OYSTER FISHERY LEGISLATION. I Oil 



thick, are found in various parts of the world, proving that 

 oysters flourished prodigiously long before dredging was 

 thought of. If they had been then subject to the disastrous 

 results which are stated to arise from abstaining from 

 dredging, they could never have survived. The great 

 ocean beds, which have never been dredged, also support 

 the theory that oyster grounds can thrive without any aid 

 from man. 



7. Laws are necessary for the preservation of any animal 

 which serves as food for man, whose habits compel it to live 

 in a confined area to which man has access. 



8. Over-dredging is the cause of the scarcity of young 

 oysters on public grounds, the brood being taken before it 

 is fit to be removed, the shell being as yet so soft that it is 

 injured in the process. 



q. If the Boston oyster-beds were spoilt, as some people 

 say, by being closed, it was because, after being overworked, 

 they were closed for too long a time. If they had been 

 subjected to periodical inspection, it would have been 

 found necessary to clean them, but not to dredge up any 

 oysters. 



10. Dredging diminishes the number of oysters, and 

 hence there are less to spat. How can dredging be pro- 

 ductive of tranquillity ? 



11. The native grounds have been over-dredged since 

 the great spatting year of 1858, hence the present scarcity. 



12. On restrictions as to a close time being enforced 

 at Emsworth, the takes by the Oyster Merchants Company 

 there increased from 32,210 in the year 1871-72, to 380,744 

 in the year 1874-75. 



Now the advocates of dredging at all times argue that 

 all restrictions should be removed, because 



