204 REPORT OF THE COMMISSIONER OF FISHERIES. 



ft mile wide, and is an open body of water, unobstructed b}" islands or 

 other land formation until it reaches Fields Point, If miles below 

 Providence, where the sewage of the cit}- is discharged into the river. 

 Thus the second of these large areas lying on the eastern side of the 

 channel reaches well up into this narrower section of the river. The 

 southern la}' ings of this area, the NaA^att oyster beds, are located south 

 of Town Beach, well over toward liumstick'Neck, in the broader portion 

 of the river, and from this region extend in a westerly" direction around 

 Nayatt Point, then, following the eastern shore, in a northerly direction 

 to within 5i miles of the city. The northern section of the area is 

 spoken of as the Bullock Neck oyster beds. ^Vhile the southern sec- 

 tions lie in the more open water of the lower river, the northern limits 

 are well up in the more coniined waters of the upper river, therefore 

 in the direct path of an}" contamination that may be borne downstream 

 by the tides. (See map.) 



Still another bed, of some 300 acres' extent, is located on the w^estern 

 side of the river, directly north of Conimicut Point, occupying a long 

 narrow strip of land that extends from near the low" tide limit to 

 Conimicut Light, which marks the western boundary of the ship channel. 

 It is about 7 miles distant from the city of Providence. The list of 

 oyster grounds in the Providence Kiver is completed with the description 

 of a bed of about 12.5 acres, located on the eastern side of the river, 

 directly off Sabins Point. As may be seen by reference to the map, 

 this bed is but 3 miles below the city limits. 



Before leaving the neighborhood of the river, however, the beds in 

 the Warren River must be mentioned. In 1900 extensive layings of 

 oysters were made in and about the entrance of this stream. Near 

 the mouth, they wo'e coniined to the shoal water on either side of the 

 channel, but a short distance above this section they occupied both 

 channel and shoal water, so that the bottom of the river was a continu- 

 ous oyster bed from near its junction with the Providence River to the 

 town of Warren, 2 miles inland. 



The five remaining oyster beds located in Rhode Island waters are 

 found in or near Mount Hope Bay. The first of these is planted on a 

 shoal directly south of Hog Island, which is less than a mile from the 

 entrance of the bay; the second is a nuich smaller area off Bristol 

 Ferry, in tlie narrow entrance to the bay; the third and largest area 

 lies to the east of Bristol Ferry, off Common Fence Point; the fourth, 

 3 miles distant from the last-mentioned bed, in the northwestern cor- 

 ner of the bay, south of Warren Neck; and the fifth, around Warren 

 Neck, in the Kickemuit River. The bods off Warren Neck are 1 miles 

 from the city of Fall River; those at the entrance of the bay, 7 miles. 

 Thus it may be noted that these grounds are situated at a considerable 

 distance from the discharge of the Fall River sewer. The beds in the 

 entrance of the l)ay are also scoured by very strong tidal currents, due 

 to causes -already explained. 



