Oxford eagle. (Oxford, Lafayette Co., Miss.) 1876-current, 1904-03-17
ny II. z. BLAKEsLEE.

The writer Visited the gulf coast OF
cur state fow days since and was
very much impressed with the enorm.
ity of the oyster industry in the coast
towns. Believing that little infor.
nation on this subject would ba ap-
preeiatsd by the people ct large who
are more or less Interested In tho re-
sources OF the State little space will
be devoted TO the subject
The principal industry of coast
towns Is the catching and packing of
oysters. shrimps. crabs. Holsters. Ash.
etc. The oyster packing largely ex-
cecds the others mentioned There
are number u packeries along the
water srv0arsAaAr~s~s-<ssps to
thousands OF lsborrrs during the sea
son. Biloxi is the chief city for these
enterprises and has within its bounds
the largest packery In the world. as
well as four others that ara mt far
behind. The establishment ~ Lopez Il
Dukate i the largest in the world and
it's products can be- found in every civ
llized country The Barataria Can
ming Company ia but little behind In
capacity and has the distinction of
holding the gold medal for the finest
I
tories are large and well conducted
and rud a ready market for their
wares An inspection of these plants
by person not acquainted with the
manner of handling oysters. shrimp,
etc. IL intensely interesting The
Z oysters are brought In by small ves-
sells that ply between tho fishing
grounds and factories and are sold by
tho barrel to the packers Fishermen
with smacks make good wages. rang.
ing from 81 to $40 per day The yes
seis are unloaded by power and the
oysters are dumped into iron
crates on wheels. resembling
small cars. and then ran
into closed box and steamed This
is done TO kill the oyster and make
the shell open slightly To allow Of
rapid ''shucking" which Is getting him
out OF the shell This work l. done
by women and children. who become
experts in handling the blunt knife
with which the shell Is pried omen and
the oyster extracted This work Is
paid for by weight and the operatives
make from 75 cents TO 81 81 per day
Children not more than ten years of
age work here and make fairly good
wages. The work Is light and. out.
side OF the odor of the steamed shells.
which Is unpleasant 70 one not used
To u. affords remunerative employ
msnt Ia persons who would scarcely
find an opening elsewhere Bohemians
are largely used for this work. com.
ing from the Baltimore field. that Is
last being depleted. and finding EN-
ployment in tho Mississippi field. The
men fish and the women and children
work in the factories After "shuck.
Ing" the oyster. Il IL carried through
a process OF washing and otherwise
prepared for the cans Machinery Is
largely used in every operation. 10 ex
pedite handling Girls weigh them
into the cans and then pass the cans
along for sealing Machines for this
purpose solder ON the tops at an in
credibly rapid rate and then comes
the labelling and packing In cases for
shipping A variety OF labels are uset
10 suit the vhim Of the wholesaler ol
iobbsr While II may be State Sc
cret violated. but the truth is. that lots
Of oysters are being put up in Mis-
sissippi now with Baltimore labels fur
trade that insists upon handling the
Baltimore product Then there are
+ private labels for large firms that do
sire their firm name on them. Missis
sippi pine is the timber used for
boxes and presents neat appearance
as well as being durable and cheap
E The factory buildings are whitewashed
or painted and look neat and clean
with the exception of the "shucking
department which. OF course. IL lit
tered with shells all the time. Shell
roads abound everywhere and are
+ white and clean. The foreign oper
atiyes abide in houses built close by
/ for the purpose and live one family to
the room sometimes as many as two
dozen families living In a single house
While sanitary and moral condition.
are not much looked after. they prefe;
this mode OF living. and it Is cheaper
for the packers to provide them houses
on the barrack plan. About half the
operators are natives and live as do
other Mississippians Home labor Is
given the preference and a little more
paid natives. but In some Of the de
partments, "shucking." for instance. II
Is difficult to get our people to dc
the work and II is necessary to i'm
port operatives. The oyster beds from
which a supply is secured covers a
large territory. Back Bay OF Biloxi
is good field and is worked largely
but the larger feet of oystermen 60
to the banks in the sound along the
Islands OF shore There Is an i'm
mense territory there covered with
oysters which is almost inexhaustible
Some three hundred square miles OF
l.. a .aw,f
with the State of Louisiana. both
States claiming II. An effort is being
made to get the Legislature to make
an appropriation for the purpose OF
nghting il before the United States
courts. Louisiana has already taken
this step and will vigorously prosecute
the case. Some idea as To the value
Of the territory can be gained by the
fact that s250.O00 has been offered
per annum for a lease on IL. As to
the probability Of Mississippi gaining
possession of the same. IL Is only a
matter Of conjecture, as able lawyers
disagree as TO the validity OF the
claim. While hundreds of boats are
daily engaged in gathering oysters
and depicting the reefs. there Is also
another feet engaged in planting
shells and restocking the ground work
ed over A good oyster will grow in
from one TO two years. The only
trouble is in getting something to
hang onto. The spawn will attach
Itself to any solid object and grow
but where the reefs have been worked
there is a scarcity Of such objects. Sc
number Of boats are employed by
the oyster commission TO carry shells
out and dump them on the reefs. BY
this method Il Is hoped TO Keep the
supply from diminishing Fishing or
dredging for the oyster Is controlled
by law and certain methods that
would tend to destroy the young ones
prohibited. The State maintsans an
oyster commission that has in charge
all Of these details and looks TO the
collection Of two cents per barrel on
all gathered from Mississippi water
This money Is all used in rePlenishing
the reefs and for expenses otherwise
incurred The enormous amount OF
over 100000 barrels per month are
taken from the coast territory and
$4,000 was collected last year from
tha two confs nor harrpI tax The