would be done away with and the work of "banking" could be 

 carried on later in the spring when the open season foi- the nat- 

 ural reefs is over. 



Under the conditions on the Louisiana coast, where a bounti- 

 ful set of spat may, in most oases, be assured if only some 

 clutch is exposed, it would seem to be most economical for each 

 oyster planter to raise his own seed; but in certain sections 

 where it is said that an abundant set of spat is of rare occur- 

 rence, recourse might be had to the other method. 



In those sections along the Atlantic coast where the artiiicial 

 culture of oysters has been brought to the highest state of per- 

 fection, it has been found most practicable to utilize for seed pro- 

 duction the areas where the set of spat will most often be 

 heavy; and it usually happens that these places are the ones 

 where the growth of the adult oysters will not be so rapid as in 

 other places less adapted for the catching of spat. The two 

 phases of the industry are thus seen to supplement one another 

 and to put to its best use each of the different areas of bottom. 

 In the waters of Terrebonne Parish there are many areas well 

 adapted for the production of seed, and while on the most of 

 these the oysters may be raised until ready for the market ; for 

 the lessee of any large areas of bottom the depth of the water 

 in the places best adapted for seed production is too little for the 

 operation of the implements best adapted for working the adult 

 oysters. 



In reference to the differences between the needs of the 

 small planter and those whose operation are on a larger scale, it 

 may be mentioned that while any depth of water less than ten 

 feet is well adapted to the use of tongs, it is necessary for work- 

 ing a drag successfully that the depth be over six feet, and even 

 eight feet of the drag be of-large size. Besides, the use of mod- 

 ern implements makes possible the utilization of bottoms beyond 

 the depth where hand tongs can be worked profitably if at all. 



The study of the conditions in this parish has shown that 

 in many places where the depth of the water is too great for 

 the tongmen to work easily, the bottom and the salinity of the 

 water are very favorable for the 'cultivation of oysters. It is 

 usually true, moreover, that the swiftest currents are found in 

 the deeper bayous so that there is a constant renewal of the 



