THE OYSTER INDUSTRY OF MARYLAND. 
241 
The average ‘‘length of life” of a dredging vessel is about thirty-live years. As 
this braneh of the oyster fishery has been prosecuted less than that time, and as the 
number of vessels built each year indicates in a general way the prosperity of the 
fishery, the following table is presented, showing the years in which were built the 
vessels and boats employed in 1891-92 : 
Table showing the years in which were built the vessels dredging in 1891-92. 
This table shows that from 1875 to 1879 and from 1885 to 1892 the inducements to 
build dredging vessels and boats were much less than during the periods immediately 
preceding, the number built during these thirteen years being an average of 16 per 
year, while from 1870 to 1874 and from 1880 to 1884 the average number each year was 
29. In 1890-91 the oldest vessel engaged in dredging was the Intrepid, 32.16 tons, 
which was built in 1810 and is doubtless the oldest vessel in America. The Juvenile , 
32.39 tons, the Halcyon , 17.02 tons, and the William Washington , 18.98, built, respect- 
ively, in 1827, 1835, and .1836, ranked next in the order of age. During the next season 
the Intrepid left the business to younger and more speedy boats, but the Juvenile 
and Halcyon remained in the fishery during that season and also in 1892-93. 
For the purpose of exhibiting the distribution of the dredging vessels and boats 
the following table is presented, showing the number hailing from each county during 
the seasons noted : 
F. C. B. 1892—16 
