of the coast of the United States. They exist in the greatest abundance along the coast in the vicinity of Long Island Sound, Norfolk, Virginia, along the coast of the Gulf of Mexico, off the coast of Mississippi, Louisiana, and Texas, and along the Pacific coast from San Francisco to the northern limits of Washington.
Size.—The size of an oyster depends greatly upon its food and also upon its species. There are some varieties which at a given period of growth are naturally very much larger than others. The larger variety grows near Norfolk and along the Gulf coast. A smaller species is especially abundant on the Pacific coast, though a number of very large specimens of oysters have been found on that coast.
Age.—An oyster is eaten at any time after two years. Oysters, however, three or four years old are, perhaps, in all respects the best. The age is determined largely by the appearance of the shell, experts being able to practically determine the age of an oyster by an examination of the shell.
The oyster grows within a shell which is composed almost exclusively of carbonate of lime. The periphery of the shell is ovoid in shape, irregular, and the surface, especially of old oysters, is corrugated, rough, and unattractive. The interior of the shell is smooth and generally white, but sometimes has a blue or reddish tinge. The shells of edible oysters vary in size from 2 to 6 inches in length and from 2 to 4 inches in width. The oysters sold in the market are known by various names, usually derived from the location from which they come. A small variety distinguished by a blue color on the inside of the shell is known as blue points. The real blue points come only from Long Island. Another variety named Rockaway is also a Long Island variety, and should come exclusively from Rockaway or vicinity. Shrewsbury is another highly prized variety from the neighborhood of Shrewsbury, New Jersey. Buzzards Bay, James River, Norfolk, Lynnhaven, Rappahannock, Stony Creek, Saddle Rock, etc., are names commonly found in the trade. Unfortunately, the name of the location is not always an indication of the actual source from which the oysters may have come. For instance the term "blue point" is now very commonly given to small oysters not exceeding 2 or 2-1/2 inches in length with a correspondingly diminished breadth. On the contrary "saddle rock" is a name given to very large oysters no matter from what region they may come. It is a common practice to separate the oysters taken from one location into groups of similar size and attach to each group a special name which may or may not be indicative of location.
Cultivation of Oysters.—The natural beds of oysters are rapidly exhausted by the free fishing which is in some cases allowed, and the supply must be kept up by proper cultivation. Oyster farming has become a great industry along all parts of the coasts where the conditions are well suited to culture. The ideal conditions are inlets where the oysters are protected from the action
