Juniata sentinel and Republican. [volume] (Mifflintown, Juniata County, Pa.) 1873-1955, 1883-06-27
The, Ga,het shells.

Ths$ Gather Shells
The shells ON the seashore, cast up
by the restless ocean tides, beautiful In
their opalescent tints, their variegated
colors and their fantastic shapes. and
IN the murmuring echoes that they send
forth to the listening ear. suggesting
the poetry of the sea, have always been
objects of interest to the strollers on the
beach. Rare specimens have been
eagerly sought for, and fabulous prices
have been paid for them. But the
rugged, homely. oyster shell, with its
unshapely outer coat and ungraceful
form, has been locked upon with con-
tempt. Many of the oyster-packing
establishments of Baltimore have at
tached to their walls boards bearing the
inscription, "Oyster Shells Free"
At last, however. use has been found
fer the shells which promises TO render
them articles of value rather than OF In.
convenience. 1t has been discovered
that they form the best possible bottoms
for artificial oyster beds. They are
literally sown in the sea, and a crop OF
oysters are reaped from them, oysters
in spawn being thinly scattered about
on them and the young bivalves attach
ing themselves TO the shells, where there
are at first mere specks of a reddish
brown color, and where they gradually
grow until they form a valuable oyster
bed.
A reporter called upon Mr.. Afford, OF
the firm of Thomas kensett Il Co., who
SAID "We are only too glad to get rid
of the shells. They ought to have
market value, but there are SO many of
them that we give them away willingly
to get nd of them, and are very well
satisfied if at the end of the packing
season we are entirely clear Of them.
There are about five million bushels of
them to be disposed of during the season.
Many of them are used In making piers
and IL harbor improvements and bulk
heads. The Baltimore and Ohio rail-
road is using a good many at Curtis
creek. A large quantity of them are
burnt into lime, and 1t Is said that some
are used at the iron furnaces, where
they are thrown into the fire with the
coal to prevent the formation of clin-
kers."
"Do you know anything of the sales
of shells to oyster planters ?"
"Yes. There have been a number OF
coastwise schooners here lately which
have loaded with shells for return CAR
goes. These shells are purchased at
price ranging frcM cent to cent and
a half per bushel. Several vessels were
loaded at Canton last week with shells.
Mr.. Hopson, who recently resided in
New Haven, was called on, and said
"Oyster-planting in Long Island Sound
has assumed immense proportions. The
bottom of the sonnd is sold to planters,
who have the same right In them that a
farmer has to his land These planta-
tions are carefully tended and the oyster
production of these waters has been at
least trebled in two years. In places
where the bottom is not suited to the
planting of oysters, artificial beds are
made and oyster shells are the best
possible things to be used for this pur-
pose"
MIR. HopsoH at this point picked up a
shell on which he pointed out about q
dozen of the reddish-brown spots men-
toned above.
These" he continued, "would have
developed into edible oysters in a few
years had the shell been left in the
water. / received an order two days
ago tor 10, 900 bushels of oyster shells,
at 1t cents a bushel If the five million
bushels of shells that are removed from
oysters every season in Baltimore could
be sold at this rate S75, ZOO could be
realized from what is now a burden to
the packers. This could be done If the
Maryland law granted the right to
planters to hold private possession of
the bottom of the bay. Places where !
not an oyster is now found would soon
teen with prolific beds, and the cense-
qUence would be that the present alarm |
about the condition of the bay would |
never again exist. If home demand |
were created for shells for planting pur-
poses it would soon be found that they |
could lie put to better use than filling
up bulkheads and making or meEding |
roads. One hundred thousand bushels |
at least have been shipped North this
season and the demand is growing. |
Connecticut uses up her own shells and |
has to send South for more. The Long |
Island Sound planters are making lots |
of money by selling seed oysters to
California, New York, New Jersey, and
Europe. These oysters are too small
tor use. but are planted in beds in the
localities named, and are found to thrive
and fstten rapidly. Oyster culture in
that State has been carried to the high
est perfection.