37 



During the past spring, however, there was a period ol' about 

 two weeks when the water in all of the bays above Grand Pass 

 Jack was nearly fresh. The greater part of this fresh water came 

 from Bayou Terrebonne through Bayou Jack. It was impossible 

 1e determine at the time of our last visit whether or not the 

 freshet had been severe enough to do any serious damage to the 

 oyster beds; but the oyster men say that there has never been 

 any great amount of damage from that source in past years. 



In Terrebonne Bayou for a distance of from three and one- 

 half to four miles above the entrance to Bayou La Graisse there 

 are, or have been, oyster reefs of commercial importance. At 

 the present time the greater part of the bottom is leased for 

 some three miles above the pass. Above these leased areas there 

 are still some natural reefs; but the danger from fresh water is 

 so great that one would not be justified in planting oysters on 

 any of this bottom. The bottom is soft outside of the areas 

 bearing shells, and in the shallower portions the mud is very 

 deep. 



With the exception of about two. weeks in April, 1907, the 

 salinity of the water was high enough to assure the well-being of 

 oysters for some distance above the point where any of the Feases 

 are located. The average salinity near the pass at the lower end 

 of the area under consideration was 1.0128. The amount oF oys- 

 ter food in the water was always large under normal conditions 



During the heavy rains of the past spring the bayou, down to 

 the entrance to Bayou La Graisse, was filled with black, swampy 

 water; although at flood tides the water over the leases for som3 

 distance up the bayou became quite salt}^ The greater part of 

 this fresh water was reported to have come from a canal near 

 the head waters of the bayou, the cause of the escape of the 

 fresh water being the breaking away of the locks in the canal. 

 If this was the case, such an occurrence is likely to be very infre- 

 quent, and the unfavorable conditions prevalent at that time 

 should not be given much weight in considering the value of these 

 waters for oyster culture. 



In Terrebonne Bayou below Bayou La Graisse there is a 

 stretch of about one mile where the water is not more than two 

 feet deep, and where the bottom is composed of extremely soft 

 mud. The filling up of this part of the bayou was brought 



