161 
labor, and leave the overworked beds for the newly discovered 
ones, thus giving the former a chance for recuperation. That 
this is the case is evident by the record of statistics, most of 
the dredging vessels working on the new beds outside the 
Sound and on those in the Potomac River on account of the 
poor returns given by the beds in Tangier and Pocomoke 
Sounds. 
The protection afforded in this manner would, however, be 
but temporary, the demand for oysters constantly increasing, 
and the number of vessels working liable to increase with it. 
It may soon be necessary to legislate for the direct protection 
of the beds and to limit the supply by law before it is stop- 
ped entirely by nature It is well, therefore, for the best in- 
terests of all classes that such an amount of information 
should be collected, as to the character of the beds and oysters 
and the general conditions under which they advantageously 
live, as would direct protective laws into a channel productive 
of most good. 
The first necessary information to be obtained, and of 
greatest moment, would be a knowledge of the positions and 
areas of the beds. ISTo law could well be passed which would 
protect a bed whose position and boundary was not at least 
approximately known, nor could any study of separate beds 
or comparisons of many be undertaken without such knowl- 
edge. Again, since nature has already selected these areas as 
those most favorable to the growth and life of the oyster, they 
evidently are the best grounds upon which to deposit the 
young brood, should the experiments of Dr. Brooks prove suc- 
cessful and of practical importance. 
It is hardly possible to enumerate all the advantages of 
knowing the positions and areas of the natural beds, and in- 
deed it may safely be said that a thorough study of the oyster 
question would be impossible without it. 
Of next importance is the knowledge whether at any time 
the bed is in a condition of greatest fecundity. 
In the attempt to attain this knowledge the proportion of 
oysters to the square yard of the surface was ascertained dur- 
ing the season of 1878, as described by me in my previous 
11 
