202 REPORT OF THE COMMISSIONER OF FISHERIES. 
Warwick Neck and Prudence Island, and in several other localities. 
A description of the bay would hardly be complete without mention 
of these tidal currents, since a number sweep directly over some of the 
oyster beds and carry with them whatever pollution may have entered 
the water. 
THE LOCATION OF THE LEASED OYSTER GROUND IN NARRAGANSETT BAY. 
In the first annual report of the Commissioners of Shell Fisheries 
of Rhode Island it is stated that the income from the oyster ground 
leased in the Providence River during the year 1864 amounted to $61. 
In 1900 more than 3,000 acres of land in the Providence River and 
Narragansett Bay were devoted to this branch of industry, yielding an 
income of $25,000. The figures for the year 1903 show an increase of 
2,000 acres in the total area leased in that year, with a rental increased 
to nearly $45,000. 
The map on page 203 indicates the location of the leased oyster 
ground for 1900-1901, since the larger part of the oysters examined 
in this investigation were collected in the latter year. The areas occu- 
pied by the beds are outlined in dotted lines. It will be observed 
that the most extensive grounds are found in the Providence River 
rather than in the deeper waters of Narragansett Bay—in fact, there 
were but two oyster beds of any importance at this time in the bay 
proper. One was located in Wickford Harbor, 21 miles south of 
Providence; the second, under the western shore of Prudence Island, 
about 14 miles from the capital city. The Wickford layings, not rep- 
resented on the map, comprise some five or six acres of land planted 
in 6 to 10 feet of water, in the direct path of a constantly flowing tidal 
current. No sewage is discharged into this body of water, so that the 
beds are free from local contamination. As will be seen by reference 
to the map, the Prudence Island beds are located south of Pine Hill 
Point, in a bend of the land formed by the irregular coast line of the 
island. They occupy an area of some 3800 acres. There is a hard sand 
or gravel bottom in this locality, which is covered by from 10 to 15 
feet of water at mean low tide. These beds are far removed from pollu- 
tion of any sort, the nearest human habitation being at least 3 miles 
distant from this region. 
As has already been stated, the most extensive oyster grounds are 
located in the Providence River. These are two large areas, over 1,000 
acres each in extent, which lie between Warwick Neck and Bullock 
Neck. The first of these areas, known as the Rocky Point oyster beds, 
lies on the western side of the ship channel, and extends from near 
the southern shore of Warwick Neck northward to the southern bound- 
ary of Conimicut Point, the northern limit of the beds approaching to 
within 72 miles of Providence. These layings occupy a shoal that 
makes out from the western shore of the river, and is covered by water 
