Report of the Board of Shell Fish Commissioners. 31 
Barren bottoms suited to the needs of oyster culture aggre- 
gating about 2,000 acres,-in addition to the 215 acres? of 
bottoms surveyed and examined but excluded from the area 
buoyed as natural oyster bar, are to be found in the section 
of the bay south of a line drawn from the mainland through 
Purnell Hammock bar to Whittington Point on the Assa- 
teague Island side. A part of this bottom is now held and 
used for oyster culture by-about forty oyster planters. It 
has not been necessary, however, in Worcester County for 
oyster planters to take out leases to the bottoms used by them 
for oyster culture and accurate information concerning the 
number of acres under cultivation could not be secured. 
1The table by which the status of the surveyed bottoms were determined is 
found on page 14. ' 
“4; 
