Orleans County monitor. [volume] (Barton, Vt.) 1872-1953, 1901-04-01

said hey were never fired atfrom the
boat and therefore were not afraid,
but it would be different if a small
BOAT was to pass near them.
We noticed many small boats with
two men in each boat, who were en-
gagged in transplanting oysters. was
surprised at seeing so many boats
but the captain said it vas d small
number compared with the lumber to
be seer during the busiest season.
| He said one day last year there were
5000 tongs at work, that means that
| there were $500 small boats in the bay
at one time, the owners all gathering
oysters.
The process or method of cultiva-
ting the oyster is interesting and L
will tell it in as few words as ] can, as
told to me.
The "spat' of the oyster floats on
the water and is carried by the tide
and wind yer a large eXpanse OF
water, after a time it sinks and be-
comes what is called "fry." 1t then
attaches itself to anything that is sta
tionary on the bottom Of the river or
bay. They can not, or will nOt attach
themselves to sand or mud. Much Of
the spat is carried into the rivers and
bays by the tide, where the water is
not salt enough to allow the oyster to
grow as large as wanted, or to be of a
good flavor. The young oysters Will
collect from six to eight inches deep
wherever they can get a firm place to
attach themselves, and in conse-
quence they are SO close together that
most Of them cannot get food enough
to grow. am told that only about
one in a million of the small fry ever
become full sized oysters. The water
must contain about three per cent. of
salt Or the oysters will not grow to a
marketable size Or right flavor.
The oyster farmers, as I will call
them, have lots staked Ou6 in the bay,
which they call oyster beds; they
then go where the young oysters are
to be found in the bays and river,
oysters that are one to two years old.
To get them they use tongs from ten
to twenty-five feet long; the tongs
have prongs something like the prongs
of a rake only longer; they reach
down with the tongs, shut them on 10
the young oysters and tear them off
Of whatever they may be attached to.
When they have a boat load they go
&c the lot staked out for their private
use and drop the young oysters, COW
ering the oyster bed as thick with the
young oysters as in their opinion will
give the best results. They are allow
ed to stay on the bed where planted
about four years before they Ire large
enough to, take up and put on the
market. In taking them up the tongs
mentioned above are again used.
Oysters are said to live about twelve
years. Speaking of the fry or young
oysters attaching themselves to sta
tionary things on the bottoms of the
rivers and bays, reminds me of a
curiosity I saw in the museum at
Washington. 1t was a crowbar that
some vessel and was fished up by
someone raking for oysters. Most of
the crowbar must have been covered,
SO the oysters could not get at it, but
on one end they had fastened to it so
there was a solid mass of small oysters
on it as large as a mans head.
Hampton Roads is a fine harbor and
I think will sometime be second to
New York for business. It will be a
long time before that day comes but I
think it will come. The fort on the
Rip Raps looks like all the forts built
before the war; it is built Of stone
and like all the old forts does not
amount to much in the opinion of
many, modern guns would knock
them to pieces in shoHt order. Near
here was fought the battle between
the Merrimac and Monitor, a battle
that opened the eyes OF the civilized
world to the fact that b days Of
battleships OF wood were a thing Of
the past.
Fortress Monroe is a very large fort,
said by some to be the largest in the
world. It is said that to walk once
around on the top OF the wall one
would have to walk a full mile. 1t is
like a small walled town inside as
there are many buildings inside of
the outer walls. There is a moat or
canal all around it, and it seemed to
me that the whole world might be de-
fed for a long time before the fort
could be taken.
Old Point Comfort hotels did not
interest me. They lock like large