84 REPORT OF COMMISSIONER OF FISH AND FISHERIES. 



communication between Bastian Bay and the extreme southern part of 

 Bay Adam, oyster-planting is also carried on to a considerable extent. 

 In these places the drumfish is less troublesome than in Bayou Cook, 

 but great damage is done to the beds by the conch or snail. 



It is estimated that about 500 men are employed in oystering in the 

 Bayou Cook region, i)ractically all of whom are engaged in operations 

 pertaining to planting and the transportation of the planted oysters to 

 market. Most of these are alien-born, being principally natives of the 

 Slavonic provinces of Austria, but there are also some native-born 

 planters, usually Creoles. In Cyprian Bay, Bay Coquette, and vicinity, 

 most of the planters are Creoles or other natives. 



• .OYSTER-PLANTING IN JEFFERSON PARISH. 



In Barataria Bay the oyster industry amounts to practically nothing, 

 owing to the extermination of the natural beds and the almost com- 

 plete neglect of oyster-culture. A few oysters are planted for home 

 consumption near Grand Isle, and one or two men at that place plant a 

 few for the markets, but the entire production for all purposes is very 

 small. A few oysters from Timbalier are planted on a small bed in 

 Bay Coquette, near the mouth of the canal, in La Fourche Parish. In 

 Bay Devise, shown on the Coast Survey Charts as Cat Bay, one, or 

 perhaps two, persons have planted oysters on what appears to have 

 been formerly a natural reef, although it has not been productive for 

 several years. In the few cases cited seed oysters are brought from 

 Timbalier Bay, and it is stated that except at Grand Isle it is impos- 

 sible to secure a set of oyster spat upon shell or upon cultch. The 

 oystermen think that it is possible to do so at Grand Isle for some 

 mysterious reason connected with the drainage of fresh water from the 

 island, but it is probable that a set could be obtained anywhere in the 

 southern half of Barataria Bay and its connected waters if there were 

 but enough adult oysters to furnish the young. As there are practi- 

 cally no adult oysters, except those on the few planted beds mentioned, 

 over the greater part of this region, it is useless to expect young oysters 

 to grow. The belief of some of the oystermen that young oysters are 

 generated spontaneously under certain peculiar conditions of admixture 

 Of fresh and salt water is a biological absurdity. 



The general conditions for oyster-culture appear to be good, and it is 

 quite probable, indeed almost a certainty, that self-perpetuating beds 

 might be readily established by bringing adult oysters from the Tim- 

 balier or other natural beds and planting them upon suitable bottom 

 in any part of Barataria Bay south of the mouth of Champaign Bay, 

 and jirobably for some distance north of that point. In the upper 

 parts of the main bay, which is locally known as Grand Lake, and in 

 Hackberry Bay, Creole Bay, Bay Batiste, and their connections, it is 

 probable that the water will prove too fresh in which to raise oysters 

 of good quality, if, indeed, they could be grown at all. 



After establishing the planted beds of brood oysters there should 



