[13] OYSTER-CULTURE UPON SHORES OF BRITISH CHANNEL. 685 



meuts, this fine establishment, the first of its kind, will respond to the 

 legitimate expectations that the first successes had awakened. 



I will conclude by repeating the opinion which I expressed in the be- 

 ginning, viz, that the station of Regneville presents all the requisite 

 conditions necessary to make it an important center for oyster-culture, 

 not only from its situation, but because it unites all the natural elements 

 for the successful prosecution of this industry. 



The extent of surface which may be put to use is very great, and the 

 cultivation of it would prove easy and lucrative. 



Cancale. — Among the products of oyster-culture most highly es- 

 teemed, the oysters of Cancale occupy the first rank. They are dis- 

 tinguished as well by their fine flavor as by the good shape and depth 

 of their shells. The animal is thick without being too large. It kee])s 

 fresh for several days out of the water, and holds for a long time the 

 sea water which the valves inclose. These qualities are due to its 

 origin and to the variety of the oyster as much as to the methods of 

 cultivation. 



The processes of education pursued at Cancale are very nearly the 

 same as those employed by the cultivators of La Hougue. 



The oyster beds of the Bay of Mont-SaintMichel, whence these deli- 

 cate oysters are obtained, are the most productive of beds of the British 

 channel. They comjjrise the beds of Corbiere-6-les Chaudieres, Le Bas 

 de I'Eau, Le Yivier-6-le-Mout, L'Orme-6-le-Moulin, called LaRaie, Saint- 

 Georges, Le Beauveau-6-le-Mont, and finally the reservation made by 

 the state, and which serves to separate the beds of Granville from those 

 of Cancale. 



Cancale is not only a place of deposit. All the processes of cultiva- 

 tion are carried on there, from the period when the oysters are gathered 

 by the fishermen from the beds in the open sea, or gleaned upon the 

 strand, to the time when, their education completed, they have acquired 

 those qualities which make them sought for for the table.* 



The concessions granted cover an area of 172 hectares. This is di- 

 vided into 1,276 pares and bedding grounds (etalages). The latter are 

 situated low in the sea, and each season their walls of wicker work are 

 covered with spawn. In these are placed the small oysters the dimen- 

 sions of which do not permit their being sent to market. The oysters 

 which have attained marketable size are placed in the parces and re 

 main there until thej' have completed their prei^aration for market. 



All the concessions are fenced in by a double row of palisading, 

 which shelters them from the destructive effects of the strong currents. 



Throughout the whole bay of Mout-Saint-Michel there are two ever- 



*By the terms of the regulations concerning Oyster fishing, individuals taken 

 upon the natural banks, and which have not attained the required dimensions of 

 5 centimeters, must be thrown back into the sea. When tlie fishing is over, the oysters 

 are sorted, the smallest being placed in the pares. It is the same with the oysters 

 picked up on the beach by the foot-fishermen {picheurs a pied). 



