1076 OYSTERS, AND ALL ABOUT THEM. 



irrefutable as his argument may, and even does appear, it 

 lacks proof before Science or even practical Experience 

 can lend to such a hasty conclusion recognised authority. 



To all, then, who hold the above mentioned opinions 

 against the strong possibility of success in, or (what I 

 really believe to be) the not-sufficiently-proved practicability 

 of the adoption of the American or French systems of 

 oyster culture in England, and the latter in particular, my 

 reply in spite of what I have brought to bear, seemingly, 

 against it is that : 



In England there are breeders of oysters, and others 

 who are well versed in oyster economy, who maintain that 

 the oyster banks have become impoverished because of a 

 long series of seasons which have been unfavourable as 

 breeding years, and not because of overfishing upon the 

 beds. According to their observations, there have been 

 no large broods of young oysters since 1857, 1858, and 

 1859. This may be the .case in regard to a number of 

 localities, but it has no significance in the management of 

 a permanent, profitable oyster-culture, since such culture 

 is not conducted according to an unusually favourable 

 summer, but according to the average of climatic con- 

 ditions. And that these conditions have not changed in 

 the west of Europe in our century, and thus during the 

 time of the impoverishment and exhaustion of many beds 

 along the west coast of Europe, is proven by the tempera- 

 ture observations which have been made at the Observa- 

 tory at Paris since the year 1806. According to these, the 

 mean yearly temperature of Paris during this century has 

 remained, up to present time, at io*8 c C., from which it 

 follows that the climate is the same now as before any 

 impoverishment took place. In 1859 there were many 

 young oysters spawned upon the beds along the west 



