﻿OYSTER 
  REGIONS 
  OF 
  APALACHICOLA 
  BAY, 
  ETC. 
  189 
  

  

  lost 
  in 
  the 
  hurricane 
  on 
  the 
  night 
  of 
  February 
  5. 
  The 
  launch 
  was 
  very- 
  

   old 
  and 
  was 
  worn 
  out 
  in 
  service, 
  and 
  had 
  previously 
  been 
  condemned. 
  

  

  During- 
  February, 
  189G, 
  a 
  good 
  deal 
  of 
  sickness 
  was 
  experienced 
  by 
  

   the 
  party, 
  there 
  being 
  sometimes 
  as 
  many 
  as 
  six 
  men 
  on 
  the 
  sick 
  list 
  

   at 
  one 
  time. 
  This 
  caused 
  either 
  suspension 
  of 
  part 
  of 
  the 
  work 
  or 
  

   double 
  labor 
  for 
  those 
  who 
  remained 
  in 
  good 
  health, 
  as 
  the 
  efforts 
  of 
  

   every 
  officer 
  and 
  man 
  on 
  board 
  were 
  taxed 
  to 
  their 
  utmost 
  throughout 
  

   the 
  season. 
  

  

  The 
  work 
  was 
  begun 
  on 
  N^ovember 
  12, 
  1895, 
  and 
  continued 
  until 
  

   March 
  28, 
  1896, 
  without 
  intermission, 
  except 
  from 
  December 
  23 
  to 
  

   December 
  28, 
  1895, 
  when 
  a 
  run 
  to 
  Pensacola 
  was 
  necessary 
  to 
  replenish 
  

   the 
  coal 
  supply. 
  On 
  March 
  17 
  I 
  received 
  instructions 
  from 
  the 
  acting 
  

   Commissioner 
  to 
  close 
  the 
  work 
  in 
  time 
  to 
  arrive 
  in 
  the 
  Delaware 
  for 
  

   the 
  season's 
  shad 
  hatching. 
  By 
  this 
  time 
  all 
  work 
  of 
  importance 
  had 
  

   been 
  finished, 
  and 
  there 
  only 
  remained 
  to 
  survey 
  a 
  few 
  oyster 
  beds 
  in 
  St. 
  

   George 
  Sound, 
  which 
  were 
  of 
  little 
  account, 
  as 
  no 
  marketable 
  oysters 
  

   are 
  obtained 
  from 
  them. 
  

  

  A 
  report 
  by 
  Mr. 
  H. 
  F. 
  Moore, 
  assistant. 
  United 
  States 
  Fish 
  Commis- 
  

   sion, 
  upon 
  the 
  specimens 
  collected 
  from 
  the 
  oyster 
  beds, 
  is 
  appended 
  

   (pp. 
  218-220). 
  

  

  GENERAL 
  SCHEME 
  AND 
  METHODS 
  OF 
  WORK. 
  

  

  The 
  work, 
  in 
  accordance 
  with 
  the 
  instructions 
  given, 
  was 
  not 
  to 
  be 
  

   a 
  mere 
  reconnoissance 
  or 
  examination 
  of 
  a 
  few 
  important 
  beds, 
  but 
  a 
  

   complete 
  survey 
  of 
  every 
  bed 
  and 
  area 
  where 
  oysters 
  were 
  found, 
  as 
  

   well 
  as 
  a 
  thorough 
  examination 
  of 
  the 
  bottom 
  of 
  the 
  whole 
  region 
  cov- 
  

   ered, 
  in 
  order 
  to 
  determine 
  its 
  suitability 
  for 
  oyster-planting. 
  There- 
  

   fore 
  it 
  was 
  necessary 
  to 
  adopt 
  a 
  scheme 
  of 
  hydrographic 
  surveying, 
  in 
  

   which 
  the 
  lines 
  of 
  soundings 
  should 
  be 
  close 
  enough 
  together 
  to 
  insure 
  

   the 
  detection 
  of 
  every 
  oyster 
  reef, 
  however 
  small, 
  and 
  show 
  the 
  charac- 
  

   ter 
  of 
  the 
  bottom 
  in 
  every 
  locality, 
  and 
  at 
  the 
  same 
  time 
  not 
  to 
  run 
  the 
  

   lines 
  unnecessarily 
  close, 
  so 
  that 
  the 
  work 
  might 
  be 
  pushed 
  on 
  as 
  quickly 
  

   as 
  possible. 
  The 
  local 
  oystermen, 
  although 
  able 
  to 
  give 
  the 
  approx- 
  

   imate 
  location 
  of 
  the 
  more 
  important 
  beds, 
  could 
  not, 
  of 
  course, 
  be 
  

   depended 
  upon 
  to 
  give 
  the 
  limits 
  of 
  all 
  regions 
  where 
  oysters 
  were 
  

   found 
  or 
  to 
  give 
  the 
  locations 
  of 
  the 
  smaller 
  beds. 
  These 
  facts 
  could 
  

   only 
  be 
  determined 
  by 
  actually 
  running 
  the 
  lines, 
  keeping 
  an 
  accurate 
  

   record, 
  and 
  plotting 
  the 
  resulting 
  development 
  on 
  the 
  projection. 
  How- 
  

   ever, 
  the 
  elaborate 
  development 
  of 
  the 
  bottom, 
  as 
  generally 
  required 
  in 
  

   the 
  Coast 
  Survey 
  work, 
  was 
  not 
  here 
  necessary, 
  and 
  the 
  ground 
  could 
  be 
  

   covered 
  more 
  quickly, 
  as 
  far 
  as 
  the 
  hydrographic 
  part 
  was 
  concerned. 
  

   But, 
  in 
  addition 
  to 
  the 
  hydrographic 
  work, 
  there 
  were 
  many 
  other 
  con- 
  

   siderations. 
  Of 
  the 
  first 
  importance 
  was 
  the 
  question 
  of 
  density 
  or 
  

   salinity 
  of 
  the 
  water, 
  the 
  determination 
  of 
  which 
  alone 
  would 
  show 
  to 
  

   a 
  great 
  degree 
  the 
  suitability 
  of 
  any 
  locality 
  fi)r 
  cultivating 
  purposes. 
  

  

  The 
  questions 
  of 
  the 
  physical 
  observations 
  on 
  the 
  beds 
  and 
  the 
  exam- 
  

   inations 
  of 
  the 
  oysters 
  themselves 
  were 
  of 
  the 
  greatest 
  importance. 
  

   It 
  was 
  necessary 
  that 
  sufficiently 
  accurate 
  current 
  observations 
  should 
  

  

  