FOREST, FISH AND GAME COMMISSIONER. 287 



that this was the old southwest battery, afterwards called Fort Clinton 

 and which, within the memory of men not old, was Castle Garden, where 

 immigrants from abroad were received to this land of promise — America. 



The oration of the occasion was made by Hon. Edward C. Stokes, 

 former Governor of the State of New Jersey. Scientific papers were read 

 by Dr. George W. Field, of Massachusetts; Dr. Tarleton H. Bean, of New 

 York; Dr. W. D. Bigelow, of Washington, and Dr. Caswell Grave, of Balti- 

 more. 



One notable and highly appreciated innovation in the usual style of 

 arrangement of addresses was made upon the program. It was the opinion 

 of the committee on program that in addition to scientific papers, at least 

 one paper should be had from the business standpoint of the practical oyster 

 planter and dealer. In consequence, Mr. Azel F. Merrill, President of the 

 National Oystermen's Association, himself a life-long oysterman, was 

 invited to read a paper. As information from the practical side so rarely 

 reaches the degree of publicity deserved, I apprehend that the following 

 quotations from Mr. Merrill's paper will give valuable information. He says: 

 ' The oysterman of to-day, whose experience dates from the time 

 when he could first pull an oar and help his father bring back the catch 

 after a day's tonging, has seen the most marvelous strides in a business 

 which for ages was conducted on the principles handed down from father 

 to son. As the farmers in olden times planted their corn when certain lunar 

 demonstrations appeared, because their fathers and grandfathers before 

 them had done so the oysterman of yesterday plied his vocation as his 

 ancestors had done in the days of old. What a revolution has occurred in 

 this industry in a few years. Following the spirit of the age, shattering old 

 traditions, disregarding father and grandfather and their antiquated methods 

 the progressive on-marching business army has paused to look over this 

 field, and presto! we find it no longer the staid respectable occupation of 

 a few hard-working men, but a vast cultivated field for the employment 

 of capital, and demonstrating to the fullest extent the possibilities of an 

 industry which will expend and grow as the modern scientific methods are 

 more generally understood and adopted. 



" Starting with the natural growth which was the first field of the 

 oysterman, we have seen the gradual development of land under water until 



