42 



Lake Barre ou the south, and with Old Bayou Casse-tete on the 

 east.' The water is about four feet deep over the greater part 

 of the bay, while in the eastern end the depth increases to six 

 feet. There are some small dead reefs in the southern part of 

 the bay, and some few oysters of very good size and quality are 

 found on two small areas; one in the eastern, and one in the 

 northwestern part. The bottom is firm over all this bay with 

 the exception of some small patches along the banks in shallow 

 water. 



The salinity of the water was 1.0128. The amount of oyster 

 food was large at- each time that an examination was made. 



About one-half of a mile east of the entrance to Bay La 

 Peur from Lake Barre, there are the outlets bf two bayous, 

 each of which at its upper end opens into Lake Tambour. The 

 westernmost of these bayous. Old Bayou Casse-tete, opens into 

 Lake Tambour near the middle of its south side by a broad pass, 

 and from here the bayou continues in a westerly direction for 

 several miles and has another opening into the lake near the 

 western end of the latter. In the portion of the bayou below 

 the first pass to Lake Tambour, the bottom in the channel is 

 covered with an almost continuous oyster reef, the patches of 

 barren bottom being of insignificant size. The depth of the 

 Vv-ater over this reef varies from three to twenty-two feet. In 

 the barren patches between the bunches of oysters the bottom 

 if^, composed of very soft deep mud. The oysters taken from 

 most parts of this reef are found in densely crowded 'clusters, each 

 cluster springing from an old shell buried deep in the mud. The 

 shape and condition of the oysters from most parts of the reef 

 IS usually poor, except where the reefs have been broken up to 

 some extent and the oysters liberated from their crowded condi- 

 tion. So far as could be learned the oysters on these reefs are 

 not fished for market to any great extent ; but with the reefs in 

 the bayou next to be mentioned they constitute one of the most 

 important seed-producing areas in the eastern part of the parish. 

 Above the first pass to Lake Tambour, there are some oysters 

 in the deeper part of the bayou, and some small reefs along 

 the flats. The greater part of the bottom is barren of oys- 

 ters and composed of soft mud. 



jExcept in times of unusually severe freshets, the salinity of 

 the water in this bayou is about 1.014, and the amount of oyster 



