We can well conceive the astonishment of Columbus and his mariners when, in the Gulf of Paria, they first found oysters clinging to the branches, their mouths open as was supposed, to receive the dew, which was afterwards to be transformed into pearls.
The spawn of the fish is attached by a glutinous substance to any object with which it comes in contact, and the adhesion continues until the oyster is forcibly removed. On the southern coasts of the United States, in Florida and Louisiana, oysters may thus be seen growing as it were on trees, or the limbs at least of those which have sunk into the water, by the weight of the foliage, or from any other cause. The opossum and the racoon feed upon these oysters, procuring them by lifting the boughs from the water, and hence the American name racoon oysters, a term they are universally known by. They are of a long slender shape, and growing very rapidly, always have thin and delicate shells.
The value of the oysters sold in the city of New York now exceeds £1,250,000 sterling. The money invested in the trade by 150 wholesale dealers is about £100,000, and the number of persons employed in the business, directly or indirectly, including saloon keepers, street venders, &c., is 50,000. Of the whole amount sold in the markets, about two-thirds come from Virginia, which has a more extensive oyster trade than any other State in the Union. The residue is obtained, according to the New York Herald, from the waters of their own State, and those of New Jersey—the East River furnishing the largest quantity. A considerable supply is procured from Shrewsbury and York Bay; but very few of the latter are consumed in the city, as they are cultivated particularly for the western market. One of the most interesting features in the business is the transplanting of oysters, or their removal from the ‘rock,’ or natural bed, to an artificial one. This process is of peculiar importance, and absolutely necessary to the successful prosecution of the trade. It would, in fact, be next to impossible to supply the market during the whole year, but for the general system of transplanting which is pursued by all the dealers. More than a million dollars’ worth are removed every year to artificial beds, and by this means prevented from spawning, which renders them unfit for use. Thus, a large proportion of the East River oysters were originally obtained from the North River, where the soil and water are not considered so favourable to their cultivation. Of the fifty thousand persons engaged in the business, the majority, of course, are dependent upon their own labour for support; but there are a considerable number of the dealers, or, as they might more properly be called, oyster merchants, who possess large fortunes, amassed from the sale of oysters alone. They are amongst the most worthy of her citizens, and New York is not a little indebted to their enterprise for her extensive business in what has now become an indispensable article of food.
It is only within the last thirty years that the oyster trade was established in New York. Before that time, it is true, oysters were sold there; but the business transacted was exceedingly limited, and there was little or no inducement for persons to engage in it. Nearly all that were brought to market were procured from the natural beds, for the benefits to be obtained from planting were but imperfectly understood by a few of the dealers, or entirely unknown to them. In the course of a few years, however, the business grew into importance, and men of capital and enterprise engaged in it. The planting of beds—a very essential part of the trade—was commenced; the few oyster boats, of diminutive size, engaged in supplying New York, became an immense fleet; an extensive trade began with Virginia; the East River became a mine of wealth to those who worked its beds; the coasts of the bays and the shores of the rivers were explored and given over to the tongs, the scraper, and the dredges of the oystermen. It was found that by removing the oyster from its natural bed to an artificial one, it could not only be increased in size, but improved in quality, and rendered fit for use at any period of the year. This was a very important matter to understand, for there are certain months when the oyster is unfit for use, in consequence of its being full of spawn. While they remained in the natural bed, they were always subject to this objection; but if not permitted to lie too long in the artificial one, they could be preserved free from spawn. Although they increased in size, they seldom or never became more numerous by transplanting. Hundreds of vessels are constantly employed, during certain months, in transplanting in the East River, in Prince’s Bay, and other parts of the State.
The appended summary will give some further idea of the extent of the oyster trade in New York:—
| Number of boats of all sizes, from fifty to two hundred and fifty tons, employed in the trade in Virginia oysters | 1,000 |
| In the East and North River trade | 200 |
| In the Shrewsbury trade | 20 |
| In the Blue Point and Sound trade | 100 |
| In the York Bay trade | 200 |
| —— | |
| Whole number of boats | 1,520 |
The following table will show the annual amount of sales of all kinds of oysters by the wholesale dealers in New York:—
| dollars. | |
| Sales of Virginia oysters, including those planted in Prince’s Bay | 3,000,000 |
| Sales of East and North River oysters | 1,500,000 |
| Do. of Shrewsbury oysters | 200,000 |
| Do. of Blue Point and Sound oysters | 200,000 |
| Do. of York Bay oysters | 300,000 |
| ———— | |
| Sales | 5,200,000 |
Baltimore is another great seat of the American oyster trade. A single firm there has amassed, during the last ten years, a fortune of £500,000, by simply transporting oysters to the Western States, all of which were obtained at the oyster banks of the eastern shore of Virginia, and sent over the Baltimore and Ohio railroad to Cumberland, and thence to the Ohio river in stages. The firm paid to this railway company, in one year, for transporting oysters alone, above £7,000.
Another large and enterprising firm in Baltimore, forwards daily to the West, by way of the Susquehanna railroad, and the Pennsylvania improvements, eight tons of oysters, in cans. The operations of this one concern comprise the opening of 2,500 bushels of oysters per day, giving constant employment to 150 men and boys! The shells are carried for manure to all parts of Virginia and North Carolina. In the ‘shocking’ of oysters, the shells will increase about one fourth in measurement bulk; this would give a total of about 6,000,000 bushels of shells, which sell for one penny per bushel, making a return of £25,000 for the shells alone.