558 EDIBLE OYSTERS FOUND ON THE AUSTRALIAN COAST, 



unattached unless placed there artificially, and then they will 

 not, I think, thrive well if placed much under a foot deep of 

 water at dead low water. Surely the spat from the extensive 

 beds of the Drift Oyster would sometimes find a resting place 

 on stakes or other objects below the position which Rock Oysters 

 are found, but such is not the case. It is argued that this arises 

 from the fact that the spat when emitted from the Drift Oysters 

 rises instantly to the surface and is then drifted still on the 

 surface to the nearest rocks or other objects and there attaches 

 itself ; if this were the case, why is it that the stakes which were 

 driven into the mud so much used in former times to mark the 

 position of Drift Oyster beds were never found to have Oysters 

 attached to them all the way up where they stood in the water, 

 I have myself pulled up many of these stakes on purpose to 

 examine into this point but could never discover an instance in 

 which it occurred. 



There are some circumstances connected with the Hawkes 

 Bay Oyster Beds which are well worthy of record, and although 

 contrary to the usual course of tidal events goes far in my 

 opinion to show the difference between the Eock and Drift 

 Oyster. As a rule the Bock Oyster beds are covered deeper 

 with water at high spring tide time than at any other, but in this 

 particular instance, these Bock or "real Bank Oysters " as Mr. 

 Woodward calls them, are absolutely uncovered with water '• for 

 four or five tides one after another" at spring tide time, this 

 arises from the very narrow entrance of this bay out to sea : the 

 water from the bay has time to all run out of it, but owing to 

 the intricate nature of the channel up to these beds, and the 

 many small islands just inside the narrow entrance to the sea, 

 the water does not or cannot flow in sufficiently quick to fill the 

 bay — having been previously so thoroughly emptied — to cover 

 this valuable bank of Oysters, hence the unusual occurrence of 

 their being left high and dry for four or five tides at spring tide 

 time. 



