776 OYSTERS, AND ALL ABOUT THEM. 



This new departure has led to the development of a 

 new form of oyster culture, which is not planting, but 

 farming in its true sense, since the " seed " oysters are 

 seeds in reality, bringing forth after their kind a thousand 

 fold, and thus building up, on private grounds, what can 

 be most briefly described as artificial natural beds of 

 oysters. The movement which has led to this result is the 

 most important step which has ever been taken in America 

 towards an enlightened method of managing the oyster 

 industry. It has been met at each stage by the most 

 violent opposition, and its history should be of the very 

 greatest interest to all States which control waters in which 

 oysters flourish. Mr. Rowe soon had many imitators, and 

 as oyster culture in deep water cannot be managed on a 

 small scale, the tracts which were appropriated were 

 necessarily outside the limit of two acres, which was all 

 that was allowed by a strict interpretation of the law. 



The rapid development of the industry was watched 

 with angry excitement, and as it was seen that the existing- 

 statutes had never contemplated anything of this sort, 

 alterations and amendments rapidly followed one another, 

 now in the interest of the deep-water cultivators, and now 

 in the interest of the owners of the small planting tracts 

 nearer the shore. 



The fishermen along shore indignantly opposed the 

 capitalists, and on the ground that everything under the 

 water is common property, openly removed the oysters 

 from private grounds. As there was no survey or exact 

 delineation of the " natural beds," unlimited stealing from 

 private grounds was perpetrated, and looked upon with 

 general favour by the great majority of the fishermen, on 

 the plea the grounds in question were " natural beds." 



