THE OYSTER. 2OI 



longer equal to the demands made upon them. Some 

 policy must be adopted which will supplement the sup- 

 ply granted by nature, or else the supply will surely 

 fail. 



No mere restriction of the fishing can possibly ac- 

 complish the desired end. It may prevent the extinc- 

 tion of the beds as they are now, though that is doubt- 

 ful. It certainly will not relieve in the least the pres- 

 ent condition of the market. What should be done is 

 to adopt a policy similar in essential features to that 

 of Connecticut. The fishery of that State is one of the 

 few instances of recuperation on record. I know of 

 many destroyed oyster fisheries and I know of a few 

 that have been rebuilt, and I find one cause common 

 to all failures and as common to all successes. In the 

 first instance, the fishery has been common property, 

 its preservation everybody's business that is, nobody's 

 and consequently it has not been preserved. In the 

 second instance, the fishery has been conducted and 

 owned by persons singly and together as private prop- 

 erty ; it has been this, that, or the other man's business 

 to see to its preservation ; that is, its preservation has 

 been everybody's business instead of nobody's and con- 

 sequently it has been preserved. 



Maryland cannot escape the action of universal laws, 

 and the sooner those interested in the matter recognize 

 the fact that a man does best by his own, whether 

 it be a wheat or oyster farm, the sooner will a correct 

 conclusion be reached regarding the oyster question. 



It seems as if there were little probability, even at 

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