1 64 THE OYSTER. 



As Winslow found by actual survey that there are 

 103 square miles of natural oyster-beds in Tangier 

 Sound alone in 1879, this estimate of 193 square miles 

 for our whole territory is certainly not excessive, and 

 it will be noticed that the Potomac River is not in- 

 cluded in this estimate. 



Only a very small part of the bottom which is proper 

 for oyster- farming is now occupied by natural beds, 

 and it is safe to estimate the total area of valuable 

 oyster-ground in our State at one thousand square 

 miles, or six hundred and forty thousand acres. 



Much of this ground could be made to yield to its 

 cultivators an annual profit of $1000 per acre, and the 

 profit on the whole, under a thorough system of culti- 

 vation, would not be less than $100 per acre. It is not 

 too much to affirm that when the whole of this area 

 shall have been developed, the future citizens of our 

 State will be able to draw an annual income of over 

 sixty million dollars from our waters. At present, 

 however, their value is very much below this estima- 

 tion, and under the present system of management it 

 is rapidly disappearing altogether. The oyster crop 

 has never been very much more than 10,000,000 

 bushels, and its value to the fishermen has never, in 

 all probability, exceeded $2,000,000. It is not easy to 

 ascertain its precise value with great accuracy, but 

 $2,000,000 annually is a safe estimate, and the actual 

 annual value of the oyster-beds, under a system which 

 is rapidly leading to their complete destruction, is thus 



