187 
found on the unworked beds in the Bay, no comparison, ex- 
cept in one way, is just, the conditions of bottom and differ- 
ence of growth upon the worked and unworked beds differing 
so materially. 
The proportions on any bed, obtained by the method we 
have used, will always be much less than what is really the 
case, but they will be much less true on an unworked bed 
than upon one which has been for some time subjected to 
dredging influences, and where the bottom is soft and yield- 
ing, and the oysters grow singly or in small clusters instead 
of being cemented together and to the surface stratum, as 
they are on the undredged beds. Therefore any proportions 
obtained from a bed which has been worked should be larger 
than that obtained from an un worked one. How much so, it 
is impossible to say, but it is evident that a smaller proportion 
would indicate a failure of the mature oysters. 
In calculating these proportions only first and second class 
oysters have been considered. 
It will be seen by the table that on all the beds above 
Hedge’s Straits there has been a marked decrease in the num- 
ber of oysters to the square yard. That on the remaining 
beds, with the exception of Woman’s Marsh and Johnson’s 
Rocks, and considering the Thoroughfare Rocks as one, there 
has been an increase in the number of oysters. 
That on all the beds in Pocomoke Sound there has been a 
marked decrease. 
It will also be seen that on many of the beds the propor- 
tion falls below the standard of 0.4, that on none of them is 
it very much greater, and that generally speaking the propor- 
tions are less than the standard on those beds that show a 
gain upon the proportion established during 1878. 
It would appear then, by one comparison, that most of the 
beds have not a sufficient number of mature oysters upon 
them ; and by the other, that however many were taken off, 
yet nature could more than supply the demand. 
These inconsistent results may be the result of several 
causes. The standard proportion may be too high, but, as 
has been explained, if the beds are in equally good condition, 
