OYSTER 



4440 



OYSTER 



proximately at $15,000,000. Maryland andVir- 



.iimually nearly 12,000,- 



000 busheb, from both public and private beds. 

 The oyster industry is by far the leading branch 

 of the fisheries of the I" itoH 



from private beds form less than half of the 

 total yield, but because these beds are better 

 :i care of than the public arras their catch 

 superior quality and therefore more valu- 

 able. In some cases ownership of private M 



e. in others the beds are the pri- 

 of landowners who have holdings 

 e coast. 



The most important oyster beds of Canada 

 are in the Gulf of Saint Lawrence and off the 

 coast of British Columbia. In 1915-1916 the 

 total output for the Dominion reached 21,386 

 barrels, the market value of which was $147,- 

 628. The European oyster occurs from Italy 

 to Norway, the annual value of the industry 

 for the different countries being approximately 

 as follows: British Isles, $774,000; France, 

 $3,584,000; Holland, $422,000; Italy, S220,OOQ; 

 other European countries, 201,000. The oys- 

 .ndtistries of Asia, Africa and Oceania have 

 a combined yearly value of about 8557,000. In 

 round numbers the value of the world's yield 

 is $20,000,000 a year. 



Oyster Culture. In many places the natural 

 beds have been so depleted that it has been 

 found necessary to resort to artificial methods 

 of production. Frequently the beds are devoted 

 to the cultivation of the free-swimming larvae, 

 a bed so employed being known as an oyster 

 farm. These oyster-rearing areas are marked 

 off carefully by buoys, that each "farmer" may 

 distinguish his own plot. The farm must have 

 a stable bottom, for loose, shifting sand or 

 deep, soft mud is liable to cover and smother 

 the young oysters, called seed oysters. Objects 

 to serve as lodging places, such as clean shells 

 and tiles, are placed on the sea floor before the 

 seed is planted. Oyster culture has become an 

 important occupation both in the United States 

 and in Europe. 



Catching and MfirL-iting. In middle lati- 

 tudes the oy.-' -ting season occurs dur- 

 ing the fall and winter. (The spawning season 

 in Chesapeake Bay lasts from April to Octo- 

 ber.) In shallow n .-hells are scooped 

 up from the sea with huge tongs or pim 

 that open and shut like shears, but in deeper 

 waters the catch is obtained by means of great 

 dredges operated by hand or steam power. The 

 business of preparing oysters for the market 

 requires thousands of workmen. Oysters that 



are to be shelled, or "shucked," are placed with 

 IgB of the shell on a chisel blade, which 

 1 on a block. With a sharp blow from 

 a wooden mallet the shucker cuts the shell 

 through, and then, slipping a broad-bladed 

 knife into the gap, he lays the two valves out 

 Hat. The muscle which joins the fleshy body 

 to the shell is m-xt severed, and the naked oys- 

 ter is ready to be washed and packed for ship- 

 ment, rnshelled oysters are also marketed in 

 large quantities, as there is a wide demand for 



Ash, 2.0 

 Fat, 1.2 -< Carbohydrates, 3.7 



COMPOSITION OP THE OYSTER 

 As a heat producer the oyster is not a desirable 

 article of food. Its fuel value is 230 calories per 

 pound, and this is but little greater than that of 

 many vegetables about the same as onions. 

 nearly twice that of cabbage, but only one-fourth 

 as great as peas or beans. 



oysters served raw on the half-shell. Usually 

 they are free from infection, but the practice of 

 placing oysters in fresh water for the purpose 

 of "plumping them" is sometimes attended with 

 danger, as typhoid and other germs may be in- 

 troduced thereby. As to the season for buying 

 oysters, one should bear in mind the saying 

 "It is unseasonable and unwholesome in all 

 months that have not an R in their names, to 

 eat an oyster." 



Food Value. As shown in the accompanying 

 illustration, besides water, protein, fat and ash, 

 which are found in all meats and food fish, the 

 flesh of oysters contains over three per cent of 

 carbohydrates (starches and sugars). On an 

 average, there is about the same quantity of 

 nutritive substances in a quart of oysters as in 

 a quart of milk, or two pounds of fresh codfish, 

 or a pound of bread or three-fourths of a pound 

 of beef. Raw oysters, seasoned with salt, pep- 

 per, lemon, ketchup or other sauce, are an ex- 

 cellent appetizer and a popular delicacy with 

 which to begin a dinner. Oysters are also nu- 

 tritious and tempting when served in soups, 



