OYSTER BOTTOMS OF MISSISSIPPI SOUND, ALA. 13 



Details of Examination of Kings Bayou Reef. 











Oysters caught per 



Estimated quantity oys- 



Angle 

 No. 



Date of 

 examination. 



Depth 



of 

 water. 



Character of growth. 



square yard. 



ters per acre. 





















Spat. 



Culls. Counts. 



Seed. 



Market. 



Total. 







Feet. 











Bush. 



Bush. 



Bush. 



1 



Nov. 21,1910 



9.00 



Dense 



6.5 



35.5 



11.0 



294 



176 



470 



2 



do 



9.00 



do 



2.5 



12.5 



12.0 



105 



192 



297 



7 



do 



9.00 



do 



4.5 



17.5 



6.0 



154 



96 



250 



8 



do 



10.00 



do 



31.2 



64.2 



43.2 



672 



691 



1,363 



14 



do 



7.00 



do 



22.3 



38.0 



13.1 



422 



209 



631 



5 



do 



6.50 



do 



9.5 



24.5 



18.0 



238 



288 



526 



63 



Nov. 22,1910 



5.50 



do 



10.0 



11.1 



9.0 



148 



144 



292 



64 



do 



do 



3.50 

 6.00 



.. ..do 



14.7 

 11.1 



32.2 

 32.7 



9.1 

 10.0 



328 

 307 



146 

 160 



474 



65 



do 



467 



3 



Nov. 21,1910 



10.00 



Very scattering 



7.4 



9.0 



4.5 



115 



72 



187 



6 



do 



7.00 



do 



9.1 



19.8 



3.3 



202 



53 



255 



9 



do 



do 



8.00 

 6.50 



do 



4.7 

 21.1 



18.1 

 49.8 



3.4 

 18.0 



151 

 496 



54 



288 



205 



10 



do 



784 



11 



do 



6.00 



do.... 



14.0 



11.5 



1.6 



178 



26 



204 



12 



do 



6.00 



do 



6.7 



6.3 



3.5 



91 



56 



147 



13 



do 



7.00 



Depleted 



8.4 



1.4 



.0 



69 







69 



4 



do 



8.50 



do 



8.1 



12.9 .8 



147 



13 



160 



BUOY REEF. 



This reef, as defined in the present report, consists of a number 

 of detached bodies of oysters varying from 1 to upward of 100 acres 

 each. The name is apparently somewhat indefinitely applied, but 

 is used here to designate the series of beds beginning with that lying 

 south of the wreck buoy off Cedar Point and stretching northward 

 for a distance of about If miles. This apparently includes all or part 

 of what Ritter describes as Birmingham Reef. The large area lying 

 south of the buoy is connected with Cedar Point Reef by an area of 

 very scattering growth which doubtless marks an original fine of 

 separation between the two, over which oysters have been spread by 

 the operation of dredges. In general all of these beds have sharj^ly 

 defined borders, rising abruptly a foot or two above the surroundmg 

 muddy bottom. They are resorted to principally by dredgers to 

 whose use thej^ are set apart by law. The oysters are in clusters. 



The distribution of* oysters according to density of growth is 

 shoAvn in the following table : 



Oyster Growth on Buoy Reef. 



Character of oyster growth. 



Dense 



Scattering 



Very scattering 

 Depleted 



Total 



Area. 



Acres. 



202 



34 



19 



12 



Oysters per acre. 



Under 3 

 inches. 



Bushels. 



209 



165 



76 



29 



267 



Over o 

 inches. 



Bushels. 

 324 



108 



62 



4 



Estimated content of ovsters. 



Seed. 



Bushels. 



42, 218 



5,610 



1,444 



348 



49, 620 



Bushels. 



65,448 



3,672 



1,178 



48 



Market. Total. 



Bushels. 



107,666 



9,282 



2,622 



396 



70, 346 



119,966 



