292 REPORT OF COMMISSIONER OF FISH AND FISHERIES. 



addition of vinegar and spice to the water in which they have been 

 cooked. As the vinegar used is inferior to that employed in France 

 they are not equal in value to oars. 



Canned oysters. — These are mostly prepared in Baltimore. The mol- 

 lusks are taken from the shell, slightly cooked, and then put into cylin- 

 drical tin boxes, or cases, with a circular hole at the upper end about 

 an inch and a quarter in diameter. When filled, the cans are closed by 

 soldering a small round piece of tin over the opening. 



Use of the shells. — The shells of the oyster give rise to various indus- 

 tries, which are also very important. In agriculture they are used for 

 improving the soil when it has not a sufficient quantity of calcareous 

 matter. They are also used for macadamizing roads, and forming paths 

 in pleasure-grounds, which, by the use of this substance, become of a 

 dazzling white. Lastly, they are burned, and an excellent lime is ob- 

 tained, which is better as a fertilizer than ordinary lime, inasmuch as it 

 contains no magnesia. Generally the oyster- dealers give away the 

 shells gratuitously, upon condition that their establishments shall be 

 daily relieved of them. 



It was estimated, in 1857, that the pecuniary profits derived from 

 the shells, from the various oyster-establishments in Baltimore alone, 

 amounted to more than $120,000. Before the war the lime-pits of Mr. 

 Barns, at Fair Haven, burned annually more than 250,000 bushels. At 

 the present time there are upon the coast of the United States a great 

 many mills employed in this branch of industry. A bushel of oyster- 

 shell lime sells at from 12 to 13 cents. 



MJDE OF OBTAINING THE OYSTEES 



Oysters are obtained in different ways, according as the beds are 

 more or less deeply situated in the water. The instruments employed 

 are the drag, the rake, and the tongs, which is a peculiar implement, 

 unlike anything we have in Europe. 



The drag is very much like that in use in France, but as the weight 

 is not determined by law it is generally heavier. The part intended to 

 hold the oysters is sometimes made of rope and sometimes of iron net- 

 work. 



The rake, similar in form to that employed by our fishermen, is about 

 14 inches wide, with iron teeth from to 10 inches in length, and is pro- 

 vided with a net for the reception of the mollusk. Sometimes it is made 

 entirely of iron, with curved teeth, which will hold a certain number. 

 It is worked by hand, by means of a pole 15 or 20 feet in length, to 

 which it is fastened. It is frequently used during the winter season in 

 Bhode Island for gathering the mollusks from the ponds of Point Judith, 

 the surface of which is frozen sometimes for several weeks. Fishing is 

 then accomplished by thrusting the rakes through holes made in the ice. 



The tongs, which I have never seen except in America, is an instru- 

 ment which ought to be introduced into France, as it would be of great 



