OYSTER CULTURE EXPERIMENTS IN LOUISIANA. 



41 



hviufr 1.01()7. Tho .salinity is least in spring and summer and greatest 

 ill DoomuIhm- iiiul Jaiiiun-v. The bottom of the greater part of the 

 lake is I'oniposoil of .soft mud, hut there is a fringe of moderately 

 \\'.\i\\ bottom e.\ten(Hiig around most of the rim for a distance of 

 several hundred yards from the shore. Near the entrance to Wilson 

 Bay and at several other places in the southern part of Pelican Lake 

 there are hard areas of limited extent occupying, apparently, the 

 sites of extinct oyster beds. Oyster planting is at present confined 

 to the littoral fringe of moderately hard bottom, and although the 

 soft bottoms of the center of the lake eventually may be utilized, 

 their preparation would involve an expense so considerable as to 

 prevent their occupation until the naturally more suitable bottoms are 

 more fully occupied. 



In oyster food Pelican Lake is richer than any waters between 

 there and Barataria Bay, with the single exception of Timbalier 

 Bay, with which it is about on a parity. In this respect, however, 

 it is inferior to the sites of the experimental plants at Falsemouth 

 Bay, Bay Tambour, and Bayou St. Denis, but is superior to Three- 

 mile Ba}^ and Seabreeze. The most prolific waters are in the north- 

 ern part of the lake, where the influence of the strong currents in 

 Bayou Go-to-Hell is experienced, the region clo.se to Wilson Pass, 

 also a locality with strong currents, being fair. The fluctuations in 

 the food supply, the specific gravities, and the temperatures of the 

 water, observed at various times during the course of the investiga- 

 tions, are shown in the following table. In most cases the data re- 

 corded are the averages of several observations made practically 

 simultaneously in different parts of the lake. 



Food Content, Specific Gravity, and Temperature of Water at Pelican 



Lake. 



