72 BULLETIN 196, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 
to which the spawn may become attached. Formerly no regulations were deemed 
necessary as to the places 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 Ist of October and - 
the Ist 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 barrets of oysters. The 
crew consists of a captain and fourmen. A dredge is carried on each side of the boat 
and operated by two men. The 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 ground and 
dragged along by the movement of the boat. The rake loosens the oysters from 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 purse 
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 
three to five days in order to insure delivery in a fresh condition at the cannery. 
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 desired 
size. 7 
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 24 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 
