130 Our Food Mollusks 



29 and 30). With his hands on the shafts three or four 

 feet above the water, he opens them, then pressing down- 

 ward on the bottom, brings them together again. This 

 operation is repeated several times until the weight in- 

 dicates that the rakes have gathered a full load of shells. 

 The tongs are lifted and the load is allowed to fall on 

 the culling board placed across the boat back of its 

 middle. 



The sizes of tongs vary with the depth of water in 

 which they are used. The shortest have a length of 

 about twelve feet. It is obvious that a heavier load may 

 be lifted from shallow than from deep bottoms ; so in 

 order to make the area of the " grab " sufficiently large 

 the heads of the short tongs are usually about thirty 

 inches wide. 



To the inexperienced, ten or fifteen feet might seem to 

 be the greatest depth at which oysters could be taken by 

 this means, but as a matter of fact, they can be tonged in 

 thirty feet of water. As a rule, however, tongs are sel- 

 dom used in water more than twenty-five feet in depth, 

 and the greater number are taken at a depth of less than 

 fifteen feet. 



Tongs are obviously the implements of the poorer 

 oystermen, who have not the means to purchase large 

 boats from which dredges may be used. But they are 

 also frequently used in oyster culture by those whose 

 operations are extensive; for oysters are often planted 

 in water too shallow to float dredging boats. On the 

 shallow natural beds of Chesapeake Bay, Pamlico Sound, 

 and the Gulf of Mexico, a great many men make a living 

 by the use of oyster tongs. The figures will give an idea 

 of their occupation. 



When oysters are greatly scattered in shallow water, 



