532 OYSTERS, AND ALL ABOUT THEM. 



pares and arranged in them cross-pieces of wood ; schistous 

 stones, inclined in the shape of a roof, of volume large 

 enough to resist the current ; and fences, which were not 

 very close, of from 3 to 4 metres in length and o'6 metres 

 in height, completed the arrangement. 



This year the harvest was abundant, but the cold and 

 frosty seasons which followed, and the sea, under the influ- 

 ence of wintry storms, destroyed a part of the crop, and 

 the frost added to the disaster. 



Those oysters alone were preserved which were fixed 

 at the bottom of the schistous stones, and they furnished 

 remarkable specimens in point of form, quality, and growth. 



Many other persons saw, in this first attempt, a ground 

 of hope, rather than discouragement. The sea, though 

 often in a state of disturbance, is not always so, and frosts 

 rarely coincide with the spring tides, by which alone the 

 pares of Le Vivier are laid bare. 



New concessions were sought and obtained, and the 

 shore of Le Vivier was quickly covered with pares. 



The sad winter of 1870-71 was still more destructive, 

 but failed to stop the progress of the rising industry. The 

 collectors retained so little spat that many pares owners 

 abandoned their operations ; but the following years 

 brought abundant returns, and this ostricultural station of 

 but yesterday's creation has a cheering prospect as a place 

 for reproduction. 



The parcing of oysters is very difficult, if not im- 

 possible, at Le Vivier ; and the oysters are left to grow on 

 the collectors until the time of sale. 



Fascines and schistous stones are the only collectors 

 employed, but Mme. Sarah Felix has advantageously sub- 

 stituted for the old apparatus a new machine made of 

 pieces of slate, which is generally immerged between i5th 



