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that a marked deposit was taking place at one point where the oysters were planted. The 

 maximum current over the entire strip is about one knot per hour. 



In February, 1890, one year after planting, I made a haul with a steam dredge over the 

 different parts of the bed. It was found that the oysters had grown rapidly, and in one more 

 year would be marketable. In only one spot had they been killed, and that was where they had 

 been covered with the soft mud deposit. No young from last summer's spawning were observed, 

 hence the oysters must have been covered with mud before the spawning season. 



While all the samples examined showed a healthy and superior oyster, yet the ones from 

 the hard mud bottom were the fattest. • 



In the mud brought up from these hauls were found about half a dozen drills, and there 

 was quite an abundance of the brown sponge which had grown on these oysters since they 

 had been planted. There were no positive indications that the oysters had been killed from 

 any other cause than the heavy mud deposit. 



The specific gravity here at one-half flood was 1.0176; at the mouth of the river, 1.0194. The 

 total area is 302 acres. Area of natural oyster beds, 10.5 acres. 



Back River, an extension of Burnside River, trends northward and westward for about 4 

 miles, dividing into small streams and terminating in the marsh. The first 2 miles, the only 

 part suitable for oyster culture, is about 400 yards wide, and ranges from 3 to 12 feet in depth. 



The bottom is sticky for the most part, the deepest portion being little soft mud, while 

 the shoal is sand, with here and there sand with mud. 



Altogether Back River may be regarded as favorable for oyster culture, both in the char- 

 acter of the bottom and the density of the water, the principal objection being the depth 

 of water, limiting the greater portion to cultivation by tongs instead of steamers; and also 

 a liability in case of heavy storms, by reason of the shoal water, to shifting bottom. Oysters 

 have been planted in this river near the shore and gave a rapid growth. 



The specific gravity was, at one-half flood, 1.0179. The total area is 224 acres. Area of 

 oyster beds, 7 acres. 



Little Ogeechee River joins the Vernon River about 3 miles above its mouth and opposite 

 Green Island. Extending westward it is about three-eighths of a mile in width for the first 

 2 miles, when it is obstructed by three marshy islands and shoals, beyond which the bottom 

 is unfit for the cultivation of oysters. 



Of the above area the greater part has a depth ranging between 12 and 30 feet. The 

 bottom is sand in the shoal parts, and is partly shifting. In the deeper water the bottom is 

 hard mud and marl, and well adapted to oyster culture. 



. At low water, at the mouth, the specific gravity was 1.0199; two miles above the mouth, 

 at one-half flood, 1.0193. 



The area to the marsh islands is 420 acres; area beyond 1,000 feet, 120 acres; area of natural 

 oyster beds, 7 acres. 



Little Ogeechee River extends inland for about 25 miles, and during the heavy rains a 

 large volume of fresh water is brought down, thus endangering the lives of oysters, at least 

 above the area above described. 



Ossabaw Sound lies between Wassaw Island on the north and Ossabaw Island on the south, 

 the distance across the mouth being about 3^ miles. It extends inland only 2 miles to 

 Raccoon Key. 



No part of this sound was considered fit for oyster culture by reason of its shoal water, 

 shifting bottom, and exposure to the heavy seas from the ocean. 



Ogeechee River enters Ossabaw Sound on the south side of Raccoon Key, and really appears 

 as a prolongation of the sound as far as the Middle Marshes. It is the second largest river on 

 the coast of the State, extending into the interior of the country in a northwesterly direction 

 for some 250 miles. By reason of the large volume of fresh water flowing out of this river 

 only a short portion of it is available for oyster culture, namely, from its motith to about 1 mile 

 above the Florida Passage, making a distance of about 5 miles. For the first 2 miles it is 



