THE OYSTER INDUSTRY OF NEW JERSEY. 509 



vessels are to be seen at their moorings. There is much labor to be 

 done on the cultivated grounds before the planting season begins. The 

 storms of winter, and the ice floes which frequently occur with the 

 approaching spring, carry away many of the stakes and buoys that 

 mark the oyster lots. These have all to be replaced, and 4 o'clock in 

 the morning is not an unusual hour for the oystermeu to be astir. 



The oyster vessels. — The oyster industry of Maurice River Cove may 

 be said to be exclusively a vessel fishery. Certain natural beds along 

 the shores of Cumberland and Cape May counties are reserved for the 

 use of persons operating in small boats and are not allowed to be planted 

 or dredged upon, but the business done in this way is very limited. 

 The planting business in the cove is conducted almost wholly by 

 vessels ranging in size from 5 to 40 tons; a few small craft under 5 tons 

 are also employed. 



The number of vessels shown on the license list of the oyster asso- 

 ciation for 1892, which may be considered a representative year, is 456, 

 of which 434 were registered at the custom-house and 22 were under 

 5 tons and therefore not required to register. The aggregate tonnage, 

 exclusive of vessels under 5 tons, was 7,608.47. Of the total number 

 of vessels, large and small, shown on the license list of the association 

 for the jGur above named, 222 were sloops and 234 were schooners. 



The home ports of these vessels — that is, where their permanent 

 documents are obtained — are chiefly Bridgeton, Camden, Somers Point, 

 and Philadelphia. Of tlie total number of tonnaged craft, 343 belong 

 at Bridgeton, 42 at Camden, 31 at Philadelphia, 8 at Somers Point and 

 at other ports in New Jersey, Delaware, and Maryland. 



The typical oyster vessels are of light-draft and have a centerboard. 

 They have a wide beam, with raking stem, projecting cutwater or " long 

 head," wide square or elliptical overhanging stern, flaring sides, and 

 designed to give as much deck room as possible for their size. They 

 are strongly built and i)Ossess good sailing qualities, combined with 

 large initial stability. They differ from the Chesapeake oyster schooner 

 in having bulwarks. They have a flush deck, and a low but rather 

 large cabin trunk, the latter being situated on the after part of the 

 deck, as is usual in vessels of this size. The winders, with which the 

 dredges are drawn up, stand near amidships. The sloops carry three 

 sails — mainsail, jib, and gaff-topsail. The mast is tall and the topmast 

 of medium length. The schooners carry a single jib instead of a double- 

 head rig. They also have tall masts and one topmast of moderate 

 length. The light sail ordinarily carried is a main gaff-topsail. Many 

 of the vessels now in use were built expressly for the business. They 

 are provided with suflScient cabin room to accommodate a crew of 3 to 

 7 men. An estimate of their adaptability for the occupation in which 

 they are employed was summed up by an intelligent oyster captain of 

 the locality in the following expression: " There is no better vessel in 

 the United States for a man to get his living in." They vary in cost, 

 when new, from about $1,000 to $5,000 each. 



