The Mason County journal. [volume] (Shelton, W.T.) 1886-1927, 1901-02-15
TRANSFORMING Oysters.

"A South Bend dispatch of the 9th te
i the Ledger says: Hon. w. II. Kneeland
ex-state senator and prominent lumber.
man and oyster grower of Shelton
was in Bay Centre this week and placed
an order there for twenty-five tons OF
seed. oysters for transplanting on his
beds in Puget Sound. He viii also
ship to A. S. Bush & Sons, of Bay
Centre, some Olympia seed oysters to
be planted in Willapa bay. Mr.. Knee
lands theory is that the two oysters
sprang from the same stock, but that
different conditions have changed their
character. The Willapa bay oysters
are whittier, better favored aud larger
in circumference, but thinner than the
Olympia oyster, which is almost as
thick through as it is round. AS only
epicures know the difference, and as
Olympia oysters open more to the
sack the latter bring $3.50 per sack
while the highest price paid for Will
apa bay oysters is $2.25 per sack.
High up on the banks of the bay
near Bay Centre is a stratum of oyster
shells which has been exposed by the
waver, which partially bears out the
theory. They are as large as the pre-
sent shells, but deeper cupped, show
ing that the oysters were once thicker
than now and equally as large in cir
conference. The theory is that the
silt brought down by the Columbia and
other rivers. in past ages, caused the
oyster here to deteriorate and that in
the clearer waters Of the Sound it may
recover its original size and yet retain
its present superior quality. There Is
no idea that the oysters will propagate
in their new home. The experiment
will be watched with the deepest inter-
est by the other oystermen.
Mr.. Kneeland was also here to rouse
the oysterlnen to a proper sense of the
possible injury of their interests which
would result from the passage of some
bills now before the legislature pro-
viding for the sale of oyster land now
included in the oysrer reserves on
Puget Sound. There are no reserves
in Willapa bay except the channels
themselves, but there ought to be, and
there are now some 1000 acres reserved
on Puget Sound in the vicinity of the
natural beds which are necessary tor
their protection.
He sees in the proposed new legisla-
ton a scheme of new oyster corpora
ton recently organized in Seattle to
corral most OF the land thus sold by
standing in with the oyster commits
sion which it is proposed to establish.
It is not proposed to sell the lands to
the highest bidders, but limit each
buyer to twenty acres; that this corpor-
alton will have men to file first appli-
cations by having inside information
as to the location of the lands to be
sold.
Not one-half of the oyster land now
own ed by private parties has any oys-
tiers on it and Mr.. Kneeland estimates
that it would take los years to plant
the $4,000 acres now under private
ownership with oysters from the
natural beds. All of the land now re-
served is needed tor the propagation
of oysters.
The Old Tacoma sawmill is closed
down for its usual spring overhauling
and about 159 men are idle, although
fully that number more are employed
at the overhauling. The ship Dashing
Wave is the only vessel in the slip.
She is taking on cargo. The over
hauling of the. mill will require about
one week.