46 



OYSTER BEDS OF JAMES RIVER, VTKGINIA. 



The folio wins: examinations were made during the survev: 

 Details of Examination" of Swash Rock. 



Station 

 num- 

 ber. 



Mean 

 Date of ex- depth 

 animation. of wa- 

 ter. 



Character of growth. 









Feet. 



Aug. 25, 1909 



5.0 



....do 



7.0 



Aug. 20.1909 



12.0 



A us. 25.1909 



9.0 



Ang. 31.1909 



14.0 



Oysters caught per 



square yard. 



Spat. 



Culls. 



Counts. 



29.2 



41.4 



0.0 



12.3 



17.3 



7.0 



.0 



.0 



.0 



.0 



1.2 



1.9 



.0 



1.8 



.9 



Estimated 



quantity 



oysters per 



acre. 



324 

 325 

 228 



323 

 437 



Dense... 

 ....do... 

 Depleted 



do... 



....do... 



Bushels. 



226 







27 

 19 



MULBERRY SWASH ROCK. 



This is a long narrow bed lying between Swash and Y rocks on the 

 outside and the so-called Marshy Island Rock on the shoreward side. 

 At its southeastern end it is connected by narrow strips of indifferent 

 productiveness with Wreck Shoal and Dry Shoal rocks, and its off- 

 shore boundary is the edge of the deep swash channel running toward 

 Mulberry Point. 



It consists essentially of bottom carrying a dense growth, inter- 

 rupted at two places by areas of inferior productiveness. Its con- 

 dition and extent in the latter part of August, 1909, are shown 

 in the following table: 



Oyster Growth on Mulberry Swash Rock. 





Character of growth. Area. 



Oysters 

 per acre. 



Estimated 

 total con- 

 tent of oys- 

 ters. 



Dense 





A cres. 

 422 



B ushels. 



302 



106 



130 



43 



Bushels. 



127. 444 



Scattering 





34 



3.604 







20 



2.600 



Depleted 





29 



1.247 







., 





Total 



505 





134. S95 







The dense area bears a growth varying from 161 to 570 bushels 

 per acre, and the depths vary from S to upward of 20 feet. The 

 heavier growth is as a rule in the shoaler water, though this rule is not 

 without exceptions. It is estimated that a tonger could take an 

 average of about 23 bushels per day at the beginning of the season. 



The scattered area is limited in extent and bears a growth of be- 

 tween 88 and 117 bushels per acre, in a depth of between 13 and 15 

 feet, and it is estimated that it will yield about S bushels per day. 



The area of very scattering growth connects this bed with Wreck 

 Shoal Rock, ami although, as shown by the foregoing table, the 

 growth is heavier than on the preceding area, it lies in between 18 

 and 20 feet of water and will therefore be less productive to the tonger, 

 it< estimated initial yield being about 7 bushels per day. The de- 

 pleted area is in several small patches. 



