VIRGINIA: OYSTER INDUSTRY. 471 



sick and dies. This bloating process is often tried -with very successful results, but has never 

 proved to be as important as was supposed when it first became generally known. A few years 

 ago it was tried by the packers of Baltimore, and, for a time, aroused great expectations; but at 

 present it meets with little favor among them. A few of them have persisted in their efforts, but 

 with indiiferent success. To succeed well, the oyster must be taken from very salt water and 

 placed in fresh. In the Chesapeake Bay the water is In many parts merely brackish, and it is 

 supposed that on this account the oyster does not improve much upon a change to fresh water. 



During the season of 1879-'80 Chiucoteague oysters were in active demand at high prices, the 

 aveiage for the winter being not less than 60 cents per bushel, and in the latter part of May 90 

 cents was readily obtained. A feature of the Chincoteague trade is that all oysters are sold by 

 the thousand, and not by the bushel, as in other parts of Maryland and Virginia. This custom 

 has been adopted in conformity to the uses of Northern markets. 



Capt. Barney Jones, probably the most experienced oysterman on the York River, and who 

 for years has handled such quantities of oysters as to have acquired the title of "Oyster King," 

 states that from his experience he is convinced that continued planting will in five or six years 

 exhaust the fattening powers of oyster grounds, just as the fertility of any soil will be destroyed 

 by attempting to produce the same crop for several consecutive years. This belief is said to be 

 erroneous by Capt. Isaac M. Bussells, of Carter's Creek, Virginia, who has been engaged in the 

 oyster trade, either in the North or on the Rappahanuock River, since very early in life. He bases 

 his statement upon the fact that in Connecticut there are certain oyster-grounds on which, during 

 the past thirty years, oysters have never failed to fatten, and also upon his belief that oysters get 

 their food from the water, and not from the ground. Captain Bussells has devoted considerable 

 time to the study of oysters, and his convictions are the result of many years of experience in con- 

 ducting a very heavy trade in all branches of the business. 



It often occurs that oysters when caught will have green gills, and hence the name, now so 

 common, of green-gill oysters. Up to a few years ago, I am informed, these oysters were unsalable, 

 as by many persons they were considered poisonous. An oyster planter of Northampton County, 

 Virginia, finding that for several years his oysters were green gills, determined to try to overcome 

 the opposition to them. Whenever he or any of his workmen visited any city, they would go into 

 different saloons and call for green-gill oysters, refusing to take any others. After a few visits 

 to restaurants he succeeded in exciting some curiosity as to what was considered a very strange 

 desire. He then explained that the popular belief was entirely wrong, and that green-gill oysters 

 were perfectly safe, and were always fat, and stated that the green color was caused by a certain 

 weed which is sometimes found at the bottom of the bay and its tributaries, and on which the 

 oysters feed. In a short time no distinction was made against green-gill oysters, and in cities 

 where known they are as much in demand as the ordinary oyster. 



On the Rappahannock, the James, and the York Rivers planting is now being conducted 

 quite extensively, although by no means on as large a scale as the advantages and likelihood of 

 success would warrant. Fears are very generally expressed that in a few years the oyster-beds of 

 these rivers will be exhausted if the present rate of shipments continues. That these fears are not 

 groundless may be seen from the result of over-oystering in several of the creeks near the Rappa- 

 hannock. Prom 18G5 to 1871, during which time I was living in Virginia, the beds of Indian, 

 Dividing, and Dymer's Creeks were well stocked with very fine oysters, the catching of which 

 gave profitable employment to a large number of men. At the present time oysters are so scarce 

 in these creeks that it is impossible to obtain even enough for planting. A few of the oystermea 

 still eke out a poor living, but many have been compelled to give up the business entirely. The 



