66 



OYSTER BEDS OF JAMES RIVER, VIRGINIA. 



about one-half, and on the very scattering areas not over one-sixth 

 could be removed with profit. The depleted bottoms are worthless 

 for their present product of market oysters. 



The yield per acre of bottom included within the Baylor lines is 

 considerably greater than on the grounds previously described, the 

 average being almost 10 bushels, 2 bushels less than the average of 

 the entire public area of Virginia in 1904, and considerably more than 

 the average reported by the Census Bureau in 1908. The average 

 available product of the oyster rocks, excluding all barren bottom 

 but not that which is depleted, is about 30 bushels per acre. The 

 average of the dense area is about 88 bushels, of the scattering area 

 34 bushels, and of the very scattering growth about 7 bushels per 

 acre. The rocks in this ground are, on the whole, so far as present 

 productiveness is concerned, in better condition than those across 

 the river. The probable future productiveness of the beds, so far as 

 the present existence of young oysters is concerned, is illustrated 

 in the following: table: 



Total Content of Young or Seed Oysters. Public Ground No. 1 Warwick 

 County, Below Deep Creek. 



Name of rock. 



Dense. 



Scatter- 

 ing. 



Very scat- 

 tering. 



Depleted. 



Total. 



Browns Shoal 



Bushels. 

 8, 568 

 1.188 



81,786 

 12. 7G8 

 2. 736 

 14,728 



Bushels. 

 6, 248 



Bushels. 



2, 376 



992 



19.9S0 



10. 300 



23.625 



1.080 



Bushels. 

 1.130 



Bushels. 

 18,322 



Gun . 





2.180 



Kettle Hole 



13. 662 

 20. 060 

 13.317 





115.428 







10.160 

 4,956 

 2, 756 



53,288 



Blunt Point 





44,634 



White Shoal.... 





18,564 











Total 



121.774 



53.2S7 



58 353 



19.002 



252,416 



The exhibit here is much more favorable than on the rocks included 

 n the grounds previously described, the average growth of young 

 oysters on the dense and very scattering areas being over double that 

 on the beds across the river, while that on the scattering area is about 

 35 per cent greater. 



Practically everywhere on the areas of dense and scattered growth 

 there is a prolific growth of young oysters and an abundance of clean 

 shells, and there is no present prospect of the failure of these areas to 

 continue to produce marketable oysters under ordinary conditions and 

 with a reasonable enforcement of the laws. On the areas of very 

 .scattering growth the conditions are mixed, some places being well 

 insured against the future and others being decidedly deficient in both 

 young growth and clean shells. On Browns Shoal Rocks there is, with 

 the exception of a few places, an abundance of shells; but there are 

 only two or three patches where there is a supply of small oysters ample 

 to replace the present market growth. On Kettle Hole Rock the 

 conditions arc good practically everywhere, but on Thomas Point and 



