486 REPORT OF THE COMMISSIONER OF FISH AND FISHERIES. 



The natural oyster-grounds. — Some of the most extensive iiud produc- 

 tive natural oj'ster- grounds to be iound on this section of the coast are 

 located in these waters. Among tlie beds most freiiucnted are those 

 Avhich are termed by the oystermen the "Gravellings," lying at the 

 head of the bay in the mouth of Mullica lliver, deriving their name 

 probably from the gravelly nature of the bottom. They begin at the 

 head of the bay and extend up the Mullica River for a distance of 6 or 

 8 miles, to a point just above the mouth of Bass Kiver. On these 

 grounds there is a set of young oysters nearly every year, although 

 more abundant some seasons than in others. Large tracts of bottom 

 in various parts of the bay proper are also quite productive. 



The season for taking oysters in this region begins on the 1st day 

 of October. The law provides that for the tirst ten days no oysters 

 shall be taken except between the hours of sunrise and sunset. These 

 beds probably furnish the greater quantity of native seed oysters used 

 in the adjacent counties, and are visited annually by boats along the 

 coast from West Creek to Somers Point. The large congregation of 

 crafts of so many and varying types and sizes lends an element of 

 interest to the scene which is here presented on the first day of the 

 season. Each succeeding day, however, marks a perceptible decrease 

 in the number, indicating that the oysters are jDroportionately becom- 

 ing scarcer. The fishing continues for about six weeks. By that time 

 the crop is well-nigh exhausted, and the fishing becoming unprofitable 

 is consequently abandoned for the season. This is repeated every fall 

 except in occasional years when the set of spat and the growth of 

 oysters has been less successful than usual. In such cases the induce- 

 ments are not sufficient to attract the oystermen from remote localities 

 and the bay is therefore not visited by so large a number of boats. 



In the most abundant seasons many of the boats do not find it prof- 

 itable to make more than two or three trips to the bay. In making 

 these trips large sailboats with crews of three or four men are used, 

 frequently having in tow a number of garveys or other small boats 

 convenient for the Avork of tonging oysters. When the large boat is 

 loaded the oysters are carried to the planting-grounds. In many 

 instances the sailboats obtain their freight by purchasing seed from 

 the tongers on the grounds. Thus a great many of the oystermen who 

 do not plant find a ready market for all the seed they can catch. The 

 planters also send vessels to the bay to obtain seed in a similar manner. 



The oysters are said to be not so large, or rather the proportion of 

 large ones not so great, as in earlier years. This condition is doubtless 

 due to the persistent and exhaustive manner in which the beds are 

 tonged each season. So large .i percentage of their yield is harvested 

 that the crop for the ensuing year has come to be substantially 

 dependent upon the growth of the set, which occurs during the summer 

 next preceding the beginning of the tonging season. If this chances 

 to be unsuccessful, the result Avill be a small harvest. Under the most 

 favorable conditions the catch must necessarily consist largely of what 



