ON OYSTER-CULTUEE IX SCOTLAND. 285 



conception of the young and its attachment to a cultch. Frank 

 Buckland has lately asserted that cold is the cause of the de- 

 struction of the spat, and this suggestion has much to be said in 

 its favour. Ihe oysters appear to have been in the proper 

 "milky" state, and in all likelihood threw their spat, which, 

 however, would have met an uncongenial temperature in our 

 seas, even during most of the last fine spring and summer. If 

 not cold during the day the air was cold at night, and the water 

 was most remarkably low in temperature late into the season. 



Again, our oysters may almost be called deep-sea oysters, and 

 to a degree partake of their character ; that is, they throw their 

 spat late in the year, deep-sea oysters generally spawning in the 

 autumn. This being the case, if they continue their habits in 

 shallow water, they will throw their spat at a season of the year 

 when the chances ar3 altogether against them meeting with any 

 kindly warmth in the shallows, which are assimilated in tempe- 

 rature to the air, while the deeper waters remain at a more 

 equable temperature. 



If this be certain, we would suggest that it would be more 

 advisable to lay down our native oysters in deeper water, sur- 

 rounded by fascines, and to import a different class of oysters 

 for laying down in the shallows. The fact that the spat in 

 Arcachon never fails, and that the French oysters spat early, 

 would point to them as a class well suited for experimenting 

 with on our extensiv^e foreshores ; but it must be said they seem 

 to have altoGjether failed on the Irish coast. 



But the culture of the oyster as an industry is not by any 

 means confined to the breeding thereof, a considerable propor- 

 tion of the labour and capital employed in connection with them 

 in England being directed to their collection when in the condi- 

 tion of " brood." They are thus termed when of very small 

 size, and suitable for laying down on the beds on the foreshores 

 of Essex and other specially favoured districts, where they are 

 growm and fattened for the London market. Similarly, the 

 extensive beds of Beaumaris are replenished by dredging on the 

 Irish coast, whence they w^ere brought in order to improve in 

 condition and Havour before being forwarded as required to the 

 Liverpool market. 



The continued steady decrease in the supply of such brood 

 lias sent the English boats and buyers all over the kingdom, and 

 much of the brood laid down some years ago came from Scot- 

 land. This meant great injury to our coast supplies, through 

 sweeping olf the young as they were deposited ; and now that 

 several years of a failure of spat have supervened, there are no 

 oysters growing up to take the place of the parents, that con- 

 tinue to be fished for local supply, as well as for occasional 

 export. Looking to the importance of this branch of the subject, 



