44 SHELL-FISH COMMISSIONERS’ REPORT. Jat « 
Off Cornfield Point, in the town of Saybrook, the water 
south of Long Shoal is from 100 to 175 feet deep. 
The whole territory west of Norwalk Islands averages 
about 60 feet. 
From Norwalk Islands to the Connecticut River there 
is a strip about 60 miles long by 4 miles wide, that aver- 
ages a depth of 42 feet. 
South of the town of Stratford there is a plateau, three 
and a half miles wide, from north to south, by four miles 
long from east to west, where the water is only 20 to 25 
feet deep; and the bottom is free from mud. 
The depth along the State line near the middle of the 
Sound is 90 feet. The average depth over the whole area 
named is about 72 feet. 
A considerable portion of this immense tract will prob- 
ably prove unsuitable for oyster cultivation. Time and 
experiment will be necessary to determine how much this 
will be. 
The water in the south (New York’s) half of the Sound 
is much deeper than that in the north (Connecticut's) half; 
and the area covered by less than 60 feet is inconsiderable. 
Generally the bottom of the Sound follows the slope of 
the adjacent shore; where the coast is rugged and elevated 
the neighboring water is deep; but where the slope is 
eradual and uniform the neighboring water deepens grad- 
ually and uniformly. Occasional deep places in the water 
have corresponding elevations close by. 
All grounds of any considerable exent, under water, 
which are found overspread with growing oysters, are gen- 
erally called oyster-beds. They are artificial or natural. 
Those designed and planted by man are artificial beds; all 
others are natural beds, and they are formed by spat from 
other beds drifted by winds and tides and deposited upon 
a bottom suitable for its adhesion and growth. Bottoms 
are made suitable by changes of currents, heavy storms, 
ereat freshets, and other natural or accidental causes. 
In years gone by, many natural beds of limited area have 
been found from time to time in Connecticut waters; but 
they were soon despoiled by reckless fishing. A few nat- 
