132 
with, from eight to sixteen teeth. Generally they are made about 
three feet wide, with twelve or fourteen teeth, bnt vary a good 
deal in weight. My informants found that generally speaking 
it was more profitable to fish with the tongs exclusively for 
the large oysters used for barreling by the dealers and to 
dredge for packing and canning establishments. The tongs 
are worked at small expense and the “ barrel ” oysters bring a 
much larger price, though they are necessarily selected oys- 
ters and more difficult to obtain. The prices paid during the 
season of 1877-78 were about one dollar per barrel for “ bar- 
rel” oysters and from five to forty cents for the ordinary 
oysters from the beds ; the “ snaps,” or most inferior quality, 
bringing the lowest price and forty cents being paid only for 
“ extra culled ” oysters. About twenty cents per bushel would 
allow a small profit. The flavor is not generally taken into ac- 
count, and the degree of fatness and the size settles the price. 
Salt water oysters sometimes command better prices when 
intended for a special market or to supply some unusual de- 
mand. 
With the improved appliances in use, as at present, the 
general opinion was that about twenty or tw T enty-five years 
ago one-third more oysters could have been taken in the 
northern part of Tangier Sound than at present, from two to 
five times as many about Crisfield, and in Pocomoke Sound 
nearly seven times as many as at the present day ; that with- 
out any of the modern contrivances it was possible for either 
tongers or dredgers to take many more in a day than at pres- 
ent. The general opinion of all persons in and about the 
Sound, with very few exceptions, was that the beds were be- 
ing worked much beyond their capacity and the majority 
were in favor of extending the “ close time ” as a remedy for 
the deterioration. Many thought that a resting time of a 
year or more would be beneficial. All were in favor of en- 
forcing the law prohibiting the dredging and working of the 
beds during the “ close time,” and all testified that there was 
no attempt toward the enforcement of the law at present, 
either by the oyster police or any one else. 
