The Chesapeake 211 



consumed. From the shores of the Chesapeake Bay as 

 far as Detroit there is scarcely a city or town (connected 

 with any of the great trunk lines) which is not supplied 

 with Maryland raw oysters. Farther west, and to a 

 considerable extent in European countries, the demand 

 is supplied by steamed oysters. The oysters used in the 

 raw trade are of a finer quality, and consequently com- 

 mand better prices than steamed." 



When this was written, there were forty-five packing 

 houses in the city of Baltimore. During the winter of 

 1879-80, these firms marketed more than seven million 

 bushels of oysters, the production of other firms in the 

 state raising the total to ten million bushels. 



The packing business of Virginia began very much 

 later than that of Maryland. It was not until 1859 that 

 an establishment was founded in the city of Norfolk. 

 The time and place, however, were unfortunate for the 

 new venture, for shortly the war began that paralyzed 

 every industry, transformed a garden state into a wilder- 

 ness, and covered its waters with hostile fleets. 



No one but a Virginian knows how the state suffered 

 in that conflict, though it is mournful enough to an out- 

 sider even to-day to see so much of its formerly fertile 

 interior grown over with jack pine and broom straw, 

 worn out because of the poverty of its owners, or gullied 

 beyond repair. But one very important source of rev- 

 enue remained after the conflict. The natural oyster 

 beds that had for many years suffered from excessive 

 tonging, had been resting for four years, and were now 

 densely packed. Prices were high, and a great many per- 

 sons now engaged in the tonging of oysters. 



Immediately on the cessation of hostilities, packing 

 houses began operations in Norfolk, and the industry in- 



