The home journal. (Winchester, Tenn.) 1858-188?, 1878-12-26
How SlIriinps are Caught.
an FranoIscO Bnlleiln.

law ehoii "Shis III tbc UlhIhtI-plhCeh w.
consuming dish of appetizing shrimpt
how few realize the vast amonnt of ia
tient labor expended in securing the in
expensive shell-fsh so temptingly place.
before them, and Of those who awkward,
attempt to twist and pull off the indiges
tible covering, how many imagine tn,
existence OF process whereby the shell
may be removed from tons OF shrimps al
most as quickly AZ the Impractical hant
can strip plsteful? Yet it il fac
that such process has been perfected
and, as usual, where large profits can b,
made only by the payment of minimum
wages to laborers, the Chinese have
secured a monopoly OF the business. Or
the shores of the Bay OF San Francisco
over five hundred Cinnamon are at the
present time engaged in catching and
curing shrimps The southern portion
of the bay seems to be the choice location,
and 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 Hunter
Point. Just beyond Hunters Point are
two camps Of thirty Cinnamon each,
and at the Eight Mile House there is
one camp containing forty Cinnamon.
Each camp il little community Of itself,
and is governed by a contractor or
boss" who consigns the cured shrimps
TO Chinese commission merchants on
shares, The contractor, who is generally
the Representative OF some firm in the city,
furnishes food and clothing to his en-
ployes, and the sum paid as wages il
consf quently very small
II would at first thought, in view Of
the stringent fishery laws in force in
California, seem impossible to snare
shrimps without catching considerable
quantity OF small fish. ThiSdiffculy is
obviated by selecting a point where there
is from twelve to twenty fathoms OF
water and sinking the nets TO a level
beneath that usually traversed 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 thirtysx 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 a hall.inch on the square
for distance OF thirty feet from the
orifice, but is less than.a quartero OF inch
IN width from that point to the smaller
end The time chosen Tor 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 continue a crew.
Each boat contains from twelve to fl
teen nets, and twenty baskets of shrmps
at single catch is fair average. These
baskets will hold about one hundred and
Fifty pounds each.
After landing, the shrmps are placed
In watts of boiling water, with fire un.
derneath, and boiled for about half an
hour, being frequently sprnkIcd with
coarse salt They are then spread out
on hard, dry ground and left to dry and
bleach tor three or four days, being ire
quently turned. At the expiration OF
this time the shells, spawn and dirt are
either detached or in such dry amp
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
go over and over the mass, sliding their
leet as does a negro dancer when he il
shutllng over the stage. The tramping
process concluded, the miscellaneous
mixture il put into winnowing-ma.
chine, where the shells are separated
from the meat as perfectly as chafiis from
gram, There are three spOuts to the
separator, through one Of which the
whole shrimps are shot into basket. |
Inc other spouts are used respective for
the shrimps crushed by the tramping
and the detached huls. 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 frat
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 will produce from eight to
ten pounds after the drying process. Be-
fore curing, the spot price OF shrimp4 is
from two to three and half cents per
pound Delivered to restaurants the
price IS five cents per pound. The prn-
clpal camps OF Cinnamon are in the in
terror towns, where the shrimps com.
mand high figure, and when made into
soup are esteemed dainty dish,
The broken shrlmps, whose segregation
has been alluded to are ground into
coarse flour, which retails at three to
four cents per pound. A u4e has also
been discovered for the shells, and they
are shipped exclusively to China.
There they are valuable a. manure, and
rs poison to the worm which works
such destruction to the tea plant OF that
country. There is nearly ~ much pro-
ht from the sale of the crushed shells AZ
rom that Of the shrimps themselves
The Cinnamon state that this is the only
emedy at present known for the tea
,est, and the heavy shipments indicate
hat this light yet bulky article has more
'irtues than those OF any fertilizer.
The extent to which the business of
hrimp catching in the Bay of San
francisco has advanced is most remark.
BILE. The amount of business Mt first
ands will reach SIS, 900 per month, and /
ew markets are constantly opening. =
t certain periods the demand Is sogreat G
,at two trips into the bay are made
ally, which nearly doubles the amount
ordinary supply, and necessitates the a
nployment of alarge force of extra men. fl
he most serious disadvantage of the e
ade Is that it can at present be pro- {
cuted only during the dry season, the n
I'm preventing the exposure of the t,