ARTIFICIAL OYSTER CULTIVATION. 1159 



Oyster culture may be broadly divided into the two 

 branches of breeding and fattening, which are distinct from 

 one another. Each occupation requires peculiar conditions 

 of site, climate, and soil, and it is rare to find the circum- 

 stances favourable to both operations in one locality. The 

 reasons for this are that breeding oysters require heat 

 and tranquillity above everything, whereas the presence of 

 the right sort of food in sufficient quantity is a sine qua 

 non for fattening purposes. When laid for breeding, oysters 

 are not required to be fat ; they want but sufficient nourish- 

 ment to support life, which is always to be obtained in salt 

 or brackish water. The physical conditions of a locality 

 suitable to fattening purposes i.e., where there is a strong 

 scour of the tide or a frequent inrush of river freshets are 

 most unsuitable for breeding, as the spat from oysters placed 

 in such positions is frequently carried away and lost. 



Speaking in general terms, we may say that the con- 

 ditions prevailing in the districts devoted to oyster culture 

 in France are most suitable for producing and rearing the 

 young brood ; whilst the English beds have the character 

 of not only bringing lean oysters into condition for the 

 market in the shortest time, but of producing better and 

 more delicately flavoured oysters than any others in the 

 world. 



There are of course many oysters bred in England, and 

 some fattened in France ; but there seems to be little doubt 

 that, whilst the colder temperature of an English winter 

 contributes largely to the esteemed flavour alluded to, the 

 higher temperature along the west coast of France is more 

 favourable for the reproduction of oysters, and for the 

 preservation of young during the first few weeks of their 

 existence. 



