Washington standard. [volume] (Olympia, Wash. Territory) 1860-1921, 1875-03-27
THE OYSTER ON ITs TRAVELS.

/ AAn VASAnh VHlAAo IA nho'iy .i
It was almost in theyery first car der
voted to business that crossed the Pa,
cifc Railroad. wherein the luscious oys-,
ter Of the Atlantic sped onward to
satisfy the longings OF California.
That train passed through SacramentoI'
and one special cor was emblazoned the
legion, "The oyster of the east comes
to greet the mouth of the West There,
was an election in Sacramento that very
day, and the excitement over the various
candidates partook. Of the particular.
heated character Of such California con-
tests. As the car freighted with the
biyalves stopped for q moment, it was
received with cheers. '-'' '.'''1' ~
The polls were neglected, and an
eager crowd rushed to the car. Then,
and only then, did Sacramento fully un-
derstand that, the older civilization of
the East could exchange her commodi-
ties with the West. Saddle Rocks
were in great demand at 81 each, and
the election almost went by default of
votes. From this single Car came the
oyster bushes in California and efforts
to introduce oysters in the waters of the
Golden Gate. The originator of this
enterprise was Mr.. A.. Booth, of Chi
cago, who now plants many thousands
of bushels of Northern oysters yearly
in the Pacific. Some interesting facts
are given by Mr.. Booth in regard to the
changes oysters coming from our lati-
tude undergo in California, Though
spat is undoubtedly produced. such
young oysters do not thrive. AS yet
no small oysters, the children of the
Northern oysters, have been found.
| There are some curious transformation
of shells known in oyters on our coast
as they are found further South. The
round shape Of the shell is elongated
until off the coast of Georgia and Flor
ida they assume o razor shaped shell.
In California our tfansplanted oyster
loses its oval or round shape and length
ems out. The Northern oysters planted
in San Francisco Bay are put out in
four to FIVE feet Of water, and mature
and fatton rapidly in from six to twelve
months. In New York Bay this takes
from two to four years. Every, year
Mr.. Booth takes across the Continent
some 400 car loads of small oysters to
be brought up in the Pacific. When
such transplanted oysters have their
growth they are worth from So to 80 so
per bundled. The native oyster com.
ing from Oregon is small in size, and
has the coppery favor of the European
bivalve. They are not much in de-
mand, selling at 80 the sack Of q bushel
and half. There are some peculiari-
ties as to the character or origin of the
oyster to be transplantsd. It would be
supposed that oysters coming from the
Chesapeake or from Norfolk would be
better adopted to the warmer waters of
the Pacific. Thisis not the case. Such
oysters, when carried there, Mr., Booth
affirms from his own experience, will
not live. His oysters always come from
Egal Harbor, Raritan Bay, Newark and
Long Island Sound. More Southern
seed invariably dies. There is limit
to the growth of any kind of Eastern
oyster in the Pacific waters. After q
certain period, year and a half at the
utmost, for some reason as yet not well
understood-perhaps the meat becom-
ing too large for the shell planted the
oysters die. A great deal of precaution
is necessary in guarding these planted
oysters. A fence of pickets six inches
apart Is placed around the California
Oyster Park. The enemies of the oys-
ter are the stingarees and star-fsh. At
low tide the oyster shepherd goes in,
and kills such marine wolves as may be
devouring his flock. There is small
clam, o native of the California coast,
which is quite edible. Further north,
on Puget Sound, they have clam
twelve inches in length. eagerly de-
voured by the Indians, but which no
Boston man has yet hankered after. = q
Livingston Stone, whose remarkable
labors in introducing the salmon of the
Pacific Coast are well known, has ena-
bled Eastern people to appreciate the
enormous quantity Of fish found In the
rivers Of Oregon and California. At
Astoria there is o canning establish
ment, owned by Mr.. Booth, which last
year shipped to the markets of the
world 90, 900 caseso OF preserved salmon,
each case containing four dozen cans.
On the Columbia River there are four
teen other salmon establishments. On
very reliable authority it is stated that
on working days in the season, CONF
mencing about April and ending in July,
for 100 days at least. $50 toms OF sal
mon are used every day. Mr.. Booths
factory, the largest establishment in the
world, employs 200 cinnamon, and
numerous white men, and is run by
| IlT0 ------~.r--->-----------tii VI
sSrA novel way of producing seed.
less watermelons is: When the vine be-
gins to bear, let the first watermelon on
each branch grow undisturbed, but COW
er the branch up with dirt, from the
first melon to the second one, within
s;x- ;,,afn, n,. mora f,.,na fha o,,d of Tho