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A Preliminary Report 



ON THE 



Oysters of Chandeleur Sound 



By L. R. CARY. 



The observations recorded in this report were made during 

 the latter part of January and in Febuary of 1906. 



As the primary object of the trip to this region was to 

 make investigations relating to the study of the clam and scal- 

 lop in the waters about the Chandeleur Islands, the area cov- 

 ered in the course of the oyster work was necessarily limited 

 to the waters near these islands, and did not include the im- 

 portant oyster fields lying at the western border of Chandeleur 

 Sound, in the Parish of St. Bernard. 



Over all of that part of the sound visited on this trip, the 

 bottom was made up of hard, clean sand that would afford no 

 stable place of attachment for oysters ; and, besides, during the 

 entire period of my stay in the region the water in that part 

 of the sound was always by far too salt to allow of the growth 

 of good oysters. The salinity of the water was from 1.023 to 

 -027 during this time, and while oysters are very adaptable 

 to wide changes of salinity in the water in which they live, 

 when the salinity reaches as high a point as that just mentioned 

 -the oysters growing in those waters are certain to be in the 

 poorest condition if they continue to live. 



Many empty shells were found cast up on the beach at 

 several places on the island, but no "living oysters were taken 

 from the surrounding waters. On the northern shore of the 

 ''North Islands" there is a huge bank of oyster shells four or 

 five feet in thickness, and extending out into the water from 

 ihis point, the bottom for a half mile or more b^fr thickly cov- 

 ered with empty oyster shells. Many of the shells were taken 

 up from the old reef, but not a single living oyster was found 



