﻿204 
  

  

  elusions), 
  the 
  working 
  season 
  to 
  be 
  of 
  120 
  days, 
  I 
  have 
  com- 
  

   piled 
  the 
  following 
  table, 
  in 
  which 
  are 
  given 
  the 
  number 
  of 
  

   oysters 
  removed 
  from 
  each 
  section 
  and 
  from 
  the 
  Sounds 
  in 
  one 
  

   day 
  and 
  in 
  the 
  season. 
  I 
  have 
  also 
  given 
  the 
  same 
  estimated 
  

   in 
  1878 
  for 
  comparison. 
  

  

  The 
  estimated 
  number 
  of 
  young 
  removed 
  from 
  all 
  sections 
  

   in 
  one 
  day, 
  in 
  1878, 
  was 
  about 
  1,240,000, 
  or 
  148,800,000 
  in 
  the 
  

   course 
  of 
  the 
  season. 
  

  

  It 
  will 
  be 
  seen 
  by 
  the 
  table 
  that 
  about 
  one 
  Imndred 
  million 
  

   more 
  oysters 
  were 
  removed 
  in 
  1878 
  than 
  would 
  be 
  in 
  1879, 
  

   and 
  that 
  about 
  the 
  same 
  excess 
  exists 
  with 
  regard 
  to 
  the 
  young. 
  

  

  Of 
  the 
  two 
  estimates, 
  that 
  of 
  1879 
  is 
  much 
  more 
  accurate, 
  

   being 
  based 
  upon 
  a 
  larger 
  number 
  of 
  observations, 
  more 
  care- 
  

   fully 
  and 
  systematically 
  taken, 
  than 
  was 
  possible 
  in 
  1878, 
  but 
  

   the 
  disparity 
  between 
  the 
  two 
  is 
  so 
  great 
  that 
  the 
  estimate 
  of 
  

   1878 
  would 
  appear 
  valueless, 
  could 
  not 
  some 
  cause 
  be 
  assigned 
  

   for 
  a 
  decrease 
  in 
  the 
  number 
  of 
  oysters 
  taken 
  from 
  the 
  beds. 
  

  

  This 
  decrease, 
  as 
  may 
  be 
  easily 
  seen, 
  must 
  be 
  due 
  to 
  one 
  of 
  

   the 
  following 
  causes 
  or 
  to 
  both. 
  

  

  1st. 
  The 
  fertility 
  of 
  the 
  beds 
  remaining 
  the 
  same, 
  the 
  

   dredgers 
  may 
  not 
  be 
  as 
  numerous. 
  

  

  2d. 
  The 
  number 
  of 
  dredgers 
  remaining 
  the 
  same, 
  the 
  beds 
  

   may 
  be 
  exhausted 
  ; 
  or, 
  becoming 
  so, 
  consequently 
  there 
  would 
  

   be 
  a 
  smaller 
  number 
  of 
  oysters 
  produced. 
  

  

  