40 Report of the Board of Shell Fish Commissioners. 



creek empties. This tributary is less than one hundred yards in 

 width at its mouth and its bottoms do not therefore come within the 

 jurisdiction of the Hainan Oyster Culture Law. The oyster pro- 

 ducing part of Swan creek proper is also small, being little more 

 than two miles in length and averaging about one- fourth of a mile in 

 width. The value of its 70 acres of natural oyster bar is due to 

 the fact that a large community of oystermen is settled in its vicin- 

 ity. These oystermen resort to the extensive oyster bars in East 

 Neck bay and to Swan Point bar for the greater part of their liveli- 

 hood and pay very little attention to the oysters on the Swan creek 

 grounds except at times when rough weather prevents work in open 

 waters. That the small bars in Swan creek are regularly worked to 

 their fullest capacity, however, is shown by the condition in which 

 they were found at the time of the survey. 



Two oyster bars were found on the sandy bottoms of the wide, 

 bay-like entrance to the creek, one situated in and beyond the 

 mouth of Tavern creek, covering 12.5 acres and charted under the 

 name Tavern Creek bar, the other, Little Neck bar, is situated west 

 of the channel and includes a part of the soft muddy bottom near 

 the channel on the north. It contains 27 acres and is covered by 

 water having a depth from five to fourteen feet. The grounds in 

 Swan creek proper which measured up to the adopted standard of 

 a natural oyster bar cover 30.5 acres and have been charted within 

 the limits of five small bars. 



Deep Point bar, situated in the narrow muddy channel just above 

 the steamboat landing, is the only bar in the creek which can be said 

 to be well stocked. Its fine condition is due partly to the deep water 

 with which it is covered and protected, but mainly to the swift cur- 

 rents by which its oysters are fed. The bars in the upper part of 

 the creek are all situated near shore, in shallow water, on bottoms 

 the greater area of which are composed of hard sand, but some are 

 stony and gravelly and some are soft. Szvan Creek Upper bar as 

 charted contains two very small bars, one on either side of the 

 stream, and the part of the barren channel between. 



The water over the oyster grounds in the lower part of the creek 

 had a density of 1.0052- 1.006 and 1. 0044-1. 005 in the upper part. 

 Observations from the houseboat "OYSTER" at the Rock Hall 

 anchorage from August 1 to 5, inclusive, show that the density 

 varied with the tides from 1.0046- 1.007. 



