The sea coast echo. [volume] (Bay Saint Louis, Miss.) 1892-current, 1911-11-25

to lie IN the sun q willie OcKoT6 D0iHk :
culled and put back into the water, and
that the same process 10 repeated tc
that oyster :,esiiaps fifty times before
tho close OF tae season, with the result
that it is dead .one from exposure
sooner or later. However, dredging
seems to be very satisfactory on the
| whole.
Il takes three er ,fpur days to load .
| boat. The beats running to Biloxi lose
about two days on trip to this city
and back to the reef, while Pass Chris
tian boats can run to the mainland over
night, discharge their load and get back
to work the next day, giving power to
tsh relatively more oysters than the
Biloxi boats, although their fleet is
much smaller. \ A boat load of oysters
consists of from 200 to 400 barrels, 800
barrels being fair average. These
oysters bring from so to 80 cents bar
rel in the shell. Thus It will be seen
that a maximum load atmaxlmum prices
would net the boatmen $500 to BE-
divided on the share plan among the
captain and crew Of Ave and owner Of
the boat for one load or about three or
four days work.
r. v. Abbey, formerly Biloxian, 10
manager of the Pass Christian plant Of
the Dunbars, Lopez and Dukste Gem
psny. and it is his opinion that tho Pass
Christian reef is the only paying ono in
Mississippi waters. AT the same time,
there will be some fishing at the reefs
near the State line, the border line be-
tween Mississippi and Louisiana being
some miles to the south-wsstward Of
Pass Christian. just beyond the Pass
Marian light house, which 10 plaiaiy
visible on clear days lrom the OAK
grown. white -shelled beach Of the boau-
tiful little city. The fishermen will stay
on the Pass Christian reefs perhaps two
months, when it will have besn pretty
we'll worked over, and they viii then
give their attention to the ether reefs.
The Pass Christian reef will be open
FROM November is to May 1. The other
reefs viii be opened in September.
The chief trouble at the outer reefs il
the depredations of the conchs. Mr..
Abbey stated that they were worst ut
the Square Handkerchief reef. He ssid
out of car his plant got the other day,
containing FIVE and three-quarter bar
rels, 200 conchs wese fourd in the hot
tom of the car when oss'eis hai b.en
removed.
The Pass Christian reef is two miles
wide and about three miles deep. Prior
to being closed two years age by the
oyster commissioning, it had been con-
tinuously open and has yielded many
bushels OF fSDe 5i,as.s 81. The w4ter on
the reef is from two TO four feet deep,
and during low tides the reel 10 oftoa4
visible.
When the oysters are brought 70 the
factories they are measured IN rsgula-i
ton ears, then put through sssansinkl
process to make shucking easier. They
arc shucked by imported labor. chiefly
Bshemians from Baltimore. They are
then weighed, washed and canned, after
which they are sterilized and are then
ready for expectation. Mississippi coast
oysters have very wide sale oil over
this country, and are exported to the
British Isles, France, Spain, Italy and
other continental countries.
The Dunbars, Lopez and Dukate
Company's plant is the only one at Pass
Christian. 1t is very completely
equipped and has capacity OF 500 bar
rels day. r. v. Abbey, the manager,
is a genial and courteous gentleman and
knows the busines. thoroughly. There
are four hundred people employed at
the plant.
Of the twenty-five or thirty boats run
ming for this plant only about six are
manned by natives of the coast, the re-
mainder being foreigners, chiefly Poles
and Austrians.
The patrol boat of the Oyster Com.
mission, the Alethia Vardaman, trim
schooner, was lying at anchor in the
channel at Pass Christian. Aboard was
J. B. Chinn, of Biloxi, who is chief in
spector for the commission, and who is
having busy time for the present Mr..
Chinn is very earnest advocate of the
further development of Mississippi oye-
ter bottoms and an indefatigable worker
for bettering Mississippi's oyster in
dustry.