54 THE OYSTER FISHERIES. 



bottom, destroying and clearing away all the obstructive 

 growth, and to-day on that same area exists one of the most 

 prolific beds which the Colony possesses. 



It is easy thus to account for the fact of the deep-water 

 beds having ceased their yield — the lower water had become 

 too salt to sustain oyster life — the sources of supply were 

 thus reduced to the foreshore deposits, the top water therein 

 still maintaining a sufficient percentage of saltness. The 

 correctness of this theory, which the writer, about ten 

 years since, had officially promulgated, has been practically 

 demonstrated by Mr. Henry Woodward, the lessee of some 

 extensive oyster fisheries, who has devoted much time to 

 the study and practice of ostreiculture. In an interesting 

 brochure which he has written, he describes an experiment 

 he had instituted for increasing the productive capabilities of 

 some of his beds at Wallis' Lake ; he got satisfactory results, 

 but at the time he never dreamt of attributing it to the 

 salinity of the water : — 



About four years ago (he writes), I leased the oyster-beds at Wallis' Lake. 

 The oysters had become very scarce, but my men told me there was an 

 immense quantity of oysters on a bank, which, if laid down on the beds, 

 would grow into good oysters. 



I went there, and this is a description of the place : You enter the Heads 

 and are at once in the lake, which is studded with islands. Oysters begin 

 to show from the very entrance, but run small, as they do at most places 

 near the sea. The good part of the fishery begins at about two miles from 

 the entrance from the sea and extends about two miles up. About three 

 miles from the entrance is the mouth of theEiver "Wollomba, which empties 

 itself in the lake. Now, at the mouth of this river a great bank of sand, 

 shells, &c., runs right across, which blocks the salt water from running up 

 and the fresh from running down, except at the top of high water. 



It was on the top of this bank the great quantity of oysters laid, but, 

 owing to the short time w^ater covered them, they grew very slowly and were 

 always poor in quality. These were the oysters I now began to operate on, 

 by removing them off the high bank and placing them in beds upon which 

 they would always be in water. I had one portion of them carried up the 

 river, and laid upon an old bed situated well out in the river, and over which 

 there was always from 9 in. to 15 in. of water ; the remainder were carried 

 down into the lake and laid on a bed that had been a famous one for breed- 

 ing and fattening purposes. 



In about six months' time the result began to show. The oysters that 

 had been laid up the river gretv into first-class oysters ; those that had been 

 laid in the lake died. Six thousand bushels of oysters were laid on that lake- 

 bed, and they were literally all lost. I could name the whole of the men 

 that were engaged in the work. They are all at work on our rivers ; many 

 of them work for me at the present time. 



Not one of us engaged in this work could at that time give any feasible 

 reason why one portion of the oysters laid down had all died and the others 

 did well, for at that time we never thought of salt as a factor in the matter ; 



