THE OYSTER INDUSTRY OF MARYLAND. 
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come within that classification, in the hopes that under cover of the general sympathy 
being aroused in favor of the planters their scheme may prove successful. 
What is desired is that the general assembly directly or indirectly determine 
specifically and precisely by metes and bounds what areas are open for location, per- 
mit the preemption of sufficient area to justify a person in devoting his attention to 
it, and settle the tenure for a specified period of time. 
But there is a trouble greater than all the foregoing factors combined, and that 
is the lack of protection to the oysters from being removed by persons refusing to 
recognize private ownership in bedded oysters. The lots are so small that they do 
not warrant the expense of the watchmen employed in other planting localities. Prac- 
tically all the oysters may be removed from a lot in one night, and it is almost impos- 
sible to convict the offenders, it not being possible to identify the stolen goods. If 
apprehended and arrested and the removal of the oysters proven, a question then 
arises as to the location being a natural reef. But even if the offender be convicted, 
which is not usual, he is guilty only of a misdemeanor and may escape with a fine of 
from $20 to $200, while the value of the property obtained may have been many times 
that amount. 
Confronted by these conditions, the oystermen who would otherwise engage in 
planting prefer to sell their small oysters for whatever they may bring rather than 
risk the uncertainties of harvesting a planted crop and endure the accompanying 
contentions with their neighbors. 
The planting law of Worcester County is quite similar to that operative in the 
Chesapeake region. The area of preemption is limited to 5 acres, the planters have 
no security of tenure, and they do not locate natural reefs. But there is this dis- 
tinctive difference: the person unlawfully removing oysters from private areas in that 
county is guilty of felony, punishable with imprisonment in the penitentiary for from 
one to two years; and under the good influence of this provision, backed by a popu- 
lar sentiment favorable to the planters, much of the bedding resources of the waters 
of that county are utilized, notwithstanding the small encouragement given by the 
general assembly. 
The State as an oyster farmer . — The feeling is current among certain classes in 
Maryland that if the cultivation of oysters within the waters of that State be practica- 
ble the work should be undertaken by the State at large or by counties for the benefit 
either of the people of the State in general or of the counties respectively. Giving 
practice to this theory, a number of procedures have been authorized by the general 
assembly for improving the productiveness or increasing the area of the public beds. 
The first attempt in this line was made in 1874 (ch. 77), when the county commis- 
sioners of Worcester County were authorized to expend all the revenue derived from 
the issuing of tonging licenses in that county in the purchase of seed oysters to be 
planted in the Sinepuxent Bay. The total amount of revenue derived from this source 
up to the present time has amounted to $4,690, but only a portion of it has been 
devoted directly to the purposes noted, and this mainly for planting small seed or the 
“ run of the oyster rocks ” during those years immediately following the enactment, 
the county commissioners being merely authorized and not required to purchase the 
seed oysters. During recent years few oysters or shells have been bedded on the public 
reefs by that county, the money being expended indirectly for the benefit of the 
oyster industry, as in cutting a canal, the building of necessary landing facilities, etc. 
