THE OYSTER. 195 



clean shells on the beds to furnish attachment for the 

 spat. 



There are unlimited numbers of old, decayed and 

 dirty shells on all the beds, but on many of them we 

 found hardly a single shell proper for the attachment 

 of spat. 



We regard the annual examination of the beds, in 

 the way we have employed, as a matter of very great 

 importance. In the absence of such observations it is 

 impossible to state with perfect certainty how many 

 oysters a bed may yield annually without injury. This 

 examination should be made every year, during the 

 same months, and it should be made under the superin- 

 tendence of the same person, in the same way, in order 

 that the results may admit of direct comparison. Pro- 

 vision should be made for the annual examination of 

 all the beds under the direct control of the State. 

 The proper time for this examination is the closed 

 season. An examination after the year's dredging 

 would show how many full-grown oysters remain and 

 how many the bed might safely yield during the next 

 season. If the examination were made late in the 

 summer it would also show how many young oysters 

 have become attached during the spawning season. 



While our own work was not exhaustive enough 

 to give the information which is necessary for this pur- 

 pose, it was amply sufficient to show that in 1882 and 

 1883 the deterioration of our beds had made rapid 

 progress, and that our system of managing the beds 

 is a failure. 



