THE OYSTER. 1 73 



have vastly more land suitable for the purpose than 

 the State of Delaware, and as our own planters are on 

 the ground, they would have no canal fees or transpor- 

 tation to pay, and they could, if they choose, secure 

 all these oysters for their own use, and gain the profit 

 which now goes elsewhere. The development of the 

 Maryland planting industry is, therefore, the true 

 remedy for the evil. When we have, as we easily 

 might, more seed oysters than we can use, the exporta- 

 tion of seed will become a legitimate and profitable 

 branch of the industry well worthy of encouragement. 

 The favorite remedy for the difficulty, at least 

 among those fishermen who are not dredgers, is the 

 prohibition of dredging. Every one knows that our 

 beds have deteriorated because they have been exces- 

 sively fished, and every one knows, too, that most of 

 this fishing has been done by dredgers. It is there- 

 fore natural to conclude that since the dredgers have 

 done the damage, the prohibition of dredging will cure 

 the mischief, but this is by no means true. The great 

 demand for oysters, which has come from the growth 

 of the packing industry, has been supplied by dredg- 

 ers, because the dredge is more effective and economi- 

 cal than the oyster-tongs ; but if dredges had not been 

 invented, the demand would still have been supplied 

 by the much more expensive and laborious method of 

 tonging, and the prohibition of dredging now would 

 simply cause an increase in the number of tongmen. 

 It would not, however, cause any increase in the 

 wages of tongmen or in the price of oysters, unless 

 the importation of oysters from States where dredging 

 is permitted were forbidden, and this would require 



