120 THE OYSTER. 



drain pipe sawed in two longitudinally. They cannot 

 be obtained in our markets at present, although they 

 could be made very cheaply if there were any demand 

 for them. Each tile is about 18 inches or 2 feet long, 

 6 or 8 inches wide, concave on one side and convex 

 on the other. The shape of the tile is important, as 

 nearly all the oysters fasten themselves upon the con- 

 cave surface. They adhere so firmly that it is difficult 

 to detach them without injury, and to avoid this the 

 French oyster-breeders coat the tiles with a thin white- 

 wash, which can be scaled off with the young oysters 

 when these are large enough to be distributed upon 

 the planting grounds. 



The following is an account of the method of coat- 

 ing the tiles as employed in France. 



The liming is done in two very different ways at 

 Morbihan, according to whether it is intended to en- 

 tirely free the oysters from the tile, or to allow a por- 

 tion of the tile to remain attached to each shell. 



When we come to speak of the removal of the oys- 

 ters from the collectors, we will make some remarks 

 concerning the matter of leaving a portion of the tile 

 attached to the young. For the present we will merely 

 state that under that system the tile is cut, leaving a 

 portion adhering to each oyster, forming a sort of 

 heel. 



Some of our farmers, who breed oysters in this 

 manner, cover their tiles with a slight coating of 

 hydraulic cement. The young oyster attaches itself 

 to the cement, but the coating being very thin is soon 



