60 OYSTER BOTTOMS OF MISSISSIPPI SOUND, ALA. 



HERON BAY. 



Between the two natural beds lying on the opposite sides of this 

 bay is an area of about 70 acres of muddy bottom ranging from 

 moderately stiff to soft, a considerable part of which could be used 

 for oyster culture. In places the mud holds buried shells. 



PORTERSVILLE BAY (INCLUDING FOWL RIVER BAY). 



In general, the whole of this bay, with the exception of its north- 

 west quarter, has a bottom sufficiently firm for oyster planting, and 

 even in the excepted area there is good bottom close to the shores. 

 In Fowl River Bay the mud ranges from moderately soft to stiff, but 

 in the southern half of Portersville Bay proper the bottom consists of 

 hard and stiff mud and small patches of sand. In many places the 

 bottom is stratified, a very compact layer underlying from 4 to 8 or 

 10 inches of less hard material. Between Cat Island and Murder 

 Point there are considerable quantities of oysters, indicated on the 

 chart as private beds. It is estimated that about 5,250 acres of good 

 planting bottom lie within the limits of Portersville and Fowl River 

 Bays, including that held under riparian rights. 



SOUTH OF PORTERSVILLE BAY. 



From Marsh and Cat Islands a sand spit extends southward for a 

 distance of about 3 miles. In the shoaler part of this toward the 

 islands the bottom is shifting, but about a mile off shore in a depth 

 of from 5 to 9 feet of water there is sufficient mud blended with the 

 sand to give it stability. This area, lying just north of the middle 

 of the sound opposite Marsh Island, covers approximately 1,700 

 acres. 



WEST AND SOUTHWEST OF COFFEE ISLAND. 



In this region there is a triangular area with Coffee Island as its 

 base and its apex about IJ miles to the westward, in which a con- 

 siderable part of the bottom lies west and southwest of the southern 

 part of the island, where it is composed of mud or a mixture of mud 

 and sand close to shore, while within the limits of riparian control the 

 bottom is generally hard or stiff. The total area included within 

 his triangle is about 2,900 acres. 



NORTH END OF COFFEE ISLAND. 



This is a nearly semicircular area lying between the mainland and 

 a line running from near the hotel on the north shore of Portersville 

 Bay to a point about 1 mile west of the north end of Coffee Island, 

 and thence to the mouth of Bayou la Battre. In a channel encircling 

 the northern end of the island the bottom is soft, but in most other 

 places it is fairly firm or, near the shores, hard. Most of the good 



