72 BULLETIN 196, U, S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 



to wliich the spawn may become attached. Formerly no regulations were deemed 

 necessary as to the placea. at, ■which oysters might be taken, but since the rivers have 

 become polluted with city sewage, it is necessary to guard carefully against oysters 

 from contaminated beds. The different States regulate the time when the fishing 

 may be done, which is generally from the 1st of September until the Ist of May. The 

 oysters for canning are usually taken from the beds between the 1st of October and 

 the 1st of April. 



Oysters were among the first products canned in this country. It is recorded that 

 some were put up in an experimental way in New York in 1819, though they did not 

 become a commercial proposition until the work was developed by Thomas Kensett 

 in Baltimore in 1844. In the beginning all the oysters were shucked raw, by hand. 

 In 1858 Louis McMurray, of Baltimore, found that by scalding the oysters in boiling 

 water the shells would partially open and the labor of shucking could be lessened. 

 Two years later the system of steaming them instead of scalding was developed, and 

 no material change in method has taken place since that time. McMurray is said to 

 have had a most excellent reputation as an oyster packer. His method was to save 

 all the liquor and condensed steam from the steam boxes, filter it, and use it in filling 

 the cans. He used neither salt nor water. There is probably no packer in the 

 business at the present time following this method. 



Oysters are obtained by dredging and by tonging, the former upon the reefs and in 

 the deeper water, and the latter in the shallow bayous where planting has been done. 

 The usual equipment consists of a schooner of about 48-foot keel, 55 feet over all, 

 and 16-foot beam. When loaded, this will carry about 275 barrels of oysters. The 

 crew consists of a captain and four men. A dredge is carried on each side of the boat 

 and operated by two men. Tlie dredge consists of a heavy iron rake about 3 feet 

 wide, to which is attached a chain or heavy cord purse, the mouth of which is held 

 open by an iron bar just above the rake. The dredge is lowered to the gi'ound and 

 dragged along by the movement of the boat. The rake loosens the oysters fi'om the 

 rock or ground and they are collected in the purse. 



At short intervals the dredge is drawn on board by means of a windlass, the puree 

 is emptied, and the operation repeated. The oysters are culled in some places, the 

 small ones being returned. The catch is put in the hold if the boat is out in warm 

 weather or is to be gone for more than a day. The trips are generally limited to from 

 tliree to five days in order to insure delivery in a fresh condition at the canneiy. 

 Other varieties of smaller boats are also used, though power boats are generally barred. 

 The Gulf-coast factories pay about 60 cents per barrel for oysters used in canning 

 and 80 cents per barrel for those used in the fresh trade, owing to the difference in 

 size. The barrel is rated by measure and not by weight. On the eastern coast the 

 measurement is by the bushel. 



The oysters are rated by size. If there are from 800 to 1,000 to a barrel they are 

 known as standard, from 600 to 800 per barrel as selects, and from 450 to 600 per barrel 

 as extra selects. The largest oysters, known as "counts" on the east coast or as 

 "plants" on the Gulf coast, run less than 450 per barrel and are always sold raw. 

 The larger oysters are found on certain reefs on which work has been prohibited 

 for given periods or in certain water where planting has been done. The term 

 "plants" when applied to eastern oysters refers to those taken from deep water, 

 transplanted in shallow water, and cultivated until they have attained a desii-ed 

 size. 



"When the oysters are brought in, they are hoisted directly from the boat to the 

 steaming car. These iron cars or crates are 28 inches wide, 19 inches deep, and 8 

 feet long. They will hold 5 barrels of 2i bushels each. As soon as the car is filled 

 the oysters should be given a thorough washing with clean water to remove the dirt 

 and mud attached to the shell before it goes to the steam box, otherwise there is con- 

 tamination during the shucking. The cars are wheeled from the dock to the steam 



