58 REPORT OF THE COMMISSIONERS OF 



rocks; and wherever it is exposed to heavy gales it should not be in less than five 

 fathoms of water. After the ground has been selected the applicant fills out a written 

 application to the Commissioners in which he recites that he is a resident of the State, 

 that the land applied for has not for five years been a bed of oysters of natural 

 growth, and that he needs this ground for the cultivation of oysters or other shellfish. 

 This application is posted in the office of the Shellfish Commissioner, and advertised 

 for four weeks in at least two papers published in the town or county nearest the lease 

 applied for; and notice is also posted in the Town Clerk's office. 



The engineer of the Commission in the meantime surveys the land applied for, 

 certifies to its boundaries and extent, and under the direction of the Shellfish Com- 

 missioner makes an examination to determine as to whether the ground is or is not a 

 bed of oysters of natural growth. If all the examinations and investigations are satis- 

 factory, the Commissioners, at a regular meeting pursuant to the advertisement, offer 

 the land for sale openly and to the highest bidder. It usually happens that the appli- 

 cant is the successful purchaser, but he must take his chances with the rest ; and there 

 are instances when, after taking all the trouble and going to all the expense, another 

 than the applicant secures the ground. 



After the franchise has been obtained the ground is buoyed and the work of culti- 

 vation begins. If the ground is in deep water, and desirable for the cultivation of 

 seed, the purchaser first dredges it very carefully with a steam dredge until every 

 piece of rubbish is removed from it ; then at the proper season, say from the fifteenth 

 of July to the fifteenth of August, shells or broken stone are planted, together with a 

 sufficient number of spawn oysters. If a sett, as it is termed, of seed oysters is 

 obtained, all that is necessary to do then is to keep the ground free from starfish, 

 and for this constant vigilance is required. In five years or thereabouts the oysters, 

 after proper replanting, are ready for market. 



It will be seen by this that the value of lands under water for oyster purposes de- 

 pends in a very large measure upon the cultivation and not upon their intrinsic worth. 

 The State of New York possesses oyster property unequaled, perhaps, by any Northern 

 State, with an abundance of territory in Long Island Sound suitable for the cultivation 

 of seed ; it has large areas of shallow water in bays and harbors, where oysters of 

 incomparable flavor can be fattened for market. Many of the oysters famous through- 

 out this country, and even in Europe, are the direct product of the waters of the State 

 of New York ; this is especially so of the Blue Point oyster and those that are mar- 

 keted from Rockaway. If one considers for a moment the rapid growth of this indus- 

 try in this State since the passage of the Act of 1 886, and will think for a moment of 

 the advantages possessed by this State, they can readily understand that all that is 



