The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1899-09-10
THE OYSTER CROP OUTLOOK
QUALITY HIGH AND DEMAND GREA TER
THAN THE SUPPLY.


arc fairly satisfied with the crop and prospects,
They expect the demand for oysters this season
70 exceed the supply and the quality 10 be very
high Last year sloop load after sloop load was
rejected at tho headquarters on West Tenth street,
and sent away 10 be returned 10 the wator, and
the general opinion was that the year was q
poor one; but there another side to it Oysters
are placed 10 spawn in spat beds along the deeper
water shores Of bays and estuaries, Each
is capable Of producing 100000 eggs. These
rise 10 tho surface. then sink and attach them
selves 70 old sheI1s or stonos After growing for
a timo they are brought TO tho surface by dredg-
ing They are broken apart the barren shells
are rejected, and tho good ones arc removed 10
the shallower and moro sheltered waters to mature
for market
When June, July and August are dry,
oysters thrive, but when this period is rainy
tho flow Of fresh water from the land makes IL
impossible for the oysters TO get proper food In
the shape Of sea water. Then oysters are dark,
thin and stuntod. not filing tho shell This was
the case in 1918; the oysters in the shadows
were not fit for market, and short sighted oyster
men took chanca They dredged up the spat
beds, picked out the largest oysters, those prop
erly belonging TO the next years crop. and sent
them 70 market These wero rejected and tho
cry went up that the crop had failed Millions
be again placed on he beds. The early spring
ice foes, heavy last spring, still further depleted
the spat beds and 30 this tho supply is not
too large Greater care will DO taken, no i'm
mature stock will be brought In, and the consumer
has a treat before him. The shadows not
overstocked, and there Is less salad" TO prevent
the water from coming direct 10 the mollusk
Sometimes tho covering is two feet thick above
the transplanted spat and men have TO clear il
away before commencing operations, The state
ment that mussels have seriously injured tho
beds applies only to the spat and well informed
men think the injury is greatly exaggerated.
American oysters rank among the best in tho
world and the export list is growing all the time.
England taking about 5000 barrels a week almost
the year round. As early as 1921 the chronicles
of New Amsterdam" tell Of very large oisters-
on the shores, and In 1881 Arnodus Montanus
and Sir George Calvert reported beds producing
oysters foot long. Gone are the days OF the old
Saddle Rocks which no man could place entire
in his mouth. which for frying were the Elys-
UNI Of the Philadelphia chef. As the Dutch passed
oysters lang uished and early in this century they
were practically extinct In this region. In 1880
there was q bed discovered in the Great South
Bay of Sayville, but no one seeded them. and IL
soon worked out; then in 1888 q schooner
came from Virginia with cargo. and these, not
DcLnk uOuknk "cIo uuulpou TIC urtdt ooutu
Bay and formed the neucleus Of the present beds
In 1872 there were reported to DO seventeen boats
oystering on the bay.
The industry grew, seed was supplied to all and
soon beds were in operation all along the Con-
nectcut, New York and New Jersey coasts, all
seeded from Green's bed" Then an organiza-
ton was formed TO boom Sayville. TO control the
seed and also tho making OF private oyster beds,
and today the Government report shows that be.
tween Orient and Throgg's Neck alone there are
200 600 acres of available oyster beds employing
Q 2S0 men, l8 steamers, 235 sloops 8 schooners
and 435 boats and skifs all requiring capital OF
81, 147.S50 and marketing annually 1857 735
bushels Of oysters. This leaves all the Lower
Bay and the Great South Bay still uncounted as
well as the outside eastern and southern places.
1t is generally understood that tho French
Government was the first TO foster this industry.
but this Is not true for three years before tho
Frenchman, Coste, began his experiments tho
State Of New York in 1855 enacted law to protect
the oystermen This law still stands and to sus-
tain its provisions all night long watchmen patrol