172 
In the foregoing tables the ground dredged o^er has been, 
divided into parallel sections, and all oysters from the beds in. 
those sections have been assembled together. 
Section 1 includes all the beds west of Hedge’s Straits. 
Section 2 the beds west of that position on the chart marked 
Red House. 
Section 3 the beds west of that position marked White 
House. 
Section 4 the beds west of Hog Heck and Cheesman’s Is- 
lands, and Section 5 the beds west of Tangier Island. 
In compiling the tables I have entered only those hauls of 
dredges that have been taken on the beds or when the oys- 
ters were in considerable numbers. The scattered and de- 
tached groups and single oysters have not been considered. 
Section 5 is not an important one, owing to the very small 
areas of all the beds encountered on it. 
By examining this table it will be seen that a total of 54 
bushels, amounting to 21,183 oysters, were examined; that 
from 200 hauls of the dredge we obtained 78.3 bushels of oys- 
ters and shells, and that 31 per cent., or 24.3 bushels of this 
matter consisted of shells or other debris. 
This percentage does not differ materially from that found 
on each section. 
Section 5 is not considered, as the percentage there does 
not entirely represent shells and other debris of the bed, blit 
rather the sponge and grass of the sand shoals. 
Regarding these beds as in their natural condition of healthy 
life, it is inferred from the deduced table that, other things be- 
ing equal, a larger percentage of debris would indicate that 
the bed was not giving, for the same amount of labor, its 
natural return, or, in other words, that the mass of old shells 
brought up by the dredge was out of proportion to the num, 
ber of oysters. 
This percentage is of value as indicating the most profita- 
ble working grounds, and also as indicating, when very large, 
that the bed has been overworked and its population de- 
stroyed, as the percentage of shells bears the same relation to 
the oysters as the unoccupied dwellings in a city do to its in- 
