OYSTER CULTURE COMAIISSIOX—ATPEKBIX. 
57 
two further to level ^oil bank and free selections ; right bank wave-drift sand mostly for 3 milcfl up; heavy 
sliifting sand-bajiks up from bar same distnuee, and running on to east point of island, leaving only a narrow 
channel along right bank, and a narrower and shallower along left bank into a creek which forms said island. 
ThivS creek nearly all its length is excellent oyster ground, and two-thirds up it a few excellent oysters, 
iiianv of them single on shingle and shell chitch, and gonemlly clean bottom. Main river from abreast of 
upper part of island the bottom is mostly good ; sandy mud and broken shell, and a continuous rather nnirow 
strip of soft mud somotimeo overlying shcll-elutch, and in spots shingle; inucli of it quartz shingle; a little 
below Alasou’s selection, on left bank shingly quartz and shells over the sandy mud in improved condition 
pommcnces, and runs acros.s to John Ainsworth’s wharf, where a very fine rather largo deep shelled very fino 
oyster begins to apjiear on a good heal of shell-clutcli, extending nearly across thb river, deepening from a 
nearly level bed of 10 feet water to 3i and 4 fathome, fnUy i channel over for bettor than i a mile up to 
Chnnmo Gunuuo bluff, along tvhieh bed said quality of oyster singly and in eliimpa of 3 or 4 in single layer, 
is tolerably abundmil, but beyond said point Sidd eliitch-bed runs into soft mud, and round the bluff a deep 
bav extemU for a lumdred or more acres of sjindy mud and broken shell, a portion dry at J ebb, and remainder 
1 to 4 ft. low water. Atlmirablo oyster-ground, round the inner margin of which and on isolated stones and 
pebbles on the bed are the linest tidal oysters I have ever seen — of course indication of the excellent quality 
of the ground for culture. But I think above tliia ground the water deterionites in quality ; however the 
bed becomes eliingly, mostly witbouL slndl, and from said ground up to Taylor’s arm there are two similar 
bends with from 1 to 4 feet depth of water at low-water, witli tidiil oysters round two intervening bluffs, also 
similarly on atones on ground. The main river about 300 yanls by 100 in main river, and 200 to 300 yards into 
Taylor’s arm there is a bed fairly stocked, and apparently for the past two years improving. Tliis must not 
long ago have been a very extensive bed, and it would bo both highly instructive and useful to know the 
cause or causes wliich produced the evidently sudden extermination of stock. 
(i.) No spat, and not many last year’s oysters. ■ ■, £ ni 
(e.) Beds of sandy black mud, and also black unctuous mud in parts, but of lighter hue than that of Clarence. 
4. One already mentioned loft bank 3 miles from heads, and one below adjoining Ainsworth’s farm, with a abort 
creek in it. The left bank of AVattlo Creek for 2 or 3 miles and some distance back, right bank of Wattle Creek is a narrow 
sandv spit*dividing it fmm the sea. There are hero and llicre a few tidal oysters in this creek, bxit a large extent of its bottom 
as well as the marshes w exeellent oyster-gi*ound. Fish-abound in creek and river. 
5. Quality good. Age from one to six or seven years. 
6. There seem to be no banks of shell, yet sbells are scattered abundantly all over the land on ridges as well, but plenty 
of Bliingics next in quality to shell for fonning’ clutch. 
7. Spawning is about to cominciu!© soon, as many are now in an advanced milky state; but no evidence to enow spawn¬ 
ing at anv other time. C)n neither oyster nor clutcli are any appearance of oysters less than a year old. 
^ 8.’Therefore end of Bcccinbcr and January may be the time. 
9, 10, 11, are answered in other reports. 
12. Not Icuswl. , # (. 1 . *3 
13. Residents appear to be anxious for the introduction of culture; also to engage therein, but object to non-resident 
lessees ; also express a desire that Government shoidd provide sound and detailed information on cidture, and all express great 
interest in the matter—women as well as men. 
Mkmo. : _ As before remark<xl, I believe all the clean clutch-hcd.s referred to are oven without the oyster of high com¬ 
mercial value, and for obvious reasons ought not to be estimated at a value much leas than the stocked natural beds. 
All residents are exceedingly courteous and ready to afford every information they possess, but I experience difficulty 
in getting boats and means for travel. 
X Xl^tvCy uC*} 
A. B. BLACK. 
1. I 
MACLEAY RIVER FISHERY. 
have spoken to several residents ten to twenty-five years in the district, all of whom know or have heard of the 
existence of only two beds; ouo in Spencer’s Creek as marked‘had disapptw'd over twenty years ago—the other in main 
river close to steam-boat store seems not to have thriven for the last twelve or fourteen years, and was practically destroyed 
during the Hood of 1874 ; yet I find a few scattered clumps of a good quality over the bed and about the roots of mangroves. 
So also mangrove oysters are general here and there up to point above wliieli the surface-water hccomos too fresh to ponnit 
its existing The creek wlxenec artificial cutting is made to cany fiood-water off by south-west rocks contains few oysters ; 
hut round creek end of cutting they arc getting rather numerous, no doubt, pro}mgating from oysters in the short creek open 
to the sea, into which the cutting runs, dose round said rocks, and may eventually, judging from present appearance, afford a 
good channel for trading cnift. . , , .r . • r -n . i. ^ 
^ ^ No dredgers have had aught to operate on in tins river, and I cannot conceive any feasible reason to account for the 
•"agency was in operation about the same time to produce extermination of oyster 
rs whicli I liavo examined ; also that wliatever the cause its strength is already 
sometliiug t_ . . -i 
clutch-beds, strongly of opinion that a similar j 
on the now bare clutcb-bexls of all these rivers ’ — -- . . • i i .• i -i 
spent, aiul all these bare elutoh-beds in ever>- one of those nvers are in process of rceoreiy, if not indeed entirely recoTered 
from the supposed causes of extermination, as for example the hare eluteh-bed section tenth ot Oyster Creek, Clarenee—or the 
lake-bed of report on that river, which by some happy accident was stocked, at proper time lor lessee, by spawn from the 
ihirlv stocked creek. But none of such elutch-beds in the other rivers being so favourably situated for such a freak ol nature, 
i,: that case the proecss of stocking by natural means may therefore he expected to take a much longer time ; however, 
artificial meal 's^ done at once, and with a;iittle risk as thatof stocking a first rate station with sheep. 
7a) Left bank, rockv at head ; changing in the downward course of the river to a muddy sand, 8 or 10 feet above 
lugb-wator ; then to a grayi.ih-black tenacious soil, not so black as that ol the Clarence ; then to a muddy or 
^ratlier eandv nature with ono-third of blackish soil and unbroken oyster-shdl-many dry shell beds occur above 
the said gruyish-hlaek soil, as well as in all the islands, and this too fonns tlie substmtum of river bed mostly, 
also the right bank on spit ternunntinf^ right bank. 
(i) At south-west, rocks only—already noticed. 
as 
by 
3.— 
i&i souiii-wcsi, rocua t^iuv — , .i ■ m • ai • t 
(e)Chieny of sundy mud—subsoil generally as in other rivers reported on, the unctuous soil in this case of 
lighter hue. I'aitemnq of ouster iH unquestionably due to the mfusorial ammalcides (m shape o the eye 
a slimy mud, hut aided by the iiiicroseopo a living mass of minute auimals-a fact fii-st disclosed by Ehreuberg) 
brought in by each recurring flood-tide to he depo-sited on Ixittom smtable for its retention. And so far into 
estuaries (even under a stratum of fresh-water) ns this mud is conveyed by the tide and no further but only on 
the kiud of iKittoin indicated have we reason to expect the o,V8tcr to thrive. Ihercfore, ! rcspectfuUy submit, 
that the ovstcr-fatlciiing iiropcrties of either water or soil is in no respect due to long defunct infusoria sueli as 
• that whieli mav form a JorniKiifiMit of London clay, hut to living tidal-infnsona. However, that elav may form 
a good auhsoU’ for clut.ch-b(!ds and prove attractivo as well to tidal-infusoria, bul nowhere m iho Ibanies docs 
it conic in such immediate contact with oyster-beds as to definitely jtiatifv such opinion only by deduction. 
4. T note the exii^temec of salt-water marshes, and better ground for trench cultui-e could not be. ihe unctuoue 
tenacious soil of the district belong nil, I believe, to Govenimcnt. 
5. What few there are, are from 1 to 3 years, quality good, extent nothing. ki. l r l 
6. Dry shell banks exist, and an unusuatly extensive bed about 10 or 12 miles np Clyburn Creek. About Lj or more feet 
deep above water, and several acres in area. Whence Keinpsey obtains lime. It is situate on western portion of Government 
rcscrvxx, adjoining Plummer’s selection. Oyster and cockle shells mixed, but no oyster could now exist miles below tliis spot. 
7. Spawuiiig opcRitioiiB aro going on now, and no indication of spawning liaving occurred within the last year. 
2!)— n 
