THE OTSTEK. 27 



make a similar provisioii for its protection against its 

 greatest enemy, man. '' It has been estimated," says a 

 correspondent in JS'o. 769 of the ''Family Herald," 

 ''that the State of Yii^ginia possesses an area of about 

 1,680,000 acres of oyster beds, containing about 

 784,000,000 bushels of oysters. It is also stated 

 that the mother oyster spawns annually at least 

 3,000,000 ; yet, notwithstanding this enormous pro- 

 ductive power, and the vast extent of oyster beds, there 

 is danger of the oyster being exterminated unless mea- 

 sures are adopted to prevent fishermen from taking 

 them at improper seasons of the year. It is therefore 

 proposed to have either a flotilla of four steamboats 

 employed to protect the oyster beds from piratical in- 

 truders, or to farm out the oyster beds to private con- 

 ti-actors to do with them as they please." 



c 2 



