Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1862-11-22
A Treatise on the Oyster.

A Treatise on the Oyster.
We shall leave it for sagans to deter
mine whether or not the race of American
oysters is becoming extinct. Il is certain
that in some portions of our country,
where they are new comparatively stran.
gers large collections Of shells have been
discogered-thus indicating that at some
former period they must have been quite
abundant in those localities The State
OF Maine appears TO have been particular
ly favored with these relics OF a byegone
race. On the Damarscotta river some
fifteen miles from the ocean, there are de,
posts OF oyster shell, extending for half
mle alorg its banks. Besides this, little
islands or beds have been formed in the
channel of the river. They appear to ex-
tend to depth of fifty feet or more, and
in the lapse of years have become, to
great extent, pulverized AS in the case
Of coral reefs, which they resemble at
distance, their formation is due to gradual
accretions. Their presence is an evidence
that this class OF bivalVes must have con-
stituted an important article of food with
our forefathers.
little more definitely can be said of them
on this point, except to affirm positively
that they are of posG-diluvial origin
Though tolerably abundant in New York
and vicinity, they are most prolific on
Virginia's sacred coast, and in fact OBJ,
tainable in all the Southern States. In
the New England States, except in Rhode
Island and Connecticut, they are justly
regarded as rarity, and command cor
respondingly high prices. In Maryland
they are quite plenteous, and the oyster
and fishing trade of the Chesapeake is of
considerable Importance, furnishing en-
ployment to thousands of men.
Commands recognize but two grand va
reties of ne plus ultra she'll fish, viz: the
salt and fresh. The most celebrated of the
fresh oyster that comes to this market is
the Cove, which, whether fried or roasted
or stewed, is esteemed a rare luxury. The
salt oyster, though much larger species,
is only fit to be eaten from the shell, and
in this condition derives nearly all of its
palatablity from the briny, pearly ziqueur
in which it is floating. The salt oyster
may be preserved for greater length of
time than any other variety-a decided
advantage, to be best appreciated in con-
nection with the subject Of transportation.
Most of the oysters now sold ia Phla-
delphia and New York were brought from
the South last fail or spring, ere the pres
ent troubles between the two sections had
assumed any decided proportions, calcu-
lated to obstruct the ordinary channels of
trade. They were planted in various
waters of New York, by private enter
g
ing" have yielded rich return.
By re-transplanting they are supplied to
the seaport towns Of New Hampshire,
Massachusetts, Vermont, &c, although
in but limited quantities. as might be ex
pected, they present bot puny appear
ance, never obtaining, their full Develop
ment as in Southern climes.
Oysters are privileged to have their idi-
osyncrases. They are sober, sedentary,
dreamy fellows. Wherever they are plant
ed they remain permanently, listening
with ecstatic thrills to the chant of the
sea shells, aud the roar of the breakers,
until called from their beds of down by
the rakes of the sordid planter. And yet
strange to say, they are unsympathiziDg
with the children of men, How many a
horrid nightmare, how many an indges
tive travail, how many an aching heart
burn, has come of their degustation. Bnt
sedentary as they are in the main (no
pun intended and warranted to remain
until called for" in shallow water, their
local habitatiou is not so much matter
of absolutism. Here. an envious wave
often sets them shining below the sand,
and rudely brushes them away, with a
coarse and brutal laugh. Oyster planta
tions (or 'beds," as they are commonly
called,) are quite numerous in Georgia,
and indeed throughout all the Southern
States. As the oysters grow, they adhere
to each other in clusters, and resemble
large pieces of honeycomb. As they ma
ture, they become separated, aud at last
begin the world on their own separate re-
sponsibilities. j.. ..s ..s
The raising OF oysters in beds is COM
paratively slow, tedious, and not always
remunerative enterprise. The greater
portion of those brought to the market
are therefore obtained by dredging" or
raking-the former being the more COM
mon method. 1t consists in raking the
oysters into huge net, whence they are
raised to the deck of the vessel. The
oysterman's harvest has just commenced,
and the crop is now being gathered 10,
song all the coasts and inlets where the
bivalves most do congregate. Near Am-
boy On. J the water is so shallow that
you can stoop down and pick up the
plants. In several of the States where
the planting system is in vogue, stringent
laws have been passed to prevent the de.
struction of the beds by sacriligious and
lawless depredators, whose respect for the
property is about on par with their re-
spect for the proprietles of the English
language. But Msryland's way of dealing
with thse oyster pirates was SO summary
and comprehensive that its salutary effects
are now observable in the diminution OF
the crime. Formerly piratical crafts
would be frequently captured while eruis'
ing in the Chesapeake, and taken to An
napolis. The vessels in such cases would
be held as prizes until the damage COM
mittee had been fully indemnified, aud
the crew, il buy event, would have the
glorious privilege of trial by jury OF
their peers. Oyster piracy is rare Of
tense nova days. 1t is somewhat sur
prising that, as relic Of past barbarism,
it has never been even so much as ventl-
lated in a modern novel! "Roderick,
The Oyster Pirate" would make striking
and selling title for a ten cent romance
Before the gigantic strides of internal