THIRTEENTH ANNUAL MEETING. 243 
Mr. Ear.u: It isnot my purpose, in calling out a discussion of 
this resolution, to oppose any legislation that may prove beneficial 
to our oyster interests as a whole. It should, however, be remem- 
bered that this Society is national in its scope, and that any resolu- 
tions tending to affect legislation without limit as to locality, 
should not receive its sanction until it is clearly proven that such 
resolutions are for the best interests of the industry when taken as 
a whole. Several gentlemen familiar with the oyster interests of 
the New England and Middle States are present, and, as I under- 
stand, heartily approve of the adoption of the resolution for 
these regions. 
But the oyster interests vary greatly with the locality, and 
laws of unquestionable benefit for one portion of the coast might 
work disastrously in another. 
As one who has given considerable attention to the oyster in- 
terests of our South Atlantic and Gulf States, I cannot believe 
that the adoption of the resolutions proposed would be a benefit 
to that region. On the contrary, I am strongly of the opinion 
that they would have an injurious effect. 
- Our entire coast between Cape Henry and Mexico, including 
the thougands of miles of coast line along the numerous sounds, 
bays, and tide creeks, are literally alive with oysters, and yet, in 
all this region, the oyster interests are absolutely undeveloped: 
There are not half a dozen places along this entire coast that 
have a shipping trade in oysters of any importance, and yet the 
oysters are so abundant that men can wade about in the shoal 
waters, and pick up boat loads of them ina few hours, often 
finding them in bunches larger than they can lift. In North 
Carolina, for example, oysters are so abundant that some of the 
fishermen find profitable employment in securing vessel loads 
of them, and carrying them to the river landings in the agricul- 
tural regions and selling them for fertilizing at three to four 
cents a bushel. I feel safe in the statement that there is not one 
city between North Carolina and Mexico, where, with proper 
attention, the oyster interests could not be increased fifty-fold 
without endangering the natural supply. 
What we most need in this region is more encouragement of 
