13 
Smith Brothers, and other large planters, have been of great service 
in catching and removing these destructive visitors. Sail vessels are 
of but little use in the work. But if all who are interested would 
honestly codperate in efforts so essential to the protection of their 
property, it is believed by those who are best informed upon the 
subject that the loss to the industry would be trifling. The natural 
or public beds are not so carefully and thoroughly worked as the 
private beds are, and no systematic efforts are made to destroy the 
star-fish. This can be done efficiently only by the steamers, and 
these are not permitted on the natural beds. Doubtless some are 
caught in the dredges of the sail boats, but they are few in number, 
and if these are thrown back upon the bed, as is generally alleged, 
their net catch of the stars amounts to nothing. Under these circum- 
stances it is obvious that the natural bed affords the most favorable 
condition for their rapid multiplication. 
One would suppose that self interest would naturally prompt those 
who get their living from a natural bed to be solicitous to protect 
and preserve it—but it is not so. The avarice of to-day blinds them 
to the prospects of to-morrow. In the free scramble for the oysters, 
they have no thought but ‘‘to keep what they get and catch what 
they can,” and it would be lost time to them to dredge for stars 
while others dredge for oysters. In this spirit, too, when assorting 
their catch, they throw overboard the stars with the other refuse 
matter. 
The Commissioners would not give the impression that all the men 
who work upon the natural beds are open to these charges; nor 
would they give the impression that the natural-bed oystermen as a 
class are any worse than the same number of men in any other occu- 
pation. The Commissioners have found them, with few exceptions, 
honest, industrious and well disposed. No one can be reasonably 
blamed for omitting to do that which is the joint duty of all—for 
failing to codperate where codperation is impossible. If the public 
beds, therefore, are to be kept clear of stars, it must be done in some 
other way than by the voluntary efforts of the oystermen. Those, 
however, who throw back upon the bed the stars they have caught in 
their net, are inexcusable, and deserve punishment. ‘There is a law 
against throwing stars upon any beds, but it is difficult to detect the 
offenders. This is of minor importance, however, when compared 
with the necessity of adopting some method of checking the growth 
of the stars. 
Those who work on these beds sell their catch to the cultivators 
