THE OYSTER-INDUSTRY. 171 



"In the. above ennineiatioii no acconnt lias been taken of the nnmber of owners of the dredge, the scrape, aTid 

 the running-boats, as any attempt to obtain such woukl be futile, since not even the names of the boats can be 

 ascertained. If it were possible to gather this information, it would swell the above figures to much larger 

 proportions. From the $1,8(10,000, the present estimated value of these 1,450 boats (excluding canoes), there must 

 be a yearly profit of at least several hundred thousand dollars. Some of the boats are owned by packers, others by 

 the captains, and the rest are distributed among all classes of society and almost all j^rofessions and occupations. 

 When the number of these are taken into account, it will Tuore than counterbalance any overestimates, if such there 

 be, in regard to the number of i)ersons dependent upon the oyster-trade of the state. 



Statistics of Seapord, Delawaek. — " Seaford, Delaware, situated on the Nanticoke river, a tributary of 

 the Chesapeake bay, has quite an extensive packing-trade; and as all the oysters are carried from Maryland 

 waters, it was considered advisable to include in this report the statistics of the tirade at that city. Mr. D. L. 

 Eawlins, of Seaford, informs me that 'the oyster-packing business at Seaford was started bj- Piatt & Mallory (of 

 Fair Haven) in the fall of 1859. Hemingways, Eowe, and other eastern packers came in 1SG3 and 1804. They put 

 nearly all their oysters in small tin cans, which they shipped in cases holding about 52 cans each, a good proportion 

 being sent to Fair Haven, Connecticut, to be reshipped from there. The business not proving as profitable as;svas 

 expected, by 1807 nearly all the original packers had sold out and left, since which time a fluctuating amount of 

 business has been kept up by various successive parties, with alternating failure and success. No cans are used 

 now, shipments being made nearly altogether in bulk '. 



"There are at Seaford seven oyster-packing firms, having an aggregate capital of $14,000, and occupjnng 

 buildings estimated to be worth $28,500. From September 1, 1870, to May I, 1880, 184,500 bushels of oysters were 

 packed raw, giving employment to 170 males and 45 females, the wages of both for the season amounting to 

 $14,230. The estimated value of the oysters, after being shucked and packed, was $71,350. When shucked 

 oysters are sliipi)ed in bulk, the package (barrel or half-barrel) is returned after being emptied, and then refilled. 

 On this account oidy 1,400 packages, costing $1,000, were bought by Seaford 'packers during the season of 1879-80. 

 About 400 persons are dependent upon the oyster-trade of Seaford. The local consumption, added to the packing, 

 gives a total of 200,000 bushels handled at Seaford. 



Capital and labor employed in Maryland oyster-trade. — " The following general summary of the 

 whole trade in Maryland will give a good idea of its extent: 



In pacliin <; 



In oyster-boats 



In can-raaking, etc . 

 In local trade 



Total . 



';?itei;o"i'^-^'-f 



and per- 

 sonal 



$3. 928, 376 

 2, 042, 500 



200, COO 

 *25, 000 



person 8 

 employed. 



8, G39 



13, 748 



700 



1,290 



6,245,876 1 24,377 



* Estimated. 



TiELD OP Maryland oyster-fishery. — "The number of bushels of oysters caught in Maryland during 

 1879-80, and the disposition made of them, is as follows: 



Busbcls. 



Packed in the state, of Maryland oysters* 6, 653, 492 



Shipped out of the state 2,021,840 



Local consumption in Baltimore 81^,680 



Local consiimptiou in other cities of the state 200, 000 



Local consumption ia the counties 875,000 



Imported "fancy" oysters 30,000 



Total 10,599,012 



"Exactitude is not altogether possible; the 'round number', 10,000,000, will, therefore, express the total well." 

 The planting interests of Maryland. — The planting interests of Maryland have heretofore been very 

 slight. Now attention is being turned to it more and more. In Virginia, however, considerable planting is done, 

 and under the cha])ter devoted to that state will be found a study of the planting of the whole of Chesapeake 

 bay. Important exxjeriments are now being made at Saint James, under the directions of Maj. T. B. Ferguson, 

 commissioner of fi.sheries for the state, who intends to introduce the best methods of European oyster-culture: 

 Statistical recapitulation for Maryland: 



Number of planters and shippers 7,648 



Value of shore-i)roperty $1,500,000 



*The total number of bushels packed in the state was 7,653,492, but 1,000,000 bushels came from Virgiuia. 



