^94 REPORT OF COMMISSIONER OF FISH AND FISHERIES. [22] 



five or six years ago, and in spite of the hesitation and the disappoint- 

 ments inseparable from first attempts they are prepared to market 

 2,500,000 of perfectly beautiful oysters and still retain G,500,000 in their 

 pares. In fine, they have endowed their country with a model oyster- 

 cultural establishment, and overthrown many prejudices by utilizing 

 localities which a few years ago would have been considered unsuitable 

 for the culture of the oj'ster. 



LoRiENT. — The natural indications at Lorient show that the oyster 

 industry will prosper there. 



The Blavet, or river of Hennebont, which empties into the roadstead, 

 not long ago contained oyster beds the products of which were much 

 sought after. It was evident therefore that the mollusk ought to find 

 in this bay a medium suitable for it. 



It is at Kerm^lo, upon the river Ter, at a point a little below Lorient, 

 that the MM. Charles and M. Turlure have founded their establishments. 



After having made unprofitable attempts to collect the spawn emit- 

 ted by the oyster beds of the river Hennebont, the MM. Charles 

 •changed the character of their ojierations and directed their attention 

 to the growing and fattening of the oyster. 



The Ter is a river with muddy bottom. Of its moderate width there 

 remains but a narrow channel at the low ^ater of the spring tides. 

 The available locations are therefore very limited. A storage pond 

 .•situated a little above allows fresh waters to escape into the river as 

 needed. 



There were moreover formidable difficulties to overcome in order to 

 Tender i^rofitable this portion of the maritime domain. Before attempt- 

 ing to establish oyster plantations upon the soft, yielding mud, it was 

 necessary to consolidate it. The MM. Charles succeeded in efl'ecting 

 the consolidation of the bottom by spreading over it a layer of sand 

 and gravel. 



M. Turlure has attained the same result by other means. Thinking 

 that the labor necessary for consolidation would involve, in his conces- 

 sion, too much expense, he had recourse to a system of pits lined with 

 ■cement, invented by M. Michel, engineer, by means of which he is able 

 to utilize all that part of his concession laid bare at low tide. 



These pits are 50 centimeters long, from 34 to 40 centimeters wide, 

 and are arranged in rows, between which are intervals to permit the 

 <;irculation of the workmen. The advantages secured by this arrange- 

 ment are, that the oysters contained in the pits are protected from 

 •excessive heat by being always covered by a stratum of water from 10 

 to 12 centimeters deep, even when the surface is left bare at low tide. 



The oyster-cultural society, of which M. Turlure is the superintend- 

 <ent, has sixty thousand of these pits. The number these receptacles 

 <can accommodate varies with the size of the oysters. Of the fry and 

 oysters less than one year old they will contain 300. Of those in their 

 second year, 150; and of those in their third year, 75. 



