464 
BULLETIN OF THE UNITED STATES FISH COMMISSION. 
THE EASTERN OYSTER. 
WHEN AND WHERE INTRODUCED. 
Tlie shipping of live eastern oysters ( Ostrea virginica) from the Atlantic seaboard 
to the Pacific Coast quickly followed the completion of the first transcontinental rail- 
road. It is stated that the first oysters were taken to California in or about 1870 by 
Mr. A. Booth, of Chicago. The business rapidly increased, and has continued to be 
of great importance up to the present time. It is recorded* that the first shipment 
consisted of three carloads of large oysters and that the market was overstocked, so 
that the consignees, to avoid loss, were obliged to plant in San Francisco Bay all the 
stock that were not promptly disposed of. This enforced planting of oysters resulted 
favorably, and was the beginning of a business which has since grown to large 
proportions. 
It is probable that the first consignments consisted of oysters intended for imme- 
diate consumption, but in a very short time the practice was inaugurated of importing 
seed oysters for planting in San Francisco Bay, and this eventually became the ruling 
custom. Recently, however, a new company has been shipping marketable oysters 
to San Francisco. 
The necessity for shipping eastern oysters to the Pacific Coast arose from the 
small size and poor quality of the native species ( Ostrea lurida). This has a very 
objectionable coppery flavor, which greatly diminishes its food value, although the 
comparatively large consumption indicates that a taste for it may be acquired. 
The supply of eastern oysters on the west coast is kept up by large shipments 
from the East. In recent years from 50 to 100 carloads have been sent annually to 
California and planted in San Francisco Bay, where they remain until they attain 
a suitable and profitable size for marketing. The oysters are shipped in freight cars 
holding 80 to 90 barrels and are usually three weeks on the cars. The business is 
carried oil chiefly in the fall months, and losses en route are quite small. One-year 
aiid two-year old seeds are planted on the grounds in the southern part of San 
Francisco Bay for three and two years respectively. Their growth is considered 
rapid, and they retain their original flavor to a large extent, or, at least, do not acquire 
the metallic taste of the native oyster. 
Full accounts of the conditions and methods of the eastern oyster industry of 
San Francisco Bay will be found in the report by Captain Collins referred to and in 
the article by Mr. Charles H. Townsend in the Report of the United States Fish 
Commission for 1889-1891. The special interest in this connection which the paper 
of Mr. Townsend possesses is the reference to the question of the propagation of the 
eastern oyster in the waters of California, for unless natural reproduction ensue the 
species can hardly be considered as acclimatized. The opinion has been generally 
entertained and is still quite prevalent that the eastern oyster does not and will not 
propagate in San Francisco Bay, owing to the supposed unfavorable physical and 
other conditions. 
* Report on the Fisheries of the Pacific Coast of the United States. By J. W. Collins. <^Report 
U. S. Fish Com., 1888. 
