The Hickman courier. [volume] (Hickman, Ky.) 1859-current, 1878-12-20


face their meals in the narket-places by
consuming dish of appetizing shrimps,
how few realize the vast amount Of pa
sient labor expended in securing the in
expensive shell-fish so temptingly placed
before them, and of those who awkwardly
attempt to twist and pull off the indiges-
tible covering, how many imagine the
existenceof process whereby the shells
NAV be removed from tons OF shrimps al
most as quickly as the unpracticed band
can strip plateful? Yet it is a fact
that such q process has been perfected,
and, as usual, where large profits can be
mace only by the payment of minimum
wages to laborers. the Chinese have
secured a monopoly of the business. On
the shores of the Bay of San Francisco
over FIVE hundred Cinnamon are at the
present time engaged in catching snd
.c1lxit1m shrinipss Tne s0utherns porlions
e1sfhe kay seems to Es The cfoice location.
ard between South San Francisco and
the Eight-Mile House the shrimp
catchers have located in large numbers.
There are six camps on the Potrero side,
near the bone factory, composed OF
twelve men each. Six more, with an
equal number of occupants, skirt the
shore between Butchertown and Hunters
Point. Just beyond Hunters Point are
two camps of thirty Cinnamon each,
and st the Eight Mile House there Is
one camp containing forty Cinnamon.
Each camp is little community of itself,
and is governed by contractor or
"boss," who eOnsigns the cured shrimps
to Chinese commission merchants on
shares. The contractor, who is generally
the representative of some firm in the city,
=. L To
plOyes, and the sum paid as wages Is
consequently very small
1t would at first thought, in view OF
the stringent fishery laws in force in
California, seem impossible TO snare
shrimps without catching q considerable
quantity of small fish. Thissdifficulty is
obviated by selecting point where there
is from twelve to twenty fathoms OF
water, and sinking the nets to level
beneath that usually trayersed by fish.
1t is, of course, impossible to avoid en-
trapping some of the smaller fish in rails
ing the nets. The nets used are funnel
shaped, and about thirty-six feet in
length. The diameter at the mouth is
eighteen feet, but decreases by gradatiOns
to one foot at the lower extrimity. The
mesh is usually half-inch on the square
for g distance of thirty feet from the
orifce, but is less thans'a quarter OF an inch
In width from that point to the smaller
end The time chosen for setting the
nets is when the tide is coming in, and
they are allowed to remain in the water
until after the ebb They are then
lifted, and the contents conveyed.to land.
The camps described possess thirty-six
boats, and I'VE men contitute a crew.
Each boat contains from twelve to tif-
teen nets, and twenty baskets of shrimps
at single catch is a fair average. These
baskets will hold about enc hundred and
fifty pounds each.
After landing, the shrimps are placed
in vats of boiling water, with fire un-
derneath, and boiled for about half an
hour, being frequently sprinkled with
coarse salt They are then spread out
on hard, dry ground and left to dry and
bleach for three or four days 6sang 1& ire s.
this time the shells, spawn and dirt are
either detached or in such 8 dry and
cracked condition as to be easily removed.
A force of Cinnamon is then put to
work tramping the beds Of dry shrimps
with their heavy wooden shoes. They
90 over and over the mass, sliding their
feet as does a negro dancer when he is
sbufiing over the stage. The tramping
process concluded, the miscellaneous
mixture is put into winnOwing-ma-
chine, where the shells are separated
from the meat as perfectly as chatfis from
grain. There are three spouts TO the
separator, through one OF which the
whole shTimps are shot into basket.
The other apouts are 1sed respective for
the shrimps crushed by the tramping
and the detached hulls. Thus dried and
skinned the shrimps are put In bags and
! sent to the city. A few of them are
shipped to China, but owing to the high
rate OF transportation, which makes the
article more of luxury than commo-
dity in that country, the export trade
has not proved profitable. The first
/ price of dried shrimps in San Francisco
/ is from five to eight cents per pound. A
sack containing $50 pounds Of the un-
| dried article viii produce from eight to
/ ten pounds after the drying process. Be
/ fore curing, the spot price of shrimps IS
from two to three and q balf cents per
pound Delivered to restaurants the
price Is FIVE cents per pound. The prln-
| cipal camps of Cinnamon are in the in
terror towns, where the .sbrimps COM
mand high figure, and when made into
soup are esteemed dainty dish.
The broken shrimps, whose segregation
has been alluded to are ground into q
coarse -four, which retails at three TO
four cents per pound. A use has also
been discovered for the shells, and they
are shipped exclusively to China.
There they are valuable as manure, and
rs q poison to the worm which works
such destruction to the tea plant OF that
country. There is nearly as much pro-
fit from the sale OF the crushed shells al
from that of the shrimps themselves
The Cinnamon state that this Is the only
remedy at present known for the te'
pest, and the heavy shipments indicat:
that this light yet bulky article has mor'
virtues than those OF any fertilizer.
The extent to which the business o
shrimp catching in the Bay OF Sal
Francisco has advanced is most remark
able. The amount of busiress at frs
hands will reach $t5, 600 per month, an
new markets are constantly opening
! At certain periods the demand is so grea
, that two trips into the bay are mad
daily, which nearly doubles the amour
, of ordinary supply, and necessitates th
employment of large force of extra mel
The most serious disadvautaga OF th
trade is that it can at present be pro
! secuted only during the dry season, II
rain preventing the exposure OF II
; shrimps for driving purposes. This dl
: ficulty will probably be obviated as II
business enlarges by the drying al
crushing of the shrimps in heated room
: instead of the open air, during Il
winter.