Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1912-09-09
SEA FOOD FAKES.
Popular FaIIacies About Shell and
Other Fish.

Only about one person in a thou.
sand who orders the luscious bivalve
known as the Blue Point really gets
the genuine article. The reasons for
this are simply. first. because very
few Blue Points are raised and. Sec
ondly, because the supply is usually
marketed in November and December
This brand of oyster takes its name
from being grown on beds in the vi
cinity OF Blue Point, In Great South
bay. Long Island. The water there is
very shoal.
In consequence. when the bowling
winter nor'westers blow till they virtu
ally empty the bay. any oysters on ths
beds freeze. To foreStall the loss the
wise oyster tonger becomes active and
markets Blue Points in the fall. 1t is
thus seen that the reason they are so
small is that they have had only one
summer in which TO grow. A full sized
oyster in that latitude requires two
or three years TO mature. Neverthe
less you can find Blue Points" on
bills of fare in Kansas City at almost
any time of year.
Every locality has its pet brand Of
oyster. Boston has its Cape Gods.
New York its Saddle Rocks, Phlladel-
phia its Cape May Salts. Baltimore.
Washington and Norfolk their Lynn
Ravens. Each place is willing TO
wager that its particular biyalve Is the
most luscious In the world. Not being
particularly averse to starting trouble.
the writer wishes to state that, having
been born in a New Jersey oyster rails
ing community. reared near the most
famous oyster beds Of New York ana
having eaten mollusks harvested along
every coast OF the United States, he
would lay a wager on the Bayou Cook
oyster. raised in the gulf of Mexico.
for first place in the great oyster
sweepstakes, and on the Maurice river
coves raised in Delaware bay for sec
ond place There are many who will
agree with me in this oyster rating.
AS summer approaches persons who
have enjoyed their Blue Points until
the advent of the r-less month of May
will. with the same sang frOid. order q
half dozen Little Neck clans as a pre-
lude to a repast. They get them-uOt.
The Little Neck clam Is a thing Of the
past. He, the genuine. takes his name
from Little Neck bay. which lies just
where the East river joins Long Island
sound.
The title. therefore. is not derived
from any particular formation Of the
CLAIMS anatomy. as most people believe.
CLANS, unlike oysters. cannot be cult
waited on beds prepared for the pur-
pose. but are found in what are termed
natural beds. a number Of years hgo
one of these great natural beds was
discovered In Little Neck bay. the
products Of which were Of the most
toothsome and tender variety. The
find was Immediately bounced upon by
clam rakers from far and near. and
the reputation Of the Little Neck was
made. Although It took only a few
years TO exhaust the supply. nearly
every clam from every bed in the coun-
try has since basked in the reflected
glory of that Little Neck harvest, and
you can still buy genuine Little
Hecks" In any sea food emporium from
Maine 10 California.
There are mAny people who do not
know that hard shell crabs and soft
shell crabs are identical. the only dis
tinction being that the soft shell crab
for which you pay about three times
Es much as for the hard shell variety
Is simply the crab caught Immediately
after he has hacked out of his old shell
and within two or three days Of the
time when the skin that covers bis
body has had a chance to harden into
the new she'll Soft shell crabs. like
certain Irish products. can be eaten