OYSTER BEDS OF JAMES RIVER, VIRGINIA. 

 Details of Examination of Aaron Shoal Rock 



31 



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. 



392 



Aug. 26,1909 



do 



do 



do 



do 



do 



do 



do 



Feet. 

 8.5 

 5.5 

 5.5 

 6.0 

 5.0 

 8.5 

 7.5 

 6.5 





0.0 

 5.7 

 1.6 



.0 

 6.7 

 5.0 



.0 

 5.3 



6.0 

 28.0 

 19.2 



.0 

 24.2 

 10.3 



.0 

 18.7 



9.7 



4.7 



2.4 



1.7 



1.3 



.3 



.0 



.0 



Bush. 



39 



219 



135 







201 



90 







156 



Bush. 

 134 

 65 

 33 

 23 

 18 

 4 

 

 



Bush. 

 173 



396 

 389 



do. 



284 

 168 



400 

 390 



Very scattering 



23 

 219 



391 

 394 

 395 



do 



do 



do 



94 

 



156 



BROWNS SHOAL ROCKS. 



Included under this name are a number of small rocks, separated 

 by depleted and barren bottom lying at the extreme lower end of 

 public ground No. 1, Warwick County, just above Newport News. 

 The productive portions lie on Browns Shoal and a number of other 

 shoal spots in the vicinity. The extent and present condition of the 

 rocks as a whole are shown in the following table : 



Oyster Growth on Browns Shoal Rocks. 



Character x>i growth of market oysters. 



Area. 



Oysters per acre. 



Estimated 

 content of 



Seed. 



Market. 



market 

 oysters. 



Dense 



Acres. 



68 



44 



27 



226 



Bushels. 



126 



142 



88 



5 



Bushels. 



183 



54 



39 



4 



Bushels. 

 12, 444 



Scattering 



2,376 



Very scattering 



1,053 



Depleted 



904 







Total 



365 







16,777 











The dense area is found in seven patches, of which the largest, 

 covering about 25 acres, is on a shoal west of Browns Shoal sur- 

 rounding a watchhouse or covered pierhead. The areas as a whole 

 are quite productive of market oysters, and it is estimated that an 

 industrious tonger working nine hours per day could take between 

 10 and 40 bushels of oysters, the average at all places examined 

 being about 15 bushels. 



The areas of scattering growth are three in number, lying on tne 

 ends of Browns Shoal proper and a small shoal west of it, inshore of 

 the watchhouse above alluded to. They carry a depth of between 

 about 4 or 5 and 12 feet at low water, and their productiveness is 

 such that a tonger could take an average of between 5 and 6 bushels 

 of market oysters per day. 



The areas of very scattering growth are a number of small patches 

 nearly all lying between the more prolific areas and the edges of the 

 bed. They are nearly all covered by about 10 feet of water at low 

 tide, and bear oysters in sufficient quantity to yield to the tonger 

 between 3 and 4 bushels per day. 

 20201—10 3 



