566 OYSTERS, AND ALL ABOUT THEM. 



The oysters reared at Marennes are produced in the 

 pares at Oleron, or come from Brittany and Arcachon. 

 Arcachon as a rule sends away a great part of its products 

 as soon as they are fit for exportation. 



The young oyster is immediately placed either in the 

 ponds or depots. In the month of November, after a stay 

 of six or seven months, it is horned (corsee), and has attained 

 a size of from 7 to 9 centimetres. A fortnight, three weeks, 

 or a month, according to the position of the claire, is 

 enough for the oyster to acquire the qualities requisite for 

 consumption or ''for the knife," as the pare owners at La 

 Seudre express it. 



Before leaving the pares, however, a final process has 

 to be undergone by the oyster to enable it to bear travelling. 

 For this purpose it is transferred to an asphalted or sanded 

 receptacle which receives the freshest and purest waters : 

 the oyster remains some days in this reservoir, purges, and 

 is then washed and sent away. 



Some riparian owners (among others MM. Blanchard, 

 Jourdes, and Le Beau) have converted some salt-marshes 

 situated beyond the maritime domain into oyster claires. 

 The success of this enterprise has caused great interest in 

 the district of Marennes. The grounds at the disposal 

 of the Government have all been allotted, and yet numerous 

 applications arrive every day. 



It may now be said that the success of this transforma- 

 tion is certain. 



The ostricultural industry at Marennes has considerably 

 increased since 1873. Pare owners on a large scale have 

 established themselves there, and have organised very 

 complete works as regards arrangement and means of 

 carriage. One of the most recent, belonging to M. de 

 Faramond de Lafayole, is worth a few words of description. 



