128 THE MOLLUSK FISHERIES 



A survey of these oyster laws, with an analysis of their merits and 

 defects, is needed. Their defects have brought about the present un- 

 satisfactory situation in certain localities, and should be remedied. 

 Their merits should be strengthened and amplified, as the basis of 

 future expansion. They have come into being from time to time, in 

 response to the immediate need of the hour; consequently they have 

 no unity, and are, indeed, but imperfectly understood. An insight 

 into their perplexing details should bring out many inconsistencies. 

 Again, no comprehensive knowledge of the history of the industry is 

 possible without a study of the laws. The errors once committed need 

 not be repeated to further embarrass the industry, and the lessons 

 learned by experience would be well applied to its future development. 



Protective and Constructive Laws. The oyster laws can be divided 

 into two classes: (1) protective; and (2) constructive. The early 

 laws, which were passed to save the natural supply, were of the first 

 class; while the laws establishing the present system of oyster culture 

 come under the second heading. The beginnings of all legislative enact- 

 ment arose in the treatment of the natural oyster beds. These beds 

 were fast becoming exhausted, when laws were passed to protect their 

 important natural resources. This measure was only partially success- 

 ful. It did succeed in preserving the remnant of those old beds from 

 destruction, but it was powerless to build up an industry of any extent. 

 When it became clearly evident that no possible fostering of native 

 resources could supply the growing demands of the market, legislation 

 quite logically directed itself toward the artificial propagation of oysters. 

 From this step arose a series of problems which long proved baffling, 

 and still engross a great deal of public attention. The artificial propa- 

 gation of oysters necessitated the leasing of grants in tidal waters. 

 This giving up of public property to private individuals aroused the 

 opposition of rival shellfish industries, who saw in this measure a cur- 

 tailment of their resources. Numerous other difficulties of minor sig- 

 nificance arose from time to time, all demanding attention at the hands 

 of the Legislature. 



Apart from the general supervision of the oyster industry, there 

 have been two other sources of legislative enactment. First, special 

 laws have been called for to regulate the fishery in certain waters under 

 the oversight of the State Board of Health. Secondly, during the past 

 few years the attention of the Legislature has been directed towards 

 the development of the oyster fishery as an important asset of the 

 Commonwealth, and laws authorizing various experiments, both scien- 

 tific and practical, have been passed in order to devise methods of in- 

 creasing and developing the industry. 



I. Protective Laws. The history of the oyster laws of Massachu- 

 setts is a history of the industry itself. The rise and decline of the 

 fishery are distinctly traceable in the development of the legal ma- 

 chinery which regulates it. From the time of the Pilgrims the oyster 



