EASTERN OYSTERS. 33 



be left bare at low tide, but they did not care, for 

 in a little while they would be covered again with 

 water, and could open their shells again without 

 danger of drying up. 



After living three or four years in our bay, the 

 little oysters have grown from the size of a dime 

 or a silver quarter to be as large as one of your 

 hands, and now it is time for them to be taken 

 to market. 



So a man goes out on a raft, and with a pair of 

 tongs shaped like two rakes hinged together he 

 gathers the oysters from the bottom of the bay 

 and piles them up on the raft. In many cases a 

 number of shells have grown together, but they 

 are easily separated by a light hammer, and then 

 the oysters are sorted and put in different piles, 

 according to their size. 



The largest ones are put into boxes and sent to 

 the city markets, where they are sold for forty or 

 fifty cents a dozen. A second size are sold for 

 less, while those that are too small for the market 

 are thrown back into the water and allowed to live 

 a year or two more. Perhaps you will ask why 

 all of them are not kept till they will fetch the 

 highest price in the city markets. 



There are two answers that might be given. In 

 the first place, the oyster-men have been to great 



W.S.R. VOL. 83 



