THE OYSTER INDUSTRY OF NEW JERSEY. 473 



Talcing oysters up for marl-ct. — The oysters are taken up for marlcet 

 chiefly with tougs. The planters own the tongs, skiffs, scows, and all 

 other apparatus necessary to the fishing operations, and furnish them 

 to the men they hire. Some of the skiffs are operated by one man and 

 others by two. Those having one man are termed single skiffs, and 

 those having two, double skiffs. Sails are not used on the skiffs, as 

 the grounds are near at hand and rowing is more convenient. When 

 the oysters become so scattering that the men can not secure a good 

 day's catch with the tongs, dredging vessels are brought into requisi- 

 tion to (as the oystermeu term it) '' clean up the beds," that is, to catch 

 the remainder of the oysters on them. Some of the vessels are pro- 

 pelled by sails and others by steam. They are not owned by the planters, 

 but are hired, with their crews, by the day. On the sail vessels the 

 dredges are hauled by hand, one dredge to each man, except in one or 

 two instances, where small winches or "winders" are used. Hauling 

 dredges by hand is extremely laborious, but is more speedy than with 

 hand winders, and is therefore preferred. On the steam vessels a steam 

 winch is used for hauling the dredges. The oysters taken with dredges 

 are brought ashore in scows, but the skiffs land their own catcb. 

 Dredging vessels in this region, being owned by men frequently not 

 otherwise interested in the oyster business, and making a specialty of 

 dredging oj^sters, are not necessarily confined in their operations to any 

 particular locality, but find employment wherever it can be obtained. 

 Their services are usually required for only a short time in the fall. 



Preparing the oysters for marlcet. — The oyster-planters have their shore 

 houses or shops for storing implements, such as tongs, baskets, forks, 

 shovels, barrels, etc., located on eitlier side of a small winding stream, 

 designated on the charts of the U. S. Coast Survey as Middletown Creek. 

 This creek is used as a place for drinking the oysters, and is claimed to be 

 exceptionally well adapted for that purpose. Its banks are supported 

 by a perpendicular bulkhead constructed of planks and piling. The 

 bottom of the creek, on both sides, is divided into lots by a row of stakes 

 in the center, which also serve to subdivide the lots into small squares 

 to accommodate different grades of oysters, and each planter either owns 

 or hires a lot in front of the shop he occupies. 



When the oysters are brought in from the grounds they are first 

 culled and graded into box oysters, cullens, and cullentines. They are 

 then put overboard in the creek to " drink," the several grades being- 

 kept separate by placing them in different squares. This is usually 

 done at slack high water, and they are allowed to remain overboard 

 until low water. Experiments have frequently been made in drinking 

 the oysters at other times of tide, but slack high water is, as a rule, 

 believed^o yield the most satisfactory results. 



The reason for drinking the oysters at this particular time of tide 

 rests upon the theory that, while it is recpiisite for them to have fresh 

 or slightly brackish water, it would be injurious to bring them in con- 

 tact with it too abruptly. At low tide the water of the creek is as fresh 



