THE OYSTER INDUSTRY OF MARYLAND. 
219 
Natural oyster reefs of Maryland and area on which each form of fishery is authorized. 
No data are at hand to exhibit the extent to which these beds are at present 
stocked with oysters. The method by which information of this nature has usually 
been obtaiued has been to dredge over the reefs and compare the number of oysters 
secured with the area over which the dredge has passed. It is not a satisfactory pro- 
cess, the quantity of oysters obtained thereby fluctuating according to the condition 
of the weather and bottom, the form and speed of the vessel, length of drag rope, 
construction and general manipulation of the dredge, and the ability and conscientious 
accuracy of the person conducting the examination; and under no circumstances 
does the dredge catch all the oysters in its path. 
The report of the Maryland oyster commission of 1884 indicated as a result of 
their examinations in 1882 an average of 0.267 oysters to the square yard. But the 
catch during the following season is generally admitted to have amounted to at least 
8,000,000 bushels or 2,000,000,000 oysters, an average of 1.89 oysters to the square yard, 
or according to the area of reefs as reported by that commission (193 miles), an 
average of 3.34. Probably less than 50 per cent of the number of oysters on the beds 
were caught during that season, indicating an average of at least 3.78 (or 6.68 if the 
area as reported by the Maryland commission be accepted) to the square yard. No 
recent examinations have been made for the entire bay to discover the number of 
oysters on the beds. 
While this is an excellent method for learning the prospects of a good fishery 
during the ensuing season, yet the number of oysters on the reefs is so dependent 
upon seasonal conditions and the attachment of “sets” during the two preceding 
summers that unless the examination be continued over a period of years it is not of 
great value for determining the condition of the industry. 
As will be seen on the accompanying chart, a very large portion of the oyster 
reefs in Maryland are situated on the Eastern Shore in the four great indentations, Tan- 
gier region, Clioptank River, Eastern Bay, and Chester River. On the Western Shore 
the prominent oyster localities are the Potomac and Patuxent rivers, and the “ West- 
ern Shore Bay grounds,” or those on the western bank of the Chesapeake from Pool 
