ne! 
reason why his property should not be fairly appraised and a fair tax 
raised thereon. Judging from the lists which have been presented 
for this year’s taxes, it is believed that a better view of this subject 
begins to prevail among the oystermen. 
GENERAL REMARKS. 
From information obtained from time to time throughout the past 
year, it is believed that the cultivators have generally been prosperous. 
The area of cultivated grounds has been annually increased for several 
years, and the crops last year were larger than ever before. The 
weather during the last season was favorable for spawning, and a very 
large set was the result, and it is doing well. The oysters this year 
are of excellent quality, and great quantities have been sold in the 
home markets and many thousand bushels shipped abroad. ‘The 
star-fish has done considerable damage, in some cases ruining whole 
beds in an incredibly short time. But as the oyster cultivators become 
more familiar with their habits, they are enabled to fight them with 
better results. It is a fact that cannot be too often repeated that 
constant watchfulness is necessary to protect the oysters from these 
ravenous marauders. It is well known that those who neglect their 
beds suffer most, while those who exercise due vigilance are compar- 
atively free from molestation. Those who have steamers find them 
very useful in this important work. It has been asserted that the 
natural beds are the chief breeding grounds of the star-fish, and that 
grounds in their neighborhood have suffered most from their attacks ; 
and the reason given for this is that the natural beds are worked only 
in the best paying places, while the neglected parts are left to the 
undisturbed enjoyment of the star-fish, The following letter gives 
an interesting account of the experience of Mr. Henry J. Lewis, one 
of the largest cultivators in the State, during the past year : 
BRIDGEPORT, CONN., December Ig, 1883. 
Fon. R. G. Pike, Chairman of Shell Fish Commissioners « 
DEAR SIR:—In compliance with your request, I have made inquiries 
about the number of star-fish caught off Stratford and the amount of 
damage done by them, etc., and find by as careful an estimate as can 
be made that the owners of oyster grounds adjoining the Bridgeport 
public bed (from whence these star- fish came) caught between Novem- 
ber 1st and December 14th (11,000) eleven thousand bushels of star-fish. 
These star-fish have spread over and destroyed five hundred ‘acres of 
