140 Our Food Mollusks 



sound, neither ice nor storm can prevent him. The 

 work is done so rapidly that dates may be set for the de- 

 livery of large quantities. Market demands may be met 

 at once. On the other hand, the market is not glutted, 

 as is the case when several sailing vessels, that have been 

 weeks in obtaining a cargo, happen to reach port to- 

 gether. 



The recent increase in the number of gasoline boats 

 everywhere on the coast is one of the most remarkable 

 phenomena that the shore has witnessed in many de- 

 cades. Naturally, these boats have become very useful 

 in the oyster industry. But fuel for the new motors, 

 whether gasoline or alcohol, will be too expensive for 

 large boats, and steam will have no rival here. 



In many instances, the preliminary work of prepar- 

 ing oysters for market, begins when they are dredged. 

 In the Chesapeake, for example, where dredging for 

 market until the present time has been done only on nat- 

 ural beds, state law requires the culling of oysters on the 

 beds in order that empty shells and young oysters may be 

 returned to the bottoms. This culling makes handling 

 more easy and rapid for the dealers who receive the 

 cargo. In other localities, culling of the material taken 

 from private beds may, for various reasons, be done on 

 shore. 



Oysters are usually very muddy when taken from the 

 bottom, and must be cleaned. On the steam dredgers the 

 greater part of the mud is removed before the dredge 

 load has reached the deck. The older winches or wind- 

 lasses were provided with what is called a positive clutch 

 — the same device that is employed on well windlasses 

 to prevent them from turning back and lowering the 

 bucket. Now what is called a friction clutch is em- 



