33 



To counteract the tendency of the sand to separate 

 out and settle to the bottom of the barrel it is stirred 

 up frequently with a short-handled oar-shaped stirrer 

 (Figure 2). Long-handled iron pinchers are employed 



Fig. 2. — Lime Stirrer. 



to hold the tile while bein^ immersed. The tile is 

 taken up by one edge, convex surface upwards, and in 

 this position it is immersed in the mortar ; by a turn of 

 the wrist the tile is twisted concave side up as it is 

 withdrawn after a momentary sojourn in the mixture. 

 As the tiles are limed they are neatly piled in stacks, 

 the concave surface upward in all cases, in order that 

 the coating on this, the important surface, shall not drain 

 away as it might if stacked in the reverse manner. The 

 coating applied should be smooth and even with a thick- 

 ness about equal to that of a half anna piece. 



A fact mentioned to me by M. L. Michelet is that 

 a lime containing a proportion of clay (burnt) is of 

 superior value to pure lime ; it appears that this admixture 

 gives it a superior setting quality, and renders it more 

 resistant to water. 



Liming operations are invariably carried out ashore 

 in the workyard adjoining the wooden store-cabin which 

 every parker possesses in some convenient spot close to 

 the beach and where he stores implements and materials 

 not in use (Plate I, figure 9). 



(c) Installation of the Collectors ; their oversight 



while in place. 



In many of the localities where the Portuguese oyster 

 is under cultivation in France as also almost uni- 

 versally on Dutch oyster grounds, no special case to 

 5 



