THE OYSTER. 203 



" That depends upon what you mean by success. 

 I can tell you of one farmer who, on about seventy 

 acres of bottom in Virginia, close to the Maryland' 

 line, raised a crop of more than three hundred thous- 

 and bushels of fine oysters." 



" He must be making a great fortune. How does it 

 happen that his example is not followed ? " 



" He reared his oysters, but he did not harvest them. 

 They were taken by the dredgers." 



" Do you mean that they were stolen ?" 



" Oh, no. That is not the word to use. While he 

 was getting ready to gather his crop, the dredgers, who 

 had paid our State for licenses to take oysters, got 

 ahead of him and captured them." 



" Were the robbers discovered and punished ? " 



" They were not robbers, and they were not pun- 

 ished. The owner of the oysters, who knew many of 

 them personally, remonstrated with them, but he could 

 not persuade them to go away." 



" What do you mean? I do not understand the 

 state of affairs which you describe." 



** Why, you see, our people have always regarded 

 the oyster-beds as the property of the whole State. 

 They are natural wealth which has not been produced 

 by man, and no one person has any more right to 

 them than another. They belong to all the citizens of 

 the State in common. We all inherit a share in them 

 as part of our birthright as Marylanders. Our people 

 are therefore opposed to any system which would lead 

 to monopoly and would give to a few the exclusive 

 enjoyment of the natural advantages which belong to 

 all." 



