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Oysters — Part 6

"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 semblance 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 percent. It gains from 12 percent. to 20 percent. 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 distilled 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 contamination, 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 "shucking 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 to 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 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 receptacles. Cans packed along with cakes of ice in sawdust are shipped inland and keep perfectly.

Cove Oysters, familiar to all who have studied the grocers' shelves in small inland towns, come from Chesapeake Bay, chiefly. These small-sized oysters are steamed before being "shucked"; cars six or eight feet long run from the wharf directly into the "steam chest," and after the steam has been turned in for fifteen minutes, out again, to the shucking shed. As soon as cool enough to handle, the gaping shells are quickly divested of the meats, which are thrown into large cans. These cans are removed, the oysters washed in ice water, then thrown out on long tables where the "fillers" pack them into small round tin cans, which are set in iron racks, and immersed in the "process kettle" where the oysters receive their second steaming. Now they are cooled and sealed, labelled and boxed for shipment. When the business is in full swing, an oyster finds itself hermetically sealed up in an hour after it is taken out of the water.

September is, in England and France as with us, the month in which the oyster season opens. Oysters are in best condition in November, tender, fat and fine flavoured. The season coincides with the R months on the calendar. May ushers in the spawning period, which covers the summer months. During this time the oyster is flabby and tasteless, but not poisonous.

A writer in the Nautilus declares the North Island of New Zealand to be "the chosen paradise of oyster eaters, for there the oysters are not only delicious, but ridiculously cheap." The rocky inlets about Aukland are built up with masses of oysters. The Maoris come from far and near every summer to feast on them for a time. They are very skilful in breaking the clusters and opening the shells.