214 
tive fishing of many of the beds in the Sounds during the 
last four or five years — that is, exhaustive of mature brood 
oysters — and that consequently the large ratios of young to 
mature oysters is not the result of a large attachment of 
young, but rather of the removal of the older oysters, and, 
hence, the change from a large ratio to a very small one, or 
vice versa, may be regarded as a safe indication of the dete- 
rioration of the bed, for, as explained in the previous part 
of this report, the ratio will remain abnormally large until 
the young growth reach maturity, when it will become abnor- 
mally small, and will so remain for a few years, when it will 
again become very large, and this process will continue for 
some time, until the beds are practically unfit for dredging, 
as is the case in Pocomoke Sound. 
Thus w T e see that not even the ratios alone are sure indica- 
tions of the increase or decrease in the number of oysters, but 
that they must be considered together with other facts before 
we can arrive at just conclusions. 
By reference to the closing paragraphs of that part of the 
report relating to the fecundity of the beds, it is noticed that 
the amount of debris increases on the southern Tangier beds, 
and that on most of the beds of the Sounds it is much greater 
than it was in the Bay. 
An increase of this percentage, as already pointed out, is 
an indication of the deterioration of the beds, and is due to 
the destructive effects of the dredging, which not only re- 
moves many oysters, but so disturbs many others that their 
destruction is an almost assured fact. 
To a certain extent this cannot be helped, and is a neces- 
sary incident of the lishery, but overworking the beds in- 
creases this evil as well as others, as is evident by the percent- 
age on many of the Pocomoke beds. 
Referring to the table showing the number of oysters re- 
moved in 1878, and also comparing it with the table of pro- 
portions to the square yard, the following may be noticed: 
1st. In the upper part of Tangier Sound the proportions 
to the square yard are very large, which is probably due to 
the shoalness of the water and the soft bottom, which allowed 
