206 



THE FISHERIES OF THE UNITED STATES. 



What is supposed to be the earliest "poem" written in Pennsylvania, by one John Holme, celebrates the 

 industry in language more explicit than flowery : 



A fcTV yeara sinco, it's known full -n-ell, 

 Here lime was burnt of oyster-slu'll, 

 No limestone in these parts was found, 

 But sinca by searching in the ground 

 Great store was seen iu a short time, 

 Of which some now make good stouo lime, 

 WUicli in its goodness doth excell 

 That which was made of oyster-.shell, 

 And much cheaper 'tis at this time 

 Thau we i^aid for oyster-shell lime. 



In New England, relics of its use abound in all the ancient settlements. At East Haven, Connecticut, for 

 example, stands a church one hundred and four years old, the stones of which broke sooner than the oyster-mortar, 

 when rei)airs were sought to be made upon the wall. 



Kalm says it was abandoned in Philadelphia as soon as lime-stone was discovered, because of its tendency to 

 absorb water. "The people shewed me some houses," he says, "in this town which are built of stone, and to the 

 mason-work of which the lime of oyster-shells had been employed. The walls of these houses were always so wet, 

 two or three days before a rain, that great drops of water could plainly be perceived on them ; and thus they were 

 as good as hygrometers." 



Shell-lijie as a fertilizer. — At the present time it is as a fertilizer that shell-lime finds utilization, either 

 by direct application upon the laud, or by mixing it with barnyard manure in the comi>ost heap. This application 

 of oyster- shells, either whole or after burning, is so imjjortant a matter, that I may be pardoned for quoting at 

 considerable length the investigations made into its value at the Connecticut agricultural experiment station, in 

 charge of Prof. S. W. Johnson, at New Haven. Samples were given them in November, 1879, of oyster-shell lime 

 and screenings made by H. A. Barnes & Co., Fair Haven : 



The slacked and unscreened lime which these two samples represent [says the report, in Bulletin 36, February 7, 1880] is sold by 

 measure and not by weight. The price in November, lh79, was 8 cents per bushel at the work, and 9J cents per car-load, shipped iu bulk 

 at the railway depot. The average weight of the screened slacked lime used for building iiurposes is stated to be 47 pounds per bushel. 

 As the screenings amount to 3 to 5 per cent, of the total, it is not far from the truth to assume that the unscreened will weigh 50 pounds 

 per bushel. The cost of this lime would be accordingly 10 cents per 100 pounds, at the kilns, or $3 20 per ton. Shipped in casks holding 

 *1G to 25 bushels, the lime cost about li cents more iier bushel, and the casks cost §1 each, which would bring the cost of a ton up to about 

 $6 40, two casks included. 



The screenings consist largely of imperfectly burned shells, entire or in fragments. They are not shipped, but are sold at the kilna 

 for 4 to 6 cents i)er bushel. 



The unslacked lime, of which we have no analysis, is stated to weigh on the average 70 pounds per bushel, and is sold iu bulk at the 

 railroad depot for 17 cents per bushel, or about 24 cents per 100 pounds, or $i 80 per ton. Shipped in casks, its price is 19 cents per bushel, 

 the casks costing $1 each, which would make the ton cost |i7 70. 



Analyses of oi/ster-shell lime and screenings. 



In the subjoined statement are given the proportions of the various chemical compounds that probably exist in the samples : 



*Thc small amount of pliosjiborns in oyBter-sLclls catiscstlieineoiuc'tinifs tolH-pbcsphorcscint. .iihI it is said that ihcy become distiurtly so !>y belufithoronpbly 

 calcined. A kind of commercial pbospborua. kuonu as Cimton's, was oneiently niudo of tbtm, wLitb bad peculiar propel ties, and waa nut so delicate as Home other 

 sorts. 



