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REPORT OF COMMISSIONER OF FISH AND FISHERIES. 185 
some oystermen affirming that not since the war had there been a more 
plentiful natural growth of oysters, although it was generally acknowl- 
edged that the quality was much poorer than usual. 
One of the most noted natural oyster-grounds in this region was 
Hampton Bar, located on the left side of the James River at its mouth, 
extending parallel with the course of the stream and covering an area 
of about 3,000 acres. According to Col. W.N. Armstrong, who is now 
extensively engaged in oyster-planting on the bar, as early as 1885 the 
natural beds had been so exhausted that the entire yield of the tongers 
from Old Point Comfort to Newport News did not amount to 10 barrels 
a day, and the tongers who reside in Hampton were in the habit of 
resorting to other natural beds in the James River 20 or 50 miles dis- 
tant. Since that time laws have been enacted securing the rights of 
planters, and extensive planting has been done on the bar; about 700 
or 500 acres are now under cultivation, on which the plantings are 
about 600 bushels per acre, and as many as 800 barrels of oysters have 
been shipped from these grounds to the general markets in a single 
day. 
With the exhaustion of the natural beds, more attention is being 
bestowed on artificial methods of maintaining the supply than ever 
before, and it is being generally recognized that the oyster industry in 
the near future must depend for its maintenance on planted beds. 
A number of fishermen in this section were met with who. use the 
so-called deep-water oyster tongs, a report concerning which has been 
prepared by this office. The depth of water in which it is commonly 
used is from 30 to 50 feet; oysters in this depth are far beyond the 
reach of ordinary tongs, and as the employment of dredges is restricted 
in this region the new apparatus is being advantageously operated. 
On the planted beds and in shoal-water fishing the old type of tongs 
will continue to be used. The only objection made to the new pattern 
is that on rough bottom it fails to work well, and even when oysters 
are abundant only small hauls can be made. In the Back River and a 
few other localities the deep-water tongs are successfully employed in 
taking clams (Venus mercenaria) in water 5 or 6 fat homs in depth. 
A large percentage of the oysters landed in Norfolk goes through the 
packing and canning houses before reaching the consumer. ‘This busi- 
ness is of large proportions and constitutes one of the principal indus- 
trial enterprises of the city. The fall and winter of 1890 was regarded 
by the packers as the best season in at least five years. All of them 
handled larger quantities of oysters than for some years, and the prices 
received for the prepared oysters were very satisfactory. Larger ship- 
ments to the western States and the interior formed a noticeable feature 
of the season’s trade. It is generally held that the chief factor in bring- 
ing about this condition of affairs was the comparative scarcity and 
high price of oysters in the Baltimore market. Numbers of the Mary- 
land dredging vessels transferred their operations to North Carolina 
