Report of the Board of Shell Fish Commissioners. 119 



months, after the expiration of the said period of four months all 

 boatmen, residents of this State, who shall be engaged in the busi- 

 ness of dredging, scraping or tonging for oysters at the time of 

 the completion of the said survey, or at the respective times of the 

 opening for oyster culture of several areas, or if said survey shall 

 be completed, or the said areas shall be opened to oyster culture 

 during the closed season for dredging, scraping or tonging, as the 

 case may be, then the persons so engaged at the end of the last 

 dredging, scraping or tonging season, shall have the like exclusive 

 right in the order of their respective application, as the same may 

 be received and opened by the Commissioners, to rent any adjacent 

 lands, provided that in no event shall any such land owner, boat- 

 man or any other person, be permitted to rent or acquire more 

 than ten acres, or one hundred acres, as the case may be, dependent 

 upon the situation of the land which is leased or acquired; and pro- 

 vided further, that no such riparian land owner, as is mentioned in 

 this section, shall be entitled to rent the amount of ten acres, or one 

 hundred acres, as the case may be, unless the water front of the 

 land so owned by him, if fronting on water within the territorial 

 limits of a county, be at least two hundred yards, or if fronting on 

 waters in any other place, be at least seven hundred yards. The 

 owners of land having a less water front than is mentioned above 

 shall be entitled to rent a proportionately less amount of land, de- 

 pendent upon the length of the front upon water within county 

 limits or elsewhere. 



Section ioi. Blank forms of application shall be furnished 

 upon reasonable charges, to be prescribed by the Board of Shell 

 Fish Commissioners, to any person desiring the same. All such 

 forms shall be printed and shall be substantially in the following 

 languages : Application for a lease to the Board of Shell Fish 



Commissioners of Maryland. The Application of , 



a resident of County, in the State of Maryland, re- 

 spectfully shows that he is a resident of said State; that he wishes 

 and intends to use the grounds hereinafter described for planting 

 or cultivating oysters. He therefore requests that said Board lease 



to him, in the name and on behalf of the State of Maryland 



acres of ground located under the waters of the' State of Maryland, 

 Avhich ground is more particularly described as follows, to-wit : 



