FISHERIES OF THE SOUTH ATLANTIC STATES. 217 



The ''grabs'' used are small baud irous made like ice tongs, but baviug 

 numerous prongs to take up the oysters. The oysters are of small size, 

 but good flavor. 



The process of canning steamed or " cove '' oysters is simple. The 

 shell oysters are unloaded on the wharf at the cannery. Gangs of men 

 are employed in filling long slatted iron trucks, which hold some 12 to 

 15 bushels each. As soon as filled they are run into long steam chests 

 made of iron, or occasionally of wood; the door being closed, and steam 

 turned on, only a few moments are required to steam the oysters enough 

 to open all the shells. The cars are now run out and emptied on the 

 floor and on long tables in the factory. The men, women, and children 

 now begin their work of picking the oysters from the shells; they hav- 

 ing been cooked enough to nearly free them from the same, it requires 

 no skill and but little efl'ort to pick the shells clean. As soon as the 

 picker's dish is filled it is taken to the weigher, and a brass check is 

 given which represents the amount due for picking, the price being 

 about IJ cents a pound. The oysters are now emptied into a trough, 

 where they receive a thorough washing, which cleans them from all 

 dirt that has become attached in opening and picking. They now go 

 to the filling tables, where they are placed in the cans. The cans being 

 then filled up with salt water and the tops sealed on, they are put into 

 crates that are placed in iron retorts and receive 8 to 10 pounds of 

 steam until thoroughly cooked. All that now remains to be done is 

 the labeling and packing. 



After the oyster season is closed many of the oystermen turn their 

 attention to gathering terrapin. Within the i)ast few years this busi- 

 ness has increased and a scarcity of terrapin is now reported. Small 

 vessels from Savannah and vicinity cruise along the coast between 

 Fernandina, Fla., and (ieorgetown County, S. C, buying terrapin from 

 the residents, who gather them along the bays and creeks that receive 

 tide waters. When the vessel returns to the home station, the terrapin 

 are put into small yards, usually near the water. When in captivity 

 terrapin are fed chiefly on shrimp. They soon become quite tame and 

 are on hand at feeding time. The catch to stock up a terrapin yard for 

 its winter demand must be made during the summer or early fall. The 

 demand is confined to a few winter months, mostly in December and 

 January. During this time they do not require and will not take any 

 food, yet do not appear to grow poor. The catch is made with nets 

 and by hand-picking. Dogs are often employed in tracking the terra- 

 pin from the water to the marshes, where they are found buried a few 

 inches in the sand or mud. 



Some little attention has been given to the propagation of terrapin, 

 but only in an experimental way, and it is demonstrated that they 

 can be hatched out in confinement and have thrived. The main objec- 

 tion to propagation seems to be the slow rate of growth, requiring a 

 number of years' delay to realize from the venture, and six months or 

 more of each year they must be fed. 



