Evening journal. [volume] (Wilmington, Del.) 1888-1932, 1922-11-08
BlGDEMANDF FOR
MD. OYSTERS
Eastern Shore Town Is
4 Shipping Bivalves to
the Middle West
SENDING SOME
BY PARCEL POST

CRISFIELD, Nov. shipping OF
oysters in quantities ranging from
the quart tin can by parcel post 10
gallon cans by the caroal is making
Crisfeld the busiest town on the
Eastern Shore of Maryland this fall.
For two years the oysters have been
poor. but they have made up this
year for what they lacked in other
years. Big and fat and juicy, of ex-
ce1lent flavor. the demand for
Chesapeake Bay bivalves this season
IS the greatest in the history of the
eindustrry.
ITO practically every state In the
Union. even by carloads TO the Pa
enc coast. the oysters for which
o,spper Virginia and the Eastern
shore OF Maryland are famous are
being exploited as thoroughly this
hw,nter as a famous brand of Call
1<ornia raisins or pecans from Florida
And the thing which the Delawarean
eend Marylander feels the most
proud about is that the advertising
which the Chesapeake Bay oyster is
'receiving is not due to money paid
for national advertising but to the
-excellence Of tho shellhsh.
vr1 There are at the present time 60
shippers Of oysters who shuck the
vuxster-that is, remove the she'll
carefully wash the oyster and then
place them in tin cans. ranging from
quart to a gallon. and ship them
TO thousands OF cities and towns
throughout the United States and
reanada.
a one big concern here has a stand
ting order to ship carload of oysters
lin gallon cans, carefully iced. to Sc
attle. Washington, every Thursday.
Daily carload shipments in refriger-
ator cars are made of canned oysters
to Denver. Col, Chicago and many !
other cities in the Middle West and |
sech as far north as Quebec Ontario. |
20 The plan TO ship by parcel post is |
Both novel ard as being carried on |
now is somewhat new. oysters have |
gbeen shipped in paper carriers by
,the quart, but the concern failed TO
oerasp the opportunities ahead Of It.
This fall the parcel post shipments
are being made in cans, and only TO
rthe territory that can be reached in
PA. hours. According to the shipper
the demand in increasing. There are
scans which usually go TO seafood /
dealers in the market Of the bigger !
cities.
For several years the small mus
gals which have been prevalent in
chesapeake bay have attached them
selves TO the oysters and smothered {
the life out Of the bivalves This I
year the mussels are conspicuously
.ahsent and the oysters are not only
producing twice as large a growth
hui are OF much better flavor.
r One OF the items which the ship
pers have as a serious problem IS the
scarcity OF trained hep. The help
sWas here until the war came and
asen many left snd have not re-
turned. Shuckers who range from
Is 10 IS years. receive so cents gall
lon for opening the oysters. This
does not sound like high wages. but
any one who has ever seen these
oyster shuckers-men and women.
both white and black-know that II
they want 10 work. they can make
a fair days wage. Some Of the ex-
pert shuckers average between Sc
and 81 q day. 1t requires dexterity
10 stick" an oyster but the East
ern Shore darkey and white shore
man prides himself on his ability TO
do the trick.
The oyster dredging season opened