io8 The oyster. 



there were counted 206 young oysters in excellent 

 condition, of the average size of a quarter of a dollar. 

 As many as a hundred young oysters have been 

 counted growing on a medium-sized oyster shell. 



"The beds are carefully tended, and no pains are 

 spared to kill all the enemies of the oysters found 

 among them. By continual vigilance the private beds 

 are kept comparatively free from them. The larger 

 proprietors of deep-w^ater beds use steamers for this 

 work, as also in doing their work of planting, raking 

 over and dredging, and they use larger dredges than 

 the sail vessels can, as they are also worked by steam 

 at a great saving of labor and expense. When the 

 oysters have grown on these beds to a merchantable 

 size they are sometimes sold directly from the beds, 

 but more frequently they are transplanted into brackish 

 or fresh waters, where they are permitted to remain 

 for a short period to freshen and fatten for market. 



"The foregoing table affords the ground for the 

 assumption that by the time of the opening of spring 

 work, in 1883, 45,000 acres of ground will have been 

 deeded to applicants by the Commissioners. These, 

 with the 45,000 acres deeded by the towns prior to 

 May, 1 88 1, will show an aggregate of 90,000 acres 

 held by cultivators under state jurisdiction. 



" Of this vast area, a large portion has been cleared 

 up and shelled. One firm has laid down 250,000 

 bushels of shells. Several large growers have laid 

 down as many as 200,000 bushels each. A still larger 

 number have scattered a hundred thousand, fifty 

 thousand and twenty thousand each. There are about 

 30 steamers engaged in the business, besides a very 



