700 REPORT OF COMMISSIONER OF FISH AND FISHERIES. [28] 



has been granted and which are in operation is 297, classed as follows : 

 pares, 277 ; claires, 20. 



Dnrin^^ tlie season of 1875-'76 were introduced into the pares 4,401,400 

 oysters, obtained by dredging,' ; their approximate value was 118,425 fr. 

 18 cent. f$23,G8o]. During the same period there were sent out from 

 these pares 7,538,150 oysters, having a value of 202,801 fr. GO cent. 

 r$40,5()0]. The difference between the number received and sent out is 

 accounted for by the fry raised by the planters themselves. 



Tlie number of fry sold during the same period, either to establish- 

 ments in the vicinity or at a distance, was 26,176,300, representing a 

 value of 102,385 fr. 95 cent. [$20,477]. All of these were collected upon 

 tiles. 



In 1874, from the collecting tiles, numbering 2,580,370, there were 

 obtained 110,563,750 fry, after 'deducting losses from handling. Of this 

 number Auray is to be credited with 66,195,900. There still remained 

 in the pares on January 1, 1876, 97,348,950 fry, of which more than 

 60,000,000 were in the establishments of Auray. These statistics are 

 derived from the holders of the state lands granted for oyster-cultural 

 purposes, whose figures are generally too low, and we may safely esti- 

 mate the number of fry still to be disposed of at 120,000,000. 



Without counting the associations of fishermen, who work themselves 

 and are at little or no expense for hired labor, the number of days' 

 labor performed in the pares during last season was as follows : By 

 men, 35,819 days; by women, 51,709 days; by children, 2,150 days ; in 

 all, 89,678 days. 



The result of this labor has been that the natural oyster-beds, being 

 well cared for and protected, and worked with moderation, have become 

 more and more fertile ; and the fishing of these beds, which there seemed 

 to be reason to fear would disappear forever, has, on the contrary, be- 

 come more productive. 



We may add that, in those households which are willing to work, 

 comfort has succeeded to want, and we should not forget that the 

 Auray district {quartier cf Auray) is but just beginning its develop- 

 ment. 



Vannes. — Before the collection of spawn became in the Auray dis- 

 trict a considerable branch of industry, the oyster-culturists on the 

 river Yaniies and in the gulf of Morbihan gave their attention solely 

 to the cultivation in pares of tlio oysters obtained by dredging from the 

 once fertile beds of this bay. Jt liad, however, some years ago, occurred 

 to M. Cliaurael to make some attempts at propagation, but they were 

 without results. 



The beds of Morbihan were exhausted many years ago, and the drag- 

 net fishing {lapeche an clialut), pursued without intermission, prevented 

 the fixing and growth of the few embryos that the few remaining 

 oysters still produced. The administration of the marine realized that 

 these oyster beds, which had been unproductive for fifteen years at 



