El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1912-11-30

ter IN us uuCOOkeQ state, has
been criticized as an unsanitary arti-
Gle of food. and that no less authority
than DR.. Harvey Wiley has testified
that the bivalve is possessed of keen
sensibiliues and therefore suffers quite
as much from being cooked or eaten
while alive as does any other animal,
! the increase in the oyster industry of
| TINS country places II in the lead in
! Importance among the other iish pro-
! ducts While in some states its yield
! IS greater than in others it stiu has the
/ lead all the way from Massachusetts to
| Texas, while its popularity upon the
/ Pacific coast as an article of CONNER
I cial value is being rapidly increased.
Product Valued at S13,O0O,OO
/ The oyster product of the eastern
part of the United States last year
amounted to considerably over SIS
/ 100000 in value. A statistical canvass,
| which is now being made, reveals the
TACT that Louisiana has Quadrupled its
/ oyster output since 1908. This is the
/ direct outcome of favorable legislation
and an impetus given to oyster culture
/ following the establishment Of eXpe-
rimental plants by the federal govern
ment.
Since 1892, when the oyster became
! the subject of state legislation favOra-
bic to its culture, Virginia. production
7 mas increased steadily, while Maryland,
which has the richest natural oyster
beds in the country, has declined. The
Maryland legislature in 1906 passed an
act tending to increase the interest in
oyster culture in that state and amend
| ments wsre passed this year perfect
ing tn Jaw ana bringing the state up
to tb It Of other oyster producing re-
gio-s, so that it is fully expected that
Maryland will in time regain It's old
place in the front ranks OF the oyster
industry.
There is a great difference in the
price OF oysters, partially due to the
location OF the oyster beds and the
No a md
TALLY to the quality Of the oysters
themselves. The highest average price
per bushel in 1910 was paid in Massa-
cnuSettS, Sl.lbs New York came next,
paying Sc cents. Rhode Island paid 90,
Connecticut SIS, and New Jersey and
Delaware 40. The highest price paid
in the southern states was ~ cents in
Florida The price in Georgia was 80
and Texas 81, both of which are in ad-
vance Of Virginia and Maryland. where
the average price was - cents The
lowest price was for q attn Carolina
oysters, which brought only g cents.
In Louisiana the price was % cents.
The oyster industry of the Pacific coast
at present amounts to about S1,5OO,00O
annually.
Rapidly Overcome Prejudice. j
The prejudice against the fIOated Oys-
ter has been largely overcome by The
investigation OF the New Jersey board
of health. which permits them to be
sold provided they are labelled float
ed This the oyster planters say they
is in the term no question of pOllu-
ton, but simply method Of growing
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
~ is really based upon the fact that
the oyster begins It's spawning period !
soon after the advent of settled warm [
weather and during this period it is I
tasteless, flabby sort OF creature. It l
is really as unnecessary to abstain |
from eating this sea food during the /
summer season as it is to abstain from !
Strawberries or any other delicacieS out I
of their season Modern methods Of i
handling provide for their distribution I
all the year round As regards oysters, !
ii is only a case Of transplanting those !
which are spawning, or have already I
spawned, from Virginia or some other /
point still farther south into northern /
and colder waters where they may be i
preserved until they are needed to take |
the place Of those which have become /
unstable
Another popular fallacy about the /
oyster is that its name indicates its /
size and general appearance The term /
Blue Point for instance, is only ap- /
piled by common parlance to small, (
dainty looking oysters while the name 4
Lynn Haven indicates both size and /
substance. The truth is that the name J
of an oyster has nothing whatever to (
do with its size or quality, but only to I
the place from which it was taken The I
Cherry Stone and Lynn Haven Bay"
are popular southern oysters which !
come from an arm Of Chesapeake Bay
and owe their peculiar flavor to the I
fresh water which flows down to them 4
from the pine woods
Cultivation of HOLSTERS.
One of the most important tasks I'M
dertaken by those interested in fish
conservation is the protection and Gull
tivation of the lobster which a few
years ago seemed in danger Of becOm-
ing practically extinct, at least along
the Atlantic coast owing chiefly to the
improvidence Of the fishermen in the
destruction Of the spawning Holsters. |
In addition to the Matching of the eggs, I
which are taken by the lobster fish I
eTmen, the bureau Of fisheries and some 1
Of the states now operate lobster ponds [
in which egg bearing Holsters may be I
safely kept, pending the Matching sea
son. As a result of the eggs thus Sc
cured, more than quarter Of a billion
lobster fry have been planted in the
Maine waters this season. For some
time the work of planting went on at
the rate of a million day.
It is this work. which has been grow
ing steadily for a number OF years.
that has made possible the increased
catches Of Holsters which have been I
noted recently. The New England coast
states have passed rigid laws enforcing
the return of small Holsters to the
water, and despite frequent stories Of
violation, the fishermen themselves re-
sent the assumption that they are so
blind to their own interests as to be
willing to anita gonize a measure which /
IS only intended to protect and preserve
their industry.
The lobster catch Of 1911 was larger
than for Is years previous and there is
every reason to think that this popular
erustacean will in the near future be-
come quite within the reach Of even the Z
modest allowance