Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1912-12-03

| I'D increase tne interest In oyster
| culture in that state and amendments
were passed this year perfecting the law
| and bringing the state up to that of 9TH
er oyster producing regions, SO that 1t is
| fully expected that Maryland will in time
regain its old place in the front ranks of
| the oyster industry.
| !: X
There is a great difference in the price
| Of oysters. partially due to the location of
the oyster
Difference in Price beds and the
in Various Sections. , .aenuo. .or
and partially to the quality of the oys-
tiers themselves. The highest average
price per bushel in 1910 was paid in
| Massachusetts. S1.16: New York came
| next. paying Sc cents. Rhode Island
paid 60 cents. Connecticut. 50 cents and
New Jersey and Delaware, 45 cents. The
highest price paid in the southern states
was AZ cents, in Florida. The price in
Georgia was 33 cents and Texas "a
| cents, both Of which are in advance of
Virginia and Maryland, where the aver
age price was so cents. The lowest
price was for South Carolina oysters.
| which brought only Ii cents. In Louis
lana the price was % cents.
While the oyster industry of the east
ern part of the country has become most
development in this direction along the
Pacific coast. Prof. Trevor Kincaid, an
oyster culturist in the employ of the
state of Oregon. has petitioned for q
government Investigation Of the oysters
In Puget sound to restore the beds to
their former productiveness and to ex-
pand the area of oyster tillage to its
greatest capacity. An effort is being
made to establish a biological station on
the sound in order that scientific exper-
mental work may be carried on. One of
the direct objects would be the de-
termining as to whether or not the large
eastern or Japanese oyster might not be
propagated along the northern Pacific
coast at present amounts to about q mil
lion and half dollars annually.
The criticisms about the sanitary quail
ity of oysters have led to a number of
Investigations upon the part of various
organizations, which have resulted in in
creased care upon the part of the oyster
producers so that. whether or not the
charges were well founded the OYSTER
eating public is to be benefited by the in
creased precautions taken. 1t is about
three years since the pure food authori-
ties adhered to the theory that float
ed oyster was not safe food product
The floating process consisted in gath
ering oysters from the beds in which they
grow and carrying them to brackish
water and leaving them there any length
of time, from twelve hours to two weeks
1t was claimed that they would keep in
good condition longer out of the water
and In twenty-four hours would grow to
twice their natural size, thus being more
pleasing to the eye and palate. The
floating is a superficial process not to
be COMPOUNDED with the fattening which
the federal government has been expert
menting with for several years in con-
nection with the Lynnhaven bays and sew.
eral other varieties OF oysters.
The prejudice against the hoated oyster
has been largely overcome by the investi-
cations of
State Health Board theNew Jer-
Is Allaying Prejudice. of os' ne eon,o
which permits them to be sold provided
they are labeled as "fioated." This the
oyster planters say they are more than
willing to do, as there is in the term no
question of pollution, but simply method
of growing. During the past summer,
party of distinguished physicians and
scientists were invited to make rigid
inspection of the oyster beds of New
Jersey. and their reports as to sanitary
conditions and careful handling left moth
ing to be desired. A power launch with
chemist and bactertolosist is kept anchor
ed near these beds. The oysters are ex-
am ami by y, SAMPLES and weekly visits are
sewage Is diverted from the river and dis
posed of upon the land. SO that there Is
no possibility Of pollution Of the oysters.
In New York the board of health has is
sued requirements for a special health
permit for oysters. which it is believed
will obviate the possibility of any contain
inatiOn from oysters sold in those mar
kets.
There are many commonly accepted
theories regarding oysters which have no
real truth. For instance, the old idea
that oysters were only wholesome during
the months containing the letter 'r'' is
really based upon the fact that the oys-
ter begins it's spawning period soon after
the advent of settled warm weather and
during this period 1t is a tasteless, fabby
sort Of creature. 1t is really as unnec-
essary to abstain from eating this sea
food during the summer season as it Is
to abstain from strawberries or any other
delicacieS out Of their season. Modern
methods of handling provide for their
distribution all the year round. AS re-
CARDS oysters, 1t Is only a case of trans
planting those which are spawning, or
have already spawned, from Virginia or
some other point still farther south into
northern and colder waters where they
may be preserved until they are needed
come unstable.
-
Another popular fallacy about the oys-
| ter Is that its name indicates its size and
general appear
Name Only Indicates ance The term
p,.. "a =. r.a "B lue Point
| ~S~' ." for instance, Is
applied by common parlance only to
small, dainty looking oysters. while the
name "Lynnhaven'' indicates both size
and substance. The truth is that the
name of an oyster has nothing whatever