The Providence news. (Providence [R.I.]) 1891-1906, 1898-11-14
THE TRADE In OYSTERS.

Experts say that the present oyster
season gives promise OF being the most
prosperous in many years. The early
drought and late rains were the very
things to put the luscious bivalve in
splendid condition. Few people have
any adequate idea of the extent or
value of the oyster trade of the United
States. the headquarters OF which are
i'm Maryland, whence they are shipped
all over the country, even TO the Pa
cific coast and across the Atlantic to
Europe.
Chesapeake bay, which Is the lar
gest and most prolific i'm oysters. fish
and waterfowl in the United States,
has a water surface OF 2,300 square
miles. and the oyster beds lie at inter-
walls along either side OF the channel
In, >as a rule. water less than 40 feet in
depth The total area occupied by oys-
ter beds in the bay is estimated at
about 200 square miles.
Until a comparatively recent date our
supply of oysters was drawn almost en-
tirely from the natural beds, which
were originally so vast that il was
common saying that they were mex
haustible. The fallacy Of this view has
been abundapty proved, and wherever
reliance has been placed upon natural
beds solely there has been decreasing
supply TO meet an increasing demand.
1t would hardly be credited that dur
ing last season alone 5,35432i bushels
of fine oysters were used by Baltimore
packers, while those outside the city in
various parts of the state used 1,206, O2O
bushels more. These figures include the
entire amount canned and shipped raw
oil ~ ha no mn bar
of bushels used for home consumption
by restaurants, families, etc, is esti-
mated at about 10 per cent of tho
amount handled by the Baltimore pack
ers
There are over 100 canneries and oys-
ter packing establishments in Balti-
more and they employ thousands Of
hands in the shucking. handling, pack
ing and shipping of the oysters. Even
women and children are provided with
employment in the shucking and pack
ing of the bivalves.
1t is estimated that of the total
amount of oysters handled 40 per cent
are put up in cans and So per cent ship
ped shucked i'm barrels, buckets and
tubs, i'm which chunks of ice are placed.
In this way the Chesapeake oysters
are carried i'm good condition all the
way across the continent TO the cities
of the Pacific coast. They have been
shipped to Europe in the shell; but,
owing to the fact that they became
heated on shipboard. they were not i'm
prime condition on arrival. Experts
say the temperature of an oyster should
never get above 80 If ii is TO be kept
alive and in good condition, nor should
il freeze, for freezing kills it. This sea-
son number of Baltimore packers Will
try the experiment of sending oysters
across the Atlantic in the refrigerator
chambers of cattle steamers. These
chambers are OF great capacity and
can be kept as cold as desired by re-
frigeraung machines. They are in
tended for the shipment of dressed
beef. i'm which they have been highly
successful. and there Is no doubt that
oysters carried in them would arrive on
the other side in fine condition. The
idea is a new one. and If IL proves
success our oyster trade may be still
more extended by the building up of
prosperous and lucrative trade with
the folks across the water.