742 OYSTERS, AND ALL ABOUT THEM. 



to designate spots in his district where shells may be depo- 

 sited upon the bottom, and that a law be passed directing 

 that no shells shall be deposited in our waters from vessels 

 at anchor, or from vessels which are not under weigh, or at 

 any spot except those designated for the purpose by the 

 officers of the oyster police. 



EXPORTATION OF OYSTERS FOR PLANTING. 



One of the causes to which the destruction of our 

 oyster beds is often attributed is the exportation of small 

 oysters into other States. We have tried to gather informa- 

 tion as to the extent to which this is practised, but it is diffi- 

 cult to obtain exact statistics Within the last 



three years the growth of the oyster farming industry in 

 Connecticut has caused a very great reduction in the 

 demand for Southern oysters, as the farms of this State are 

 now able to supply the local planters, as well as those of 

 Rhode Island and Massachusetts. The Connecticut farms 

 have this year furnished " seed " oysters for exportation to 

 Europe and the Pacific Coast, and quantities have been 

 sold in New York also. It is not probable that the total 

 exportation of oysters for planting from the various waters 

 of Maryland will this year exceed a million bushels, and 

 the demand from New York and Rhode Island will pro- 

 bably continue to diminish from year to year, as the supply 

 from the Connecticut farms increases ; but even a million 

 bushels is a tenth of our total crop, and there can be no 

 doubt that the demand which has overtaxed our beds, and 

 led to their destruction, has been materially increased by 

 the exportation of oysters for planting, and the question 

 whether this practice should not be discouraged is therefore 

 a proper one for discussion. 



At present the chief demand for seed oysters comes 

 from Delaware, and I accordingly quote in full Ingersoll's 



