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BULLETIN OF THE UNITED STATES FISH COMMISSION. 
and bottom; at tlie mouth of Schooner Creek, at last of the ebb, 1.0221 surface and 
1.0222 bottom; and at the mouth of Sullivan Island Narrows, at one-half ebb, 1.0207. 
The area of the natural oyster beds is 3.8 acres. 
Sullivan Island Narrows. — This name is given to the narrow inland passage con- 
necting Charleston Harbor with Breach Inlet. It is about 3 miles long, and will barely 
average 100 yards in width, with a range in depth of 1 to 15 feet. The bottom varies 
from hard and sticky along the shores to soft mud in the channel. That part lying 
between the channel and the shore is suitable for cultivation. The specific gravity 
at the lower mouth, one-half ebb, was 1.0207 ; 2 miles below upper mouth, at the same 
time of the tide, 1.0203 surface and 1.0202 bottom; and at the upper mouth or Breach 
Inlet, about the same time of the tide, 1.0205 surface and 1.0209 bottom. The total 
area of the narrows and its tributaries is 120 acres; area of natural oyster beds, 7.2 
acres. 
Breach Inlet, a small and insignificant inlet, is formed by the confluence of Sulli- 
van Island Narrows, Goat Island Creek, Little Goat Island Creek, and Meeting Reach, 
a ramification of creeks which intersect the marshes between Charleston Harbor and 
Grays Bay and connect with that bay through their various drains and tributaries. 
Goat Island Grech is the largest of the tributaries of Breach Inlet, and rises about 
3 miles north of it in a mud flat or bay. The water has a yellowish tinge. The 
specific gravity at the mouth, at one-half ebb, was 1.0205 surface and 1.0209 bottom. 
Raccoon oysters are found in patches along the shores and also in the mud flat at the 
head. The total area of the creek is 140 acres; area of natural oyster beds, about 
5.8 acres. 
Little Goat Island Greeh heads in the vicinity of Grays Bay and, with a trend 
southward, enters Breach Inlet one-fourth of a mile east of the mouth of Goat Island 
Creek. The bottom is generally hard and sticky. The lower part, from its mouth to 
a point 1 mile above, contains the planted grounds of Mr. Thomas Swinton. When 
this locality was visited Mr. Swinton was absent, and the only information regarding 
his operations was obtained from a negro who is sometimes employed by him in con- 
nection with the planting. This man informed me that he had never used the raccoon 
oysters, but secured all his planting stock from St. Pierre Creek. I also had it from 
the same source that Mr. Swinton was going out of the business, and that the property 
was for sale. Mr. Swinton disposes of about 1,000 bushels a year, and it requires from 
one to two years after they are transplanted before they become marketable. 
No young oysters were found on the planted oysters secured here. The water was 
yellowish with mud in suspension and is said to be always so. The specific gravity 
of the water at S win ton’s oyster-house at one-half ebb was 1.0200 at the surface and 
1.0202 at the bottom, and at the mouth of creek, one-half ebb, 1.0198 at the surface 
and 1.0201 at the bottom. The total area is about 80 acres; area of planted oyster 
ground, about 20 acres ; area of natural oyster beds, inconsiderable. 
Meeting Reach. — This creek, through the Seven Reaches at its eastern extremity, 
connects Breach Inlet with Dewees Creek and furnishes a part of the inland passage 
to Bull Bay. For the first 2 miles it is a continuation of Breach Inlet and has a width 
of 150 yards, when it becomes very narrow and at dead low water it is almost dry. 
The bottom is variable, and the range of depth from 6 inches to 15 feet. The specific 
gravity at the lower mouth was 1.0198 surface and 1.0201 bottom, at one-half ebb ; 
