37 



den stoi-ins by shifting the bottom wo\ild nndonbtedly bury num- 

 bers of clams if not sweep entire beds away (as is sug^'ested in 

 connection with No. VII.). It is also probable that many of the 

 scallop shells found on the sand fiats were destroyed in this 

 manner. 



V. DESCRIPTIOX OF SCALLOP BEDS. 



While a general description of the flat on which the scallops 

 are fonnd has already been given, it will be necessary to refer 

 more explicitly to some of the areas where they are most 

 abundant. 



1. On the flat below the lighthouse the "eel" grass covers 

 the bottom almost completely for about two miles. Soutli of 

 this point several sand spits break up the grassy bottom. Over 

 this grassy area of about one square mile, scallops are fairly 

 abundant at a depth of from two to four feet. At the lower 

 end, near the sand spits, they were less numerous, although 

 many dead shells with hinge ligament intact were seen washed 

 up on the spits. 



2. About eight miles below the lower end of this bed, scal- 

 lops are very abundant on the flat for a distance of about six 

 miles. The bed here averages three-quarters of a mile in width 

 and covers about four and a half square miles. 



3. South of clam bed No, IV. the flat for about one and a 

 half miles was very thickly covered with scallops. Close to 

 the clam spit they were apparently more abundant than at any 

 other place we visited. This Avas probably due to the fact that 

 we were able to wade around and "tread" them out instead 

 of depending on seeing them from the skiff. Probably had we 

 been able to search for them in the same manner at the other 

 beds they would have proved equally abundant. A short dis- 

 tance below the island no live scallops were found, but the num- 

 bers of dead shells seen op the sand flat near the edge of t^ir^ 

 water indicated that they were abundant near b.v. This area, 

 with an approximate area of one square mile, would undoubt- 

 edly prove to be larger at other seasons of the year.. 



Near the lower end of the island the "eel" grass bottom 

 was very abundant, but few live scallops were seen on the brief 

 visit made there. 



