80 THE FISHERIES OF THE UNITED STATES. 



Tongs, rakes, and dredges. — In gathering seed near shore, and somewhat otherwise, tongs and occasionally 

 rakes (those with long curved teeth) are used ; but the marketable oysters are nearly all brought from the bottom 

 by dredges of various weights and slight differences in pattern. In the case of all the smaller sail-boats, the 

 dredges having been thrown overboard and filled, are hauled up by hand— a back-breaking operation. Qlie oysters 

 themselves are very heavy, and frequently half the amount caught is composed of shells, dead oysters, winkles, and 

 other trash, which must be culled out, thus compelling the oystermen to twice or thrice the work which they would 

 be put to if there were nothing but oysters on the ground. The work of catching the oysters by any of these 

 methods is, therefore, very tiresome and heavy, and various improvements have been made, from time to time, in 

 the way of labor-saving, from a simple crank and windlass to patented complicated power-windlasses, similar to 

 those commonly used in the Chesapeake boats. When a proper breeze is blowing, dredging can be accomplished 

 fi-om a sail-boat, with one of these windlasses, with much quickness and ease. In a calm, or in a gale, however, the 

 work must cease, as a rule. 



Under these circumstances, and as the business increased, it is not surprising that the aid of steam should have 

 been enlisted; nor, perhaps, is the controversy which has ensued to be wondered at, since the introduction of novel 

 or sujierior power into some well-traveled walk of industry has ever met with indignant opposition. 



Boats. — In former times all oystering was done by means of small row-boats. That this has not been wholly 

 abandoned is shown by the fact, that there are yet to be found fifteen or twenty dug-out canoes at and about jSTew 

 Haven, devoted to catching both seed and marketable oysters. Some of these canoes are of large size and good 

 pattern, but few or none are now made new, so that their number diminishes, and they will before long disappear. 

 These canoes are to be seen nowhere else along our coast between Maine and the Chesapeake, and with their decay 

 goes a monument, not only of old oystering, but of all aboriginal life in New England. 



The substitute for the old canoe is found iu the square-ended skiff, which is only a small scow-boat. Of these, 

 which are worth perhaps $10 each, a walk along the Quinepiac will disclose a hundred or more, all devoted to 

 oyster-work, chiefly as tenders on the sail-boats in the planting of seed, the bedding down of "Virginia stock, and 

 the transporting of cargoes. Many of these small boats, however, are used by planters of small means, who cannot 

 afford to run a sail-boat. 



The sail-boats of New Haven harbor are almost universally of the sharpie model, which is well known for its 

 speed-giving and room-affording qualities. It is the boast of the Connecticut oystermen, and to them the world 

 owes the perfection of this admirable craft, which has been developed to supply the need of a large-stowing, swift- 

 running craft, which, at the same time, should be flat-bottomed and draw so little water as to run safely over the 

 scarcely submerged oyster-beds. There are nearly 100 sharpies in the harbor, worth perhaps $15,000. 



Oyster-steamers. — The first utilization of steam in this business, so far as I can learn, was by Capt. Peter 

 Decker & Brother, of South Norwalk, about 1870. They first put a boiler and engine in the sloop Early Bird, to 

 turn the drums in which the dredge lines were hauled, still retaining the sails for the propulsion of the vessel. 

 After a time they extended their facilities, by inserting a small screw in their sloop, to assist in propelling her when 

 the wind was light, and at length, after further trial, they took this machinery out and put iu a larger boiler and 

 engine, with special winding apparatus, and discarding sails altogether. These changes cost §1,300, and now, at 

 an expense of 3 to 4 bushels of coal a day, this little steamboat hauls two dredges, and can take up 150 to 200 

 bushels per day. 



After the Messrs. Decker's experiments, Mr. W. H. Lockwood, of Norwalk, not an oysterman, but an enthusiatic 

 believer in steam-dredging, built the steamer Enterprise expressly for the business. Her length is 47 feet; beam, 14 

 feet; she draws 4 feet of water. She handles two drerlges; has a daily capacity of 150 or 200 bushels. 



These were followed by several other steamers. Mr. Joshua Levinness, of City island, has a very large boat 

 built for the purpose, and fitted with very heavy machinery ; but it is said to be inconveniently arranged and 

 expensive to run. She hauls four large dredges over the stern, and caught oysters so fast on the public oyster- 

 grounds in the state of New York, that the owners of saOing boats induced the New York legislature to forbid the 

 use of steam on the public grounds. 



The Merwins, of Milford, and Mr. Wheeler Hawley, of Bridgeport, also have steamers of large capacity, so 

 that there are now in all seven in Long Island sound, but it is generally acknowledged that the most thoroughly 

 equipped boat for this purpose, of the fleet, is owned by H. C. Eowe & Co., of Fan- Uaven, Connecticut. It is named 

 the ''William H. Lockwood", and is comparatively new, and cost between six and seven thousand dollars. The 

 dimensions of this boat are: length, 03 feet; beam, 16 feet; draught, 5J feet. Her boiler is larger and her engine 

 more powerful than usual in a boat of her size, and she can therefore be used for towing, and can force her way 

 through heavy ice in the winter, so that her owner is sure of a supply of oysters for his customers when other 

 dealers may be unal)le, with sailing-vessels, to get them. Beside her regular propeller engine, she has a double 

 engine for hauling dredges, which hauls all four dredges full of oysters at once, and lands them on de(!k, two on 

 each side, at the rate of 800 bushels a day, if needed. This employs a crew of ten men, who are protected from 

 the weather bj' a housing which covers iu the whole deck. 



Opposition to steam-dredging: Grounds or objection.— Those who were not in possession of the 

 steamers, however, quickly began to look askance at the rapidity and comprehensiveness of their woik, and early 



