OYSTEE BOTTOMS IN MATAGORDA BAY. 47 



sumably these are to be held as perpetual during compliance of the 

 lessee with the several provisions of the law. In that case they must 

 also be held, presumably, as transferable and heritable, but the law 

 does not provide, except inferentiallv (art. 529t), for the inheritance, 

 sale, or transmittal of title. It prohibits the leasing or holding by 

 any one person, firm, or corporation of a greater area than 640 acres, 

 but what would become of a tract inherited by one already possessed 

 of the maximum acreage? An oyster claim is not of such a nature 

 that it could be disposed of at once, and the oysters on it could prob- 

 ably not all l>e marketed with advantage and justice to the owner 

 within two years. Some provision should be made for the protection 

 of the rights and equity of an inheritor, and all transfers, whether by 

 sale, assignment, or inheritance, should be made a matter of record. 

 Provision should be made also for filing the plat of survey, or an at- 

 tested copy thereof, with the copy of the original lease or certificate 

 in the office of record. 



The provision of the law for the issuance of permits to take oysters 

 for planting purposes from reefs overcrowded with unmarketable 

 stock is a most excellent one. These beds, by virtue of their excessive 

 production, would in all probability never afford good marketable 

 oysters if left under purely natural conditions, and the removal of a 

 portion of their contents would not only save those removed, but 

 would permit such readjustment of growth among the residue as to 

 develop their latent possibilities and convert them into stock of value. 

 The only danger lies in removing more than the permitted propor- 

 tion of the product and exterminating the beds by sweejDing them 

 clean of both oysters and shells. This is purely a matter of inspec- 

 tion, fair dealing, and judgment. 



ATTITUDE OF THE PUBLIC TOWARD OYSTER CULTURE. 



A number of area-, in Matagorda Bay have been leased for oyster 

 culture, but very little serious work had been done on them at the 

 time of the survey, although, except some murmuring among the 

 natural-bed oystermen, there was apparently no real opposition to the 

 principle of oyster culture under private ownership. The objection- 

 heard touched mainly some features of the laws which are criticised 

 above, namely, the inclusion of natural beds within the grants, and 

 the failure of the leaseholders to maintain proper marks to designate 

 the boundaries of their locations. As to the justice of the first claim 

 the survey had no means of judging nor any legitimate concern other 

 than the desire to offer such advice as might tend to assuage any feel- 

 ing of resentment toward the laws. From the observations made, 

 however, it does not appear that the sentiment among the oystermen 

 is <>f a nature to prompt active opposition to oyster culture such 

 L6354 — 07 m i 



