OYSTEB BOTTOMS IN MATAGORDA BAY. 45 



in oystering for market independently of a licensed vessel arc re- 

 quired to take out individual licenses under a fee of $1 each. 



A natural bed is "declared to exist when as many as five barrels 

 of oysters may be found therein within -2.500 square feet of any po- 

 sition of said reef or bed " (art. 25181). 



Airy citizen of the United States or corporation incorporated in 

 the state of Texas has the right to obtain a location, not exceeding 

 an area of G-tO acres, for purposes of oyster culture, by making a 

 written application, with a deposit of $10, to the fish and oyster 

 commissioner. Xo natural bed as above defined is subject to loca- 

 tion, and the commissioner is required to examine all proposed loca- 

 tions to determine whether they comply with the law. The methods 

 of survey, marking, and the filing of records of the same are pre- 

 scribed. The locator is required to pay " for the survey, plat, and 

 all expenses connected therewith," and, in addition, he " shall pay 

 to the fish and oyster commissioner or his deputy a fee of $10 for 

 every 50 acres or fractional part thereof for the examination of the 

 location, including the certificate " of description. Locators com- 

 plying with all requirements of law are protected against trespass as 

 freeholders are protected in their rights. (Art. 2518m, as amended, 

 and 2518p.) 



The owners of private locations are required to maintain the per- 

 manent shore marks, and are given the right to fence or stake their 

 claims, subject to navigation laws. The rental or tax for the first 

 3 r ear or fraction thereof to Januar} 7 1 following is 15 cents per acre; 

 for the next four years, 25 cents per acre per annum, and for each 

 year thereafter, $1 per acre, the first payment being due on receipt 

 of the certificate of location and subsequent payments on the 1st day 

 of January of each year. Nonpayment of the rental before March 1 

 of any year forfeits all right to the location, which reverts to the 

 state. (Art. 2518n, as amended.) 



Under special permit from the commissioner, applicants may be 

 empowered to gather by tongs, rakes, hand, or dredges from specific- 

 ally designated and defined beds unculled oysters for planting on 

 private locations, provided the beds designated have furnished no 

 marketable oysters for two years preceding. The applicant is re- 

 quired to pay a fee of $5, all expenses of locating and examining the 

 designated reef, and a further sum of 1 cent per bushel if the seed 

 oysters be gathered by dredges or rakes. The usual license is required 

 if they are gathered by tongs or hand. The catch is limited in any 

 one season to not over three-fourths of the contents of the bed. (Art. 

 2518q, as amended.) 



Under the penal code of the state, penalties are provided for in- 

 fractions of the foregoing: for taking oysters between April 30 and 

 September 1, excepting in certain parts of Laguna Madre; for failure 



