Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1898-06-04
ABOUT OYSTERS.
IDglishmen Prefer Their Little Cop
perry Bivalves to Our Product.

lDElishmen Prefer Their Little Cop
perry Bivalves to Our Product.
From the Trade.
Not long ago, while in London I went
early one morning to Billingsgate to sec
the great fish market with all it's reputa-
ton for epithets. 1t was disappointing to
, find its language as clean as its fish, but
there was enough interest in the fish to
axe up for the loss of profanity. 1 was
fortunate in meeting dealer who sold
mere oysters than any man in London, his
average being about 10000 OGO a year
oysters there being sold by the count. The
evening before, at a club, the Englishmeu
rallied the Americans on their food pro-
ducts, but we retorted that the good old
roast beef of England and the good old
roast mutton of England both came from
the United States, and then we went fur
Their and said that American oysters were
the finest in the world, at which they
laughed uproariousiy and said that while
they might admit the beef and the mutton
everybody knew that American oysters
were not worth eating, being fiabby and
tasteless and altogether unequal to the
English variety. When 1 told the oyster
dealer about this, he said it was fact
that so far the English people had not
Teen educated up to the American oyster
but that he managed to sell more Of them
every year on account of their cheapness
Then the surprise Of all occurred. While
select American oysters brought only 70
to 10 cents dozen, the little coppery
things from the continent sold for SO and
% cents. and the English natives were
rare at 81 a dozen. But of course there is
10 accounting for tastes.
Europe has gone through what this coun-
| try is facing Over there they destroy
their oyster beds by excessive dredging
and now nearly every oyster eaten is a
product of cultivation. Fer three months
| 1t Is rot permissible to sell the English
| natives" but the oyster transplanted
from the cOntiHpnt from ric
be sold at any time. At Whitstable, a
small bay near the mouth Of the Thames
one company supplies over &c, 600 900 oys-
tiers annually to the London market 1t is
so well systematiZed that If you are giving
dinner in London you may have your
oysters only few hours from the water
In France and Belgium the same desirable
condition prevails. The productiveness of
this oyster cultivation Is illustrated by the
fact that crop of oysters worth over
$SOOO,OOO was raised on a French farm Of
less than 400 acres
L was told that cultivation had changed
the European oyster in several ways. The
flavor was moderated and the solid and
nutritious quantities were increased. We
are finding out the same in this country
The real blue points were large oysters
from a famous bed, which has been ex-
hausted for fully thirty years. The new
blue points are the smaller oysters Of vari-
GUS varieties. The sound oysters, on which
New York feeds, were largely transplanted
from Maryland, after. the native beds had
been exhausted, ard very often the culti-
Vators OF Long Island sound are able to
produce better product than we get from
| the Chesapeake bay. There is nothing in
the world that responds more quickly to
attention than the oyster, but once Its
beds are depleted, patience is necessary
to supply them again. At one time Massa-
chusetts had a magnificent oyster supply
but the people took up everything in the
vain expectation that nature would repro
duce her crops without having any seed to
start them with. There are splendid oys-
ter possibilities in North and South Caro-
lima, and there is a sentiment for their
protection. Along the Gulf of Mexico
dredgers and catchers have been busily at
work, to the great detriment of the supply:
but the government is now investigating
the subject, and it is hoped that the depre-
cations viii be checked in time. Numer-
Gus car loads of oysters were taken from
Baltimore to San Francisco with success
and there is no reason why the Pacific
coast should not become q great OYSTER
producing region. Just what the disregard
OF protective policy means is illustrated
only TOO sadly in the Chesapeake BAY
where the total catch has fallen off 80 Der
cent In twelve years. Instead of the 5000,
900 or 100000 bushels, which is a too
! liberal estimate. and which Is being con-
stantly decreased, Prof. Brooks. who has
contributed more to the knowledge of the
oyster than any man in the world calcu-
lates that the 100000 acres of oyster lands
In the Chesapeake bay are capable of WELD
ing over 900 bushels annually nro.
ducing revenue of $50, 600, 600 These fig
ures seem large, but 1t must be Remember
ed that the lady oyster lays several mil
lion eggs every year.