15 



Alxmt four miles wi'sl from llic ciil niiic- (.f Soul Invest 

 P;iss ihtTc is ii riH'f t'mit extends from llie slioi-e. ;i|)|iro.\im;itely 

 lor one mile. Altliou-li uaiTow at its inshore end. wlieiv at low- 

 tide it is tlr\-. its widtli increases rapidly a litlle away fi'oiii the 

 sihore. so that at a dislatice of thn'O hundre(l >ards fi-oiii slior" 

 tile wei is half a mile wide. This reef, known locally anions 

 Iho fisiUM'meii as the "Little Hills'" reef, has in the past pro- 

 duced an altundance nf oysters of lariic size and exeeptionally 

 ii'ood (piality. At the present time the sui)ply of oysters on this 

 i-eef is very limited, due to excessive fisliinii". so tliat diirinfr the 

 ])i'esent season few of the ton<>ers liave found it profitable to 

 work here. A number of dredge boats have worked over the 

 outer portion of the reef, securing a good catch of fine oystei-s. 

 Counts of the eullings separated while tonging one peck of good 

 oyst(M-s from different pai'ts of the i-eef ai-e given below: 



Oy.sters. Voung Oy.sters and S[)at. Shells. 



1 peek Si) li;i 



1 peck 38 . 107 



1 l)eck 21(1 183 



Many. of the spat and young oysters less than two inches 

 in length are found attached to the large oysters, which usually 

 oeeui- singly, so that it is an extremi'ly difficult mattei- to sc^p- 

 ai-ate the culliniis without destroying them. 



In the open uulf. off .Marsh Island, extending fi-om a i)oint 

 about two miles from the west end to the eastern point, there 

 is an almost continuous mass of re(-fs. Some of thesi- are hi'.:h 

 and composed almost entirely of d('ni\ shells, while others con- 

 stitute the most valiiable^producing ai-cas of the regions. The 

 beds where the i^Dod oystei-s are found are. in most cases, con- 

 nected with some of the dry reefs, and aroniid the ])orders of 

 all of the i]ry i-ecfs a t-reater oi- less number of oystei's of good 

 <|uality are to be foutid. The most imp<u-tant reefs will be men- 

 tioned in moi-e d-tail. A lar^c reef c(.veivd with fr.mi two to 

 five f.'.-t of w-atM,- iv h„. •,<,.,! ;it th. western boi'dcr of the aiv.a 

 under coMsider.-ilioM. This i-eef ext.'nds about a mile from the 

 shoi-e. and is from one-half to thre<'-foin-ths r.f a ndl- in width. 

 At its inshoi-e eihl it is nai-i'ow and exposed at low tide, 'j'hc 

 oy.sters found here are of good si/.e and <|uality. While fonnd iih 



