Orange County observer. [volume] (Hillsborough, N.C.) 1880-1918, 1884-11-01
THE VIRGINIA r
.om~ethinsAbout a Lively Elizabeth River
Industry.

Industry.
This country here is the land of the
,vster. and millions of bushels are raised
yearly. writes a correspondent from
Fortress Monroe, Va. They grow In the
salt water at the mouth of the Elizabeth
River, and naturally fasten themselves
TO the rocky parts OF its bed During
the season the river swarms with boats
fishing for them. They are caught by a
kind Of a rake Or tongs which the oyster
catcher thrusts down, catches hold OF
shem and pulls them up into his boat.
The business of catching them is done
by the coIored population, and fish and
oysters form the staple diet OF the
negroes of this region. 1t is a good
business, too, this catching Of oysters.
and many of the oysterers make good
wages. A good catch is always saleable,
and the river is free to all. After the
men have caught q boatload, they bring
them to the oyster packers and sell
them. l visited the largest of these es-
| adjustments here, and watched their
preparation for the northern market. A
scow containing about 500 tons OF
oysters in1the shell, all of them dirty
and shiny, piled up like a big lot of
! stones on its floor, had just come in.
These were unloaded by means of a der
rick and a bushel' tub with an iron
handle. The oysters were shovelled,
still dripping, into this tub, and after
landing were wheeled into o long, low
shed. Each tub was worth thirty-five
cents, and they were counted as they
were unloaded. Stepping inside the
she'd. Isaw two rows of narrow stalls
with q sort Of manger in their front
ends. Each of these was filed with a
big colored oyster shucker. The oysters
were emptied into the managers and
these men, with a small hammer and a
short-bladed knife, opened them, took
out the oysters and threw them into a
bucket the size of a common wooden
pail. First they would lift up the oyster
shell, then break off its end with the
hammer, then inject the knife into the
broken place and pry it open. They
worked very fast, and as they did 50
their queer Southern songs mingled
with the short hammering of the break
ing shells. I ate a few of the oysters
Must as they were opened, and found
them to possess q delicious flavor,
which I have never found in the oysters
of the North.
When a shucker has filled his bucket
he hands it over to the washer, and this
man empties it into a large vat of water,
where the oysters are washed and
drained of their liquor before being sent
away. The shuckers sort them as they
open them, and put the little ones into
one pail, the medium ones into another,
and the big ones into q third. They
are paid twenty cents a bucket, and
sometimes they make as much as So g
day. Many of them save their money,
and I find here the same report l found
on the peninsula, namely, that the col
ored people of the South are doing well,
and that many of them are acquiring
property. After the oysters are washed,
they are packed in tubs and shipped.
When packed, there is no liquor in
them, and I am told that oyster sellers
in the North often water their oysters
before selling.
The FRANKLIN FUND. - Benjamin
franklin left $1,000 to Boston to be
loaned in small sums to young married
mechanics under % who had served an
apprenticeship, had good character and
could give bonds for the repayment OF
the money in annual installments. The
changed condition of mechanics, the de-
cay of the apprentice system and other
causes have made the bequest of n,
value to those for whom it was intended
under the rules Franklin laid down,
The fund now amounts to more thar
$500, 900, and is increasing at the rate
OF $40, 900 a year.