Answers to questions about fattening oysters

416 BULLETIN OF THE UNITED STATES

FISH COMMISSION.

coastthata Philadelphia ^firm recentlymade a proposition ^to take all that may ^be caughtalong the coastthis season, with theviewofworkingmuchofitintomince- meat. The CapeMaycompany,^{it is}said, willrejectthe_offer,asitalreadyhasoffers from prominentPhiladelphiaand

New

Yorkhotelsandrestaurants,andit isbelieved that therewillbe ademandforthemeatwhich cannot bemet. Themeat^isredand

juicy,and resembles in appearance beef, but ismore solid, finer-grained, and very tender_; much more likevenison, which ^it resembles in flavor. They^{are taken in}

seinesabout_{1,000 feetlong}and_{very wide,}andwhen_captured,ifnot alreadydrowned, arekilledbystabbing with^{knives. It}would seem that the outlook^forthe success of anewandvaluable industrybeingestablishedalong our^coastismostexcellent.

137.—

ANSWERS

TO.

QUESTIONS ABOUT FATTENING OISTERS,'

By JOHN

A.

RTDEB.

(1) Oysters ^are not usually "fed" for market; ^{they are} sometimes taken fromtheir originalbed

and

carried tothe"floats," wherefresher water is allowed access to them. Absolutely^freshwater would kill

them.

The

fresherwater is absorbed in quantity,

and

_gives

them

an appearance^of plumpness.

(2) In such acase they ^are piled

up

ⁱⁿ

mass

on the _float, but this will not matter

; they

may

be scattered _thinly over the float or on a bottom where

somewhat

fresherwaterreaches them.

(3) Oysters can be "water-swollen"in this

way

ⁱⁿ twenty-four^hours.

It isa trick of_dealers,resorted to to

make

their oysters

more

salable.

(4)

The

natural food of the oyster ^issmall or very minute^animals

and

_{plants belonging} to widely ^different orders

and

_{classes, plants} mainly, however,

known

as diatoms.

(5) There is no ready-made preparation put

up

^{for the} purpose ^of feedingoysters. If thereis it

may

be pronounced^a

humbug.

^{I have} heardof corn-meal being used,

and some

of it would doubtlessbedi-

gested

by

the animals,butthe

way

^{in which I}have always heard ^ofits being used ^is exceedingly wasteful,

and

the

amount

_{actually ingested}

by

^the animals as foodduringthe short time they are fed ^isquiteinsig- nificant.

These mattershave been

somewhat

fullydiscussed in papersby ^the writerof_this, and_publishedin the_reports oftheCommission, Census,

and

Geological Survey.

Washington,

^D.

C,

^December24, 1884.

*

Writing from Biloxi. Miss.,December_{17, 1884,} Mr.John E.Morrisonmadethe followinginquiries^:

(1) Are_{oystersplacedin fresh,salt,}or brackishwaterpreparatory^tobeing^fed? (2) Arethey scattered singlyⁱⁿthewaterorpileduppromiscuously^?

(3) What_{length of}timedoesitgenerallytaketo fattenthem? (4) Whatisthe bestfoodforoysters^f

(5) ^Isthereanypreparation putup^forfeedingoysters,oriscorn-me»l the bestfor

themIf