﻿172 
  

  

  In 
  the 
  foregoing 
  tables 
  the 
  ground 
  dredged 
  ov^er 
  has 
  been 
  

   divided 
  into 
  parallel 
  sections, 
  and 
  all 
  oysters 
  from 
  the 
  beds 
  in 
  

   those 
  sections 
  have 
  been 
  assembled 
  together. 
  

  

  Section 
  1 
  includes 
  all 
  the 
  beds 
  west 
  of 
  Kedge's 
  Straits. 
  

  

  Section 
  2 
  the 
  beds 
  west 
  of 
  that 
  position 
  on 
  the 
  chart 
  marked 
  

   Red 
  House. 
  

  

  Section 
  3 
  the 
  beds 
  west 
  of 
  that 
  position 
  marked 
  White 
  

   House. 
  

  

  Section 
  4 
  the 
  beds 
  west 
  of 
  Hog 
  Neck 
  and 
  Cheesman's 
  Is- 
  

   lands, 
  and 
  Section 
  5 
  the 
  beds 
  west 
  of 
  Tangier 
  Island. 
  

  

  In 
  compiling 
  the 
  tables 
  I 
  have 
  entered 
  only 
  those 
  hauls 
  of 
  

   dredges 
  that 
  have 
  been 
  taken 
  on 
  the 
  beds 
  or 
  when 
  the 
  oys- 
  

   ters 
  were 
  in 
  considerable 
  numbers. 
  The 
  scattered 
  and 
  de- 
  

   tached 
  groups 
  and 
  single 
  oysters 
  have 
  not 
  been 
  considered. 
  

  

  Section 
  5 
  is 
  not 
  an 
  important 
  one, 
  owing 
  to 
  the 
  very 
  small 
  

   areas 
  of 
  all 
  the 
  beds 
  encountered 
  on 
  it. 
  

  

  By 
  examining 
  this 
  table 
  it 
  will 
  be 
  seen 
  that 
  a 
  total 
  of 
  54 
  

   bushels, 
  amounting 
  to 
  21,183 
  oysters, 
  were 
  examined 
  ; 
  that 
  

   from 
  200 
  hauls 
  of 
  the 
  dredge 
  we 
  obtained 
  78.3 
  bushels 
  of 
  oys- 
  

   ters 
  and 
  shells, 
  and 
  that 
  31 
  per 
  cent., 
  or 
  24.3 
  bushels 
  of 
  this 
  

   matter 
  consisted 
  of 
  sliells 
  or 
  other 
  debris. 
  

  

  This 
  percentage 
  does 
  not 
  differ 
  materially 
  from 
  that 
  found 
  

   on 
  each 
  section. 
  

  

  Section 
  5 
  is 
  not 
  considered, 
  as 
  the 
  percentage 
  there 
  does 
  

   not 
  entirely 
  represent 
  shells 
  and 
  other 
  debris 
  of 
  the 
  bed, 
  but 
  

   rather 
  the 
  sponge 
  and 
  grass 
  of 
  the 
  sand 
  shoals. 
  

  

  Regarding 
  these 
  beds 
  as 
  in 
  their 
  natural 
  condition 
  of 
  healthy 
  

   life, 
  it 
  is 
  inferred 
  from 
  the 
  deduced 
  table 
  that, 
  other 
  things 
  be- 
  

   ing 
  equal, 
  a 
  larger 
  percentage 
  of 
  debris 
  would 
  indicate 
  that 
  

   the 
  bed 
  was 
  not 
  giving, 
  for 
  the 
  same 
  amount 
  of 
  labor, 
  its 
  

   natural 
  return, 
  or, 
  in 
  other 
  words, 
  that 
  the 
  mass 
  of 
  old 
  shells 
  

   brought 
  up 
  by 
  the 
  dredge 
  was 
  out 
  of 
  proportion 
  to 
  the 
  num. 
  

   ber 
  of 
  oysters. 
  

  

  This 
  percentage 
  is 
  of 
  value 
  as 
  indicating 
  the 
  most 
  profita- 
  

   ble 
  working 
  grounds, 
  and 
  also 
  as 
  indicating, 
  when 
  very 
  large, 
  

   that 
  the 
  bed 
  has 
  been 
  overworked 
  and 
  its 
  population 
  de- 
  

   stroyed, 
  as 
  the 
  percentage 
  of 
  shells 
  bears 
  the 
  same 
  relation 
  to 
  

   the 
  oysters 
  as 
  the 
  unoccupied 
  dwellings 
  in 
  a 
  city 
  do 
  to 
  its 
  in- 
  

  

  