OYSTER CULTURE EXPERIMENTS IN LOUISIANA. 17 



on the coast of Louisiana offered superior advantages for oyster cul- 

 ture. The currents are strong, both on the experimental beds and 

 for a considerable distance in all directions on average tides at half 

 ebb and half flood, ranging from about two-thirds to 1 mile per hour. 

 This insures a good circulation of water, the frequent renewal of the 

 food supply, and the practical certainty of a good set of spat upon 

 material exposed at the proper season. 



The specific gravity of the water, which is a measure of its salinity, 

 ranged from 1.002 during the crevasse of 1907 to 1.017, or, in other 

 words, from practically fresh water to that which was essentially 

 a mixture of two parts o'f sea water to one of fresh. The average for 

 the whole period of the experiment was 1.009, or, if we exclude the 

 period of the crevasse, it was about 1.012. This salinity, which ap- 

 pears to be maintained quite uniformly during the oyster-shipping 

 season, is well adapted to producing oysters of excellent flavor for 

 " counter stock." 



Prior to the experiment it had been feared that in case of a crevasse 

 discharging through any of the bayous opening into the head of the 

 bay the water would become so fresh as to kill the oysters planted on 

 this bed. In the spring of 1907 the levees broke at Live Oak and a 

 great volume of river water coursed down Bayou St. Denis, and 

 especially Grand Bayou, keeping the water on the experimental beds 

 almost fresh during most of May and June. The only effect was 

 practically to prevent a set of spat during these months, the adult 

 oysters being unharmed. This was a rather severe test, and it demon- 

 strates that but little or no harm is likely to occur from ordinary 

 crevasses discharging into the drainage basins of bayous opening into 

 the head of the bay, and that unless the freshet should continue as 

 late as September the set of young would not be prevented. 



The bottom in this vicinity is moderately hard, owing principally 

 to the large numbers of clam shells embedded in the mud. Over an 

 area of several hundred acres surrounding the experimental plant the 

 bottom is in many places more or less devoid of buried shells and 

 somewhat softer, but well within the limits suitable for oyster cul- 

 ture. Still farther removed from the experimental plant the char- 

 acter of the bottom is unknown, but there is probably a considerable 

 area immediately available and undoubtedly much m.ore that a mod- 

 erate coating of shells would make suitable. 



With use all of this area would soon become harder from the col- 

 lection of shells in and on the mud, and eventually would present 

 characteristics similar to those found on the younger natural reefs. 

 This phenomenon is well known to planters and oyster men, and it is 

 a common practice in Louisiana to " shell " the bottom so as to estab- 

 lish on the soft mud a suitable foundation for the deposit of oysters 

 pending the collection of a full cargo for market. •- ■ - - --' 



