The daily morning journal and courier., 1900-05-19
NEW OYSTER SEASON
Fl lMILTAR BIYALVES GIFE HAYI TO
 W1RM WEATHER BROTHERS.
Clans Rule The Table Now-Hut stand ard Oyster That Do Not spawn unui Autumn Also stand In Great tavof ih inc City-RuraI Prcjudicrs.

ard oyster IhnN ID" Not SP""" " Autumn Also stand In Great favor in l inc City-Rurnl Prcjudioer.
 The oyster season ended this week and there will be whole States in which this
 bivalve will be unknown during the summer months. But while the regular season closed the supplementary season | opened and the oyster, banned to de-
 gree elsewhere, will still figure on the half shell in the hotels and restaurants of the metropolis. That is owing to the same thoughtful provision of nature by which strawberries ripen In May and apples in October While one variety or oysters is breeding and fattening an- other iscoming into the markets. TIE RURAL PREJUDICE. Because there is a prejudice in the rural districts against the summer oys- | ter ter and perhaps because it's partlcu- | lar flavor Is not so chaved by the palate l in dogdays, the season Just opening IS not as important as that which has | closed. The crop which 1t will harvest will be only about one-quarter the size | of that which is brought to the floats m the fall and winter. But it is not to De disregarded. Between now and the flfst | of September sloops with 175,000 bushels of oysters will enter the East River bound for the Fulton Market and as
 many more oysters will be dumped at | the West Side market.
 ,I,., n,I,, h.. els are handled in New York, one-third of which is for local consumption, l The proportion of oysters and clams sold exactly reversss itself as the season | changes. In the winter five oysters, are sold to one clam In the summer five clans are sold to one oyster, for the
 meridian suns point the way to the clambake and shore roast and the chow l der of politics
 WARM WEATHER OYSTERS. The oysters which are going out are mainly the Rockways, the Blue Points and the Oyster Bays The oyster which Is coming in is the Newport. The Rockaway, as all the world knows, is obtained chiefly from Canarsie Bay,
 Rockaway Beach and Far Rockaway.
 It is the medium or large oyster, The Blue Point is gathered in the Great South Bay. It is the small oyster of the table d'hote half-shell. The oyster Bays are large, like the Rockaways They come from the North Shore of Long Island. From sheepshead Bay comes fine stock, which also resembles the Rockaways. The Keyport--of summer | ;r ern oyster It is obtained from Hamp- ton and Rappahannock, and when 1t reaches maturity there it Is called the Virginia. The seed" as the infant oys- ters are called are planted at Newport and Princes Bay, New Jersey. This variety spawns in September The win ter oysters begin spawning about April 15 and are not spawned out until about August 15, when they are left thin and poor. They fatten up at once
 PAST SEASON POOR.
 Dealers in the Fulton Market talk ing over the season this week, were agreed that it had been a poor one, but they could not surely tell why. An oys- ter bed is like a fruit orchard; 1t is full of uncertainties and good years do not succeed each other The far famed Rockaway, so excellent year ago, was distinct disappointment almost to the end of the season Its quality has been poor since January l. It has not had the old plumpness and appealing salty flavor. The consgnments that are com ing in now are better than those of the midwinter and all through this month Al
 while, the oyster Bays have enjoyed a vogue greater than they have had for fifteen years, Dealers have had to reply almost entirely upon them, They have been fat and solid in bulk, with less of the greenish tint.
 The market has also been helped out by stock from the East to take the place of the Blue Point. According to some experts the quality has been de- cidaly bad. So the oystermen have de- pended on Providence River Cape Cod and Buzzard Bay for good small oys- ters, all of which have been in enOr nous demand, The quality of the Bug gard Bay has been particularly fine, Planters in that section have put down thousands of bushels of seed, anticipa- III1S dnDlIeT pfOSpETUu5 seuSOil, put 'dS seasons go hereabouts it Is prophesied that they will be disappointed.
 GOOD SEASON COMING.
 According to conservative men of the business, oysters will be better in quail ty next season, because the seed is bet ter, but they will cost more than they did this season. This Is because the price of s7ed has gone up About one third. Se: q that sold in Connecticut and Long Island points for 60 cents bushel last year is selling at 90 cents to S1 now. This is attributed to the scarcity during the last two years of sets, as the infant oyster is called, at one stage of its growth.
 The so-called oyster trust has been charged with advancing the price, but according to MT. Keeley, the trust is prCject rath5r than an accomplished fact and can never corner the market, It is expected that after the coming season oysters will be cheaper for the next three years than they have been In the last ten, as there is now an abundant set which will come in then.
 The consumption of the summer oys- ter is gradually increasing throughout