CHAPTER XVI 

 THE GULF OF MEXICO 



N the many hundreds of miles of the Gulf 

 shore line there are extensive tracts that have 

 always borne natural oyster beds, but as com- 

 pared with the Atlantic coast, this is prac- 

 tically an undeveloped field. It has been estimated that 

 ninety per cent, of the oysters marketed each year in 

 the United States comes from the coast north of the 

 mouth of Chesapeake Bay. One of the reasons for the 

 unproductiveness of the Gulf is that the population of 

 the states bounding it is sparse and scattered. There are 

 few large cities, and consequently little local demand for 

 oysters. As population and wealth increase, it is to be 

 expected that the natural resources of the waters will be 

 developed, but most of the Gulf states probably have a 



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