33 



In Bay Crocodile, and m the two bay.)us last lueutioued, the 

 salinity of the water is generally about 1.014; but during the 

 ireshet in April of this year the water in the bay was fresh, and 

 in the upper part of both bayous the salinity was less than 1.UU2 

 at a depth of ten feet. As might be expected, tliere was a 

 great variation in the amount of oyster food found in these 

 waters at dilferent times; but in March, 1907, when the condi- 

 tions were normal, the food supply was abundant. 



The advisability of utilizing these bottoms for oyster culture 

 would depend on the probability of the occurrence of periods 

 when the water is fresh for a considerable length of time. There 

 is no doubt of the restocking of the beds, as there is an abund- 

 ance of fry in these waters at each breeding season. The only 

 thing to be determined is whether or not the freshets will be 

 too frequent and too severe to allow the oysters to reach a 

 marketable size. In past years destructive freshets are said to 

 have been of infrequent occurrence, so that the best evidence 

 obtainable at the present time would go to show that there are 

 no unusual risks to be encountered in cultivating oysters in these 

 waters. 



South of Welsh Bay there is an arm of Cat Island Lake 

 some five or six miles long, and one-half to one mile wide, which 

 is separated from the open part of the bay by a chain of small 

 islands. The depth of the water is generally about six feet over 

 all of this body of water. The bottom is composed of finn mud 

 except in some of the shallow places along the shores of the 

 islands on the northeast side. There are some very large old 

 reefs in the central part of this body of water, but no living 

 oysters were found on any of them. 



In the upper part of this body of water the salinity was 

 1.0154. practically the same as in Welsh Bay. In the lower part 

 the salinity was 1.0174. The number of food organisms in the 

 water was always fairly large and varied very little from time 

 to time. 



Cat Island Lake (Terrebonne Bay) is about ten miles wide 

 and about the same in its greatest length. In the lower part of 

 the bay tbe depth of the water is in most places about twelve 

 feet, and from here it shoals very gradually toward the upper 

 end of tbe lake where the depth is generally about six feet. In 



