The San Saba news. [volume] (San Saba, Tex.) 1873-1966, 1890-08-01
0YSTERMEN.
a92 X CHE FLEET WHICH sup
ssEw SoRKs BIyALvEs.

afsQ - FRl LEErWHIGH sup
ks.i1'S NEW YoRKs BTyABvEs.
auensf s. Their Only Idle Month
How the Oyster Goes on a Fresh
Water sprec-Plant-
jh - the Beds.
Aurn month in the year
when IA e water froat he
tween Il 4 Eleventh streets is not
thick ". - iuasts Of smart little oys-
ter boats. All the rest OF the 4 there
are spry sDops from Princes Ba ksocka-
way, the Shrewsbury and the inlcts of
Connecticut, with stout seagoing schoon-
ers from down the Jersey coast, from
Delaware Bay and even from the shallow
waters Of far Chincoteague. Nine hun
dred aud ninety-nine New Workers out
of thousand have never seen an oyster
sloop except, perhaps, from the Brook
lyn Bridge or from the deck Of ferry
boat Several hundred Of these little
vessels ply between New York and the
neighbonng bays. II all sloops look alike
to yeu, as they do TO most persons, you
would - * know an oyster boat from
piNz srht; and, indeed, the oyster
sioop makes a very fair yacht for those
who do not insist upon the last second Of
speed and the utmost limit of beauty.
Walk through one OF the big scows that
help to form old wooden wall along
the oyster WI rvcs Standing on the
back porch Of ,e scow, SO to speak, you
look down upofa dozen oyster sloops,
big and little. They ran from ten TO
twenty tens, and carry mainsail, jib, top
sail and iib-topsail. They are trim mod
els, aud on the stern you see in gilt let
tiers a feminine name, followed by an ini-
tial-a delicate tribute to some wife OF
sweetheart. Oysters are piled all about
the deck, and the hold is full. The
cabin, however, IL clean and coy, with
small stove, hunks, few plates, and
here and there a picture. Uusually there
are three men 20 each vessel, but the
schooners from down the coast carry
more.
You may buy good oyster sloop Tor
$1,000 Dredges, tongs, skiifs aud floats
cost another $1,000. and having bought
or leased your land under water, you must
have something in bank whiic your crop
grows. In fact, $1,000 is little enough
to begin on, Il you wish to be 3 we'll
equipped and independent oysterman.
Ten acres well sown with seed oysters
will Weld handsome income in three
years, but you must keep on sowing il
you would continue to reap. Most Of the
oystermsn have partners among the
oyster dealers OF New York. The
New Yorker furnishes the capital, the
oysterman the skill, muscle and teehnicsl~
knowledge. It-is~si- I6rs--tIfu FOR the
oJstes--eHs They have their little homes
down along the shore, not far from the
oyster beds. There IS planting on the
mud in ten to twenty-five feet Of water;
transpIanting to hard bottom in shallow
water: dredging, longing and fattening.
This last process Is called giving the
oyster "a drink It IS done thus: The
salty oysters, from Princes Bay, Staten
Island are brought from their briny beds
to the fresher water OF the north shore
and dumped out on a float. This looks
like an aquatic hencoop. It IS made OF
stout piauks, nailed 10 cleats, with a
space of half an inch between each plank. 1
Around the platform thus made are
nailed heavy iogs.which serve the double
purpose Of walls aud floaters- The
oysters are dumped down On the Slated
float and the logs are buoyant enough to
prevent the whoir from sinking. For
twelve or fifteen hours the oysters are
permitted n y .fgssA Mater:
II IS really fresh-water spree, Tor the
oysters come from their drink bloated
far beyond their originaI size. Oyster
men say thai a thousand oysters thus
treated show when shucked gain of
July a gallon in brtk--They also cleanse /
themselves of sand, lose their strong
saline taste and improve in odor- The [
Shrewsbury kiTey oysters need no such /
treatment, for they grow IA water con
siderablY less salt than that OF Princes
Lay.
cnincoteasue oysters COME from Chin
colleague Sound, a broad, SHALLOW BODY
Of water OF the coast Of Accomack
County, Virginia, between Ohincoteague
Island and the mainland. The whole
sound Is thick with saplingi that mark
the boundaries OF oyster beds. These
oysters are long, narrow and white. The
island is inhabited almost solely by fisher
men Of one sort or another, snd tue shore
for miles IS lined IN midsummer with dis
used oyster boats.
The t.ovee and inrefs af Tial.v-,,, D.,