14 



vvithin the limits suitable for the growth of oysters. The ainouni 

 of food material in the water was very large every time that 

 an examination was made, and the oysters on private bedding 

 grounds were in very good condition for the season. 



in the area included between Taylor's Bayou on the souch, 

 j\lud Hole Bayou on the west, i\lud Hole Bay on the north and 

 King Lake on the East, there is a large shallow bay known to the 

 oyster men as Banana Bay. This bay communicates with Tay- 

 lor s Bayou by a broad, siiallow pass and with the western part 

 of Kmg Lake oy a narrow uayou — i^anana Bayou. In this last- 

 mentioned bayou there are some good oysters in about fifteen 

 feet of water; but the reefs reported by Dr. Moore in 1898 as 

 being productive, are now so thoroughly depleted that they 

 ?re no longer lished. There are scattering bunches of coon 

 oysters all along the banks of the bayou. In Banana Bay the 

 water is from one to three feet deep, and there are reefs of 

 coon oysters scattered over the eastern part. Over the greater 

 part of the western half of this bay the bottom is composed 

 01 very soft mud and there are very few reefs. The salinity 

 of the water in this bay is about 1.010, and is quite constant. 

 The food plants are abundant and the supply is very stable, as 

 was shown by several determinations made under varying con- 

 ditions during the past spring. 



King Lake, at the head of Taylor's Bayou, is about two 

 miles long — north and south — and varies in width from one to 

 (>ne and one-half miles. The depth of the water in this lake 

 varies from two and one-half to five feet, being greatest near 

 the entrance to Taylor's Bayou. There are no productive nat- 

 ural reefs in this lake at the present time; but there are sev- 

 eral old reefs in the northern and central parts of the lake that 

 were of commercial importance at the time they were seen by 

 Dr. Moore, ten years ago. The bottom is 'composed of com- 

 paratively soft mud over the greater part of the lake, the firm 

 areas being confined to those formerly occupied by oyster reefs, 

 and to a comparatively narrow strip along the shore on the 

 southern and western sides. The salinity of the water varies 

 considerably in different parts of the lake, being highest near 

 the southern end and lowest in the northern portion near the 

 pass to Little Bayou du Large. In all parts of the lake, however, 



