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A LOAD OP EGG-BEARING LOBSTERS 



These lobsters have been collected from the fishermen and are being taken to the hatches, 

 where their eggs will be removed by gentle scraping with a dull knife 



AMERICA 



PREEMINENT 

 PRODUCTION 4 



IN OYSTER 



Among the fishery products in which 

 America is preeminent, the most con- 

 spicuous is the oyster. This, our most 

 important aquatic resource, is not only 

 more valuable than in any other country, 

 but more valuable than in all other coun- 

 tries combined. 



The American oyster has the further 

 distinction of being a staple food of com- 

 paratively low price, while in practically 

 every other country having a well-devel- 

 oped oyster industry the oyster is a high- 

 priced luxury. Its commanding position 

 is shown in the facts that it is a commer- 

 cial commodity in every coastwise State 

 except two (Maine and New Hamp- 

 shire) ; that it is the leading fishery prod- 



* See "Oysters — the World's Most Valuable 

 Water Crop," by Hugh M. Smith, National 

 Geographic Magazine, March, 1913. 



uct in fifteen States, and that it is the 

 most extensively cultivated of all our 

 aquatic animals. The annual oyster crop 

 of the United States is about 35,000,000 

 bushels. 



The yield is increasing yearly, and in 

 some States is capable of great expan- 

 sion, while in a few States the limit of 

 production has nearly been reached. The 

 seven leading oyster States are Rhode 

 Island, Connecticut, New York, New 

 Jersey, Maryland, Virginia, and Louisi- 

 ana. Virginia and Maryland have the 

 largest output, while New York and Con- 

 necticut have the largest money returns. 

 The body of water which produces more 

 oysters than any other in the United 

 States, or, in fact, the world, is Chesa- 

 peake Bay. Other important regions are 

 Narragansett Bay, Long Island Sound, 

 New York Bay, and Delaware Bay. 



The early rank taken by our oysters, 



555 



