THE OYSTER INDUSTRY OF MARYLAND. 
211 
In 1852 (ch. 57) the removal of empty shells from any oyster reefs in Worcester 
County for any purpose whatever was prohibited. These shells were generally manu- 
factured into lime. The quantity of small oysters and shells used from 1810 to 1860 
for fertilizing purposes after being burned, or without that treatment, is surprisingly 
large. The oysters together with the empty shells and debris, or the “run of the 
rock,” could be purchased in large quantities for 2 to 4 cents per bushel, a tongman 
being able to catch from 40 to 100 bushels per day. The stock was of the same grade 
as now sells for 10 to 20 cents per bushel for planting purposes. The lime was worth 
from 3 to 8 cents per bushel, and was spread over the land sometimes as plentifully as 
75 or 100 bushels to the acre. By this method of treatment large areas of land that 
produced nothing but June grass were made very productive by further cultivation. 
The use of oysters for this purpose continued in some localities of Maryland even as 
late as 1875, and it is stated on reliable authority that in 1873 oysters were sold at 2 
cents per bushel in Talbot County for this use. 
In 1854 (L. 1854, ch. 4) a material change was effected in the fishery, and the use 
of the reefs of the State by the tongmen exclusively was modified by it being made 
lawful for citizens of Somerset County to take oysters with small dredges or scrapes 
in any of the waters of that county not part of a creek and not within 200 yards of 
the shore and not less than 21 feet deep. Before engaging in. scraping (as this form 
of oystering when prosecuted within the limits of a county is now designated) each 
vessel was required to obtain a license at a cost of $15, the revenue derived therefrom 
being applied to the school fund of the county. This was the first oyster license law 
operative in Maryland, and almost the first in America. 
The military operations in Maryland and Virginia from 1861 to 1865, and the 
consequent disorganization of the oyster trade, put a temporary check on the advance 
of the fishery. But the market demand for oysters increased, being due largely to the 
extension of the canning trade during that period, and consequently the prices ruled 
high, the average received by the oystermen in 1863-64 and 1864-65 being about 70 
cents per bushel. This resulted in great prosperity to those fishermen who were 
successful in continuing their operations. 
From 1865 to 1893 . — This period practically covers the time in which the industry 
has been of great extent and importance. The discontent among the oystermen of 
other counties at the special privilege enjoyed by the residents of Somerset under 
the act of 1854 (ch. 4), the high rate at which oysters were selling by reason of the 
recent military operations and the fact that (by means of tongs) oysters in depths of 
water greater than 23 feet could not readily be obtained, together with the great diffi- 
culty in enforcing the law then existing, led in 1865 (ch. 181) to a repeal of the entire 
body of the general law affecting the oyster industry and the enactment of another 
in lieu thereof, the general features of which have remained to the present time. 
The principal changes effected by the new law were as follows : It required that 
no person should engage in catching oysters within the waters of the State for pur- 
poses of sale with any implement whatever without first having obtained an annual 
license for the boat or vessel employed. For every boat engaged in tonging, the owner 
thereof was required to pay a license fee of $5. The fee for dredging was at the rate 
of $5 for each ton of measurement of the vessel employed, and the use of dredges 
was authorized only from September 1 to June 1, and within specified portions of 
the Chesapeake Bay. All license fees were to be paid into the State treasury, and 
no steamboat or steam machinery was permitted to be used in catching oysters. 
