[9] OYSTER-CULTURE UPON SHORES OF BRITISH CHANNEL. 681 



The processes of cultivation employed at La Hougue consist chiefly in 

 cleaning, and frequently shifting the oysters to prevent them from being 

 buried in the mud, or covered by parasitic growths, which by attaching 

 themselves to the valves prevent them from opening, and finally cause 

 the oyster to perish by stifling it. These manipulations are repeated 

 two or three times a month in the pares, and oftener if made necessary 

 by the quantity of sediment deposited by the sea, or by the abundance 

 of the marine vegetation. 



During the winter it is not so urgent to repeat the manipulations so 

 often, for independent of the difficulty of such operations at this season, 

 the marine confervse, the presence of which in the pares constitutes a 

 serious danger, have disappeared. 



The young oysters placed in the depots, to attain their growth, are not, 

 during the six or seven mouths they remain there, the object of any treat- 

 ment. The depots being situated at some depth in the sea, the water 

 which covers them is purer, and the marine algse are less abundant. 



The only attention required is to wash them when they are trans- 

 ferred to their winter quarters, and when they are removed from them. 



I should record here an observation made by some of the oyster 

 planters of Saint- Vaast-la Hougue. They observed that certain parts of 

 their jjlauting grounds became unsuitable for the purpose, and seemed 

 to be exhausted. To remedy this condition of things they adopted the 

 plan of allowing those portions to lie fallow {de mettre en chomage) for a 

 year, to the end that these water fields might have time to improve 

 and return to their first condition. I may add that they have had 

 every reason to be satisfied with the results of this method. 



Too many questions are involved in the consideration to permit us 

 to study fully the many causes which contributed to bring about this 

 exhaustion. The two principal ones seem to be the following : 



1st. The allotment of too many individuals to one pare. 



2d. The constant shifting of fetid mud derived from the decomposi- 

 tion of vegetable matters, which is borne by the water in all directions. 



In the first case the oysters receive insufficient nourishment ; insuffi- 

 cient, because if in a certain volume of water which can furnish suffi- 

 cient food for only 1,000 oysters, we place 50,000, starvation and disease 

 must be the result. 



In the second case death is directly the result of poisoning ; but I am 

 free to declare that this condition of the pares of La Hougue is much 

 exaggerated ; nor is there anything alarming about it. 



On the contrary, I am happy to give the assurance that the impor- 

 tance of the oyster industry is constantly on the increase. Many aban- 

 doned pares have been taken up again and are being cultivated with 

 profit. It is sufficient to say that 300 persons find occupation each day 

 in the concessions of Saint- Vaastla-Hougue, and at each spring-tide 

 this number is at least doubled. 



Granville. — It is upon that part of the French coast washed by the 



