66 REPORT OF COMMISSIONER OF FISH AND FISHERIES. 



Near the middle of the west side of the island, lying in a cove, is a 

 dense bed of rather good, large oysters on hard bottom. There are few 

 barnacles here, but mussels are abundant. The rest of the oysters on 

 the west side of the island are of the kind described as characteristic 

 of the soft bottom. 



Treasure Bay, Mussel Bayou, and vicinity. — The waters included under 

 this heading, except a portion of Treasure Bay, are not shown upon the 

 accompanying chart, inasmuch as a proper survey has never been made. 

 They embrace an intricate system of shallow bays and bayous lying 

 southwest of Indian Mound Bay. Tbe bottom is almost everywhere 

 composed of a very soft, deep mud, and the density of the water is low. 

 The oysters are usually long, narrow, clustered, aud rather poor in 

 condition and flavor. The shells are covered with great clusters of 

 large mussels aud some barnacles, the growth of the former being 

 more luxuriant than at any other place in the Parish of St. Bernard. 

 Immediately south of Dutchman Pass there is a rather dense bed of 

 oysters lying in a bight behind a small island. Upon the denser parts 

 of this bed the oysters are rather small and are in clusters, but near 

 the edges, in the deeper water, there is a scattering growth of single 

 oysters of excellent shape and flavor aud very fat. A limited amount 

 of young growth is found upon these single oysters, but the denser 

 growth near shore is well covered with spat. The bottom in the vicinity 

 of this bed is composed of hard mud. 



Mississippi Sound. — There are probably beds of oysters scattered 

 here and there on the shoals throughout such parts of Mississippi 

 Sound as fall within the limits of St. Bernard Parish, but with the 

 exception of those near the entrance to Lake Borgne and in the vicinity 

 of Isle a Pitre they are rarely or never worked by the oystermen and 

 were not investigated by the Fish HaicTc. Scattered oysters cover the 

 whole stretch between Lake Borgne Light and St. Joseph Island, but 

 as they lie within the limits of the State of Mississippi they are not 

 represented on the chart. In the deep waters lying between Lake 

 Borgne Light aud Half-moon Island many small beds of oysters are 

 found in depths of from 7 to 25 feet, most of them being in less than 

 15 feet. These beds, being small and numerous, could not be definitely 

 located without the consumption of more time than was at our disposal, 

 and they are therefore indicated only in the most general way on the 

 accompanying chart. Upon most of these the growth was a scattering 

 one, but there was one bed lying in 8 to 10 feet of water which was 

 quite dense. There is another dense bed lying on the northeast side of 

 Half-moon Island, close inshore and in a depth of from 3 to 7 feet, 

 where all of the oysters were small, apparently the result of last year's 

 spatting, and iu dense clusters. They will probably be fit for use in the 

 canneries next season, but unless broken up and transplanted they will 

 never be suitable for the " shell trade." This is evidently an old bed 

 recently rejuvenated. 



