Evening capital and Maryland gazette. (Annapolis, Md.) 1910-1922, 1916-01-28
STATE TRIES OUT
OYSTER CULTURE
Plan Trip for Legislators to See
Results.
DEVELOPING NATURAL BARS.
Commander Howard Reports Wonder
full Success OF Experiment That
Began Last March One
Year Ago.
DEVELOPING NATURAL BARS.

During the present session of the
Legislature. Commander T. c. B. How
I ard, OF the State Fishery Force, is TO
/ invite a committee from the Senate
/ and House to inspect the. results of
Maryland's first attempt at oyster Gull
ture. Legislaturemen are to learn
what has become of the 114,000 bush
els of oysters caught on the Tea Table
Rock, in the upper part of the Chesa-
peake Bay, and planted on Daddy Dare
Bar, Bay Shore, Calvert county, last
March one year ago.
This is the demonstration arranged
by the oystermen interests of the state
TO prove that there should be oyster
culture on natural bars of the state.
but that the natural bars should be
used for the benefit of all citizens of
the state who care TO engage in that
business, and that the work should be
under the supervision of an official
or officials of the state clothed with
the needful authority and assuming
the corresponding responsibility.
Ii is the belief of the de facto oys-
ter interests that the oyster resources
developeds the industry and not the
taxpayers 10 pay the costs. This Tea
Table-Daddy Bar experiment has been
financed by Thomas b. Webster, who
advanced the money. hopeful that it
Will be refunded by the returns from
the five-cent-a-bushel inspection tax to
be leyeied at the time the oysters are
caught, the balance of the revenue If
any to go TO the credit of the Conserv-
alton Fund for the replenishing of the
natural bars of the State.
Ii had been planned to catch these
oysters on Daddy Dare Bar this sea
son, but Commander Howard,in whom
the authority lies, has decided to hold
them until next season. Speaking of
these oysters. Commander Howard
has the following to say:
I'VE had expected to catch these
oysters this season. Since November
10 they have been in splendid condi-
ton, clear of mussels and dog ticks
However. after a thorough eXamina-
ton of these beds, / find that to catch
oysters now there would mean a loss
of fully one-fourth and have decided
not to catch them this season. AL
though a large majority of these oys-
tiers are more than proper size. a great
many of them are still punched, all of
which will fall apart another season.
THE oysters on the outer edge, in
the mud. on the north, northeast and
east sides of the bar were killed like
all oysters along the Western Shore
on soft bottom, but on the southeast
and south the oysters are doing very
nicely and very few have been killed.
"The result of hits experiment has
been most wonderful. This thing
should not stop here, but seed oysters,
of which we have millions of bushels,
should be caught and transplanted at
a cost of five cents a bushel TO the bay
bottoms from Chesapeake Beach to
Point Lookout That part of the bay
should be laid off in sections and
one or two sections filled with oysters
every season, to be caught and planted
at any time under the strict supervis-
ion of the party or parties whom the
Borad of Public Works may see fit to
appoint for that purpose.
There was no waste of money or
oysters in this latest experiment. The
oysters are all caught, delivered on the
ground and put overheard under my
personal supervision and were put
overheard properly as result shows,
They can legislate on the oyster, ques-
ton the balance of their lives but.
mark my word, this is the only proper
solution of the whole question and it
L is as simple as A b. c."