Virginia citizen. (Irvington, Va.) 1891-1921, 1907-05-24
IRvINGTON, VIRGINIA. FRIDAY, MAY "a, 1907.

ders Ia inches and % inches in diamete
and "a inches stroke of piston. A Scotcl
return tubular boiler IL feet in diamete
and IL feet long, tested to $50 pounds
working pressure, furnishes steam. II
is expected to have the steamer ready
this week to start fishing. The annua
fitting out and overhauling of the flee
of menhaden fishing steamers has beer
about complicated, and there are bu
few of the boats which have not taker
their departure for the fishing ground:
as yet. The cold and late spring made
the season of catching very late thi:
year.
The oyster business in Virginia is
about ended for this season, as the
demand for oysters stops in most places
when we miss the letter ''R" months,
and while some few persons think oys-
ters good to eat in months that have nc
RI in their spelling, May, June, July
and August, the public in general knows
better and also knows the main reason is
that fish, CLAIMS and Holsters are cheaper
than oysters during that time, so eat
them until fall commences and they
want change again in their diet of sea
food. The past season has been a sue
cessful one with most people engaged in
! the oyster business in this State, for
which many causes have been to blame,
the main one being the great scarcity of
stock on about all oyster beds in Vir-
ginia, but more so in James River than
any other place, as we have had hardly
any set of young oysters in that river
for over three years now, and to make
the packing business a success in Nor
folk the dealers must get plenty of stock
from James River Almost everybody
connected with the oyster business here
has some personal view in regard to
what is best to bring it to a more pro-
fitable standpoint than it is at present,
but by what we can hear the majority
seems to think that as long as our nat
tural beds are well protected during the
summer months, toward which our
present State Board of Fisheries is do
ing all they possibly can, and that all
worn out and uuproductive oyster bot
toms should be leased out to planters so
they can reseed them and thereby create
bigger supply of stock, which also
would give the State revenue for oys-
ter bottoms that now yield them moth
ing, then in time to come we would have
more oysters and do the oyster business
that was done in this State some years
ago. Norfolk letter in N. Y. Fishing
Gazette.
Will you kindly answer in your Query
Column of next Sundays paper whether
hibiting non-residents of the State from
owning oyster land in the State of Vir-
ginia, and whether or not this law ap-
piles to shares in a company incorpo--
ated under the laws of the State?
J. M. L.
The Constitution provides that the
natural oyster beds, rocks and shoals
in the waters of Virginia shall not be
leased, rented or sold, but shall be held
in trust for the benefit of the people of
the State. The Code provides that if
any person, other than a resident of
Virginia, shall take or catch crabs,
oysters or other shell fish in any of the
waters of this State, or rent any oyster
planting ground or plant oysters in any
of the waters of the State, he shall be
deemed guilty of felony. The law
applies also to nonresident stockholders.
-Times-Dispatch.