Morning journal and courier., 1890-07-23

The oyster Grounds OF the Chesap cake
hay and the Wonderful Growth of
New Haven,s oyster Interest-NOtes
Of a Trip Down tho Harbor.
To the editor of the JOURNAL AND COURIER:
To anyone who has looked over the oyster
grounds of the Chesapeake bay and seen the
oyster vessels focking into Baltimore, and
thrown out oysters on wharves by the thou
sand bushels, and has seen Mr.. Caleb s.
Maltby appropriate for his use 1000 bushels
in one day, and his fourteen oyster shell lime
kilns all steaming and smoking up at once
in different stages of progress in the burning
of oyster shells-such locker. on then
thought the oyster trade in Fair Haven was
an infant, and 80 1t was.
Whatever we may have thought heretofore
we have occasion to think different now, for
we have learned through your valuable jour
nal from time to time that "things ia differ
emit now," bat we did not realize the extent
of this difference until we spent the day on
board the steamer Lockwood, Captain Harvey
Barnes, while engaged In the process of rak.
ing over acres and acres of oyster grounds,
preparatory to shelling, to accommodate the
oyster setting season.
The little steamer, with Its devoted captain
and intelligent engineer, walked down the
harbor, passed through the east channel, by
the old lighthouse, and marched upon her
territory and raked, with two rakes ten feet
long, one on each side, all day from Z to
o'clock, without breach in time or the loss
of a moment, by snsgging over rough rocks,
out of sight. True, once in half day or so,
we would rake over a bed rock, but never to
get in trouble; but now and then the vessels
course would change suddenly and, noticing
it, we ask why, and tor an answer Captain
Barnes says, "to avoid bad rock" the
which, being in fifteen or twenty feet Of
water, was out of sight, and no buoy to in
was equal to the occasion, and our drag rakef
touched them not.
By and by out comes another steamer
with large barge-vessel designed for car.
rying deck load of oyster shells, and she
commences where we commenced ana FOL
lows over the course, throwing off her deck
load of 700 bushels of shells, more or less
| which work is performed in about five hours
by ten or twelve hands, and then she returnt
to Fair Haven to receive another load anc
| gets upon the ground again about noon o.
| the next day.
Thus it is that the oyster farms arr
worked and are raked and planted with seet
oysters, if the acres are non. bearing grounds
or with shells for oyster spawn to set upon
ana starnsn (tho Weeds) are gathered with INT
oysters in curious bag-net, sometimes al
hundred bushels in one day, and sold tt
farmers as fertilizers.
The growing Of oysters is an interesting
business and requires both skill and pa
tienoe-and money as well-all the wa.
from the beginning to the end, and we ma,
we'll call the owners "oyster merchants,
| with oysters enough to start a new money
bank.
| Much obliged. Captain Barnes, we vii
| gre you another call and see how you rak
in the eSops with your great tooth dredges
and how you catch starfish and lock upo
the thousand and one curious things whic
You dump out of the great jaws of tn
dredges at the same time you land your oys
ters on deck. As a matter of course this sec
ond experience will be the most interesting
This business is of the first Importance t
New Haven because it is a cash business
employees great many persons, a large CAPT
tai and, best of all, draws into New Have
very large amounts of money from the ou
side world. That is the only way New HI
ven can get rich. All such men therefore 6
draw money into New Haven by maxim
something other people must have, or prt
duce something which they need, are til
ones who contribute the now made dollars
the materia! prosperity Of New Haven. Sue
| business is ENTERPRIzE.