Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1891-01-17
THE OYSTERS FATE.
A Somewhat Gloomy Outlook for the
Luscious Bivalves.
PIRATES AND BAD LAWS.
How the Natural Beds Have Been Stripped
Dimculties Of Erecting Protective Lsws-
The Situation Along thu Shore From Rhode
Island to North Carolina,

condiments and swallowing it with gratifying
relish know or stop to think if they do know Of
the precarious and gloomy aspect Of the future
of this most delicious of shell fish. Like the
once lordly bison of the prairie the succulent
bivalve of the sea coast is being gradually wiped
from existence by an indiscriminate destruc-
tion-by willful disregard Of the laws Of the
country and of nature. The commercial oys-
ter Of today is neither so numerous, 30 large
nor Of so delightful flavor as it was, even
only few years ago. For the past twenty
years it has been gradually decreasing in sup
ply and quality and soon, it is claimed by those
who have studied the oject, it very existence
rather than condition will be question boldly
facing the public if something is not accom-
plished toward stopping the ravages Of . per-
sistent and rapacious foe.
OYSTERS ARE SCARCE AND GROWING scARcER,
and consequently poorer in quality and higher
| in price, because the natural beds are being
stripped year after year of both the young an
| old-the parent as well as progeny. Schemes
have been devised and laws enacted to prevent
this wholesale depletion, but it seems impossi-
justly protective law. The present outlook,
therefore, Of the oyster future along the Al
| lantic coast is gloomy. Nothing but wise legis-
lation and the prompt and persistent admins
| tration OF authority can prevent the ultimate
extinguishment of the finest oyster fields in the
world. Oysters are found all along the coast
from Maine to the tropical shores of Florida,
but nowhere in such perfection or flavor Is in
| the sections adjacent to Washington, from the
Chesapeake to Hatteras. For many years con-
| servative and prophetic minds interested in the
preservation and culture of the bivalve have
| foreseen the danger and raised the signal of
warning. Many Of the states have enacted laws
for its protection and propagation, but they
have been either too strong or too weak to prove
effective.
THE WHOLE QUESTION
appears to be involved in the protection Of the
oyster rocks or natural beds from wasteful and
illegal dredging and in the encouragement of
artificial propagation. This seems a small
matter to accomplish from common-sense
view, but it has proved q very complex and
difficult thing to adopt measures acceptable to
the many interests afected-planters, dredgers
tongers, dealers, &c. At present the dredger
seems to be standing alone az the bold bad man
who is creating havoc by scraping from the
rocks everything and returning nothing-from
the yearling spot to the hoary shell candidate
for market. The "oyster pirate" as he is
termed is an anarchist in the business, relying
for immunity with impunity upon well-in-
tending but defective legislation. It is upon
him whom the toy navies Of Virginia and Mary
land are continuously waging warfare, and now
and then we read of one or more who have
$50 and turned ahoat to proceed, though
somewhat more carefully. with the nefarious
work. As there are yet seed enough left the
sole salvation appears to be in artificial culti-
walton, and the states interested are now NOV
ing toward that end, and the final result de-
ponds upon the enactment Of comprehensive
laws and the sovereignty Of state in enforcing
them.
IN THE CULTIVATION OF oYsTK;s.
The seed or small oyster from one to two
years old is taken from the natural oyster rock
and planted in suitable underwater land" as
it is called, where it remains until ready for
market. The ultimate object Of each state
| owning oyster lands, it is evident. is to pre-
serve these rocks for seed oysters and encour-
age planting, but for some reason the legisla-
lures have found difficulty in framing laws to
meet the purpose. The laws or the methods Of
administering them have invariably proven
futile, and the cultivation has been greatly
handicapped and retarded by rowing dredgers,
who proceed without fear of law or the least
thought of future production. Upon any Of the
oyster vessels coming into Washington, in al
| most any of the store houses of the dealers here
| can be found oysters 30 small and Indifferent as
to be hardly worth the having-seed stock, in
fact, which ten years ago would have been
promptly dumped back into the water az soon
as taken.
WHAT ID BEING DONE ABOUT IT.
The general tendency Of state legislation is
to. sell areas Of underwater land to planters
open the natural beds equally to all for seed
ing oysters and protect the young oysters at
all hazards from the depredations Of piratical
dredgers and tongers-in other woros to pro-
| vide for, encourage and protect artificial propa-
| gation-for it has finally come down to either
that or total destruction. The state Of Con-
| neticut was the first to adopt this plan and has
| eclipsed her sister states and accomplished
wonders in the past fifteen years. Laboring
| under the same difficulties the area of her
| natural rock had dwindled down to 5000 almost
| barren acres. She went boldly to work. had
| these surveyed and marked off and reserved az
| a common for all her people, The balance of
the underwater land was sold under q per
petual franchise fo- the cultivation Of oysters
and nearly 100000 acres were sold at o. per
| acre. The result was most gratifying
Thousands o; her people are now engaged in
| an annual nominal tax il bringing in hand
some revenue. The chairman Of the shell fish
commission Of that state says in a report that
| Shut for the rayages of the starfish cultivated
cents bushel." The report Of 1889 shows that
in 1888 $4,000 bushels Of the choicest grades
were shipped to Liverpool and London.
THE LITTLE STATE OF RHODE ISLAND
however, did not manage SO we'll. She went
into the industry also, but upon Q different
policy. She adopted plan which was promul-
gated about the same time in Virginia and
Wnlcn mas proven q failure In both instances
The lands were rented to planters and loose
laws enacted, az will be seen hereafter, for the
protection Of natural beds The result, 90
cording to an official report for 1889, was that
the yield Of that year was barely enough to give
every man, woman and child in the state one
pint each. That the industry along its forty
| five miles OF seashore is languishing goes with
| out the saying.
THE GREAT STATE OF NEW YORK
has adopted the perpetual franchise system,
and, though recently done, reports already
| show an encouraging outlook. Those who we're
| engaged in the cultivation Of the oyster when
| the act passed we're allowed to retain their
| underwater lands upon the payment of Is
| cents per acre, while those who went into
it afterward could secure land at o. an acre.
In early colonial times oysters in New Amster-
| dam were SO numerous they could be had for
| the taking of them. In New York bay they
were as the sands Of the sea, but in 1885 all the
oyster rocks in the state were almost exhausted.
Afterward Legislative tinkering made matters
| worse, and today the famous and succulent
saddle rock in its native purity and luscious
ness Is something past and gone.
| MARYLANDs OYsrER-cULLINa Law.
After numberless attempts and failures to
arrange satisfactory oyster law or laws the
recent session Of the Legislature passed an act
/ in effect requiring all oysters taken TO be
| 'culled on their bars or BEDS a. caught and
all with shell under two and one-half inches
from hinge to mouth should be thrown back
into the water" for further growth. The beds
have been % closely scraped that oysters Of
legal commercial size are scarce and dredgers