OYSTER BOTTOMS IN VICINITY OF APALACHICOLA, FLA. 51 
it has a depth of about 34 feet. The rather firm bed consists of blue 
mud and sand and is surrounded by a soft bottom. A station off the 
north end of the bar revealed a penetration of 11 feet with the testing 
pole. . 
The oysters’are good shaped and in small clusters. At the time of 
the investigation they were fresh, fat, and milky. An examination 
of this bar showed about 24 bushels of oysters under 3 inches and 
155 bushels of large ones per acre. 
34. SUTERS LUMPS. 
Situated between Bayou Bar and Hoppe Flat are three small lumps 
totaling 7 acres. Two have dense and the other very scattering 
growths of oysters. These patches were not examined in detail, but 
their location is indicated on the chart. 
35. BAYOU BAR. 
Beginning with a skirting of very scattering growth of oysters along 
the north shore of St. Vincent Island just east of the entrance to Big 
Bayou, this bar ranges northward for upward of a half mile, then 
bears to the east for about three-fourths mile in three tolerably well- 
defined arms. Its greatest width is approximately 500 yards, and its 
extent is about 177 acres. The depth of water at mean low tide is from 
2 feet inshore to about 4 feet at the northern margin. The bed is only 
fairly well raised above the immediate floor and will hardly average 6 
inches for its entire perimeter. The bottom is hard and consists prin- 
cipally of sand and mud withsome scraps. The dense area lying to the 
eastward comprises about 60 per cent;scattering growth, in two small 
sections, 13 per cent; and very scattering, the connecting link between 
the main body and the island shore, about 26 per cent of the bar. 
The oysters are very large and occur singly or in small clusters. 
When inspected they were fat, fresh, milky, and growing rapidly. 
Mussels, barnacles, and sea lettuce were found at nearly every station. 
The acreage, character of growth, and details of examination are 
shown in the following tables: 
OysTER GROWTH ON Bayou Bar. 
Oysters per acre. Esti- 
pes es ke ee | a 
Character of oyster growth. Area. content 
Under 3} Over3 Total of 
inches. | inches. * | oysters. 
Acres. | Bushels. | Bushels. | Bushels. | Bushels. 
RUISG nis's sce ciet ene cine e sta. «ea eens cok Soe 106 1 235 25 26, 606 
Scattering ................ Soe ase ee Sane <i 24 7 94 101 2,424 
Very, SCatterMpte 28 292 ee 47 0 73 73 3,431 
