THE OYSTER. 3 



bushels, and the local consumption along the shores 

 of the bay brings the grand total fully up to four 

 hundred million bushels. 



This inconceivably vast amount of delicate, nutri- 

 tious food has been yielded by our waters without 

 any aid from man. It is a harvest that no man has 

 sown ; a gift from bounteous nature. 



The fact that our waters have withstood this enor- 

 mous draft upon them, and have continued for more 

 than half a century to meet our constantly increasing 

 demands, is most conclusive evidence of their fertility 

 and value ; and the citizens of [Maryland and Virginia 

 might well point with pride to the boundless resources 

 of our magnificent bay, were it not for two things. 



First of these is the fact, which for many years we 

 strove to hide even from ourselves, that our indiffer- 

 ence and lack of foresight, and our blind trust in our 

 natural advantages, have brought this grand inherit- 

 ance to the verge of ruin. Unfortunately this is now 

 so clear that it can no longer be hidden from sight 

 nor explained away, and every one knows that, proud 

 as our citizens once were of our birthright in our 

 oyster-beds, we will be unable to give to our children 

 any remnant of our patrimony unless the whole oyster 

 industry is reformed without delay. 



We have wasted our inheritance by improvidence 

 and mismanagement and blind confidence ; but even 

 if our beds had held their own and were to-day as 

 valuable as they were fifty years ago, this would be no 

 just ground for satisfaction, in this age of progress, to 



