230 BULLETIN OF THE UNITED STATES FISH COMMISSION. 



This question is of the greatest iinportiiiice to oyster cultivators. Be- 

 sides showing- the possibility ol" i)ro(Iucin.:jj oysters by a truly practical 

 and industrial process, artiliciul iecundation, accordinj^' to the method 

 of Bouchou-Braudely, makes it possible to improve the breeds by selec- 

 tion and crossing. It will ijcrhaps also make it possible to acclimatize 

 in France foreign unisexual oysters, such as the American oyster and 

 the pearl oyster. 



It will, moreover, furnish the means to devote to a remunerative in- 

 dustry immense tracts of land on the shores of the ocean which were 

 formerly devoted to the i)roduction of salt, an industry which, at pres- 

 ent, is on the decline. In tlie salt region of Croisic alone there are 

 2,700 hectares [nearly 7,000 acres], a great portion of which is at pres- 

 ent not under cultivation, while the rest is almost barren. A larger 

 and richer center of oyster culture than that of La Tremblade might 

 here be established. 



Although recognizing the validity of the leason given by Mr. Lau 

 rent for the mortality of the young si)awn, Ave think that there are still 

 other reasons why the experiments made this year were not altogether 

 successful, at least not so successful as the line results obtained hist 

 year at Verdon led us to expect. 



Not only was the weather very disagreeable during the entiie spawn- 

 ing season, but the winter which preceded it was one of tlie most 

 severe known in many years. The losses experienced by the oyster 

 cultivators of Marennes, La Tremblade, Areachon, &c., v.ere very con- 

 siderable. There was incessant rain for several months, and the oysters 

 became very soft ; and although the Portuguese oyster, which seems 

 to have greater vitality, was not specially affected by the brackish 

 water, its fecundity seems nevertheless to have considerably decreased 

 from this cause. We observed that the oysters from the Gironde, when 

 the spawn was emitted, were much smaller than those of last year, whose 

 shells were tilled to repletion on account of the sexual gland being so 

 full. 



The late season when the eggs were laid also indicates some trouble 

 in the generative evolution. Last year, at Verdon, there were success- 

 ful fecundations from the last half of June; this year there were none 

 till the end of August. 



We have to give a brief account of our attemjjts to raise Portuguese 

 oysters in the waters of the Mediterranean, especially in the jjonds of 

 Languedoc and Boussillon. It is well known that for some years Mr. 

 Malespine has obtained good results in this respect in the waters of the 

 roadstead of Toulon. The exi)eriments which we made in the ponds 

 of Thau, Mauguio, and otliers were just as satisfactory. Oysters which 

 had come from V^erdon in spring, and were placed in the pond of Lattes 

 grew 4 centimeters [about 1^ inches] in two and a half months. The 

 growth was particularly noticeable during the mouths of Ai)ril, May, 



