130 THE OYSTER. 



down upon his beds. These oysters were taken up 

 within three or four months, and then sold for more 

 than eighty cents per bushel. 



A method of oyster-planting in artificial ponds has 

 been highly developed in France, where it is found 

 to yield an adequate return for the labor and capital 

 invested, as oysters fattened in this way sell for fifty 

 per cent more than those from the natural beds. The 

 method involves considerable labor, and it is doubtful 

 whether the price of oysters in this country is as yet 

 high enough to render this industry profitable ; but as 

 our State contains thousands of acres of land which is 

 at present of no value whatever, while it is perfectly 

 adapted for the construction of oyster ponds, we shall 

 give such an account of the French ponds as will en- 

 able anyone to experiment in this direction. As our 

 winter climate is much more severe than that of the 

 French coast, and the rise and fall of the tide very 

 slight, some changes in the arrangements of the ponds 

 will be necessary, but there is no reason why the same 

 general plan should not be followed here to great ad- 

 vantage, so soon as the price of oysters increases suf- 

 ficiently to warrant the labor. We are indebted to a 

 French work upon the oyster (Guide Pratique de 

 rOstreiculture et Procedes d'Elevage et de Multipli- 

 cation des Races Marines Comestibles, par M. Felix 

 Fraiche) for the following facts regarding the con- 

 struction and management of artificial oyster ponds or 

 claires : 



" For a long time past the breeders of Marennes have 

 employed, for fattening and perfecting oysters, artificial 

 basins called claires. The claires are basins of variable 



