ARTIFICIAL OYSTER CULTURE. 



the solution of the knotty problem may serve as a healthy 

 exercise for his judgment, experience, and wisdom. 



And is not that a boon to the oyster culturist ? It 

 certainly ought to be considered as such, but it may or it 

 may not be, according to the character of the reader who 

 favours me with his attention. Some persons like to have 

 the trouble of exercising their judgments spared them. 

 An oyster culturist (or anyone else for that matter) should 

 never be guilty of such an abuse of his reasoning powers ; 

 and whenever his judgment halts between two opinions, 

 let him defiantly answer Pope's famous line with " I will 

 decide for myself !" and he will feel the better for it. 

 Let him remember that at the same time Coste meditated 

 his plans, oyster culture was already successfully and inde- 

 pendently started on the French coast, namely, on the He 

 de Re, by the stonemason Leboeuf. That seldom-men- 

 tioned, useful, but not-sufficiently-appreciated member of 

 French Societv that humble ostracultural benefactor to 



j 



his country that strong-reasoning stonemason was a fine 

 specimen of the " I will decide for myself" class of human 

 beings, whose example it will do no harm to the English 

 ostraculturist to follow. By the way, I need hardly remind 

 the reader (of course with all due respect to the memory 

 of Coste) that although Columbus discovered America, the 

 vast continent is named after Americus. 



Of difference of opinion this book contains a plentiful 

 but necessary sprinkling ; I doubt, however, whether its 

 contents present a difference of opinion, or a deliberate 

 assertion so startling at first sight, or hearing, than the 

 following of Dr. Hoek relative to English oyster culture. 



Oyster culture, of course, means the creating artificial 

 beds within the territorial waters of any country. There 



can be no possible difference of opinion upon that point ; 



KK 2 



