44 OYSTER BEDS OE JAMES RIVER, VIRGINIA. 
the bed is everywhere bounded by the deep water of the ship chan- 
nel or a swash channel which separates it from Dry Shoals and 
Swash Rocks. Where it faces the ship channel there is for most 
of the distance a border of barren bottom lying between the bed 
proper and deep water. 
The condition and extent of the bed at the time of the survey was 
as follows: 
Oyster Growth on Point op Shoals Rock. 
Character of growth. 
Area. 
Oysters 
per acre. 
Total con- . 
tent of 
oysters. 
Dense 
Acres. 
254 
Bushels. 
200 
Bushels. 
50,800 
14,415 
10,038 
2,130 
Scattering .. 
155 
93 
Very scattering 
239 
42 
Depleted 
142 
15 
Total 
790 
77,383 
The dense areas are three, one near the eastern end of the bed, 
another adjoining the corresponding area of Long Shoal Rock, and 
the third an isolated spot on a shoal in the swash channel. The 
densest growths occur as a rule on the shoaler spots, especially at the 
eastern end of the bed, from the isolated area above alluded to to the 
ship channel. In this area the average growth is about 275 bushels 
of oysters to the acre — considering the depths, sufficient to yield 
about 38 bushels per day’s tonging — while the average of the whole 
area of dense growth would not exceed 25 bushels per day. 
There are four scattering areas, one of which, near the eastern 
apex of the bed, is insignificant. On these as a whole a tonger 
should average, at the beginning of the season, about 10 bushels per 
day. 
The very scattering growth is distributed in three areas, of which 
one adjoins the dense growth on the isolated patch in the swash 
channel. They are barely prolific enough to raise them above the 
assumed limit of depletion. 
The depleted area is in five patches or borders along the free 
boundary of the bed. They are entirely negligible in their pro- 
ductiveness. 
On the dense and scattering areas the proportion of very small 
to small oysters is higher than on the beds previously described, and 
there are several places on each where the growth of oysters above 3 
inches long is fair. 
On the dense areas the deposit of shells is abundant, on the areas 
of scattering growth it is ample, while the areas with a very scattering 
growth and the depleted bottoms are decidedly deficient. In general 
the latter two areas are of no present and little prospective value. 
