OYSTER CULTURE EXPERIMENTS IN LOUISIANA. 



41 



being 1.0167. The salinity is least in spring and summer and greatest 

 in December and January. The bottom of the greater part of the 

 •lake is composed of soft mud, but there is a fringe of moderately 

 hard bottom extending 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 Bay 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 close 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. 



Date. 



1906. 



June 6 



July 8 



August 20 



November 7 



1907. 



January 1" 



April 20 



May 9 



10 



29 



June 30.............. 



July 23 



December 7 



190S. 



April 15 



June 16 



Average 



