OYSTER BOTTOMS OF MISSISSIPPI SOUND, ALA. 



45 



tongs will not always take up all oysters within their grasp, and as 

 the foregoing estimates are based primarily on the area of bottom 

 covered by a ^'grab" and the number of oysters taken therein, the 

 actual density of growth is somewhat greater than shown. Where 

 the oysters do not lie so thickly this is not true. 



On some of the beds, notably Buoy Keef, Grants Pass, Pass aux 

 Herons, and Redfish Gully, oystering had been carried on for a 

 month or two prior to the examination, and the survey therefore 

 disclosed fewer oysters than had been on the beds at the beginning 

 of the season. Moreover, the bushel as measured by the survey 

 party contains probably at least 30 per cent more oysters than the 

 ordinary market bushel, as to secure uniformity in the case of the 

 former the oysters are culled and the clusters broken to singles and 

 doubles and carefully packed in the measure. 



Of less immediate importance, but greater potential significance 

 than the marketable oysters, are the young ones. Upon them depends 

 the future of the fishery. A bed with a large number of healthy 

 young, not unduly subject to accident, is an asset of more value than 

 a bed of old oysters whose future is imperiled by a deficiency of spat. 

 That in this respect the principal beds covered by the survey are in 

 good condition is shown by the following table: 



Summarized Content op YotTNG Oysters on Public Beds. 



Name of bed. 



Kings Bayou Reef 



Bayou Reef „ . . 



Cedar Point Reef 



Pass des Huitres 



Pass des Huitres Flats 



Dutch Gully 



Dutch Island 



Big Gully 



Peter Billys Gully 



Grants Pass 



Pass aux Herons 



Redfish Gully 



Black Lumps 



West Side Little Dauphin Island. 



Mussel Gully 



Sand Reef 



Dauphin Island Bay 



Sprinkels Bay 



Collier Bay 



East Base 



Half-Moon Patches 



Heron Bay, east side 



Heron Bay, west side 



Northwest Arm, Heron Bay 



Middle Ground 



Grassy Island 



Goose Bayou 



Southwest Van signal 



East of Marsh Island 



Planted oysters. Porters ville Bay. 



North end, Portersville Bay 



West Side, Cofiee Island 



Total. 



Character of oyster growth. 



Dense. 



Bushels. 

 11,544 

 42,218 

 14,000 

 19, 345 

 36,112 

 8,034 

 13, 524 

 12, 496 

 12, 636 

 17,600 

 49,163 

 48, 279 



23,760 



16 

 3,434 

 1,674 



116 



380 



70 



104 



2,000 



316,505 



Scatter- 

 ing. 



Bushels. 



5,610 

 2,541 

 6,390 

 5,371 

 4,218 

 6,258 

 2,770 



3,339 

 448 

 286 



1,820 



11,285 



2,548 



143 

 118 

 640 



53, 785 



Vrry 

 scatter- 

 ing. 



Bushels. 



8,200 



1,444 



864 



1,014 



560 

 "3," 354' 



6,664 

 522 



1,353 

 798 



3,850 



104 

 550 



4,280 

 '2,842' 



244 



36,643 



Depleted. 



Bushels. 

 324 

 348 



4,984 



3,960 

 

 



2,940 

 360 



1,078 



1,404 



1,632 



1,603 



26,400 



7,980 



741 



9 



240 







84 



420 



40 







54,547 



Total. 



Bushels. 



20, 068 



49,620 



22, 389 



25, 735 



42,497 



12, 252 



23, 742 



15, 266 



13, 196 



23,879 



53,325 



48, 565 



9,562 



1,926 



2,985 



37,446 



32, 798 



7,980 



741 



9 



360 



4,127 



1,876 



1,060 



4,396 



40 



3,222 



70 



104 



2,000 



244 







461,480 



