Virginia citizen. (Irvington, Va.) 1891-1921, 1910-03-04
ANSWERING A QUERY ABOUT
THE BAYLOR SURVEY,
Norfolk Landmark |

Norfolk Landmarl.l
Subscriber" addresses to to The
Landmark the following query, which
very epigrammatically indicates tha,
the questioner grasps the situation:
ITO the Editor of The Landmark
Will you kindly enlighten me in regard
to the Baylor Survey? Is it an actual
laying out of geometrical lines, or q
political attitude arbitrarily taken-a
local Monroe Doctrine, as it were,
which no two people understand alike,
although its infraction is an unpardon-
able sin?''
We might answer by expressing our
own opinion that the Baylor Survey is
doing the State Of Virginia and tie
oyster industry the same sort of good
as the State Quarantine on vessels
which have been passed by the Federal
Quarantine, and that the Baylor Sur
vey IS just about as sound and sacred
an institution as the double quarantine
at Virginia ports.
But we take pleasure in quoting
from the official report of the Assist
ant United States Fish Commissioner.
DR.. II. F. Moore bureau Of Fisheries
Document 729, just issued from the
Government Printing Office):
''The Baylor Survey was of an entirely
different character from that conducted
by Winslow. 1t was in no sense an
examination of. the oyster beds them
selves, but primarily and avowedly a
delimination of the boundaries which
included the recognised or reputed oys-
ter-bearing bottom, as pointed out by
local commissioners or representatives
of each oyster-producing county. 1t is
the writer's understanding that the
county commissioners were, under the
State law ordering the survey. the final
arbiters with whom rested the decision
whether or not given area should be
included within the boundaries of the
public grounds. So far as can be
learned no examinations whatever
were made on the beds, the commits
sioners using their judgment and local
knowledge in selecting the corners and
the engineers with their theodolites
cutting in the points indicated from
stations on the shore.
whether or not beds were omitted
from the confines of the public grounds
so located cannot now be satisfactorily
determined, owing to the development
of the planting industry. outside of the
Baylor lines, on all or most of the avail
able bottom. 1t is evident, however,
that in the region under discussion
(James River) no very extensive rocks
were disregarded.
Moreover, the boundaries of the beds
are irregular curves, while the includ-
ing surveyed boundaries must be
straight lines, for purposes of admins
tration and policing, as long and un-
broken as possible.
The new survey taken by DR.. Moore
in the James River at the request of
the State of Virginia showed "a pre-
ponderance of barren bottom within
the public grounds" and DR.. Moore in
his conclusion expressed the opinion
that all legitimate interests would be
best conserved by leasing as much of
this barren area as possible and straight
ening the lines Of the productive State
area so as to make its policing easier
and more ''effectually to prevent de-
predations on the natural rocks under
the guise of work on adjoining planted
grounds"
In that statement we have one of the
keys to the situation. 1t explains
some OF the opposition to any effective
change of lines by the Commonwealth.
The last report of the State Board of
Fisheries said:
"To the uninitiated it would be diff
cult to explain the state of things ex-
listing ever since the Baylor Survey was
made. No marks that may be caAed
permanent were established at that
time, it being presumed by those in
charge of the work that the State
would later mark and bouy the lines OF
the geodetic survey. To-day they are
mere tracings upon charts and lines OF
perennial stakes placed by renters al.
most wheresoever they choose. Topui
these renters back on their prope,
grounds is but primal cost. To keep
them there is almost beyond human
possibility, with no fixed and perma.
nent corners or bounds to go by. The
State suffers from loss of taxes and
the oyster tonger suffers from loss oi
public reservation.
"Of the 13, acres on the seet
grounds Tin the James River) we re
peat that not ten thousand are availabl.