128 THE FISHERIES OF THE UNITED STATES. 



A newspaper account, written ten years ago, depicted the scene graphically, and it is still unchanged: 



When the wiud changes, the fleet comes up the bay, and then there is a busy scene in the neighborhootl off pier No. 54. The dork 

 and its approaches are covered with cartmen, wa;j;ons and horses, stevedores, and oyster-dealers. The vessels are fastened to the vrharf 

 by means of strong hawsers, and the hatches are off fore and aft. In the hold are men lilling baskets rapidly, and others stand on the 

 deck, rail, and pier-string, ready to pass them to the cart being loaded. All is rush, bustle, and trade, flavored with copious dashes of 

 profanity. In front of the scow-warehouses are men coniinually employed on these days, filling barrels with oysters and heading them 

 up. Inside of the scows dozens of men are opening, while others can them ready for transmission by rail to Canada, country hotels, and 

 restaurants. But the city trade creates the hurry visible on every side. All day long, until the cargoes, which are always bespoken, are 

 landed, the work goes on, and when they are discharged the vessels are sent away immediately for more. 



Policy of the dealers in buying. — One dealer discoursed to me knowingly upon the best policy of buying, 

 according to his long experience in the East river, as follows : 



I sell only superior stock, which will average, all through, from §1 to $1 50 a basket. There are three sizes, "extras, " "box," and 

 " cnllen". Culleus sell for four to five dollars a thousand. Six month.s' more growth makes boxes of them, numbering about 150 to the 

 basket, when they sell for seven or eight dollars. After that the growth is so slow that it requires eighteen months longer to make extras 

 out of them, but they are then worth fifteen to twenty dollars a thousand ; the extras used to bring fifty dollars a thousand. This long 

 waiting makes it more profitable to sell the two smaller grades, the most profit being in the best quality of box-oysters. All of the 

 foregoing refers to East river "plants". In Rockaway oysters the dealer can make the most by selling them small, because the growth is 

 rapid. Seed need lie there only from four to six months, whereas the same seed would have to lie on an East river bed from two to three 

 years to attain the same size. Hence in Rockaway stock the dealer turns his money quickly. The prospects of business are good, because 

 a scarcity of oysters is coming, which will raise the price. 



Another dealer, who sells only oysters of his own raising, writes: 



In planting natural seed-oysters (i. c, natives) in northern waters, it is necessary that they lie at least three years to attain growth 

 sufficient to have them run, by count, one-third " box" and two-thirds " culls". We plant each spring and fall, and therefore make at 

 least eight plantings before the iirst crop of that series is taken up. 



Oystek-careiers. — The carrying of oysters from the vessels into the barges affords employment to a distinct 

 class of men, known as " carriers ". There are from 25 to 40 of these on each river. They do not work on salary, 

 btit get 10 cents a thousand for the oysters carrietl, reckoning seven small and four large baskets to the thousand. 

 This seems very small wages, but I was assured that they averaged from $25 to $30 a week during half the year. 

 They are paid by the owners of the oysters sold. 



Opening oysters. — The opening of oysters by the trade in New York city is not systematically carried on, as at 

 Providence, Fair Haven, and in the sotith, and scarcely any is done until after the holidays, all the trade previous to 

 that being in the shell. I doubt if more than 100 or 1.50 men are ever emi)loyed at once in the whole city in opening 

 for the wholesale-trade. All the openers are men chiefly drawn from the ranks of longshoremen, and those who in 

 summer get their living as deck-liands on steamboats and by other marine occupations. The rate of pay is 10 cents 

 a thousand, at which rate about $3 a day is regidarly made when work is plentiful, and even as high as $0 50 has 

 been earned on a spurt. The openers are ignorant men, and, with the carriers, form a much "harder" class than 

 those who are regularly employed to help about the barges, form the crews of the sloops, or do the work required 

 at the [)lanting beds. The oysters opened are mainly "Virginias", but also some "natives" — mainly from Staten 

 Island beds. These are kept separate, at least by the most reputable dealers, and are of various qualities and many 

 prices, ranging last year from 65 cents to $1 40 per gallon. 



Pickling and packing. — Beyond the pickling of an inconsiderable quantity by various dealers, and nowhere 

 in a large way, I could not learn of any " packing" of cooked oysters in New York. It has been tried more than 

 once, I believe, but the comjietitiou of Baltimore and Norfolk, where the facilities of doing it cheaply are greater, 

 stands against success in New York. This competition is exercised, also, in the way of offering in this market 

 oysters which have been opened at Baltimore, Norfolk, Crisfield, or elsewhere in the Chesapeake district. This 

 trade, and its influence upon the general business of the north, has been fully discussed in the chapter upon Boston, 

 and need not be rediscusised here. 



Eeceipts of opened oysters. — There are two principal firms in New York devoted to the importing of opened 

 oysters, and their combined receipts amounted to perhaps 500,000 gallons during the winter of 187!)-'S0. A large 

 portion of this amount, however, was consigned through to points in New England, chiefly to the city of Boston. My 

 memoranda from these dealers give an estimate of 335,000 gallons as the consumption of the city and its suburbs, 

 much of which was re-exported by express to the interior towns of New York and western New England. The ))rices 

 of these oysters were as follows in the spring of 1880: Standard, 55 to 05 cents; medium, 80 to !10 cents; select, $1 25. 

 The proportion in which they were sold was, five gallons of the "standards" to ten of "mediums", and ten of 

 "standards" to one of "selects". Perhaps, then, ati average price of 80 cents would produce a fair result in dollars, 

 in estimating the value of the receipts, which would thus amount to about $268,000. Tliis trade is increasing, and 

 gives better satisfaction in general in New York than in Boston, both because the stock itself seems generally of 

 better quality, and becau.se the shorter distance and superior accoumiodations in transit bring the oysters here in 

 better condition. The reshiprnents are very widely scattered through the country, especially northward. Occa- 

 sionally, however, orders come from the distant west. In February of 1879, for extimple, G. E. Maltby & Co. filled 



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