OYSTER CULTURE IN ENGLAND. 435 



hardly be said that there was anything at the end of the 

 season of 1875 in the state of the oyster beds, as compared 

 with that of the mussel scalps, to justify in itself an aban- 

 donment of the former for the sake of the latter. 



No doubt, if the Corporation was destitute of resources 

 for carrying on both fisheries at once, it became necessary 

 to choose between them, and unquestionably the fisheries 

 have not paid their expenses. The deficit upon their 

 account amounted in 1872-73 to ^179 i6s. lod. ; in 1873- 

 74 to ^151 gs. nd. ; in 1874-75 to ^151 is. i id. ; and in 

 1 875-76 to ^133 33. id. I am not aware whether the 

 Corporation is in possession of funds sufficiently ample to 

 enable it to meet these expenses without inconvenience. 

 But it must be remarked that the greater part of them, 

 apart from those incidental to the acquisition and main- 

 tenance of a fishery of either kind, have been incurred in 

 respect of mussels. In the three years, 1872-73, 1873-74, 

 and 1874-75, the cost of watching the oyster beds, and of 

 some prosecutions, as far as I have been able to ascertain 

 it from the accounts of the Corporation, was ^129 175. 8d. 

 During the same years the like expenses in respect of 

 mussels amounted to ^463 i8s. id. The receipts from 

 licenses were ^183 135. 8d. Of this sum part was paid by 

 oyster dredgers ; but assuming the whole to have been 

 received from mussel gatherers, and deducting it from the 

 expenses of the mussel fishery, that fishery will still be 

 found to have cost about ^280 more than was received 

 from the licenses. 



At the time that application was made for the Lynn 

 Deeps Order, the Boston Order had been in operation for 

 two years ; the promoters of the former had, therefore, fair 

 means of estimating the cost of managing their own mussel 



