Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1912-06-05

| are named from the locality on the
| Chesapeake bay or the Potomac where
! they are caught, hence is heard Tan
gier,' 'Pocomoke' and York river and
other varieties, all of which have slight
differences in quality and flavor.
| oysters have the quality of readily alb
sorblng the impurities from the water
| in which they lie. but have the virtue of
cleansing themselves from pollution
when placed in pure water. However,
oysters that are kept out of pure water
after being caught have no opportunity
of cleansing themselves and if polluted
will retain it, When inspectors of the
| government, who constantly patrol the
oyster beds. find the slightest trace OF
pollution in the water of the beds they
| at once close the bed. and remove the
shellfsh to pure salt water, where they
are allowed To purify themselves before
being caught for sale The inspection IS
so rigid that practically no polluted
| stock is ever offered for sale here"
The marketing and inspection of ma
| rine products has been the life work of
] Mr.. Evans Born in Wicomico county,
| Md, as a young man he entered the fish
| and oyster business with his father, for
many years running an oyster and fish
| boat to Baltimore. Later he ran boat
to the Washington markets, where for
years he has been Familiarity known as
| capt Frank" He has at least a speak
| ing acquaintance with most of the throng
| of fish and oyster dealers that continue
ally is about the Washington wharves,
| his practical knowledge of sea foods
| coupled with much study on that line.
| making him a valuable Judge. Ills de-
| cisions are never eontroverted.
1.-The greatest care is necessary in as
| certaining that oysters and clans are
| perfectly fresh, especially il bought in
| the shell, for If bad they are very pois-
onuus." said Mr.. Evans in speaking of
tests to apply in inspecting these arti
| Giles of food "All oysters should be
| alive when opened, and should be eaten
as soon as possible after being opened.
as dead oysters decompose rapidly IN
| warm weather.
| 1T is possible that the symptoms of
| poisoning that sometimes follow the eat
| Ing of oysters comes from the coutami-
| nation which is spread through a whole
| load of oysters on account of d few dead
| ones that may chance TO be present in
a batch. Weak oysters should be at once
| removed. The shell of healthy oyster
| is always tightly closed and If found
slightly gaping should close at once on
being touched Failure to close means,
| in most cases, that the oyster is dead,
| and liable to be contaminated.
| 1T is a good sign fer an oyster in the
shell to be extremely hard to open with
the knife, as that means that it is in
| prime and hardy condition. If oysters
are to be kept for any length of time be-
| fore being taken from the shell it is best
to wrap them while damp in such way
| as to exclude all the air possible II
kept from the air. oysters may be held
with perfect safety in large quantities
for as long as four, or in very cold
| weather, even six weeks.
"Oysters in the shell on beginning to
| become weak. will rattle like the break
| ing of chinaware when moved about.
and when opened will be repy and Shiny,
and will have mud in the gills 4 strong
odor also is present Good oysters when
| first opened should have a elear-cut
| shape, and should be of a creamy color
Land sound Remember that if stale oys-
tiers are found i'm a lot it viii be neces-
sary to condemn them all, as the con-
| tamination from bad ones has probably.
| penetrated to others.
1T is really difficult for a person who
is not in constant practice to detect an
| oyster that has been artffcially fat
| tened by having been soaked in fresh
water in order to make it appear plump.
The taste will tell it at once. however,
as an oyster So treated is fiat and stale.
1t is against the law TO so treat oysters.
and the practice is almost unknown IN
Washington It is noteworthy that oys-
ters soaked in water after being taken
from the shell will turn white, aud il
soaked long enough will lose all their
flavor
Does the presence of green gills in
oysters mean they are bad?"
Il think not-at least. that is not a
sign they are bad. Feeding on seaweed
lis said to cause this color. After obtain
ing permission from DR. Young. l took a
sample of green gills to the Department
of Agriculture, where they were sub
mitted to test by a bacteriologist IL
order to determine if there were any im-
purities present Nothing was found in
them that was detrimental to health.
cit might he interesting to note that
oysters brought up by the dredses from
deep water are killed more quickly than
| -
81 because their shells are much thinner
than the surface oysters. Practically ali
the oysters handled in Washington dur
ing warm weather are shallow-water
oysters, being tonged stock. They have
very thick shells These oysters are fat
test in the months of September and
october.
"A rough and ready test as to the con
dition of crabs on the market is to feel
under the large claws with the finger
If the claws feel sticky it is pretty slr1
that the best policy is to buy other
crabs Another test is to bend the main
Joints of the crab If quite fresh the
joints are stiff. A faded appearance OF
the crab, with a discoloration OF the
apron or under side, is a clear index
of unfreshness, but no test in this ease
is equal to the nose applied near the
apron cavity. No description il needed
to make even tyro realize that The
crab is unfit for food. In passing I will
say that when a crab is light in weight
according to its size, it will be found u
contain but little meat aside from the
| CLOVIS Tho host bargains in crabs are