35C- OYSTERS, AND ALL ABOUT THEM. 



was carried out in America viz., when any large supply of 

 oysters was obtained to take the fish out of the shells and 

 pack them in cases. In New York, oysters treated in that 

 way were sold at ^d. per lb., which was remarkably cheap 

 compared with the price charged in this country. (Jour- 

 nal of the Society of Arts.) 



We add some incidental details of the progress of the 

 French Fisheries. 



In a paper addressed to the Societe d'Acclimatation, 

 M. Delidon makes some interesting remarks on the state 

 of Ostreiculture in the commune of Marennes, Charente- 

 Inferieure, and especially on the artificial oyster-beds of 

 the rock of Der. 



M. Delidon considers the current as the natural vehicle 

 by which the spat of the oyster is carried to those places 

 where it finds suitable materials to fix itself upon. 



But if no obstacles be put in the way of the current, 

 an immense quantity of the spat will be taken out to the 

 open sea and utterly lost, and it is to avoid this that col- 

 lectors are formed. The ancient Romans used to make 

 them of timber, and this material is used to this day with 

 perfect success, with the single drawback that timber is 

 not very durable. Stone, sea-shells, .and tiles, therefore, 

 answer much better ; but even these are are not unattended 

 by annoyance, for as the oyster only travels once in his 

 life that is, in the state of spat, it becomes necessary after 

 a certain time, in order not to be at the expense of multi- 

 plying the collectors, to detach the young oysters from the 

 stone or tile, and transfer it to the definitive oyster-bed. 



Now, in this preliminary operation at least 25 per 

 cent, of the young oysters are destroyed, because of the 

 thinness of their shells, which break in the attempt of 

 separating them from the tile or stone. This serious loss 



