63 



beds under one bead and considering the Bird and Hern Island Beds to be, what tbey practically 

 are, one bed, we have a table for Pocomoke, as follows: 



Table showing the success of spatting in different seasons — Pocomolce Sound. 



Tear. 



Upper Pocomoke. 



Muddy Marsh. 



1876 or '77 Unsuccessful >. Unsuccessful 



1878 Successful Moderately successful. 



1879 Moderately successful. Successful 



Bird and Hern Island 

 Beds. 



Parker's and Brig Beds. 



Unsuccessful i Moderately successful. 



Successful Successful. 



Moderately successful. | Unsuccessful. 



With regard to these tables, it must be remembered that the success or want of it is only by 

 comparison with previous years, nor does it necessarily mean that there has been even a moderate 

 attachment, but only that one year was better than another. 



By combining the first and second classes and third and fourth on each bed, and combining 

 such beds as are similarly situated and contiguous, I -have arranged the following table for com- 

 parison with the similar one of the dredging results on the beds in the bay: 



Table II. — Dredging results — Tangier and Pocomolce Sounds. 



Name of bed. 



Shark's Fin. 

 Were Point. 



Oysters. 



Oysters. 



Tyler's Bed . . . 

 Horsey's Bar. 



Drumming Shoal . 



Cow and Calf 



Grass Tangier 



Turtle Egg Island 



Mud Bed 



Muscle Hole 



871 

 651 



1,522 



250 

 31 



281 



2,105 



85 



937 



1,275 



2,101 



3,928 





Chain Shoal 



Piney Island Bar . 



Manokin River . . . 

 Big Annemessex . 



Harris Bed 



Terrapin Sands . . . 



8,326 



5,132 



5,821 

 2,163 

 1,913 

 2,299 

 1,392 



871 

 383 



1,254 



47 



135 



1,909 



23 

 1,140 

 2,189 

 3,236 



5,752 



Ratio. 



Name of bed. 



1.0 

 0.58 



0.82 



Jane's Island . 

 Great Bed 



934 



4,073 



12, 340 



2,340 



13, 927 



16, 267 

 3,327 

 3,751 

 8,378 

 3, 402 



0.35 

 1.51 



0.48 



0.90 



0.25 

 1.21 

 1.71 

 1.53 

 1.46 



1.48 



3.41 



2.711 



2.79! 



Woman's Marsh 



Little Thoroughfare . 

 Great Thoroughfare. 



California Bed 



Johnson's Bed 



Dog Fish Bed. 



Flat Bed 



Trevise Bed . . 

 Shell Bed 



1.51 



1.96 

 I 



3.64 



2.44 



Muddy Marsh . . . 



Bird Bed 



Hern Island Bed. 



Parker's Bed 

 Brig Bed 



5,007 



1,820 

 272 

 668 



1,283 

 93 



3,980 

 12, 209 



16, 189 



3,176 



1,048 



5,493 



1,852 



125 



2,316 



358 

 80 

 44 



125 



8,518 



270 

 26 

 63 

 39 



607 

 602 



283 



241 



257 



524 



307 

 257 



329 



1,191 

 145 



Ratio. 



4.26 

 3.00 



3.23 



1.74 

 3.85 

 8.22 

 1.44 

 1.34 



3.67 



0.75 

 0.32 

 1.43 

 0.31 



0.65 



0.04 



0.25 

 1.07 



0.62 



3.87 

 0.56 



The ratios underlined thus ( ) are the only ones considered, and show the ratio of young growth to mature oysters in each locality. 



I find the ratio of young growth to mature oysters to be, generally speaking, a constantly 

 increasing one from the head of Tangier Sound to the last sectiou. 



In my report of the investigation carried on in 1878, I called attention to the noticeable 

 absence of "young" on the beds above Piuey Island Bar and Kedge's Strait, and to the large 

 attachment on the southern beds, and the ratios in Table II begin increasing materially on those 

 beds where there was a successful attachment of young during the previous season. 



Referring to the "Spatting Table," it will be seen that on the upper section there has not been 

 a successful attachment since 1876-77; hence, the mature oysters from two to three years old, the 



