THE OYSTER-INDUSTRY. 137 



the soutlnvaid. There seems no dimiuutiou in tlie quantity to be gathered there from year to year, although 

 euornious quantities of cultch are taken away at each seed-gathering, and nothing retiu-ned. 



Planting was long ago — perhaps fifty years — well under way in this region, and fomierly, perhaps, was more 

 widely followed than at present, but no more successfully. Leaving out of view the attempts just begun to foster 

 the interest at Forked river, Barnegat is the northernmost place in this district where oyster-culture is followed. 

 To aid and protect this industry these laws were long ago made by' the legislature, as annexed: 



1. Be it enacted » » * , That it shall be lawful for any person, being a citizen of the state of New Jersey, and resident of the county 

 of Ocean, within the boundaries hereinafter described for the jnirpose, to state off any quantity of land covered with water, not exceeding 

 two acres, marking the boundaries thereof by stakes or other marks, plainly visible to persons navigating the waters so occupied, to plant 

 oysters ; provided, that the share-owners shall have the right and preference to stake off as far as their deeds allow, by running their lines 

 for that purpose. 



2. Av.d he it enacted, That the boundaries within which land may be so staked otf and occupied shall be as follows: Beginning at 

 Cedar Creek point at low-water mark on the west bank of Barnegat bay, along said bank to the south line of Ocean county, running off 

 300 yards distant from the shore. 



3. And be it enacted, That oysters within the boundaries of all said waters shall be the private, personal property of the persons so 

 occupying said land * * * j and any person who shall » » » injure or carry away the same, while said boundaries are so marked, 

 shall be guilty of larceny » * * and sli.all forfeit * * ' all the implements used for taking the same » » » . 



It would seem as though this language was plain enough to protect the interests of any one who availed 

 himself of the privileges alluded to under its promise. However, there does not exist the public sentiment to 

 secure the execution of the law. Ko man is willing to risk his money in planting, when he has no surety that 

 he will be able to reap any reward for his outlay. Hence, oyster-raising at Barnegat, where there are hundreds 

 of acres of perfectly good but idle bottom, and plenty of capital ready to be thus employed, has dwindled, until 

 the entire crop last season was reported at less than 8,000 bushels, all of which was consumed locally. As this 

 small crop was divided among forty or fifty growers, one can easily see that nothing of a business is carried on here. 



The sentiment of the town opposes any change which shall protect individual planting. Night-thieves and 

 foggy-day oystermen, therefore, control and ruin the oyster-interests, making it so risky to plant that men of means 

 will not put their money into it. Without some betterment, oyster-planting must continue to be a failure here as 

 a busiuess, though thousands of acres of good bottom remain unutilized, where both native and southern seed 

 would grow to great advantage and a most profitable industry, employing steadily all the now idle laboring element 

 of the shore-towns, here and northward. 



To show how profitable oyster-planting may be here, Captain Cox tohl me that some years ago he laid down a 

 lot of yonng oysters which cost him $13. After two years he procured a man to take up and sell all that were 

 upon the beds, giving his agent one-half. The returns to him were $57, his agent taking the like amount, showing 

 an increase of about 1,000 per cent. In addition to this, a dozen or fifteen bushels were eaten by each of the two 

 families. 



The experiment of " shelling" has been made with great success, and it is said that any one might reasonably 

 expect to get 100 bushels of seed from 20 bushels of stool laid down anywhere in the upper half of the bay. 

 Popular coustruction, however, makes such cultch-beds "natural ground", and everybody will go and rake. It has 

 even occurred that a man's oysters taken off his private bed and placed on staked ground in a creek to "freshen", 

 have been raided upon by thieves, and though he could prove the facts he was unable to recover in local courts. 



Manahawken, Tuckerton, and vicinity. — To the south of Barnegat a difi'erent sentiment prevails, and at 

 Manahawken, West Creek, Tuckerton, and intermediate villages, live a large number of oyster-planters who have 

 beds opposite their homes to a considerable extent, and also down in Great bay, below the islands, almost meeting 

 the Absecon men, and associating with the planters at Bass river and Port Republic. 



The West Creek and Manahawken men, as I have said, get the most of their seed at Cedar creek. The precise 

 number of planters, large and small, it was difticult to ascertain. I was assured, however, that two-thirds of all 

 the men in the town were directly engaged, which would give to Manahawken about 125 and to West Creek about 

 100 ivlanters, a, considerable portion of whom get all the money they ever see out of the oysters they catch and 

 plant for themselves or other people. Most of them aie married, and it is safe to say that at least 200 families in 

 the two villages derive their support from this industry. Their best planting-grounds are off Horse point. 



Tuckerton, according to the late census, had about 1,800 inhabitants. A thousand of these, it is certain, if not 

 more, live bj' means of the oyster- and clam-fisheries, with little outside resources. It is the one industry which 

 keeps the town going, for little else is possible; and it is undoubtedly true that the area of bay -bottom devoted to 

 this work is much more productive than any equal area of adjacent sandy and pine-covered shore. At Tuckerton 

 and northward, therefore, from 2,000 to 2,500 people get their support out of oyster-culture. On the Mullica river 

 are two other settlements, Bass Iliver and Port Eepublicf which will add from five to seven hundred more. All 

 of these men get the main part of their seed early in the fail at the mouth of the Mullica. During all day of 

 September 30, and during the night, schooners, sloops, cat-boats, sail-scows, trim yachts, and shapeless, ragged 

 tubs, have gathered there, chosen a spot out of what was left of the space, and anchored. Once the anchor down, 

 no movement elsewhere could be made. E-ach sail-craft towed behind it one or two small scows termed "garveys", 

 and had npou its deck one or more small skill's, or those ingenious tluckiug-boats, pecidiar to this region, called 

 "dinkies". 



