OYSTERS. 2243

and tongs with wooden shafts, to be used entirely by hand, and without
any ropes or hoisting gear whatever. Any person or persons violating any
one of the provisions of this, section shall be liable to the penalties pre-
scribed in section 5 for taking oysters with rakes and tongs without license;
nothing in this section affect offenses committed in whole or in part before
March 20, 1910, nor pending prosecution for past offenses.

Culling.

AD. Code, sec. 8. 1904, sec. 7. 1894, ch. 380, sec. 7. 1906, ch. 439.

8. All oysters taken from any of the waters of this State, either with
scoops, dredges or any similar instruments, or tongs or rakes, shall be culled
upon their natural bed or bar whence taken, and all shells shall be returned
to the bed or bar from which they were taken, and all oysters whose shells
measure less than two and one-half inches in length, measuring from hinge
to mouth, shall be included in said culling and replaced upon said bed or
bar as taken; and the culling of oysters taken as aforesaid required by
this section shall be actually made and completed before such oysters are
thrown or deposited in the hole or bottom of any such canoe or boat or
vessel aforesaid.

This section (as it stood prior to act of 1906, ch. 439), applied to oysters taken
from private beds, as well as from natural beds. Windsor v. State, 103 Md. 615.

This section referred to as indicating that sec. 9 applies only to oysters taken
from the waters of this state. Tyler v. State, 93 Md. 310.

This section and secs. 9-17, referred to in construing see. 81—see notes to the latter.
Foote v. Stanley, 117 Md. 346 and 58 L. Ed. (U. S. Sup. Ct.) 698.

See sec. 19.

An. Code, sec. 9. 1904, sec. 8. 1894, ch. 380, sec. 8. 1900, ch. 380.

9. Any person who shall have oysters in his possession which contain
more than five per cent, of shells, and oysters less than two and one-half
inches from hinge to mouth, which for the purpose of this article are
declared to be unmerchantable oysters, shall be guilty of a misdemeanor,
and in ascertaining such percentage the officers of the oyster police force
and the measurers and inspectors are hereby authorized and directed to
select such amount of oysters from any pile, hold, bin, house or other place
as he may think proper and to require the same to be culled and disposed
of, as provided in section 11 of this article; and any person violating any
of the provisions of this section shall be subject to the penalties and fines
as provided in section 11 of this article, in precisely the same manner as
if he were a captain of a boat.

This section applies only to oysters taken from waters of this state and not to
oysters takin in another state and brought here. The object and intent of act of
1900, ch. 380. Tyler v. State, 93 Md. 310; Windsor v. State, 103 Md. 614. And see
State v. Insley, 64 Md. 29.

This section applies to oysters taken from private beds as well as from natural
beds. This section ia constitutional. Windsor v. State, 103 Md. 616.

It is not necessary for officer to cull an entire cargo of oysters; he may select and
cull any number of bushels he sees fit, amount of fine being determined by court
from evidence and admissions. Dean v. State, 98 Md. 82.

See sec. 19 and notes to sec. 8.

Cf. art. 39, sec. 96, and art. 99, sec. 27, and notes.