OYSTER BEDS OF JAMES RIVER, VIRGINIA. 



77 



maintain their present condition or to cause slight improvement in 

 their productiveness, and the real question at issue largely resolves 

 itself into a matter of their present productiveness, which has been 

 already discussed. Most of these bottoms are sufficiently clothed 

 with shells to insure their share of a good strike. The depleted areas, 

 excepting in the places specifically mentioned in the descriptions of 

 the individual rocks, may be regarded as hopeless of recuperation 

 under natural conditions. 



The barren bottoms, which preceding tables show to constitute a 

 very large proportion of the areas of the public beds, are in many 

 cases so situated as to be of necessity and for practical considerations 

 impossible of separation from the natural beds without injury to the 

 future of the latter or without due regard to the question of policing 

 and administration. There are, however, certain large areas readily 

 separable from the public grounds, and the latter would suffer prac- 

 tically no diminution in really productive bottom as a result of the 

 severance. 



SEED-OYSTER AREA. 



This region lies above the line drawn between Deep Creek and 

 Days Point, and is shown on chart 2 accompanying this report. The 

 following table summarizes the extent and condition of the bottoms 

 of different degrees of productiveness included within this part of the 

 Baylor survey : 



Summarized Statement op Oyster Growth on Seed Areas. 



Name of ground. 



Dense. 



Scatter- 

 ing. 



Very scat- 

 tering. 



Depleted. 



Barren. 



Total. 



Warwick No. 1 (above Deep Creek) 



A cres. 



2,420 



81 



Acres. 

 1,131 

 



Acres. 

 834 

 8 



Acres. 

 1,011 



47 



Acres. 

 0,890.8 

 5S9.0 



A cres. 

 12,892.8 

 725. 



Isle of Wight No. 1 







Total 



2,501 

 18.4 



1,131 

 8.3 



842 

 0.2 



1,058 



12.2 



7,485.8 

 54.9 



13,017.8 





100.0 







The following table furnishes an estimate of the total content of 

 seed oysters present on the bottoms of varying productiveness at the 

 beginning of the oyster season on September 15, 1909: 



Summarized Content of Oysters on Seed Areas. 



Name of ground. 



Warwick No. 1 (above Deep Creek) 

 Isle of Wight No. 1 



Total 



Average per acre 



Per cent 



Dense. 



Bushels. 

 668,640 



11,444 



679,984 



•iri 

 78. 2 



Scatter- 

 ing. 



Bushels. 

 L04.987 



L04.987 

 93 



12. 1 



Very scat- 

 tering. 



Bushels. 



01. 607 



31] 



01, -.us 



73 



7.1 



Depleted, 



Bushels. 



■j i, so:; 

 778 



22,581 



13 



Total. 



Bushels. 



856,937 



12,533 



800, 170 



100.0 



