OYSTER CULTURE IN AMERICA. 719 



the " Curiosities of Oyster Culture," by some persons with 

 whom I have come in contact, and have been saddened at 

 the thought of what the foreigner must think of our faulty 

 legislation, which involves the quite possible repetition of 

 such an occurrence, the Quixotic squandering of our wealth, 

 our stubborn foolhardiness in the persistence of erratic 

 conduct, or our proverbial long-suffering and patience under 

 social shortcomings or ministerial maladministrations. 



In nothing that I can at this moment think of is the 

 harmful folly of this more stingingly apparent than in our 

 system of oyster culture. It is true that the daily papers, 

 from time to time, have published letters appealing for the 

 utilization of our foreshores, or suggesting relative remedies 

 all true enough in their way ; but, unfortunately, they have 

 been based upon such narrow experience that they are of 

 little or no value as contributions to a broad, comprehen- 

 sive view of the problem. 



Some of these correspondents throw the blame of our 

 failures upon over-dredging, or upon the spat having failed 

 to find a suitable foothold ; others upon climatic influence, 

 or unpropitious physical conditions ; others again, upon 

 placing oysters intended for fattening on breeding grounds, 

 and vice versa ; while the few who have pointed out the true 

 fault and remedy have done so with a very milk-and-watery 

 admonition, lest a severer censure should be interpreted as 



c 



being superfluously radical. 



And so, it being unfashionable to blame our Legis- 

 lators for their very wise ostracultural rules and regulations, 

 all agree in throwing the blame on someone else, and all 

 believe that some form of the business in which they are 

 not interested is responsible for the present state of things, 

 and should be altered or prohibited. 



