Missouri Valley times. [volume] (Missouri Valley, Iowa) 1874-1931, 1899-12-14

pable Of holding from 1000 to 1900 oys-
terA OF in barrels that will hold far
larger quantity. This 10 quite apart
from the city trade. and 10 usually in
full swing long before New Workers.
know that the oyster season Is In again.
Middlemen in the west put these oys-
terra into smaller cans and sell them by
the quart or pint. Properly preserved
they will keep fresh . long time.
At the North river oystsf dock 400
shuckers have been Of work Shipping
oysters for the western trade. They b.
gan work week earlier than usual
this year. What these men do In The
months without the "R" no one sesms
to know. But they always turn up Q
week before the oyster season opaas
and make their contracts Tor the win
ter. They are class By themselves, o.
distinct and clsnnish - the longshors-
men for ocean uners.
There are az many ways Of opening
an oyster as there are of carving duck,
and each shucker thinks that his way 10
the best. It depends upon where man
has been brought up to the business.
Men who have been brought up in New
York and hereabout use nothing but
the knife, but they use it in different
ways. Not one man in hundred u .
good side knife opener, and IT hs 70 hs
soon quits the floats for hotel or oys-
ter shop at steady salary. It's only
the expert side knife opener that can
properly open an oyster on the deep
ahell.
Other men who use nothing but thu
knife simply stab the oyster. Epicures
declare that this spoils it, but oyster
men say that for the general trade 1t
makes little difference. In England the
shucker knows no other way Of getting
an oyster out Of its shell than to stab
1t. But, then, who ever wants the
liquid Of an English oyster? II .
shucker has been brought up in the
south, Baltimore or Norfolk, for in
stance, he uses . hammer as well as .
knife in opening an oyster. Despite tho
fact that he has to handle two tools.
dropping the hammer when he takes
up the knife, he 10 very handy att. and
can make about as much money a. Q
man who uses only the knife.
The inside Of one of these oyster
floats Is q curious sight. The shuckers
range themselves around the sides Of
the room, back to the wall and sufR-
GENTLY for apart to give free play to the
elbows. In front of each man is stout
little hickory block, with a fixed chisel
in the center. A shucker sits with one
leg on either side of the block and q
basket Of oysters containing thousand
by his side. AS easily as cook breaks
an egg he scoops the oyster from it's
ahell and drops it into pail. When
he has finished his thousand he goes
for more. The men are not there for
fun, and you hear very little talking.
More than $4,000 men are kept busy
at this work from mid-August until
May. The feet of schooners are con-
stantly out in Great South bay, in Ca
narsie bay and along the Shrewsbury
river. bringing in fresh supplies to the
floats. Not only do they supply the 5000
restaurants and oyster shops in Greater
New York, but they have to look out for
constantly increasing export trade
to England. The demand from this
source averages 5000 barrels week all
through the season. They are shipped
in the shell. and except during the sum-
mer months, when refrigtTating Is nee
essary, they can be shipped for a little
more than one dollar: a barrel freight
charge. The cost of freight for oysters
to Liverpool is about the same as to 81.
Louis.
The amount of capital invested In the
trade in this state IL estimated to be
$5,ooo.ooo. There is q great deal Of labor
involved before your fish dealer sends
you your oysters ready for the dinner
table. The bulk Of New York OYSTER
come right from our own waters-Blue
Points, Shrewsburys, Rockaways, East
Rivers and Mill Ponds.
The Blue Points and Rockaways are
usually little later in the season than
the others. For some reason brother
the demand for shrewsburys is grow.
ing less and less every year. Rockawaya
and Blue Points are tho favorite oys-
tiers for New Workers at popular prices.
Restaurant men declare that there ID
not much profit in oysters. but, consid.
ering the prices they charge and the
cost to them at the floats. Q good profit
must be made somewhere. Large Rock
Always for broils or fries are sold on
the floats for eight dollars thousand
Smaller ones for "raws" sell ut -four
dollars thousand. In restaurants one
seldom gets more than ten oysters fol
25-cent portion, no matter how often
he orders them. Even allowing 70,
rent. cooks, walters and all that SORT
Of thing, this would seem to leave Z
handsome prodt.-N. Y. Herald.
49, .~---.'--7--- -