OYSTER CULTURE IN ENGLAND. 467 



Up to June, 1879, the stock beds had been buoyed off, 

 and a watch boat, the " Robert," had been moored in their 

 immediate neighbourhood : on the 3oth of June, 1879, the 

 watch boat was laid up at her inner moorings, and the 

 buoys which marked the position of the stock beds were 

 removed. I am particularly anxious to guard against any 

 false deduction from these facts. I have no doubt that the 

 watch boat was taken off as a measure of economy ; I have 

 also no doubt that the buoys were removed in consequence 

 of the absence of the watch boat, as a measure of precau- 

 tion. But I cannot think that either the watch boat would 

 have been taken off, or that the buoys would have been 

 removed, if the Company had thought that the 550,000 

 oysters, shown in Mr. Lovely's account, or one-tenth of 

 .that number, were left on the old stock beds. I think, 

 therefore, that I am justified in concluding that, after the 

 3oth of June, 1879, the stock beds did not exist. 



The removal of the watch boat was not the only 

 expedient adopted for economical reasons, in 1878 and 

 1879, In 1878 the Company still possessed five boats of 

 its own, the " Robert," the " Swift," the " Spray," the 

 "Fern," and the "Flash," Three of these, the " Swift," 

 the "Spray," and the "Flash," were sold at the end of 

 1878, or the beginning of 1879. The " Fern" was laid up 

 in the spring of 1879, the "Robert" in June, 1879. The 

 crews were also paid off, and on 3ist October Mr. Lovely, 

 who had acted as secretary to the Company for five years, 

 and who had proved himself a very efficient officer, resigned 

 his office. 



Mr. Lovely was succeeded by Mr. Freeman, who 

 became managing director of the Company. It is a matter 

 of common knowledge at Herne Bay, though the fact did 

 not actually come out in the evidence before me, that Mr. 



