The small fisherman thrusts his tongs down over the boat's gunwale and by working the two handles back and forth a bit he manages to gather a load of something from the sea bottom, between the two sets of inward-pointing teeth. The two arms 432 The Oysters cross just above the rakes and so act Like a pair of long-handled pincers. Up he hauls his load and dumps it in a broad trough. He hauls again and again, then stops to "cull" his trough. The few oysters go into a basket; the rubbish, including dead shells, etc., set with young spat, is thrown back. A bushel or two of oysters from the public beds, product of a day's work, satisfies the small fisherman. They will bring him two to three dollars, carted about the town, and furnish him a stew for supper beside. But there are many stormy days when he can't go out. The public beds are becoming fished out.
The dredges are scoop shovels that drag the bottom, and when full are lifted, dumped in the vessel, and lowered again. The culling waits until the vessel is in and the cargo discharged. The shells and other materials suitable for "clutch" are thrown into a pile. The oysters are sorted ; the spat is put aside to be laid down again, and objectionable rubbish is discarded, along with oyster enemies. Culling of each dredge-load on the boat dumps back much objectionable debris. Careful harvesting involves a thorough cleaning of a bed.
The average depth of beds in Long Island Sound is five to six fathoms. Great South Bay is deeper and the outer beds cannot be fished in severe weather. Oysters from them are laid down near shore in fall and taken up for winter use, by cutting out a ten-foot strip of ice ; the tongers stand on planks laid across the open water, and load their baskets into wagons standing on the solid crust.
Oysters sent to seaboard markets go in barrels or bags in the shell. These are "sorted" in the sheds that line the shores. I saw the process at Patchogue, Long Island, in 1906. Men sat on stools before bins filled with the oysters as they came from the dredges. Bushel baskets were close at hand on the floor for each sorter. In one he threw the small, regular three-inch oysters, the choicest sort, due to bring $1.50 per bushel, wholesale. These are served on the half-shell. The next grade are large ones, used to fry. They bring $1.25. Smaller ones, for general use, $1.00. Into the fourth basket irregular shells were thrown, to be opened by the retailer, who gets them for eighty cents. Once out of the shells they are as good as any "bulk oysters." Dead shells are saved for clutch. Young oysters are planted again next day.
433 The Oysters " Plumping."— The sorted oysters, duly credited to the sorter, are prepared for market by being placed, for a day or two, on floats or perforated rafts with shallow compartments, which lie in a canal cut in from the beach, but receiving fresh water drainage from the land side. In this water, which is much less
dense than sea water, the oysters bloat, and take on the sem blance of fatness. The gills and alimentary tract are cleansed, which is especially desirable when the oysters come from muddy beds. In actual nutrient value, the oyster loses about 13 per cent. It gains from 12 per cent. to 20 per cent. additional weight by reason of the water it absorbs.
Herein is exemplified the truth expounded by P. T. Barnum. The American public prefers the bloated oyster, insisting that it is fat. Take an oyster out of its ocean bed and put it into dis tilled water. It will "fatten" in a short time, and some of its protein, carbohydrates, fats and mineral salts will be found by analysis in the water.
Left too long on the floats the oysters become lean and tough and lose flavour. So the "plumping" process is carefully timed. The canals must be very carefully guarded against con tamination, or the oysters will become carriers of disease.
Shucking and Packing.— Most oysters sent inland are "shucked" in the sheds before shipment. Long lines of men and women stand in the alleys of the shed, each facing a "shuck ing trough" full of oysters in the shell. Two buckets holding a gallon each are supplied to each. A wooden block with a flat piece of iron set in it is to break the "bill" of the oyster on. A hammer and an oyster knife complete the equipment. One bucket is for "extras," one for oysters of ordinary size. Men with wheelbarrows replenish the troughs at the foreman's orders, and remove the accumulating shells from the floor.
The shucker may open the shell with a skilful thrust of the oyster knife. This "stabbing" method cuts the muscle, and liberates the oyster with a single motion. The other method is t6 lay the thin "bill" of the shell on the iron projection on the block and knock it off with the hammer, before using the knife to cut the muscle.
The shucker empties his bucket into a trough, and receives his tally check for it. The stream goes through a partition, and into the "skimmer," a vat with perforated bottom, which drains 434 The Oysters off the liquor. Bits of shell are removed and the oysters are measured. They are next put into large receiving tubs, whence they are taken, a few gallons at a time, and thoroughly washed in the "cullender." Now they are put into flat quart cans, kegs, barrels or tubs. Ice is freely used after the closing of the recep tacles. Cans packed along with cakes of ice in sawdust are shipped inland and keep perfectly.