally or artificially, original or trans- planted. BreppineG.—Transplanting oysters of any size to beds prepared for them, from which they are to be removed before the frosts of the ensuing winter. See atten. BEDDING-DOWN.—See Bedding. Brncu.—The broad, sloping platform which runs around the walls of an opening-house, where the oysters are piled for opening. Sometimes a movable table, ete., for opening oysters. BENCH-OYSTERS.—Those sold at a restaurant or lunch-counter, to be opened for “ plate” or “half-shell” custom. See Lancy, Extra. BLAcK MussEL.—Mytilus borealis, a variety of Mytilus edulis. BLIsTER.—A young oyster, not larger than a quarter dollar. See Spawn, Spat. (Barnegat to Cape May.) 16—o 241 242 THE FISHERIES OF THE UNITED STATES. Biock.—The lignum vite conical block, having an iron chisel fixed in its top, upon which oysters are broken before being opened. (New York,) BiLoop CLAM aND BLoopy CLAM.—The same as Blood Quahaug. BLoop QUAHAUG.—The young and small specimens of various species of Arcade, supposed to be choicest food of the starfishes. (Narraganset bay.) See Hair Clam. BLuE Pornts.—Oysters originally found off Blue Point, eastern end of Great South bay, Long Island, but now applied to all oysters from any part of the south shore of Long Island, whether native or transplanted, eastward of Babylon. BOARD-BANK.—A platform set in the bank, or otherwise arranged so as to be alternately covered by tide and flooded with fresh water, for freshening oysters before selling. (Cape May.) See Platform. Boat.—The little mollusk, Crepidula fornicata. (New Haven.) See Deckhead. BorEr.—I. The Urosalpine cinerea. (New England.) See Drill, Snail-bore, ete. Borer.—lI. A sponge, Cliona sulphurea, which eats into oyster-shells. Box.—A measure for oysters, equal to one-fourth of a bar ae an oblong, shallow box, with cleates as handles nailed on the ends. (Mobile to Texas.) Box-oystER.—An oyster from seven to ten years old, of round, handsome shape, not less than 3 inches wide and 5 inches long. (Connecticut and New York.) See Hrtra. The name is,due to the fact that many years ago it was customary to ship oysters of this grade to New York in boxes instead of the ordinary barrel. Box-STEwW.—A stew made of box-oysters. (New York.) BREAKING.—In Baltimore, the chipping of the shell preparatory to opening an oyster. See Cracking. Brocan.—A kind of large boat used by the oystermen of the CheSapeake. BRUISER.—A short paddle used for beating sponges in process of cleaning. (Florida.) Bucket.—A wooden, firkin-shaped, covered receptacle for shifting oysters; of variable capacity. BuGEYE.—A flat-bottomed, center-board schooner of three to fifteen tons, built of heavy timbers, without a frame. A bugeye is always decked over and has a cabin aft. (Chesapeake.) BULL-NosE.—An old, overgrown, heavy quahaug, unfit for food. (Cape May.) BUNCH OystERS.—Those growing in clusters. (South.) See Raccoon Oysters. Buoy.—To buoy or buoy-off a certain piece of water area, means, in Rhode Island, to seclude it from being fished as long as the authorities deem proper. The area so secluded is indicated by a limit-line of buoys. BUSHEL-BARREL.—A barrel cut in two, holding about 14 bushels of oysters, and used as a measure. BUSHEL-OYSTERS.—See Cullenteens. BuTTER-FIsH.—The long neck clam, Mya arenaria. (Virginia.) See Soft Clam, Maninose, ete. CALICO CLAM.—See Sun Clam. (Florida.) CapEs.—Oysters from Cape Cod and Buzzard’s bay. Also, (particularly in the case of the latter) known as “ Natives”. (Boston.) Carrier.—lI. A man who makes his living by unloading the boats and carrying oysters into the warehouse scows. (New York and New Orleans.) CarrieR.—II. An oyster which will endure transportation well. (Trade term.) CHAPLET.—A string of shells or other oyster-spat collectors suspended on wire. (France.) CHEEKS.—Edible parts of the sea-clam, Mactra solidissima. (Cape Cod.) CHORNIE RAKOOSHKA.—WMytilus edulis. (Russian of Alaska.) “‘ Black shells”, literally. CLAIRE.—An excavation, “more or less deep, having a muddy or marly bottom, close to the edges of the sea-board, through which the sea-water passes into them. * * * In these claires they assume that green color [formerly] so much prized by the French ”.—Asplet. CLAM.—A smooth-shelled, bivalved mollusk. This word is popularly of wide application, and is a corruption, apparently, of the word “clamp”, preserved in the name of a huge East Indian species, and which sometimes attains the weight of several hundred pounds, and is used as a font for holy water in many churches, and for domestic purposes. The common “clam” of New England is the Mya arenaria; of New York and New Jersey, the Venus mercenaria. Many kinds are distinguished by wa additional Bede word, prefixed, as beach-clam (Mactra), ete. On the Pacific coast there are many native “clams”, chiefly a species of the Saxidomus. CLAM-ORACKER.—A fish, a species of ray, Rhinoptera quadriloba, which molests the oyster-beds. (Savannah.) CLAM-SCRAPER.—See -Drag-rake. CLAM-TONGS.—* Differs from oyster-tongs only in the width of the head, which averages 34 feet.”—New York, 1855. At the present day, the tongs used for gathering clams. CLINK SHELL.—A name applied to various mollusks of the genus Anomia. OLUCKER.—An oyster injured by chill, or otherwise, so as to sound hollow when its shell is struck. In England this word is spelled Clock; a dealer in London wrote, “The last oysters lost their sea-water, and became clocks and worthless.” CoLLECcToRS.—An arrangement of arched tiles, piles of stone, hurdles, or anything similar, to collect and give lodgment to the spat. (Europe.) THE OYSTER-INDUSTRY. 243 CoLANDER.—A large perforated tin basin, similar to the cooking utensil of the same name, only three or four times as large, in which the oysters are washed. Concu.—Various large, univalved, and spiral mollusks, particularly Pulgur carica. Coon-HEEL.—A long, slim oyster. (Connecticut.) See Razor-blade, Shanghai, Rabbits-ears. Coon OystER.—Small, shapeless, worthless stock, growing in heavy clusters along the salt marshes, or forming great bars. (Southern coast.) At Cape May the word is restricted to young oysters caught on the sedges. Cor.—See Finger stall. (Baltimore.) Count.—I. Method of selling oysters in Philadelphia and New York, by enumeration instead of measurement. Count.—II. In respect to terrapins, one of full size, 7. e., six inches long; two or three small ones will make a “count”. (Savannah.) CouNn?-CLAMS.—Quahaugs large enough to count 800 to the barrel. (Keyport, New Jersey.) CovE-OYSTER.—“ The term cove-oyster has a trade-signification differing from that in which it is understood by the oysterman. The packer, by cove-oysters, simply means steamed oysters packed in hermetically sealed cans. They may be, in fact they are, of any and every size and quality. By ‘cove-oysters’ the oysterman means the single oysters scattered through the bays and creeks and old planting-grounds, occurring too sparsely to be taken by the ordinary methods of tonging. When the water is clear and smooth the oysterman moves slowly over these grounds, and when he ‘sights’ an oyster, which he can readily do in from 4 to 7 feet water, or even more, he picks them up singly with a pair of nippers. These oysters, as might be expected, are large, fat, and of good shape. They class as ‘selects’ and bring ‘top’ prices in the market, from 60 cents to $1 per bushel.”— Colonel M. MeDonald. (Chesapeake bay.) Covine.—The business of picking up ‘“ cove-oysters” (q. v.) with nippers. (Chesapeake.) CRACKER.—One who opens oysters by first breaking the shell with a hammer. CRACKING.—The breaking of the oyster-shell before extracting the oyster. See Breaking. CRACKING-IRON.—A piece of hard iron, $ inch thick, 2 inches long, and 1 inch wide, set upright in the bench upon which the opener rests the oyster, while he breaks the edge of the shell off with his hammer. (Fairhayen.) CrawL.—l. A pen or corral made of upright stakes wattled together, intended to hold sponges while being cleaned ; or turtles awaiting a market. (Florida.) CrAwu.—Il. The track of a sea-turtle to its nest. (Florida.) CuULL-Boy.—A boy who goes in the small boat with tongers to pick over the oysters: (Virginia.) CULL-BOARD.—A heavy board laid athwart the gunwales, or elsewhere, upon which the oysters are broken apart and sorted. CULLENS.—See Oullins. CULLER.—One who picks over oysters, or culls out the worthless and smaller ones; usually a boy. CULLINS.—See Cullings. CULLINGS.—The poorer oysters remaining after the culls have been picked out. CULLING-TOOL.—A straight, stout, blunt, but thin-edged instrument of steel, about 10 inches long, having the heavy butt wound with cord to form a handle, used for knocking and prying apart a cluster of oysters. It is like an exaggerated and very heavy oyster-knife. But various rougher tools, of no particular form, are used for the same purpose. : ee CULLINTEENS.—The smaller grade left after “extra”, “box”, and “cull” oysters have been picked out. (Nor- walk.) Formerly called “bushel oysters”. CuULLS.—Culled-out oysters; the next to the poorest grade; 4 to 5 years old. (New York and Hast river.) CuLrcH.—The shells, gravel, fragments of brick, or any other material placed in the water to catch the spawn of the oyster. See Cutch. CULTIVATE.—To raise oysters artificially from spawn, or from transplanted young. See Plant. CUNNER.—A canoe. (Chesapeake.) CurcH.—An American spelling of cultch. Cur-our.—I. To open oysters. (Providence river.) Cut-out.—II. In respect to scallops, to open them, or remove the edible part from the shells. (Rhode Island.) CuTTER.—One who opens scallops on the boat, as they are dredged, and extracts the edible portion. (New England.) Drac.—l. See Dredge. (Norwalk.) Drac.—lil. To dredge. DRAG-RAKE.—A large, heavy rake, having teeth crowded and much curyed, which is often dragged (principally in search of clams) like a dredge. (New England.) DECK-HEAD.—The Crepidula. (East river.) See Slipper-limpet, boat. DESIGNATION.—The right to plant oysters on a certain piece of ground designated by oyster-commissioners or other authority (Connecticut); also, the plat of ground itself. DEVIL-FISH.—Cuttle-fishes, chiefly octopods. 244 THE FISHERIES OF THE UNITED STATES. DrREDGE.—“ A scoop-net, with a heavy, rectangular iron frame for scraping the sea-bottom. The frame is about three times as long as high, the two longer sides having sharp edges and serving as scrapers. The net is of heavy twine, or of iron chain-work. The rope by which the dredge is manipulated is fastened to the ends of two handles, reaching forward from the ends of the frame.”—Rathbun. Dree.—Corruption of dredge. Diney.—A small, sharp-prowed, flat-bottomed boat, with a miniature center-board, and half-decked; used for running about the grounds in, and back and forth from vessels at anchor. (Southern.) Drir1.—The distance gone over while making a single haul of the dredge or dredges. Dritu.—A small mollusk, the Urosalpinx cinerea. See Borer. Drink.—To give oysters a “drink” is to place them in fresh water, over one or more tides, in order that they may expel the salt-water from their systems and imbibe the fresh water. This results in an inerease of size and plumpness. This, however, only lasts for a few days. At the end of this time the oysters become lean again, for the increase in size is due to no material growth of flesh, but due entirely to the absorption of moisture. The tissues of oysters, when first taken, are saturated with the ocean brine, and when removed to fresh water, or that which is less salt, the external liquid passes inward more rapidly than the more saline and denser elements within can escape; the effect being simply to cause the oyster to swell, with no increase of its virtues. When the water in which the oyster is immersed is too fresh, it loses its flavor. It has been suggested, that by immersing the oysters for some days in concentrated brine, and then removing them to ocean water, the plumpness would be gained without the sacrifice of the saltness which is so agreeable to the epicure. A simple method of ascertaining whether the oysters increase in flesh or not, would be to take 100 or more from a given locality on the sea-coast, and drying them at 220° Fahrenheit and ascertaining their average weight, and then repeating the process for the same number of like oysters after transplanting. DRUDGE.—See Dredge. DRUGGED.—Past tense of drag (q. v-). A Connecticut man told me: ‘I heaved my drudge over and drugged the whole lot.” East Rivers.—Oysters grown between New Haven, Connecticut, and New York. ETALAGE.—A place on shore where oysters are stored for sale. (France.) Eyxr.—I. Of a scallop, the edible adductor muscle. (Long Island.) See Heart. Eye.—IlI. The colored cireular mark or cicatrix in the interior of an oyster-shell, near the hinge, where the adductor muscle was attached. FALL.—A deposit or set of spawn, or infant oysters. Used also asa verb. (South of England.) Fancy OystTErs.—Superior grades kept at retail, to be opened on the counter and eaten raw. In New York these are “‘Saddle-Rocks”, “ Blue Points”, ete. . See Bench. FATTEN.—To place oysters on floats or in fresh water, just before marketing. See Drink. Fa?rrEN.—To bed down for growth; also to plant. Not good usage, because confusing. FEATHER-EDGE.—The new thin growth added to an oyster-shell each season. See Bill. Firsts.—Box-oysters. (New Jersey and New York city.) FisH.—To fatten. (South of England.) FINGER SPONGE.—Applied to various slender, branching forms ; unmarketable. (Florida Keys.) FINGER-STALL.—In Fairhaven, the protection (of rubber or of twilled cotton) worn on the left hand in opening. See Cot. FIvE-FINGER.—A starfish. FLAT.—A flat-bottomed, square-sterned boat used by the oystermen in Prince Edward island. FiLoat.—A platform of planks, upon which oysters are piled and subjected to fresh water, before being taken to market. See Fatten. GaARveEyY.—A small scow, used to plant oysters, and take them up in for market. (Barnegat, New Jersey.) Gaucu.—Offal resulting from culling and opening seallops. (Greenwich bay, Rhode Island.) GINGLES.—Various species of Anomia. (Long Island sound.) See Gold-shells ; Silver-shells. GLOVE SponeE.—One of the poorest grades of Florida commercial sponges, Spongia tubulifera. GOLD-SHELL.—A species of Anomia. GouGE.—The Pinna shell (Gulf of Mexico); also the Vermetus. The reason is, in each case that, lying buried ~ in the sand, when they are stepped on by the bare-feet they make an ugly, gouging wound in the foot. GRAIN (or GRANE?).—A fish-spear. (South.) Thisisaship term; in Florida the turtle-graiiss have only one prong and one barb (half a barb) when anything but a “peg” is used. The fish-grains most approved have two prongs, each half barbed inwardly, and detachable from the pole when the fish is struck. GRANT.—Stipulated area “ granted” by the state for oyster-culture. (Massachusetts.) GRASS-SPONGE.—An inferior grade of Florida commercial sponge, Spongia cerebriformis. (Florida Keys.) GRAVET1E.—The oyster of the bay of Arcachon, France; socalled “ from the impressions they make on the sandy bottom”. THE OYSTER-INDUSTRY. 245 GRAY-BEARD.—The common hydroid of northern oyster-beds, Sertularia argentea. GREEN-GILL.—In Richmond and Petersburg, and on the York river in Virginia, are to be found in the markets what are called “ green-gill oysters”. Some say they are diseased, and refuse to eat them; but the oystermen claim that they are perfectly wholesome, but admit that they do not sell very well, because of a prejudice against them. The negroes claim that they are the best in Richmond, and that they are made green by their being found with the green sea-weed. GULLY OysTERS.—Those caught on shoals, ete. (Mobile.) Harr.—Hydroids. The “hair” that oystermen assert grows on their oysters under certain circumstances, is an animal growth, which attaches itself to the shell, and is nothing put out by the oyster itself. Harr-cLaAM.—Adult specimens of the various species of Arcade. See Blood Clan. HALF-DECK.—The slipper limpet, Crepidula fornicata. HALF-MEASURE.—A tin receptacle for the meats of opened oysters, holding 24 quarts. (New Haven.) See Measure. HamperR.—An oyster-basket holding two bushels. (New York.) Hane.—To hang an oyster boat is to thrust a pole down beside it into the mud and cling to it, without tying. (Canada.) I, A, 3. HARD-OYSTER.—The northern “ native” oyster. (Staten Island sound.) HeEEL.—The umbo of a clam-shell. (Long Island, south shore.) Behind it is to be found “the print of a clam”. This distinguishes the quahaug from other bivalves, according to the fishermen. Hooxer.—I. In sponging, the man who hooks up the sponges from the bottom. (Florida reefs.) Hooxer.—Il. A tool of any size, consisting of a rod of tough iron, bent into more or less of a hook at the end, used to pull out the raccoon oysters, and knock the bunches to pieces. (Georgia.) HorseE-concH.—The largest species of Triton. (Florida reefs.) HORSE-MUSSEL.—A large species of mussels, Modiola modiolus. Husk.—To remove the shells from an oyster, or “open” it. (Georgia.) HlusKks.—Oyster-shells. JAG.—A lot, parcel, or quantity of oysters of indefinite size; e. g., “I sold a jag of 75 bushels to A, B & Co.” JINGLE.—Any species of Anomia. (Long Island sound.) KETrTLE-BAIL.—A dredge used in catching scallops, which has the blade adjusted to swing in the eyes of the arms, in order to prevent its sinking into the mud of the soft bottom on which it is used. (Rhode Island.) KITCHEN-OYSTER.—Small oyster for cooking. (New Orleans.) KNIFE-HANDLE.—See Razor-fish. (Massachusetts bay.) LADLE-SHELL.—Mollusks of the genera Fulgur and Sycotypus. LAYER.—An artificial oyster-bed. (England.) LiINE-concH.—A species of mollusks, Fasciolaria distans. (Florida reefs.) LirttLeE RED CLAM.—Common name for quahaug, Venus mercenaria. LoADED.—An oyster is said to be loaded when it is coated with annelid tubes. See Sand Up. (Rhode Island.) Lonpon Stock.—Oysters culled out for the foreign market; about three years old, small, round, and cup-shaped. See Cullins, ete. Lone CLAM.—See Razor-fish. (Massachusetts bay.) MrADow MussEL.—In Great South bay, Long Island, the Iytilus plicatula which grows on the tide-flats. MuAsurE.—A round tin receptacle for meats, holding five quarts, used in the opening-houses. (New Haven.) MeA?T.—The fleshy, edible part of an oyster, or other mollusk. MiLk.—The spat before it is discharged from an oyster, and is said just before and during spawning to be “ in the milk”. MILKY, OR MILCHY.—To be “in the milk”, 7. ¢., ready to spawn. MussEL.—Mollusks of the family Mytilide and genera Mytilus and Modiola. - See below. NATURALS.—Oysters of natural growth; wild, not planted. (New Jersey.) NEt-FISH.—A species of orphiuran or serpent skin, Astrophyton, Agassizii. See Basket-fish. Nrp.—The tender, growing, posterior end. (Prince’s bay.) Niprers.—Tongs having at the end not a rake-head with many teeth, but only one tooth, or a very few teeth, so as to act as pincers ; used in picking up solitary oysters, which can be seen and aimed at. (Chesapeake.) OLp Mar.—The soft-clam, Mya arenaria. (South of England.) OpEN.—To remove the meat from the shell of a mollusk. See Qut out. OPENER.—One who opens oysters for trade. See Sticker ; Side-opener. OPENING-HOUSE.—A place where oysters are opened. OysTER.—A mollusk of the family Ostreide and genus Ostrea ; also, some allied forms distinguished as “ pearl” oysters, ete. They are scattered over the whole world, and through the geological record since Jurassic time. In the United States only one species, Ostrea virginiana, is now recognized as edible; but this appears in market under along and diverse set of names, derived from the district or bed where the particular variety grew. See particularly the chapter on the natural history of the oyster, infra. 246 THE FISHERIES OF THE UNITED STATES. OysTER-CAN.—The tin receptacle, holding from one pint to four quarts, in which oysters are packed for shipment. These may be square or round, and of various shapes. The industry of can-making is perhaps the greatest auxiliary of the oyster-trade. In the chapter on the oyster-trade of Maryland and Baltimore, statistics are given to show how enormous is the industry there. In New England all the retail trade is carried on by means of cans, in which the opened oysters are delivered raw to the consumers, either in the city or outside, by railway express. In 1878 a company was formed in Boston to manufacture tin cans, with a capital stock of $25,000. In 1879 they made about 150,000 oyster-cans, distributed as follows: Of four-quart size, 15,000; of two-quart, 30,000; of one-quart, 90,000; of one-pint, 15,000. Including the waste, the amount of tin used was nearly 65,000 pounds. ‘This is nine-tenths of all the cans made in Boston, the total manufacture amounting to about $5,000 worth a year. Providence and Fairhaven use, perhaps, an equal number of cans. OysTER CRAB.—The female of the Pinnotheres ostreum, found parasitic in the gills of oysters from Massachusetts southward. OYSTER-GRASS.—The kelp and other sea-weeds which attach themselves to oysters and mussels, or grow on the beds. (Cape May.) OYSTER-GLOVE.—A leather palm or mit worn as a protection for the hand in opening oysters. See Oot. (Georgia.) OYSTERING.—Fishing for oysters. OYSTER-HAMMER.—A square, blunt-headed hammer of medium hard iron, used to break the shell of the oyster before opening. (Fairhaven.) OYSTER-KEG.—A small wooden keg for transporting raw oysters; now gone out of use. (Connecticut.) OYSTER-KNOCKERS.—Double-headed hammers used for culling oysters and prying apart the bunches. See Culling- tools. (Cape May.) OYSTER-PAIL.—A wooden receptacle with a locked cover, used in transporting raw oysters. They hold from four to six gallons each, and cost from 75 cents to $1 each. They are made chiefly at Fairhaven, Connecticut; Jamestown, New York, and Brooklyn, New York, and are of various patterns, with several patented devices for securing the cover. These pails are returned to the wholesale dealer by his customers. OYSTER-PALM.—See Oyster-glove. - OYSTER-RAKE.—See Rake. OYSTER-SACKS.—Sacks or bags of coarse gunny-cloth, holding about 14 bushels. Used chiefly near Philadelphia, in place of barrels. OYSTER-SIGN.—A large letter “O” plainly painted on a board affixed to a stake, to mark the boundaries of marsh- land claimed for oyster-culture. (Georgia.) OYSTER-TONGS.—See Tongs. OYSTER-TUB.—A large wooden receptacle for transporting raw oysters. It has a cover which may be locked down, and is simply an oyster-pail of large size. : PACKER.—One who buys oysters from the planters and packs them in barrels for shipment to Europe. (Long Island.) PANAMA-SHELLS.—Mollusks of the genus Voluta. (Florida reefs.) Parc.—A sunken bed, wherein oysters are placed for reproduction and growth, which is filled with water by each high tide. (Hurope.) There are French and Italian pares. In England the word is spelled park. PARK.—See Pare. PrG.—A square, sharp-pointed iron spear, used in striking turtles. (Florida.) PEGGING.—Spearing green turtles. (Florida.) PENNYWINKLE; PENNYWINKLER.—The mollusks of the genera Fulgur and Sycotypus, interchangeably. PERIWINKLE.—I. Littorina littorea. (England and in America, from New Haven, Connecticut, northward to the Gulf of St. Lawrence.) PERIWINKLE.—II. The Sycotypus canaliculatus, a large pear-shaped mollusk, destructive to the oyster. Also known as Winkle and Wrinkle. Pick.—To gather wild oysters for seed from the muddy shores at low tide. (Georgia.) PINCHED.—Long, slender growth. PINPATCHES.—Littorina littorea. (Suffolk, England.) PLANT—I. To place oysters on artificial beds, intending them to survive the winter, attain full size, and spawn. See Cultivate. In Connecticut the term is applied only to southern oysters laid down for the summer. See Bed. PLant—II. An oyster which has been “bedded”, in distinction from one of natural growth. The name of the original locality is usually prefixed, as “‘ Virginia plant”. In Boston the term is generally applied to oysters that have been transplanted to Providence river. In some localities, also, by “plant” is meant a young oyster suitable for transplanting. See Seed. PLANTATION.—Cultivated areas of oyster-bottom; a common and legal term in the state of Delaware. PLATFORM.—The planked floor on the bank, where oysters are laid out to freshen before selling. (Atlantic county, New Jersey.) THE OYSTER-INDUSTRY. 247 PoMPANO-SHELLS.—Mollusks of the genus Donav. (Florida gulf.) Eaten by the pompano. PRoG.—To search for clams, ete., along the shore in a desultory way. (Connecticut.) PROGGER.—One who digs clams and searches for other sea-life alongshore, in a desultory and unbusiness-like way. A man who persistently gets his living this way is generally a good-for-nothing fellow, and is said to “follow the creek”. (Connecticut.) QuAHAUG.—The “hard” or “round” clam, Venus mercenaria. An Algonquin word, spelled in various ways, and usually wrongly pronounced ko-hog. RABBIT-EAR.—A long, slender oyster. See Coon-heel. Raccoon OysTERS.—Wild oysters, growing naturally on muddy banks, exposed at low tide; and owing to their luxuriance and crowded condition, long, slender, and shapeless; or very diminutive. (Southern coast.) RAKkE.—An instrument for lifting the oyster from the bed; shaped much like the agricultural implement of the same name, but all iron except the handle, and having tines straight, and from 6 to 12 inches long, or curved into a half circle. The rake is an ancient device. In 1748 Baron Kalm crossed New York bay, and notes the following sentence: ‘We saw many boats, in which the fishermen were busy catching oysters; to this purpose they make use of a kind of rake with long iron teeth bent inward. These they used either single or two tied together in such a manner that the teeth were turned toward each other”. The rake is used in deeper water than the tongs (which see), and is more serviceable in catching quahaugs than oysters; indeed, it is now rarely used for the latter, except in Buzzard’s bay, Massachusetts. With it the oysterman can alternately push his boat along and then pull the rake toward him, and thus take all the mollusks that lie in his path. RAZOR-BLADE.—A long, slim oyster. (Connecticut.) See Coon-heel. RED-BEARD.—The red sponge, Microciona prolifera, Verrill, commonly growing on northern oysters. Consult Verrill’s Invertebrates of Vineyard Sound, [741] 447. REEFER.—A natural reef-growing or untransplanted oyster. (Mobile to Texas.) RIDDLE.—To sift the young oysters and cultch on a bed by means of coarse-netted dredges. (Norwalk.) Rim.—The worthless part of the scallop flesh, remaining after the edible portion has been cut out. (Rhode Island.) Rock.—A growth of native oysters massed into a rock-like bottom or ridge. (Chesapeake and southward.) RocK-OYSTER.—An oyster found growing upon a rock, as distinguished from those found in beds; wild growth. ROLLING Joun.—A detached sponge drifting about the bottom. (Florida.) RovueH CuLLtine.—Hasty separation, throwing out only dead shells and largest trash. ( Virginia.) RouecH WHELK.—A small mollusk, the Urosalpinx cinerea. (Chesapeake.) RucHE.—A pile of arched tiles, loosely placed, to catch and lodge oyster-spawn; one form of collector, q.v. (France.) RUFFLE.—The connected egg-capsules of the periwinkles. RUNNER.—Vessels engaged in transporting oysters from the grounds to the market; they also buy the stock they carry. (Chesapeake.) SADDLE-Rock OysTERS.—A trade name in New York for the largest and finest oysters. Sanp.—To bury oysters beneath drifting sand or mud. SANDING.—I. The burying of oysters under storm-drifted sand or mud. Sanpine.—II. In some parts of Rhode Island they say an oyster is sanded or sanded up, when it is thickly coated with annelids’ tubes, and the mud which has gathered among them. SAND-OYSTERS.—NSingle scattered oysters found on leeward sandy shores. (Chesapeake.) SAND-SUCKER.—Holothurians, Nereids, and other soft animals buried in the low-tide sand, and showing tentacles. (Florida, Gulf coast.) ScHAZFFER.—Cart-boys or Arabs, who peddle a mean quality of oysters (Maryland stock) about the streets of Baltimore. SCHOONER-BASKET.—A basket holding three-fourths to seven-eighths of a bushel, used in measuring oysters to be sold out of vessels. (New York.) ScALLOP.—An edible mollusk of the family Pectenidew, genus Pecten. Several species in the United States, SCALLOPER.—A scallop-fisher. SCALLOPING.—Fishing for scallops. SCALLOP-NET.—The small dredge used in catching scallops. (New Bedford.) Scoop.—A light kind of dredge. (Chesapeake.) See Scraper. Scow.—See Ark. Also called Scow-house. ScRAPER.—A small dredge. Chiefly spoken of with reference to scallops. (New England.) See Dredge, Scallop- net, and Kettle-bail. A writer in a New York journal, in 1855, describes this dredge, which was chiefly used there in cleaning old planting-ground, thus: “A singular-looking instrument, somewhat resembling a scythe, with this exception, that at one side of the blade a large bag, constructed of iron ring-work, is attached. Into this all the scowings of the bed, cleaned off with the front of the blade, fall, and the whole is hauled up at regular intervals.” See Drag-rake. 248 THE FISHERIES OF THE UNITED STATES. ScULLER.—In sponging, the man who manages the small boat, while the hooker (q. v.) works. (Florida reefs.) SEA-cAP.—A basket-shaped sponge, often of great size. (Florida reefs.) SEconps.— Oysters of second market grade; cullens. (Northern cities.) SEED.—Infant or young oysters suitable or intended for transplanted growth in artificial beds. See Set and Plant. SEEKONKS.—Oysters (mainly seed) growing in Seekonk river, Rhode Island. SELECTS.—Oysters of the first quality, 7. e., selected; applied wholly to opened stock. Set.—I. A young oyster. Occasionally “Set” is used improperly for spawn. See Spat. Sret.—II. The appearance of young oysters in a district, as a whole, thus: “The Set is good in Somerset this year”; 7. e., there is an abundance of infant oysters. See Seed. SHANGHAI.—A long, slender oyster. See Coon-heel. SHARE (verb).—To divide the proceeds of a sponging-cruise. ‘We will share $40 this trip ,” they say. SHARE (noun).—The amount of money resulting to each of the crew of a sponging-vessel from the proceeds of a trip. SHARPERS.—EHlongated, protruding, sharp-ended oysters, dangerous to the feet in moving about the reefs. (Guif coast.) SHEEPWOOL.— The highest grade of Florida commercial sponges, Spongia gossypina. SHELLERS.—Persons who open clams for market. (New Jersey.) SHELLING.—The spreading of shells upon the bottom to catch spawn. Suirr To.—To move half-grown oysters to a new bed for their improvement. Suock.—To open or “shuck” clams or oysters. (New England.) SHoots.—The spaces between the concentric ridges on an oyster-shell, marking each season’s growth. (New Jersey.) Suuck.—I. To open oysters. (Baltimore and southward.) Suuck.—II. An oyster-shell. (South.) SHUCKER.—One who opens oysters. (South.) SHUCKING-STAND.—A rude table, with boxed sides, ete., at which oysters are opened. (South.) SIDE-OPENER.—An oyster-opener, who rests the oyster in the palm of his left hand alone, while he parts the shell. (Quicker and more laborious than the sticker’s method; it is followed at Providence, Rhode Island.) SILVER-SHELL.—Anomia. See Gold-shells. SIGHT (verb).—To be able to see oysters on the bottom and direct the tongs to them. (Virginia.) SxrFF.—The peculiar, special oyster-boat used at Keyport, New Jersey. It is shaped like a small, shallow yawl. SriFT.—Vernacular for skiff. SKIMMER.—F lat, shallow pans of tin or zine, with perforated bottom, in which the openers empty their measures of oysters, and where the liquor is allowed to drain away. SKIMMER.—The Cyprina islandica, or big beach clam. (South shore of Long Island.) SINGLE OysTERS.—In the south “single oyster” means an edible oyster in contradistinction from the raccoon oyster. SLIPPER-LIMPET.—Mollusks of the genus Crepidula (three species). Also known as Deckhead, Boat, and q. v. SNAIL-BORE.—Mollusks of the genus Urosalpinz, ete. (New Jersey.) See Drill, Borer, ete. Snaps.—The most inferior oysters sent to market. (Maryland.) Sorr OystER.—The “ Virginia plant”, or southern oyster (Staten Island sound), as distinguished from the “hard” native oyster. SOMERSETS.—Oysters from Taunton river, Massachusetts, after the name of the chief village, 7 miles north of Fall River. SoMERSET Tones.—Oyster-tongs, working on a patented swivel-joint of brass, used at Somerset, Massachusetts. Sounps.—Oysters grown in Staten Island sound, New York; especially an European brand. SpaT.—Spawn. This word, however, is generally used to signify the “‘set” or minute infant oysters, after they have become attached to some support. See Spawn. Spat.—To emit eggs or spawn. SpAwn.—The eggs of the oyster (or any other sea-animal) in their floating condition; but sometimes the “set” or infant oysters are erroneously called spawn. See Spat, Milk, Set. SPAWNED.—Improper pronunciation of spawn, frequent in some districts. SPONGE, or To Go SpoNGING.—To go ona cruise for gathering sponges. (Florida reefs.) SPONGER.—A man who gathers sponges. (Florida reefs.) SPONGE-BAR.—A rocky spot where sponges grow. (Florida.) SPONGE-HOOK.—The bent, two-pronged iron tool at the end of a pole, with which sponges are gathered from the bottom. (Florida reefs.) SPONGE-POLE.—The pole by which the hook is operated in gathering sponges. (Florida reefs.) Squip.—Naked mollusks of the order Cephalopoda; they are used as food and as bait. THE OYSTER-INDUSTRY. 249 STABBER.—One who opens oysters by sticking the knife in at the side, without previously breaking the shell. (Massachusetts and Rhode Island.) See Sticker. STALES.—The handles of the oyster-tongs or oyster-rake. Srrim.—The proboscis of a clam. (New Jersey.) Srew.—An artificial bed of oysters. Applied to the old Roman, and also to the modern methods of fattening. (English.) See Layer. SrickER.—An oyster-opener who rests the oyster against the bench while he thrusts the knife between the valves. This is the method in Boston, and obviates the strain across the loins, but takes longer than side-opening, q. v. (See Stabber.) Srickup.—A long, thin oyster, growing in mud, ete. (Dennis creek, New Jersey.) See Strap oyster, ete. STING-TAIL.—The sting-ray, Dasybatis centrura. (New York.) STONE-CADDYS.—Schooner carrying stone. (Chesapeake and Delaware.) STooLs.—Material spread on the bottom for oyster spawn to cling to. See Oultch, ete. STRAP-OYSTER.—The long, slender form which grows in mud. See Coon-heel, etc. (New Jersey.) SrrikE.—To become tenanted by living oysters; or when infant oysters attach themselves to any object they are said to “strike”. (Staten Island.) See Set, ete. SWEET-CLAM.—Same as Squaao clam, ete. SWEET-MEAT.—A small mollusk, the Crepidula fornicata. (Martha’s Vineyard.) See Half-deck. TEA-CLAM.—The quahaug, Venus mercenaria of small size; about 14 inches diameter. They will go from 1,200 to 1,400 to the barrel. (Keyport, New Jersey.) TEN-FINGER.—A thief. TILE-COATING.—At Vannes, France, the coating of spat-collectors is composed as follows: The tiles are first dipped into a solution of hydraulic lime and water; when dry they are again dipped into a very thin mixture of common lime and water; when dry they are ready for use. TOLERATION.—License to gather oysters or operate beds; paid by every individual annually. (Brookhaven, Long Island.) The money paid is called a Toleration fee. -TONGER.—One who procures oysters by the use of tongs. TONG-MAN.—See Tonger. Tones.—An instrument used in gathering oysters from the bottom. Something of an idea of it may be got by supposing two garden-rakes with very long handles, with the tooth-side of each rake facing each other; let the handles be secured by a loose rivet about two or three feet from the teeth, so that by operating the extreme ends of the handles the whole contrivance shall act as a pair of tongs. The instrument is so constructed, that when the tong handles or “stales”, as they are called, are held perpendicular to the bottom, the teeth are at an angle of 45°, and by working the upper end of the stales together above water, at the same time pressing the teeth against the bottom, the oysters are thus raked together, and may be hoisted to the surface and emptied into the boat. Various patented forms have been made, but in general those in actual use are made by the local blacksmith and are one of two patterns—iron-headed or wooden-headed—according to intended service. The latter form is the most common. Ordinarily the heads must be of the best oak, and the whole tongs are worth $3 50 to $5. The teeth are about 14 inches apart and not over 1 to 14 inches long. The stales are sawed out of a white-pine board 23-inch thick. Though seeming so thin, they last as long as the heads. A pair of tongs lasts only about a year. The wooden heads are better, because they do not dig into the sand as do the iron heads, and because they are lighter to work. Tongs are used of from 7 to 24 feet in length, and the latter, worked as they are, in 21 and 22 feet of water, require not only considerable skill, but a good allowance of strength, to handle with success. This tong is a very ancient contrivance in America, for Charlevoix, in the middle of the seventeenth century, found them “on the coasts of Acadia”. TRASH.—AII cullings, small oysters, refuse, etc., thrown over from the oyster-gathering on to idle ground, and which will be overhauled one or two years later. (Delaware.) Tuzb.—I. Long Island measure for selling oysters, holding somewhat less than a bushel. It consists of part of a barrel, and should be 10 inches deep, 17 inches wide at the bottom, and 19 inches at the top, inside. TuB.—II. Chesapeake measure; is similar to the above, but twice as capacious. TUSK-SHELL.—A species of the Dentalium. (Pacific coast.) UNDER-RAKE.—An instrument used in the Point Judith ponds, Rhode Island; ‘the handles of said rake being 15 to 20 feet in length, the head from 1 to 2 feet in length, filled with iron teeth from 6 to 10 inches in length, and mostly used through holes cut in the ice.”—Gen. Stat. R. I. VIVIER.—See Pare. (Ile d’Oleron.) WAGON-LOAD.—Of oysters; a “ wagon-load” is 20 bushels; of mussels, 30 bushels. (New Jersey.) WASH-BASKET.—A rude splint basket, circular, shallow, holding about a peck, and with a high bale-handle. (Ithode Island.) P WatcH-HoUsE.—A shanty built on the shore, or near the planted oyster-beds, from which they may be guarded. (Massachusetts.) 250 THE FISHERIES OF THE UNITED STATES. WATER-GLASS.—A_ bucket with a partial glass bottom, through which the position of sponges is sought. (Florida reefs.) ; WHELK or WHILK.—A mollusk, Buccinwm undatum. (England.) WILD OysTER.—One of natural growth; uncultivated or transplanted. (Massachusetts.) WINKLE.—A mollusk, the Sycotypus canaliculatus. (Massachusetts.) See Periwinkle. WINTER-KILLED.—Oysters that have become so weak by long-continued cold weather or contact with ice, that, though they are living when caught, they will not survive handling or transportation, and are of no value for * food. Wuips.—Slender branches used to mark the bounds of oyster-beds. (Connecticut.) Stakes” are larger and break rather than bend before gales and ice. WHITE-SNAILS.—Small species of mollusks noxious to the oyster-beds, particularly Urosalpinx and Natica. Woop-DROGGER.—A wood schooner. (Chesapeake and Delaware.) WRINKLE.—A mollusk, the Sycotypus canaliculatus. (Buzzard’s bay.) See Periwiikle. YELLOw Sponer.—A grade of Florida commercial sponge, next under the Sheepswool. Designated scientifically as Spongia corlosia. = ‘= LIBRARY 2} Wee oo SRS ee een? U.S. DEPT. OF COMMERCE NMFS-NEFC IV, GENERAL SUM) ARY. W. STATISTICAL TABLES. 64. TABLE SHOWING, BY STATES, THE PERSONS EMPLOYED, CAPITAL INVESTED, AND VALUE OF PRODUCTS IN THE OYSTER-INDUSTRY. GRAND TOTAL. PERSONS EMPLOYED. APPARATUS AND CAPITAL. Total STATES. Number of Bushels of Value of capi in- d pital in o : persons em- | oysters ipre: oysters as Fishermen. Shoresmen. vested in Naniber of Maine 8 NERS ployed. duced. sold. oyster- 3 = industry. _ = \| | | WUE aa: ocennoscbsecenassecnssoos 52, 805 22, 195, 370 $13, 438, 852 || 38, 249 14,556 || $10, 583, 295 4,155 $3, 528, 700 1] sneeses USS | poseset een seces @37, 500 5 10 | 4, 210 9 1, 000 | 6, 050 6 3 2,400 | 896 36, 000 | 405, 550 409 487 303, 175 Rhode Island - 650 163, 200 356, 925 800 350 110, 000 | Connecticut. - - 1, 006 336, 450 — 672, 875 || 672 334 361, 200 | New York .- 2, 724 1, 043, 300 1, 577, 050 | 1, 958 766 1, 013, 060 426 397, 000 New Jersey. -- 2,917 1, 975, 000 | 2, 080, 625 | 2, 605 312 1, 057, 000 57 530, 000 Pennsylvania - soscbosearscene donc eece geese CUB TEU) | pe aeeee Se Se SEE eRe o4| Peeoeae aoe - see Delaware ---.- 1, 065 300, 000 687, 725 || 820 b245 145 500 Maryland - 23, 402 10, 600, 000 | 4, 730,476 | 13, 748 e9, 654 6, 034, 350 Virginia .- 16, 315 6, 837, 320 | 2, 218, 376 |) 14, 236 d2, 079 1, 351, 100 North Carolina - 1, 020 | 170, 000 60, 000 1, 000 20 68, 500 South Carolina. . 185 50, 000 | 20, 000 | 175 10 12, 250 Georgia...---- 350 | 70, 000 | 35, 000 | 300 50 18, 500 Florida -- 166 78, 600 15,950 | 140 26 22, 000 = Alabama. . 300 | 104, 500 44,950 | 250 50 16, 000 20 6, 000 Mississippi - 60 25, 000 | 10, 000 || 50 10 3: 000i 2-222 set seo. 2|Pacaee ee Louisiana - 1, 400 295, 000 200, 000 1, 300 100 36, 750 45 10, 750 Mexane ese asese rss 240 | 95, 000 47, 300 | 200 40 17, 750 Washington Territory -.....-.-.------- 85 15, 000 | 45, 000 | 75 10 6, 550 APPARATUS AND CAPITAL—continued. PRODUCTS. Enhancement of eae of rie ters in process of preparation STATES. | ts Number of Value of | Value of gear | Value of shore Bushee of Value of same for market. e boats. boats. and outfit. property. etree to producer. Number of | Amonnt of en- bushels. hancement. Motalens-) seeks ceceeceue an ee 11, 930 $708, 330 $712, 515 $5, 633, 750 22, 195, 370 $9, 034, 861 13, 047, 922 $4, 368, 991 | | INE) se Sam ene oes ison - 3 60 150 THOU | eSeccessor peed) mecGaeccestomeed 75, 000 37, 500 New Hampshire = 5 300 | 100 2, 000 1, 000 800 7, 000 5, 250 Massachusetts .. 117 9, 485 10, 690 56, 000 36, 000 41, 800 514, 000 363, 750 Rhode Island ... eS 100 14, 500 5, 500 90, 000 163, 200 225, 500 274, 300 131, 425 Connectient... 3 563 33, 165 19, 385 239, 650 | 336, 450 386, 625 515, 000 286, 250 New York .. - 1,714 121, 700 | 42, 460 451, 900 | 1, 043, 300 1, 043, 300 1,065, 000 533, 750 New Jersey. .- = 1, 400 110, 500 91, 500 325, 000 | 1, 975, 000 1, 970, 000 237, 500 | 110, 625 Permsylwaniaeese cs ince oc (occa cs ccenes|rosececassccdsleweccacewucoce Oe as |e RSE | Pe en ee eee PB Deere erie et So 250, 000 | 187, 500 Delaware ...-- a 300 12, 000 10, 000 £73, 500 | 300, 000 325, 000 1834, 500 | 7362, 725 Maryland. 1, 825 130, 520 161, 480 93, 992, 350 10, 600, 000 2, 650, 000 7, 653, 492 2, 080. 476 \Warpinia fo- os. 4,481 224,050 | 329, 250 k336, 850 | 6, 837, 320 1, 948, 636 1, 622, 130 269, 740 North Carolina . 800 16, 000 15, 000 15, 000 | 170, 000 60, 000 ae eens South Carolina. - 100 2, 500 2, 250 5, 000 | 50, 000 20, 000 Georgia........-. 100 10, 000 3,500 5, 000 | 70, 000 35, 000 Florida -. 110 8, 000 2, 000 12, 000 78, 600 15, 950 Alabama. aaa 42 4, 000 3, 000 3, 000 104, 500 44, 950 Mississippi é 40 1, 000 500 1, 500 i 25, 000 10, 000 Louisiana - 120 3, 000 13, 000 10, 000 | 205, 000 200, 000 - 70 6, 750 2, 000 | 9, 000 95, 000 47, 300 40 800 750 5, 000 | 15, 000 | 10, 000 0 0 0: h a b e d e } i d Of this, $22, 22. This quantity represents simply the enhancement, the first cost being included in the Maryland and Virginia statistics. f these, 215 are employed in the canneries at Seaford. f these, 8.864 are employed at the various canneries. f these, 1,578 are employed in the canneries. This includes planting, bedding, fattening, and transportation to distant markets in oyster-vessels. JF OF this $28,500 is invested in the cannery interests at Seaford. Of this amount, $2,492,350 represents the cash capital invested in the cannery industry. Brought in winter by vessels registered in other states; the men engaged and the value of the vessels being accounted for elsewhere. Of these, 184,500 bushels were packed at Seaford, and 650.000 bushels were planted in Delaware bay. i 5 represents the enhancement on those canned. 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