522 HISTOKY AND METHODS OF THE FISHERIES. 



iiig or coasting vessels are chartered to go and' get the oysters, which the captain buys from the 

 tongers in Maryland or Virginia, who surround his vessel the moment he anchors, and rapidly 

 pass up their measurefuls, receiving cash in payment. As soon as loaded he sails away homeward. 

 The round voyage takes from twenty-five to thirty days between the Chesapeake and Providence, 

 and a proportionately shorter time to nearer ports. The vessels sailing toEhode Island, and many 

 of those to Connecticut shores, belong to the Cape Cod mackerel fleet. Those serving Staten 

 Island are chiefly owned in New York. Those which bring oysters (via the canal) into the Dela- 

 ware are mainly a smaller, ruder class called " wood-droggers." 



Vessels sailing to northern ports carry from 2,500 to 5,000 bushels at a cargo; but the Dela- 

 ware boats not more than a quarter or third as much, the larger part of which is carried on deck, 

 a practice not permissible in the case of the others, since upon their outside trips they must often 

 encounter heavy gales and severe cold. Steamers have never been used in this traffic. 



When the vessel has arrived at her destination her crew is re-enforced by as many additional 

 men as can conveniently work upon her decks. Where feasible, she simply cruises back and forth 

 across the designated ground and the oysters are shoveled on board by means of six-tined, shovel- 

 shaped forks. In other cases her cargo is expeditiously unladen into flat-boats, from which it is 

 thrown broadcast upon the beds, while the schooner is hastening back on a second voyage. As 

 a rule one vessel is chartered by several planters, each of whom pays in advance his part of her 

 expenses and purchasing fund, and receives a proportionate share of the cargo. The captain 

 should be a man of experience in order not to be outrivaled by his competitors in a variety of 

 ways when buying his cargo. Many captains are themselves planters, or at least special partners 

 in the enterprise and are therefore excellent judges of oyster u seed." 



EXTENT OP THE BUSINESS. In the Narragansett Bay about half a million bushels of these 

 oysters are bedded and fattened annually, and it has therefore been the most profitable branch of 

 the oyster business. What part of the Chesapeake Bay furnishes the, best oyster for these waters 

 is a question that has received much attention, and upon which diverse opinions are held, but the 



>j 



general verdict seems to be in favor of those from James lliver, Virginia. These show the largest 

 growth at the end of the season, developing a hard, flinty shell and white meats; on the contrary, 

 at New Haven, James lliver oysters cannot be used at all. But. many cargoes are planted, the 

 precise southern home of which is unknown, sometimes, I am sorry to say, because they are pro- 

 cured in violation of law. A still older headquarters for this trade is Fair Haven, a suburb 

 of New Haven, Conn. This was among the first places in New England to import oysters from 

 New Jersey, and then from Virginia, to be transplanted for additional growth. Twenty -five years 

 ago, a large fleet of Connecticut vessels was employed in this traffic every winter, and some stirring 

 traditions remain of perilous voyages during that icy season. They were better oysters that came 

 in those days, also, than now. A quarter or so of the whole season's importation from the Chesa- 

 peake was regularly bedded down in April and May, to supply the summer and fall demand. 

 The favorite bedding-ground then, as now, was "The Beach," a sand-spit running off into the har- 

 bor for more than a mile from the Orange (western) shore. This is bare to a great extent at low 

 tide, but covered everywhere at high tide, and is the best possible place for its purpose. The 

 ground on this beach rents from 2 to 5 cents a bushel, according to location. Those men 

 occupying the beach each year about twenty-five in number form themselves into a mutually 

 protective association, and provide watchmen who never leave the ground. This Virginia trade 

 J began at Fair Haven fifty or sixty years ago and soon became very profitable. Branch houses 

 were established in the larger inland cities, and the great Baltimore packing business (as will be 

 detailed on a subsequent page) was an offshoot of Fair Haven operations. Little competition was 



