Report of the Board of Shell Fish Commissioners 133 



area of the natural bars is 1,459 acres. Their in-shore bound- 

 aries are usually located in water from four to six feet in 

 depth over a bottom composed of hard sand. The bottom 

 gradually becomes softer, as the depth of water increases, until 

 the off-shore boundaries of the bars are reached on bottoms 

 composed of very soft mud in water from twelve to eighteen 

 feet in depth. The width of the oyster-producing bottom seems 

 in most, cases? to be determined by the extent of bottoms hav- 

 ing the consistency required to support oysters or shells- at or 

 near its surface. The observed velocities of currents in the 

 main channel near the mouth of the river varied from .12 to 

 .48 mile per hour; over the oyster bars from .09 to .17 mile per 

 hour. The density of the water during the period covered by 

 survey (September 19-October 12) varied from 1.006 to 1.0108 

 near the mouth of the river and from 1.005 to 1.009 in the head 

 waters. 



Thirteen small areas of surveyed bottom, ranging in extent 

 from 1.6 acres to 20 acres, aggregating a total of 95 acres, were 

 found too depleted of oysters or shells to be included with the 

 natural bars. In addition to this area, there are about 100 

 acres of bottom in South River which could be utilized for the 

 purposes of oyster culture. 



Rhode River. 

 (Chart of Natural Oyster Bars, No. 3) 



Rhode River is a small stream two and one-half miles in 

 length and one-fourth to one-half mile in width. Four tribu- 

 taries enter it from the north and one from the south. The 

 natural oyster bars in the lower part of the river have loca- 

 tions with reference to the shore line similar to those in the 

 rivers previously described, but the bars in the upper part, due 

 to the presence of islands, seem to be arranged promiscuously. 

 The natural bars, ten in number, aggregating a total area of 

 109 acres, are all small, varying in extent from four to nineteen 

 acres, and, with two exceptions, they were found to be in a 

 very unproductive condition. The bottom in most of the places 

 examined is very soft and muddy. Firm sandy bottoms 



