21 



old. An oyster-man was busy collecting and had a heap ready to send to 

 Karachi. He told us he was paid at the rate of 4 annas a dozen delivered in 

 Karachi. After seeing these rocks I was able to understand why the oyster* 

 men consider this the best locality for oysters. Even now in spite of constant 

 depletion oysters abound here, and cover with living multitudes every available 

 inch of rock. The rocks are composed of a coarse gritty limestone very suitable 

 to give foothold to oysters. From the appearance of the cliffs and country 

 around it is evident that when floods come the rush of water ensures a splendid 

 scour and prepares and fits the surfaces of oysters and rock to receive and 

 retain a plentiful amount of spat if it comes soon after this I believe is the 

 sequence, floods in July and August, spat-fall in September. 



86. From the mouth upwards to the oyster beds, a line of bare gritty 

 limestone cliffs margins the river ; beyond the beds the cliffs and hills bend away 

 from the river. The land along the right or Baluchistan bank is low and sandy, 

 a single high rocky outlier alone breaking the level. The Sind side alone is of 

 value in regard to oysters. 



87. .Returning to the " May Queen " we sailed for Karachi at 7 p.m. but 

 again made a long passage, not arriving there till 9 o'clock the following 

 morning, 3rd November. 



88. The period of my deputation necessitated departure for Bombay by the 

 mail steamer sailing on the evening of 4th November. I had, however, not yet 

 seen the dead or exhausted beds of Kuranji creek ; these had once had a reputa- 

 tion for extreme richness, and as I attached considerable importance to an 

 examination of their present-day condition, Mr. Judd kindly arranged the trip. 

 Taking the morning train to Landhi, we thence went by camels to Wagudar, 

 a noted spring issuing from the base of the rocky escarpment forming the 

 northern bank of Kuranji creek. The spring is near the mouth of this creek ; 

 the dwellers and workers in the creeks come long distances for loads of this 

 water which is conducted across a quarter of a mile of mud flats by a mud- 

 banked gutter to a pool at low-tide level where boats load up. A boat was 

 waiting for us in the creek with divers. The first place inspected was the wide 



Mangrove cohered 

 Mud fLats. 



/ d & I mud flats. 



Hydri. \ 



I ^" 



; 



i 



^ / 



y 



f Sketch Plan of ftstdero &f?n/ Kum/tji Creek 

 to show the iocs} / on cf the principal oyster be* 

 B 6958 Sfj d 0f the swaf/er pf?es(6) w Kttnmji Creek. 



