46 
OYSTER BEDS OF JAMES RIVER, VIRGINIA. 
The following examinations were made during the survey: 
Details of Examination of Swash Rock. 
Station 
num- 
Date of ex- 
amination. 
Mean 
depth 
of wa- 
ter. 
Character of growth. 
Oysters caught per 
square yard. 
Estimated 
quantity 
oysters per 
acre. 
ber. 
Spat. 
Culls. 
Counts. 
324 
Aug. 25,1909 
Feet. 
5.0 
Dense 
29.2 
41.4 
0.0 
Bushels. 
360 
325 
do 
7.0 
do 
12.3 
17.3 
7.0 
226 
228 
Aug. 20,1909 
12.0 
Depleted 
.0 
.0 
.0 
0 
323 
Aug. 25,1909 
9.0 
do 
.0 
1.2 
1.9 
27 
437 
Aug. 31, 1909 
14.0 
do 
.0 
1.8 
.9 
19 
MULBERRY SWASH ROCK. 
This is a long narrow bed lying between Swash and Y rocks on the 
outside and the so-called Marshy Island Rock on the shoreward side. 
At its southeastern end it is connected by narrow strips of indifferent 
productiveness with Wreck Shoal and Dry Shoal rocks, and its off- 
shore boundary is the edge of the deep swash channel running toward 
Mulberry Point. 
It consists essentially of bottom carrying a dense growth, inter- 
rupted at two places by areas of inferior productiveness. Its con- 
dition and extent in the latter part of August, 1909, are shown in 
the following table: 
Oyster Growth on Mulberry Swash Rock. 
Character of growth. 
Area. 
Oysters 
per acre. 
Estimated 
total con- 
tent of oys- 
ters. 
Dense 
Acres. 
422 
34 
20 
29 
Bushels. 
302 
106 
130 
43 
Bushels. 
127,444 
3,604 
2,600 
1,247 
Scattering 
Very scattering 
Depleted 
Total 
505 
134,895. 
The dense area bears a growth varying from 161 to 570 bushels 
per acre, and the depths vary from 8 to upward of 20 feet. The 
heavier growth is as a rule in the shoaler water, though this rule is 
not without exceptions. It is estimated that a tonger could take an 
average of about 23 bushels per day at the beginning of the season. 
The scattered area is limited in extent and bears a growth of 
between 88 and 117 bushels per acre, in a depth of between 13 and 15 
feet, and it is estimated that it will yield about 8 bushels per day. 
The area of very scattering growth connects this bed with Wreck 
Shoal Rock, and although, as shown by the foregoing table, the 
growth is heavier than on the preceding area, it lies in between 18 
and 20 feet of water and will therefore be less productive to the tonger, 
its estimated initial yield being about 7 bushels per day. The 
depleted area is in several small patches. 
