THE OYSTER-INDUSTEY. 107 



any applicant of the expense of locating bis lot, whicli shall he determined hy said commissioners, but shall in no case exceed the sum of 

 JlO and the additional sum of §1 per acre as yearly rent, they, or a majority of them, shall give to such applicant a certiticate * « » 

 which certiliuate shall entitle the person named therein to the possession of saiil lot, for the purposes of this act, so long as he shall keep the 

 said lot clearly defined in the manner so directed by said commissioners; but- if such person shall neglect to plant his lot with at least 100 

 bushels of oysters and shells during the period of one year from the date of his certiticate, or shall neglect to pay said yearly rent on or 

 before the lirst day of Aiiril in each and every year, his rights to the possession of said lot may be terminated at the option of a majority 

 of said commissioners. Certificates of this fjict (Tis well as all other documents) must be made in duplicate and filed with the town clerk. 



Sec. 7. Each of said commissioners shall be allowed the siuu of $5 per day for his services actually rendered under this act,- the 

 same to be paid only out of the fund received for locating lots * * * and shall not receive any additional fees or compensation from 

 any person or iiersons whomsoever; and each of said commissioners shall, at the usual annual auditors' meeting of said towns, account for 

 and pay over all moneys in his possession » » * . 



Sec. 8. It shall not be lawful for any person to retain possession of any such l<jt after he shall cease to bo a resident of lither of said 

 towns of Islip or Babylon, luit he may sell and assign his interest in any sueh lot to any inhabitant of either of said towns for one year; 

 but no person shall acquire possession of more than one lot by purchase or otherwise. 



Skc. 9. A penalty of fme not exceeding $1U0, or imprisonment not over 60 days, or both, is provided for taking or disturbing of oysters 

 on such lots by unauthorized persons. 



Of the thii-ty planters alluded to above, twenty-two have formed themselves into a protective association, and 

 hire a watchman at $40 a niontli ; bat, in spite of thi.s, cojnplaiuts of theft are freqnent. 



The old way of planting at Oalc Island was to bny small seed and plant it in the spring. The following- autiiiiin 

 the bed was thinned out, and more than half of it taken up and Sold, chiefly to planters from Khode Island, to be 

 laid down again. What remained grew to better advantage and was ready for market the following spring, if the 

 ice did not haul it off before then. About 1870 seed could be procured in Brookhaveu bay in abundance, simi>ly 

 by the ti'ouble of catching, or could be bought for 10 to 20 cents a tub. About 1875 Mr. Edward Udall told me 

 young oysters were so iilenty off Patchogiie and Smith's point, that a man could work profitably at 5 cents a tub. 

 In 1877 he bought seed largely for 10 cents a tub, but in 1880 the same was worth 25 cents at Patchogue, and 40 

 cents when delivered at Babylon. 



The growth of oysters transplanted to Oak Island waters is extremely rapid. They have been known frequently 

 to double their size in a single season, and are often sent to market at the age of fifteen months ; that is, the second 

 fall after their birth. This rapidity of growth is attributed to the freshness of the water, but undoubtedly is due 

 to the excess of confervoid and other food in the water. I know no place where it is more abundant ; and it is 

 quite possible that tlie fishermen are right when they attribute the circumstance that oyster-spawn never catches 

 west of Nicoll's point, except around the mussel-beds in the iidet, to the great prevalence of slime in the water ; 

 for this "sUme" is the vegetable and hydroid growth that fiu'nishes so much nourishment to the adult oysters, and 

 everywhere covers the bottom with a sUppery gi'owth and deijosition. 



The planting of southern oysters was tried here, but tlid not yield a profit, since a large proportion of the 

 oysters died. They grew well enough, but few lived, the supposition of the oystermen being that the water is too 

 salt. 



Experiments have been made to a limited extent in catching spawn upon artificial beds of shells. When it 

 has always been possible to biiy Brookhaven seed at 10 to 20 cents, and secure in one or one and a half years' 

 gi'owth enough upon it to pay the planter from 75 cents to $1 a bushel, no other method was considered necessary. 

 Now, however, there threatens to be such a scarcity of seed that shell-beds will i^robably be laid down extensively, 

 and I see no reason why good returns shoidd not follow. 



The enemies to be contended with are the ice, as before mentioned ; rare easterly gales of siifiicient power to 

 distiu'b the beds ; the borers, wliich are on the increase, and two years ago nearly extinguished the beds oi^iiosite 

 Saj^ville ; and the common crabs. In respect to the crabs, I had not heard before that they were injiu-ious, but 

 was assured that immense damage by them annually hapi)ens to the young oysters on planted beds ; one man losing 

 500 bushels in one week. This matter is more particularly discussed under "Oyster Enemies". 



The Oak Island planters put down in 1880 between 15,000 and 20,000 bushels of seed, and their next crop will 

 probably be a large one. This season, however, though their oysters were of superior quality, the amount was so 

 small that not more than 2,000 bushels were sent to market. These chiefly went into the export trade, and were 

 sold to SayviUe shippers at $1 25 to $1 50 a bushel, which was a large advance upon the previous year's prices. 

 There is a feeling of discoiu-agement at this locality. 



Amittville, South Oystee bay, Fkeepokt, and Baldwin. — Going west from Babylon, the small 

 ])ro(lucing points of Amityville and South Oyster bay are passed, and then you reach Freeport, where there is an 

 old and extensive business in oyster-cidture. 



The beds opposite Amityville, the most westerly point on the Great South bay, are a new property, and as yet 

 yield small cro^is. The situation seems favorable, however. There are ten or a dozen planters (and as many sail- 

 boats), the principal of whom are the Messrs. Ketcham. They obtain most of their seed at present from the East 

 river, and have now planted about 5,000 bushels. In addition to this, about 1,.500 bushels of Virginia oysters were 

 laid down this year. The crop reported sold last Avinter amounts to 2,000 bushels. "No drawbacks" is the 

 encouraging re])ort. 



At South Oyster bay, four miles westward, a planting interest has grown up only of late. The name of the piece 



