The daily gazette., 1881-01-14
From the N. Y. Sun.
AN OYSTER FAMINE.

THE BivALvE cRoP ALMOST ENTIRELY
CUT OFF BY THE CONTINUED COLD
WEATHER. vs. ~ ~ \
If the present cold weather contin.
ues week or ten days longer oysters
in this city will be a luxury ONLY 10
be indulged IN by the opulent. Efery
day the supply grows less. The cold
snap that came about ten days ago
froze the oyster waters North and
South. Oyster sloops were frozen
fast, or driven about by floating ice.
and IN some cases foundered. Very
soon the supply in the city was ex-
hausted, and then prices began to 20
up. Oystermen fortunate enough 10
get their sloops to the city asked big
prices and got them. Such has been
the condition OF the oyster trade in
this city for at least a week. Yesterday
little business was being done at the
barges that limo the North River for
two blocks above the foot OF Tenth
street. Blackford & Stringham do a
large city business, supplying most or
the large hotels with oysters. ave
deal principally in Blue Points, Rock
aways and East River oysters, p said
their foreman. "These are what We
call fancy stock. We can't Begin to
fill our orders. The cold snap froze
Oyster Bay and Cow Bay, where we
get most of our East Rivers. Ice
there is eight inches thick, and grow.
ing thicker daily. So at Blue Point
and Rockaway. The ice has shut our
supply right off short, and to day we
are not getting half of our usual num-
ber. We have thus far succeeded in
filling our hotel orders, for we have
been receiving oysters by express from
all points, wherever we could pick
them up. OF course we are losing
money, for in some cases we had made
contracts and have to fill them; and in
other cases we have not raised prices
on our REGULAR customers. But it's
hard work to get any oysters. We
usually have from 10 to 10 men OPEN
ing oysters; now you see We have on
ly two.
Box oysters, that is the best oysters,
they were worth only nine doiIars.-
bring Sl2 a thousand; before the snap
There Is man out there with O sloop,
just IN from the sound, who says that he
WON'T open his matches for. .less that So
thousand. 9Blne Points that brought eB
a barrel now sell readily for So CLAIMS
are also mighty scarce and high. The
East River CLANS are all frozen In"
j. s. j. w. Ellis worth, at Charles street,
are among the stshippers Of oysters
In this city. We are shipping 400 bar.
rels week to Europe" aaId one OF the
firm, "and are nlling some Western or
dsrs; but we are only able to do this be-
cause We had big supply on hand
Last fall we .bullta large stoEehouse at
staten Island and filied IL with oysters.
We are now drawing from tins reserved
stock, Had We depended for our snpply
on our sloops, We could not have filed q
quarter OF our orders. To-day there 10
not one tenth the usual supply Of oysters
In the market, and wnat we have are
very poor. Why poor2 Because they
cannot drink this cold weather. When
we take oysters from our beds we place
them In somewhat fresher wa'er, aud If
tina weather Is not too cold shey take a
drink. The result Is that they become
fatIer, plum per, aud, IL very salt al first, |
of better flavor. But now we cannot
do this. Before The oold snap, 1000 oy.
sters, after being placed In fresher water,
would hli SIX gallon can. Now they
won't make four gallons. 1t Is very hara |
In the quality. We can't get
good oysters blt they average SI2 q
thousand. If We could get as good oys.
.ers now as those for which we charged
10 a month ago, they'd readily sell for
il5. This Is the hardest winter we have
lad In the oyster trade for twenty five
years, q good many houses will shut up
hop. We must have at least week OF
continuous warm weather to make |
much of change for the better"