CULTURE OF OYSTERS. 227 



thumb nail ; and at twelve months old the size of a silver 

 half dollar. 



In oyster culture, to arrest the drifting spat is the chief 

 object; therefore, walls of stone or turf, hurdles of brush, 

 faggots, and lines or enclosures of posts, are used for the 

 purpose. When the natural drift does not bring the young 

 oysters in contact with such appliances, mature oysters 

 are laid so that their spat may lodge against or on them. 



Fifteen years ago there was scarcely an oyster-bed of 

 native growth in France, all having been so over-dredged 

 as to exhaust them, when M. Coste, by direction of the 

 government, set about restoring them and promoting their 

 culture. In his investigations he visited Lake Fusaro. 

 The oyster-beds here are of ancient celebrity. In past 

 centuries the luxurious Italians built their villas by this 

 lake to enjoy the salt-water bathing and partake of its 

 bivalves. The Lucrine Lake, in its vicinity, is where 

 Sergius Grata inaugurated oyster culture. At Fusaro the 

 same mode of culture has prevailed since the time of that 

 princely oysterman. The oysters are laid down on mounds 

 of stone and the surrounding enclosures of posts arrest the 

 spat. Faggots also are suspended for the same purpose 

 from chains or strong ropes, which stretch from post to post 

 in the lake. 



Following this mode in France, the old oyster-beds in 

 the Bay of St. Brieuc were renewed by laying down about 

 three millions of mature oysters, and sinking faggots and 

 constructing parallel banks. In less than six months the 



