238 THE WEALTH OF THE SEA 



the Philadelphia streets throughout the market sec- 

 tion, and a large number of its restaurants make a 

 specialty of sea-food. Baltimore and New York are 

 likewise noted for the excellence of their sea-food. 



Because of the great bulk of the shells, whole 

 oysters are seldom shipped great distances. The prin- 

 cipal demand in the United States is for shucked 

 oysters. The oysters are opened or shucked in the 

 oyster-house. The arrangement of the oyster-house 

 depends to a large extent on the capacity of the 

 plant. The actual operation of opening the oyster 

 is always carried out by hand, as no one has devised 

 a satisfactory machine for the purpose. The chief 

 obstacle which stands in the way of the invention of a 

 mechanical opener is the variation in the size and 

 shape of the shells. 



The workmen, called shuckers, work at benches, 

 where they crack the thin end of the shell and insert 

 their oyster knife. Some shuckers do not take the 

 trouble to break off the ends but force the knife 

 between the shells at the side or at the thin end. The 

 knife cuts the large adductor muscle and thus frees 

 the shell. Another cut through the same muscle com- 

 pletely removes the oyster meat from the other shell. 

 A fast shucker can shuck about eight bushels of 

 oysters a day, thus producing ten to twelve gallons 

 of meats. The shells are dropped upon a moving 

 belt which carries them out of the house to a huge 

 pile where they are dumped. The meats are washed 

 in fresh water usually first on a perforated table and 

 later in tanks. Often the water is aerated during the 



