156 REPORT OF .COMMISSIONER OF FISH AND FISHERIES. 
at or ne?r its southern extremity. At Millbrae, San Mateo County, 17 
miles south of San Francisco, two oyster compauies own some 400 acres 
of “ tide lands, about half of which is cultivated or used as beds. The 
oyster firms are credited with owning several thousand acres of “ tide 
lands,” but there are only some 300 acres in actual use for planting. 
According to the land-office register at Sacramento the available “tide 
lauds” have all been bought up, both in San Francisco Bay and else- i 
where along the coast. If any remain unsold they are in localities not j 
easily accessible or not well adapted to oyster beds. The State sells < 
the “tide lands” at $1 per acre, regardless of the purpose to which ; 
they will be devoted. It is believed that a considerable part of those ] 
lands have been bought purely for speculative purposes, and for this ] 
reason no record can be obtained of the quantity actually purchased 
for oyster beds. 
In locating the beds, shell banks are preferred. As a rule these un- 
cover, or nearly so, at low tide. The ground is first made smooth, and 
then covered with a layer of large oyster shells,* and over these are ; 
spread, as evenly and smoothly as practicable, the smaller shells of the 
native oyster. When the bed is completed the “ seed ” or “ plants ” are j 
spread over as thickly as experience has shown to be profitable. 
Enemies , protection , etc. — The oysters in San Francisco Bay do not 
suffer from the depredations of starfish, as they do in certain sec' ions 
of the Atlantic coast waters. Here the enemy most dreaded by the 
oyster-planter is the stingray (Myliobatis calif or nicus), which is found 
from Cape Mendocino southward. It is nearly as bad as the starfish 
on the east coast, and is a serious hindrance to the profitable prosecu- 
tion of the oyster industry. The powerful jaws of these pests enable 
them to destroy the oysters whenever they can reach them. It is, how- 
ever, comparatively easy to guard against their depredations by build- 
ing fences around the oyster beds. These fences are made of 2 by 3 inch 
redwood scantling driven about 3 inches apart, and going about 4 feet 
into the ground. If the beds are much exposed to rough weather or 
sea, two, and sometimes three, rows of scantling are driven. The cost i 
of fencing is considerable, the price of each piece of scantling being 12^ 
cents. The stingray appears in April and remains 4 months in the bay. 
After it leaves, openings are made in the inclosures to permit the tide 
to carry out the mud washed down on the oyster beds from the neigh- 
boring bills. 
The oyster beds at Millbrae are located about a mile from the shore, 
and are owned and worked by the two companies before referred to, 
each having its own grounds fenced in. At low tide these beds are bare, 
or nearly so, but they are covered with 8 feet of water at high tide. 
Methods of fishing , culling , transporting, etc. — Each of the two firms 
interested in the oyster business has a station consisting of a house built 
These are collected from the hotels and saloons of the city. 
