﻿147 
  

  

  only 
  those 
  vessels 
  dredging 
  on 
  such 
  beds 
  as 
  were 
  known 
  to 
  have 
  

   a 
  large 
  proportion 
  of 
  young 
  upon 
  them 
  have 
  been 
  considered, 
  

   and 
  even 
  then 
  the 
  estimate 
  reaches 
  tlie 
  astonishing 
  figure 
  of 
  

   1,238,790. 
  These 
  oysters 
  are 
  those 
  of 
  from 
  two 
  to 
  five 
  months 
  

   growth, 
  and 
  may 
  be 
  said 
  to 
  have 
  survived 
  the 
  most 
  precarious 
  

   portion 
  of 
  their 
  existence, 
  their 
  shells 
  having 
  become 
  hard 
  

   enough 
  to 
  resist 
  the 
  drills 
  to 
  a 
  certain 
  extent, 
  and 
  they 
  being 
  

   firmly 
  attached 
  to 
  the 
  mature 
  oyster, 
  and 
  in 
  no 
  danger 
  of 
  de- 
  

   struction 
  from 
  any 
  cause 
  to 
  which 
  it 
  would 
  not 
  be 
  equally 
  ex- 
  

   posed. 
  Still 
  many 
  of 
  them 
  would 
  doubtless 
  perish 
  even 
  if 
  

   undisturbed, 
  for 
  though 
  all 
  oysters 
  on 
  the 
  beds 
  mature, 
  or 
  

   others, 
  would 
  suffer 
  if 
  exposed 
  to 
  unfavorable 
  conditions, 
  

   yet 
  many 
  of 
  those 
  conditions 
  would 
  affect 
  the 
  young 
  and 
  

   young 
  growth 
  to 
  a 
  greater 
  degree 
  than 
  tlie 
  mature 
  and 
  more 
  

   hardy 
  oysters. 
  I 
  will, 
  therefore, 
  suppose 
  that 
  fifty 
  per 
  cent, 
  

   ■of 
  the 
  young 
  taken 
  up 
  would 
  never 
  have 
  reached 
  maturity, 
  

   and 
  will 
  also 
  make 
  another 
  and 
  very 
  liberal 
  supposition 
  that 
  

   by 
  the 
  first 
  of 
  April 
  the 
  young 
  would 
  have 
  reached 
  such 
  a 
  size 
  

   as 
  would 
  make 
  it 
  profitable 
  to 
  open 
  them. 
  That 
  would 
  make 
  

   the 
  working 
  season, 
  so 
  far 
  as 
  the 
  young 
  were 
  concerned, 
  104 
  

   days, 
  and 
  the 
  number 
  of 
  young 
  removed 
  would 
  amount 
  in 
  

   that 
  time 
  to 
  128,834,000, 
  of 
  which 
  about 
  64,417,000 
  would 
  

   probably 
  have 
  attained 
  their 
  full 
  growth. 
  

  

  These 
  young 
  are 
  a 
  total 
  sacrifice, 
  never 
  seeing 
  the 
  water 
  

   again 
  after 
  their 
  removal 
  and 
  generally 
  perishing 
  on 
  distant 
  

   or 
  adjacent 
  shell 
  heaps. 
  Many 
  more 
  are 
  probably 
  destroyed 
  

   by 
  carelessness 
  in 
  disposing 
  of 
  the 
  old 
  shells 
  brought 
  up 
  by 
  

   the 
  dredge. 
  The 
  dredging 
  is 
  usually 
  across 
  the 
  bed, 
  and 
  the 
  

   shoal 
  hard 
  ridges 
  noticed 
  along 
  the 
  edges 
  of 
  the 
  beds 
  on 
  the 
  

   western 
  side 
  of 
  Tangier 
  SouTid 
  and 
  on 
  all 
  edges 
  adjacent 
  to 
  

   muddy 
  bottoms, 
  are, 
  no 
  doubt, 
  caused 
  by 
  the 
  dredgers 
  who, 
  

   as 
  they 
  approach 
  the 
  edge 
  of 
  the 
  bed, 
  having 
  dragged 
  across 
  

   it, 
  haul 
  in 
  their 
  dredges 
  just 
  before 
  getting 
  over 
  the 
  muddy 
  

   bottoms. 
  They 
  then 
  stand 
  on 
  tack 
  or 
  "wear" 
  and 
  as 
  soon 
  as 
  

   on 
  the 
  bed 
  drop 
  the 
  dredges 
  again. 
  

  

  In 
  the 
  meantime 
  the 
  crews 
  have 
  been 
  busily 
  " 
  culling" 
  the 
  

   oysters, 
  and, 
  as 
  likely 
  as 
  not, 
  have 
  thrown 
  over 
  on 
  the 
  soft 
  

   mud 
  a 
  far 
  larger 
  number 
  of 
  voung 
  attached 
  to 
  the 
  shells 
  than 
  

  

  