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16 Report of the Board of Shell Fish Commissioners. 
| REPORT OF SURVEYS AND EXAMINATIONS 
OF OYSTER GROUNDS. 
FOREWORD. 
As in the former report, the survey of the oyster grounds — 
is described herein as having proceeded from north to south — 
in the counties on the Western Shore, and from south to north _ 
in the counties on the Eastern Shore. Grounds located in — 
sections designated by law for the exclusive use of tongmen — 
in each county are described first, the descriptions of grounds 
on which scrapers or dredgers may work following. a 
All facts relating to natural oyster bars which lend them- 
selves to a statistical form of presentation, such as names, — 
dates, areas, numbers of corners, conditions as represented 
by number of oysters per square yard or bushels of oysters — 
per acre, are included in tables, one set for each county, 
placed after the text in each case. Subject-matter which can — : 
not be satisfactorily reported by the statistical method is — 
given in the text. | } 
The feature of the Maryland survey which distinguishes it — 
from former surveys of oyster grounds and which gives it its 
right to be considered a real investigation of the oyster 
grounds of Maryland, is that of the series of examinations — 
carried on in connection with the lines of soundings and — 
chain-wire readings. The results of these examinations con- _ 
stitute the basis upon which the status of the grounds, whether _ 
natural oyster bar or leasable bottoms, is determined by the 
Commission. It was very early realized that thre accuracy — 
of the final result of the survey depends almost entirely upon 
the number and proper location of the stations at which ex- 
aminations are made on the oyster grounds in each locality 
and an endeavor has been made to increase the number of 
these examinations to the fullest capacity of the equipment 
at hand and to perfect the method by which the examinations 
are conducted. The number of examinations made this sea- 
Son (2,252) more than doubles the number (988) made dur- 
ing the season of 1907, and is about five times the number _ 
(440) made in 1906. . 4 
The names of the practical oystermen engaged by the Com- 
mission to make the examinations of the bottoms surveyed 
during the period covered by this report, are given in the _ 
list which follows: 
