The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1876-12-31
ENEMIES TO THE OYSTER.
LITTLE DRTLL FISH, sTdR EISH AND
mo DRUW FTSH.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Fncts about the
OYSTER Trade Risks run bv Planters.
"DrIl nsh?" "why. certainly" said
Mr.. waiter Sil-bc. an old sea beaten veteran In
whose rugged lnenments Blue Points, Saddle
Rocks, East Rivers, and Princes buys were
plainly written. "Thcy bore hole through an
oyster Just the same as You would pierce piece
Of wupd with gnet. only heater
"Thcn there are star Ash and drum ash" lie
continued "ihcy also commit great havoc some
time. in oyster beds, aud cause the loss Of thou
sands " dollars. Those natural enemies except
the dr nSh. are ~ fond Of oysters ~ we are, and
when they light on bed they 20 through it IA
quick ~ a hungry man would dcmOlsh box
stew. The drill fish Is a wicked little devil about
tho size Of a snail and resembles somewhat
pcriwinkle In appearance. lie has an instru-
mcnt like a saw or sword near tho point of tho
nose. He burcs a hole the size Of pin hole
and when he gets through with an oyster hold
the she'll up to the light and it will look Ike q
sieve. The drill fish j. singular FISH. aud Is not
very socablc. lie prefers to travel alone, and 10
found In Blue Point bay and other places.
There are now many more than there used
to be. and the oyster planters ara
getting alarmed about them The drill nah APP
pears to pcrpctrate his outrages through sheer
malice, a. hc has never been known to eat an
Oyster when lac has finished boring hole
through the she'll the oyster dies. The drill nsh
works In the summer and lays dormant during
winter. He gnc- principally for the spawns. hut
tackles with readiness those that have attained
"a FOOD old age.
"Thc star hsh Is reddish looking something
| Ikea sea spider. llci.a cunuuisseur and glut-
ton. lie ma. the shape Of five pointed star. from
! three to six inchc4 from tip 10 tin. but some
| time, grows to ten intLe-. The star fish travels
| in sch0ol, although solitary feeders are occa-
sionally to he found Ills moius opcrdndi ia M
! follows: A school WIFI settle down on oyster
! bed Ench nsh viii tackle an uystor and sur
/ round N with bi4 fnnlurl. When the uV4fpr
! opens his mouth TO feed the wicked star ilsh de-
! liberaicly .itcka hs leccrs iusid ana rnil' out
| the OYSTER Then he eats it and then tackles an
other oyster. y star ii-h can beat any man cat
| ing raw oysters. Last summer nnd fan they
/ committed many rlvrgc- I'm the East river and
| at oyster Bay. Oy-termcn now are ON the look
! on fo the star li.h- They often rake over their
| Taked on ana carried ashore for manure. some
times schools Of star H. DO are found three or Four
feet thick Such school will ruin an oyster
bed IN "a few hours. sometimes thy star lisli Will
| sail IN and spoil Am oyster bed and then go on
oyster bed Two or three are sure to be found.
The star il,h commit, M dcIa.lntiYn- IN the
| city Island. oyster Bay aud Cow Bay.
The wickedc. It and most audncous Gah II all
that brey~ on the OYSTER = th" drum n-h; When
he lights on an ester bed he Isn't "li,hed WITH
| eating the inside, hut chcws the oyster -l!oil up
| nlso He Is great. coarse ilsh like a sleeps
up the same a, a small hoy eat. peanuts. Drum
hlh come IN schools. and Princes bay 4. their
! favorlie resort, last river and the haNs ~ tha
| sound. lNlus.- comparatively free from them.
| They don come every year. and II T. i've years
bay. riley make a noise ike q drum. and a large
| school feeding would beat Drum Major John
smiths seventh Regiment drum corps. when
| thew thpv have gone through an oy ster bed they
will tackle the bottom Of an oyster schooner and
eat the barmaclcs Oh Drum n,h pay their visits
| generally in the months nf September and OctO-
| her They have DESTROYED hundreds of thou
sands OF dollars worth Of uy,.ers ia years gone
! 10y. In two weeks Silshe y stu lost So
worth Of oy-ter, through them.
81 tell YOU continued Mr. Sil~lo. "ol stering
a altHIl NHF fHH Van
! can't .pmetimc- most always ten how thing are
going To- turn out liv-idc- the li-h there are lie
! cring the oyster. in mud. calculate Of all the
oysters ever planted in Tho past thiril Iear- IN
an average only one ont II every ten bushels has
ever come to the market. oysters, however ara
n very healthy hsh and are not subject to any
disease liable 10 carry them of in large numbers.
Planters have nearly all lost money during tho
last two or three Year,, owing to most OF the Oys-
tiers turning ont poor. They have also lost good
deal Of money from retail dealers Some OF these
are termed fly 10y nights. They IN saloon
i,;.le while and get mp a credit for oysters
from "A wholesale dealer and then ~" :" ano-
ther part of the town to play the same game
over again with another dealer. Millions Of
dollars are invested in the Wholesale oyster
business, aud some firms have over $ljJtUO
| inyc ted. This l. laid ont In oyster beds,
-choDucrs. Shops. scow, ices, and implements.
An culinary capital ranges from s.s.WU to
SJ.upi. though starts have been made ia tho
oyster business with a small slpup and Two or
he s0rs III and ,lrcdges Tor native ovstcr-. The
largest firms in the business are Sil-bc still,
Alex. Frazer. i. D. Iiarne- a Co.. i. 4 g. r.
! Th0mp-On, j. w. BOYLE. VI. '. Oud. j. ID. Van
Name, ON the Last river, and Van Name Bro
Their, Garry wright Aiu-lic I"dell, Poster Bro
Tiers. Horny Miller and two or three others on
the North river large lirW VIII have half "a
dozen ~chooners several ~lonu- and five or six
beds in the Last river Prince, bay and -inia
and will employ over 10 men.
Tho -rhuOner~ are used ia the fill and winter
to bring oN1ter, from Virginia. ana lu the spring
tuhlin- them North To- plant in Princes huN OF
vicinity. for summer and early fall cun-umpN
The -luou- are used Tor the Fast river trade.
schooner viii carry 'upi to 2.aH. and ~lnop IL
to 90 hil-h"i.. Planter when their own he'd
IN Virginia. on the orn river or kaWlahan.
mock, turu out poorly. have to crui. O. 10 buy
\ SIN have SlluM planted in York river out
! Of which they expect 10 realize little or moth.
ing. They planted ln.t.si bushels of sord this
season. IT they Turn out well they iNHy realize
c3lWD 10 s5ln0 ON the Investment. VhiS
seed wa planted i'm htlf-a-dnkeu diitrrtut
places Planting ground. range from nut %, zee to
ten in Size, aud are Sold and bought the -H'uo rs
real estate. Planting oysters b. done a. lii dept iis
from four feet 10 thirty. The spawn -huNcllrd
! overheard from buat-. two men -hONciIiir Whils
II depends "a good deal upon the bottom wht, her
oyster de- we'll \ good oyster grbuid In -,ina
luCaltic- Is worth 500 per acre without ntiA uyS-
! tiers IN IT, Grounds generally Iuu from -tI -
! Slin an acre. AuN man has tine lriiil uf stalks
ing cot and planting ground not previously oc-
York hl- been taken mp for wear, and 70 foot ~
ground ruuld not ice had without buying 10. The
best grnuuu- ia the Vicinity are an Oyster liuN +,
Cow IlHv and city l-flnd flr li-f giVrr planting,
and AZ Prince hay and az Blue Point bay. There
are also large grounds al stamford. tr,ruNIch,
Prime, baA tor u~o ia the summer and clrls fall
lui do NOT -ruN guud there la the winter.