688 REPORT OF COMMISSIONER OF FISH AND FISHERIES. [16] 



frosts came, the sea, urged by the impetuous winds of winter, bore 

 off part of the harvest. The disaster was augmented by the frosts. 



Only the oysters attached to the under side of the slabs of schist 

 were spared. They produced specimens remarkable for their fonn, 

 their quality, and their development. 



Many other persons saw in this first essay reason for hope rather 

 than discouragement. The sea, though often disturbed, was not always 

 turbulent, and the frosts rarely occurred at the same time as the spring 

 tides, the only ones by which the pares of Le Vivier were exposed. New 

 grants being asked for and obtained, the shores of Le Vivier were rapidly 

 covered with pares. 



The winter of 1870-'71, of such unhappy memory, was even worse, 

 and almost put an end to the infant industry. The collectors retained 

 so little spawn that many of the cultivators abandoned the work. But 

 succeeding years brought fruitful compensation, and this oyster-cultural 

 station, born but yesterday, has to-day a promising future as a place of 

 rei)roduction. 



The parquage of oysters is very difficult, if not impossible, at Le Vivier 

 and they are left upon the collecting apparatus to grow until they are 

 ready to be sent to market. 



The only collectors used are bundles of twigs and slabs of schist. 

 Madame Sarah Felix, however, has found it profitable to replace the old 

 system by a new aj)paratus, consisting of sheets of roofing slate, which 

 usually are kept immersed from the middle of June to the middle of 

 July. The fascines require to be often renewed, for they are rai)idly 

 destroj^ed by the sea. Moreover, the barnacles, which are very abun- 

 dant in these parts, cover them in the spring and render them unsuitable 

 for the spawn to settle upon. These parasites are not the only enemies 

 to be combated. The mussels, much more to be dreaded, are scattered 

 over the pares of Le Vivier in such abundance as to form a layer from 15 

 to 25 centimeters in thickness. They have here neither the time to bury 

 them, as is done in the island of Ol^ron, nor to collect tliem, though tbey 

 are edible. The reason is that the pares of Le Vivier are situated at some 

 depth in the sea, and being uncovered only during the spring tides, the 

 period of low water is emjdoyed in detaching the oysters upon the col- 

 lectors, in gathering those lying loose upon the bottom, and in remov- 

 ing and repairing the palisading. It is diflicult, in the short interval 

 when work is possible, to collect laborers enough to meet the most 

 urgent dem ands. 



The number of oysters (jontained in these pares is estimated at 

 5,000,000. The number is certainly small ; but we should not forget the 

 consequences of the winter of 1870-'71, and the discouragement which 

 was the result of it, and we should remember that ten years ago Le Vivier- 

 sur-Mer was absolutely unknown as an oyster-cultural station. 



As regards the growth of the oyster, it is truly wonderful, and in the 



