The daily morning journal and courier., 1902-01-16

author of several novels and books of poems is in Baltimore visiting his sis ter, Mrs. Beiswanger. wife of the Rev. George Beiswanger, pastor of Calvary Lutheran church. MT. Wilhelm is on his way to New York to perfect plans for the publication of new novel, tale of Seattle and western life.
 The westerner has paid muct atten- ton to the ayster industry, both, of the Chesapeake Bay and of the Pacific coast, and yesterday gave an interest ing description of the latter industry. The oyster of the Pacific coast is not only different in bivalve from that of the Atlantic in size and taste, but the methods of propagation and of catching are so unlike those familiar to Balti- moreans as to cause much surprise to those initiated in such matters. MT. Wilhelm said:
 T suppose it will be a matter of no little surprise to many to know that on Puget Sound there aremany acres Of beds of native oysters. and that the oyster industry there is becoming fea- ture of much importance. Just at present large operations are being car rled on to develop the resources in this direction. Many thousands of dollars invested, and the keenest business men of the west are interested in the under taking.
 The native oyster of that country is a species of hernlaphrodite bivalve small, but exceedingly sweet and de- licious. They are, when taken from the shell, about the size of ona's thumb The shell usually attains the size of an inch and one half or two inches in diameter, and Is quite thin. In it's pro- pagation the Puget Sound oyster breeds the male and female in the same she'll and the young oyster is thrown off. It adheres to the old mother shell until of a certain age, when it becomes de- tached. We have tried to cultivate the eastern oyster, but as yet have been unable to have them propagate.
 We have what are termed natural and artificial oyster beds. The natural beds are those upon which the oysters have been growing as far back as the memory of the white man or the Indian goes. The artificial beds are those lands adapted to oyster culture which have been brought into use by special efforts. Two plans are in use-one to plant seed oysters secured from the state reserve grounds and let nature do the rest; the other, to inaugurate the rench park system, The latter is the most popular and successful.
 Under the French park system tide lands adapted to oyster culture are util- 1 ized. A system of dikes is constructed in such a way that when the tide goes out sufficient water Is retained in the areas nelosed that the land is covered by at least eight inches of water, which protects the growing oysters from freezing out in winter and burning out in summer. The operators cover the mud flats with a layer of gravel af- ter the ground has been dlked, and upon the gravel SOW the seed oysters, 1 It takes from two to three years before crop can be gathered The yield has been proven to be two hundred per cent. better under the parking system than any other.
 "The areas inclosed are called pans, and usually inclose about four hundred
 
 year one operator, who had one hun dred pans. and had introduced the parking system two years before, shipped almost two thousand sacks of | oysters to Seattle and other points. for which he received from $4 to $4.T5 a | sack. Another operator, who has forty acres of natural, uncultivated oyster lands, last year shipped about three thousand sacks of oysters. for which he [ received an average of four dollars and | a half a sack, and during the busiest 1 part of the season employed twelve i men.
 i "A special feature of the oyster in l dustry on Puget Sound is the preparing and putting up of oyster cocktails. Be < cause of the small and medium size oi our western oyster and it's exceedingly rare and rich flavor, it makes an excep- i tional and delicious cocktail. Although only In the second year of this branch of the industry yet the operators last year were unable to meet the demand . of the trade coming from so far east as 1 Chicago, St. Louis and even New York and Cincinnati. I have no doubt that T some uay ITe DuSlItSS dlld plOlc1SlOiia men of Baltimore will be eating with keen relish the famous Puget Sound 1 oyster cocktails. They are now making ! them and shipping them direct from the grounds, near the oyster beds. So val uable has this resource of the state oi ] Washington become that already the state authorities have taken up the matter of protecting and encouraging the propagation and cultivation of the delicious bivalve. Under existinb laws ' certain districts are set apart and de signated as seed grounds. These places are spots where the native oyster has been known to thrive the best, and here the oyster grows undisturbed, save that ! during the period from March 15 tc June 15 of each year oystermen are per mitted to enter these reserves and take off seed to replenish their depleted beds
 "The best known and favored seec grounds are those at Big Sliookum Bay and Hammersley's Inlet. About two thousand acres of oyster grounds have been reserved in the state. ."-Baltimore American.