94 THE FISHERIES OF THE UNITED STATES. 



Poet Jefferson harbor. — Going over to Port Jefferson harbor, we find several villages nnited in the 

 improvement of a single piece of water. At Setauket are two planters, with two sloops, $3,000 invested, and 

 3,000 bushels produced. At East Setauket 50 men go oystering, 35 of whom are heads of families. There are 

 $25,000 invested in the beds here, but business has been poor of late, only 30,000 bushels having been taken. 

 From Port Jefferson 35 men are engaged on the bay, of whom 20 are married. The oyster-ground here is leased 

 by tlie town at $3 an acre, and only four acres allowed each planter. This is the first season any systematic 

 planting has been done, the seed being obtained li'om the Connecticut shore. At Mount Sinai, a little beyond, 

 800 bushels of oysters were sold in 1880. This is the last point of oyster-culture on the north shore of Long 

 Island ; beyond, the coast is abrupt and uncut by those sheltered and shallow bays so suitable for the business, 

 with which the western end of the island is furnished. 



General condition op the oyster-business on the north shore of Long Island. — In conclusion, some 

 words of explanation or caution should be uttered in respect to the statistical statements rehating to this north shore. 

 The large array of men engaged (806), families supported (500), and sailing-craft (105) in irse, does not compare well 

 with the total of bushels raised, which is only 377,500, worth from $300,000 to $350,000. But it must be remembered 

 that, in the large majority of cases, the oystermen are also farmers, and besides are engaged in the menhaden-fishing 

 and various other sorts of seine-fishing ; while they add to their income from their oyster-beds something like $250,000, 

 derived from the sale of about 181,000 bushels of quahaugs, or hard clams, and 293,000 bushels of soft clams, 

 annually. It therefore happens that many, most, indeed, of the " oystermen", are really at work only a portion 

 of their tim.e. 



'New York oyster-laws, applicable to East river. — Certain enactments by the legislature of New York 

 must be quoted, applying to the East river and the north shore of Long Island. These are substantially as follows : 



Any person -nho shall * * * in any manner catch, interfere with, or tlisturb the oysters of another now or hereafter lawfully 

 planted upon the bed of any of the rivers, bays, sounds, or other waters within the jurisdiction of this state, shall be deemed guilty of a 

 misdemeanor. Penalties, fine not exceeding $250, imprisonment not more than six months, or both. 



No person who has not been a resident of the state for six months may rake or gather clams, oysters, or shellfish, in any waters of 

 this state ; but an actual resident may employ any person to gather shellfish for his benefit. 



No dredging for clams or oysters within the state "with a dredge, oj)erated by steam-power ", is permitted, and 

 no dredges are to be used exceeding thirty pounds in weight. 



In the general statutes the following sections apply to Queens county: 



Section 78. Persons who have been for six months or more inhabitants of Queens county, may plant oysters in any of the pnblic 

 waters of that county, except Hempstead harbor, Jamaica and Hempstead bays, and Oyster bay harbor; and may acquire exclusive 

 ownership of such beds. 



Sec. 79. Any person as aforesaid may use land nnder public waters in Queens county, as aforesaid, " not to exceed three acres in 

 a bed, and on which there is no natural or jilanted beds of oysters, for the purpose of planting oysters thereon"; but he mnst clearly mark 

 and define the i)ortion so selected by him, as a notice to the public, and shall not hold possession unless he puts oysters upon it, within 

 six months, to the extent of at least 50 bushels to the acre. 



Sec. 80. Forbids any persons taking or disturbing oysters on beds mentioned in section 79. 



Sec. 81. Penalty for violation of section 80, fine not to exceed $;100, or CO days in prison, or both. 



Sec. 82. Process of arrest and trial. 



Sec. 83. Oyster-ground is forfeited in Queens county by ceasing to use it for one year, or at the end of two years from his removal 

 from residence in the county. 



Sec. 84. Forbids dredging for oysters in any waters of Queens county, except in Oyster bay harbor, and in Cow bay ; and no person, 

 unless a resident of North Hempstead, shall dredge in Cow bay. Penalty, fine not exceeding IglOO, imprisonment not over 60 days, or 

 both. * 



Sec. 85. Repeals previous laws inconsistent. 



Sec. 8(5. "The natural growth or bed of oysters in * * * Little Neck bay, in s.iid [Queens] county, is hereby defined as being 

 between low- water mark and a distance of 500 feet therefrom, into the waters of said bay toward its center, beyond which, in the planting 

 of oysters » * » the word 'natural' shall not apply." 



Methods of oyster-culture.— The East river is the scene of probably the most painstaking and scientific 

 oyster-culture in the United States, and the methods in use there merit careful notice. It is impossible to ascertain 

 when it first became a custom there to transplant oysters from the abundant natural beds along the shore to staked-in 

 tracts off shore, nor is it of much importance to inquire. Probably the very first of this was done in the Harlem 

 river. Half a century ago, however. City island was populated by oystermen ; and in 1853 the New Yorli Herald 

 reported that the largest proportion of all the East river oysters, used in New York, came from there, "where there 

 are extensive artificial and natural beds". The same article stated that then City island owned a fourth of the 

 100 boats engaged in conveying East river oysters to the metropolis, and that 100 men and families on the island 

 obtained a living by oystering. The whole amount of property invested there was estimated at $1,000,000. This 

 included the value of the beds, and was supposed to represent one-third of the capital of all the East river interest. 



• Section 84 was repealed by chapter 402, laws of 1879, " in so far as the same relates to the waters of the county of Queens, lying on 

 the norlJi side thereof, except that portion of the waters of Hempstead harbor lying south of a line drawn from the center of Sea Clilf 

 dock, on the east side of said harbor, to the center of Mott's dock on the west side thereof." 



