Bridgeton pioneer., 1904-05-19
OYSTERS ACROSS
THE CONTINENT.

Since early in April both the Erie
and Lackawanna Railroads have been
making important shipments Of seed
oysters to the Pacific coast. The in
dustry is new one, the oyster beds in
the waters of the Pacific not coming
up to expectations.
representative of the firm OF
Messrs. J. & J. W. Ellsworth & Com
pany, oyster dealers, of New York and
Keyport, N. j., stated that there has
been a dearth of oysters on the Pacific
coast for long time past, and dealers
have been obliged to send East for
their supply. For some reason that
could not be accounted for the oyster
beds in the Pacific along the Califor-
MIA coast began to die out, no oysters
larger than the blue Points of the
Atlantic being gathered. Even these,
the dealer said, were not good, and if
not gathered at the proper time be-
came unfit for food. In order to re-
vIve the oyster fishery on the Pacific
coast the experiment of transplantine
seedlings from Atlantic waters was
tried a year or two ago. and it not
only proved successful. but the various
grades thrived as we'll there as here.
They grew to large size and retained
their flavor.
I present shipments are the result
OF thisexperiment. The consignees in
New York control thousands Of acres
of beds from which the seedlings are
gathered. These are located off South
Norwalk, Conn. at Rockaway, Prin.
cess Bay. near Atlantic Highlands.
and in Newark Bay. Ever since the
departure of ice from these waters
gangs of men have been engaged tong
ing for the seedlings. When gathered
they are taken to delivery points,
where the firm S fleet of eight steam
ers call for them and deliver them at
the railroad piers in Jersey City and
Hoboken. The system of handling
this kind of perishable freight entails
much care and is quite interesting.
The Erie's point of shipment is Pier 5,
north of Pavonia ferry. The. steamers
are run into the dock and tied fast tc
the s'5er, Work is begun at once by
shoveling the seedlings into baskets,
which are carried to the pier and
dumped into new barrels, each OF
which holds four bushels. 1t takes
just two minutes to head a barrel and
prepare it for the car. A hole isssmade
at each end Of the barrel for ventila,
tion and drainage. Refrigerator cars
only are used for transportation
Each Of them holds 105 barrels, or 42(
bushels. Since the shipments began
in April nearly 200 car loads have beer
sent across the continent. The dealers
representative said that by the end oi
this week the number would reach 20(
car loads. This will make total o1
"a. 900 bushels.
The cost Of transportation from Jer
sey City to San Francisco.is high. ow
ing to the perishable nature of tht
oysters. Added to this is the cost o.
keeping the cars cool. Each car mus
be iced six times en- route. The charg,
is $6 per barrel. Shipments are alst
made over the New York Central, bu
| the greater number 90 over the Erie.
The consignor at San Francisco il
the Morgan Oyster Company, which
is said to control the industry on the
Pacific coast. The transcontinenta
shipments will be discontinued during
the coming summer, because warn
weather is a bad time for transplant
ing. They will be continued in tn,
fall, when even a greater number o,
car loads will be sent West.
-ev1-