Three men are engaged for a period of seven and one-half months in the oyster industry. Capital invested, $5,175 Dories, 2 Value of dories, $25 Tongs, 5 Value of implements, $50 Value of shore property, $100 Value of bedded oysters, $5,000 The oysters are taken by tonging from dories, as the water is comparatively shallow. No dredging is done. Yarmouth is the only town in the State which requires a license for taking oysters from a natural bed. _Barnstable._ Barnstable is the great oyster town of the Commonwealth, as it has the twofold distinction of possessing the most extensive industry and producing the finest quality of oysters. The causes which have brought the cultivation of oysters in this town to so flourishing a condition have been fourfold: first, Barnstable has a long coast line, much cut up by bays and rivers, which give it a very large available area; secondly, this area is remarkably suited for the cultivation of oysters, as it is for the most part hard, clean bottom, in comparatively shallow water and well sheltered from storms; thirdly, there is little damage from the enemies of the oyster,--the starfish, winkle and drill, fourthly, the waters of the township are notably pure, free from contamination, and well adapted for the production of a rapid-growing oyster of excellent quality. Barnstable township contains several villages, three of which, Cotuit, Marston's Mills and Osterville, are prosperous centers of the oyster fishery. Hyannis, a fourth village, once maintained a business of this nature, which proved unprofitable and has now practically disappeared. Oyster grants are scattered along the shores of Popponesset River and Bay, in Cotuit harbor, Bluff Channel, South Bay, Osterville Narrows and at Marston's Mills. In addition, a large but indefinite territory along the southern shore, as indicated on the map, is maintained as experimental grants. Cotuit is by far the most important center of the industry. Here the fishery is conducted on an extensive scale. The white, clean sandy bottom and the remarkably pure waters of the bay produce an oyster with a bright, clear shell, which distinguishes it from oysters grown elsewhere. This Cotuit oyster is much sought for by hotels and fancy dealers, and is universally considered par excellence among Massachusetts oysters.