The Chesapeake 



207 



after almost three centuries of tonging and scraping and 

 dredging, the wonderful natural beds of the Chesapeake, 

 though sadly depleted, still exist, and still supply the 

 greater number of the oysters marketed from the bay. 



Lying within the boundaries of Maryland and Vir- 

 ginia, the Chesapeake has a length of nearly two hun- 

 dred miles. In Maryland it is, roughly, from five to 



