;o 



it be borne steadily in mind that Arcachon oyster culture 

 is essentially an intensive industry and that to obtain 

 profit, concentration of attention on quite a small area is 

 imperative. Most of the calculations given have been 

 in hectares ; in reality the majority of the parks do not 

 reach this and if we remember that a parker may have no 

 more than an acre at his disposal we see that while the 

 profits made under the conditions prevailing at Arcachon 

 may in many cases ensure a comfortable living they do 

 not endow more than a very small proportion of the 

 number with riches. With a fair degree of comfort 

 assured if economy be practised the chief benefits which 

 oyster culture confers upon the maritime population of 

 Arcachon are the sense of independence it confers, the 

 self-respect it induces, and the enterprising spirit which 

 it fosters. 



(/) Present conditions and future prospects of the 



industry. 



For several years past Arcachon producers have 

 found the disposal of their oysters at remunerative 

 prices a matter of the utmost difficulty. Large profits can 

 still be made by those possessing first-class locations, a 

 fair living is within reach of those having moderately 

 good or second-class holdings, but to those whose parks 

 fall into within the third and last category — and these are 

 in the majority — times have been and continue to be 

 difficult ; to these latter their trade gives either a bare 

 subsistence or it is carried on as a supplementary calling 

 to another and more reliable one. In consequence of the 

 reduced profits now ruling, the less favourably situated 

 parks are rapidly passing out of cultivation, such as give 

 remunerative returns only when prices attain a high 

 level. 



In 1905, 6,006 parks comprising a total area of 3,095 

 hectares (say 8,000 acres) were in occupation ; the 

 produce being estimated at 420,000,000 sold at an 

 average of Rs. 7 per 1,000. In 1906 the number of 

 concessions fell to 4,580, a large number of the less 



