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FISHERY INDUSTRIES OF THE UNITED STATES. - 99 
lowed. The shells being removed, the clams then go to women who 
remove the intestines, after which they are sent to the chopper. 
From the chopper they are fed into the cans, and the latter are sent 
to the sealing machines and thence to the retort, which completes 
the operation, except labeling. The approximate time the cans are 
left in the retort varies from 45 minutes to 2 hours and 20 minutes, 
according to the temperature. The first clam cannery in Washington 
was established in Seattle in 1875, and had a capacity of two hundred 
2-pound cans a day. 
Oysters, native and eastern.—The total production of oysters in 
Washington in 1915 amounted to 64,342 bushels of native oysters, 
valued at $250,298, and 37,859 bushels of eastern oysters, valued at 
$140,028. This indicates an average price per bushel of $3.89 for 
native and $3.69 for eastern oysters. Comparing the production of 
native oysters in 1915 with that of 1904, we find a loss of 58 per cent 
in quantity but only 10 per cent in value. The eastern oysters 
during the same period show a decrease of less than 2 per cent in 
quantity and an increase of 14 per cent in value. An illustration 
of the decrease in the output of native oysters is shown in Pacific 
County. In 1904 the production in that county amounted to 60,000 
bushels, while in 1915 it had dwindled to 1,412 bushels. This has 
contributed to increasing the price of native oysters along the entire 
Pacific coast. 
Olympia is the center of the native oyster industry of the State, 
and Shelton, in Mason County, also has a thriving oyster industry. 
Many of the inlets near these two towns are utilized for oyster-planting 
purposes. More native oysters are produced in the vicinity of these 
two towns than in all the remaining towns of the Pacific coast 
combined. Conditions seem well adapted here to their cultivation. 
Very few eastern oysters are handled at these places. The oyster 
season of this region in 1915 suffered a handicap by reason of a freeze 
occurring toward the end of the season, which killed large numbers 
of oysters. In the earlier days of the industry the grounds were 
always bare at low water, and many oysters died during the cold 
weather. To prevent this, dykes were built to hold the water and 
lessen the exposure of the oysters to the weather. Another and 
probably the main reason for building the dykes, however, was to 
establish a seed-producing area, as the public reserves had then 
become very much depleted, and it was difficult to secure seed with 
which to stock the grounds. 
It is said that the first attempt at native-oyster cultivation in the 
vicinity of Olympia was about 1880, and the business has been 
continued ever since. The supply does not meet the demand, and 
for this reason the oysters are often sold before reaching maturity. 
Another probable reason, however, for early marketing is to avoid 
the danger of freezing when the tide is out. 'The dykes have to a 
considerable extent lessened this danger. Shells have been planted 
within the dykes for the collection of spat and also to prevent the 
oysters settling in the mud. 
The average oyster season is from early in September to early in 
May. Some of the oysters are shipped in the shell, but a majority 
are shucked and shipped in cans of various sizes, holding from 1 pint 
to 5 gallons. The cans are hermetically sealed, but the oysters are not 
cooked. Shipments are made as far east as Chicago. It is likely 
