18 



OYSTER BOTTOMS OF MISSISSIPPI SOUND, ALA. 



The following table exhibits the data obtamed from the examina- 

 tion made of this bed : 



Details of Examination op Pass des Huitres Bed. 



PASS DES HUITRES FLATS. 



This bed, contiguous with the preceding and the following, lies on 

 the shallow flats south of Pass des Huitres, where the depth at low 

 water ranges from 6 inches to 2 feet, excepting on the western side, 

 where a depth of 5 feet is found on the edge of the area of very scat- 

 tering growth. 



The area, density of growth, and total content of oysters on the bed 

 as arbitrarily defined in this report are shown in the following table: 



Oyster Growth on Pass des Huitres Flats. 



The dense growth lies in the part of the bed toward MobQe Bay, 

 where it commences as a sharply defined ridge rismg abruptly from a 

 depth of about 3 feet over the mud to about 1 foot near the edge of the 

 oysters. The eastern part of the dense area is composed of a mass 

 of shells, but in the western part there are some sandy areas covering 

 a shelly substratum. 



The scattering growth merges with the western edge of the dense 

 area where the water begins to deepen, and this in turn passes grad- 

 ually to an area of very scattermg oysters lying on soft mud in which 



