OYSTER CULTURE IN FRANCE. 581 



managed to form with mud and potter's earth, beaten in 

 and dammed up, embankments sufficiently firm to resist 

 the waves. The facts are that the pares of which M. Vidal 

 is the holder in the He des Oiseaux are very sheltered, and 

 that the adaptation of his evidently economical plan would 

 not be possible in the greater number of the concessions in 

 the Arcachon basin. 



M. Fillon has connected with his production pares a 

 building for various business purposes, very cleverly 

 arranged, in which he has made numerous and interesting 

 experiments. M. Fillon is, besides, one of the pare owners 

 who carries on the oyster industry on a large scale. 



I have still to mention MM. Surette and Gaston de 

 Faramond, who are ceaselessly engaged in furthering the 

 progress of ostriculture. Before summing up with some 

 simple statistics, I must remark that the products of 

 Arcachon are not all such as are usually seen in our 

 markets. Those tiny oysters which pare owners, impatient 

 to sell, offer to dispose of as soon as they measure the 

 regulation size of 5 centimetres, are only trash, or immature 

 specimens. 



There are in the Arcachon basin 3317 pares, held by 

 3934 persons, and occupying an area of 3836 hectares. 



The exportation amounted, during the season of 1873- 

 74, to 42,542,650 oysters of 5 centimetres ; during that of 

 1874-75, to 112,705,233 oysters of the same size; during 

 that of 1875-76, to 196,885,450. The value of the oysters 

 sold in 1875-76 was 3,941,309 francs. 



I have now reached the end of my task. I have 

 doubtless omitted to mention many establishments worthy 

 of interest, and some localities where, as at Treguier and 

 Paimpol, the ostricultural industry prospers, without, how- 

 ever, presenting to the observer any new facts for study, or 



