THE OYSTER. 225 



selves would be more able, under a co-operative sys- 

 tem^ than any salaried officers who might be appointed 

 by the State, to use it to advantage. 



State protection has so far proved a total failure, 

 and I do not see any way to save the public beds, as 

 common fishing grounds, except the one which I have 

 proposed. If this is not practicable, the sooner the 

 natural beds are thrown open to private cultivators, the 

 better it will be for all concerned. 



The artificial culture of salt-water food-fishes is 

 proper work for the State, for these fishes are migra- 

 tory : they cannot be confined or restricted to one 

 spot, and there is no way to secure to individuals the 

 enjoyment of the fruits of their own industry in this 

 field of work. The case of the oyster is quite different. 

 The animal is as fixed and sedentary as a potato, and 

 its cultivation is as simple as any other branch of agri- 

 culture. State aid is unnecessary, and experience has 

 shown that it is totally inefficient, and our public beds 

 must either be cultivated by the oystermen as an organ- 

 ized body, for the good of all, or they must cease to 

 be public ground, and must be cultivated by indi- 

 viduals for their own profit. 



It now remains to consider the measures which 

 should be adopted for the protection and development 

 of the other branches of the oyster industry, but this 

 is comparatively simple. 



First, as regards the tide-water consumers of oys- 

 ters. So far as they are fishermen upon the public 

 beds, they should become members of an oystermen's 

 association for the preservation, restoration and devel- 

 opment of the public domain. 



