468 REPORT OF THE COMMISSIONER OF FISH AND FISHERIES. 



frequently extend tLe period of growth in order to acliieve the most 

 profitable results, while others find it necessary to market their oysters 

 as soon as practicable. 



A planter requires to have at least one lot, and generally more, 

 reserved as a shifting-ground. The work of shifting the oysters begins 

 about March 1, or as soon after as the weather permits, and is com- 

 pleted between that time and July 1. It consists in taking up the 

 oysters intended for shipment in the fall, and which have grown to 

 marketable size on soft-bottom grounds where they were originally 

 planted, and transplanting them to hard bottom. While the oyster- 

 man is not, as a rule, guided by scientific knowledge, he has learned 

 by experience to proceed to a certain extent on scientific princi- 

 ples. He may not know anything of the diatoms, desmids, or othe^ 

 microscopic forms of life found usually in greater abundance upon 

 mud flats, or what is in his vernacular termed "soft bottom," than on 

 sand or gravel (hard bottom), but has developed by actual experiment 

 the fact that the oyster grows faster and does better there than else- 

 where. The shifting to hard bottom also proves beneficial to the oyster 

 by freeing it from mud or other extraneous substances, improving its 

 color and possibly its flavor, and giving an opportunity for separating 

 the clusters, when necessary, into single oysters. On the whole, it 

 seems to be a requisite part of the process of perfecting the condition 

 of the oyster for market. 



After the oysters have been shifted, tlie grounds from which they are 

 taken are again planted with seed. The supply of seed is obtained 

 principally from the natural beds in the Earitan Eiver, which extend 

 from the railroad bridge connecting Perth Amboy and South Amboy 

 for a distance of about 5 miles up the river to Sayreville. The oyster- 

 men begin taking seed oysters as soon as practicable in the spring and 

 continue until the close of the season. The work is resumed in the fall 

 when the season opens. The natural beds being in close proximity to 

 the cultivated ones, the oystermen sell their catch to the planters, 

 carry it to the grounds, and i)lant it directly from their skiffs. Seed 

 oysters are also obtained from Staten Island Sound. 



Personnel, wages, etc. — The labor in connection with the oyster-plant- 

 ing industry, which is comprised in the planting of seed oysters in 

 spring and fall, the transplanting or shifting of mature oysters in early 

 spring, and taking them up for market after September 1, and various 

 other work incidental to the business, is performed by the oystermen 

 of the neighborhood at the rate of $2.50 per day for each man, includ- 

 ing his oyster skiff", tongs, etc. ^Nearly every man who engages with 

 any degree of regularity in the oyster fishery owns a skiff and one or 

 more pairs of oyster tongs. The planters also have from one to three 

 skiffs and a number of pairs of tongs each, and if at times it is neces- 

 sary to hire a man who is not so provided, and furnish him, the rate of 

 wages is $2 per day. There are 220 men in the locality engaged in the 

 oyster fishery, 16 of whom are planters, and the remaining 204 are 



