REPORT OF COMMISSIONER OF FISH AND FISHERIES. 185 



some oystermen afflrming that not since tlie war liad there been a more 

 plentiful natural growth of oysters, although it was generally acknowl- 

 edged that the quality was much poorer than usual. 



One of the most noted natural oyster-grounds in this region was 

 Hampton Bar, located on the left side of the James River at its mouth, 

 extending parallel with the course of the stream and covering an area 

 of about 3,000 acres. According to Ool. W. N. Armstrong, who is now 

 extensively engaged in oyster-planting on the bar, as early as 1S83 the 

 natural beds had been so exhausted that the entire yield of the tongers 

 from Old Point Comfort to IsTewport News did not amount to 10 barrels 

 a day, and the tongers who reside in Hampton were in the habit of 

 resorting to oth^r natural beds "in the James Eiver 20 or 30 miles dis- 

 tant. Since that time laws have been enacted securing the rights of 

 planters, and extensive planting has been done on the bar; about 700 

 or 800 acres are now under cultivation, on which the plantings are 

 about GOO bushels per acre, and as many as 800 barrels of oysters have 

 been shipped from these grounds to the general markets in a single 

 day. 



With the exhaustion of the natural beds, more attention is being 

 bestowed on artiticial methods of maintaining the supjily than ever 

 before, and it is being generally recognized that the oyster industry in 

 the near future must depend for its maintenance on planted beds. 



A number of fishermen in this section were met with who use the 

 sd-called deep-water oyster tongs, a report concerning which has been 

 prei)ared by this office. The depth of Avater in which it is commonly 

 used is from 30 to 50 feet ; oysters in this depth are far beyond the 

 reach of ordinary tongs, and as the employment of dredges is restricted 

 in this region the new apparatus is being advantageously operated. 

 On the planted beds and in shoal-water fishing the old type of tongs 

 will continue to be used. The only objection made to the new pattern 

 is that on rough bottom it fails to work well, and even when oysters 

 are abundant only small hauls can be made. In the Back Eiver and a 

 few other localities the deep-water tongs are successfully employed in 

 taking clams [Venus mcrccnaria) in water 5 or fathoms in depth. 



A large percentage of the oysters landed in Norfolk goes through the 

 packing and canning houses before reaching the consumer. This busi- 

 ness is of large i)roportions and constitutes one of the principal indus- 

 trial enterprises of the city. The fall and winter of 1800 was regarded 

 by the packers as the best season in at least five years. All of them 

 haiidlcd larger quantities of oysters than for some years, and the prices 

 received for the prepared oysters were very satisfactory. Larger ship- 

 ments to the western States and the interior formed a noti(!eable feature 

 of the season's trade. It is generally held that the chief fat^tor in bring- 

 ing about this condition of affairs was the comparative scarcity and 

 high price of oysters in the Baltimore market. Numbers of the Mary- 

 land dredging vessels transferred their operations to North Carolina 



