EUROPEAN METHODS OF OYSTER-CULTURE, 
387 
acquisition of leaseholds, has prevented monopoly. It appears to he evident to the 
authorities, however, that cultivation carried on generally on a small scale would 
not be as productive either to proprietor, employe, or state as the present system. 
Competition in price with foreign oysters is, it is claimed, the safety valve of the Dutch 
system of oyster-culture. It is instructive, however, to find that foreign seed oysters 
can not be imported into the East Schelde (although they may be in immediately 
neighboring waters). The reason is a commercial one, albeit the culturists maintain 
that they are struggling to prevent the importation of oyster enemies. The outcome 
of the discussion during the past year between Prof. Hoek and Mr. van Msse* will, 
it is expected, be the importation of French seed oysters, whose cheapness can not 
fail to have an effect in decreasing local production, extending elevage , and reducing 
the market price of the Zeeland oyster. 
(2) As to the leasing of state oyster lands and oyster legislation : Holland has no 
laws governing the oyster industry; that is, in the sense of general laws. Thus, for 
example, there is no season when oysters must not be dredged or marketed. This no 
doubt is the consequence of leasing out the oyster land and of the absence of public 
grounds from which the oysters may be dredged. The oyster laws thus disappearing, 
their purpose is, however, retained, but in a more personal manner. The state be- 
comes a landlord, whose lease is law to the tenant. The board of fisheries determine 
what each lease shall be, its duration and conditions, and sell it by auction to the 
highest bidder, claiming thereby to adjust with greater nicety the requirements of 
state regulation to natural local conditions. A law suited for one cultural locality, it 
is claimed, is severe for another ; even a part of a locality is not to be governed by the 
restrictions applicable to cultural needs in shallower or deeper water. The terms of 
leasehold are studied, as may well be done in so small a district, by the inspector 
of fisheries, whose report suggests needful changes or alterations. Land hired for 
oyster-culture, it is argued, is like that hired for farming. If a person secures a good 
lease, and is deriving a good profit from it, he must be willing to bid in its leasehold, 
but at the same time his neighbors have an equal right to compete for it. Thus it is 
best for both tenants and landlord, the state as the landlord deriving, no doubt, an 
immediate benefit from this course of policy. 
All lands suitable for oyster- culture may be leased, their value naturally depend- 
ing on their situation, suitability for collecting and for elevage , the length of time 
under water, and the character of bottom. In favored localities the tracts grow 
smaller as competition for their leasehold increases. Polders (waste land behind 
dikes) may be converted into oyster parks and become profitable to the state as well 
as to individuals when rented under the same conditions as the outside property. The 
lease between landlord and tenant represents the code of the oyster industry. 
Each year the sale of parcels of land is advertised. A catalogue prepared by the 
inspector of fisheries, Mr. 0. J. Bottemanne, announces the plots to be leased, the 
terms of the contraets, and the time and place of the sale. The conditions uuder 
which the present leasehold is given may thus be briefly stated, translated from the 
Voorwaarden van Verpachting van Yischplaatsen Schelpdieren-Visscherijen en Weer- 
visscherijen, Coster- Schelde (Tholen, 1891). The auction takes place in a notary’s 
* Verlag van den Staat der Ned. Zeevissclierijen, 1891, pp. 83,84. 
