Pine Bluff daily graphic., 1897-05-02
CATCHING SCALLOFS.
.. About MoIIusk Which the 2 Eee-~ I,a..sisf in Sonl.frs.r

1,4Ef .asside places where scallops abound ses ssa,.s see men cleaning down the large ,o,,,s and fishing boats, scraping the ,a. M bms and overhauling sails and rum s1G rigging, and, if curious enough to 2. tbe reason why, they are told that fhe scallop season commences on Oc- tober 1. This has been the date for saors with the exception of 1894, when sbe Massachusetts season was delayed ,,,t;I November 1, owing to the growing saorcity of the mollusk and the change ;r the season, which gives warmer ,geather. as rule, at the end of Septem- har and in October than was the case ,ears ago. As matter of fact, .scallops ike celery, are not in their prime until the frost catches them.
 The great bulk of the early scallops :, tbe New York market comes from shelter island and Peeonic bay, where visitors in summer may see them lying, sbells and fish mingled, by hundreds of thousands in five feet of shoaling water. There are many more empty shells than fnll ones, say the fishermen, and this Is nroyed to some extent if the visitors dredge for the handsome fan-shaped shells to use in fancy work. They sel- dom get a shell with the meat still in It. Later on scallops come to this market f,om Buzzard's bay, Monument beach, m to Wings Neck Light, in Massachu- setts. and still later the eastern supply arrives from Maine and New Hamp- shire. This year the early shipments come from Huntington. Smithtown and Brookhaven, |. l., and scallops from the Connecticut coast will be coming in next week. The prices vary from two dollars gallon to twenty-five cents. At present, while the supply is limited, prices will be very fuctuating. On Oc- tober 1 the price was one dollar, and October it was $1 .50 in the market
 The industry is not very old one, 1t Ibeing about twenty-five years since it assumed large proportions. As in the case of oysters, people had scallops at their doors, but did not care to take the trouble to gather them to eat, much less try to market them. Four years ago the United States government eyineed aninterest in the industry, and obtained statistics of receipts at the various mar kets for term of years.
 The scallops are taken from the wa ter at the various points by dredging from the sides of sloops and smaller boats. The dredge consists of an iron frame holding about bushel, with coarse network of iron rings at the back, like an oyster dredge. It is drawn slow ls over the scallop ground until it IS filed, when the catch is hauled inboard, the culling process commences, and the refuse is thrown overheard. Some of { the larger boats put out on good day as many as seven dredges. A good day s estimated to produce about thiry bushels in the shell, and the thirty bush- ek in the shell will produce about 6lEety quarts for the market. The "eye" | ot the mollusk is the only part retained. l0pening the shells in cold weather ll itter hard work, and the men earn very cent they make. The shells are, However. fairly easy to open, and for Ahis reason it is no uncommon thing for anen who own skiffs to take their en- Hire catch home, where their wives and Hhildren all turn out to help shell them. HIhe shells have sharp edges, which Make most of the men wear rubber Finger cots. The knife used is of steel, #ith blade an inch wide and nearly #ree times as long. A good opener can 8et through with 12 gallons a day, and @e pay is 20 cents gallon. The small Healops are thrown overheard.
 IS Itis practically impossible to get scal- Bps in their natural state in the New Work markets. They are all soaked be-
 lore leaving the dredgers, the idea be-
 E to make them larger and winter. soaking three gallons of scallops
 Fey can be made to measure four gall
 Es but the effect of the process on
 quality is another matter. Any vis-
 W who has bought them at the
 grounds knows the difference between
 soaked and the unsoaked. Directly
 soaked scallops are cooked they
 @ the pan with water and drive many
 good housewife's soul into sin by chil-
 N the fat in which she intended to
 them. Many a time she will dry
 n carefully, cracker dust and egg
 n, have the fat boiling and bub-
 ag' only to drop them in and have
 come out par5oiled, or parstewed. . lalure is due to the water's being
 out of them.
 le scallop is a short-lived molluslS,
 lg to maturity and dissolution in , years in it's natural element, and :. 1.-two days when removed. Scai- are very uncertain in their move I S' and the supply is therefore pre- a us winds and tides or any changes 1ifents affecting their numbers '' sy and sometimes entirely clear 7, 'asm out of places where they have n 'sfy prolific. The yield this year ,r frcted to be fully up to the aver . ine American scallops are easily e, 4est in the world, although the