Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1891-02-14
OYSTER SHELLS.
Uses to which They Are Now Put and Have
Been Put.

Uses to which They Are Now Put and Have
Been Put.
From the Detroit Free Press.
It has been estimated that q, 000, 900 bushels
OF oysters are opened annually in the United
States and that this represents an accumulation
OF shells amounting to not les than 24S, $50 900
cubic feet. which if spread out would cover .
space Of more than 450,000 yards square to .
depth Of three feet.
No doubt the majority Of persons who have
assisted in eating the oysters contained in this
enormous amount Of shells seldom give .
thought as to what becomes Of these rough. I'M
couth coverings. A few, perhaps, If questioned
on the subject would be likely to reply that the
only way in which they had seen them utilized
was In filling up and making roads, embank-
ments and wharves.
Nevertheless, this is but one Of their many
uses, - they are extensively employed in max
them on the bottom of the bays and other
bodies Of water in which oysters are propa-
gated, thus forming . bed upon which the
spawn settles and grows into maturity. They
are also converted into lime, serve as ballast
for vessels and made into fertilizers. In add
ton to this. they play an important part in
the poultry yard, where in q powdered form
they are much sought after by those engaged
In raising fowls Of every kind.
The early colonists used nothing but oyster
there still exist mills and kilns devoted entirely
to the industry Of converting the shells into
that material. They have been used in making
hydraulic cement. when mixed with clay and
magnesia. and gave perfect satisfaction. not
only in laying drains, coating cisterns and the
tains and other ornamental objects exposed to
the elements.
That these shells have been used for fertiliz-
ing purposes for hundreds of years is evidenced
by the fact that even now, in some portions of
Canada, what is called unused mud is dug
out Of the remains Of extinct oyster beds by
huge machines adapted to the purpose. and
spread in thick layers over the land. This is
merely survival Of Ar old custom, as We are
told that in early times they were laboriously
dredged out and used for the same purpose.
Mr.. Ernest Ingersoll, a noted authority on
the history of this favorite bivalye, states that
"along Pamlico sound, in North Carolina. when
the weather becomes warm and there is no
employment for their boats the fishermen rake
up boat loads of rough bunch or coon oys-
and used AS a fertilizer. for which from to s
cents q bushel is paid" These "coon" oysters
are seldom eaten, but are found in immense
Quantities in southern waters, every stake, bit
OF sunken log or the branches Of fallen trees
being loaded down with them.
In the northern and eastern states the i'm
menSe mounds Of oyster, clam and mussel
shells found in various localities along the coast
prove inexhaustible mines for agriculturists,
who use them as o top dressing for their farms
In the neighborhOOd of Damariscotta, Me-,
there are mounds which are estimated to con-
tain not less than 5000, 900 cubic feet Of shells
"a lasting monument to the red mans parti-
nifty for crustaceous food. Prior to being used
the shell must be burned, which is done in
rude, homemade kilns. very amusing story
is told by Mr.. Ingersol relative to the discovery
OF an old kiln which was thought by its scien-
tifc finders to be an aboriginal house until they
found the half Of a well-baked brick at the
bottom Of the structure.