79 



highest interest but this is not the place to do more than 

 make a passing reference to them in order to round off 

 this enumeration of the principal variations and develop- 

 ments of oyster farming. 



In the case of the above mentioned countries, with 

 the exception of France and perhaps of Italy, the State 

 has adopted the system of obtaining the highest rental 

 possible for concessions to fish and farm oysters within 

 its estuaries and harbours. This has resulted in throwing 

 the industry almost entirely into the hands of capitalists 

 and wealthy Corporations. The French system of ex- 

 ploiting the oyster resources of its coasts is based on an 

 entirely different principle ; the fundamental idea in this 

 case is to encourage the small holder, to build up a nume- 

 rous class of independent culturists and to help them to 

 success by charging trifling rentals for the areas conceded 

 for cultural purposes. The French Government is ex- 

 tremely solicitous to maintain a large and hardy maritime 

 population ; the adequate manning of its navy is a con- 

 sideration to which it has long given the utmost attention 

 and the privilege of small oyster-farming concessions is 

 one of the means it employs to strengthen that section of 

 the population from which the personnel of its naval fleet 

 is derived. 



VI.— APPLICABILITY OF FRENCH METHODS 

 OF OYSTER-CULTURE IN INDIA. 



(a) The conditions prevailing in India. 



Numerous small natural oyster beds exist in the 

 creeks and estuaries of India but no oyster culture is 

 practised anywhere. Save in Sind and Kutch no Govern- 

 ment has asserted authority over beds of edible oysters, 

 although elsewhere such are almost universally consi- 

 dered as pertaining exclusively to the State. In the 

 Madras Presidency at the present time no exploitation 

 takes place save that here and there a man may cull a few 

 oysters to fill a small order for a club or hotel. Demand 

 is all but absent, to a large extent due to distrust of the 



