THE OYSTER-INDUSTRY. 119 



Easterly gales. — Eastward gales are likely to move the bottom of Staten Island sound iu an unfortunate 

 manner, and every planter has his tale of beds lost by being buried under drifted sand, or swept out of existence. 

 This kind of a wind is rare, however. Winters hard enough to kill the oysters have occurred, but not lately, 

 except that in 1878-79 cold weather, high winds, and low tides coming together, have exposed the Earitau beds and 

 destroyed large portions of them. In the Earitan river, particularly at Perth Amboy, the oystermeu are obliged to 

 erect strong quadrangular slips or docks, inside which they may crowd with their sloops and oyster-boats and cull 

 their oysters in peace, since the winter-sea in the harbor is likely to be too rough to permit work. This is an 

 important item of expense to them. In this connection I may quote Mr. Samuel Lockwood's words, written in 1873 : 



It will be news to many to leani that the business of the oyster-producer is one of great risk. All is not gain to these industrious 

 people, for often capital is sunk in the waters that is never taken up. Many years ago we remember the then small village of Keyport 

 Buttering a loss in one season of .$50,000. Even a severe storm, continued unusually long, has smothered the beds by agitation of the mud, 

 for the oyster must keep its uili out of the bottom. But two seasons ago, in one of the branches of Shrewsbury river, a crop was almost 

 entirely lost, the supposition being that it was poisoned by the washing from a new turnpike, iu the construction of which a peculiar 

 ferruginous earth had been used. Formerly the oyster throve as a native as high up the North river as Peekskill, and probably its limit 

 was not below fifty miles from the mouth of the river. They are now, however, exceedingly scarce, even as high as Croton. The belief 

 exists that the railroad has destroyed them by the washing from the necessary working of the road, which is constantly findiug its way 

 to the river-bed. .So long ago as 18.11, Col. John P. Cruger, of Cruger's Landing, a very intelligent observer, called our attention to tho 

 fact of the mischief thus done. 



And there are meteoric causes which aflect the oyster. We have known an unusually severe winter to kill the bivalves in great 

 numbers. And even the seed, in its transport from Virginia, has been destroyed — whole valuable cargoes — by foggy weather and adverse 

 storms. 



Vessels. — The Earitan planters are also troubled by vessels grounding upon their beds and ruining from 100 

 to 500 bushels at once. There are no authorized buoys or light-houses to point out the proper channel to strangers, 

 and there is, I believe, no redress. The planters complained to me sharply concerning this matter, and thought 

 that legal protection should be given them, but I did not learn precisely what they wanted from the federal 

 government. 



Thieves. — Another sort of trouble arises from the ubiquitous thief, who is said to flourish greatly in the 

 neighborhood of Staten Island. In those waters which lie between the island and the New Jersey shore, there 

 has always been contention and litigation, resulting in constant arrests and bad feeling back and forth, through 

 alleged violations of state boundaries and the rights which each state reserves to its own citizens. One planter 

 at Perth Amboy wrote me that " in spite of all vigilance and paj'ing watchmen, we lose all around about 10 per 

 cent, every year by thieves". 



The oystermen. — Notwithstanding these obstructions to perfect success, the oyster-interests of New York bay 

 are the livelihood of a considerable number of people, though it is probable that the poi>ulation at present supported 

 by them is reduced by at least a quarter ft-om the total of ten years ago. All the inhabitants of the southern half 

 of Long Island may be called oystermen, since many of them have invested a little in the beds in some shape, or 

 work more or less on hire for the regular growers. Exactly how many real planters there are on the island I 

 could not ascertain iu the time at my command ; they are scattered everywhere, but chiefly live at Pleasant Plains, 

 Tottenville, Eossville, and Chelsea. On the north shore live many New York merchants, like the Van Names, etc., 

 who plant southern oysters almost entirely. Their capital, also, with that of many other New York dealers, whose 

 names do not appear, aids a large number of outside planters who are, in fact, only managers of the under-water 

 estates which they apparently own and operate. This is not derogatory to their personal worth or dignity, but 

 only one of the methods of trade, shaped by peculiarities of the laws bearing upon the subject. 



By the operations in oyster-culture in and about the various centers withui the range of this chapter, I 

 conclude the number of families wholly supported to be somewhat as follows : 



Famjlies. 



At Prince's bay, Staten Island 50 



At Tottenville, Staten Island 75- 



Remainder of Staten Island 25 



Perth Amboy 75 



Keyport and south shore 400 



Total 625 



It must not be supposed that each one of the heads of these 625 families plants and harvests enough oysters to 

 supply his expenses, not to say profits, every year. That would be true only of the minority. But each one owns 

 a piece of ground and works on it to the extent of his means. At other times he hires his services to his richer 

 neighbors, or digs and rakes clams. Each man o-wns a small boat, worth from $20 to $75, and the most of them 

 have a sailboat, which, if for practical use alone, will be worth from $200 to $500, but if intended to answer the 

 larger purpose of dredging, carrying oysters to the city, and pleasure-excursions iu summer, may be valued as high 

 as $2,000. The boats of all sorts hereabouts are of superior workmanship. The wages received by laborers, who 

 require a certain degree of skill, range from $2 to $2 50 a day, the men bringing their own boat and tools. Twelve 



