﻿000 
  ; 
  the 
  oysters 
  liaving 
  almost 
  entirely 
  disappeared 
  from 
  

   the 
  beds, 
  though 
  ou 
  account 
  of 
  the 
  suifering 
  condition 
  of 
  the 
  

   inhabitants 
  of 
  the 
  shores 
  it 
  was 
  almost 
  impossible 
  to 
  prevent 
  

   it. 
  In 
  1870 
  there 
  was 
  a 
  complete 
  wreck 
  of 
  the 
  bottom, 
  which 
  

   could 
  only 
  be 
  remedied 
  by 
  a 
  total 
  prohibition 
  of 
  the 
  tisheries 
  

   for 
  several 
  years. 
  From 
  the 
  beds 
  of 
  tlie 
  districts 
  of 
  Roche- 
  

   fort, 
  Marennes 
  and 
  island 
  of 
  Olevon, 
  on 
  the 
  west 
  coast 
  of 
  

   France, 
  there 
  were 
  taken 
  in 
  185)3 
  and 
  1854 
  10,000,000 
  oysters, 
  

   and 
  in 
  1854-5 
  15,000,(100. 
  

  

  On 
  account 
  of 
  exhaustive 
  fishing 
  in 
  1863-4 
  only 
  400,000 
  

   could 
  be 
  obtained. 
  According 
  to 
  the 
  testimony 
  of 
  Mr. 
  Web- 
  

   ber, 
  Mayor 
  of 
  Falmouth, 
  England, 
  about 
  700 
  men, 
  working 
  

   300 
  boats, 
  were 
  employed 
  in 
  a 
  profitable 
  oyster 
  fishery 
  in 
  

   the 
  neighborhood 
  of 
  Falmouth 
  until 
  1866, 
  when 
  the 
  old 
  laws 
  

   enforcing 
  a 
  " 
  close 
  time 
  " 
  were 
  repealed, 
  under 
  an 
  impres- 
  

   sion 
  that 
  owing 
  to 
  the 
  great 
  productive 
  powers 
  of 
  the 
  oyster 
  

   it 
  would 
  be 
  impossible 
  to 
  remove 
  a 
  suflicient 
  number 
  to 
  pre- 
  

   vent 
  the 
  restocking 
  of 
  the 
  beds. 
  Since 
  1866 
  the 
  beds 
  have 
  

   become 
  so 
  impoverished 
  from 
  excessive 
  and 
  continual 
  fishing 
  

   that 
  in 
  1876 
  only 
  10 
  men 
  and 
  40 
  boats 
  could 
  find 
  employment, 
  

   and 
  small 
  as 
  the 
  number 
  is, 
  they 
  could 
  not 
  take 
  more 
  than 
  60 
  

   or 
  100 
  oysters 
  a 
  day, 
  while 
  formally, 
  in 
  the 
  same 
  time, 
  a 
  boat 
  

   could 
  take 
  from 
  10,000 
  to 
  12,000. 
  According 
  to 
  the 
  state- 
  

   ment 
  of 
  Mr. 
  Messum, 
  an 
  oyster 
  dealer, 
  and 
  secretary 
  of 
  an 
  

   oyster 
  company 
  at 
  Emsworth, 
  England, 
  made 
  before 
  the 
  Com- 
  

   mission 
  for 
  the 
  Investigation 
  of 
  Oyster 
  Fisheries 
  in 
  May, 
  1 
  876, 
  

   there 
  were 
  in 
  the 
  harbor 
  of 
  Emsworth, 
  between 
  the 
  years 
  of 
  

   1840 
  and 
  1850, 
  so 
  many 
  oysters 
  that 
  one 
  man 
  in 
  five 
  hours 
  

   could 
  take 
  from 
  24,000 
  to 
  32,000. 
  In 
  consequence 
  of 
  over- 
  

   fishing 
  in 
  1858, 
  scarcely 
  ten 
  vessels 
  could 
  find 
  loads, 
  and 
  in 
  

   1868 
  a 
  dredger 
  in 
  five 
  hours 
  could 
  not 
  find 
  more 
  than 
  twenty 
  

   oyiitei's. 
  The 
  oyster 
  fisheries 
  of 
  Jersey, 
  in 
  the 
  English 
  Chan- 
  

   nel, 
  afforded 
  employment 
  to 
  400 
  vessels. 
  In 
  six 
  or 
  seven 
  

   years 
  the 
  dredging 
  became 
  so 
  extensive 
  and 
  the 
  beds 
  so 
  ex- 
  

   hausted 
  that 
  only 
  three 
  or 
  four 
  vessels 
  could 
  find 
  employ- 
  

   ment, 
  and 
  the 
  crews 
  of 
  even 
  that 
  small 
  number 
  had 
  to 
  do 
  

   additional 
  work 
  on 
  shore 
  in 
  order 
  to 
  support 
  themselves. 
  

  

  The 
  foregoing 
  are 
  a 
  few 
  of, 
  though 
  by 
  no 
  means 
  all, 
  the 
  in- 
  

  

  