OYSTER BEDS OF JAMES RIVER, VIRGINIA. 
61 
growth, at present practically worthless so far as actual productive- 
ness is concerned, are capable of coming into production at some time 
in the future, by virtue of the young growth and clean shells that 
they bear, it will be seen that the actual productive oyster rocks 
form only about 20 per cent of the area of these two public grounds. 
The estimated total marketable contents of the grounds, based 
upon the distribution of oysters, as indicated by the chain, and the 
actual productiveness of the various areas as determined by actual 
count and measurement, is exhibited in the following table : 
Content op Market Oysters, Public Grounds No. 2 Nansemond County and 
No. 6 Isle op Wight County. 
Name of rock. 
Dense. 
Scatter- 
ing. 
Very- 
scatter- 
ing. 
Depleted . 
Total. 
Bushels. 
Bushels. 
Bushels. 
Bushels. 
Bushels. 
Larkins 
Nansemond Ridge 
Drum 
Newport News 
Cruiser Shoal 
Flat Rock, etc 
High Shoal 
Trout Shoal 
Dog Shoal 
Fishing Point 
Between Fishing Point and Ballards Marsh. 
Ballards Marsh 
7,905 
432 
4,212 
5.400 
2,160 
1,664 
5,355 
1,340 
26,760 
950 
1,701 
1,007 
624 
1,100 
507 
6,314 
124 
10, 878 
546 
420 
728 
210 
600 
420 
945 
2,068 
248 
792 
195 
8,602 
2,755 
3,483 
288 
182 
807 
720 
1,416 
1,710 
894 
195 
54, 145 
4,251 
6,036 
6,235 
5,792 
4,191 
2,240 
4,532 
15,447 
1,588 
1,810 
Total 
28,468 
39,087 
17,855 
21,052 
106.462 
This indicates that if it were possible to “clean up” completely 
the entire area covered by the oyster rocks, the product would be 
about 106,000 bushels of marketable oysters. When an analysis is 
made, it is speedily apparent that the commercially available supply 
on these beds is only about 40 per cent of the foregoing, as stated in 
the following table: 
Available Content of Market Oysters, Public Grounds No. 2 Nansemond 
County and No. 6 Isle op Wight County. 
Name of rock. 
Dense. 
Scatter- 
ing. 
Very- 
scatter- 
ing. 
Total. 
Larkins ! 
Bushels. 
Bushels. 
Bushels. 
Bushels. 
Nansemond Ridge ; 
Drum 
5,500 
13, 500 
400 
850 
700 
1,000 
100 
20,000 
500 
1,200 
4,100 
3,600 
1,950 
600 
1,450 
8,300 
1,200 
175 
Newport News 
350 
3,400 
3,600 
1,500 
Cruiser Shoal 
Flat Rock, etc 
High Shoal 
Trout Shoal 
350 
600 
250 
3,600 
100 
Dog Shoal 
1,200 
4,400 
1,200 
Fishing Point 
Between Fishing Point and Ballards Marsh 
300 
Ballards Marsh 
75 
100 
Total 

21,150 
20,325 
1,600 
43,075 
