Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1891-03-19
TO SAVE THE OYSTER.


WHOLESALE GATHERING CAN'T GO on WITHOUT
UTTER pEsrRrcrIoN-soxE SUPERVISION ABB
soLUrEIx SEcEssARY-wHAr A MEMBER OF THE
FISH COMMISSION SAYS on THE suByEcr.
The alarming decrease in the annual oyster
crop in the Chesapeake bay has q. last begun TO
arouse attention in the matter and the question
has been asked, how long can this 20 on? and
the question stil remains unanswered. Even
the oystermen themselves, who have always
been opposed to any action leading to state
supervision Of the oyster beds. are beginning
to realize that something must be done or the
time will soon come when they will be out
OF job. 1.-The great mass meeting that was held
in Baltimore last night shows that the question
is one that must be answered. Fish Commits
siyner Mcdonald, Prof. Brooks Of Johns Hop
kins and Hon. John K. Cowen were among the
speakers that addressed the meeting and called
attention to the fact that the oyster is a doomed
staple unless something is done to take care of
him. In 1890 the entire take from the Ches-
apeake bay and its tributaries was less than
one-half what it was in 1850 and il took a very
much larger number of oystermen to get even
this diminished quantity of the bottom than il
did the larger supply q decade ago.
Hitherto the oystermen have been opposed
to putting any legal restrictions upon their
iabors or limitations rpon the territory over
which they should have full sway. They are
putting the proverbial goose TO death and gol-
den eggs are getting scarce. 1t is just as it
would be If wheat fields were common prop
erty. Everybody would be willing to reap but
not one would care to SOW for some one else to
gather the increase. Just what is to be done
In the matter is another question.
WHOLESALE CATHERINE CANNOT GO on.
Mr.. Richard Rathbun of the fish commission
oaflx xbo Of h.. l,a
appearance of the oyster in conversation with
STAR reporter this morning. THE oyster
men, he said. ARE brought face to face with a
condition, and they are beginning to see that
the wholesale gathering of oysters cannot go
on indefinitely as things are now. 1t is pos
sibie with tongs and dredges for them to take
every oyster out of bed and leave the
bottom bare. And that is just what they have
been doing. In Maryland any citizen of the
state may work the beds as much as he wishes
and the result is becoming very evident in the
scarcity Of the oyster.
The whole coast of the United States is
adapted for the cultivation of the oyster from
Massachusetts to Texas. Massachusetts, is a
little far north for Them butalong Connecticut
they thrive splendidly, though it is in the
chesapeake waters that they come to their
very best. Farther south they have the ''coon"
oysters that grow between the tide lev
els. On account Of the mild tempera-
ture they can live out of water
during the low tide. These oysters are long
and thin and do not grow as large or fat as the
Carolina and Georgia they have begun the
system of state supervision of oyster beds, and
it is found to work splendidly.
SUPERVISION WORKS WELL IN CONNECTICUT.
ut is in Connecticut, however, that this
system is most fully carried into effect. There
| the natural oyster beds along the shores are
reserved for public use, but out beyond that,
where the bottom is suited to cultivation it is
plated off and sold to the oysterman
property on land. This ownership is
translnittable and in many cases is very
| valuable. The owner has full control over this
water and he can plant his oysters and cul-
| tivate them without any fear that some one
else will reap the profits. His rights are re-
| beds from being destroyed. The oysters
are caught in the natural beds and he
| buys the seed oysters and plants them and then
lets them grow in peace to a marketable ma
turity.. This is very profitable business and
tnere ls not more prosperous set Of men in
the state than those who engage in il. 10
| show how well the system works / can tell
you that the oyster crop in Connecticut has in
creased four times in the past ten years, while
III the Chesapeake it has decreased considera-
bly, more than a half in the same period. Some
thing of this sort must be done i'll the Chesa-
peake or the oyster will soon be exterminated.
The oyster business in all its branches has al
| ways been one of the most profitable industries
III Maryland. but the end is III sight If the pres
ent methods continue.
ARTIFICIAL CULTURE MUST COME.
Still even the system followed in Connect
cut is crude one and is hardly culture at all.
properly speaking. In Europe. now. the oyster
| is Matched and nurtured artifcially Especially
! Is this the case in France. where the business
1 fnr ba
oyster Is an expensive luxury there.
but no more SO than II promises
to be over here very soon. What We are really
coming to is artificial production in ponds
along the shore that can be flooded by means
Of iniets and canals, in addition to the natural
| oyster beds. The fish commission is making "a
| special study of this matter now, and will soon
have something definite to say about it.
Artificial culture can be made to pay splen-
didly, and there is no business that offers bet
| ter inducements than the oyster business if il
| is but wisely and judiciously followed. There
is plenty of hard work. of course. but there are
large returns TO be had as well, and the time is
soon coming when the natural supply will be
| utterly inadequate for the ordinary demand. ~
MR.. HoGANs PROPOSED REMEDY.
Something has got to be DONE" said Mr.
| John Hogan. Il never saw the oyster business
in such bad way. 1t is getting worse and
worse all tie time, until it is almost impossible
to get oy sters that are worth anything at all.
| The prices have been going up on me until |
have to pay very nearly as much for the goods
| to the boat captains as l get from my GUS
| toners And yet have got to buy whether 1
| want to or not. Folks must have oysters. But
have not raised my retail prices yet. have
preferred to sell on close margins in the hope
that something better would turn up. Then
the quality Of the oysters We get is bad. 1t is
next to impossible to find real frst-cass oysters
anywhere, and have TO pay the highest rates
for them. The whole trouble lies in the sum-
mer sales of oysters. II Congress would pass
law making il a crime to catch oysters in sum
mer time. or to sell them, there would be a
great relief on the beds. have to sell oysters
in summer just because others do it. but 1
would much prefer not to do it. 1 do not
think that there would be much relief from the
plan Of making the beds in the bay private, for
there would he just as much piracy then as
now. The remedy for the evil lies in law
prohibiting and preventing summer sales"