194 THE FISHERIES OF THE UNITED STATES. 



Cedar Keys oysters. — At Cedar Keys we come upon the first considerable town in our progress up tlie 

 coast, and the first barber and railway terminus. It is not surprising to find, therefore, that here the oysters have a 

 commercial value. The banks where they are obtained are on Cragin's bars, which are exi)Osed at low tide, five 

 miles south of the village; and at a still better locality to the northward of the keys that shield the harbor. There 

 are four or five young men here who, in the season, devote themselves mainly to supplying oysters, which are sold 

 to various shippers, and sent to Gainesville, Jacksonville, Fernandina, and lesser towns by rail. During ISSO the 

 railway reports carrying 2,710 barrels, equiil to 0,SOO bu.shels, for which, at 05 cents a barrel, or hardly 20 cents a 

 bushel, the catchers were paid $1,811 50, and the shippers received .$3,387, making the average price about $1 25 

 per barrel. In Jacksonville these oysters sell at from 7.5 cents to $1 a bushel. If to this 0,800 bushels we add 

 3,200 bushels for home consumption, the total of 10,000 bushels would probably represent the whole catch at Cedar 

 Keys. 



The boats in use by the oystermen here are about 20 feet long and 8 feet wide. They are very roughly built, 

 but well suited to their work. They have center-boards and large sails, are sea-worthy, and in smooth water will 

 make very fair .speed. 



No attempt at any sort of cidtiva' ion has been made here, although it is said that the bivalves are far less 

 plentiful here than formerly. Popular theory ascribes this to the killing effect of cold weather. 



The Cedar Keys oysters have a different taste from anything I have experienced elsewhere, and one which will 

 commend itself to those who like a saltish oyster; but there is a flavor about them, in addition to their saltuess, 

 which distinguishes them at once (if those I ate were fair samples) from anything else. On the whole, they must 

 be pronounced goo(l ; and usually they are of large size. 



Here and there oysters exist in edible condition between Cedar Keys and the Suwannee river, and beyond 

 toward Apalachicola, but they only supply the sponge-fishermen and shore-farmers, except at Saint Mark, where 

 several large reefs impede navigation. In respect to these I quote Mr. Stearns' notes, which allege that out of the 

 many of these reefs of worthless oysters, only one or two produce marketable stock, yet these probably fully supi)ly 

 the demand of Tallahassee and the neighborng Georgian towns that get their supplies from here. The beds 

 are about five miles west of the light-house, near Shell point. The oysters are of small size, and four men, with 

 two large fishing-boats (with a sail) are all that work at gathering them, selling about 1,000 bushels, worth $500, 

 annually. The tongs they use are home-made, and consist of wooden imitations of the stronger, iron-backed tongs 

 commonly seen elsewhere. 



Apalaohicola. — Concerning Apalachicola, farther westward, Mr. Stearns also informs me : 



This neighborhood has been highly favored with a large niimher of beds furnishing oysters of large size and fine flavor, which are 

 easily procured and distribnted by means of river steamers from Apalachicola, through a wide area inland. Besides a number of large 

 reefs in Saint George and Saint Vincent sounds and Apalachicola bay, there are scattered all through the deeper waters a great many 

 small beds. The depth of water here averages 7 feet, and it is brackish and full of sediment. The oysters from these beds are of superior 

 flavor ; I found none better in any part of the Gulf during my visit in 18ril. 



The reefs, or beds, are only an hour's sail from town ; therefore the outfits or i)reparations for a trip need not be very great. When 

 the tide is high fho boat anchors over a bed, ou which there is from 5 to 10 feet of water, and both men use tongs to bring up the oysters 

 with. As each tongful comes up, the worthless ones are culled out and the good ones are thrown into the hold. The tongs in use here are 

 made of iron, some galvanized and some not, in the same shape as those used on the Chesapeake. With these tongs, ou a spot where the 

 oysters are abundant, and need but little culling, two men can put. 50 barrels of good oysters into the hold in one day. 



If the tide is very low, as is the case during "northers", the boat is run aground on an oyster-reef, a gangway-plank is placed over 

 the side, and the oysters are picked up by hand and carried aboard in tubs. Oystering in this manner is said to be harder and slower 

 work than tonging them. When the boat is leaded she goes to town, and if there be a steamboat there, the oysters are turned over to 

 the dealer on board of her ; if not, they are not delivered until one does come. The oysters sell for 50, (iO, and 75 cents per barrel, all 

 ready for shipmeut, that is, in barrels and covered with gunny sack at the top ; but the oystermen seldom get barrels or sacks, which 

 have to be furnished by the dealer, at the rate of 10 cents for sacks and 20 cents for barrels, leaving the oystermau but 20, 30, or 45 cents 

 per barrel for the oysters. It sometimes happens that barrels cannot be bought for any price in Apalachicola, and immense quantities of 

 oysters must either be thrown away or lie over until barrels can be brought I'roui neighboring towns. There are four steamboats ruuning on 

 this river in the winter, two of which carrj' the mail ; but it frequently happens that the mail is not received here for two or three weeks, 

 and large amounts of oysters and fish have to be thrown away in consequeuee. A few vessel-loads of oysters are taken to Saint Mark 

 during the winter, but it is a trade of not much consequence. The shipping season lasts from November to April. 



The boats in use are all small sloojis of 20 or 25 feet length, carrying each two men. Last year (1878) there were twenty of these 

 boats engaged in the oyster-fishing. With their outfit of tongs, etc., they are thought to be worth about it;2,50O. Betvreen forty and fifty 

 men are engaged in this business, out of which they make but little more than what they spend for food while earning it. If two men who 

 are running a boat have a good contract with the dealer, good wages can easily be made ; but if they have no contract they are obliged 

 to cut the prices down in order to sell at all, and also are kept lying at the wharf about half their time. From 1^5 to $3 per week, therefore, 

 is an oysterman's wages when worlving. 



The principal dealer at Apalachicola states, that ho and other dealers there shipped up the river, during the wiuter of 1878-'79, 15,000 

 barrels. These, at the rate of 30 cents a barrel, yieldird to the oystermen -54, .500. In addition, owners of vessels disposed of about 2,000 

 barrels at Saint Mark at .50 cents a barrel, e(iual to $1,000. The total value of the trade that wiuter, therefore, was 55,500. It is only 

 within five years that the trade has approached even this amount. Now it is improving, and new markets, such as eastern Florida 

 towns (by steamer and rail), are opening. 



SAINT Andeew and CnocTAWHATCHiE BAYS. — Saint Andrew bay is the next place where edible oysters 

 are found. Here there are no large riveis, and the water is salt. The oysters lie in beds scattered all over the 



