146 THE OYSTER. 



ried on in a small way for years, and there are many 

 men in our State who understand the business thor- 

 oughly. Besides, we have a remarkable illustration of 

 its value only a few miles beyond our border. At 

 Hampton Roads, in the lower part of the bay, the 

 planting business has recently been pushed with great 

 energy and enthusiasm. It is conducted on such a 

 large scale that a big steamboat is now loaded with 

 very fine oysters every day, from grounds which six 

 years ago did not supply enough to meet the local de- 

 mand." 



" I am told that in Connecticut it has been found 

 possible to grow oysters from the eggs, in the way 

 that I grow wheat and corn; and to establish new 

 oyster-beds in deep water by covering the bottom 

 with oyster shells, to catch the floating embryos. Is 

 there no place in the bay where this can be done?" 



" Assuredly there is. No place in the world is bet- 

 ter suited for oyster- farming. We have hundreds 

 of thousands of acres which are most valuable for this 

 purpose, and experiments have shown that there is no 

 part of the bay where new beds might not ultimately 

 be established by shelling the bottom, or by the use of 

 other spat-collectors." 



" Why don't you do it ? How can you complain of 

 the scarcity of oysters when you have such an oppor- 

 tunity for oyster- farming? Is not the business profita- 

 ble?" 



" You may judge of this for yourself when I tell you 

 that, in good places, a crop of five or six thousand 



