ARTIFICIAL OYSTER CULTURE. 1083 



imitate some of the methods by which this success had 

 been obtained. It seemed desirable to separate the ques- 

 tion of regulation from that of cultivation. With regard to 

 that of regulation, foreign governments possessed a great 

 advantage over our own : they could do many things which 

 we could not do, and which it would be impolitic on our 

 part to attempt, unless thoroughly supported by the great 

 fishing industries of the country. With regard to all these 

 questions, the first thing to do was to impress on the minds 

 of the fishing population the necessity for these regulations, 

 and that if carried out, although they must be irksome for 

 a time, they would be eventually for their benefit. It was 

 also very desirable that there should be further discussion 

 on this point ; but that hardly came within the scope of the 

 present meeting. With regard to the cultivation of oysters, 

 they had evidence of success in the quantity of breeding 

 which took place on the coast of France, and he was rather 

 surprised to hear from Captain Austin that it did not pay. 

 He was aware that several companies had been established, 

 and that a good many of them had been wound up, and 

 therefore it was no doubt true that the smaller men had 

 been the most successful commercially ; still, the nett 

 result was a production of a great mass of oysters, large 

 reserve beds were kept, on the idea that from them a great 

 portion of the spat was produced ; but it must be remem- 

 bered that the climatic resources of the country were con- 

 siderable, and there was no doubt that owing to the higher 

 temperature of the water at the critical period, oysters 

 there had not the same difficulty to contend against as 

 they had in England. In Holland, however, the climate 

 could not be better than our own ; but he believed the spat 

 fell much later in the year, towards the end of July or August, 

 and at that time, as he understood, the temperature of the 



