62 OYSTER BOTTOMS IN VICINITY OF APALACHICOLA, FLA. 
tenths, were established and maintained for all or part of the time. 
One station was located at Cat Point (East Point, Fla.) from January 
16 to April 9; the second station was at Apalachicola, Fla., from 
January 21 to April 15; the third on St. Vincent Island near West 
Pass from March 23 to April 16; the fourth at the camps along the 
north shore of St. Vincent Sound from April 2 to 20. The readings 
were made hourly from 8 a. m. to 5 p. m., excepting at the Apalachi- 
cola station, which was read every hour, day and night, from its 
establishment until the last of February, then the same as for the 
other stations for the remainder of the period. 
At the Cat Point station the highest tide recorded was on February 
23, when the water stood at 5.8 feet on the gauge, and the lowest was 
on January 29, when it fell to 1 foot, a maximum range of 4.8 feet. 
At Apalachicola on the same dates there was a range of 4.1 feet, but 
on February 1, from 3 to 4 a. m., the water reached a height of 6.8 
feet, and on February 8, from 5 to 6 a. m., it stood at 2.4 feet, making 
a range of 4.4 feet. The West Pass station showed a maximum 
range of 1.8 feet and the camp stations about 2 feet. The mean 
range of tide was 1.5 feet for all stations, except West Pass, which 
was | foot. 
The daily ebb and flow of the tide, though often augmented by high 
winds, is sufficiently strong to afford satisfactory currents for trans- 
porting food and oxygen to the oysters. 
SALINITY AND TEMPERATURE OF THE WATER. 
The connections or entrances at the eastern end of St. George 
Sound, West and Indian Passes, afford ample means for the com- 
mingling of the waters from the Gulf of Mexico with the fresh water 
brought down by the Carrabelle, Apalachicola, St. Marks, and other 
affluents. Throughout the entire district surveyed there was a 
marked range in the degree of salinity, which varied from almost 
fresh water suitable for drinking purposes to that nearly equal to 
open-sea water. At times, especially during ebb tide, together with 
freshets and favorable winds, the salinity was greatly reduced in 
certain sections. Early in the survey it was noted that compara- 
tively fresh muddy water from East Bay overlapped the heavier 
clear salt water and extended for some distance east or west of that 
bay, depending largely on the direction of the wind before becoming 
thoroughly mixed. In this way the oyster beds are supplied with 
food, as it appears to be carried for many miles. If the direction of 
the currents be eastward, Cat Point and Porter Bars may have food- 
bearing waters spreading over them for some time before Bulkhead 
and East Hole Bars. 
The character and quality of the oyster, as well as the presence or 
absence of certain enemies, are governed largely by the amount of 
