388 
BULLETIN OF THE UNITED STATES FISH COMMISSION. 
office iii Bergeu-op-Zoom between 11 and 1 o’clock, seventy parcels to be sold each day. 
The sale of leasehold is to the highest bidder. Should no bid be received for a 
stated plot it is joined to the next plot to be put up. Those only are eligible as lease- 
holders who are natives of the Netherlands, who are not indebted to the state, and 
who can furnish two responsible bondsmen. In case of doubt in regard to bids the 
plot is to be at once put up and resold. A deposit of 5 per cent of the yearly rental 
must be made at the office of the secretary of the board of fisheries within eight days 
from date of sale, and a formal written lease of the parcels may there be obtained at 
a stated fee for copying. Yearly rental for oyster plots must be paid by the 1st 
of March. In inaccuracies in surveying the government — i. e., board of fisheries — 
is not to be held responsible. The lessee, however, must know his boundaries. He 
has no rijjlit to make use of land that exists or may exist between boundary lines. 
No redress is to be obtained for damages to leased property* occasioned by navi- 
gation or on account of natural causes, direct or indirect, consequent upon changes 
made in governmental drainage of land. Property can not be divided or subleased 
without written consent of the board of fisheries. Lessees are responsible for damages 
to their neighbors as well as to the state, but the state does not become responsible 
for the damages of a lessee. The numbering of the boundary stakes is intrusted to 
tenants, with a fine of 25 florins ($11) in case of neglect; when deranged on account 
of storms they must be promptly replaced. In the meanwhile, however, trespass is 
punishable by a fine of 50 florins, Culturists whose territories do not touch the bank 
have at low tide the right of way between their neighbors’ grounds. The shortest 
way to such ground is alone permitted under penalty of trespass, and in this regard, as 
in all others, the lessee becomes responsible for the doings of his employes. The cul- 
ture of mussels is forbidden on property rented for the culture of oysters, punishable 
by a fine of 100 florins. The mussels, if not at once removed by the lessee, may be 
removed by state authority at the expense of the offender. Foreign oysters are not 
to be introduced (in the East Schelde only). Those, however, dredged north of a line 
drawn between Dover and Dunkirk may be planted, if with stated consent of the board 
of fisheries. Dredging at night (one hour after sunset to one hour before sunrise) is 
punishable with a fine of 100 florins. Dredging vessels shall be numbered at the bow 
and on the sail in characters of a stated size. Water courses must not be interfered 
with. Any obstructions of this character must be removed within twenty-four hours 
after notification by the board of fisheries, or shall be removed by the state at the 
cost of the lessee. The lessee is responsible for the amount of his lease; if his hold- 
ing when sold does not furnish this amount, he is to make good the difference. All 
rights in oyster-cultural property are to be in every way subordinate to those of the 
administration of dikes and waterways. Different parcels of land are to be given 
leases of different duration. An annual lease at option of tenant may, in stated plots, 
be twice renewed. 
* A regulation not here stated provides that tiles used as collectors shall not remain in the navi- 
gable waters later than December 1. 
