Morning journal and courier., 1886-08-13
THE coNNEcTrcUT OYSTER

THE CONNECTICUT OYSKEH Versus the Maryland and the vir-
 g1n1a Oyster-New Haven Men Say
 the New Haven Oyster Discounts the Chesapeake Bay BtvaIve-
 Yankee Enterprise and Oyster CuI- tfvatfon-Southerners Wake up to Find They Must Now Cultivate the Oyster.
 great deal of praise for the Virginia and the Maryland oysters has been bestowed by | the southern gentlemen who were here last
 week to inquire into the modes and methods | of oyster cultivation in Connecticut waters, and especially here and hereabouts, this be- 1 ing one of the great oyster centers of the | United States; and to hear their glowing | comments about the Baltimore and Virginia@ oyster, one would suppose that New Haven
 was nowhere as to the future of the culture of oysters. They said that in the Chesapeake Bay waters the oyster came to maturity in l half the time that the Connecticut oyster does and that we here would have to take @ back seat were it not for our enterprise, grit, pluck, etc. We had the starfsh to contend | with and other foes of the oyster which our competitors in Maryland and Virginia waters | have not; and they had better natural ad- yaptages for oyster cultivation than we. We had to employ expensive steamers and appar- l atus to assist in the business; they had only l to send out man in boat with
 a, pair of strong arms arm and u par l oyster growers don't scare worth cent. One | of our most prominent oyster growens was 1 interviewed yesterday by COURIER repre- l sentative on the subject, and the following | conversation occurred:
 l How about the Maryland delegation and | their talk about the superiority of souther. n | oysters to the northern, and the short time in | which; as they set forth, the southern oyster grows big enough to eata And how about l their claim that the southern oyster beats the
 northern all hollow in point of flavor and 1 general acceptability to the palate? l We'll, that talk about the southern oyster 1 beating the northern in quality is nonsense. The figures say differently. The fact is that l the northern oyster is much ahead of the southern in quality. This is proven from l the fact that New Haven oysters bring from | fifteen to twenty cents more per gallon than the Chesapeakes in any market.
 How is it about the alleged rapidity of | growth of the southern bivalve?
 l That, too, is moonshine. They go through | the same natural processes and stages of growth as the northern and mature no quick CT.
 How about the absence of starfsh and oth- CT enemies of the oyster in Maryland and Virginia waters?
 l the starfsh and other enemies of the oyster | to contend with and they do not. Their waters are free from them. In that they have decided advantage of us.
 How about the lack of dredging steamers and other accessories to oyster cultivation ln | these southern waters; and ho W about their
 claim that they don't require these things and can do their oystering at 50 much less | expense than is the case here at the Northa | The reason is plain. They have no oyster cultivation in Maryland and Virginia waters, | for the reason that nature has lavishl v sup ro1in in1 hr7n6 de of (Sf ! ters without their aid. Under these waters | the oyster grows naturally. Natural cyst CT beds abound. They have never had to culti- vate the oyster. The oysters grew of their own accord. But the oyster business has in- creased there in twenty-five years so much l that the natural supply is becoming exhaust ed. Hence the visit of these Marylanders here. They see that it is time to bestir l themselves. If they don't they will see the 1 business slipping away from them. They themselves or 'tget left" They take up the oysters too fast. The demand exceeds the supply. Hence the Maryland men came here to profit by our twenty-five years ex- perience and to learn how to cultivate the oyster. They didn't have the oyster dredg ing steamers, it is true, except in few cases But they had not been cultivating oysters They will have to have Expensive steamers and Expensive apparatus" if they are going to do any business in the near future. They are like the Indians, they don't raise corn if nature will supply their wants. But nature has ''gin out" as far oysters are concerned in these southern waters and the southerners find that they have either got to fish, cut bait or go elsewhere" Of course our New Haven oyster growers in Baltimore know about oyster cultivation from experience, but the other fellows have got to ''get up and dust" and they perceive it.
 How is it about our buying so largely from
 Virginia in the winter time2
 That is simply because the demand exceeds the supply in New Haven and hereabouts. Our supply runs out, so we have to buy from them. We are constantly increasing our yield of oysters. More ground is constantly being utilized for oyster cultivation. We in- tend to keep up with the procession. Our oyster IS superior in quality to the southern. We can raise oysters as cheap1y as they can. Our oysters command better price than the southern. They have the advantage of us in that they have no starfish or other natural enemies of the oyster. They have not re- quired steamers because the oysters grew naturally in such large quantities. But now they will be obliged to cultivate the oysters, or else fall behind
 But have we not natural oyster beds? Yes, but not to the extent that exist in Maryland and Virginia waters. Our harbor, East Ha ven river and many places along the coast are natural oy ster beds. But it is not so with the Sound. That as rule is not. We utilize it for oyster culture by planting shells. The bed of Long Island Sound is usually swept as smooth f1od by the tides