Virginia citizen. (Irvington, Va.) 1891-1921, 1909-09-24
CRISIS IS COMING
In LONG DISPUTE.
Fresh WransIe Over Oyster Rocks
Predicted With Completion OF
Survey.
JAMES RIVER WORK FINISHED.
CTimes- pispatch Stair Corre.nond..tl

JamtS MvtR WORK FINISHED.
cTimes-pspatch staff Correspondent
NEWPORT NEWS, Va. September l.
Late this afternoon the government
steamer Fishhswk, which has beer
making a survey of the oyster ground;
on the James River. pulled into Newport
News. with its work done and its inspec
ton completed. The results of TN.
survey will now be chartered out bv ex
perts, and the new lines of the natura
oyster rocks will be announced about
december l. According to Chairman
W. mcdonald Lee, the survey made BY
the F1shhawk, under the direction OF
Dr. H. r. Moore. has been the most
complete ever undertaken by the gov.
eminent on any oyster grounds, BY a
| system OF buoys. the experts on the
fishhawk divided the natural rocks into
hundreds of small rectangular sections
over each of these launch from the
Fishhawk passed and carefully examin-
ed the nature of the bottom. longer.
followed in second boat and verified
/ the results.
In Five Glasses.
The finished survey, it is reported
VIII divide the natural rocks into fiy.
Classes, according to their productive
value. Barren bottoms covered with
mud and worthless for oyster produc.
ton Will be separately designated
whlie barren rocks that may be i'm.
proved with proper care, rocks which
Will be recuperated by time. the nor.
maliy productive and the specially
productive rocks will be chartered ouI
in detail.
When the results of this survey are
announced, the long dispute over the
oyster rocks win come to a head. il
the predictions of those in this citp
who are familiar with the situation
are verified. The lease of the natural
rocks to private individuals, or the
maintenance of the old lines of the
baylor Survey, remains the great ques-
ton at issue.
Chairman Lee. of the Fisheries Com
mission, in an interview to-day, placed
himself on record as opposed to leas-
ing any rocks to individuals, except
those which are at present unproduc-
tive. but which can with proper treat
ment, be used for seed beds in time.
Il do not believe" said Mr.. Lee.
that the tongers should be deprived
OF those natural rocks which can be
made productive by the State. We
have plans under way whereby a por-
ton of such rocks as are barren can
be covered with shells and made TO
yield large returns in a few years.
We shall maintain that these rocks
be left undisturbed. But where the
expense to the State would be too great
in covering unproductive hottoms, we
shall be willing to see them leased to
planters for seed purposes"
Claim or Planters.
The planters who are interested in
the results of the survey maintain that
their plan is not to tear down the
Baylor Survey and monopolixe the nat
urai rocks, but merely to secure enough
seed oysters to plant the beds they
already lease from the State.
I'VE respect the rights of the tong
ers. said leading planter to-day,
but we do think that when we have
leased oyster grounds from the State
we should be allowed enough seed oys-
ters to make our beds productive. We
have trouble in securing enough seed
as it is. and have many acres of good
bottom that We cannot utilize. All we
want is enough bottom to raise the
seed oysters that we cannot secure
from the tongers in the James,"
Opinion here is strongly divided he
tween the tongers and the planters.
Whatever may be the results of the
survey. it is freely predicted that a
bitter fight will be opened in the next
Assembly.
Chairman Lee to-day took lumber
OF prominent citizens of Newport News
and newspaper men up the James to
witness the longing from the natural
rocks. MIR. Lee was much elated at the
situation. and declared that conditions
were better than they had been for
years. He stated that he met fortv-
i've schooners in the roads this morning
each laden with about 700 bushels of
seed oysters taken from the natural
rocks in the James during the last two
lays. This shows said Mr.. Lee
that the rocks are by no means bar
rem"
Many TOngeFs Busy.
AS the oyster boat Maury made its
way up the James this morning with
the party aboard, It found the river
from Wreck Shoals to Nansemond Rocks
covered with tongers. BY actual count.
more than 900 craft were husily ensag.
ed In scraping the bottom and collecting
seed oysters. The tongers gave varying
estimates of the years. supply, All
agreed that the strike of this summer 9
oysters was usually large. though some
contended that the large strike was
confine to few small areas.
Conditions are like they were last
year. said prominent planter, land
In a few weeks the natural rocks will
be pretty well stripped. There is alb
solutely no ground for the belief that
the crop is failure. but do not think
it is unusually large:
Soma fnnnaro x.,a~o