OYSTER CULTURE IN HOLLAND. 697 



in Amsterdam and were partly exported to Germany, at a 

 price which bears no comparison at all with what is at 

 present paid for them. 



This having been the state of things a good many years 

 ago, it is a pity that we have to recognize the fact of one 

 of these natural beds being nearly destroyed. There is no 

 serious doubt but this destruction has come about by over- 

 fishing. The few oysters that are left are only worth the 

 notice of the Nieuwe-Diep fishermen in the summer time 

 when they are not employed in any other fisheries, and even 

 out of their number only a few pay regular visits to those 

 parts of the Zuyderzee where oysters may happen for the 

 moment to be just a little more numerous than usual. 

 There is no regular oyster trade in that part of the country. 



The oyster trade with us is for the present concentrated 

 in the province of Zeeland, where, as was noticed before, a 

 second natural oyster-bed of some extent has existed. This 

 bed was very fast on its way towards extermination, and 

 would certainly have followed in the wake of the Zuyderzee 

 beds, had not oyster " culture " at the right nick of time 

 stepped in and replaced "oyster fishing." The already 

 impoverished regions have since made rapid strides towards 

 their maximum of productivity, and it is from them that the 

 large numbers of so-called Dutch oysters or Dutch natives, 

 which if I am not wrong are high up in the scale of merit 

 according to the verdict of London palates, are derived. 



It was in 1870 that this change of system was effected. 

 Up to that year fishermen from the small village of Yerseke 

 and from other hamlets round the so-called eastern arm of 

 the river Schelde regularly fished and dredged on this bed in 

 the five winter months (October February). There was a 

 close time for oyster fishing (during which period it was 

 strictly prohibited) of no less than seven months, from 



