The Prince George's enquirer and southern Maryland advertiser. (Upper Marlborough, Md.) 1882-1925, 1907-03-29
THE SHELL FISH COMMITS
SION.

number of y ears was connected with
the Board of Shell Fish Commission
ers of Connecticut, in speaking of the
best method to be adopted in opera
ting the new oyster law in Mary land
said:
ave have in Connecticut 5000
acres o. natural oyster beds. The
trouble which we encountered was in
defining these beds and drawing the
distinction between the natural beds
and barren bottoms; I understand
that the same problems confront the
Maryland Commission and from the
same causes. When, however, We es-
tablished the line our troubles were
over. The Supreme Court of this
State rendered decision confirming
the boundaries of the natural oyster
beds which had been defined by the
Legislature and as soon as these exact
boundary lines were established the
rest was easy. Your Maryland Com
mission will make its task easy if it
will definitely, finally and resolutely
fix the boundaries of the natural beds.
After we had established these bound
aries, the laying out of the barren
lands became an easy task. The
planters took up the land which was
absolutely worthless and have trans
formed it into valuable oyster beds.
The greatest problem which the
Maryland Commission must settle,
and settle amlcably and at once, is the
between what we call the
''natural growthers" and the cul tiva-
tors. 1t ought not to tie difficult to
settle this question. The natural
growthers will soon be convinced that
oyster cultivation is of the greatest
benefit to them and in five years they
will be surprised that they so long op-
posed cultivation. They will find
their opportunities greatly extended.
The cultivation of the oyster has
reached high degree of development.
Each of the larger cultivators has his
various kinds of ground on which the
oyster will set, grow and fatten and
they are transferred from one kind of
ground to another in the preparation
for the market.
The grounds in the rivers and bar
bors are used mainly for fattening or
maturing oysters taken frem deep
water. At New Haven about 200, 900
bushels of seed oysters are planted
each spring for fall and winter use.
The inshore oyster grounds are often
valued as high ss thousand dollars
an acre. Some men who are forum
ate enough to own five to ten acres
obtain a comffcStab1- =i-s by stock
ing an acre or two each year with seed
oysters bought from the sound Long
Island) planters. The sales of matur.
ed oysters amount TO one or two thOus
and dollars year. The capital in
vested is small and the owners have
much time for other pursuits.
The system of sound planting, or
more properly, deep water oyster
farming, is more complicated. 1t be-
gan in 1865 in water twenty to TWEEN.
ty-fve feet in depth, between Fish Is.
lands and Norwalk Islands. In 1870,
the planters began outside of the Nor
walk Islands and few years later of
New Haven Harbor. The planting
consists in the strewing Of three or
four hundred bushels of oyster shells,
and Thirty or forty bushels of mature
oysters to the acre, TO settle on suita-
BILE bottoms. This is done in the
months of July and August. The
planting Of the old oysters is often
omitted when adjoining beds are likely
to furnish spat for the new bed. Ex-
periments have been made with crush.
ed blue stone. Gravel has also been
s0wn. The spat will adhere to any
thing that is clean; even old rubber
boots have been dredged up with a
thriving colony attached. If there is
NO spat. as in 1888 and 1889, which
were gloomy years for the oystermen,
the shells or other material must be
dredged up to be dried ON the docks
for use the following season. If per.
mitted to remain under water they be-
come Shiny snd therefore useless. At
ter the beds are prepared the planter
is kept busy watching for the star
fish and dredging them up; he is also
stirring up his beds at the proper
times. Then comes the dredging and
sale Of seed oysters. The successful
planters are at work the year round,
ter it is in this as in other occupations
to we'll directed industry nothing is
denied. Cultivation has been extend
ed to bottoms thought unfit owing to