The daily morning journal and courier. [volume] (New Haven, Conn.) 1894-1907, 1900-11-27
HOW THE DUTCH RAISE OYS-
TIERS.
Infinite Patience in Bringing up the BIZ
valve by Hand.

Infinite Patience in Bringing up the BIZ
valve by Hand
The perennial discussion over the
question of the cultivation and protec-
ton of oysters along the shores of the
! Chesapeake makes the methods in use
in other parts of the world of great in
terest to all NEUTRALITY-SUSPICIOUS. who
are not engaged in the oyster industry
of the state as we'll as those who are.
One of the most novel, according to
American ideas, and picturesque ways
| of raising the bivalves is that of the
people of the Netherlands The center
| of this industry in Holland is the little
town of Goes, on the Island of South
Beveland, in the Province of Zealand.
Nearly every one in the town gets his
or her living from the fisheries, and the
greatest feature of them all is the oys-
ter industry Whole families are en-
gagged in it all the year round and, if
the pecuniary results are not very large,
q comfortable livelihood is the result,
The NOSE important part of the work
begins in April, when the collectors are
placed in position, These are rounded
tiles, about a foot long, which are COW
cred with mortar. On these the white
spat or ova of the oysters finds lodge
ment, and from three hundred to four
hundred larvae will become attached to
single collector. The larvae are
about 1-150 of an inch long, and float
on the surface of the water until they
stick to the collectors. The latter are
in, Oh al oh foot long
by two wide, and are so arranged as to
admit of a free circulation of sea water
by August the collectors have general
Iy become pretty well covered, and they
are then taken ashore to be cleaned.
This job is attended to by the women,
wno wear a picturesque and servicea-
bic costume, consistir g of tightly fit
ting red flannel knickerbockers, black
stockings, a shirt waist with the sleeves
rolled up to the elbows, and an odd
looking sunbonnet. Their duty is to
cleanse the young oysters from all
kinds of impurities, as well as to re-
move the small shells which might in
terfere with the oysters growth At
ter this operation the tiles are replaced
in the boxes, where they remain until
the autumn. AT this season they are
taken out again, and the oysters have
grown to the size of a silver quarter,
and are old and strong enough to take
care of themselves without anything to
cling to, and they are consequently re-
moved Most of this work is also done
by the women, who seem to be more ex-
pert than the men. 1t is not an easy
job, for too hasty an attempt to effect
a separation may result in an injury to
the thin shell of the mollus5. In spite
of all the care taken, there is a loss of
from twenty to twenty-five per cent of
the oysters. A woman holds the collec-
tor in her hand, and uses a specially
made pair of scissors to remove the
young oyster from the collector. The
mollusk's next station in life is in what
is known as an ambulance, which is an
designed to protect it from
it's various enemies. The ambulance is
a long, shallow box, with wire netting
at the top and bottom, through which
the water can pass freely, but which
keeps fish, crabs, etc, on the outside.
The boxes contain as many as three
thousand oysters, and are firmly staked
down to the bottom of the water.
The oysters remain in these boxes for
three months, during which time they
are well looked after and given fire. |
luent Washtngs. AT the end of this |
time they are from two to two and one |
half inches in diameter They are then ,
large enough to be sold, but there is not |
much profit in oysters of that size, so |
that they are thrown down in the wa
Ter, being now large enough to take |
care of themselves, and allowed to re-
main there for two or three years AZ
ter they reach the age of three years
they do not grow any more, so that
there is no object in keeping them any
onPer, and they are, accordingly, sold.
These various processes require much
and skill, and it is likely that
he Chesapeake beds will be considera-
oily more depleted than they are at
present before such a system is intro
luced here.-Baltimore American.
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