The Republican journal., 1885-08-06
Oysters of Great Size.


of them was a regular Jumbo in size, weighing
a pound and three-quarters in the shell, and
measuring nine inches in length and five and \
quarter in width. We imagine it was an ovs-
ter of this size of which Thackery said when
be ate his first bivalve in this country-that he
felt as though he had swallowed a baby. Mr..
McGlothen presented the monster to John w.
Causey, who took it with him to Milford"
This item from the Delaware Democrat was
shown to a wholesale oyster dealer yesterday
why, bless you" he said, 'that isn't much of
an oyster. They grow great deal bigger than
that in this country. Did you ever hear of the
joke some New Workers played on a famous
fish dealer of London while ago: No: Well,
let Inc tell you about it.
OYSTERS OF HUGE DIMENSIONS.
This man, of course, was familiar with oys-
tiers, but had never seen any of our champions; !;
some of the friends to whom he brought let
ters determined to show him what could be
done in this country in the way of oysters and
clans. | believe there were about twenty at
the dinner and after the soups the door was
thrown open with a bang and with much con-
fusion two walters appeared bearing an enor-
nous plate, upon which were dozen of oys-
ters on the half shell. Each one was over
thirteen inches in length, being the famous
Long Fox oysters from Old Point Comfort
oDt NOuiu IiNe served Il man LOT Infte meals.
The dish was finally placed in front of the
tonished tiShmonger, who anXiously inquired if
it was the custom of one man to eat SO much
and so many. He was answered that it was,
and was gravely informed that they would give
him appetite for the clans, with which the
walters were now struggling. They were the
celebrated Groducks that have been quite late
ly discovered on the northwest coast. and YOU
can imagine the effect when tell you that each
one over foot long, eight inches wide.
and some Were ten. and all weighed from six
to eight pounds. A dozen of these steamed
We're placed before him by the two men.
"'1e don't expect me to eat all this, do ye:'
he shouted.
.'Eat il: retortrd the chairman. why bless
your soul. that's what we take to give us an ap-
petite for the deved clam. and at that moment
three walters came in bearing the shell of the
great clam known as the Fridacna, an East In
dian clam. The one valve that the men brought
in weighed two hundred and fifty pounds, and
was filled with lobster salad. This was lifted
upon the table, that creaked and groaned
again. This finished the Englishman. He
pushed back his chair, and nobody knows what
he was going to say or do, when all hands burst
out into roar of laughter. and being jolly
fellow, he saw the joke, and joined the others
and accepted it.
AN IMMENSE CLAM.
The shell that weighed two hundred and
fifty pounds was borrowed for the occasion.
and when complee weighs five hundred and
thirty pounds-eaoh valve about two hundred
and fifty, and the meat about thirty pounds.
The experiment has actually been tried ana it
was found that the meat would afford meal
for forty or fifty men. So if you went clam
ming in that country, one lind would put you
on your feet. The shells are mostly used in
churches. where they are utilized to hold the
holy water. and the reason that they are 50 rare
is that it is extremely difficult to take them
themselves. They are almost covered up. aud
the byssu>, or rope of attachment, as il is call
ed, is 50 strong that il requires an AK to sever
it, and Wheu you consider that you are working
under water. and have to do so at low tide only
You can see it is quite difficult piece of work
to get them. Hence the price for the shell alone
is high.
TO revert to the oyster trade and the dam
gers that beset it. The government ha, taken
the subject in hand, and the assistants of Prof.
Baird are at work now making a report on the
subject. The one great enemy of the oyster j.
the star-tish, and if you want to make fortune,
invent some sort of "A machine that will scoop
up these pests and leave all the oysters. The
incalculable numbers of the parasites is little
suspected by people not familiar with the oyS-
ter and its doings. Some time since | went on
a tour of inspection over some of the oyster
beds in Long Island Sound. aud when say
that | saw enough star-tshes that If piled up in
Chestnut street would till block up even with
the tops of the houses, don't think am eXag-
gerating. | rowed over acre after acre about
New London, where the bottom was fa 'ly COW
cred with them, and though they are rather
poorly endowed with means Tor rapid locomo-
tion. they ger along in surprising manner, 50,
we will say. to-day there will be no star-tiShe>
to be seen. and siN hours after the beds will be
covered with them.
GREAT BALLS OF STAR-FIsII.
The oy>termen explain this in curious way
and that it is true | have no doubt. One man
informed me that he was drifting along over
his beds one day, and there was not a star-tish
in sight. The next morning there were thous-
ands of them, and upon the edge of the field. or
bed, where 1t began to slope off into deep water
he saw hundreds of balls, each about as large
as bushel basket. He got hold of one by
using hook, and found that it was made up
of rope of star-iishes, all clingng together, SO
that he actually unrolled the ball into his boat
where the star-hsh separated. His idea wa,
that they formed into these balls in deep water
and were rolled in by the ground swell until
they struck the oyster beds, where they Separ-
ated and spread themselves over the entire
area, carrying destruction everywhere. You
would hardly think that an oyster would sue.
cumb 10 such a low-ived enemy as the star.
fish, but it is not their strength but their stay
ing power that tells. The star-tish knows that
it can not open the oyster by force. 80 it sufo.
Gates it, so to speak, by turning its stomach in.
SNf Oul tUhtllIlS tHt oyster. anu W men llt
latter is at last obliged to open its jaws it i
sucked into the stomach of the star, and thi>
way thousands of bushels are DESTROYED every
season, At present the oystermen are power
less and the star-tshes are on the increase, anG
the only way is 10 rake them up, hut this is E:
slow process and you rake up the oysters with
them. In some places they propose TO send a
diver over the bed to collect them but about q
hundred divers would be required to do any
telling work. and of course it would not pay
50 the question stands. who shall invent "a star
fish eXterminator: Yes. half dozen have
been tried, | believe, but none were practical
A CURIOUS ENIERMINATOR.
Zone inventor had remarkable umbrella
like arrangement that was provided witt
thousands of barbed darts, that We're abou
four inches in length. The arrangement wa.
to be lowered into the water on bed. and tho
keys worked by a crank, every pressure giving
the darts or spears an impetus of three or fOui
inches, sufficient to mpale any star-tish thai
happened to be beneath it. This all rgh
for level country, but oyster-bet> are no
level, being full of irregularities, and Of course
some of the teeth would not strike bottom
Another invention was an automatic hand tina
was dragged over the beds, picking up tht
stars, but it was found TO pick up oysters also
So in fact, the field is still open. 1t has beel
suggested that electricity might destroy them
not by giving them shocks, but by lighting ul
the beds with the electric light, and as the star
fishes avoid light places, they would keep away
and starve to death-so the would-be in
yentor claimed, which seems hardly probable
Another important feature Of the oyster busi
ness is the proposed plan of artiticially fertiliz
ing them and thus increasing the supply. Th
has already been done in Europe. and the at
tempt is to be made In Virginia waters" [Phil
adelphia Times.
ELEVEN OYSTERS WHICH FILLED A QUAR-
MEASURE.
A number of gentlemen interested in oyster
gathered at Swearer's restaurant, on Gran
street, at O'Clock Tuesday afternoon. to wit
ness the opening of twelve large oysters. |
had been wagered that the oysters when openet
would fill quart measure. Opinion wa
divided. however, and some bets were madt
upon the result. Col. Swearer brought out
small table and placed it near the centre of th
| floor, and the oysters were brought out an,
laid upon it. They were enormous in size. |
| was suggested that they be weighed in th,
| shell. They weighed twenty-five pounds--th
| largest of the lot two and a-haf pounds. Will
lam Hubbard, an expert with the oyster knife
| took his place at the table and laid open th
| first oyster. 1t was beauty and fat as butter
| Every man present looked at it hungriiy. A
| each oyster came out of its she'll plethoric will
| fat the experts in biyalves agreed that the,
| were unusually fine. Eleven oysters filled th
quart measure. Col. SWearer remarked tina
| they beat any oyster he ever saw opened. In
deed doubted if eleven oysters We're eve
brought to this city which, when opened woul,
heap quart measure like that He recae,
| the fact that twelve oysters were brought her
| in 1889 from one of the celebrated rocks dow
| the bay, which filled u quart cup. But tn
present lot We're much finer. While he wa
IL, VII,