24° Report of the Board of Shell Fish Commissioners. 
NANTICOKE SOUND. 
(Shown on Chart of Natural Oyster Bars, No, 12.) 
The limits of Nanticoke Sound as established by the Shell 
Fish Commission are described on page 157 of its First 
Report. , 
The section of the Sound which belongs to Wicomico 
County covers about 2,250 acres of which more than one-third 
is occupied by natural oyster bars;—a part of Great Shoals 
bar (about 100 acres) in the east, a part of Middleground 
bar (about 740 acres) in the central part, and Big Hill bar 
containing 13 acres in the western part. 
Hard sandy bottoms covered with water 9-12 feet in depth 
form the central and by far the greater part of Middleground 
bar. Strips of soft muddy bottom le along both the east 
and west sides, the former covered by shallow water, the 
latter dipping suddenly, in the region of the river channel, to 
a depth of more than 30 feet. Big Hill bar has a depth of 12 
feet over its central part but depths of 18-20 feet are found 
at its edges. The bottom surrounding Big Hill bar is com- 
posed of very soft mud. 
The minimum and maximum densities of the water ob- 
served over the oyster grounds during the month of October 
were: 
Great. Shoals “bar... ....6..4: 1.010 to 1.0114 
Middleground bar ........... 1.011 to 1.0124 
The exchange of water between Tangier Sound and its 
tributaries above, takes place through Nanticoke Sound and 
the currents are therefore of very considerable volume. The 
maximum rate at which they were observed to flow over 
Middleground bar was 1.36 mile per hour; over Great Shoals 
bar, 1.08 mile per hour. 3 
Although conditions are unusually favorable in this section 
‘for producing oysters, it is doubtful if the proportion of 
oyster ground to barren bottom could be much increased with- 
out causing unfavorable results. The records of examina- 
tions of the oyster bars made during the survey indicated 
that at the beginning of this season there would probably 
be on the natural bars of the section a quantity of oysters 
sufficient to make an average of not less than 70 bushels of 
