OYSTER BEDS OF JAMES RIVER, VIRGINIA. 



23 



. 



The depleted area, which constitutes the major portion of the bed 

 as delineated on the chart, is principally on the western or upstream 

 side, though a strip averaging about 100 yards in width extends 

 around the outer end of the shoal and along its entire eastern side. 

 This area will nowhere yield to the tonger more than about 2 J 

 bushels of oysters per day, and the average yield of all places exam- 

 ined would not be over 1 bushel. 



The growth of young oysters on the areas charted as dense and 

 scattering and on the very scattering part closer to the ridge is pro- 

 lific enough to yield a tonger from 8 to 25 bushels per day, the average 

 of all places examined being about 17 bushels. Clean shells were 

 abundant on the three productive areas and in the depleted area 

 close to the ridge. 



The data on which the foregoing statements are based is as follows : 



Details op Examination of High Shoal Rock. 



Station 

 num- 



Date of ex- 

 amination. 



Mean 

 depth 

 of wa- 

 ter. 



Character of growth 

 of market oysters. 



Oysters caught per 

 square yard. 



Estimated quantity oys- 

 ters per acre. 



ber. 



Spat. 



Culls. 



Counts. 



Seed. 



Market. 



Total. 



68 



Aug. 13,1909 

 do 



Sept. 7,1909 

 do 



Aug. 13,1909 



Sept. 8,1909 



do 



do 



Aug. 13,1909 



do 



do 



do 



Sept. 7,1909 



do 



do 



Sept. 8,1909 



do 



do 



Feet. 

 7.0 

 7.5 

 5.5 

 6.0 

 6.0 

 6.0 

 8.0 

 3.5 

 14.5 

 12.5 

 9.0 

 7.5 

 4.0 

 6.0 

 6.5 

 7.5 

 9.5 

 7.0 





3.6 



10.0 



3.2 



3.2 



3.4 



2.9 



.0 



7.6 



.0 



.0 



.0 



.4 



2.4 



1.1 



.0 



.0 



.0 



.0 



10.9 



17.0 



12.4 



22.5 



26.4 



6.5 



.3 



10.1 



.0 



.2 



.0 



2.2 



1.8 



1.4 



1.0 



.2 



1.3 



.0 



7.8 



10.3 



2.6 



8.4 



4.1 



3.9 



2.9 



1.3 







1.8 



.0 



1.8 



.2 



1.7 



1.7 



.0 



.0 



.0 



Bush. 



94 



175 



101 



167 



194 



61 



2 



115 







1 







17 



27 



16 



6 



1 



8 







Bush. 



94 



125 



32 



102 



50 



47 



35 



16 







22 







22 



2 



20 



20 















Bush. 

 188 



70 

 473 

 474 



67 



do 



do 



do 





300 

 132 

 269 

 244 



478 



do 





108 



476 

 477 

 63 



Very scattering . 

 do 





37 



131 







64 



do 





23 



69 

 71 



do 



do 







 39 



470 

 471 



472 

 479 



do 



do 



do 



do 





29 

 36 



26 

 1 



480 

 481 



do 



do 





8 

 



TROUT SHOAL ROCK. 



This bed occupies the southeastern part of Naseway Shoal. In 

 its depleted area it is continuous with Dog Shoal Rock, which occu- 

 pies the upper part of the same shoal, but is separated from the adja- 

 cent Fishing Point and High Shoal Rocks by swash channels in which 

 there is an abrupt deepening of the water. The depth ranges from 

 low-water mark to 10 or 11 feet, the greater depths being found in a 

 pocket of deep water which extends far into Naseway shoal from the 

 westward. 



