156 Canadian Record of Science. 



oysters," adhering to the stones of the gravel beaches 

 of Ram Island, and lay them on their own beds. One 

 farmer, who is fortunate enought to have a tidal pool 

 enclosed by his grounds, has done the same, and these 

 people have shown the way. It is unfortunate that 

 whilst the regulation of the Fishery is in ,the hands of 

 the Dominion Government, the ownership is in the 

 hands of the Island Government, and the pressure 

 exerted on the local house by the oyster fishermen is 

 very strong. 



A still greater danger than over-fishing is however 

 the use of Oyster shells as fertilizer. Prince Edward 

 Island is almost wholly composed of ]STew Red Sand- 

 stone — a formation almost unknown elsewhere in 

 Canada, found only at Richibucto in ISTew Brunswick, 

 Pictou in ]STova Scotia, and one or two other points on 

 the coast immediately opposite the Island. This rook 

 consists of a soft red shale, too soft indeed to deserve 

 the name of rock, which is very deficient in lime. In 

 the winter, therefore, when Richmond Bay is frozen 

 over, the farmers go out with teams on the ice, cut 

 holes in it, and using a kind of dredge similar to that 

 used in dredging the River St. Lawrence, but worked 

 by their horses, scoop up masses of Ovster shells. If 

 the Oysters happen not to be dead no doubt they make 

 the better manure. Attempts are made by the 

 Dominion authorities to confine the farmers to places 

 where they will do least damage, but as old Oyster 

 shells make the best possible substratum for the exten- 

 sion of the beds, it is difficult to see how damage can 

 be avoided. One sees in such actions the same thought- 

 less and improvident spirit, which destroyed so much 

 valuable timber by fire, and which in utter heedlessness 

 of the future of the country, sees onlv the immediate 

 profit of to-day. It surely is the duty of the Govern- 

 ment, to whom the care of the future is committed, to 

 prevent such waste of the country's resources, and it is 

 satisfactory to learn that negotiations are proceeding 

 between the Dominion and the Island Governments to 

 buy out the interest of the latter, and so gain the means 

 of effectively controlling the fisheries. 



