Lee,
 
    The U.S. department of agriculture farmers bulletin no 1524 published in
1927 is titled Farm Poultry Raising.  In the discussion on feeding there is
a paragraph about minerals.  "Mineral feed is best supplied in the form of
curshed oyster shell, clamshell, or limestone, which supplies the calcium
for eggshell formation.  Crushed shell or limestone should be kept before
the hens all the time."
 
My grandfather always had oyster shells with his geese, too.
 
The large Popes Creek shell middens in southern Maryland were burned for
lime in the late 19th century.
 
Ed
 
-----Original Message-----
From: Cranmer, Leon <[log in to unmask]>
To: [log in to unmask] <[log in to unmask]>
Date: Tuesday, March 17, 1998 8:23 AM
Subject: request for information
 
 
Greetings!
I m looking for some additional information regarding a site I am working
on.  This project involves the Damariscotta Shell middens in Maine.  These
are all prehistoric middens predominately composed of oyster shell.  One of
the middens, known as the  Whaleback  measured over 300  along the
(Damariscotta) River, 125  inland, and over 15  deep.  In 1886 a company,
the
Damariscotta Shell and Fertilizer Co.  began mining the shell for hen feed,
fertilizer, and road fill.  Three structures were built on site, a mill,
dryer, and fertilizer house.  There is still a large mound of ground shell
at
the site, but the records I have found so far suggest the shells were
shipped
out in barrels to Boston where they were ground for hen feed.  (Perhaps the
on-site grinding came a little later.)  The mining operation ended in 1891
when the buildings burned and no attempt was made to revive the already
faltering company.  A local man hired by the Harvard Peabody Museum kept a
journal of activities and shipped all recovered artifacts down to the museum
in Cambridge.
My questions concern the industry of hen feed and lime production.  Is there
more information available regarding the hen feed portion of the operation
as
conducted during the late 19th century?  I m familiar with lime kilns, but
not with obtaining lime from shell middens.  Has anyone encountered this?
Does anyone have any information on other attempts to mine shell middens for
any purposes during this period?
 
Thank you all for your time and any information available.
 
Lee Cranmer
Maine Historic Preservation Commission
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