Implements and Their Uses 141 



ployed. It may be only partially released and acts as a 

 brake to stop the descent of the dredge. A load of 

 oysters is drawn up close to the surface of the water, 

 then suddenly dropped, checked, and raised again, this 

 being repeated until the mud is washed out. 



On reaching the shore, the culled oysters are sorted 

 into the various grades that are required by the whole- 

 sale trade. 



Before being marketed, oysters are almost invariably 

 placed for a time in fresh water. The danger to the 

 consumer resulting from this process, as it is usually 

 carried on, is great because the fresh water is so often 

 contaminated with sewage. Even if it were clean, the 

 procedure is not defensible, for its chief object is to 

 bloat the oysters so that they will fill a larger measure. 

 For freshening, they are placed in flat scows or floats and 

 towed into a stream, or are unloaded from the dredg- 

 ing boat into tank-like inclosures. where they may be 

 covered for a short time with fresh water. 



On the Atlantic coast, the shell trade, as it is called, 

 has for many years centered in Xew York City, most 

 of the oysters sent out from Baltimore and Norfolk be- 

 ing " shucked." The marketing of oysters in the shell 

 has assumed great proportions. Formerly inland cities 

 and towns were satisfied with oysters shipped in tin cans. 

 Later the container more often employed was a wooden 

 pail. But finally, in city restaurants and hotels it be- 

 came customary to eat oysters from the half-shell, and 

 to-day there is a large demand for them in that form. 



For the most part, however, oysters are still marketed 

 removed from the shell. It is not often possible to ob- 

 tain anything but shucked oysters in smaller towns and 

 villages. It should not be imagined that such oysters are 



