Report of the Board of Shell Fish Commissioners 57 



length of the tonging season adopted is therefore 100 days of 

 eight hours each. 23 



DREDGING AND SCRAPING. 



The period when dredgers are licensed to work on the public 

 oyster grounds designated for dredging is from November 1st 

 to Karch 15 ( 135 days) . Scrapers have from October 15th to 

 March 15th (151 days). 



While wind, rain and cold do not prevent work with dredges 

 and scrapes to quite the same extent that they interfere with 

 tonging, yet it was the opinion of the oystermen consulted that 

 a dredger or scraper does exceptionally well when he is able 

 to do work during one-half of the days available for oystering. 

 The dredging and scraping periods, adopted by the Commission 

 for use in determining the status of grounds located in areas 

 designated for dredging and scraping operations, are therefore 

 58 days and 65 days, respectively, these numbers being one-half 

 the number of days available each season for dredging and 

 scraping, Sundays excluded. 



23The number of days per season spent by tongmen on the natural 

 bars in Connecticut, as given in the fifth annual report of the Bureau 

 of Labor Statistics of Connecticut, is 81, and the average quantity of 

 oysters taken per day, 8.6 bushels. 



