Alexandria gazette. [volume] (Alexandria, D.C.) 1834-1974, 1859-10-06
The Late Oyster Discovery.

~.
covering the -unken propeller Charles OIL
off Eatcn's Neck, Long Island, rcportc! thar
he had found an extensive oyster bed, I'm,
very little attention was paid 10 his rpn.r,
About three weeks ago, however, nary e
! fishermen from Dareln, Conn. being anrbar.
| ed on the bed, found that there arr,.'.
dragged, and hoyeoyer lard an oyster lrci.,
to-assist in holding on. When they ,.,',,
~ draw up the dreige, however, they found
1t full ofsysters, and further investigation >,
suited In filling their boat and cnuyiug;,.
them that they had made a discovery If i'm,
mense value. They agreed 10 keen ,bn;r
discovery secret in order to avail themselves
of its advantages, but one of their urmL.-
probably finding himself pressinglv in want
Of money. violated his engagement. and ~
the consideration Of $500, cash down. pilot.J
number of City Island oystermen t. the lei
The news rapidly spread. oystermeu fackel
in from all directions. and from ,lav a. I,y
/ the feet has increased M 10 thc present
time. There are boats from all parts Of Lopg
! Island and the Connecticut shore from New
! York. Staten Island, New jersey, and Eva,
| from Newport. II. |. The fleet is Of a mi..
cellaneous character including three or ,our
steamboats, and couple OF regular built ca.
nal boats. and even scows rugged with saiI>
| 1t is impossible to state with accuracy how
many oysters have already been taken. 5u, in.
| telligent men estimate the whole number ns
bushels up To the present time at 2O0uO.-
| During the past week not less than lu1upo
bushels were taken, and the catch on Saturday
alone amounted probably TO $1,000 bussrl.
One vessel managed by experienced OYSTER.
men, is reported to have taken Son bushels
! in one day. and to have landed 2.OOG bushels
! in the course of week: and another is rr.rr.
sented to have taken 5000 bushels since the
! discovery. The three or four steamers AZ
work have decided advantage, in not bcn,
compelled 10 rely upon the wind, and their
decks are literally loaded with oysters. pon
| the deck OF one steamer a pen had been bu.ir,
and men were at work with wheeiharrpw,,
wheeling the oysters up plank and dump
ing them into the pen. All bands concur IN
stating that the supply does not appear 10
fall that though they dredge apparently
over the same ground. again aud again, their
dredges comes up rs full now as they Odd the
first day. One boat, provided with eight
dredges, brought up twcnty-ri-ht bu>hel, at
one crossing OF the bed, elnptylng only two
of their dredges the second time.
This oyster bed Is sand t. be not only the
largest but the deepest ever discovered, at
least in this part OF the world. Sound,ngs
taken, rather lmpcrtectly however, ut the
lower Or eastern end Of the bed, indicated
depth of eight or nine fathoms 1T lOw tide,
at high tide it would be six or eight feet
"A. 4 ~, Il -.
pears Ia be little less. There is no way
of obtaining the oysters 1T such a depth cx-
cept by dredging. y dredge consist, Of an
iron bar held by two arms at either end,
the arms being so bent that the bar pass
es over the bottom like u rake. The oys-
tiers piled in Il heap III front of the bar
at last fall over it into a net or sack.
made Of strong iron wire, which is at
tached, and, and is capable Of containing
from one to five bushels The whole j. at-
tached to the vessel dredging, by means OF a
strong rope hundred feet or more IA length
and when supposed 10 be filled is pulled up
by hand and emptied of its contents.--
Very little trash-that is, weed stones, &r,-
is brought up, the load generally consisting
of large rough oysters, alive aud swapping
vi CbuTet, IL NcSScl viii iltil u uoL'H ult4SfN
attached, moves rather slowly, and with very
unequal speed, and great precautions arc
necessary to avoid collisions. By general
consent the dredging is all done IN one d
rection, the fleet moving III line; ney-rth"
less, collisions do occur, and drcd y"s are some
times lost by vessels driven upon the reels.
One of the steamboats, WAS run into by
large sloop on Saturday, whcreupom the
crews of the sailing vessels, WHO do not APP
prove OF 0ysterlng by steam, set up hearty
hurrah. The damage however, was found
not to be serious. Generally the best Of
good humor prevailed on the ground, the
workers being elated by their succeSs.-
Dredging is said To destroy the oyster beds,
by breaking the edges Of oysters over which
the drodgcs pass, aud crushing AMI destroy
ing the young oysters or seeds. The proba-
bility is, therefore, that the newly discover
ed bed will be used up in the course Of next
season at iartnest.
A report Is current among the oyStcrmcH,
and generally credited, that the man who
piloted them to this bed stands ready u
show them another Of about the same extent.
whenever they are ready to pay his price,
and many are even OF opinion that the hUt.
tom Of the Sound is dotted over It's whole *.
tent with oyster beds which can be found
by diligent search. II thi, conjecture should
prove well grounded, oysters viii soon hc-
come abundant and cheap in cur market t.
". J. HerdM.