252 
BULLETIN OF THE UNITED STATES FISH COMMISSION. 
be not an oyster bed and to be distinctly defined by stakes or other proper marks, and 
to be described under oath, said description to be recorded in the office of the clerk 
of the circuit court of the county. The right to the location ceased on the failure of 
the preemptor to each year deposit thereon “ sufficient oysters or other shellfish to 
preserve the growth of the bed.” The owner of lands bordering a creek not exceeding 
100 yards in width was also given exclusive right to use the same for a similar pur- 
pose; and the unauthorized removal of oysters from any of these preempted areas was 
declared a misdemeanor. 
While New Jersey and Rhode Island were in point of time ahead of Maryland in 
authorizing the planting of oysters, yet the regulations adopted by the latter conform 
more to the present recognition of the needs of a planting industry. 
The following list of dates showing the time of the recognition or granting by 
legislative enactment in each of the United States of some form of private right in 
planted oysters is of interest : 
Rank. 
State. 
Date. 
Reference. 
1 
i New Jersey 
1820, June 9 
L. 1820. 
2 
Rhode Island 
1827, October 
l! 1827,' ch. 5. 
3 
Maryland 
1830, February 16 
L. 1829-30, ch. 87. 
4 
Connecticut 
1842, June 10 
L. 1842, ch. 38. 
5 
Massachusetts 
1845, March 17 
Private L. 1845, ch. 138. 
6 
South Carolina 
1847, December 17 ... . 
L. 1847-48, ch. 3024. 
7 
Delaware 
1849, February 28 
L. 1849, ch. 414. 
8 
Virginia 
1849, March 16 
L. 1848-49, ch. 125. 
9 
Maine 
1849, August 15 
L. 1849, ch. 142. 
10 
California 
1852, April 28 
L. 1851-52, ch. 117. 
11 
Georgia 
1856, February 18 
L. 1855-56, ch. 8. 
12 
Mississippi 
1856, March 11 
L. 1856-57, ch. 95. 
13 
New York 
1859, April 18 
L. 1859, ch. 468. 
14 
Oregon 
1862, September 27 
L. 1862. 
15 
Alabama 
1872, February 28 
L. 1871-72, ch. 28. 
16 
Washington 
1873, November 5 
L. 1873. 
17 
Texas 
1879, March 8 
L. 1879, ch. 28. 
18 
Florida 
1881, January 29 
L. 1881, ch. 3615. 
19 
North Carolina 1 
1883, March 9 
L. 1883, ch. 332, 
20 
Louisiana 
1886 ’ JUly8 
L. 1886, ch. 106. 
There are official records in many of the Maryland counties, and particularly in 
Somerset, indicating that some of the residents immediately availed themselves of the 
privilege of preempting planting-grounds, but no data exist to show that the planting 
attained any commercial extent. 
In 1842 (L. 1841-42, ch. 270) further provision was made for oyster-planting in 
this State, and citizens owning lands lying on any navigable waters, the lines of which 
included any cove or portion of such waters not navigable by licensed vessels, were 
given absolute right to all deposits of oysters or other shellfish that might be made 
by them thereon, and by act of 1846 the provisions of this law were extended so as to 
cover navigable waters similarly situated. 
In 1843 (L. 1842-43, ch. 4) an act local to Worcester County was passed authorizing 
any resident of that county to preempt 2 acres of ground in Parker Bay, situated 
within the limits of Worcester County, and after having said area properly surveyed 
and the notice of preemption recorded among the county records, to hold the same 
for planting oysters or other shellfish for a period of five years from the date of the 
act; and persons unlawfully removing oysters from such preempted areas were guilty 
of theft. But in 1845 (L. 1844-45, ch. 163) the foregoing act was repealed and in 1846 
(L. 1845-46, ch. 40) an enactment was passed identical to the one of 1843, except that 
the limit of preemption was fixed at one acre instead of two. 
