The Savannah morning news. (Savannah, Ga.) 1900-current, 1901-07-28
fore you may safely eat them-espec-
tally during the r. months.

The old question what becomes of
all the pins" gives way before the
query what becomes of all the oys-
ters-shells? 1t is said that - thousand
bushels of oysters shucked. leave about
100 bushels of shells. These accumu-
late in great heaps around the shuck-
ing houses. 1t is estimated that the
quantity of oyster shells landed on the
shores of Maryland within the last
half century is at least twelve million
tons-enough to sink every sailing YES
sci, seam vessel, barge and canal boat
in American waters. The weight rep
resented is greater than the combined
tonnage of all the steam vessels in the
world. Until recent years. the shuck-
ing firms have had much trouble to
get rid of these shell. A few could be
given away, for one purpose or an
other. and the removal of the rest had
to be paid for. so much per wagon
load. In the year 1889 80 the Baltimore
market men paid upwards or twenty
thousand dollars to dispose of their
shells. Since then the shells have be-
come a source of profit. instead of loss.
yielding a cent and a half bushel;
and even at that low price the Balu-
more dealers last year realized TWEEN
ty-five thusand dollars from this
SOuICG dlOiAC. lNcN iiC NAilPHNN ~
other states and utilized for roadbeds,
for lime. in the making of coal gas,
in the manufacture of special grades
of iron and for railway beds. For the
last-named purpose they are said to
serve as we'll as stone. They are also
used in the cultivation of oysters, ar
fording suitable surfaces for the youpg
oyster "spat" to attach itself upon;
and to some extent for chicken-food.
We have not space in this article to
describe the modus operandi of oys-
ter culture. AS Kipling says that Is
another story" Some day 1 will tell
you of a trip down the Potomac and
novel experience at the oysterbeds. BY
the way, ever since Capt. Cocran Zone
of the largest of the Maryland oyster
growers), found a mollusk which he
declares to be thirtysiX years DID,
there has been considerable controVer-
sy as to the probable age of the aver
age oyster. Like the human family,
you can tell something about 1t by his
wrinkles tho the oyster carries his
crow's-feet on his back, instead of his
countenance. He has not the tell-tale
evidence of teeth. or even of failing
eyesight and falling hair; but those
who are best acquainted with him say
that the lines in the groove or the
hinge of the shell tell the whole story
with unerring accuracy. An oyster
is "of age" at four years-how much
smarter than the genus homo, for then
he is old enough to vote, TO rear
family and to go to MARKET the lat
ter, however, is a disastrous venture
for the four year old oyster is partlc-
ularlv palatable. But after an oyster
has long passed his golden age" and
ACQUIRED any number of wrinkles, he
is by no means a back number. 1t is
said that thirty years (the age OF the
gods), is an unusually long life for an
oyster-simply because he Is too care
fully fished for. If left to enjoy life
in his own tranquil fashion, there Is
no reason to doubt that he might live
to become a centenarian.
The grabbing industry of Maryland
is as interesting as that of the oyster,
but conducted on entirely different lines
generally-fshing- lines. with rusty
nail tied at the end and bit of rat
bacon upon 1t. Soft crabs have been
unaccountably scarce this summer,
and have brought in the Crisfeld mar
ket as high as a dollar the dozen.
However, this scarcity does not seem
to be much disadvantage to the NOME
army of crabbers, because they are now
getting 4 cents apiece LOT lnellit WHSl c
as one cent was the standard price
last summer. Some of the most ex-
pert Potomac crabbers make from $40
to $25 a week-even bare-legged col
ored boys, fishing by the most primi-
tive methods. To supply the steadily
increasing demand for crabs, the pick
ers Of crab-meat have constant en-
ployment the year around. All through
the winter, crabs are caught in dredges
together with oysters. and brought to
the packing houses of Crisfield. These
houses are provided with large steam
boxes. similar to those of the oyster
steamers of Baltimore. The perform
ance of steaming crabs is about the
same-cars on tracks being loaded with
crabs at the wharf. then run to the
factory and into the steaming- boxes.
In a few minutes the crabs are sufii-
GENTLY cooked and turned out on
benches. where the meat is removed
from the shells by women and chill
dren. About two thousand boats are
constantly engaged in grabbing in the
waters of one Maryland county alone
that of Somerset-giving employ
ment to upwards of six thousand per-
sons. Barrels of hard crabs, boxes
of soft crabs, and hundreds of cans
of crab meat are every day shipped
by the carload from that locality.