Report of the Board of Shell Fish Commissioners. 9 



To Hon. John Gill, the Commission desires to express its thanks 

 for the attention he has given to the work of securing the continued 

 co-operation of the Federal Government with the Maryland Shell 

 Fish Commission in making the survey of the natural oyster 

 grounds. Without the assistance of the U. S. Coast and Geodetic 

 Survey and the U. S. Bureau of Fisheries it would be well nigh im- 

 possible to complete the survey within a reasonable period along the 

 lines on which the work was begun. 



To the daily press of Baltimore City the Commission hereby ex- 

 presses its obligation for the encouragement and assistance the cause 

 of oyster culture has received through the many editorials and re- 

 ports, pertaining to the subject and to the preliminary survey work, 

 which have appeared in its columns. Knowing that a general inter- 

 est in oyster culture and a knowledge of the conditions under which 

 oyster culture may be successfully carried on. is of prime necessity 

 tor the work of perfecting the scheme of legislation such as has been 

 inaugurated by the State of Maryland for the development of the 

 latent possibilities of the barren bottoms of her tide waters, the 

 Commission takes this opportunity to solicit the continued support 

 of the press for the law, and especially the advocacy of such amend- 

 ments to the law as are clearly shown by experience to be necessary 

 to its ultimate success. 



THE HAMAN OYSTER CULTURE LAW. 



OBJECT. 



The Legislature in placing Chapter 711 of the Acts of 1906, bet- 

 ter known as the Hainan Oyster Culture Law, upon the statute 

 books of Maryland, had a two- fold object in view : 



1. To encourage an industry in oyster culture upon the barren 

 bottoms beneath the tidewaters of the State. 



2. To prevent the leasing of natural oyster bars for the purpose 

 of oyster culture. 



SURVEY. 



To make the leasing of barren bottoms possible and the leasing of 

 natural bars impossible, provision was made for a survey of the 

 natural bars for the purpose of accurately locating and marking the 

 same. It was definitely provided that no barren bottoms should be 



