THE OYSTER. 1 43 



respect for private property in oysters ? This is the 

 question which should occupy the best thought of 

 those statesmen who are sincerely devoted to the 

 welfare of the community, but it is not one which can 

 be answered by those politicians whose only interest 

 in the sentiment of the public centers in the use which 

 they can make of it for their own private ends. 



As soon as this object has been attained, and the 

 planter has become assured that he will be permitted 

 to enjoy the fruits of his industry, the demand for bot- 

 toms to be used as planting grounds will arise natur- 

 ally, and it should be met by more adequate legisla- 

 tive provisions than our present five-acre law. Ri- 

 parian owners should receive from the State the right 

 to plant oysters upon their own frontage, without any 

 restrictions, unless this contains natural beds, and 

 these should be surveyed and definitely described and 

 set apart by the State. The holders of land for planting 

 under the five-acre law should also be given a more 

 secure and permanent tenure. At present they pay 

 nothing for the right, and as the Legislature may at 

 any time repeal the law, they have no secure possession. 



There would be a much greater incentive to the in- 

 vestment of labor and capital in oyster-planting if the 

 planting grounds were made as much like real estate 

 as possible. The present law permits the sale of 

 planting grounds, but no person can hold more than 

 five acres. This limitation has no advantages, and the 

 owner of ground under this law should be allowed to 

 sell as freely as he can sell land above water, and a 

 person who already holds five acres should be per- 

 mitted to buy or inherit any other grounds which 

 have been lawfully leased from the State. 



