74 REPORT OF COMMISSIONER OF FISH AND FISHERIES. 



although there still remain on them some rather good oysters of elon- 

 gated form. The old shells are much sponge-eaten, and badly suited 

 to catch young spat. 



In Wilson Bay there were formerly several very good beds upon 

 which the oysters fattened early in the season, but these have now 

 been exhausted by overfishing. A few men fished here early during 

 the past season, but they soon found the work unprofitable and aban- 

 doned the grounds for more favorable fields. 



In Pass des Isles there are a few reefs of good oysters, and in the 

 small bayous leading off from it raccoon oysters abound. The reefs in 

 Lake Chien, which were productive eight or ten years ago, are now 

 practically exhausted, and many of the men who fished there have gone 

 to Sister Lake. Here also there is no doubt that the extinction of the 

 beds was due to overfishing, coupled, perhaps, with laxness in culling, 

 especially on the part of those engaged in planting. There are still 

 many raccoon oysters in the bayous opening into the lake, and these 

 are now used as seed by the planters. 



In Grand Bayou de Large there are about twenty camps between the 

 Gulf and Sister Lake (Lake Caillou, in part), and there are oysters all 

 along this stretch, in water varying in depth from 8 to 22 feet. Several 

 men are engaged in planting. This bayou appears to be the Bayou 

 Grand Caillou of the published charts and maps, but, if so, it is very 

 incorrectly laid down. It is difficult to identify many of the bodies <of 

 water between Timbalier Bay and Oyster Bayou or Four League Bayou, 

 as the mapping of this region was either extremely faulty in theifirst 

 instance or else the topography has undergone most remarkable 

 changes. On some maps lakes are shown where none exist; on all of 

 them important bodies of water are not shown at all, and many of those 

 indicated are incorrect, both in position and topography. 



Lake Barre, which is about 8 miles long and 3 or 4 miles broad, is 

 not shown at all on some of the maps published under both United 

 States and State authority; there is no lake east of Lake Felicity; 

 Lake Chien (southeast of Sister Lake) is not shown on any map which 

 I have seen; Sister Lake (Lake Caillou) is entirely wrong in both out- 

 line and position, and King Lake, which is practically a bay of Sister 

 Lake, is, with its connections to the westward, not shown at all. It 

 will therefore be impossible to indicate very definitely the positions of 

 the places mentioned, and they will be called by the names used by the 

 oystermen rather than those used on the maps. 



In Sister Lake there are oyster-reefs at intervals along the shores, in 

 addition to those in the center of the lake, the oysters being generally 

 of good quality, the best coming from a reef near the discharge of the 

 lake into Bayou de Large. When first discovered they were rather 

 inferior in shape and condition, but, as is usually the case, the oysters 

 have improved in both respects, owing to the breaking up of the 

 clusters and the thinning out of the dense growth. It is stated that a 

 man can take from 4 to 8 barrels of oysters per day in these waters, 



