The daily morning journal and courier., 1895-01-14
OYSTER CULTURE.
Star Fish subjugated, but Alarming Dep
 relations by the brill"

Star Fish subjugated, but Alarming Dep
 relations by the Drill"
 The biennial report of the Shell Fish
 Commissioners, BIessrs, George c. Wal
 do, Charles, w. Beardsley and Christian
 swartz, just issued, shows that the re-
 ceipts for the fiscal year were 1902. AS and the expenses $S,S58O2, leaving 8
 balance of $6,13446 During the two years thirty-slx applications were made to the commissioners for land, covering 3,272.2 acres. Of these appli- cations two were subsequently, with drawn, two were rejected, two were cancelled, eighteen were granted, con Veying 1,29S.5 acres and twelve are still pending. In the consideration of appli- cations for oyster grounds it frequently occurs that the shadow of an old town title rests upon all or a. portion of the land applied for, although that title may have been held in abeyance, not having been asserted for many years; but the raising of the question casts a cloud upon the title, and the commits sion does not care to give, nor the ap- plicant to receive, Q grant which may involve litigation. It would be of ad- vantage to the state if such alleged holdings, upon which no taxes have been paid for twelve or fifteen years, were expressly declared available for designation to new holders upon appli- cation, for thereby quite a large amount of valuable oyster ground would be brought into the market It is fact that with the progress of eX- perience in the business of oyster culti- vation 6 constantly increasing quantl- ty of oyster ground is becoming avail able for cultivation which has, from it's peculiar character been considered worthless, and holdings of this sort which have never been successfully worked, as we'll as grounds surrendered for what was actual Worthlessness number of years ago, are becoming available for business purposes. Oys- ter grounds are surrendered now only to escape taXation as the state no longer returns the purchase money upon such grounds. During the past two years there have been eight surren- ders of oyster grounds to the state, in volving 431.9 acres, for which no return was made by the state. These grounds are in the market again, and 1t IS not the case that ground sur rendered by one man will be applied for by another so that under the eX- isting rule of no return from the state to the original purchaser, the state re ceives a duplicate of the original pur- chase money and the ground is listed for taxation.
 The taxes of oyster grounds for the two years netted the state $1S544.91.
 The more important landmarks have been kept in repair and are now in a good state of preservation. some of them having been rebuilt so as to be good for many years. Little money has been spent on these for several years previous, and their condition has larger outlay during the pe- riod covered by the report
 As a business the Connecticut oyster l continues to increase, and or fers a fair return to the intelligent and cultivator. The number of steamers and other vessels engaged | and the acreage of the planters are con- stantIy increasing. There are seventy | thousand acres of submarine oyster | farms along the Connecticut coast from | Greenwich to Branford.
 The star fish has ceased to alarm the intelligent and watchful planter, the mop dredge furnishing him means for It's certain extirpationi but the. drill, m enemy less easily managed, in some sections makes it's appearance felt to he loss and trouble of the planter. In some localities, notably in New Haven 1arbor, the "drilln is becoming alarm ngIy destructive, and the damage which it infiicts seems to be almost be- yond present remedy