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REPORT OF COMMISSIONER OF FISH AND FISHERIES. 121 
system of winding creeks and rivers, separating the ‘sea islands from 
one another and from the mainland. Oysters are found in most of the 
creeks and rivers which are suited to their growth, but they occur 
mainly as fringing ledges along the borders between the levels of high 
and low tide. In only a few localities do they grow naturally in the 
stream bed, and their cultivation or improvement by transplanting has 
not hitherto been attempted, except upon a very limited scale. 
The water that circulates through these oyster-bearing channels is 
derived from several sources, the sea on one side, the rivers from the 
interior, neighboring springs, and land seepage on the other. That 
coming from the sea has the high salinity or density of the ocean, while 
the rest is fresh. As is naturally to be expected from the positions 
and relations of these numerous bodies, their contents, resulting from 
the mixture of different waters, present a great diversity as regards 
saltness, and the density in each is subject to great and frequent varia- 
tions through the tides and seasonal changes. Moreover, the larger 
rivers bring down an immense quantity of sediment, which, becoming 
widely disseminated, fills many of the channels with highly discolored 
water, especially during times of freshets. From this source, and prob- 
ably from others also, the channels have derived, over a large part of 
their extent, a very soft, muddy bottom, not capable of supporting 
heavy objects of any character. 
The reason for the peculiar distribution of the oysters, above referred 
to, which obtains also in Georgia, in some parts of North Carolina, and 
on the outer coast of Virginia, has not positively been determined, but 
it may possibly be due to the high specific gravity of the water. The 
heavy sediment and soft character of the bottom may also have some 
influence in that respect. The solution of this question is of great 
practical importance, as the result will have much weight in determin- 
ing the methods of oyster-culture best suited to the State, and it is 
proposed to give further attention to the matter at the first convenient 
opportunity. The problem involved is as to whether the spat derived 
from mature oysters planted on the bottom will attach themselves in 
Similar situations; in fact, as to whether such beds would be self- 
sustaining, as they are, to a greater or less extent, in all the principal 
oyster regions farther north. The present indications are that in the 
South Carolina waters whose salinity is above a certain standard the 
spat or embryos, which are free-swimming during the earlier part of 
their existence, float only at the surface, and therefore have the means 
of attaching themselves only between the levels of high and low tide. 
In any case, however, a very simple and effective means of cultivation is 
presented in the transplanting of the raccoon oysters from the tide 
ledges to suitable bottoms in deeper water, where they rapidly attain 
a better shape and quality. The raccoon ledges are a source of seed, 
which, if properly protected, can be made the basis of an extersive 
industry, and one probably of great profit. 
